Canadiens slay Coyotes
The Habs got back on the right track securing a 5-2 victory over Wayne Gretzky’s visiting Coyotes.
The Canadiens came out of the gate flying and got early scoring from rookies Kostitsyn and Plekanec. Kostitsyn was the recipient of a no look pass from Habs newcomer Garth Murray while Plekanec took advantage of an awful clearing attempt by the inexperienced Phoenix defense.
The rookies finally stepped up to bat and put the Canadiens in a favorable spot. The Coyotes however didn’t do much to stop them, at times they looked like a Peewee team. Curtis Joseph was left out to dry several times, it could have easily been a 7 or 8 goal night. Brutal defending. The Coyotes rarely had any offensive threats despite their 2 goals.
Speaking of the first goal, it was a flutterball slapshot. Yes it was tipped on the way to Theodore but from my angle and probably Wayne Gretzky’s it looked like another Theodore gaff. Did anyone catch the grin on Gretzky’s face after it went in? It wasn’t because the score was now 4-1. you could almost hear him thinking in his head “Well that eliminates 1 goalie.”
Garth Murray impressed me and continues to impress me with each shift he gets. I was skeptical when they dealt Hossa for him but everyone judged him without even giving him a chance. We have enough speedy Europeans, it feels good to have a roughneck Canadian boy throwing his weight around. He belted someone to the ice his first shift with the Habs. The Canadiens have lacked that physical presence for a long time. He also looks like he can really skate, and when he chips in offensively it’s just icing on the cake.
The Habs head out west to resume the Inter-Conference paly against the Oil on Thursday night.
Posted on December 14th, 2005 at 11:20 am. About 'Canadiens slay Coyotes'.
Great game, and I was impressed with Murray as well. Great guy to play in the corners as he can hit and control the puck; at least he did so on this occasion, and I hope for more.