Game 5: Habs vs. Bruins

MONTREAL 4, BOSTON 2: FIVE ONSIDE HABS POINTS

1 - As I mentioned immediately after the conclusion of last night's game, the Habs win, their 4th in 5 starts this season, was an uneven victory. What I meant exactly by that was this. Once again, the Canadiens found a way of claiming victory in spite of the underlaying numbers favouring the opponent. The Habs were soundly outplayed in the first period, barely registering a CF% over 41, although the final shot totals in the period were 13-6 in favour of the Habs. Yet, somehow they were able to hold the line, and find their way to victory. It's been like that since game one - and beyond the fact that the Habs are consistently losing the battle for puck possession, the Canadiens are winning because of two basic reasons: Exceptional goaltending (Al Montoya was outstanding backing up Price for the first 3 games), and puck luck. The Canadiens currently hold the League's largest PDO (108.0), with the Detroit Red Wings ranked 2nd - at 104.2. It's not only goaltending that has helped the Habs to find ways of winning games - their shooting percentage is a sky-high 12.7%, 3rd highest in the League. A typical average NHL Sh% over a 82 stretch is usually between 7-8%. Bottom line here - the Habs have been beating the averages, enjoying the benefits of good bounces. But they never last. They won't last. When the Canadiens revert to the average, this team, unless it starts changing its puck possession approach, will start losing.

2 - One area that did show improvement for the Habs were their faceoff percentages. Entering the game, the Canadiens were ranked 26th overall, but that number improved last night with the Canadiens winning 57% of the drops. Perhaps most critically, the Habs won nearly 60% of the faceoffs in their zone, which certainly helped them to mitigate the puck possession advantages the Bruins enjoyed through most of the 1st period, and at certain points in the 3rd.

3 - Another solid game for Carey Price - not sparkling - but solid. He wasn't overtly busy last night, in part because the Habs were doing a better job winning faceoffs, in part because the Habs defence was doing a reasonable job at shot blocking, in part because the Bruins' powerplay was exceptionally inept. But Price did make key saves at key times scattered throughout the evening, which is all you can really ask and hope for from your number one goaltender.

4 - The Habs powerplay continues to underwhelm, as indicated by a couple of graphics. Here is the Habs high danger scoring chances last night (5v5):

So 14 chances there - a pretty ordinary chart for any given night. Now let's look at the Habs high danger scoring chances with the powerplay included:

The differences are hard to discern, but the arrows point at the 3 danger shots that were generated during the 8:18 of Habs powerplay minutes. When you enjoy about 15% of your game with one extra player on the ice, you ought to also enjoy more high percentage chances than the measly 3 the Canadiens generated. The answer is most likely because the Canadiens continue to follow the same losing strategy - lots of crips perimeter passing, and frequent shot attempts from the point, but very few attempts from anywhere in the slot, and virtually nothing near the crease. This powerplay continues to obsesses over feeding the puck to Shea Weber for one-time shots, which makes sense enough if only Shea Weber were capable of delivering shots on target. With exception to the one goal he's scored with the man advantage this season, Weber's accuracy has been wildly off target - in part because opposing defenders have been blocking shooting lanes, in part because Weber simply isn't very good with his shot - velocity removed from consideration.

5 - I've seen praise heaped on Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu for their work clearing the puck, but the bottom line stats bear out that the Habs best defenseman last night was Greg Pateryn. In addition to doing a fine job feeding the puck to his forwards from his own zone, Pateryn posted the best shot attempt difference last night - a plus 5. 

LIVE BLOG:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Keep an eye on Habs faceoff performance tonight - it's been kind of not good this season, just 45%.

- Gallagher gets 4 minutes for careless use of his stick - Habs PK has been very good so far this year - it'll need to be to handle the Bruins powerplay, which hasn't been particularly effective this year (just 7.1%), but with guys like Bergeron and Marchand and Krejci, watch out.

- Pretty much all Bruins so far, Julien doing some apt line matching, putting his big guns out against the Mitchell line - which has been overwhelmed by Boston's forecheck and speed.

- Carey Price looks pretty sharp, but even he can't sustain the one-sidedness of this game and keep his team's head above water. Bruins gaining Habs zone with ease. That's a huge problem.

- With 7 minutes left, shots are 4-4, but brother, no way it's even out there. Habs have been wretched, the Bruins seemingly unstoppable. Carey Price remains their biggest obstacle.

- Just no way this game is sustainable for the Habs. The Bruins have to score eventually.

- Habs zone starts this season are just over 56% their side of centre, which is the 5th worst in the NHL. It's a big issue for any team when they start most of the play in their own zone. Puts a lot of tough pressure on their defence, even more on goaltending. You cannot hope to win regularly with that kind of weight around your neck.

- Habs 2nd powerplay, good puck movement and passing, but most of it perimeter, and all shots coming off tries from the line. Looks great, but effectively - I'm not convinced this will provide the positive man advantage results the Habs are hoping for.

- If Marc Bergevin wants to win with grit, his players need to start demonstrating grit - including on their powerplay. Greasy goals are still goals. Won't happen if nobody is willing to crash the crease.

