Canadiens Stay Alive With Energized Game-5 Win

CANADIENS Stay Alive With Energized Game-5 Win

In real estate, there is a saying: “location, location, location.” For hockey, it must be: “momentum, momentum, momentum.” And if so, the Montreal Canadiens are capitalizing on that in spectacular fashion.

In a game where Montreal again dominated the ice, playing smart, passing sharply and scoring the first goal, the Tampa Bay Lightning began to look even more ordinary than they did in Game 4 when Montreal blew them out 6-2.

Let’s not forget: the Habs won a game tonight. They still sit in a precarious position, and they have no delusions about what they’re facing.

But there’s no question they are taking the momentum from Game 4, and converting it into what they did in Game 5, with every intention of extending that to Game 6 and – because that’s how they think – Game 7.

PK Subban was almost prophetic in his pre-game interview at Game 4 on Thursday night. He said:

This was said on the ice in warm-ups for Game 4. Keep in mind, that game could have been their swan song for the season, but Subban’s confidence and prediction not only bore out in Game 4, it carried over for Game 5 as well.

And now, with the series at 3-2, a defensive Bolts’ head coach Jon Cooper – less than his usual affable self – gave kudos to the Canadiens for playing the kind of hockey he expected throughout this series – but seemed a little snippy in his response to the opening question:

He gave a lawyer’s reply – fitting for his previous career – but it looks like the pressure is getting to him.

The shots on goal were 29-25 in favor of the Habs. The Canadiens won 30 of 57 face-offs. Habs took 2 penalties, the Bolts took 5.

Let’s look at the game, as it unfolded.

First Period

Again – as in every game this series – the Habs began the game with strong skating and puck possession. There was a 4-on-4 when Jeff Petry got called for hooking and Tampa’s Tyler Johnson sat for embellishment. Other than some good back-and-forth efforts, the game remained scoreless past the halfway mark.

When the first goal came – at the 9:01 mark of the first period – it was off the stick of Devante Smith-Pelly, and it was a beautiful goal. In fact, the puck slammed into the net and ricocheted out so quickly that Tampa forward Alex Killorn got it on his stick and hustled it down the ice toward the neutral zone, believing it was still in play. At that point, the referees signaled it a goal, the horn sounded, and all play stopped.

Once again, with the first goal of the game, the Canadiens were pressing Tampa to the limits. Their determination showed in everything they did. Taking every shot possible, outplaying the Lightning.

Second Period

It took 8 minutes, 25 seconds for the Lightning to get their first shot on goal in the middle frame. This is testament to the defensive play of the Habs, as well as their continued offensive push. Though the second period remained at 1-0 for the Habs, it was a consistent effort to keep the Lightning from beating Carey Price.

It didn’t help them to be on the penalty kill for 6 minutes this period. And as Cooper states in his press conference, even if the Canadiens didn’t score on the power play (a recurring theme for the Habs), it did take momentum away from the Lightning’s chances of scoring. Well, at least the Habs’ ineffective power play is good for something!

Third Period

No question, every Habs fan was on the edge of their seats for this 20-minute suspense-fest. To say Carey Price gave the performance of his career is really tough to state definitively; at least, in this historic, record-breaking, career-high year, it was one of the best performances of his life.

At the 12:31 mark, Price was put to the test. Shot after shot came at him, but it was the spectacular save on Valtteri Filppula that had announcers almost as in awe as the fans who roared their approval.

Shortly thereafter, Steven Stamkos scored to tie the game, and though there were 9 minutes left to the game, the air went out of many sails.

But the never-say-die Habs kept pressing, and with 4 minutes left to the 3rd period, PK Subban faked a shot. While the Bolts were defending what they were sure would be a Subban Rocket, he instead fed P-A Parenteau who quickly released it and scored a beautiful goal high in the net behind Ben Bishop.

Of course, with almost 2 minutes left, and the empty net for that extra attacker made the rest of this game a true nail-biting experience. The Habs kept the Bolts at bay, and time expired on a 2-1 win for the Canadiens.

A scrum erupted at the end of the game, with Tyler Johnson getting into it with Max Pacioretty (they both received 2-minute roughing penalties and 10-minute misconducts). It’s clear the pressure is getting to the Lightning, who probably figured they had this wrapped up after Game 3 put them squarely in the driver’s seat.

They are no longer driving this series; as mentioned in the press conference with Jon Cooper, the pressure is now on Tampa Bay, a team whose players are showing the cracks.

(Continued next page)