It needs to be said first. The Canadiens scored two goals in the final two minutes of the game, the last with 22 seconds left, to beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3, and most importantly, ended their slightly-nightmarish four-game skid.
That was good. That was dramatic. That spells relief.
But Josh Gorges took a serious run-and- jump vicious elbow to the face from madman Denis Gauthier and got up and staggered around the way Ric Nattress did after being cold-cocked by Mark Messier during the old Edmonton-Calgary wars of the late ’80′s and early ’90′s.
It was a Gauthier goon-shot, the very thing the league has yapped about eliminatiing, but yet it continues. Gorges came back, gave the puck away for a Kings goal, and left again. Now, even if he says he’s 100%, who can be sure?
More on this in a minute.
This was one of the biggest wins of the season for the Habs. A five-game losing streak would have been bad, with Boston on deck for Sunday hoping to extend Habs’ woes to six losses. But plans change, and now maybe the Saku Koivu goal to win it did more than just win it. It may have added new life, and could be the goal we look back on as the turning point in the season.
This is called positive thinking. I’ve been working on it since I was eighteen years old when I read Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’. The doc made good sense, and eventually I’ll get it. However, it’s easy for him to say.
Montreal didn’t play terrible, but they continue their terrible habit of missing the net on good, solid scoring chances. They’re trying to pick exact spots in the top corners mostly, but cripes, you gotta hit the net. The only goals I’ve ever seen didn’t miss the net.
Imagine how big Sunday’s game is going to be. Boston’s been too good lately. They’ve got the Habs’ number this year. They’re in first place. They’ve been full of it. Their fans give me a hard time.
Bring ‘em on.
Game Note:
When Gauthier hurt Josh Gorges, no Hab stepped in to confront the King’s maniac. Nobody. So I ask you, shouldn’t someone, or several players, have jumped in to support Gorges and pummel Gauthier? Or do you think they were just being disciplined to gain the power play, which was a five minute power play?
I was surprised when there was no action from the Habs. Don’t you think other teams, in this situation, would’ve dealt with it then and there?
