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Habs not receiving enough credit for how well they have performed |
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An irony of Montreal playing Vegas in the NHL Semifinal is that it’s the Canadiens playing with house money.
No one expected them to advance this far. No one expected them to have nine playoff wins. No one expected that the Canadiens would have a real chance of advancing beyond this point.c
But the Canadians do have a shot.
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They have a shot because they are playing as well as any team left in the field. Everyone keeps looking for reasons why the Winnipeg Jets blew it against the Canadiens or why the Maple Leafs didn’t get it done.
What everyone is missing is the Canadiens are getting it done. They have won eight out of their last nine and are playing the kind of hard-nosed hockey that suceeds in the postseason. We’ve seen this before. It’s not about talent in the postseason. It’s about perseverance, pushback and pluckiness.
The Habs didn’t beat the Jets and Maple Leafs because those teams failed. They won because they were playing at a higher level. We saw that happen in the 2016-17 season when the Nashville Predators had the 17th best regular-season record and then reached the Stanley Cup Final.
In 2011-12, the Kings and Devils were third and fourth respectively in their division and reached the Stanley Cup Final.
Nobody understands the phenomenon of playoff momentum, building success on top of success, more than older Canadiens’ fans who watched the beloved Habs rise up from a third place Adams Division team to win their last Stanley Cup in 1993.
There are similarities between the two teams, starting with the fact that goalies Patrick Roy in 1993 and Carey Price this year boast the kind of aura that gets into opponents’ heads.
This year Habs have plenty of unsung heroes, just like the 1993 team have. Did anyone guess that Correy Perry would be among the team’s offensive leaders? Jeff Petry came off the injury list to play 20 minutes on defense. Everyone is doing his part.
But the greatest similarity is that the both teams stepped up and played impressively when it was needed most. The Habs didn’t win Game 2 against the Golden Knights because they were the better team. They won because they pushed themselves to make the plays they needed to make.
It seems time for everyone to recognize that the Habs are playing well enough to win it all. They have been difficult to play against. They are doing the job defensively. Montreal blocked 28 shots in Game 2, more than twice as many as the Golden Knights blocked. They are finding ways to get inside the strong Vegas defense.
I’m not predicting they will win the Stanley Cup. What I’m saying is they are not out of place in this Final Four. They deserved to be here because of how well they have played. They can run with the big dogs. The Maple Leafs, Jets and Golden Knights didn't hand them nine wins. By winning Game 2, they reminded us they could win this series.
Today, the Golden Knights are working on tactics to combat what the Canadiens are doing to them defensively.
That’s all we need to know about how strong they are performing.
The other thing I know is that there are 27 other NHL teams today who wish they were playing as well as the Canadiens are playing.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
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