- Habs got a couple of decent scoring chances late in the period, but it was still grotesquely one-sided period in favour of Boston. Carey Price will have to pull more than a couple of tricks out of his bag tonight, otherwise, this could be an ugly result.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs somehow outshot the Bruins 13-6 in the first period, even though their CF was barely over 41%. What a weird 20 minutes:

- Habs powerplay goes pretty much nowhere - adjustments made emphasizing dump and chase approach to gaining the zone. Predictably, they fail to register a shot on goal.

- Khudobin has been very solid tonight for the Bruins, but he is giving up some pretty choice rebounds. Problem is, Habs have been so tentative in crashing the slot, that few, if any rebound chances are being taken advantage of.

- Gallagher does a nice job keeping the puck in the Bruins zone, and snaps a shot blocker side past Khudobin to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. The Canadiens being rewarded here by a pretty strong period of hockey - doing a decent forechecking job in the neutral zone, and the Bruins zone entries, where were unchallenged in the 1st period, have hit a roadblock in the 2nd.

- Bruins haven't scored first in a game this season, which always puts you an inherent disadvantage. Boston really outplayed Montreal in the first period, but couldn't finish their chances. Of course, there's the Carey Price factor to consider ...

- Greg Pateryn doesn't get nearly enough credit for his transition game. He's one of the few Habs defensemen that does a half decent job feeding the puck forward. It's played a role this period in helping the Habs to find their game, and mitigate the Bruins' momentum.

- Shea Weber is getting a honeymoon treatment in Montreal, which is to be expected. But unless and until he's actually able to put his powerplay shots on goal, it matters not whether that puck travels at 95 mph, or 495 mph. The results are going to be the same.

- Although, a 495 mph slapshot would be terrifying, as the NHL notes the uptake of on-ice fatalities.

- Bruins taking a few chances here to try and get their offence moving again, get caught up ice surrendering a 2-on-1, with Radulov feeding Danault, who's had an excellent game tonight, to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead.

- Weber gets nabbed for a clunky trip. It would be nice if he took "good" penalties once in awhile.

- Quite the turnaround in fortunes that period, the Habs deftly outplayed the Bruins, really shutting down the Bergeron line as the Habs 4th line finally found a groove. Carey Price hasn't been tested hard, but he has made more than a couple tough saves to keep the Bruins scoreless. I'm expecting the Bruins to come out hard to start the 3rd - Habs need to maintain their discipline and solid forecheck, maintaining good play in the neutral zone, to increase their chances of winning this game.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins after two periods, Montreal nearly 60% CF (5v5) in that second period:

- Remember the days when Zdeno Chara used to dominate this game on the blue line, striking fear into the eyes of his opponents? Man, those were the days. Long past. -5 on SF even strength tonight, he looks old and slow, most likely because he's old and slow.

- Big factor tonight is improvement by Habs in the faeeoff circle. Entering tonight's game with one of the worst percentages in the League, they've won 67.5% tonight. Significant improvement.

- Emelin with a very dumb pinch at the Bruins line to serve up a 2-on-1 break for Boston, Schaller to Moore to put the Bruins on the board. It's foolish plays like Emelin just made that quickly turn wins into losses.

- And now Emelin follows up that bonehead play on his next shift by taking a bonehead delay of game penalty. Stupefying stupid.

- Bryon to the rescue, blocking a point shot, and scoring on the break. 3-1 Habs. Emelin breaths a sight of relief.

- Oops, maybe not. Spooned cashes home a nice cross ice feed from Krug, assist to Markov and Weber for some pretty awful coverage, and it's 3-2. Back to the bench for you, Alexei. Just. Stay. There.

- Weber really struggling with Bruins rushes into the Habs zone, getting beat wide badly, having trouble adjusting to forwards coming hard towards the net. He and Emelin aren't doing Carey Price many favours this period.

- Chara and Markov. Personification of hockey from another time that's long passed them.

- Great forechecking effort by Torrey Mitchell in the Bruins zone, battling for the puck and backhanding the puck past Khudobin. Morrow, meanwhile, gives Mitchell a high stick to the face, a 4 minute minor that gives the Habs a bonus 2 minute powerplay.

- Weber takes a late interference call, again because he's caught flat-footed trying to react to the speed of an opposition rush. Get used to it Habs fans, you'll be seeing much more of this.

- Another delay of game penalty. And now Boston goes on a 6-on-3 powerplay. Yeeeps.

- Horribly executed powerplay. Just. Horrible.

- An untidy win, but a win nonetheless. Habs played poorly in the 1st, very well in the 2nd, and more more less hung on in the 3rd. This team's powerplay continues to look inept, so all the hopes and dreams that Weber was going to turn this unit around don't seem to be panning out - at least so far. Yes, again, it's too early to draw firm conclusions, but the signs aren't looking good that this Habs team isn't anything different than it was last year, except that it has Carey Price in goal. Not exactly reassuring.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Hey, it's the weekend! And it's the first game of the year against the Bruins! What more could anyone possibly want? HOW ABOUT BEARS IN A POOL??!?



