+/-, week two: good guys finish last?

Hmm, okay so maybe we Canadiens fans didn't have the most spectacular week, but you take the good with the bad, right?

PLUS

+ No insane injuries this week. Wow, that's actually a plus? Is this really the kind of week it's been?

+ Gomez & Gionta taking over for what used to be called the Kovy's Kids loge. Jose Theodore and Alex Kovalev were total gentlemen for giving kids a chance to have a fun Bell Centre night when life wasn't so great for them, and I think it's a great move by two new guys to show that they're committed to not only the team, but the city. If I were a little kid given the opportunity to see a game at the loge, I'd be excited not only about the experience but that I was being given that chance by Brian Gionta.

+ For the second week in a row, Tomas Plekanec. Maybe this isn't the best streak he's had, but if some people's opinions were right and Pleks was our most problematic player, then, um, we wouldn't be on a losing streak. And also for this from the Canadiens homepage earlier this week, which is awesome in many ways:

+ The kids who opened up the Bell Centre ice before our home opener. I already mentioned the little goalie who tripped but tried not to show any potential embarrassment. (I'd have been mortified until I saw players falling on the ice during that same game.)

+ The Gazette for running an article on Chris Chelios' drive to play some games in the NHL this season. After reacquiring Mathieu Schneider for the end of last season, I figured we might as well leave the doors open to whatever veterans want to come back, and I think it's awesome that Chelios still has some fight left in him. (And to be honest, I wouldn't mind a little extra push on the blue line.)

+ I know which stamps are going on my Christmas cards this year! It's a shame I don't really know anyone in Toronto or Boston.

+ This Twitter update from Dave Stubbs, which is a tad meaner than he usually is but as brilliant as he always is: "#Habs team photo tomorrow. Smiles to be inserted with Photoshop?"

+ For the ticket sales on the 15th of every month, allowing us a do-over from a hideously unsuccessful ticket sales day in September. 

MINUS

- Special teams. Dear Scott Gomez: Since when is "power play" synonymous with "pass the puck to Spacek instead of shooting it"?

- I know this is usually what fans say when their teams lose, but biased reffing. We endured some pretty useless penalties and were deprived of at least a couple of well-deserved power plays.

- People whose loyalty to a player outshines their loyalty to their own team. Since WHEN do you cheer like that when your own team loses? Which, don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see Kovy again and I'm glad that he still loves the city, so much so that he's a good sport even when asked to model a suit best described as Beetlejuice Chic...

- The team generally fading as the game progresses... two consecutive third periods that left me a little disappointed, to say the least.

- 2 Oh yeah, and more losses in games that I believe the team could feasibly have won. I almost made another minus for "no Tuesday game" until I realized that it probably wouldn't have gone down so well.

And, in not yet plus or minus news, we'd like to welcome Marc-Andre Bergeron to the city, as he's presumably ready after some victories in Hamilton, and I guess Shawn Belle can't be our guest anymore for a while.