Habs fall short on the road, losing 4-2 to the Sabres.

The Montreal Canadiens looked somewhat uninterested out there last night with the exception of a couple short lived spurts of energy that kept them in the game. The goal scorers for the Habs were Chris Higgins and Tomas Plekanec, while despite the loss rookie Carey Price turned another solid performance stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced.

Quick Hits:

It's a question of can we play hard for a full 60 minutes. That is what it has come down to for the Habs so far this season. The games that we have won to this point have virtually all been on the nights where the majority of the team is playing hard on every shift. We have the talent, we have the depth and we certainly have the goaltending to be very competitive in the eastern conference, but it comes down to how badly the players want it. The success of our team depends almost exclusively on the effort and intensity levels of the players night in and night out.

The officiating last night was awful. The NHL and it's referees look like they need to get their act together. I'm sure it's tough on the refs given what is considered a penalty these days, but their lousy calls are deciding the outcomes of games and it simply isn't right. In last night's game Mike Komisarek was called for tripping on a play that based on the rules shouldn't have been a penalty, and on the ensuing power-play Buffalo's Tomas Vanek scores the games winning goal. BRUTAL.

The Habs play Buffalo again tonight in Montreal. Cristobal Huet will get the start in nets as the Canadiens hope to avoid being swept in this home and home series with the Sabres. Look for the Habs to come flying out of the gate in front of what will be a frenzied crowd tonight at the Bell Centre.

Game Hero's: Plekanec, Higgins, Komisarek, Kostopoulos, Price.

Game Zero's: Latendresse, Ryder, Koivu, Brisebois

Three Stars:

1) Ryan Miller

2) Daiel Paille

3) Tomas Plekanec