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GREASY GIONTA GOAL WINS IT |
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Brian Gionta was munching on a La Nova slice as he walked out of the Montreal room. His greasy goal, gave the Habs their second straight road OT win to kill the home team's home opener. Careful not to spill the grease on your tie, eh?
Gionta, a newcomer to the long standing Buffalo -vs- Montreal battle, batted the fortuitous bounce of the brand spankin new Buffalo endwalls, past Ryan Miller. Game over.
Have we not seen this movie before? Miller has been betrayed by the lively walls in, and now another subplot has been penned with the Buffalo Betrayal.
Travis Moen used a baseball slide to leverage and propel Ryan Miller, then, the puck into the net for the Hab's first ugly goal. Then Gionta's dagger ended it midway through the OT.
Greasy.
****
I caught up with Buffalo fan favourite, Scott Gomez in the Montreal room after the game. I asked him if it offends him when the Buffalo fans shower him with boos and Bronx Cheers?
" They were ready for me tonight, thats for sure. I love playing here because these fans really support their team, thats for sure. Any lindy Ruff coached team I've ever played against has been tough to play against. ", he said with a wide grin and a purple mouse under hus left eye. "I spoke with Millsie about this whole "incident" at the Pre-Olympic camp this Summer and we both kind of laughed at it. He knows that I respect him and that whole thing was an accident".
*****
Carey Price had high praise for Jaro Spacek and his defense.
"They were really good late in the game. Our defense did a great job, especially after O'Byrne left the game. We rolled five D and limited Buffalo's shots. Great effort by us".
O'Byrne was shelved after he sustained a lower body injury in the second period. No Markov, now no O'Byrne.
"We talked on the bench about keeping our shifts short and staying close to Roy, Vanek and their skill guys", Spacho man told me after the game. "I know these guys and i know that they can score very quickly. We did a good job and Carey made nice saves to help us".
Montreal will be inserting rookie Yannick Webber into the their lineup.
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Tim Kennedy was a pest all night long for Buffalo. He was strong both with and without the puck. "I can't stand there and watch two of their guys hassling one of my guys. I believe in sticking my nose in there to protect my teammates.'
Kennedy told me that he was nervous before the game. When did he learn that his line was starting against the Gomez line? "right beofre we went outto start the game".
You would think that Kennedy would have had to purchase 200-300 tix to the game for his family and friends.
"I only needed six."
*****
***
The Sabres outshot the Habs 35-17 and lost the game.
1st Period:
Kennedy line against the Gomez line. Lots of boos for 91 from the home fans.
@ 2:35 Metroploit sits for hooking. Georges laraque gives Kaleta a lecture afterwards.
1-0 Buffalo 2:40- PPG Tim Connolly. Capatin Rivet's point bomb eludes Price-- fat rebound to the slot where 19 drill her home. poor rebound control by Price and his PKers.
@ 8:51- Its all Buffalo to this point 7-1 shots on goal. I'm noticing that. The Montreal D are slow and they are allowing the fleet footed Sabres to dictate the tyerms in the Montreal zone. Buffalo are eating up loose puck after loose puck.
Kaleta and Mara are verbally jousting.
So far, the Kaleta-Ellis-Stafford grouping has been outstanding at taking the body and causing a disturbance in all three zones.
**
@ 13:23, Rivet sits for cross checking.Tyler Myers and Hank Tallinder are on the first PK unit. The rookie is holding his own.
@ 17:19, Timmy Kennedy baits ryan O'byrne into a stupid penalty in front of the Montreal net. A faux pas for certain, considering the Habs are reeling on D and can ill afford another PPG to be scored against their deplete d corps.
First Period Recap:
12-5, Buffalo leads shots on goal.
I absolutely LOVE Lindy's faith and trust that he's bestowingf upon younsters Kennedy, Myers, and Butler. The kids are more than alright!
1-0 Buffalo after twenty minutes.
*****
2nd Period:
Montreal boss, Bob Gainey, is on press row tonight. He told a couple of us the Andrei Markov is expected to be back on the ice in "the new year". Like mid to late January.
@ 3:50 Tim Kennedy starts a donnybrook by applying a loofa facial to Brian gionta. Then, Gomez starting running his yap and was later bottle-capped by Chris Butler. Buffalo PP.
@ 5:01, Roy called for roughing.
Even Strength.
Its clear to me that Jack Martin has instructed his slower Dmen Gill, O'Byrne and Mara to chip, hold and obstruct the faster Buffalo forwards.
Buffalo must keep their feet moving and they will keep winning the loose pucks.
@ 8:14, Greg Stewart gets the gate for tripping.
*Dry scrape time during TV timeout*
@ 10:08 with Buffalo playing pitch-n-catch on their PP, carey price absolutely stones Tim Connolly on a quick shot from the right faceoff dot. Great save as price dug his edges in and went right toi left to make the save.
