Saturday, February 28, 2004

Habs hold off Hurricanes

Mike Riberio has stopped taking shots at his captain, instead turning his shots towards the opposition. One of which found the mark tonight in the Habs 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Riberio scored after three minutes of Overtime to give the Habs the win. Montreal climbed into seventh place with tonight's win, three point ahead of the New York Islanders. Collecting their fourth straight win, the Habs helped Jose Theodore celebrate his sixth shutout of the season, as he turned back eighteen shots for the win. Theodore now has 23 shutouts on his career thus far.

Montreal peppered Kevin Weekes with 31 shots on the way to the win, a statistic that tells one a lot about the game. The Hurricanes couldn't find much ice in the Montreal end and left Weekes to his own devices on far too many occasions. Carolina which is apparently raising the white flag this year didn't look particularly interested in giving the Habs any trouble, recording only four shots in the second period. Carolina were lucky to leave the game only losing by one goal.

For the Habs fans it was a rewarding sight, as they entertained their tenth sell out in a row. No booing of Saku Koivu tonight, that controversy apparently simmering, but not on the boil lately. Jacques Demers the latest to toss some oil on the flames, claiming that Koivu wouldn't be a captain on his team. Fortunately for Saku, Demers is far removed from coaching these days, for the most part his fellow players have come out solidly in support of him. Which is good, the Habs back on track now, don't need stupid little ego plays getting in the way of the playoff trail.

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