They reported for work at Madison Square Gardens, punched the clock, settled in, worked hard, and took it to the hometown Rangers 6-3. And in the process, the Canadiens leapfrog both the Rangers and Flyers in the standings, and now sit behind only Washington and Boston for top spot in the east.
The storyline easily could be Robert Lang, who potted three big goals. Or the storyline could be two big power play goals, something the Habs have missed for most of the first half of the season. Or the story could have been a disciplined game with only a handful of penalties taken, or also the work again of Maxim Lapierre, Steve Begin, Guillaume Latendresse and the other blue collar boys.
But for me, the biggest storyline was the great play of Jaroslav Halak in goal. Carey Price is still out and looks like it might be a while, and Halak has looked shaky at best in most previous starts. But not tonight. He was solid from start to finish, made the big saves, and looked confident and in control.
This was a nice win tonight. Especially considering the team is without Koivu, Higgins, Tanguay, Price, Dandenault, and Georges Laraque. Although truthfully, Laraque has contributed very little so far this year.
Now it’s back home to meet the Leafs tomorrow night. The team has to keep it going. And Halak has to look as good as he did tonight.
If the team continues to play like this, the future looks bright.
Game Note:
Pierre McGuire talks too much. If he’s such a brilliant hockey mind, why hasn’t a team hired him and paid him several million dollars to lead them to the promised land?