Last night the Montreal Canadiens were defeated by Philadelphia 4-2. The loss to the Flyers brings an end to the season for the Habs. Today we take a look back at how Montreal got here, what went wrong, and where they go from here.
How they got here:
Montreal finished the season with a record of 39-33-10. That was good for 88 points and the number eight seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Washington in the 1st round. In the 2nd round they rallied from a 3-2 deficit to defeat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.
What went wrong:
You can say that the hourglass ran out of sand or that the clock struck midnight but when you are shutout in three of the four defeats it's pretty hard to win the series. Despite losing in five games Montreal actually played well in the series and at times were the better team on the ice.
In the end though they couldn't take advantage of their scoring chances. Either Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton wasn't giving up any rebounds or when he did Montreal's forwards couldn't get to the puck because Philly's defense was in the way.
Montreal's defense also had trouble containing the Flyers group of forwards where against Washington & Pittsburgh they were able to contain Alex Ovechkin & Sidney Crosby.
Another thing that went wrong was the Leighton was better in net than Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Halak played well, bouncing back from giving up six goals in game one, but the opposing goalie shut out your team three times in the series you have to give him the edge.
Where do they go from here:
At the end of the 2009 season the Canadiens didn't qualify for the playoffs until the end of the season. They clinched the eight seed and were swept by Boston in the 1st round. Former General Manager Bob Gainey went out and turned over half the roster in preparation for the 2009-2010 season.
At the end of the 2010 season Montreal didn't clinch a playoff spot until their final game, clinching the number eight seed once again. This time instead of getting swept in the 1st round, the Canadiens went on their furthest playoff run since 1993.
I'm not sure if this playoff run was an aberration or if Montreal is on the verge of becoming one of the top teams in the East. One good thing about this cup run is the emergence of Jaroslav Halak in goal. It's a void that Montreal has been trying to fill since trading Patrick Roy back in 1996. Halak seizing the spot as the top goaltender should allow Montreal to trade goalie Carey Price in the off-season.
Another thing that will help Montreal will be having defenseman Andrei Markov return from injury. He was hurt in their opener against Toronto, missing most of the regular season. He returned for the playoffs only to hurt his knee in Game one against Pittsburgh. Having him during the season should only help Montreal.
I won't say this is an elite team in the East, Not yet at least. But they proved they can play with anyone in the conference and should be one of the favorites to win their division next season. After being a fringe playoff team for the last decade things are starting to look up in Montreal.
Quick note: The Stanley Cup Finals start on Saturday. I plan on doing a pro & cons list of why to cheer for each team later this week along with my pick for the Stanley Cup. Thanks for reading & enjoy the hockey.
i think we know who you'll be cheering for :)
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