On the verge of stealing away the first two games of this series, the Montreal Canadiens blew a two-goal lead with less than 11:00 remaining in yesterday's game. The Boston Bruins asserted their championship quality resolve, firing three unanswered goals before Milan Lucic iced the game on an empty-netter.
It was a dramatic end to what would've been the Canadiens seventh straight win dating back to the regular season--five of them notched since the opening of the playoffs.
After the game Carey Price offered that the team didn't expect to come in and sweep the Bruins in Boston. You could probably conclude that they didn't expect to get through the playoffs with a perfect record, either. But they sure were close to extending their perfection through the playoffs.
After Dan Paille opened the scoring with a tremendous release to beat Price over the blocker, Mike Weaver responded at the beginning of the second period, pushing a slapshot by Tuukka Rask. The goal came on the heels of missed chances by Tomas Plekanec and Brandon Prust; glorious opportunities to tie the game.
Montreal took the lead at the end of a 4-on-3 powerplay, as Max Pacioretty fought to keep a Boston zone clearance in before giving the puck to P.K. Subban, who fired it in off Thomas Vanek's stick.
Vanek struck again on the powerplay in the third period, this time care of David Desharnais, and Subban, who launched another shot off his stick. The goal represented Subban's ninth point of the playoffs; his fourth of this series.
That said, Subban was on for a couple of goals against at even strength Saturday, as the Bruins struck for three in roughly seven minutes of play care of Dougie Hamilton, Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith.
Lucic's goal provided all the insurance the Bruins would need. The shocking comeback had to have rocked the Canadiens, but Price summed up his team's mentality nicely by saying: "It’s time to regroup. Winners regroup,".
The Canadiens will have a ripe opportunity to prove what they're made of Tuesday at the Bell Centre. Michel Therrien opted not to hold practice today, as the Habs will resume their on-ice workouts Monday.
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1) Not too sure the blame game needs to be played with Francis Bouillon. Two pucks found their way past Price after hitting Bouillon, and to suggest he's responsible for that certainly discounts any of the luck involved in those plays.
That said, he wasn't quite on par with what Weaver had to offer in this one. That five-on-three kill in the first period was even more impressive for Weaver than his goal was.
2) Brian Wilde,
in his Call of the Wilde blog, suggested that Max Pacioretty responded exceptionally well to a national media member claiming that he was just a perimeter player. He said the comment pissed Pacioretty off.
He seems to be the type of player that plays better when he's angry. I tried to get Pacioretty to admit as much as after his goalless streak at the beginning of the season. He got hit extremely hard (into the bubble where the stanchion used to be) in a game against the Wild before shooting a hat-trick by Josh Harding to get his career-best 39 goals rolling.
He must find a way to push through and get to that next level. The Bruins force you to dump the puck in when they have even numbers, and Pacioretty's got to be the retriever on his line. He was better in game two than he was in game one. And he's got to be better in game three for the Canadiens to rebound.
3) There are a lot of David Desharnais detractors that will suggest this meeting with Boston expose the fact that he's not as good of a player as his numbers would suggest. There's no doubt that he's got room to mature into a better hockey player than he already is, but consider he's matched up against the best defensive centreman in Bergeron and arguably the best defensive defenseman in Chara, and realize that's a huge challenge for any player. The experience is going to serve him extremely well, and we'll see how he does with the series shifting back to Montreal.
4) Therrien's decision to sit Moen in light of a second game to be played some 36 hours after the first was a shrewd one. Not sure whether Bournival will keep his spot in the lineup, but he was certainly up to the task of filling in, both on the fourth line, and on the second line for a number of shifts.
Could we see an adjustment made on the blue line for game 3? If Bouillon sits, it'll probably be for Douglas Murray.
5) A word on Subban: Most professional athletes are considered role models whether they're worthy of the label, or not, and he just happens to be one of the few you truly would want your kids to look up to. You can push past the bravado and strong confidence (often perceived as cockiness) that pushes him to be the best on-ice version of himself, and recognize just how well he was raised and how mature he truly is.
He's an elite performer, who has found his best game at the most important time to find it. He never cheats himself or his team, because he's got an ironclad work ethic and a clear dedication to constantly build on his God-given gift.
Subban's also an elite person of unimpeachable character, who--in the face of flagrant and disturbing controversy--paid no mind to the ignorance of outliers, and credited the Bruins, their fans and the people of Boston for their defense of him in spite of the rivalry that he's at the centre of, insisting they not be painted with the general perception that they're intolerant or accepting of such nonsense.
It was the type of reaction most would struggle to come by, but the type you'd expect from Subban, especially if you knew him. He allowed more and more people to know what kind of person he is with his comments Saturday, and that's a blessing. People should know what he stands for, because he's someone people of all ages should admire.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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