A few notes, in point form:

- The Bruins are off to a pretty decent start to their season, winning 3 of their first 4 games. Brad Marchand, who had a tremendous World Cup, has continued his scoring ways early into the season, scoring 9 points in those first four games. While Marchand has been racking up the points, the Bruins have also received excellent support from their so-called 2nd line, Heinen/Krejci/Backes. After so many up-and-down hears, Krejci finally seems to be getting his form together, which could give the Habs defence plenty of headaches tonight.

- While the Habs do have 7 out of a possible 8 points to start the season, there are worrying signs about whether this team has overachieved. In the four games played, the Habs have a League-leading 108.8 PDO, largely because of Al Montoya's insane .962 SV%.  We've noted since the start of the season how much this team looks like the 2014-15 edition of the Montreal Canadiens - one that not so much thrived, but was reliant on goaltending in order to put together a winning record. Maybe that will change as the season progresses, but so far, early signs are reassuring.

- The Bruins winning record has come from the fine performance of their top two lines, centred by the always excellent Patrice Bergeron, and Krecji. There are ongoing concerns about the health of starting goaltender Tuukka Rask, who's dealing with, to use the words of head coach Claude Julien, "general soreness". So, with all that soreness going on, Rask won't start tonight. Anton Khudobin will start for Boston.

- Habs-related lineup decisions, Mikhail Sergachev and Daniel Carr will be healthy scratches tonight - Brian Flynn and Greg Pateryn will draw in for the Canadiens.

- Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game Fifty-Three: Flyers vs. Habs

OVERTIME:

- Habs being way too careful in this OT so far. Just finish it, guys.

- And there you have it. Desharnais a pass/shot that's completely flubbed by Emery. Follows up the rebound and backhands it in for the win. You just knew that was coming.

- Hey, are we in first place in the East yet?

THIRD PERIOD:

- Desharnais great speed on the wing, beats the sluggish Flyers defense, zooms in on Emery and somehow ... doesn't get a shot on goal.

- Habs be stormin' early here.

- Flyers look like the Habs have looked like for most of this season. Getting slapped around, but somehow, someway, maintaining a ridiculously low scoring lead.

- More fearless Subban stopping slap shots by Flyers forwards. That's helping them hang on.

- Corsi is going to be eye-poppingly one sided at the buzzer, if this keeps up.

- Dale Weise played the entire two minutes of the Habs powerplay 6 minutes into the 3rd. What?

- Finally. Finally. Plekanec. Emery couldn't cover the loose puck. That's Emery. Tie game. Finally.

- Sekac and Galchenyuk just don't do the dump and chase Therrien hockey, do they?

- Subban has been blocked 7 times tonight. That's ridiculous.

- Ice conditions look pretty nasty in the Flyers zone, with the puck bouncing all over the place. For real, it's probably because most of the play this period has been in front of Emery.

- Overtime. Will the Flyers take another page from the Habs book and steal a game they have no business being in, in overtime?

FIRST/SECOND PERIOD:

- Joining in late tonight, but caught some of the first period without the aid of a computer nearby. In any case, the Read goal on Price is a little concerning - again Carey is beaten high glove side, which I am almost certainly convinced has become the book on Price. Really watch to see how many times opposing forwards take aim for that area of the net.

- Period itself was pretty listless, both directions. Emery, whom we made fun of earlier today, really didn't have much of any tough scoring chance to stop, and the one that came closest, a Desharnais backhander, actually beat Emery but not the post.

- I don't care what the scoreboard says, the lack of scoring opportunities is making Emery look way better than he actually is. Habs need to just keep firing on net. Something should get through.

- Full credit to anyone who throws his body in front of  Subban slapper, Flyers included.

- Puzzling play by Subban. Perfect cross-ice pass, open net, nobody to block, dishes back to the point.

- Decent late period powerplay, passes were on target, but shots just weren't registered on target. It's kind of been that kind of the night.

- Dale Weise seems to know where to go, but can't finish. Lots of work being done by his mates, but it's ... well ... we've talked about this topic endlessly.

- Decent period, Habs looked much better as the period progressed, they seemed to be clicking with zone passing, but entries are still struggling. If they can get the later figured out in combination with the former, they still have a good chance of coming back in the 3rd.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

HEY. How 'bout that weekend? First, a solid thumping of the Devils (yeah, okay, it's New Jersey), and then more-or-less routine win 24 hours later over the (not very good??) Boston Bruins. All of a sudden, we're happy again!

And like those Bruins, the Habs aim to sweep another season series, tonight it's Philadelphia. Now ask yourself, when was the last time the Canadiens won every single regular season game against Philadelphia? 19 freakin' 77. For the calculator disabled, that's 38 years.

So we got some history to write tonight! Flyers are in tough - really tough, not just because the Habs are coming off two pretty impressive back-to-back wins, but because Philly lost the services of their starting netminder, Steve Mason, who was injured Sunday afternoon in a game against the Caps.

So who'll start tonight? Why it's none other than Ray Emery. Yup, that Ray Emery. He who couldn't keep his job with the Hawks last year, but somehow managed to latch on with the Flyers this season because, you know. It's Philadelphia. They have all the terrible goaltenders.

