Perry holds off Weir
Kenny Perry closed with a 3-under 69 to win the Memorial with Mike Weir finishing second
|
Classic effort by WingsHudler's three points help Detroit wipe out 3-1 deficit en route to 6-4 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field Full text |
Kenny Perry closed with a 3-under 69 to win the Memorial with Mike Weir finishing second
Head coach John Carver cautions that there is no room for egos in the locker room
On the men's side, Djokovic and Nadal both advanced while Nestor and his partner Zimonjic reached the doubles quarter-finals
Missing out on the top pick in 2007 draft turned out to be the best thing that could have happened
Evgeni Malkin has been nowhere when the Penguins most need him
MONTREAL — These were two teams playing for ill-humoured men.
Montreal Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau has worked his NHL squad hard after a pair of tepid losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs. And Ottawa Senators counterpart Craig Hartsburg has seen fit to call out one of his star players in recent days for sub-standard performance.
Before last night's game, Carbonneau was asked if he was concerned by his first-line left-winger, Andrei Kostitsyn, whose play has been indifferent since returning from a head injury three weeks ago.
"Actually, I'm concerned about the play of all my left wingers," he said.
Montreal Canadiens Christopher Higgins, right, celebrates his goal with Sergei Kostitsyn, left, and Ryan O'Byrne during the second period in Montreal Tuesday. The Canadiens won 4-0. (Shaun Best/Reuters)
Videos 00:04:25
Highlights from Tuesday's game between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators
Cue the energetic showing from previously slumbering left winger Christopher Higgins, who potted a hat trick en route to a 4-0 Habs victory.
It was the first hat trick scored by a Canadiens player at home since 2006 (when the not-so-dearly departed Michael Ryder, now with the Boston Bruins, accomplished the feat), and the first of Higgins's professional career.
"I don't think I had one in the AHL, probably back in college [at Yale]. I think it was on [former Canadiens goalie] Yann Danis, actually," Higgins said with a laugh. "That hat trick's for my mom."
Higgins, Kostitsyn and Guillaume Latendresse — all of whom play the left side — each had a strong game for the Habs.
And although his team has jumped out to a 9-2-2 record, the exacting Carbonneau doesn't feel it has played particularly well, especially on defence. At least, he didn't until last night.
"It was pretty close to perfect. It finished off a nice night perfectly," Carbonneau said after the game, adding, "I thought tonight we came in with a great focus and great effort. Everything that we wanted to accomplish during the game, we did."
On Monday, Carbonneau forced his team to sit through a 90-minute slow-motion low-light reel of their recent miscues — a session euphemistically described by one player as "un-fun."
"Everyone was talking about what we haven't done since the beginning of the season ? there was a lot of nervousness, but I think we've proved we're a good team through our work and our emotion," Carbonneau said.
The victory in the season's initial meeting between the heated division rivals may improve the finicky coach's mood, but despite strong penalty killing and committed skating, the defence was still less than hermetic: Ottawa held the puck for long periods and had 28 shots.
But the flaws were papered over by a fine performance from goalie Carey Price (whose eye-catching late-game save on sniper Dany Heatley preserved the shutout).
The 21-year-old rebounded from a six-goal shelling in Toronto last Saturday to stop 28 shots and log his first blank sheet of the year. His previous shutout was also against Ottawa, last April.
"Was it?" Price said. "That was a long time ago, I don't even remember. I don't remember what happened last week."
Higgins scored on a partial breakaway to open the scoring in the first period while Montreal was short-handed — corralling a 40-foot backhanded saucer pass Saku Koivu had flung over a defender and tucking it past Senators goalie Alex Auld.
He added a second in the second frame, finishing off a pretty pass from Sergei Kostitsyn. Latendresse scored Montreal's third goal on a sizzling shot from a faceoff. And Higgins iced the game in the third after another breakaway.
If Carbonneau could hint at a smile, Hartsburg was still out of sorts.
Ottawa has rebounded after a wretched start to the season, but remains inconsistent and continues to have limited production from top centre Jason Spezza.
In previous games, Spezza has feasted on the Canadiens, scoring 15 points in seven encounters last season. But he was bottled up last night by a determined and swarming Canadiens side.
Despite being outplayed in the first period, Ottawa came out for the second like a squad that's had a talking to. Though the Sens hemmed the Canadiens in for long stretches, Price stood firm.
Afterward, a downcast Hartsburg lamented the lack of team effort.
"If we want to have a good team this year, we'll have to do those team things," he said.
The Senators' frustration boiled over in the third when Jarko Ruutu caught the Habs' Maxim Lapierre with an elbow, prompting a melee.
Ruutu later departed the game after earning a 10-minute misconduct for jawing with Lapierre and the Montreal bench. He left to lusty boos, and raised his hands and waved in mock salute.