Game #1-7Great Season Comes To An End

Details

Date: 27/4/2011
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Boston

Loss: 3-4 (OT)

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Thomas (W)

Habs goalscorers: Weber, Plekanec, Subban
Opposition goalscorers: Boychuk, Recchi, Kelly, Horton

Play of the game

We got the ultimate excitement tonight by coming back twice. In the end it looked like scoring first was what did it (ha!), but despite that we sure gave it our best. After Bergeron took a dumb (typical Bruin) penalty we got going on the PP. Cammalleri started the play when he gained the line, but almost gave it away with a weak pass at the blue-line. Gionta, however, took that pass and got it over to Pleks on his right with the subtlest of touches. Tom took the puck into the corner and then fed Subban with an incredible cross-ice pass. PK capped off an incredible season with a rocket of a shot, his second of these playoffs.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Brian Gionta
I liked what Brian did in the offensive zone tonight. Defensively wasn't horrendous, but -3 is never a good stat to carry around. He led the team in shots and came oh so close to scoring one or two. With a linemate to compliment him and Gomez this would have been a different series - I guess Chara's hit really worked out for the B's in the end...

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
I am happy that Pleks played so well tonight as he should be our best forward in most games. His tying goal was crucial and then his pass on PK's goal was world-class. His face-offs will need work over the summer, though as 20% is just bad. I can live with 40%, but when you lose 4 of 5 things can start to get ugly.

Michael Cammalleri
Mike had better games in this series, but tonight wasn't bad by any stretch. He picked up an assist and was instrument on our third goal. Like Gionta, however, he was -3 and that is something that will sting over the summer I am sure. All in all, though, this was another fantastic playoffs for Camms and I look forward to more of that next April, May and June.

Defencemen

PK Subban
Subban wasn't at his best in the defensive zone tonight, but all in all he was still our best defender. He also scored the most important goal of his life late in the third. He will only get better (hopefully no Phaneuf or Schenn for him) and I look forward to having him line-up with Markov and Gorges next year. Who else will be around is yet to be seen, but PK seems like he'll be an asset for years to come. I also like how he played through the boos, because we all know that players with bad attitudes and who are dirty get booed, oh wait, that is why they boo him, right?

Jaroslav Spacek
Spacek got bounced around last night and, less that 20 hours on, came out and played a solid game for the Habs tonight. Only he and Sopel ended up with a positive rating and it was Jaro that led the team in blocked-shots. He didn't have the season nor the playoffs that he did last year, but with time left on his contract I am sure that he will be back. He proved that he can be a 5/6 type guy and can play on both the PP and PK. He should enjoy the summer as I feel that this was a rough year for him physically and he'll do well to get some real rest.

Goaltender

Carey Price
He didn't have his best game of the playoffs, but certainly gave his team a serious chance to win. All in all it was a fantastic season for Price who has shown that he can play a lot of games, win in the regular season and playoffs and shake off bad goals and bad starts. Goaltending like this is what quality teams are built around and I am already looking forward to a healthy, more experienced, more competitive Habs team in 2011/12.

Comments

We started the game poorly and that may have been the difference. It may have been the difference because we could never get a lead, get to our comfort spot. We did well to come back twice, but we are a far harder team to play against when we are leading by a goal or two. It was more of the same for Boston throughout (2 head-shots on Halpern, a spear on the 3rd goal) and I feel that their team is a disgrace to the sport of hockey. They'll move on to face Philly who is as dirty and perhaps dirtier, at least in these playoffs. It is a shame that those teams got through as it will give the media 12 months of saying how teams like Montreal and Buffalo are too small and not tough enough to compete against these forces. The bottom line is that we out-played Boston in this series, not at all times, but over 7 games I do believe we were better. We had better chances, played cleaner, but just didn't get the luck that is so obviously needed to go anywhere in these playoffs (refs are no help whatsoever).

It was a great season when you consider all that happened to this team. Losing Halak last summer, Markov for the whole year and Gorges and Pacioretty for a good chunk of the year all seemed like insurmountable obstacles. The Habs, however, played a fantastic regular season and then got to within a goal of the second round. This team is only getting better and I think that we are getting more and more of the right pieces into the right spots. It will be a long summer with a lot to thing about, but at the end of the day we should be happy with our team as they once again proved that they will always be force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.

Game #1-5Heartbreak In Boston

Details

Date: 23/4/2011
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Boston

Loss: 1-2 (OT)

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Thomas (W)

Habs goalscorers: Halpern
Opposition goalscorers: Marchand, Horton

Play of the game

Thomas' save on Gionta was probably the play of the game, the play of the series. The save was a good one, but I think the play I am really thinking about was Gionta's shot. A nice give-and-go with Moen meant that Brian ended up with a lot of the net to shoot at. He didn't get the best shot off, however, and gave Boston life when maybe they shouldn't have had any. That was our big chance and we made Thomas look great and then, a few minutes later, it came back to haunt us.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Brian Gionta
The captain gave it his all tonight and it showed on his face. He was exhausted at the end as I am sure most of the players were. He may not have scored, but did a great job to go to the net and test Thomas. In all he had 7 shots; that led the Habs.

Jeff Halpern
He scored our only goal on one of his 3 shots. Beyond that goal, which was obviously a huge moment for the Habs, he had a very strong, 2-way game. I liked what he was doing along the boards and at the top of our zone as his fight was really paying off. He also had a fantastic face-off night as his 73% was the highest in the game.

