Home opened!

There are a few things that jumped out at me during last night's home opener, and not just because my HD was crystal clear. Seriously, I don't know how much money goes into buying cameras for the Bell Centre, but it's worth every cent. This digital image nerd knows a thing or two about clear picture. The team was excited, the crowd was alive, and as a result, I was louder than ever watching the game from home. (After a goal by Tampa Bay, I screamed out "NOOOO!" which caused my mother to say "Oh, no!" and then the cat meowed, and it sounded like she said "no." True story.)

She's a Habs fan.

Yes, that was a bilingual "Nous sommes / We are" flag that the little flag kid skated around with. Who's going to speak louder, the francophones who don't want our team Americanized, the pro-bilingual people who'll be pleased, or the people wondering why they wrote the same thing twice?

Brian Gionta may have been criticized by some for his incorrect pronunciation of players' names and numbers, but he did a pretty good job. Except for the parts where he didn't, on purpose. He called #40 Maxim "Laperriere" as payback for not being taught to pronounce the word "vingt" properly. His slip-up in referring to Dustin Boyd as "Justin", however, is due to Boyd's resemblance to a young Justin Timberlake.

Gionta's nervousness was probably caused by the fact that he's accustomed to riling up crowds by scoring goals, not by speaking. After all, Michel Lacroix is the one paid to say people's names in an exciting manner.

No confirmation on whether the assistant captains were chosen solely because their jersey numbers are so close. If that's the case, I'd expect a mutiny from Gomez and Cammalleri. (For more on this, see HabsLaughs' take on Cammy and the captaincy.)

Joseph Kaiser was selected to sing the national anthems before the game because Charles Prévost-Linton did not brush his hair. Again. (Also because Kaiser might be a better singer.)

Kirk Muller drew bigger cheers from the crowd than any member of the crew or coaching staff. It might be because he won the Stanley Cup as a Hab, but it might also be because the entire city has a crush on him.

Bet you didn't notice Don Cherry

As for the game, there were some very bright points. Carey Price was in fine form as he has been lately. Which means that I'm about 20% less likely to want to slap Jack Todd after I read his next column. Andrei Kostitsyn looked rarin' to go before the game, and delivered. And, best of all, Dominic Moore and Guy Boucher's team won the game!!

...wait, what do you mean neither of those guys is on the Canadiens payroll anymore?

Oh. Right.