Senators edge out the Habs 3-1

During the first two periods of this game the Canadiens looked like a legitimate playoff contender. The Habs came flying out of the gate taking the Senators completely by storm. All lines were skating hard, we were generating lots of scoring opportunities and the Sens seemed like they didn't know how to respond. Well, in the third period they figured it out scoring 3 unanswered goals including an empty netter to seal the deal. Cristobal Huet once again turned in a phenomenal performance only to have it spoiled by a couple of late goals.

Quick Hits:

The Habs were awesome in the first two periods. The first two periods of the game were unreal. The Canadiens looked like a real contender out there playing with a 'playoff-like' intensity and keeping the NHL's best team at bay. It was two of the best periods I have seen from the Habs this season and I hope we can play like that more often. The game didn't work out in our favour but I think there were a lot of positives to be taken away from the way we played.

Huet kept us in the game. The 'Price-lovers' in this city will be very quick to place the blame on Cristobal Huet for 'choking' late in the game. This type of assessment would be ridiculous and unfair. If you watched the game then you saw Huet standing on his head and making highlight reel saves all game long including stopping Daniel Alfredsson on a key penalty shot in the second period. Huet managed to preserve the slim 1-0 lead until late in the third period when we simply couldn't contain the Sens in our own zone. Bottom line is that he played a great game and shouldn't be taking the blame for the loss.

Habs score early, lose late. Typical. This trend has been going on for several seasons now and it's becoming a little tiresome. The Canadiens have a lot of trouble playing with the lead. Whenever we have the lead in the third period the team goes into 'stand around and dump it out' mode. This strategy is brutal and clearly doesn't work. The Habs need to learn to continue to play the style that gets them the leads that they are playing with. When we sit back and let the other team do as they please it always ends up backfiring. If the Habs want to be an elite NHL team then we have to learn to bury our opponents instead of letting them creep back into the game.

Ryder sucks, it's official. You always have to have patience with a slumping 'goal scorer' but I really can't handle it anymore. Ryder looks terrible out there and is holding back Koivu and Higgins who are both playing great this season. I think Ryder should be moved to another line and eventually traded. You would think that Ryder would be lighting it up this year because he becomes a free agent at season's end, but that is certainly not the case. He can't seem to do anything right out there and it's only a matter of time before the sh*t hits the fan.

Game Hero's: Huet, Higgins, Koivu, Markov, Hamrlik, Dandenault.

Game Zero's: Ryder, Latendresse, The Power Play.

Three Stars:

1) Martin Gerber

2) Daniel Alfredsson

3) Cristobal Huet