Wilde Horses

  • That was one seriously talented tip from Gallagher on the Radulov game-winning shot. It's a howitzer and it's waist high and Gallagher slices it perfectly. You really have to admire that: 95 miles per hour on the shot and he’s directing it home. Just the courage to stand there is impressive, never mind tip it.
  • Paul Byron has to be the fastest skater in the league. He gained two strides on MacDonald from the blue line in and that was with the Flyer having a straight line to the goal and Byron angling in. What an excellent idea to have him killing penalties. The opposition sure doesn't want to have to worry about saving goals by Byron when they have the advantage to score one.
  • The best fourth line in hockey is likely Flynn with Mitchell and Danault. What an excellent job Marc Bergevin has done working the phones like an animal to get some team depth. I wondered about the length of these deals for Byron and Mitchell but so far absolutely no problem. They're not looking at all like a longer commitment is a problem.
  • A great signing by Bergevin too to get Radulov. He was tried on the point on the power play. I didn't like it a lot in keeping the puck in but that was one hell of a rush up ice in the first. Radulov also, of course, fired the puck on Gallagher's goal. More than that, though, is that Radulov is real puck-winner. He reminds me of Eller that way (yes, just that way). Puck battles are so damn important and Radulov adds that to the more obvious that you know, like great hands and vision. In fact, it was a puck battle win by Radulov that set up the first goal. He bought a tremendous amount of time and space for himself, separating from his check and then setting up Weber for 1-0. He also brings so much enthusiasm and joy to the proceedings. His celebration of the Gallagher tip was fun to watch. Radulov again on the empty netter put a bow on it. What a beast. What a free agent signing.
  • Shaw didn't have a great game but nursing the lead with a late shift he sure showed his big game experience. He ate the puck in the corner and made sure everyone was safe. The Habs killed 30 important seconds.
  • Carey Price was his usual self. We forget to talk about him because his amazing is just so common. He made the difficult look easy and the impossible look possible. He is the best. Point finale. 

Wilde Goats

  • I have had only one player in this category this season for entire-game issues. It’s the same man again versus Philadelphia, as Tomas Plekanec is still creating little. I would not let this go too much longer. Plekanec may be a third line centre now, which is a big price tag at $6 million for that role, but he isn't creating and he has someone with him dying for a creator in Radulov. If Plekanec gets D-zone starts, that opens O-zone starts for Desharnais. If that doesn't fit your fancy, perhaps Plekanec can find Gallagher and Pacioretty better and Galchenyuk can have some chemistry with Radulov. The Plekanec issue will soon be addressed I imagine. He did have one good power play where he had what looked like an open net with Mason out of position and swimming but the shot was quite discouraging as it looked more like a knuckle ball than a slap shot.

Wilde Cards

  • The NHL mandated that it was going to call hits into the boards from behind so I can't figure out what happened when Simmonds hit Markov. No penalty at all. I don't think it was a hard hit at all but you let that one go and for sure the next one isn't lighter and they get more common. They said they would call those no matter how hard. They didn't call it. I want to see NHL Player Safety  get its act together on those.
  • Markov's smarts is keeping him in the NHL because it sure isn't his speed. Wow, is he getting lapped now. Don't know how they're going to manage that at times. He avoids getting schooled most of the time because of his positioning but you can't avoid it always. Going to be interesting to see how this develops.
  • Galchenyuk has to find someone who can teach him how to win a faceoff. It's bad, people.  It's bad. He had a game this season where he had 13 per cent and after two periods against Philadelphia he was 0 for 8. You fight hard for an offensive zone faceoff then send out your number one line and they immediately lose a faceoff and the offence is over. Not a good pattern for an entire season.
  • Sven Andrighetto was the player of the week in the AHL. It must have been discouraging for him to be sent down and also to clear waivers. That's a real good attitude to pick right up and play hockey.
  • Eleven points out of 12 to start the season. There's more talent on this team than last year. One of those more talented people was the first star. The crowd chanted “Radu Radu” as he was interviewed by RDS. A love affair has begun and it is reciprocal.