LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Part Six)

Enjoy the penultimateness. Here was Part Five.

Game #6: Montréal Canadiens 3-5 New York Rangers

• Beaucoup trop de partisans des Habitants ici.
• I'm surprised to see that somebody actually purchased one of these monstrosities:
  
  
  (Meaning the style of jersey.  Nobody would be stupid enough to pay lots of money for an actual Gomez, right?)
• Bad news for the Canadiens Rangers is that Gomez is still injured and will not play.  The Rangers do ice the best two players involved in the Gomez trade: Ryan McDonagh and No Gomez.
• An interesting start, as Mike Blunden flattens a speeding Brandon Dubinsky by the Habs' bench, sparking a huge get-together.  "Clean" hit from Blunden, had it not been for the fact that he jumped off the bench early to make the hit.
• After Ryan Callahan and Blunden fight and a separate one between Mike Sauer and Petteri Nokelainen (the latter two receiving game misconducts), we emerge with a 5-on-3 PP for two minutes to the Rangers, on which Erik Christensen capitalises.
• Well into the game, we finally see a shift for returning hero, Sean Avery.  First time I've heard grown men squeal with excitement at MSG.
• The first period ends 3-0 Rangers, the third goal a particularly good one, a shot block by Dan Girardi leading to a rush the other way, capped by a great pass from Derek Stepan to a streaking Michael Del Zotto to beat Carey Price.
• As expected, the Habs score early in the second period and pull to within a goal midway through the period on a 5-on-3 PP of their own, courtesy of Brian Gionta's wonky sense of balance as much as anything worth penalising.
• After surviving more than one shot off the post and some dangerous rushes from the apparently not-dead-yet Erik Cole, things become more comfortable for the Rangers as Brad Richards wires one past Price late in the second.
• The game tightens up considerably in the final frame, but a frantic finish is ensured once Gionta get his customary goal against the Rangers with two minutes to go.
• Captain Callahan eases nerves with the empty-netter, the puck amusingly being followed into the goal by Garden crowd favourite, P.K. Subban, spinning on his derrière.

Next up: The homestand and my trip ends with the visit of Dystugien Bufflin and the Jetlanta Thrasherpegs.