Montreal Canadiens 5-4 Atlanta ‘Hossa? Heatley? Come back?’ Thrashers
TopShelf’s completely Professional Game-Report:
The Atlanta Thrashers schocked the capacity crowd of 21, 273 packed inside the Bell Centre by scoring 3 goals in 59 seconds, but the flurry still wasn’t enough to hand them the win as the Canadiens still managed to get the full 2 points despite their best efforts to let Atlanta back in the game.
There was much ado before any pucks were dropped about Guy Carbonneau’s constant line juggling, but things seemed to gel early on as the Habs piled the pressure on the struggling Thrashers early on.
However, a combination of some excellent goaltending by Johan Hedberg and a lack of opportunism kept the teams level for a large part of the first period. And just as it seemed that both clubs would head for the locker rooms on level terms, a young Ontario native found time to net his first career goal in the National Hockey League.
As Andrei Kostitsyn – who’s been under much criticism lately – circled the net, attempting the wrap-around, Matt D’Agostini headed for the crease hoping for a rebound, and that’s exactly what he got as Hedberg couldn’t handle the older Kostitsyn’s shot and D’Agostini took full advantage of that by cashing in on his first ever marker.
The middle period continued to be one way traffic in favor of the home team. Hedberg continued to pull off saves he had no business making, including a miraculous one where he managed to get his glove on Alex Kovalev’s one timer to deflect it just above his net. But just as he showed he was capable of the best, he proved he is also human by letting in the second goal of the contest.
Tomas Plekanec received the puck and skated inside the Thrashers’ zone, and just as he looked like he would look for the pass, he wired a slapshot past Hedberg which I’m sure the Swedish netminder would like another crack at.
Montreal’s struggling powerplay then came to life with a minute to go in the period. Andrei Kostitsyn’s shot came off of Hedberg’s pad, and Andrei Markov was at the doorstep to bury the rebound for his 4th goal of the season.
As the puck dropped for the start of the final period, it looked as if the Canadiens were completely in control and were cruising towards an all-important victory, but the Thrashers had other thoughts. First it was Ron Hainsey who wired a slapshot past Carey Price – who had been faultless so far – when Atlanta was a man up due to a sloppy line change from Montreal.
Less than a minute later, Hainsey scored his second against his former team after a scramble in the crease. Following video reviews, the goal was said to be good and the Thrashers were right back in it.
But things went from bad to worse for Montreal, because a mere 7 seconds later Chris Thorburn scored an incredible goal following a nice passing play by Ilya Kovalchuk and Marty Reasoner. The sold-out crowd was understandably schocked, but the ever-faithful Canadiens fans continued to support their team with chants of ‘Go Habs Go!’ heard all around the Bell Centre.
The players then rewarded the fans for their loyalty by scoring the go ahead-goal. Andrei Kostitsyn continued to impress with a good burst of speed along the boards and then cut to the net, only for his centering pass intended for Matt D’Agostini going off a defenseman and past Hedberg to make it 4-3 Habs.
With a minute and a half to go, Atlanta decided to go for broke and pulled their netminder, and when Robert Lang scored his 7th goal of the season into the empty net, the victory seemed a guarantee for the Canadiens.
But the feisty Thrashers once again made things exciting when Jason Willians put a beautiful wrister in the top shelf following a nice pass from Kovalchuk. But that was all she wrote from the Bell Centre as the Canadiens picked up their second win in a row.
TopShelf’s notes o’ da day:
-I was at the game. You suck, I win.
-Good on Andrei Kostitsyn for being hot. Not the looks kinda hot. But the hockey kind. Keep it up, you Kostitsyn you!
-Those Thrashers really have a crazy wrister in them hands, eh?
-Um, my man Laraque? Yeah…um, hey. It’s me. Hey, um…no pressure or anything. But like, it’d be cool if you went on the ice when your linemates go on. No pressure though. Just uhh…just putting it out there. K thx bye.
-I was at the game. You suck, I win.
-Man, those guys on L’Antichambre and 100% really freak the fuck out! They were going on and on about the game when the team literally just had one bad minute. “Yeah hey, Viagra company? We need some Valium and some Viagra pills for 10 middle-aged french men that are constantly angry about their receding hairlines but disguise it by taking it out on the hockey team. Thank you”
-I like the look of D’Agostini. He goes to the net when he has to (Um, Guillaume?), is very responsible in his own zone and works well along the boards. And if he turns into a legend, I’ll be able to say that I saw Matt D’Agostini first NHL goal. Cool right?
-I’m no NHL referee or anything, but I really don’t think that puck from Hainsey’s second goal crossed the line completely.
-Idiot of the game: Guy behind me going “Ey, C’est tu Heatley ca!?”
-I was at the game. You suck, I win.
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