Ann 22008 NHL Playoffs - Round 1: Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Game 7 REVIEW
April 22nd 2008 22:48
Habs steamroll Bruins 5-0 in an electric game.
The undefeated tie was there. The crowd was into it. The Artist showed up. The Kostitsyn brothers were flying. The captain was intense. The grinders were hitting and blocking shots. Price was in the zone. How can you stop the Habs when confronted to these conditions?
It was the perfect home game. From the pre-game warmup to the selection of the match's three stars, the crowd never let up. It started with cautious yells of “Go Habs Go!” in the first period. After Komisarek's goal – first of the game – caution became optimism. Then, Mark Streit - completely invisible in this series up until this point - deked around Chara, faked a shot, and scored the second goal of the game by pushing the puck in between Tim Thomas' legs. Optimism became confidence. Five minutes later, Andrei Kostitsyn received a pass from his brother and, surrounded on all sides by Boston's defense, pulled off a wrister that went top-corner. 3-0. The crowd erupted in a frenzy and the “Olé Olé Olé” chant grew louder.
In the third period, the Habs' powerplay rose from the dead. A. Kostitsyn scored his second of the game off a rebound from Brisebois' shot. With three minutes left to go, the chorus began, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.” When 18:00 minutes hit the clock, the TV commentators surrendered their mics to the crowd. With one minute remaining, the crowd rose to their feet for a standing ovation. Finally, with seven seconds left on the clock, Sergei Kostistyn put the final nail in the coffin, scoring his first of the match. The crowd went into a frenzy. Carbo, nervous during the whole game, finally cracked a smile. Claude Julien made his sad turtle face. The Montreal Canadiens are through to the second round.
And at the heart of it all, the twenty-year-old kid with ice in his veins, Carey Price. If it wasn't for him, the Habs would've ended the first period with a three-goal deficit, and I would be lamenting the ineffectiveness of this team. Price kept them alive and for that (and his shutout), he was named the game's first star.
I've got to hand it to the Bruins though. They never quit. After the Habs scored the first goal, the Bs became even more menacing but I guess exhaustion took over. The second goal and Montreal's PK teams seemed to have drain all the energy left in them. Their defense was running ragged from the combination of the Canadiens' speed and grit. If it wasn't the Plekanec and Koivu line flying by them, it was the grinders pushing their faces into the boards. I guess they couldn't take this constant abuse anymore and by the second half of the third period, the Bruins made no effort to hit the Habs entering their zone, something that they did relentlessly in the other games.
So, here we are. The city is in a high. It's spring time, the sun is shining, and the Habs are going to the quarterfinals. I still have a couple of notes on the game overall. Here it goes.
First, putting Kovalev on Koivu's line was a stroke of genius on Carbo's part. Chara couldn't contain the double threat of Koivu and Kovalev and spent the whole game playing monkey-in-the-middle between the two players. Furthermore, Kovy's absence from Plekanec's line gave more freedom to the Czech center and his linemates, the Kostitsyn brothers. These two know how to read each other and I think Carbonneau should keep them together. Switching Sergei Kostitsyn with Alex Kovalev was a minor change with major repercussions. Second, I think that Dandenault should sit out a game or two. I have nothing against him but we could use Latendresse on this line for a little more size. Third, one of the coaches needs to talk to Sergei about discipline. I said this before but Sergei took two bad penalties again last night.
In the end, the Canadiens will face either the Flyers of Rangers. If the Flyers win tonight (more on that in my Caps - Flyers Game 7 preview), it will be the Flyers. If the Caps win, it will be the Rangers. Either way, the second round will start on Thursday. Let's hope the team will be ready.
Oh, by the way, Carbo mentioned in his press conference that he will wear the tie again “when the time is right.” The tie is now a perfect 3-0. Thou shall not doubt the power of an Hermès tie.
The undefeated tie was there. The crowd was into it. The Artist showed up. The Kostitsyn brothers were flying. The captain was intense. The grinders were hitting and blocking shots. Price was in the zone. How can you stop the Habs when confronted to these conditions?
It was the perfect home game. From the pre-game warmup to the selection of the match's three stars, the crowd never let up. It started with cautious yells of “Go Habs Go!” in the first period. After Komisarek's goal – first of the game – caution became optimism. Then, Mark Streit - completely invisible in this series up until this point - deked around Chara, faked a shot, and scored the second goal of the game by pushing the puck in between Tim Thomas' legs. Optimism became confidence. Five minutes later, Andrei Kostitsyn received a pass from his brother and, surrounded on all sides by Boston's defense, pulled off a wrister that went top-corner. 3-0. The crowd erupted in a frenzy and the “Olé Olé Olé” chant grew louder.
In the third period, the Habs' powerplay rose from the dead. A. Kostitsyn scored his second of the game off a rebound from Brisebois' shot. With three minutes left to go, the chorus began, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.” When 18:00 minutes hit the clock, the TV commentators surrendered their mics to the crowd. With one minute remaining, the crowd rose to their feet for a standing ovation. Finally, with seven seconds left on the clock, Sergei Kostistyn put the final nail in the coffin, scoring his first of the match. The crowd went into a frenzy. Carbo, nervous during the whole game, finally cracked a smile. Claude Julien made his sad turtle face. The Montreal Canadiens are through to the second round.
And at the heart of it all, the twenty-year-old kid with ice in his veins, Carey Price. If it wasn't for him, the Habs would've ended the first period with a three-goal deficit, and I would be lamenting the ineffectiveness of this team. Price kept them alive and for that (and his shutout), he was named the game's first star.
I've got to hand it to the Bruins though. They never quit. After the Habs scored the first goal, the Bs became even more menacing but I guess exhaustion took over. The second goal and Montreal's PK teams seemed to have drain all the energy left in them. Their defense was running ragged from the combination of the Canadiens' speed and grit. If it wasn't the Plekanec and Koivu line flying by them, it was the grinders pushing their faces into the boards. I guess they couldn't take this constant abuse anymore and by the second half of the third period, the Bruins made no effort to hit the Habs entering their zone, something that they did relentlessly in the other games.
So, here we are. The city is in a high. It's spring time, the sun is shining, and the Habs are going to the quarterfinals. I still have a couple of notes on the game overall. Here it goes.
First, putting Kovalev on Koivu's line was a stroke of genius on Carbo's part. Chara couldn't contain the double threat of Koivu and Kovalev and spent the whole game playing monkey-in-the-middle between the two players. Furthermore, Kovy's absence from Plekanec's line gave more freedom to the Czech center and his linemates, the Kostitsyn brothers. These two know how to read each other and I think Carbonneau should keep them together. Switching Sergei Kostitsyn with Alex Kovalev was a minor change with major repercussions. Second, I think that Dandenault should sit out a game or two. I have nothing against him but we could use Latendresse on this line for a little more size. Third, one of the coaches needs to talk to Sergei about discipline. I said this before but Sergei took two bad penalties again last night.
In the end, the Canadiens will face either the Flyers of Rangers. If the Flyers win tonight (more on that in my Caps - Flyers Game 7 preview), it will be the Flyers. If the Caps win, it will be the Rangers. Either way, the second round will start on Thursday. Let's hope the team will be ready.
Oh, by the way, Carbo mentioned in his press conference that he will wear the tie again “when the time is right.” The tie is now a perfect 3-0. Thou shall not doubt the power of an Hermès tie.
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