@ 10:26 Tyler Myers is mugged behind the Buffalo net and Paul Gaustad runs to his aid. after the scrum, goose assessed 4 minutes and Lapierre two.
@ 10:23 Brian Gionta gets the door for interference
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@ 12;33, Travis Moen is allowed to drive the net, and baseball slide the puck between Ryan Miller's pads. Are you for real??!!! Miller had the save and moen clearly used his skates to drive Miller to the back of his net! so its ok now to use your skates to kick the opposing goalie? Ok, why not do the same thing to carey price next time down the ice.
Bush league referee call!
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Glen Metropolit (upper body) and Ryan O'Byrne (lower body) will not return tonight. The Montreal black and blueline is a mess!
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@ 17:45 Tallinder takes an ill advised interference penalty in the Buffalo end of the barn
With 1:20 remaining in the period, Ryan Miller makes a five bell save on Latendresse who took the cross ice pass and walked in unmolested off the halfwall.
@ 19:19, Reggie Sekera is assited off the ice to the Buffalo room after blocking a shot.
***
2nd Period Recap:
Sabres still lead shots on goal, 23--14.
Montreal's blue line is thin and getting thinner with the O'Byrne injury. They get a questionable goal to tie it a t a time when it looked like Buffalo would downshift and pull away from the Habs.
Should be a raucous third period. OT Perhaps?
****
3rd Period:
Sekera returns and he's called for tripping early on in the period..... Buffalo PKers are stingy Roy, Rivet, Grier, Pommer, Myers, Connolly all do commendable job of clogging shot lanes and making the smart plays.
Successful kill.
****
My opinion: Timmy Kennedy has been Buffalo's best forward through 40 minutes. He's a strong, smart skater and his turns and change of directions has been impressive to say the least. he's been physical, pissy, and fully engaged in the action.
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@ 9:11 Montador boards Lapierre. MTL PP.
Jochen Hecht finds a loose puck in the neutral zone and gets a high percentage scoring chance on Price.
****
7pm:
HELLS BELLS IS IS BLARING!!!!!
AC/DC!!!
I love how the team assembled at centre ice around the crest, raised their sticks in unison, and saluted the fans. Nice touch. The players have some making up to do with their fans for having missed the Playoffs the past two seasons.
&****
6:18pm: I'm on press row right now and the buzz up here is that Gainey is AGGRESSIVELY calling around looking for a top 4 dman.
There are scouts here from ATL, LA, Detroit, Chicago, Washington, Florida, Boston. LA is intriguing since they have the twin towers, Thomas Hickey and Colton Teubert.
There is also a buzz about Gainey going after UFA Marc Andre Bergeron.
Sergei Kostitsyn may be the bait.
6:35- PA blaring "Long way Down" from Buffalo boys, Goo Goo dolls.
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I'll be watching the "games within the game tonight". There are a few subplots that will pique my curiosity.
1).Gomez To Face The Music
I'm looking for a Buffalo forward, preferably Pat Kaleta or Matt Ellis, to find #91 early in the game and let him know that last February's "incidental contact" on Ryan Miller is not to be tolerated. The Sabres' Playoff hopes obstensibly died on that fateful Saturday night in Buffalo. Miller would leave the crease for a month and Lalime could not shoulder the #1 load on his own. Game, set, and match. FYI, Gomez now wears 91 because Larry Robinson's #19 is hanging in the rafters where it belongs.
2). Ryan Miller vs. Carey Price
Ryan Miller has been preaching the "fast start" mantra. He'll have to be sharp if he's going to outplay price, who covered the bottom of the net masterfully in Tronna on Thursday night.
3). Welcome Back Spacho
Jaro spacek played three seasons in Buffalo, and he made quite an impression on the ice and in the room. Spacho was a go-to guy who was always willing to speak extemperaneously and candidly on the state of his play and that of his mates.
Spacho is now the Habs' #1 Dman, and he'll log big minutes for Jack Martin on the PP and 5 on 5. This may cause him to be gassed late in the game. If I'm Buffalo, I throw a steady diet of entries into Spach's corner and make him retreat and skate back to retrieve the biscuit. Spacho has a propensity to lose the puck and turn the puck over when he's under constant duress.
4). Truculence and Pugnacity
Speaking of bad blood, Pat Kaleta and Paul Mara are not fond of one another as a result of of thundering check that PK dropped on Mara two seasons ago when Mara played for the Rangers. Mara suffered a broken orbital bone and was forced to sit out a whack of games that season.
Keep an eye on these two all night long. should Mara want to run out of position and chase 36 all over the ice, the Buffalo PP will certainly prosper.
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More to come....
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