Canadiens Blow Away Hurricanes-Habs 5, Canes 1

So that's why the Hurricanes are in last place (I kid, I kid). The Montreal Canadiens exploded for 4 first period goals enroute to a 5-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. The win marked the first time since 1945 that the Canadiens had won a game on December 23 (useless stat of the night). After a strong first in which Cam Ward was chased after the Canadiens went up 3-1, the Habs decided to just hold on the rest of the way and ended up getting outshot badly, 47-24. Glen Metroploit with 2, Andrei & Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov did the goal scoring damage for the good guys. Tomas Plekanec and Scott Gomez each picked up 3 assists. Jaroslav Halak was pelted again in net ending the night with 46 saves. A dumb Aaron Ward boarding penalty on the first shift of the game led to the Habs first goal and Andrei Kostitsyn scored again soon after to make it 2-0. A equally as dumb Scott Gomez penalty (2 for cross checking, 2 for mouthing the ref off) allowed the Canes to make it 2-1, but that would be as close as they would get. Some other thoughts:

>Benoit Pouliot played his first game and looked decent. Nice smooth skater and a big body who isn't afraid to go to the net. I was prety confused as to who he was due to the fact he has a similar skating stride to Pacs and wears #57. He played on a line with Gomez and Lil Tits in hopes he can ignite some secondary scoring.

>Gorges Laraque only played 4:49 in the game. If he can't get ice time in a 5-1 game I'm not sure if he ever will.

>The PK was solid again allowing only 1 goal on 5 Canes tries. The PP continues to be lethal going 3 for 5.

3 road games into this long trip.....3 wins. Would have been nice to see them keep the foot on the pedal for the whole 60 minutes, but at the end of the day a win is a win. Halak continues to play well and get a lot of shots. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game tonight goes once again to Tomas Plekanec. Pleks is playing unreal, that's the only word I can use to describe it. It seems like every game he is feeding someone (or some people as his assist total will tell you) a sweet saucer pass that ends in a goal. Add to that his strong 2 way play and he has suddenly become the team MVP. Honorable mentions given to Halak and Metropolit. Next up the Laffs on Boxing Day.