Anyway, good ol' Ray hasn't played in a month, and that start was truly atrocious, letting in 3 soft goals on 15 shots against the Canucks, before getting pulled. Emery's line rises slightly below mediocre - 2.7 GAA, .905 SV%. He's just not very good. So yay for us!

Starting lines for the Habs tonight:

Line 1: Pacioretty/Desharnais/Weise

Line 2: Glachenyuk/Plekanec/Gallagher

Line 3: Prust/Eller/Sekac

Line 4: Bournival/de la Rose/Thomas

- Markov/Subban
- Beaulieu/Gonchar
- Emelin/Gilbert

- Carey Price.

Annnnnnd ... for the Flyers:

Line 1: Schenn/Giroux/Voracek
Line 2: Read/Couturier/Simmonds
Line 3: Umberger/Laughton/White
Line 4: Vandevelde/Bellmare/Levacalier

- Streit/Schultz

- Del Zotto/Schenn

- Grossman/Macdonald

- Ray Emery

Even though Philadelphia is almost certainly not going to make the post-season, they haven't been playing half-bad of late. Undefeated in regulation their past 6, the Flyers biggest weapon is probably their powerplay, which is 3rd ranked in the League. Otherwise, they're just another organization in transition, hoping to find a way in the near future to rejoin the post-season conversation.

Meanwhile in Habsland, the Canadiens first line is producing points like crazy, and that's with Dale Weise on the left side. Even Weise has found the back of the net of late, potting 3 goals over the weekend. So ... I guess we'll take it, even though it remains a crime that Michel Therrien steadfastly refuses to put more able and dangerous wingers alongside their best forward, Max Pacioretty.

Puck drops tonight at 6:40 EST.

Game Two: Habs vs. Caps

Overtime: 

- OT picks? I'll go with Galchenyuk and Ovechkin. 

- Tokarski and Plekanec with game saving plays. Brilliant.

- Does Desharnais get paid for not shooting the puck?

- Dustin's first NHL shootout? Here we go.

- Oh my god. Galchenyuk in the SO.

- Desharnais. See? Shooting means you score.

- Doh. So close. So very close, Dustin.

- Ovie. Nopes.

- Round 6. Gally eeks it through, and Habs get the extra point. Hellova game.

Third Period: 

- Pretty slow and sloppy start for the Habs this period. Hard to figure this team out tonight.

- Orpik just won't stop with the questionable hits - and why should he? He's not being punished for it by the officials.

- Hoo boy. Bourque bumps Holtby, and it costs the Habs a tying goal, which came after some fantastic work by Lars Eller working to win the puck deep in the Caps zone. Oh well.

- Plecks. The man is unstoppable. Great roofer from the high slot and the game is officially tied. As mentioned before, I thought the Caps might have come out too hard in the first and now lo and behold, they're struggling to keep pace on the ice.

- Bourque with a blast that hits the crossbar. Chris Lee calls it a goal (eventually overturned). How Lee stays employed ...

- Anyway, Habs have owned the third much the way the Caps owned the first. Washington basically trying to hold on to a tie.

- Subban misses his check but Emelin saves the day with seconds left. Won't say that very often.

- Very, very good period for the Habs, coming within a fraction of an inch from winning this game. Now to overtime, which this team was definably mediocre last season.

Second Period:

- Looking for Therrien to maybe focus on running only 9 forwards, at least until the Habs start showing signs of offensive life.

- One significant criticism of the Caps tonight - their shot attempts are mainly coming from 40+ feet away from Tokarski, who's made a few very good saves, but has mainly had to handle routine shots.

- Wretched slashing call on Parenteau. The officiating, sadly but not surprisingly, has been very poor.

- Habs currently on pace for two ... count 'em ... two 5v5 shots. For the entire game. Yeah, really.

- Holy cow, Galchenyuk. Incredible moves with the puck, a glimpse of future greatness, we hope.

- Halfway mark, Caps seem to be regressing a bit here, Habs are finding some legs. Perhaps Washington came out of the gate a little too hard?

- Remember how Eller rocketed out of the starting line last year? Yeah ... those were the days ...

- Orpik has delivered at least three dirty hits tonight, and the Habs are taking matters into their own hands, since the refs don't appear capable of doing it.

- Prust gets penalized for dealing with Orpik, or at least trying to. Caps get an undeserved powerplay.

First Period:

- Couple of good Saskatchewan boys between both sets of pipes tonight. Awesomeness.

- Emelin with Sunbban. How long can this possibly last?

- Eller takes a bad penalty for hook/trip. And .... drink.

- Habs PK looks strong again this season, sans Gorges. Speedy checkers are helping.

- Terrible, terrible turnover by Subban makes it 1-0. When he's great, he's great. But when he muffs it up ...

- Canadiens are uh ... disorganized in their own zone. As in, really, really disorganized.

- Nice pass and shot blocking by Weaver, Habs kill another penalty.

- 5 minutes left in the period, Habs still haven't registered a shot on goal. To say they've been bad would be very generous. To say they're lucky to be only down a goal would be a vast understatement.

