Tonight, the Montreal Canadiens started their three game road trip.  The Habs' first opponent: the struggling Blues.  St. Louis only had one win in their last eight games, and they looked forward to improving their play in this match-up.

SLUGGISH OPENING FOR THE HABS

Things started off pretty well for both teams in the opening period.  They both had many scoring chances, and were striving to get that first goal.

And it didn't take long.

Right after a face-off loss in their own zone, Cam Janssen of St. Louis took a wrist shot from the blue line that beat a surprised Carey Price high glove side.  Janssen thought he scored his first goal as a Blue, but after the instant replay, it clearly showed that it was tipped in by Steve Regier, giving the Blues the early first period lead.

Then came the penalties.  Both teams had three majors in the first, four of them being holding calls.  Thankfully for the Habs and the Blues, nobody was able to find the back of the net on the powerplays.

Nearing the midway mark of the period, the Canadiens started to get sloppy.  They were giving the puck away, their back-checking wasn't impressive and they had trouble getting into the opposing zone.  Fortunately for the Habs, St. Louis didn't convert on any of the Canadiens' mistakes. 

FRUSTRATING SECOND

Coming into the second period, the Canadiens knew what their mistakes in the first were perfectly.  St. Louis, however, looked to play at the same pace as they did earlier.

Improvement by the Habs was noticed in this period.  They were taking many shots (but they were all stopped), and had several scoring chances.  Despite not getting the puck in the back of the net so far in the game, Montreal's key players did pick up their socks and played hard.

Legace was a big factor in the second period.  He was handling the puck well behind the net, he stayed focused when the Canadiens were in close and most of all, he wasn't letting anything past him.  All that frustrated the Habs.

That is, until the last two minutes of the period.

Price handled a Blues' dump-in, and swiftly passed it to Andrei Kostitsyn who carried the puck all the way into the St. Louis zone.  He stick handled right by a confused Blues' defenseman, and released a weak backhand that somehow found its way past Manny Legace, finally tying the game up.   

EXCITING THIRD/ AMAZING SHOOTOUT

Now with things tied up at one a piece, both teams came into the final period, wanting desperately for that lead.

Then, St. Louis got on the board again.

David Perron streaked down the ice and into the Habs' zone and fed a slow pass right past Carey Price to Steve Regier for his second of the night, getting St. Louis back to a one goal lead.

For almost the whole rest of the final period, it was save after save by both goaltenders, and constant pressure put on by the Habs.  They were firing shots at Legace from everywhere, but the Blues' net-minder stood tall.

Until the four minute mark.

Habs deep in the St. Louis zone, Andrei Kostitsyn feeds a slap-pass to Robert Lang who is stopped by Legace, but not the rebound.  Lang gets pushed from behind, but still manages to hit in the air puck from his knees, tying things up.  The Canadiens wouldn't go down without a fight!

Overtime solved nothing, so this one needed a shootout.

St. Louis coach Andy Murray decides to shoot first.  In comes Brad Boyes on Habs net-minder Carey Price, but fires it way wide.

First shooter for the Canadiens: Saku Koivu.  Trying to fool Legace, Montreal's captain tries to do his famous backhand-forehand move, but he too misses the net.

The second shooter for the Blues was David Perron.  He attempted to beat Jesus Price five-whole, but Price stood tall, cutting the angle.

No goals scored yet in the shootout, Andrei Kostitsyn is up for the Habs.  It was the perfect release and it totally beat the Blues' goaltender, but unfortunately, it ringed off the crossbar.

Third shooter now for the Blues.  Keith Tkatchuk makes a nifty move on Price, but Carey denied him with a beautiful toe save.

Last shooter for the Canadiens, the game on his stick: none other than Alexei Kovalev. As Kovalev crossed the blue line, the crowd was silent.  Was it going to be the game winner or a save to send it to extra shots?  That was the question with every spectator and television viewer.  

The talented Russian fakes forehand and roofs one passed a sprawling Manny Legace, winning the game for Montreal.

With the stadium quiet despite the cheers of the few Canadiens fans in the stadium, the Habs scramble off the bench to congratulate AK 27.

*Final score:  MTL 3   STL 2  F/SO

Goalies

MTL  Price—24 saves (not counting shootout goals and shots)

STL  Legace—24 saves (not counting shootout goals and shots)

Power play

MTL  0 for 10

STL  1 for 8