The Montreal Canadiens worked overtime and came away with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tomas Plekanec was the hero in the extra frame beating Mike Smith with a shot on a 2 on 1 with teammate Mike Cammalleri. Brian Gionta had the other Canadiens goal while Carey Price stopped 34 shots for the win in net. It was another "who is the home team" atmosphere as Canadiens jersey's were everywhere at the St. Pete Times Forum. Smith ended the night with 33 saves and held his team in the game until they came to life in the 3rd outshooting the Canadiens 13-4 and tieing the game. The Bolts did a fantastic job on the red hot Canadiens power play holding them scoreless in 3 attempts. The Habs PK was perfect as well on both Lightning chances. Defenceman Roman Hamrlik returned to the lineup giving the Canadiens a nearly totally healthy lineup, only missing Paul Mara. Earlier in the day Pleks was announced as one of the players who will represent the Czech Republic at the 2010 Olympics, but teammates Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek were snubbed. Some other thoughts:>The 2nd line with Gomez, Gionta and Pouliot looked very good again. Pleks and Cammi had rough nights but obviously made up for it on the winning goal.
>The defence as a whole played pretty well. Markov played with Gorges, Hamrlik with Spacek and Gill with O'Byrne. It will be intesting to see how the pairings shake down when Mara returns.
>Pacs was a healthy scratch joining BGL who missed his 2nd straight. Bergeron played on the 4th line with Lapierre and Lil Tits.
Another big road win making it 5 of 6 on this 7 game trip. The Canadiens did a pretty good job holding the Bolts big guns in check until period 3 when the goal turned the momentum. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game goes tonight to Brian Gionta. Had a goal and continues to be like an energizer bunny on the ice. Consideration also given to Price and Gomez. Next up a New Year's Eve showdown against the Panthers.
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