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Ottawa 4 - Montreal 3

November 16, 2007

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The Game

Wade Redden put the Senators up by a goal only 18 seconds into the game and the Canadiens weren’t able to take a lead from that point on. This 4-3 Ottawa win saw the first goal of the season for Jason Spezza and the first goal of Nick Foligno’s NHL career.

Guillaume Latendresse was able to tie the game for the Canadiens with a badly-angled shot from the corner goal line that snuck past Sens goalie Martin Gerber nearing the end of the first period, but that tie game was broken only minutes into the second period as Foligno executed a perfect wrap-around to tally his first major league goal. Dany Heatley gave the home team a two goal lead before Michael Ryder knocked one in to bring Montreal within a goal going into the third period.

The third period saw a game-tying goal by Alex Kovalev that brought the Habs fans in attendance to their feet before Jason Spezza took the Ottawa lead back only 24 seconds later. Despite a good effort in the second half of the third period, the Canadiens came up one goal short when the final buzzer rang.

My Thoughts

Carey Price made his second professional start and suffered his first loss after winning in Pittsburgh last week but, save for Redden’s soft first period goal, he looked pretty sharp to me. While Huet was fantastic the other night in the loss to Florida, I’d like to see Price make the start against the Sabres on Saturday.

Higgins, while only managing one assist, looked as good as he did in Florida. Strong skating, good work on the boards and that great chemistry between him, Koivu and Ryder are continuing to make that first Habs line a force to be reckoned with.

What Went Wrong?

A soft first period that ended with a 1-1 tie following Redden’s early goal and Latendresse’s flukey shot that beat Gerber seemed to light a fire under the Canadiens in the second. That fire showed as they controlled the momentum for long periods but exhaustive passing and slow rushes after dumping didn’t allow them to create the kind of chances that beat a goalie like Gerber when he’s on top of his game. We may be early in the season but never is the time for half-assed hockey.

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Written by Chris · Filed Under Habs Recaps, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators 

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