Montreal 5 - Florida 1
December 28, 2007
Want to read Puckerings articles when it suits you? Just sign up for our RSS feed!
Playing two games in as many days is not usually something to look forward to and Montreal hasn’t had the best luck against the Panthers as of late. Winning streaks aren’t the norm for the Habs and even two in a row is too much to ask for some of the time. Despite these odds the Canadiens proved the strength that lies beneath their sometimes lackluster play, scoring three goals in the first 5:03 of the first period. First Latendresse tapped a pass from behind the net in; Saku Koivu, suffering from the flu, offered that pass up. Michael Ryder, in a 15 game scoring slump and the current shame of the Montreal media, scored 4:50 in with a beautiful give-and-go with Chris Higgins to end his statistical slump and put his team up 2-0. Only 13 seconds later Higgins flew down the wing to launch a wrist shot over the shoulder of Voukon to make the score 3-0 after only 5 minutes. The Canadiens continued to control play for the most part throughout the first period without scoring another goal on Voukon’s replacement, Craig Anderson.
The second period saw the Panthers come out with a renewed fury, peppering Christobal Huet with shot after shot. Huet came up big in the net, holding Florida off long enough to see Tom Kostopolous slide a backhander through the legs of Voukon, who had returned for the beginning of the second period. That period ended with the Habs up 4-0.
Florida continued to test Huet in the third, adding some over-aggressive play into the mix. In between fights Ollie Jokinen beat Huet late in the third, ruining the well-deserved shutout, but Mark Streit got that one back on the powerplay shortly after. The game ended at 5-1; the Canadiens now have 44 points and sit at second in their division and fourth in the Eastern Conference.
GAME NOTES: Chris Higgins finished with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists). Michael Ryder ended his scoring slump with a first period goal. Francis Boullion left in the second period after blocking a shot with his upper chest. Huet finished the game with a very impressive 40 saves on 41 shots.
Loading ...
Comments
Got something to say?