Habs fall flat, lose 4-2 to the Senators

The Senators are the best team in the NHL right now and last night they showed us why. The Sens got on the board early (3:47 into the game) and the Habs were never really able to get back in the game. Goal scorers for the Habs were Latendresse and Higgins, while Cristobal Huet had a very mediocre performance in nets stopping 25 of 29 shots on the night.

Quick Hits:

We were too soft. To beat a team with as much talent as the Senators you have to play the body and plant the big hit whenever the chance arises. Other than Komisarek, there wasn't one player on the Habs that played a physical, hard-nosed game. All our defenceman were very soft and consistently allowed the Sens' forwards to dance around in our zone without paying any type of physical price. Our coaching staff should have had the team prepared to battle harder and hit a lot more because no matter how good you think the Habs are, the Sens are faster and more skilled with the puck. Hit somebody...

Brisebois is back to his old ways. When I heard this off season that the Breezer would be coming back to play for the Habs I decided I was ready to forget my old perceptions and give him a clean slate to work with. I was happy to have him back on the team and found myself pulling for him to win back the support of the fans. Well, I can officially say that I'm done with all of that. After a decent start to the season it looks like the excitement has worn off and he is back to being the lousy defenceman that was booed out of town a few seasons back. He's not hard on the puck, doesn't hit anyone, makes bad decisions and just really sucks right now. I hope he steps it up, but I honestly don't see that happening any time soon. Boooooooo...

Ryder is slowly coming around. It finally looks like Michael Ryder is beginning to hit his stride. After a horrendous start to the season Ryder looks like he has a little extra jump in his step and he's starting to shoot the puck again. This is good news for Habs fans as we need this guy to be potting 30 goals a season. Keep it up Ryder...

Anybody seen our captain? Saku Koivu was nowhere to be found out there last night. I have a tough time understanding how such a high caliber player can be so non existent in an NHL game. He wasn't involved, looked terrible with the puck, and simply couldn't do anything to get his line going. I love Koivu, but if he's gonna be our first line center and wear the 'C', he's got to be much more consistent. Come on Saks...

Latendresse is brutal. I'm sorry, but this guy should not be in the NHL right now. He is a terrible skater, has lousy instincts and just looks completely lost on the ice. Forget the fact that he's a young French Canadian prospect and let's call a spade a spade. This kid was rushed into the league because of fan and media pressure and it's now time to send him to the minors where he belongs. Not only is he not playing well, but he looks afraid to do his job. Not impressed Guy...

Game Hero's: Higgins, Komisarek, Kovalev, Chipchura.
Game Zero's: Brisebois, Grabovski, Smolinski, Streit.

Three Stars:
1) Danny Heatley
2) Chris Neil
3) Chris Higgins