Rocket:

Ugly! A mess. The first period of tonight’s game was simply the worst period of hockey played by this team all year. There have been periods when the opposition has played better or scored more. There have been periods where the Canadiens made more mistakes. But never, this season, have the Habs looked so confused…in such a state of disarray. And it was almost universal.

But should we have expected better? Carbonneau promised that he would tinker with line combinations but what he delivered was a complete overhaul. It was done seemingly with little regard to player chemistry.

It is clear that there have been problems the past few games. But it should be acknowledged that there were things that were working well. No matter. This was a classic example of ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water.’

Even the game’s original odd line combinations didn’t survive. Carbo just kept turning the crank of the bingo machine behind the bench. As numbers came to the top, players came over the boards.

How does one analyze a game that was so dominated by confusion? Sure the Habs got their two points. However, keep in mind that this was the St Louis Blues. Keep in mind that the Blues goals were scored by a player newly arrived from the Peoria Rivermen. And you should also know that Manny Legace was in goal and looked horrible for the Blues all night.

In fact, the Canadiens have been taking the tour of mediocre goalies the past few games: Legace, Biron, Fernandez. And the team that is supposed to be an offensive powerhouse looked, well, offensive. An effort like the Habs put in on the ice tonight doesn’t get them a win against any other team.

Other problems also continued. A lack of discipline is still a concern The Habs are taking too many penalties. Tonight they took a penalty on 5 occasions to nullify a power play. The officials didn’t help matters with several questionable penalty calls. The power play is still missing the sharp accurate passing and finish. PP is now 0 for its last 20. Line changes have recently become sloppy.

Josh Gorges is not playing well or with confidence right now. He made several bad giveaways. Gorges is being asked to play well beyond his capabilities. He doesn’t have the ability to be on the #1 defense pairing nor should he be logging 27 minutes of icetime.

Francis Bouillon was hit with a shot to the throat in the third. It was a scary moment but it appears that his injury is not serious enough that he will miss any games.

Some individual plays of note from Andrei Kostitsyn, Lang, Koivu and Plekanec. Yet there was very little cohesion. Higgins, Sergei Kostitsyn and Latendresse were underutilized. Carey Price played well with some big saves in the final minutes of the third period and in overtime. Price was perfect again in the shootout and made a huge save on Tkachuk (described as: “tres, tres belle arrete”). Tonight was a win for the Habs but one that is difficult to be proud of.

I can only ask, how did it get to this point? How does a team with so much talent and promise look so disorganized and play with such a lack of confidence? I can only guess that Bob Gainey is asking himself similar questions.

The head coach? Well, frankly, he seems delusional. ”I thought tonight was one of our best games,” Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said. ”We were able to battle back in the third and win it in a shootout, so we’re really happy.”

Pre-game:

Lapierre and Laraque sit tonight. Price is back in goal.

Retired banners in the Scottrade Center rafters include Al MacInnes, Brett Hull, Barclay Plager, Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter. Who is #3 Bob Gassoff?

Rocket’s 3 stars:

1. Andrei Kostitsyn
2. Steve Regier
3. Robert Lang

(photo credit: AP Photo)