D.O.A. in Calgary

Well the hoo-hah that was the "Heritage Classic" is now said and done and for the Canadiens, couldn't have happened soon enough with the team skating to a listless 4-0 loss to the Calgary Flames last night.

What a bore this game was!!!

Easy to say because the Canadiens played a pretty heartless game. If it weren't for Carey Price early on, this game could've gotten out of hand quite fast.

The best part of the game for me was noticing the Habs were wearing vintage numbering on their jerseys from the 70's - 80's era. Anybody else catch that???

But it really was a boring game. The Habs play didn't help at all -- I think there may have only been one time the entire game where 4 Habs touched the puck in succession before a Flames player did. That means, pass from one player to another, then bang, the puck is in Calgary possession. No flow, no speed, no goals!!!!

Ever the optimist, this is all I have:

- Paul Mara finally got his equipment and played.
- Wisniewski, Gill, and Cammellari all returned from injury.
- Nobody else got hurt (as far as we know).
- Carey Price's "Heritage Classic" mask will be retired, hopefully buried deep somewhere in McMahon Stadium (I wasn't a fan).

Hey, the Flames played like they wanted it more, point finale. So good for them. They played with a hunger, that something was on the line here. The Habs, well, they're going through a typical funk where goals are at a premium and their top players are not being their top players.

Hard for me to rag on Plekanec (there's already many in the media that do) but he's been a bit less for wear of late. He's still the team leader, and he's the one that has to emerge and step up to take the team out of this funk. Gionta too.

Of course we don't need to mention Gomez... or Kostitsyn... or Lars Eller who really needs to go to the AHL because he's not contributing anything to the team.

Worst of all, it's just not fun to watch this team play of late. The games have been a drag. Boring, listless hockey without heart, without passion, without results.

Gauthier should not have left Alberta without making some sort of a deal. This team needs a bit of a reality check right now. Boy that Rene Bourque would look good in the bleu-blanc-rouge. He had a great game last night.

Luckily, the Rangers lost yesterday so we're still in a solid 6th in the conference, but this could change very quickly if the team doesn't roll up their sleeves and figure out how to get some offence going -- and not at the expense of the defence.

Habs now have won only once in their last 7 games after a strong start to the post-All-Star game break. The task becomes that much harder as they enter Vancouver to play the tops of the league Canucks tomorrow night. Hopefully it's a fun game to watch.