Goal!!!!

BREAKING NEWS: Sidney Crosby has been cleared to return to practice with the Pens!! No timetable as yet as to when we'll see him back in games. Good luck dude (unless you play the Habs in the playoffs). He shoots, he scores!! Been awhile since we've heard that to describe a the play of the Canadiens. Maybe it's more appropriate to say ... et le but! In any case, the Habs scored finally, almost a full 200 minutes after their last goal in Minnesota, defeating the golf course bound Atlanta Thrashers 3-1 last night in Montreal. A much needed win indeed. Roman Hamrlik was the one who finally broke the ice for the Habs, after the puck caromed off of the post a few times and he was able to tuck it into the open net. Phew! I was waiting for the ref to wave it off -- that's how bad it's been of late for the offensively-challenged Canadiens. And then wouldn't you know it, 11 seconds later, Gomez set up Darche for his 10th of the season to make it 2-0. Winning goal, it turns out. Funny game, eh? Canadiens played a solid if not somewhat nervous game -- totally understandable under the circumstances. Glad they got through it and picked up the valuable 2 points. The team is still in 6th, 2 points up on the Rangers who have a game in hand. But no time to rest... right back at it tonight against the Hurricanes in Raleigh, who kept their slim playoff chances alive with a 3-2 SO win against Washington. Other Notes: Brother Andrei Kostitsyn scored his 20th goal of the year last night into the empty net. 3rd time in his career he's reached the mark. When you think that Claude Giroux scored his 25th last night and everyone speaks so highly of him -- is Kostitsyn having such a bad year?? The answer is no. He's been hitting and taking hits a lot recently and seems to thrive outside of the bright limelight presented by the first two scoring lines. Way to go Andrei. I hope the Habs re-sign you. He scored quite a few game winners this year. Hal Gill high sticked. And then the Thrashers scored their lone goal on the play. The refs totally blew that call. But they had no choice to award the goal. Refs miss calls all the time -- just too bad the Thrashers scored on the play. Kudos to the Habs to not let that get to them. After all they still had a game to win. Leafs win, but gain nothing. The clock is ticking on the Buds' season. Todd Bertuzzi, nada. The NHL did not suspend Bertuzzi, no fine, nothing. I don't get it. He left his feet. He elbowed the guy to the head. It was pretty evident. Okay, his record has been cleared of the past (not sure I agree with this either), but at least give the guy 2 games to send a message to the players that hey, you hit the head -- whether accidentally or not -- you get suspended. Another dropped call on the NHL's part, in my opinion. Bill McCreary's last game in Montreal. The veteran referee is hanging 'em up at season's end. Not even working the playoffs. One of the best moustaches in the biz. Ending it where it all began for him, in Washington. He'll be missed, I guess :)