O'Byrne is a presence

Is Guy Carbonneau making a mistake keeping Ryan O'Byrne in the press box?

A fantastic effort on Thursday night. You can't deny anything about it, whatsoever. This was a thing of beauty, rolling four lines the entire game. Now, if you want to be critical, you can say that the power play didn't capitalize, but that's about it.

What upset me occurred well before the drop of the puck. It was announced on The Team 990 earlier in the day that Patrice Brisebois would remain in the lineup instead of Ryan O'Byrne. With Mike Komisarek coming back, someone had to sit and I just can't understand why coach Carbonneau picked his former teamm--uhg, yeah, never mind.

In recent weeks, Brisebois has been invisible, which is exactly what the team wants from him. Do the job, provide leadership and don't make any critical errors. Meanwhile, Ryan O'Byrne had been getting better and better.

The rookie defender was learning how to play physical without getting penalized, ending each game on the plus side of the ledger and getting more confident carrying the puck. It seemed like a no-brainer to keep him in the lineup with Boston expected to play a very physical game. But no, Carbo decided to opt for so-called experience and leave Breezer in.

Well, there he was, badly losing a foot race in the first period, forcing another aging rearguard in Roman Hamrlik to cover for him and help beat the Bruin to the puck in the Habs' end. It was a clear example of the limited, and sometimes dangerously eroding skills of Patrice Brisebois. Not good. Yes, Brisebois assisted on the first goal of the game, but ask yourself how many times he will look like a pylon in the series, or not drop the gloves to stick up for a teammate.

Experience or not, it's the wrong move to keep O'Byrne on the sidelines in the postseason. The man was built for postseason hockey. Let's just hope the Habs don't pay for keeping him in a suit.

(Note: Mute the hockey game on Sunday night and listen in for a special Game Points episode. Beginning at 7pm, we'll bring you an NBA Playoff Preview.)