- Subban called for a hook after an absurd dive by Ovie. Terrible officiating by guess who - Chris Lee. How is this guy still employed?

- About as bad a period as you'll ever see this Habs team play. Totally outskated through much of the frame, the first shot coming with barely more than 2 minutes left in the period, 15-2 total. Dustin Tokarski the only real bright spot in the period, at least giving his team the opportunity of somehow salvaging what is current a disaster. Would love to be a fly in the Habs dressing room during the first intermission.

LINEUP NOTES:

- Moen in, Bournival out.
- Prust in, Weise out.

As you were.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:s

UNDEFEATED!!

Yah baby, what a way to kick off game one of the 2014-15 season - breaking the tiny little hearts of Leafs fans right in their own backyard, with a delicate twist of a heartbreaking knife - the winning goal scored at the 19:17 mark by the Maurice Richard Trophy leader Thomas Turtlepleks Plekanec. So sweet. So very, very sweet.

Ah, but the time to savor such victory is short. The Habs are right back at it tonight in Washington D.C. as they take on the Ovie and Caps. Dustin Tokarski, who wrestled the backup job away from Peter Budja this fall, will get the start for the Canadiens.

As we mentioned in the season's first post, the Habs underwent some significant roster changes this summer. For the Caps, the changes went beyond the starting lineup, starting in April when they fired long-time general manager George McPhee, and replaced him with the relatively unknown Brian MacLellan, whose executive experience entering the office was pretty much ziltch.

MacLellan didn't waste much time shaking up the Caps roster, with a particular focus on shoring up the Caps shaky defense. First, MacLellan signed journeyman backup Justin Peters to backup the consistently inconsistent Braden Holtby.  Then as summer set in, Maclellan latched up Matt Niskanen for a big ol' pile of cash (7 years, $5.75m AVV), and his coup de grace, signing free agent Brooks Orpik for an astounding $27.5m, five year contract. That last mentioned signing was astoundingly perplexing, as Orpik has long held one of the worst possession numbers for a defenseman in the League. To commit so much money for such a long time to a 34 year old player with a terrible stats line won't help the Caps very much in solving their blue line issues this season, or the next, or the one after that, or the one after that, or the one after that.

So tonight! The Habs will send out Tokarski, and our eyes will be focused on whether we'll see another fine repeat performance by the like Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty, P.A. Parenteau, and yes, Alexi Emelin. All played very well last night in Toronto.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST. It's already game two!!

Game One - EC Semi Finals: Habs vs. Bruins

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

Well, that was quite a roller coaster, wasn't it? Bathing in the glory of a double overtime victory, and early series advantage, some morning-after thoughts.

- Habs were - let's be perfectly honest here, roundly outplayed by the Bruins, who had trouble burying some glorious scoring chances. The Habs cannot count on good fortune to carry them through the rest of the series. Eventually Boston will bury these scoring opportunities, regardless of Price's capacity to play some heroic netminding.

- I watched the overtime period again, and Price's performance really was astounding. Most above average NHL netminders wouldn't - couldn't have made some of the acrobatic saves we saw from Carey. The split bad blocker save made by Price on Krejčí halfway through the first overtime period was one of the greatest OT saves I've ever seen by a Habs netminder. There's nothing wrong with having your goaltender steal the occasional victory, but you cannot rely it. Certainly not in what reckons to be a lengthy, grinding series.

- The Eller/Bourque/Gionta line continues to be head above shoulders, the best line on this team. They were pretty much the only line generating consistent chances on Raask last night, and were among the (very) few possession brights spots for the Canadiens. The reliance on Eller is eerily resemblant of the Habs early season success, although at that time, it was Eller, Galchenyuk and Gallagher who were carrying the team offensively. When that line eventually stop producing, the team as a whole started slumping. The Desharnais line must rise to the occasion, and start scoring. Like ... now.

- Of course, the reliance on one line is somewhat nullified if production comes from other places. Last night it came from P.K. Subban on the powerplay.

- While not producing points, the Habs 4th line has been doing what 4th lines are supposed to do - either to stem or create momentum, and focus on containing the opposition in their zone. The line's hard work generated the Bartkowski holding penalty that resulted in the Subban OT winner.

- Bruins were getting some ridiculously good scoring chances off the rush, largely because the Habs were failing to clog up the passing lanes both at centre ice, and as Bruins forwards were entering the Canadiens' zone. This was largely a result of Habs fowards not being able to retreat fast enough to defend the lanes, which is pretty inexcusable given this team had nearly two weeks of rest. I'm sure the Habs coaching staff will take note during their video reviews today, and make the necessary adjustments.

- There were a couple of areas where the Habs played a very disciplined game. Their shot blocking was excellent for most of the game, in particular blocking Bruins shots off (the few) rebounds surrendered by Price. Perhaps more importantly, the Habs were exceptionally disciplined in not biting on Bruins attempts to fish for retaliation penalties. Staying out of the penalty box will be a critical component of any series victory over Boston.

