Habs Back on Track with Win in Hockey Town

It's okay everyone, you can finally exhale. The Habs just won a game against Stanley Cup favorites 3-1. To be honest, I went into the game with a very pessimistic attitude. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Islanders, I thought that they would get blown out by the Red Wings in Detroit. But thank goodness that I was wrong.
Their was no scoring in the first period, but rather some stalemate play. While on the PP, Tanguay was bringing the puck up the left side of the ice. He put his head down, and that was all that defenseman Brad Stuart needed to level him down to the ice. Tanguay finished the shift, but missed the rest of the game with what is shaping up to be a concussion.
The second period was where Montreal got all of their offense going, starting off with a goal from Lapierre. Lapierre threw the puck in front of the net which deflected off a Detroit defenseman into the net. Some may call it a garbage goal, and I'm going to have to agree with them. Either way, it was 1-0 Habs. Plekanec was next for Montreal. It was a well constructed pass-pass-shoot play where Kovalev and Markov were the pass-pass and Plekanec was the shoot. It was a much-needed goal for the trio, who are all in desperate need of some points. But the offense didn't end there for the Habs. Just a 1:20 later, Higgins finished off a scramble in front from Koivu and Kostopoulos. Kostopoulos took over for the absent Tanguay and really stepped up to the plate. He played a solid game for Montreal.
The third was a defend-the-lead period. Now up 3-0, Montreal needed to focus on defending, and that is what they did. Up until the 13:31 mark, Montreal held Detroit scoreless. Franzen tallied for Detroit off a steal from O'Byrne's fanned pass. O'Byrne, once again made a mistake that cost Montreal a goal and did not see any ice time for the rest of the game. The Habs held on to win 3-1.
It could have been 4-1 or it could even have been 4-0 (Plekanec had a goal disallowed), but a 3-1 win against returning Stanley Cup champs and arguably one of, if not the best team in the league, is a feat not many teams can accomplish. 8 different players on Montreal got a point including Plekanec, Kovalev, Higgins and Markov who were all recently point-sober. All in all, this a huge win and a moral-booster for the Habs. Now with a much more optimistic look on the Habs, I'm looking forward to Friday's game in Washington!

Notes: Price had another solid game, saving 32 shots... Plekanec snapped an 8-game goalless streak tonight, by scoring his 5th... Koivu picked up his team-leading 18th point of the season... Injuries: Latendresse is day-to-day (day-to-day), Laraque stayed in Montreal (groin).