Wilde Horses
- Carey Price is so good sometimes, I forget to appreciate it. In the second period, he made back-to-back stops that five years ago would have put me out of my seat. I smirked a little bit. Ho-hum. Another amazing Price save. Pass the Cheetos. Ho-hum. Price demoralized the Blues. The Blues were the better team by far in the first and by the second they were depressed and frustrated. By the third, they were head-hunting thugs getting old school garbage counsel from Ken Hitchcock. Price hasn't been the reason the Habs have won like last year, when he seemed to steal every game, but he robbed the Blues in this one. St Louis deserved better in the beginning but goaltending is a part of the game and the Habs have the best in the world so enjoy it. It's kind of amazing if you think about it. One goal allowed in three games. Ho-hum.
- I thought early, when it got physical, that Alex Semin was just gonna head for his room and take the night off. Instead he got banged up, went to the medical room, got banged up some more, and fought through all of it and had a good game. Included in this is he got his first goal of the season on a sneaky wrist shot that Allen should have probably had, considering it went in the never-pretty looking spot under his arm. However, it was a quick shot and deceptive with a lot on it, considering Semin had to wrist it in the true sense of the word.
- David Desharnais is one of the revelations of this season. He was supposed to languish as the new third-line centre but he's putting together an excellent start to the campaign. One shift that the line of Fleischmann and Weise put together was 50 seconds of pressure and Desharnais was the catalyst for all of it.
- The Habs penalty-killing overall is a thing of beauty to watch. You can call every one of them a horse, but let's mention the duo that stands out. Pacioretty and Plekanec are so good at killing, and part of the reason is how afraid the opposition is that they'll turn it up ice and score a shorthanded goal. They look dangerous killing penalties at a rate most fourth lines around the league would hope for playing 5 on 5.
- Tomas Fleischmann is a really smart player. He won't hit the offensive numbers of his better years, but the intelligence he brings to the game is going to be valuable all year. His choices are rarely wrong.
- Jeff Petry has wheels. Again, Edmonton what went wrong in your head?
- Lars Eller. Zone-entry Lars. The things-no-one-notices-or-wants-to-talk-about Lars. Steady Lars. Under-appreciated Lars. Puck-winner Lars.
- Torrey Mitchell and his line might be pretty close to the best fourth line in hockey. What a luxury to have three solid, strong players coming at the opposition, so if you're Therrien you really don't have to line match. The side effect of rolling four is everyone feels they have a role and feel an equal part of a great thing. That means no envy, no bickering, just a whole lot of unity.
- Every D staying with it and continuing to push forward and pinch it. You have to believe when it gets tough, and it was grim in the first, but they stayed aggressive and pounced more and more as the game moved on.
Wilde Goats
Perfect record. Empty category.
Wilde Cards
- Marc Bergevin for the roster and Michel Therrien for getting the most out of the roster. 7 and 0. Best start in franchise history.
