Confidence. Trust. Experience. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs through sheer adversity and a strong belief. Many doubted the Canadiens ability to close out the series after having lost two games in a row. The Senators late season surge was such a feel good story, it was easy to jump on their bandwagon and believe that anything was possible. Except they forgot about the guy at the other end of the ice, a lad named Carey Price. The goalie who will eventually be named the 2015 Vézina and Hart trophies winner, who would be impossible to beat for a third game in a row. The Canadiens knew that it was time to step up and be there for the guy who has undeniably been there for them. Fortunately in game 6, a number of candidates rose to the occasion to provide Price with just enough help to keep the Senators at bay. Brendan Gallagher’s opening goal could only be described as the most incredibly determined effort by an individual. On the play, Zach Smith’s stick literally gets stuck in Gallagher’s skate. Somehow Gallagher is able to keep his balance and remove the stick, head towards the net as he always does where Pateryn’s shot from the point hits his body all while he turns fast like a Tazmanian Devil and swats the puck out of the air into the net. If anyone deserved a goal this series it was Brendan Gallagher who never takes a shift off and does much of the Canadiens dirty work. Perhaps the best thing to come out game 6 was that Max Pacioretty came to play and showed serious signs that he is finally healthy. He was aggressive, fast and the most involved in the play as he had been all series. On Gallagher’s goal Pacioretty won his battle along the boards to keep the puck in Ottawa’s zone, something that was much more difficult for him earlier in the series. Most notable was his speed, blazing down the sides and being very effective on the penalty kill. Much has been said already about Lars Eller, the best forward of the Canadiens throughout the series. Eller went a heroic 12-2 on faceoffs, losing only one in the defensive end. Whenever his line was on they would eat up minutes in the Senators zone. Prust also played a very strong game with Eller, somewhat predicated by Michel Therrien who before game 6 said “Problem was Anderson ended up poking the wrong guy.…. Together with Eller and Weise and/or Paranteau, the Eller line brought much needed energy and frustrated the Senators. Michel Therrien deserves full credit for coaching perhaps his best game of the series making three key moves in game 6: 1) He finally re-inserted P.A. Parenteau into the lineup to generate offense. Therrien started Parenteau with Eller and Prust and by the 2nd period after he got his legs under him, moved next to Desharnais and Galchenyuk. While defensively that line might make fans nervous, they cycled the puck well and had opportunities. 2) To say that Desharnais has been inconsistent throughout the series would be considered kind by some. In game 6 Therrien limited his minutes and gave Eller the extra minutes he had deserved to play. Eller is playing with complete confidence and it is nice to finally see him be rewarded. 3) The smartest adjustment that Therrien made though was benching Andrei Markov at the end of the game and replacing him with Tom Gilbert next to P.K. Subban. Markov and the word “benched… have not been seen together in years. Unfortunately game 6 was probably his worst game of the year, taking two unnecessary penalties and untimely giveaways. There was no greater save in the game then when Carey Price stopped Kyle Turris with his stick after Markov had given away the puck at the blue line towards the end of the opening period. That was the moment the Canadiens and its fans knew that Carey Price was dialed in. In Markov’s place at the end of the game and on the penalty kill, Gilbert would step to lead the Habs with 5 blocked shots. With the first series won, the Canadiens will now benefit from a little extra rest while they wait to learn who will be their next opponent, Detroit or Tampa Bay. Some questions have been answered while new ones have arisen. Jeff Petry is better than anyone had imagined when he was acquired at the trade deadline. Lars Eller is playing like the 2014 playoffs edition. Carey Price is still the best goalie in the world. However, one wonders if the rest will help Markov recover from his subpar first round performance or if this slow, mistake-prone version one that we will need to get used to? What happens if Nathan Beaulieu is ready to play for round 2? Greg Pateryn has generally been solid but played less than 10 minutes in game 6. Will the coaching staff find a cure for their power play woes? Perhaps it is time to get Sergei Gonchar behind the bench with the coaches and see what strategies and experience he might offer… One thing is clear though. It is late-April, the Montreal Canadiens will play into May, having advanced past the first round in consecutive years for the first time since 1992 & 1993. The Canadiens though will not be satisfied with just one series win after having gone to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014. They are hungry, and they want to prove themselves. Most of all, they do not want to let down Carey Price, the man has Carey’d them. For they know that with Carey Price in goal, anything is possible.
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