Ann 2Canadiens To Face Capitals In Playoffs' First Round
April 13th 2010 02:36
In the week following the Olympics, the Montreal Canadiens were the hottest team in NHL, riding a five-game winning streak and finally looking like a well-rounded squad. Fast-forward two months later and the Habs - who looked poised to overtake the Senators' spot in the divisional rankings back in late February - are stumbling into the playoffs in eighth place after a dismal last week in which they went 1-1-2, clinching their playoffs spot in the last game of the season - an overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Before that week, the Canadiens were sitting pretty in sixth place, a date with the Buffalo Sabres looking more and more likely. Now, they'll face the powerhouse of the East, the Washington Capitals.
So, for the second consecutive year, the Habs will face the number one team of the East. There is no question that this year's edition of the Canadiens is much better than the one who were swept in four games by the Boston Bruins last year. However, more questions arise as the playoffs are set to begin.
First, there is no doubt that Jaroslav Halak will be given the nod to start in goal but last week's average performance which came after he posted back-to-back shutouts two weeks ago has people wondering if the young netminder is showing signs of fatigue an aspect of the game that was crucially neglected two years ago when Carey Price offered a subpar performance in the second round against the Philadelphia Flyers. Of course, Jacques Martin can't start a cold Price to begin the playoffs but if Halak were to falter in the first couple of games, I hope that Martin won't be as stubborn as Gainey who refused to give Halak a start against the Bruins last year.
In defense, Ryan O'Byrne looks to be the odd man out but you have to wonder if he wouldn't be better than Jaroslav Spacek who doesn't play physical and can't shoot straight. There's also the Marc-Andr้ Bergeron factor to consider before the games begin. He diminutive blueliner is horrible defensively but has a rocket shot that's desperately needed on the powerplay.
In attack, the first two lines are set and hopefully Mike Cammalleri will find his scoring touch before the Habs find themselves down 3-0. Sergei Kostitsyn should be back on the third line unless Martin finds some insignificant reason to bench him again. There is no question that the team is better when the younger Kostitsyn plays, Martin just has to find a way to get him going instead of punishing him all the time. Finally, the fourth line's members will depend on whether Bergeron plays defense or offense. As previously mentioned, Bergeron is a mistake waiting to happened in his own zone (can you imagine him against Ovechkin?! Yikes!) but when put on the fourth line, he usually detracts his linemates from playing the relentless hockey they should be playing. I guess there will be a three-man rotation between Darche, Pyatt/Maxwell, and Bergeron if he plays offense.
Finally, there's been talk of Jacques Martin's system all year long but a system which is based on sitting on a lead will not work against Washington's deep offense. If Canadiens want to have any chance in this series, they'll have to take the game to the Caps and force their defense to commit turnovers. If they wait for the Capitals to come to them, they'll be easily dismantled, leaving Montreal to wonder where it all went wrong once again.
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