Ann 22009 NHL Playoffs – Round 1: Bruins Sweep Canadiens With 4-1 Victory (Video Included)
April 24th 2009 04:56
For the second consecutive game in this one-sided series, the Montreal Canadiens were able to score the first goal of the match. But like all previous confrontations, the Boston Bruins – spearheaded by an opportunistic Michael Ryder - capitalized on every Canadiens' mishap in the defensive zone to walk away with another easy 4-1 win. The Bruins go on to the second round for the first time since 1999 while the Canadiens can finally put this nightmarish Centennial season to rest (though, technically, the Habs' 100th birthday will be celebrated this fall). Check out the game highlights in the video below...
Although this elimination brings great disappointment to Habs fans, what should have happened happened: the first seed eliminated the eighth seed. It takes pure delusion to think that the Canadiens squad who stumbled into the playoffs missing their top defenseman (Andrei Markov), their top-scoring center (Robert Lang) only to lose powerplay pointman Mathieu Schneider and winger Alex Tanguay halfway through the series. A weak Montreal team was even weaker against a strong, healthy, and disciplined Boston squad.
Now of course, “fans” are asking to blow up the team. “Get rid of the Kostitsyns, get rid of Plekanec, Price, O'Byrne, Komisarek – all useless bastards.” Those same fans were happy to see Ryder gone about a year ago. Now they're saying that letting him go was a mistake – funny how things turn around. I never liked Ryder, only good for one thing - shooting the puck, so I was – and still am – glad to see him go. People here in Montreal are raving about his 27 goals this season while they're crapping all over Kostitsyn who had 'only' 23 goals. Seriously? Am I the only one seeing something wrong here?
This season was doomed from the start, period. All the hype, the expectations from last year, the Centennial activities, the All-Star game put only more pressure on a squad that played only a handful of games with its intended roster. The injuries started to pile up since the pre-season and they never let up. The loss of Lang and the hasty return of Price after his injury were the fatal blows. The trip out West, the organized crime connections, the off-ice rumors, and the firing of Guy Carbonneau made matters even worse. Heck, it got the point where I didn't even expect them to make the playoffs. I was happy they did but once they lost Markov, it was clear that the dream was over before it began.
So, that's how it ends. Losing to the Bruins. Fitting, isn't it, that the team the Habs have owned for what seemed like forever eliminates them in the series. I'll continue to blog the rest of the playoffs by focusing on Boston and the Penguins (if they go through since the Flyers just pushed the series to a sixth game), and the Capitals if they manage the impossible against King Henrik. Out West, my focus will be on the Red Wings and the winner of the Blackhawks – Calgary series.
Similarly to last year, I'll post some stuff about Montreal's UFAs. There are eleven of them this year so forgive me if I don't write about them all. And now, I leave you with a quote from Bob Gainey talking about the pressure and expectations from Montreal fans.
Till next time...
Although this elimination brings great disappointment to Habs fans, what should have happened happened: the first seed eliminated the eighth seed. It takes pure delusion to think that the Canadiens squad who stumbled into the playoffs missing their top defenseman (Andrei Markov), their top-scoring center (Robert Lang) only to lose powerplay pointman Mathieu Schneider and winger Alex Tanguay halfway through the series. A weak Montreal team was even weaker against a strong, healthy, and disciplined Boston squad.
Now of course, “fans” are asking to blow up the team. “Get rid of the Kostitsyns, get rid of Plekanec, Price, O'Byrne, Komisarek – all useless bastards.” Those same fans were happy to see Ryder gone about a year ago. Now they're saying that letting him go was a mistake – funny how things turn around. I never liked Ryder, only good for one thing - shooting the puck, so I was – and still am – glad to see him go. People here in Montreal are raving about his 27 goals this season while they're crapping all over Kostitsyn who had 'only' 23 goals. Seriously? Am I the only one seeing something wrong here?
This season was doomed from the start, period. All the hype, the expectations from last year, the Centennial activities, the All-Star game put only more pressure on a squad that played only a handful of games with its intended roster. The injuries started to pile up since the pre-season and they never let up. The loss of Lang and the hasty return of Price after his injury were the fatal blows. The trip out West, the organized crime connections, the off-ice rumors, and the firing of Guy Carbonneau made matters even worse. Heck, it got the point where I didn't even expect them to make the playoffs. I was happy they did but once they lost Markov, it was clear that the dream was over before it began.
So, that's how it ends. Losing to the Bruins. Fitting, isn't it, that the team the Habs have owned for what seemed like forever eliminates them in the series. I'll continue to blog the rest of the playoffs by focusing on Boston and the Penguins (if they go through since the Flyers just pushed the series to a sixth game), and the Capitals if they manage the impossible against King Henrik. Out West, my focus will be on the Red Wings and the winner of the Blackhawks – Calgary series.
Similarly to last year, I'll post some stuff about Montreal's UFAs. There are eleven of them this year so forgive me if I don't write about them all. And now, I leave you with a quote from Bob Gainey talking about the pressure and expectations from Montreal fans.
“The people love the sport here and, in some ways, that's a positive, and in some ways, passion can be detrimental. It is what it is. It's a great place to play. The people care. It's a great team with great traditions. And we gotta compete on an equal level with everyone else. [...] I know that the guy in Nashville wants to win just as bad as we do even though people here think “Nashville? Who the hell would want to go there?” Well, you know what? They like hockey there and they play hockey there. They play to win the same as we do. And we've got no entitlement to a place in the playoffs. We've got no right to a place in the playoffs. That's why we play for one. And that's why we put our goal there at the beginning of every year.”
Till next time...
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