Wilde Horses
- Michel Therrien. Yep, Therrien. The Pens came out flying. They were loaded with emotion and energy. They scored in the first minute and last minute of the first. They took a lead into the second. The Pens of the first were nowhere to be seen in the second.
The Pens got one shot in the middle frame as the Habs tightened their outstanding defensive posture acting like the second-ranked goals-against team in the league. The third-ranked Pens gave up 13 shots in the second and allowed odd-man rushes for the Habs to lead after two.
And by the way, it wasn't as if in that second period the Pens just had their shots blocked or missed the net. The Corsi number for the Pens was only three. They fired three shots toward the Habs goal. Three for the Pens. Impressive. The third period saw the inevitable push and the Pens tied it and had 17 big shots but this Habs team continues to impress on the road against a hot team they competed very well again.
- Lars Eller with another strong game, doing the type of things that Eller does better than or equal to any other forward on the team. Things like kill a penalty and absolutely undress in a dangerous moment one of the best players in the game and throw it down the ice.
This eventually prompted a discussion on the overall merits of Eller in a city of high hockey IQ where this player is under appreciated. The discussion concludes with someone saying he's basically nothing as a fourth line 25-point guy at best. I rest my case: If your evaluation of Eller starts and ends with his point total, throw your Mensa hockey ID away. Eller is assessed as a puck winner, a battler, a neutralizer of the other club's best.
- Jeff Petry. Why? Because this guy is as smooth as butter and I just love this player's game.
- Brendan Gallagher with a rocket into the top corner. Gallagher has a pretty damn good shot. That one was labelled. Gallagher has 7 in 17. That pace maintained would be the best goal-scoring season of his career.
- Mike Condon is no Carey Price, don't get me wrong. However, isn't his style similar? Sometimes I would swear on some saves I am looking at Price. I keep waiting for a bad game for Condon. Every goalie has a bad game. Price had a bad game in Vancouver. They happen. Not to Condon yet. Kind of amazing for a 25-year-old in his first NHL season who, in the calendar year 2014, was in Wheeling in the East Coast Hockey League. What a story!
- What about those two kills? Last 2 minutes of regulation and OT in effect and the PK team shut down some of the best in the game. And in OT, it was even a 4-on-3 shutdown. Emelin had some excellent time in there too, killing.
Wilde Goats
- This barely seems worth mentioning but Andrei Markov backed up too much on the Kessel goal. Kessel has mad speed and in that moment, Markov respected it too much. Not the first player to do that. Not the last either. Other than that, Markov is having one hell of a season so far. Don't know where this player is getting the energy and the health of that knee... well, this is kind of a miracle isn't it?
- Really a bad penalty on Tom Gilbert with the game on the line in the third with just over two minutes left. I could feel the Pens hunger and energy all game and I thought that was the final push they needed but a great kill by the Habs outstanding PK.
Wilde Cards
- The improvement of the Habs management is a change on the landscape not told enough. Under Gauthier, there were never any positive evaluation surprises really. It was just Gauthier basically handling everything, which is too big a job but Gauthier would not hire staff to help him.
Under Bergevin, the Habs have a man who is secure enough to surround himself with great hockey minds - a lot of them. They sit around a table - guys like Ramsey, Carriere, Dudley, and all the pro scouts and they make wise hockey decisions.
Flynn, Mitchell, Weise, Condon, and many more weren't exactly the cream of the crop but the Habs saw something. It used to be that Trevor Timmins had to basically build the team by himself. Now he's one of many brilliant hockey minds. The Habs are excellent on the ice because they're excellent off the ice too.
- Nobody should evaluate anything based on a shootout. It didn't change anything. It didn't change a word I wrote here. A very strong Habs effort again. The Habs are a hell of a hockey team.
