Big Night

The Canadiens came out strong, played well and lost. This is the third game in a row now where they haven't gotten strong goaltending. It wasn't necessarily bad goaltending, but not good enough either. It seems the Habs need spectacular goaltending to win games.

The team defense, or lack thereof, was something that was mentioned ad nauseam by players and coaches after the game. For the second game in a row, the Habs played a run and gun, back and forth game. The difference is, as Chris Higgins pointed out, the Senators are just too skilled and strong to play that game against. They need to tighten it up.

Every game is huge for this team, with two more big road games coming up in Long Island and then on to Buffalo. They need four points.

Now.

Larry Robinson was one of the best to ever patrol the Habs blue line. Number 19 was eloquent and humble in his speech to the fans at the Bell Centre and at home.

Lou Lamoriello, who was briefly booed in his introduction, (because he fired Claude Julien?) spoke well and introduced his good friend to the fans, who were their typical noisy and jubilant selves during the pre-game ceremony.

When he was asked about what was his greatest memory of his 20 season career he replied, "That would be like eating a can of beans and trying to pick out which one gave you gas."

It was a moving ceremony, one I was lucky enough to enjoy with several members of the media all of whom were impressed by the events. The Canadiens know how to honour the franchise's greats.

The Senators are a classy bunch as well, and Robinson mentioned how honoured he was that their entire team was on the bench and ice for the entire ceremony. They remind me of the Red Wings team a few years back, a year after they were ousted from the playoffs early after setting a record for points in a season and winning the Presidents Trophy. They played like a team afire and went on to win the Cup that year.

The good news is, the Canadiens once again proved they can make a game of it against the Sens.

The bad news is, they've picked up exactly 0 points in 3 games against their divisional rivals so far this year.

Five more to go.