Ti-beau Shuts out Habs 3-0. Keep you head up, the Sky Really is Falling. Seriously.

Jocelyn Thibault once played in an All-Star game. Look it up. FHF had a bad feeling about his play when the 'Thi-bault' chants started early in the first. Just like you don't do the Ole! song with 5 minutes left in a 1 goal game, wait till the goalie gives up at least one goal to start heckling, Habs fans! Damn, do we have to tell you everything?

The Sky is Falling: Keep your head up out there Habs Fans, because the forecast calls for large rocky objects, thought to be remnants from the Big Bang, entering the atmosphere and crashing in to the surface of Habsland sometime after 3pm local time this afternoon. How else to explain a Ti-beau shut out in Montreal on a Saturday night, other than a sign of the apocalypse? On the upside, the blast just might melt my eyes out and erase last night's vision of glove save after glove save coming from the man in the Sabres goalie sweater. And this on the only night Panger gets to see them play live. You owe me $500 for a plane ticket and $140 for the ticket, you bastards. Shouldda stayed home and watched the Flames beat the Hawks. Yeach.

From the view from section 206, it looked like the Habs played ok, but didn't bring nearly the intensity, either on offense or in front of the Christo-Wall, required to beat the same team that handed them a similar defeat the previous evening. Put it simply, the Sabres won the battles along the boards and for the loose pucks, and basically beat the Habs at their own game (timely goals and great goaltending). Once again Saks is a no show; Hamr looked disinterested and Brisebois couldn't cover his shadow if it was standing in the crease; Komo had a rare weak performance; and generally no pressure on offense besides the Dance a dix line. By the third Carbo had put back on his Court Jester hat and juggled the lines again, reuniting the Pleks-Higgins-Big Tits line from teh end of last season, and putting Kovy on Saks' line with TheTendernesse. Lets hope Kovalev lights a fire under Saks.

Read that last line again and tell me the sky isn't falling in Habsland.

Plan the Parade: Not much last night (I want my money back, Bob). Once again AK 27 looks like he is interested this year. Even though nothing came of his play, he made several nice moves in the offensive zone thanks to his puckhandling wizardry, and even laid out a Sabres' D man in back of the net (although Lydman could be forgiving for relying on last year's scouting report on Kovy: wouldn't bust a grape in a fruit fight. Evidently Hova writes the Sabres' scouting reports.)

Best line of the night went to Carey Price, which almost was worth the price of admission. During the warm up they play the Habs player's answers to a stupid, weird question. Last night the questions was "What kind of animal would you choose to be?" Price says "A horse. I like horses." Best. Answer. Ever. (although reading it makes me think it was one of those "you had to be there" moments. I swear it was funny: I even laughed at the replay.)

0 lap dances out of 10. You blew it in my return to the homeland, Habs. No forgiveness from me. Plus they get swept in a home-and-home, and even worse let Thibault shut you out. Ugly. Just Ugly.

Chez Paree bound: hell no, especially since they'd have to wait in line behind Thibault for a booth. The only Chez Paree visit will be by the FHF (the next time I am back in town anyway). See HF29's post-game recap, below. Did I mention Mrs. Panger is the best wife ever?

Next Evil Foe: Leafs on Tuesday. The Habs better find a magic elixir for the offense by then or that throbbing vein in HF10's temple may finally pop. The Franchise Saviour (tm) gets the start.