- Coach Therrien noted that he thought his team looked rusty, which I largely agree with - the passing was okay, but certainly not as crisp or as accurate as it was against Tampa. I didn't like Therrien's attempts to get his offense producing, much of his focus seemed to be on moving Thomas Vanek around. If your team is rusty, you don't shuffle - you work through it. Vanek, who was moved around starting late in the first period, was eventually reunited with the Desharnais line late in the 3rd, but by that time, it was too late for Vanek and that line to work off the so-called rust.

- The bottom line is pretty clear. The Habs will have to be better - much better, if they hope to win 3 of the next 6 games. Last night Carey Price stole them a victory, but that's not going to continue. It's not reasonable to ask of him, it's not responsible for Therrien and Price's teammates to depend on it.


OVERTIME:

- Brillaint feed Prust to Plekanec who really needed to bury it. Big missed opportunity.

- Vanek firmly back with Desharnais, but he just doesn't look right.

- This is the kind of game where guys like Gallagher are the heros.

- Compared to first three periods, Habs hanging tough.

- Price Brillaint right pad save. Saves the game. All because of another sloppy neutral zone turnover by Briere.

- Price with three remarkable overtime saves. So far. If the Habs win this, it's all Price.

- Eller line practicaly the only unit producing any offense for their team right now. It's become that bad.

- Brenden Gallagher didn't score the winner, but he saves the game.

- More impact play by Gallagher intercepting the puck in centre and then taken out by a knee check by Paille. Luckily Gallagher isn't hurt, and Habs will get a powerplay.

- Carey Price making enormous saves in that period to give Habs a chance of winning this. Boston pelting the Habs like crazy, but Montreal is living another day - or at least one more period.

- Okay. That's one for Rask.

- Habs 4th line with some great work, and they draw a powerplay.

- SUBBAN!!!! A rocket to win the game.

- No way the Habs win the game if it wasn't for one Carey Price.

- Because we mentioned it wayyyy back in the first period, note that it was the Plekanec line who were on when the winning goal was scored. 

THIRD PERIOD:

- Well, Boston has had some pretty impressive third periods this season, a major reason for their final points total in the standings.

- Bruins are overthinking this on the rush. Gotta be the Price (in their heads) effect.

- Seeing eye shot by Smith puts Boston on the board. Nothing you can do about those. Well, Emelin could have cleared traffic better, I suppose.

- Three or four minutes after a goal makes is when this Boston team is most dangerous. Habs will have to weather another storm, and a Bruins powerplay.

-'Excellent kill there. That might be enough to get them through the onslaught.

- Briere with killer neutral zone turnover. Resulting rush the B's tie it.

- The onslaught was not weathered. The two goal lead has been a curse this spring.

- Habs need to be philosophical - they have a tie game in the third period, and are but one shot away from winning home ice advantage. 

- Still not sure what the deal with Vanek is. I think Therrien needs to reunite him with Desharnais. Habs have nothing going right now, offensively.

- All four lines rolling for a Boston. Third goal is inevitable unless the Habs find a way of changing the game's tempo in a hurry.

- Emelin hurt by a shot taken off the hand. Is in the dressing room.

- Habs need gut check play here - one of their character guys. Somebody. Something.

- Bouillon. Right on cue. Wait, Bouillon??? 3-2.

- Vanek back with Desharnais.

- UH. How was that not a penalty for the Bourque mugging?? Looked like knee contact.

- Price had that deer in the headlights look going after the Bruins tied it. Seems to be more settled now.

- Bruins desperate crash Price like crazy, refs don't intervene and Boychuk ties it with a point bullet. Oy.

- Vanek must be hurt. That must be the explanation.

- Overtime it is, then. Heckova game, but the bottom line is the Habs did not come back physically like they needed to in the third, and the Bruins steamrolled their way back into this.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Bruins slightly improved their Fenwick percentage to 56% in the period (compared to 53% they had against Columbus). Habs dropped from 56% registered against Tampa, to 46% in that period. But those numbers aside, the Habs played their strengths well, plus Carey Price (of course).

- Habs defense doing good job blocking rebound tries, forwards deflecting shots away.

- Weaver with a monster shift blocking three great scoring chances, and then the Habs generate that neutral zone turnover with Bourque scoring yet another one. Rask really beaten clean and badly there. 2-0.

- Bourque goal has really sparked this team. TD Gardens very quiet right now.

- Vanek is dropped to the 4th line, which is somewhat shocking.

- Marchand sticks Subban in the face, and the refs blow the call.

- Habs simply not biting on the Bruins baitings. This is awesome.

- Thierrien sending Vanek the message to step it up. I fully expect to see him right back with Desharnais.

- Different tact now for Boston: hit everything in sight. Trying to overrun the Habs, create energy, momentum, and hopefully, goals.

- Gorges nabbed for a hold. Woulda figured the refs were giving the Habs a free pass after blowing the Marchand cross, but nope.

- Tremendous pressure and great chances for the Bruins on the powerplay, but Price, who brought his elite game to the Gardens tonight, with wonderful saves.

- Dammit, P.K. needs to stop focusing on making huge hits - he's not making contact and it's generating scoring chances for Boston.

