Oct 04 Habs 2-0 To Start The 2009 Season. Some Perspective

You’ve got to wonder if karma is going to catch up with the Canadiens as they head out west this week to face the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks.

On the heels of winning their last two games against the Leafs and the Sabres while being outshot 81-44, one can’t expect the recent losses of star defenseman Andrei Markov, as well as Ryan O’Byrne and forward Glen Metropolit to have little effect on the Habs going forward.

And concerning the 2-1 shot ratio in the last two games against teams that are not slated as being top tier contenders this season, how long before Carey Price considers himself shell shocked? How will the Canadiens react versus a team that has a higher octane defence and a more potent offense?

They are about to find the answers to all these questions this week as they head west to face two teams that, at season’s start, were considered to be Canada’s only real hope of bringing a cup back to the Great White North.

In Calgary, they face a rugged and experienced blue line including Dion Phaneuf and newly acquired Jay Bouwmeester as well as a probably rejuvenated Robyn Regehr after the exit of coach Mike Keenan. But while some may say that the Habs met a similar D pairing in Toronto with Kaberle and Komisarek, and while arguably, that may be, they did not have to also deal with the likes of Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen and Daymond Langkow coming at them as well.

Not to diminish the fact that the Leafs still outplayed a new Habs team where most line combinations are still trying to get their teammate’s first names right, let alone their playing styles. Buffalo was no different.

You will not win many games when you only get 17 shots on the opposing team’s net while your own goaltender, supposed phenom or not, is forced to face 35+ coming the other way.

Don’t get me wrong. The immediate dividends that Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, and Travis Moen have provided for the Canadiens squad can not be disregarded. Moen has a goal in each of the last two games and the “Wee Three” have collectively had their sticks on the rest of Montreal’s 6 goals thus far. Also, it’s a pleasant breath of fresh air to see Big Georges Laraque kicking butt and taking names while others take his example and ensure that the message is sent that if a teammate is wronged on the icel, there will be a price to pay.

But the question that remains to be answered as the Habs set out to play Calgary, then Vancouver with the Sedins and Team Canada representative and Montrealer Roberto Luongo is: Will they, despite an increasingly crowded IR, too many shots against, not enough shots for and line combinations still trying to find themselves, still find a way to win going forward?

The odds are stacked against them and unless at least one of the above issues is addressed , I may be writing about the adversity this team will soon be facing. It may just happen, in the near future, that the Habs could outplay one of their next opponents and still come out on the short end of the Win column. That's just life's way of evening out the socre. But for now, the Habs are in first place in the Northeast division and second overall in the East. 80 more games to go.

pic from habsinsideout.com

Tags: Brian Gionta \ Buffalo Sabres \ Carey price \ Dion Phaneuf \ Georges Laraque \ habs \ hockey \ Mike Cammalleri \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ Roberto Luongo \ Scott Gomez \ Toronto Mapleleafs \ Travis Moen \ Vancouver Canucks