Very Impressive Win On The Road-Habs 3, Caps 2

I'm not sure how many people actually gave the Habs a chance to win tonight, but they did. The Canadiens held off the high flying Washington Capitals and came away with a 3-2 victory. Carey Price was great again in net making 32 saves including several in a frantic last 2 minutes when the Caps had a late power play and eventually a 6 on 4 advantage. The Caps got within a goal with under 3 minutes to go to set up the wild finish. Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek did a great job on Alex Ovechkin holding him off the scoresheet. Travis Moen, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri scored for the Habs, with Pleks and Cammi both having 2 point nights. Scott Gomez left the game in the 3rd with an undisclosed injury and Ryan O'Byrne returned from injury sending Jay Leach to the press box. Michal Neuvirth got the call for the Caps in goal and made 19 saves. The penalty kill was great tonight, killing all 3 Caps chances while the PP went 1 for 2. Some other observations from a very good road win over a very good team:

>As noted above, Hamrlik and Spacek were great against Ovie. Hammer also added an assist. Mara and Gorges also saw some time against #8 and performed well. Bergeron needs to stop passing the puck in front of his own net.

>Pleks, Bit Tits and Pacs saw a lot of the Caps big line as well. They created numerous scoring chances, including Pacs missing an open net on a 2 on 1 along with the Canadiens goal #2.

>Lats and Lappy didn't have their best nights. Both took penalties (although Lats ended up being evened up) which won't get them out of Martin's doghouse. Laraque returned to the lineup and got in a fight (sort of).

Big win tonight for the Canadiens. Of course they couldn't hold a 2 goal lead and took a late penalty to really make things interesting, but I like excitement. The Caps are regarded as a Stanley Cup contender and an even tougher team to beat at home. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game tonight was a tough one. My choice is Travis Moen, who had a goal but also some big hits, blocked shots, and great penalty killing. Honorable mentions go to Spacek and Price. Another tough test next as the Wings invade the Bell Centre Saturday night.