Same Old, Same Old as Habs Drop A Point to Rangers in 4-3 Shootout Loss
The Montreal Canadiens never led but found a way to make it to the end of regulation time tied at 3, only to be scored on 3 consecutive times in the shootout and fall to the New York Rangers tonight. Could it be that we are expecting too much from this rag-tag bunch? Could it be that perhaps, their best is simply not good enough?
The work ethic was there but the story remains the same for the Montreal Canadiens. The firing of Guy Cabonneau has yet to show in the style of play, or lack thereof of this lacklustre team. Yes, they were able 3 times to come back from one goal deficits, however 3 things remain the same:
The Canadiens are constantly having issues with puck control, especially in their own end, which results in perpetual turnovers, which in turn results in goals against. Perhaps the next mandatory practice, meaning no soccer, but a full team hockey practice, the Habs should, you know, work on that.
The Key difference between the Habs and every other team they have met in the last few weeks is that while the Canadiens are playing not to lose, the other teams either had nothing to lose or were quite comfrortable in their own skins. While this is easier said than done, especially when the boo-birds have migrated back to the Bell Centre, Montreal needs to not grip the sticks as much and let instinct take over. A perfect example was the 2 on 1 opportunity where Christopher Higgins had all the time in the world to either pass or shoot, over-thought it and was able to do neither as he was eventually poke checked off the puck.
Montreal did match the Rangers in energy and effort, but in the end, as is usually the case, if the Montreal goaltender does not stand on his head to steal the show, or inversely, if he has a bad game while the team does their thing, the result is similar to what was witnessed tonight. Carey Price, who despite getting two goals-for by Kovalev and Markov in the shootout, was unable to stop any of the shots he faced when the time came for him to shine. This after Gainey gave him the nod after a respectable showing by Jaroslave Halak against the Devils last Saturday night. I'm guessing we will see ALOT more of Halak in the next 12 games.
The Habs salvaged a point, but the question is, will that be one point enough to make it into the playoffs, or will we be talking about the point that got away while the other teams play on into the spring?
I have one question for Bob Gainey: Was Nik Antropov not available to the Montreal Canadiens for the same 2nd round and conditional picks that the Rangers gave up to acquire him? It seems to me that his 5 goals and one in the shootout since he's joined the Rangers might have come in handy.
Read on for the NHL Boxscore for the scoring summaries.
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