Each spring 16 NHL teams play for Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while the other 15 teams can only think of what could of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
Montreal Canadiens:
How They Finished: 44-30-8 96 points
2nd in Northeast Division, 6th in Eastern Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The Canadiens couldn't win in overtime and it cost them the series.
Montreal won the 1st two games in Boston and had a 3-1 lead in Game 4 before the Bruins tied the game to force overtime. In the overtime Michael Ryder scored on a pass from Chris Kelly to win the game and tie the series 2-2.
The teams returned to Boston for Game 5 where they went to overtime again. This time Nathan Horton ended the festivities when he scored in the 2nd overtime to give Boston a 2-1 win and a 3-2 lead in the series.
Montreal won Game 6 to send the series back to Boston for a winner take all Game 7. The Canadiens were able to take the game to overtime thanks to a goal by P.K. Subban. At that point I thought Montreal was destined to win because that what usually happens to the Bruins in this situation.
Instead Nathan Horton shows up once again scoring on a blast from just inside the blueline to give the Bruins their 3rd overtime win of the series and end Montreal's season.
Where Do They Go From Here:
I'm actually surprised Montreal lost this series. Boston's special teams was horrible and this is a series where I felt the Canadiens were the better team.
One thing Montreal does need to do going forward is get a little more size on their team. They have a lot of small, quick forwards that can skate but going against a bigger team like Boston they can be worn down in a series.
The Canadiens have five unrestricted free agents on defense and I'm guessing half of them will not be back next season. The emergence of Subban on the blueline gives Montreal something to build around defensively.
The most important thing for Montreal is Carey Price in goal.
Last year I questioned the Canadiens for trading Jaroslav Halak & keeping Price as their goaltender. Price rewarded their faith by winning 38 games and finishing with a GAA of 2.35 and a save percentage of .923.
If Price can continue to play like this Montreal should be a team that contends for a division title next season. They have some good young players that are starting to emerge.
They are nowhere close to being near the dominant teams they were in the 70's but they are becoming a team that when they win a playoff series it won't be considered an upset.
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