Well, I seemed to have predicted right: except I over estimated Buffalo's scoring talent I guess. Or under-estimated Price.
We won 2-1 in OT, and the 2 goals could not be more different. Whereas Moen basically forced the puck into the net with his body, forgoing his stick entirely and instead taking the puck, goalie and net with him in what has to be the cheesiest goal I have ever seen (but it was a goal - Miller kicked it over the line before he was crushed) -- Gionta's goal was pure heads up talent - drop pass, drive the net, excellent anticipation and hand-eye co-ordination to tap it in from out of the air at the side of the net.
But the game was very similar to Toronto: the Habs were once again disorganised, and spent most of the first period behind their own hashmarks (nevermind blue line). 6 power plays, nothing to show for it. 34-15 the shots for Buffalo. I'm sure the Gazette can give you a nice recap.
A word on Gomez: the kid has vision. The kid has heart. He skates like a superstar. He also gives away the puck a lot on "creative" passes that no one but Gionta can see coming. Everytime he dishes the puck to Mara, for example, Mara looks like someone just threw him a surprise birthday party. Gomez isn't a bad choice to build a team around, but the team had better step up their mental game to make Gomez affective. Instead of a turnover monkey. (This is opposed to Kovalev, who would simply skate into a crowd and lose it.)
A word on Price: what a difference a summer can make. Stoic, poised, prepared, grounded. He's not getting upset at what gets by him. He's not over-committing on shots. He's using his size, so that if he does miss the shot, it ends up going wide. Its really a site to see: I hope he can keep it up.
The dreaded Western Road Trip that broke Theodore years ago, and Price last year, is coming up. Lets hope Martin can get his team going so that the only shining star, Price, doesn't get snuffed.
And let's hope Moen keeps on making sure the Habs are in a position to win at the end of the game :)
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New Beginnings for Rocket Sports
1 year ago
I noticed that too about Gomez. He plays a bit like a basketball player on skates. But I think they'll get used to his abilities, though Mara was on his team last year so I don't know what his excuse is ^^; However I also notice that when Price plays the 3rd defenseman like he usually does, the new guys are absolute confused by this and end up turning over the puck once he passes it too them. Ahhh I'm sure it'll work out eventually. Thanks to the Olympics, this season seems like it's on speed...
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