The week that was........

I've decided to do a weekly installment of "the week that was" in Habsland, a recap with general observations and musings. So let's get started.



Montreal versus the Panthers - we managed to pull out a win in the shootout, but it was a tough battle against those Florida boys. They certainly do their name justice, they are indeed cats with nine lives and they do posses feline characteristics; they are stubborn, cunning and persistant. A possible strategy before our next meeting with them would be for our boys to show them some hospitality and take them out for a big feed before the game and with any luck they'll end up curling up for a nice long catnap on the dressing room floor and we win by default. (Hey, in Moey's world anything is possible).



Montreal versus the Rangers - A good, solid and necessary win, our boys are starting to look like a real team, Langer gets a hattie. What a great signing by Bob Gainey, I really like Lang, he fits this team like a glove, he really looks like he's enjoying himself on the ice and with his teammates. He's now the team leader in goals, Mats who? I'm not concerned over future match ups with the Rags and I credit that to the famous (pass the tissue please) Feb. 19th comeback last season, I'm sure that also lingers in the memories of both teams, it's a clear psychological advantage in our favor.



Montreal versus the Leafs - quite the debacle, on the hockey scale I'll rate it as a five out of ten, but for entertainment value it's a definite ten plus. Okay, so maybe I'm shallow (no, I am shallow) but I enjoyed it, especially the part where Carbo grabbed SK by the scruff of the neck to keep him on the bench. I'm going to suggest that Carbo & Wilson invest in kiddie leashes before Feb. 7th, much easier to manage and control their young charges, and if need be they can tether them to the bench between shifts. Circle your calenders people, this is "must see TV" and I guarantee it will top Survivor in the ratings game. One last note, I'm not sure what went on between Grabs and the Habs, but it must have been bad, really bad because Gainey saw fit to hand down a "let the punishment fit the crime" verdict, banishment to leaf land, it really doesn't get any worse , does it?


Montreal versus Washington - Last night the Caps' bunny batteries seemed a little run down, good news for me because they usually give me a headache. Seriously, I keep a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water beside me for every Cap game, their endless energy and spunk leaves me cross eyed, especially that firefly Ovechkin, he's here, nope, now he's over there, oops, look out he's behind you.....I'm getting tired just thinking about it, our boys didn't have an easy task, try catching a fly with your bare hands sometime, but they managed to bottle him and keep the lid on, good job, all in all a great game.

A couple of side notes....

Jaroslav Halak needs to play regularly, he gets rusty when he sits too long and he always looks as nervous as a kitten, even his facial expression seems to have a permanent shell shocked look. I was watching him stretching in his crease last night and I could hear the roars of the crowd, immediately an old quote of Jacques Plante came to mind " how would you like a job where when you make a mistake a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo you"? Make that 21,273 people potentially booing you, (times have changed) and the thought of that has to be a tad intimidating for anyone. Contrast that to Pricey, whom I'm convinced dines steadily on a diet of eucalyptus leaves. Be a nice guy Carey, share some with Jaro, he and the fans will thank you.

And a big congrats to Breezer for placing fifth on the Habs points list for defensemen, I like you Breeze, in fact I've always had your back, even before you laced 'em up last season. You can buy me a drink sometime, or maybe ten.

So Carbo & Julien sharing coaching duties at the ASG, should be interesting and maybe a chance to give those kiddie leashes a test run (on each other) before the next leaf game.

So on to the big bad Bruins next Tuesday and hopefully the return of our beloved Captain. Should be a good one.