Thursday 7 March 2013

Game Twenty-Four: Habs vs. 'Canes

First Period:

- Habs early powerplay, looked reasonably efficient.

- Nice setup to Emelin, routine wrister and Peters gives up the big rebound, Gallagher slips it through. 1-0.

- Really? Absurd tripping call on Pacioretty off the faceoff. Unacceptable officiating.

- Shoddy zone coverage by Canes defense, Gorges sneaks in from nowhere and wide open, gives Habs quick 2-0 lead. Prust with the pass right on the tape.

- Canes look terrible their side of the ice. No organization, Habs aggressive forecheck giving Carolina more than it can handle.

- Price looking more like his Price self. So far.

- And a sparkling point blank glove save by Carey. Yup. He's on.

- Weber called for interference? Sheesh. Skinner turned into him WITH the puck and Weber with a perfectly good body. Canes overreacted and Staal cancels the original Weber penalty, which shouldn't have been called in the first place. It's gonna be one of those nights, officiating-wise.


Gameday Game Preview

Okay, let's get to the point(s) on this.

- Last time we played, we won 3-0. But it was Budaj in net.
- Last time we played, Carolina was riding a 3 game winning streak. Tonight they're riding a 4 game streak.
- Injuries. For Habs, usual suspects: Bourque, Diaz. For the Canes it's Ruttu, Pitkanen, Brent and Larose. Cam Ward, their number one guy, is probably done for the season.
- Top guns: Pacioretty for Habs leads with 20 points, Eric Staal, no surprise, is a League leader with 28 points. If he scores, as he's quite capable of doing, Carolina usually wins.
Keys: Aggressive Habs forecheck, the Canes like to control the puck. Get the puck away from them, you take away their major strategy, create frustration, make it difficult for them to score. Also, Tomas Plekanec will probably get the Staal checking assignment tonight, which means his focus is as much keeping Staal off the scoresheet then him actually creating offense (more so).
- Carey Price needs to start playing better. Not that he's been awful, but he hasn't been making the big saves lately. Tonight would be a good place for him to find his ground again.


This Just Breaking ...


- Weber in, Kaberle out.

- Price starting.

More Habs goo laters. We hope.

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