Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

Stephane Auger hasn't been very visible since the Burrows incident but he's there tonight.

[ericdaoust]

Second period is over... 1-1.

PK Subban made a great move to score on a wrist shot for a PPG. Nathan Beaulieu made the pass and has looked great overall.

The Sabres have more NHL regulars in the lineup and I'm impressed to see the Habs keeping the game even. The Pacioretty/Desharnais/Gionta line has been all over the place.

Hunter Bishop fell awkwardly after trying to hit Zack Kassian. Looked to have the wind knocked out of him. Seemed OK once he got back up.

[habs83]

Second period is over... 1-1.



The Pacioretty/Desharnais/Gionta line has been all over the place.

Eric,

As much as I thought that the Gomez-Gionta-Pacioretty line would start the year together, I was pretty curious to see Pacioretty reunited with Desharnais. They dominated the AHL together, so they had an obvious chemistry. Now that I see them tonight, and see that that chemistry is still there and that it is very impressive, I wonder if Jacques Martin would consider to keep the duo intact.

If so, what kind of line combination would you imagine to make it work?

Beaulieu is pretty impressive tonight...unbelievable poise with the puck.

[ericdaoust]

Eric,

As much as I thought that the Gomez-Gionta-Pacioretty line would start the year together, I was pretty curious to see Pacioretty reunited with Desharnais. They dominated the AHL together, so they had an obvious chemistry. Now that I see them tonight, and see that that chemistry is still there and that it is very impressive, I wonder if Jacques Martin would consider to keep the duo intact.

If so, what kind of line combination would you imagine to make it work?

Beaulieu is pretty impressive tonight...unbelievable poise with the puck.

I'm happy that Gomez is out because it gives Desharnais a chance to force the coach's hand. I really hope to see the line out there tonight stick together and let Gomez play in the bottom six. Desharnais is the type of player who works VERY hard and unlike Gomez actually does things to make linemates better.

But player salaries and veteran bias still exist in 2011. For that reason I still think it will be Pacioretty/Gomez/Gionta to start the year. Desharnais is probably going to be with Kostitsyn.

[habs83]

What qould you think of


Pacioretty-Eller-Desharnais
Kostitsyn-Gomez-Gionta
Cole-Plekanec-Cole

[habs83]

I'm happy that Gomez is out because it gives Desharnais a chance to force the coach's hand. I really hope to see the line out there tonight stick together and let Gomez play in the bottom six. Desharnais is the type of player who works VERY hard and unlike Gomez actually does things to make linemates better.

But player salaries and veteran bias still exist in 2011. For that reason I still think it will be Pacioretty/Gomez/Gionta to start the year. Desharnais is probably going to be with Kostitsyn.

I agree that Gomez will never play in the bottom six, that's why I was looking for combinations that would leave Gomez on a "top 6" line AND allow Desharnais and Pacioretty to play together. I say "top 6" because I see a very interchangeable top 9 this season.

[ericdaoust]

Kostitsyn-Gomez-Gionta

This will not work. It was tried last year and failed. Gomez and Gionta need a hard worker like Pacioretty or Desharnais to complete their trio. Kostitsyn doesn't do what is needed to get them going.

The coach might try it but if he does I suspect the team will run into more depth scoring issues.

[habs83]

I mentioned Beaulieu earlier, but Gallagher is equally impressive!!!

[habs83]

This will not work. It was tried last year and failed. Gomez and Gionta need a hard worker like Pacioretty or Desharnais to complete their trio. Kostitsyn doesn't do what is needed to get them going.

The coach might try it but if he does I suspect the team will run into more depth scoring issues.

Does Eller fills your "hard worker" definition? I don't really like the idea to move him to the wing though...But on the flip side, he sucks on faceoffs.

[ericdaoust]

Does Eller fills your "hard worker" definition? I don't really like the idea to move him to the wing though...But on the flip side, he sucks on faceoffs.

I don't know about Eller. He didn't play well last season next to Gomez and Gionta but he could have just been gun shy as a rookie getting very little ice time.

Last year the two that seemed to be able to wake up Gomez were Pacioretty and Desharnais. They are the types who dig pucks out of corners and go to the net. Gomez and Gionta are better as players who let the puck come to them. They need a guy that can work along the wall while also being fast enough to not fall behind the play.

I see the same attributes in Erik Cole which is why I like his fit on the top line so much.

[ericdaoust]

Final score is 3-1 Buffalo. Habs looked good for the most part but had trouble putting the puck in the net. Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth were sharp which did not help matters.

Gabriel Dumont and Brendan Gallagher had particularly strong games. Both are quick and were very involved in the offensive zone. They had several nice scoring chances.

Something I was calling for a lot last year happened today. Subban is wristing the puck through instead of always trying the big slap shot. The result is more pucks going to dangerous areas.

Nathan Beaulieu was very good. In terms of what I've seen he's ahead of Weber, Diaz, Emelin and Tinordi. Could he be a dark horse to get nine games in the NHL this year? I doubt it, but tonight was definitely a step in that direction.

Robert Mayer ended the game. He was beat once on a shot he should've stopped. The shot came from along the boards near the face-off circle and he was way too deep. The puck beat him up high. Otherwise he was solid.

[ericdaoust]

I don't have RIS so can't cover the game right now. Does anyone have a stream that works?

[ericdaoust]

I found the game on a cable channel. I caught the last seconds of the 1st. Habs have no offence whatsoever. It's pretty pathetic to watch. Preseason or not I would like to see a team skate harder and try to play together.

3-0 Sens right now. Price is out and Lawson is in.

[ericdaoust]

Pacioretty just scored on the PP. Best Habs forward tonight. He was in on several chances in the first as well.

[ericdaoust]

A couple quick notes:

-Emelin is playing the point on the PP and looks very comfortable. Nice stick handling and a smart wrist shot was deflected into Anderson's glove.
-Gomez makes his debut and he's still terrible.