The Montreal Canadiens gutted out a huge 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings tonight in front of a large number of Habs fans in LA. Brian Gionta scored just 22 seconds into the 1st to give the Canadiens an early lead. Dominic Moore then tallied shorthanded in the 2nd to break a 1-1 tie followed by Benoit Pouliot hitting the scorsheet just 34 seconds into the 3rd to make it a 3-1 game. The Kings got back within a goal, but Tomas Plekanec iced it into the empty net with just over a minute to play. Gionta, Pouliot and Scott Gomez all had 2 point nights. Jaroslav Halak got his first start since the Olympic break and made 23 saves for the win. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in a losing cause. The Canadiens penalty kill was a huge factor holding the Kings scoreless in 4 tries to go along with a shorthanded goal. The power play only had one chance and could not convert. Some other thoughts:>The Gomez line continued their strong play, combining for 6 points. They seemed to be in the Kings zone the whole night.
>The defence played pretty well, but Hal Gill had a rough night. O'Byrne got into a fight and played another solid game.
>Sergei Kostitsyn was demoted to the 3rd line, while Tom Pyatt jumped up to play with Pleks and Big Tits. Ben Maxwell was recalled from Hamilton to take Lapierre's spot, but only saw 5 minutes of ice time along with his line mates, Metro and Darche.
With the win the Canadiens, at least temporarily, jump into sole possession of the final playoff spot in the East. The Kings are a very good, young team who are set to make their first appearance in the playoffs in a while, so this win was no easy task. But the Canadiens played gritty and took advantage of their chances. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game tonight goes to Scott Gomez. Had a pair of assists and was excellent in both ends all night. Honorable mentions go to his line mates Gionta and Pouliot. No rest for the wicked as the Canadiens take on Saku Koivu and the Ducks tomorrow night.
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