Player Grades: Montreal versus Boston, November 5, 2009
(2009-11-06 01:12 posted by
John Richan)
Montreal put a halt to a 9 game losing streak against the Boston Bruins
tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Habs were able to win their 3rd shootout
game of the season on a shootout goal from
Mike Cammalleri.
Glen Metropolit
provided the lone regulation goal for the Canadiens in the first period. Carey
Price was on his way to a shutout before Patrice Bergeron was able to score and
tie the game late in the third.
Not the prettiest game to watch as the ice conditions were poor and injuries for
both teams did not help. Having said that, 2 points are 2 points. This was
Montreal's first road win since October 3, and it could not have come at a
better time against a division rival.
Positive:
1. Goaltending: Price looked like he was in top form tonight. Unlucky he did not
get the shutout. This should be a big boost for his confidence.
2. Third line continues to play great. Glen Metropolit is still playing
fantastic and scored the only regulation goal for the Habs.
3. Snapped the 9 game losing streak against the Bruins dating back to last
season. Great to break out of this streak!
Thumbs Up:
Carey Price, Glen Metropolit,
Ryan White
Negative:
1. 1st line had a mediocre performance tonight. Gomez was poor in the faceoff
circle.
Josh Gorges had more shots tonight than this line put together.
2. Goal scoring remains to be an issue. Montreal should have been able to score
more then one goal on a depleted Boston team.
Thumbs Down:
Marc-Andre Bergeron,
Scott Gomez,
Guillaume Latendresse
Player Grades:
Carey Price
A+: Unlucky not to get the shutout but played one of his
better games in recent memory. 42 saves ain't too shabby. Hopefully he can keep
the momentum up.
Max Pacioretty C+ : Perhaps the weakest part of the 3rd line tonight.
Still needs to find ways to utilize his speed. Played less then 10 minutes
tonight and was relatively ineffective.
Glen Metropolit:
A: Besides Carey Price the best Hab tonight. Scored the
only regulation goal for Montreal and plays his heart out on every shift. Also
had a goal disallowed tonight.
Scott Gomez
C+: 1 shot and 4/21 in the faceoff circle during 22 minutes
of ice time. Gomez has seen better games. One of his weaker games as a Montreal
Canadien.
Brian Gionta:
B: Provided some good energy, as always. He led the first
line with 3 shots tonight. Captain any day now right?
Mike Cammalleri:
B: Not Cammalleri's best game as a Hab but scored the
winning shootout goal. A great shot at that.
Tomas Plekanec:
B : Probably the most consistent player on the Habs so
far this season. -1 on the night but played a solid 18 minutes and contributed 4
shots.
Andrei Kostitsyn:
B+: One of his best game of the season. Kostitsyn got
an assist on the only goal for Montreal and was a +1 on the night. He also
played almost 15 minutes... Let's hope he has finally turned the corner from his
early season struggles.
Guillaume Latendresse:
C-: Invisible out there tonight. Needs to start
playing within his capabilities. Gui needs to keep it simple. Throw hits and get
in front of the net. When Latendresse gets away from these fundamentals he looks
terribly out of place.
Maxim Lapierre:
C: -1, not a lot of positives to be taken from his game
tonight.
Travis Moen:
B- : Not much on the scoresheet. Continues to forecheck
great and drive to the net fearlessly. An important part of the great 3rd line.
Ryan White:
B+: First NHL point tonight in his league debut, credited
with an assist. White did not look out of place at all. We might be seeing a lot
more of him in the future.
Tom Pyatt:
B-: Like Ryan White seemed to fit right in tonight and did not
look out of place. The coaching staff in Hamilton must be doing something right.
Mathieu Carle B+: Saw 12 minutes of ice time and was leaps and bounds
better than his NHL debut on Tuesday night. Pierre McGuire would not stop raving
about his play tonight (take that for what it is worth).
Marc-Andre Bergeron:
C: Really having an up-and-down time so far with the
Habs. Tonight was one of those down times. Paid to shoot pucks on the powerplay.
Bergeron had 1 shot tonight as the Habs went 0/3 on the powerplay.
Jaroslav Spacek C+: Appeared to get injured during the second period but
soldiered on. Let's hope he can play on Saturday. Unfortunately screened Price
on the game tying goal.
Paul Mara:
B : A solid 26 minutes tonight and a +1. Important part of
holding the “thin blue line” together.
Josh Gorges:
B+: 6 shots on goal tonight, more than the whole first line
put together. Played a very solid 23 minutes. Invisible but very effective
almost every night.
Roman Hamrlik:
B+: Taking a leadership role on the blueline. Played
almost 30 minutes tonight. He will need to keep this up until some of the
injured defenseman are able to come back.
Powerplay:
D: 0/3 did not look impressive at all.
Penalty Kill:
A: Kept Boston off the scoresheet killing off all four
penalties.
This article was co-written by John Richan and Jonathan Rebelo.
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