- Bruins really dominated the period - Habs did some great shot blocking, but they ran into lots of problems when the Bruins turned up the physical play a couple of notches. After the physical barrage, the Habs played the final 7 minutes on their heels, bailed out by Price. Habs need to be more assertive and defiant of Boston throwing the body around - I'm please they aren't retaliating, but they must push back physically. The game is still in a razor's edge.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Hey, hey, now, now. Doug Murray is a scratch.

- Moen will play, Bournival will sit. So the lineup tonight is exactly the same as it was against the Tampa series, except for the 4th line switch.

- Bruins come out with fury, no surprise. Habs need to weather the first 10 game minutes.

- Julien playing Bruins first line heavy early. Also no surprise. Boston wants to score as early as possible.

- Very good first series shift by the Eller line, Rask good save off Bourque.

- Briere out with Prust and Gallagher. Interesting. 

- Terrible shift for Bouillon, hit like a rag doll, coughs up the puck, can't find position, and Bruins come within a whisker of scoring.

- Habs fans would be wise to keep an eye on the Pleks line - they could have a major say with tonight's final score.

- Bruins fans are holloring dive, no doubt. But Weise was hacked to the ice. Here're one of those Habs series keys coming up - scoring on the man advantage.

- Subban with a seemingly harmless wrister sneaks its way through a screen (I think?). Rask should have had that? 1-0. Habs powerplay clicks.

- So there you have it. Habs survive first 10 minutes, capitalize on the powerplay, and now appear to be dictating tempo.

- Gallagher with an excellent period - generating scoring chances, and getting into the faces of Boston's biggest bullies.

- Habs transition looks sharp, and it's giving Boston trouble. Canadiens have dominated the puck since the period half mark.

- Price with some outstanding saves in the period, and I sense frustration setting in on the Bruins side of the ice.

- Boston clearly targeting Subban. He must remain cool, not retaliate.

-  That was an excellent period for the Habs. They held the fort early, took advantage of the powerplay, and then dominated tempo. Good neutral zone presence, very good transition play. One of the better road periods they've played all year.

THIS IS HOW YOU BEAT THE DIVING BOSTON BRUINS:

BOSTON VS MONTREAL: THE PREVIEW

10 days. Man. That’s way too long.

Relief, however, is arriving with Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi Final, Habs and Bruins in a playoff showdown. For the 34^th time in League history.

With all that time to consider the confrontation at hand, a great deal of focus the past few days has been on whether the Habs can someone find a way of beating the mighty President’s Award-winning Bruins.

The speculation, at least within the constrict of whether the Habs have a sliver of a chance, has puzzled me.

Why the befuddlement? Because, at least in this writer's mind, the Habs are going to win this series.

First, let’s clear the obvious stuff out of the way.  Yes, the Bruins finished with the most points of any other League team (although they did with a  weaker schedule compared to teams in the West), and yes, the Bruins’ biggest strength is its roster depth. The acquisition of Jarome Iginla, who’s had a significant impact in bolstering an already potent offense, has made the Bruins a most difficult team to contain – during the regular season.

Plus Tukkaa Raask, whom with his Vezina nomination, has obviously been very good.

Funny thing though. Along the way towards finishing on top of the League, the Bruins were fit to be tied when playing the Canadiens. Four times they met this year, and three times they lost. So, what gives?

It’s actually nothing mythical, mystical or mysterious. The Bruins lost to the Habs this season because they don’t match up very well against the speedier, more skilled Montreal lineup.

Sure, the Bruins have significant advantages in how they can deploy their assets – when you have lots of options, you can make significant adjustments, even in game mid-flight. But the Bruins do have weaknesses, which often don’t get as much attention as they deserve.

First and foremost, the Bruins defense, solid, but slow. They do a fine job protecting their crease and winning puck battles in the corners, they can be an intimidating bunch. I mean, led by the 6’9 troglodyte Zdeno Chara, how can you not be second guessing yourself digging for a loose puck near the boards?

But - they have been very vulnerable in adjusting to defending the rush. Because the Bruins defense depends so much on using their size and physical intimidation, by paradox this team performs well defending against bigger sized players. It makes sense. The larger your target, the easier they are to hit. The Habs smaller sized forwards, for once, can leverage their smaller sized stature to an advantage. That’s why I’m expecting the likes of David Desharnais, Daniel Briere, Briant Gionta and Thomas Plekanec to shine in this series. Don’t be surprised if larger players including  the seemingly reborn Rene Bourque, regress slightly in the series – insofar as their point totals are concerned.

The key to exploiting this Bruins weakness is for the Habs to continue to play an effective transition game (just like they did against Tampa), and strong play in the neutral zone to help create turnovers.

Secondly, the Bruins are – and let’s be honest, a boorish collection. They are not afraid to play a dishonest game if it results in victory. Ergo, the dives and dirty stick work. The Boston mouthpiece media has been cranking up the noise machine this week in an attempt to reverse the narrative by defining the Habs as divers.  But we know the score – and seen the evidence. There’s certainly plenty there – just type in “Bruins divers” in Youtube, and enjoy the shows.

