Jennifer B Cutler: There's no place like home as the Habs defeated the Penguins 4-0 The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 in their home opener. Puck props & flops.

I liked Lehkonen's game last night...I was impressed by his play on the p.k. and his forecheck. The only thing that worries me is the chemistry with Plekanec...lots of time to get going, but number 14 is dragging his line down.

Same about the presentation, it was monotonic and I think it killed some of the crowd's enthousiasm...at least that's how it felt watching it on tv.

This is very exciting!

Nice round-up.

I also though Emelin had a really strong game last night. Good on defence and helped create 3-4 really nice offensive chances.

If he could only play like that every might...

Nice blog Jen...

Agree with everything said.

I really liked Lehokonen's game last night. The kid is for real.

Sergachev needs to be sent down for more development. The one play that really stood out to me was when Kessel just kind of blew by him for a scoring opportunity. Kessel's a tough task to take care of, but he's obviously not ready for it. Pretty soft play by him imo.

Absolutely loving Radulov. His hunger for the puck is up there with Gallagher imo and his skill is ridiculous. I think if it wasn't for the lack of chemistry with Plek, the floodgates would've opened for him already.

Speaking of Plek, if that line (Lehk, Plek, Rad) don't develop chemistry, what's the solution? I'm wondering if it would be better to just switch the centermen...

Pacioretty, Plekanec, Gallagher
Lehkonen, Galchenyuk, Radulov

This isn't to suggest that I think Plek should be the #1C, but if the chemistry doesn't develop and "trades are hard"....

i have no issue with Sergachev getting limited minutes for a 9 game stint.

Let him feel what its lke to play and practice at this level and then send him back after the 9 games are up. That should push him even harder to take his game to the next level. Missing the first few games in Junior wont hurt his development.

Nice round-up.

I also though Emelin had a really strong game last night. Good on defence and helped create 3-4 really nice offensive chances.

If he could only play like that every might...
- Mashadar

Emelin plays his best hockey when he doesn't try to take opponents head ten times a game. 2 out of 3 times he tries the big center ice hit, he causes 2 on 1 or 3 on 2.

Yesterday was the kind of game he needs to play to be effective.

i have no issue with Sergachev getting limited minutes for a 9 game stint.

Let him feel what its lke to play and practice at this level and then send him back after the 9 games are up. That should push him even harder to take his game to the next level. Missing the first few games in Junior wont hurt his development.
- Joel_Eh

Yea, that's a fair point... as long as he's not a liability out there. Missing the first few games in junior may not hurt his development, but it could hurt us in the standings if he doesn't step it up a bit.

Good blog as usual Jen.

Though to be accurate, it was not the first public appearance of Jacques Demers since he suffered a stroke this past Spring. He was inducted to the Panthéon des sports du Québec 3 weeks ago.

Good blog as usual Jen.

Though to be accurate, it was not the first public appearance of Jacques Demers since he suffered a stroke this past Spring. He was inducted to the Panthéon des sports du Québec 3 weeks ago.
- fidopro

Cheers, thanks!

I wasn't aware of that honour/appearance. Fixed the blog to reflect his first time at the Bell Centre instead.

Nice blog Jen...

Agree with everything said.

I really liked Lehokonen's game last night. The kid is for real.

Sergachev needs to be sent down for more development. The one play that really stood out to me was when Kessel just kind of blew by him for a scoring opportunity. Kessel's a tough task to take care of, but he's obviously not ready for it. Pretty soft play by him imo.

Absolutely loving Radulov. His hunger for the puck is up there with Gallagher imo and his skill is ridiculous. I think if it wasn't for the lack of chemistry with Plek, the floodgates would've opened for him already.

Speaking of Plek, if that line (Lehk, Plek, Rad) don't develop chemistry, what's the solution? I'm wondering if it would be better to just switch the centermen...

Pacioretty, Plekanec, Gallagher
Lehkonen, Galchenyuk, Radulov

This isn't to suggest that I think Plek should be the #1C, but if the chemistry doesn't develop and "trades are hard"....
- GstrangWondah

Well, I don't really like to say this but since Plek has absolutely 0 offense in his game so far I'd consider puting him on the 3rd and playing DD with TamPatch and Gally. I really believe a line of Lehkonen - Galchenyuk - Radulov has a lot of potential.

Well, I don't really like to say this but since Plek has absolutely 0 offense in his game so far I'd consider puting him on the 3rd and playing DD with TamPatch and Gally. I really believe a line of Lehkonen - Galchenyuk - Radulov has a lot of potential.
- BashCH

I'm don't like the idea of having DD on one of the first 2 lines, but between him and Plekanec, I think he would be the best choice to play with Patch and Gally. Galchenyuk and Radulov will happen at some point for sure because every time they're on the ice together, there is a goal.

Whether it will be Sergachev or Pateryn on the right of the third pair, they will never get much time since Weber and Petry will take 45 to 50 minutes together (which leaves 10 to 15 minutes for the third defenseman).

Whether it will be Sergachev or Pateryn on the right of the third pair, they will never get much time since Weber and Petry will take 45 to 50 minutes together (which leaves 10 to 15 minutes for the third defenseman).
- doum79

Math says this is correct

i was watching the game on the pittsburg channel and the commentators were always saying (they had a terrible bias) that the pinguins had a lot of golden opportunities.

and then i realized that the canadians were not really good on possession but what has really changed from last year was the quality of the shots that were allowed. there was a lot of "ok" chances by the pinguins but not much of "sure goals" opportunities allowed.

another thing that have changed from last year: the habs have an average of 3.67 goals per game.

i was watching the game on the pittsburg channel and the commentators were always saying (they had a terrible bias) that the pinguins had a lot of golden opportunities.

and then i realized that the canadians were not really good on possession but what has really changed from last year was the quality of the shots that were allowed. there was a lot of "ok" chances by the pinguins but not much of "sure goals" opportunities allowed.

another thing that have changed from last year: the habs have an average of 3.67 goals per game.
- yiri-sa-coche

Yeah this is all spot on. Problems I see so far are getting hemmed into their own zone a bit, puck possession is still mediocre for a good team, and Plekanec is a steaming pile of dog poop. Also still think Desharnais sucks, both goals weren't really because of him. Still, despite these long term problems most of the team looks good right now and Montoya is great. Also nice blog Jen.

Yeah this is all spot on. Problems I see so far are getting hemmed into their own zone a bit, puck possession is still mediocre for a good team, and Plekanec is a steaming pile of dog poop. Also still think Desharnais sucks, both goals weren't really because of him. Still, despite these long term problems most of the team looks good right now and Montoya is great. Also nice blog Jen.
- apex123

Both goals were absolutely a result of brilliant passes...nothing much to do with # 51...

I subscribed to this site a minute ago only for your blogs. Great job, looking forward to reading all year.

I subscribed to this site a minute ago only for your blogs. Great job, looking forward to reading all year.
- Riverain96

PLOT TWIST: she gets picked up by TSN or Sportsnet and stops blogging on this site

PLOT TWIST: she gets picked up by TSN or Sportsnet and stops blogging on this site
- GstrangWondah

Probably...
Then we're left with the other guy

I subscribed to this site a minute ago only for your blogs. Great job, looking forward to reading all year.
- Riverain96

Cheers, thank you so much