Habs wins 5 to 3 against the Sens
After a few days off, Alex Kovalev returns and leads the Habs back on track by scoring a goal and obtaining two passes. But it isn't his offensive stats that had impressed me the most, it is his defensive plays. He was anticipating plays and intercepting passes on the 5 on 3. Fighting along the boards, giving a 2nd and even a 3rd effort. He kept the plays simple this time. He didn't try too much fancy moves. He thought about the team first and was aware of his defensive play. The bad Kovalev that we used to know would've tried to score in the empty net from our zone during the last minutes of the game. But this time, I was very happy that he didn't, and just cleared it against the boards...too bad it was still an icing call. But it was the intention that counted, the fact that he is willing to change and play as a team. If he can keep doing like this, we will see the same team we saw last year.
Besides Kovalev, Jaroslav Halak again did an excellent job. Wow! Another excellent performance from his part. If Kovalev didn't play that well, for sure he would've gotten the first star of the game. Halak had to face 47 shots tonight. Another high shot count...I don't think we can keep winning games by allowing so many shots. Good thing it was Halak in net, I don't think Carey is ready to face that many shots yet. We know he is still shaky. I think we need to give him more time to build back his confidence and then we can give him the net. I didn't like his performance in the Pens game.
The Canadiens players need to be much more disciplined, especially in this period of the season. We cannot give the opponent teams 2 times 2-man penalties in one game. We were lucky they didn't score that many goals or we would've witnessed the Sens comeback similar to the one we did to the New York Rangers last year. That would be very devastating for the team at this stage.
Koivu didn't play well, he took a bad hooking penalty while we were already shorthanded. I know he has done a lot of improvement in terms of penalties this season, he needs to be careful not to fall back to his old habits. I didn't like Komisarek again, he's been making turnovers and also seems to always hit a player when he shoots the puck. I mean...does he even look in front of him or he just look at the puck on the ice and hope nothing goes in its way?
Higgins played another good game, he seems to be getting back to his game shape now. Plekanec is on fire, he scored again tonight. The two games suspension seems to have helped him a lot. Strange...Kovalev also had two games of rest. I wonder if we shouldn't give some rest to some other players who are playing bad like Komisarek for example. It might help him get back his game. Schneider has scored again tonight and the powerplay is going extremely well lately. Great move Gainey! Hamrlik obtained two assists, the controversy seems to have not affected his play on the ice.
This was an important win tonight, other teams in the race for a playoff spot have also won. The Pens have won their game against the Flyers. The Panthers have surprisingly beaten the Big Bad Bruins and the Sabres have also won against the Rangers. This is an important two points for us. We need to keep going and leave the bad streak behind us. The next game will be a challenging one, the Canucks are hot right now with 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
Besides Kovalev, Jaroslav Halak again did an excellent job. Wow! Another excellent performance from his part. If Kovalev didn't play that well, for sure he would've gotten the first star of the game. Halak had to face 47 shots tonight. Another high shot count...I don't think we can keep winning games by allowing so many shots. Good thing it was Halak in net, I don't think Carey is ready to face that many shots yet. We know he is still shaky. I think we need to give him more time to build back his confidence and then we can give him the net. I didn't like his performance in the Pens game.
The Canadiens players need to be much more disciplined, especially in this period of the season. We cannot give the opponent teams 2 times 2-man penalties in one game. We were lucky they didn't score that many goals or we would've witnessed the Sens comeback similar to the one we did to the New York Rangers last year. That would be very devastating for the team at this stage.
Koivu didn't play well, he took a bad hooking penalty while we were already shorthanded. I know he has done a lot of improvement in terms of penalties this season, he needs to be careful not to fall back to his old habits. I didn't like Komisarek again, he's been making turnovers and also seems to always hit a player when he shoots the puck. I mean...does he even look in front of him or he just look at the puck on the ice and hope nothing goes in its way?
Higgins played another good game, he seems to be getting back to his game shape now. Plekanec is on fire, he scored again tonight. The two games suspension seems to have helped him a lot. Strange...Kovalev also had two games of rest. I wonder if we shouldn't give some rest to some other players who are playing bad like Komisarek for example. It might help him get back his game. Schneider has scored again tonight and the powerplay is going extremely well lately. Great move Gainey! Hamrlik obtained two assists, the controversy seems to have not affected his play on the ice.
This was an important win tonight, other teams in the race for a playoff spot have also won. The Pens have won their game against the Flyers. The Panthers have surprisingly beaten the Big Bad Bruins and the Sabres have also won against the Rangers. This is an important two points for us. We need to keep going and leave the bad streak behind us. The next game will be a challenging one, the Canucks are hot right now with 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
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