The point being here that a boorish team is also prone to a lack of discipline. Get them off their game, give them a taste of their own medicine, and they lose focus. The Habs did a very good job of that this season, drawing Boston into silly retaliation penalties, and causing the Bruins the lose focus on playing the game their way.

The keys? Well, it’ll depend an awful lot on the players who have the capacity to drive the Bruins to mental desperation.  So keep a keen eye on the likes of the so-called agitators. Brandon Prust, Brendon Gallagher, P.K. Subban, and Travis Moen will play an important role in determining whether the Habs win the series via frustrating their opponent.

Exploiting the Bruins’ two biggest failings also is contingent on taking advantage of the resulting opportunities. This mean the Habs powerplay MUST start producing at rate that more reflected their regular season totals – slightly under 20%. If the Habs are able to score on the man advantage, they will have realized a massive series advantage.  

The series will be close. It would be physical. It’ll probably be dirty. But it will be won by a Canadiens’ team whose symmetry seemed to all come together at the very best possible time.

The time really is now for the Montreal Canadiens. I believe at the end of the day, aided by an expected stellar performance by Carey Price, they will win this series in 6 games.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST. Wear your jersey people. And cheer hard. Because this playoff season is starting to feel special.

GAMEDAY NEWS AND NOTES

- So Carey Price is a child molester? You keep staying classy, Boston. 

- PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC. Max Pacioretty did not participate in this morning's skate in Boston. Therrien will be giving an update. Oy, oy, oy. UPDATE: MAX IS FINE, says coach Therrien. Just took the morning off. 

SERIES PREVIEW IS COMING UP!!!

HERE'S YOUR BOSTON BRUINS DIVE OF THE DAY FOR MAY 1, 2014:

IT'S GAMEDAY!!!



HERE'S YOUR BOSTON BRUINS DIVE OF THE DAY FOR APRIL 30, 2014:

BONUS LOLZ FROM THE BRUINZ AND THEIR HACKS:

David Krejci believes the stick-work of the Detroit Red Wings readied him for what he's come to expect from Montreal http://t.co/lfBrT6GtpO
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) April 30, 2014

You stay classy, Boston.



WEDNESDAY NEWS AND NOTES:Series eve!! The anticipation mounts. We'll be posting a series preview, maybe today - likely tomorrow. Depends on how non-lazy I feel. In the meantime, we've got a few updates:


- Habs a.m. practice, and the drill lines were exactly the same as what we saw during the Tampa series, with Doug Murray again paired up with Jarred Tinordi. This does not mean that Murray won't play - but it does give us a morsel of a hint that Therrien might be edging towards going with the same D-line pairs tomorrow night.


- Alex Galchenyuk practiced this morning - although it was pretty light. This means that 1) rehabilitation progress is being made BUT 2) given how light his drills were, he's nowhere close to being in game shape. Um ... round 3 maybe??

- Bruins fans and the people who cover them are shameless. But hey - you knew that already.



HERE'S YOUR BOSTON BRUINS DIVE OF THE DAY FOR APRIL 29, 2014:

HAPPY TUESDAY NEWS AND NOTES:

Howdy.

So it's been a week. A whole week since the  Habs wrapped up their series against Tampa. 7 days!!

It's been a lovey siesta, but all good things must, invariably, come to an end.

So here we go. Habs and Bruins. For the 34th time in playoff history.

It's looking more and more as though game 1 will probably be played on Friday evening, so in anticipation of the big puck drop, we'll be putting up as many news and notes, stats and drivel - leading right up to the puck drop on Friday, or whenever game one occurs.

In the meantime, let's leave you with this little tidbit. Lots of lazy analysis going on right now about how the Bruins will dominate this series because of their massive size advantage. Well, consider this. The average weight of the Bruins roster heading into game one is 206 pounds. The average for the Habs, without Doug Murry in the lineup, is 199 pounds. With Murray? It's 202 pounds.

So that massive advantage? 6 pounds. Or maybe 3.

More in a bit.

- UPDATE: Lots of speculation this morning that the League is aiming to have the series start on Saturday. At noon. Ick. Bruins have played 14 afternoon games this season, and have won 12. Habs have played 4 this season, and have won exactly zero. Thanks, Gary.

- EARLY EVENING UPDATE: So the series schedule is out!! And it's ... disappointing (slightly). Here it is:

Game One: Thursday May 1 (Boston - 7:30 p.m.)
Game Two: Saturday May 3 (Boston - 12:30 p.m.)
Game Three: Tuesday May 6 (Montreal - 7:00 p.m.)
Game Four: Thursday May 8 (Montreal - 7:00 p.m.)
*Game Five: Saturday May 10 (Boston - TBA)
*Game Six: Monday May 12 (Montreal - 7:00 p.m.)
*Game Seven: Wednesday May 14 (Boston - TBA)

So, there's a potential for at least one, perhaps two afternoon games in this series, both in Boston. The Bruins, FWIW, have won 12 of 14 afternoon games played this season (at home), while Montreal is 0-4. That ain't very encouraging.