B's Habs Post Mortum

So game one of the season series between the B's & Habs is in the books. And Montreal came away with the two points, as usual. But, Boston salvaged a point by rallying from three down to force overtime, and ultimately a shoot-out. Price stopped all three Boston shooters (Kessell shot wide as the puck bounced on him), Bergeron & Ryder shot low and into Price. Alex Tanguay beat Thomas with a pretty wrist shot for the only score of the "skills competition" portion of the game.

So, what did we learn last night? Were there any other positives, other than the 1 point earned? I would say absolutely we learned some things, and the B's can feel good about the one point. Probably better than Montreal does about the two they walked away with. First, Boston showed that they can indeed skate with the speedy Canadiens this year. At no point, five on five, did I ever get the impression that Montreal was vastly superior in skill. That hasn't been the case in recent years. We also learned (confirmed?) that the B's are not a team that lets adversity bother them. Down three, on the road....in Montreal of all places, they easily could have found themselves getting blown out (if this was two seasons ago, the Dave Lewis B's would have been run out of the building). As if we needed confirmation, Tim Thomas made anothe loud and clear statement that he is this team's number one goalie. He made several big stops at big times to give his mates a chance to come back. But, we also were reminded that the Black & Gold simply can not make defensive zone mistakes. It seems like every time they blow a coverage, it ends up in their net.

How about the rough stuff you ask? Well, I think Thornton did his job very well last night. Not only in the fight with Laraque, but in the timing of it. Thornton went looking for it right away, as he said, so he wouldn't be thinking about it all night. He also mentioned how he's been reading how much
"bigger" the Habs would play with BGL in the lineup. Well, when your Lord & Savior gets challenged right off the bat, and at best finishes in a draw, how comforting can that be? Thornton showed no fear of Big Georges, and that was a reflection of his team's overall attitude. Do what you want. Play any style you want. We're right here in front of you, and we're not going anywhere. To be fair, Montreal was fairly physical themselves, and other than Komisarek, nobody seemed to be overtly running away from a challenge. Then again, Komi was the only one that was outright challenged, and of course he refused to answer the bell.....again. He should take a page out of Thornton's book, and just get it over with soon. Oherwise, he'll spend the season looking over his shoulder for Lucic. Which, come to think of it, may not be so bad after all.

All in all, I'm not terribly upset with the game. They got a road point against a division rival. That is never a bad thing, and the way they came from behind to get it makes it even more sweet. Knowing they can still get in Carey Price's (Andrew Raycroft reduex?) head is even better. I fully expect this to be a tight series all year, with the home team winning most of the time. Can't wait until Novermber 13th. Go B's-Kynch