I like our chances

Okay, I know that you never hear anything like that from me, the mega-pessimist fan. But after tonight's Game 1 of Montreal and Pittsburgh, I actually almost like our chances:

1. Tonight's team was tired. Very tired. Not sure if they will be awake by Sunday. But bearing that in mind, the game wasn't so bad.
2. Halak was definitely tired. Maybe you start Price next time. Maybe just some rest will help. Either way, get him more on his game, and maybe things will be okay.
3. The injury to Markov: if they can get a player up from the AHL, they can replace the missing defenseman. Again, they were already playing tried, then missing a player would have made them even more tired. That's fixable.
4. There is time to study some tape. The Penguins did some good things in this game, especially on the powerplay and defending against the powerplay. But I was seeing adjustments in the third period. You make some more, you look over what happened in this game, and voila, that's a formula for winning future games.

I have to say that for the first time in years, I really feel invested with this team. I like them. They can skate. They can pass. They have that certain je ne sais quoi associated with the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge (I believe the actual term for it is 'finesse'). Most of all, they had the grit and determination to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win Round 1. Go Habs go!

(Seriously, I don't remember the last time I felt this optimistic about a team, except maybe right after the Patriots signed Joey Galloway. Hm. I see. Optimism ends in ouch).