David Desharnais
I am thrilled for David that he got a shot on the second line as he once again deserved it. Although one of the smallest players on the Habs he certainly showed how big of a heart he has as he gave it his absolute all throughout the game. He kept fighting all along and almost played a hero's role on a few separate occasions.

Defencemen

PK Subban
40 minutes for PK tonight and the crazy thing is that he didn't look like he was tired. He played well throughout; smart and patient. He skated so well with the puck and each of his spins looked just too easy that you wonder why no one else can do them.

Hal Gill
Gill had some moments where he looked like his regular season self from 2 years ago, moments where I yelled at the TV. But, there were other moments, many more of them, where he made amazing plays and stopped Boston from getting anywhere near the net. He was unlucky to be there on Boston's first goal as it was the first of two bounces to go their way, a department that they beat us in by two tonight.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
He was two very unlucky bounces away from a huge shutout win. They got the bounces and the calls tonight and we didn't. Carey was the best player on either team as he was thwarting Boston every couple of minutes. It was big save after big save. He looked so calm out there, could it be that my heart, in my living room, was pumping more than his tonight? Crazy.

Comments

You can't tell me that the Bruins didn't break a rule in the last 50 minutes of this game, well, you can if you are a ref. I can't blame Boston for breaking every rule in the book (apart from the shooting the puck over the glass rule - for some reason the only callable penalty in the playoffs as we all know it is the worst thing that one can do out there) because that is the type of hockey the fans (didn't ask too many people that I know) and the league wants. At the end of the day though we got unlucky (a Ryder glove save, a Chara leg save, two bounces right to them in our crease) and they didn't. It is a shame as I felt we played as well, if not better, for the majority of this game. We didn't dominate and we were certainly dominated at times, but we did have a lot of chances and played some good hockey at both ends, especially in nets. The Habs could probably be up in this series, they could probably already have won it, but at the end of the day we aren't getting the goals we need. Every game ends up being too tight and you can't go far if you always have to go to OT or win by 1 (let's forget 1993).

Game 6 will be intense and Boston will likely come out hungrier, so let's hope the ghosts can give us a few bounces so that we can go back to Boston and try, one more time, to beat them in a winner-take-all game.

Stanley Cup 2011, Round One Key Bruins Players

The Bruins haven't won anything yet, except maybe the hearts and minds of the reporters who would never choose Montreal anyway.

If they are to beat Montreal, I'd expect some of these players to be key.


Nathan Horton

I wonder if Floridians trotted out the 2003 draft every time they saw Horton play. Heaven knows they could have. After all, all the same players were taken after him as Andrei Kostitsyn, but you could add 7 more.

Essentially Horton is a second fiddle, which is not what you want from a 3rd overall pick, but it suits Boston 8 years later just fine. Still, if Boston hope to dominate anything, their top line will have to be there for them. 26-goal man Horton will have to be there in his first playoff games ever after 500 inconsequential match-ups.


Tomas Kaberle

Kaberle is key for so many reasons. For one thing, he is the second defenceman on the team for a PP that will need to fire. For another thing, he represents the lot that has been thrown in for this playoffs, as a first rounder and another recent one made their way to Toronto.

Kaberle wasn't excellent since the trade from TO, but he has been excellent many times before against the Canadiens. It will be up to the Czech to take the load off Chara, who already has to carry most of the defending and Big Badness mantle. If Kaberle can't help Zdeno on the PP, neutral zone regrouping may be the least of the Bruins worries.


Patrice Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron looked like he might win me my pool this year. Ultimately, he ended up costing me in the end. One goal and a few points to close the season was poor. In fact, take away his Christmas to All-Star break flourish, and he's not outshining Gomez by as much as his numbers suggest.

And it won't be a surprise that Marchand and Recchi go down with their centre, just as they followed him in the season.

Patrice has the ability to be a playoff performer, as he's shown it in the past. But like Gomez, it won't be enough to live on reputation, a turnaround for the Bruins team will provide them the two lines they use to vaunt their depth.


Adam McQuaid

One of the potential greenhorns at the back end, he's impressed against the Canadiens with his grit and even his scoring on a couple of occasions. But that was a couple of regular season games we're talking about.

How McQuaid fares, or Kampfer, or whoever is D #6 will be critical to the Bruins, because a counterattack offense is not kind to weak links.

From what I've seen so far, I'd also mark him down as a temper risk. Playoff hockey can bring out some intense moments, and a series like Boston:Montreal is far worse in that regard. A young hothead sounds like a good idea on paper, but one can also tip a series the wrong way for his team if discipline is lost.


Michael Ryder

A player like Michael Ryder is currently keeping the highly touted Tyler Seguin (he that was nearly picked ahead of Taylor Hall for playoff/grit reasons) on the bench.

We've seen this from Julien before, when he benched Phil Kessel for being too talented as he watched his team lose to Carey Price without being able to score.

If Michael Ryder plays really well, he could be a thorn in Montreal's side. If he plays moderately well, however, he could do Montreal a big favour by staying in the lineup and costing Boston in their ultimate offensive potential. And if he plays badly too soon, he could inadvertently help his team by making the right lineup choice so much clearer.