Habs Dream Season Over With 4-2 Loss To Flyers
by Robert L on May 24, 2010 9:35 PM EDT
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Of sixteen hockey clubs earning a post season lottery ticket with a chance at winning the 2010 Stanley Cups, only two won more games than the Montreal Canadiens. When the playoffs began, no one except the Canadiens players themselves expected this deep of a playoff run. The team has provided it's fans with countless thrills as they upset the President Trophy winning Washington Capitals and upended the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. In the regular, when it mattered less, Montreal won less games than the Capitals, Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche.
Curtain time.
In the playoffs, when it did matter, the Habs won more games than all of them.
The accomplishment was an enormous one, far beyond the predication of baffled experts and astonished fans.
As Canadiens fans, we must tip our hats to this group of players, who battled relentlessly and resiliently in the face of all odds.
Personally, I've long felt, even prior to last summer's massive changes, that where the Canadiens needed to be measured most in the Eastern Conference was against teams strong down the middle, such as the Capitals, Flyers and Penguins, with Crosby, Malkin and Staal.
It matters not how it was done, but Montreal defeated two of these rivals, and now have a much clearer idea of where they need improvement in order to go farther in the post season.
Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec are not, nor will they ever be, perfect faultless players. But combined, both gave the Canadiens in excess of 90 assists across two lines this season. Unless Plekanec can be replaced in the off season, he should be resigned.
Dominic Moore's contribution since the trade deadline has been immense. His addition, gritty heads up play, and dedication allowed Montreal a tougher third line. Without this, Montreal do not go three rounds deep. Moore must be brought back.
Nothings needs to be said about Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, the Canadiens snipers in these players. They were the front line of a surprising attack, and it is incomprehensible how much they were able to do considering the often absent support from certain linemates.
Tom Pyatt, Maxim Lapierre, Travis Moen are playoff warriors, designed for the under appreciated dirty work that makes teams with post season games.
Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot's talents are more mature than their fragile confidences. Patience, yes more of it is required, by everyone concerned.
Glen Metropolit had a career year and played injured throught the playoffs. We did not see his best, but he was giving everything he owned.
On the backline, it must be asked how much better this team would have been with Andrei Markov?
Contrarily, it was answered how good it is without him.
Roman Hamrlik, aging, gave all and sputtered quickly. He then went to the well, returned as the mentor to a greenhorn, and emerged energized for more.
For a player his age, what more can be asked?
Ditto for Jaroslav Spacek, who missed a chunk but returned without missing a beat. His contribution, dependability and veteran leadership were assets needed to get by the Pens. Without him, Pat Hickey's Quebec plates are safely on his Honda.
"Skillsie" Gill, that lovable lighthouse, displayed every reason why he was sought out by Gainey in the summer. Can the Canadiens even put up a fortress against Washington without him?
Marc - Andre Bergeron, for a little player, never gets the same respect as Gionta or Cammy. But regardless his, ahem, shortcomings as a player, the guy sticks his dick out there, unafraid, putting it on the line for a team he has dreamed playing for.
P.K. Subban provided the best glimpse into the Canadiens future this spring....and it's a beauty! This kid has winner written all over him. No matter that he dropped the ball a time or two, without him....Hickey's plates again.
Josh Gorges I can only sum up in one way. Remember the puck imprint on the back of his helmet from the Mike Green blast in mid - season. Never has one image so well define a player. The guy is a leader without a letter.
Ryan O'Byrne would win the unluckiest Hab award a second year running. Between playing some great and inspired physical hockey, Rhino can go from hero to klutz in 1.2 - but it's all good. He will be a valuable commodity on a future playoff version of this team in another season or two.
Jaroslav Halak I've saved for last. I once said he'd never be an NHL starting goalie but I totally underestimated his competitiveness.
It is May 23rd today, and if not for Jaro, the playoffs are over on April 23, if they'd have even made it at all.
His play gave the team something to rally around and build upon in the playoffs. He was the story of this team and has earned all his accolades
Jaro, you're not only the number one goalie, you're just plain number one.
It is a painful time fans, too soon to even begin thinking of next year, so I leave you (Habs fans, and precious readers of EOTP) with this...
It's been a ride!
Now Go Blackhawks!
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Salute gentlemen
“So this is what its like to be a fan. Woooooow.”
Ill be honest. I wanted the parade. Its childish,however….
Ill agree with most of ur assessments (not on ak). I think the defense corps has to get bigger. 6-3 to 6-4 has to be the max. I think there has to be a defensive forward. Not sure who will that be.
I have a halak jersey. I will be wearing it a lot. Yep,he is my hero. However I need to see if I can afford a cammy jersey.
I’ve already said my part (in a vague way) bout martin. If there’s a movement to make boucher an assistant/heir apparent;count me in.
Strange the hero never loses in the movies. Welcome to real life.
I have no dog in this fight. Sooo congrads philly-plz don’t make the ECF,ur cup final.
Ty guys for this site. Its prominent on my firefox. Its very educational.
Ok
Thas it.
i come in peace (and for wingdings)
by scorpio_x on May 24, 2010 9:53 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Congrats to the Habs on a great run
It’s exciting to see what your your team is capable of when things really matter in the playoffs; to know it’s greater than the wear of the regular season indicated.
And anyone who beats the Caps and Pens is alright with me. :D
What do you think happens with Price this offseason?
Robert: I enjoyed following your blog — you don’t have the quantity of some of the other ones out there but you sure make up for it in quality. I particularly enjoyed the personal nature of the Giroux article earlier. Thanks.
Congrats to you guys on a great season.
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Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
Congratulations on your excellent playoff run!
Any team that can take down both the Caps and the Pens showed that they rightfully earned their playoff spot. Big stick tap for that! Thanks for the Hawk love above too.
I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out.
- Rodney Dangerfield
Seeing how the Hawks are playing as good a form of hockey as you can ask offensively, defensively and special teams…how can you not expect the Hawks to win.
But that’s why they play the games…
by blockersave93 on May 24, 2010 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Get your banstick out
Ya know what, I’m just going to say this and take my leave. The Habs made an inspiring underdog run at the cup, and I enjoyed every minute of it. They knocked off the Caps juggernaut offense when few gave you a chance, and surprised the entire hockey world to follow that up by knocking off the Pens .. which as a Flyers fan have been our personal Kryptonite the last two seasons. You did this facing adversity, tall odds, and it was sure fun while it lasted. If you were playing any team other than the Flyers, I would have been rooting for ya in the conference finals, and I certainly admired the effort and was more than a little concerned after the gutsy effort in game 3. I became a Halak fan during the Olympics, and marvelled at his heroics in the first two series, and was holding my breath and praying that he wouldn’t catch fire again.
I know the wound is fresh, and it’s still a little early to be able to accept this, but I truly believe the Habs went farther with less this season than any team in the league, and for that you should be proud and more than a little excited about how the team may be able to build on their surprising showing next year.
But ya know Robert L., here’s the thing… it’s sorta good sportsmanship to root on the team that vanquished you in a hard fought series. I absolutely hated losing to the Pens, but when they ousted us last year and made it to the cup, I had to pull for them.
I’m not sure why you’re in such a hurry to declare your support for the Hawks… which is pretty much the equivalent right now of jumping on the bandwagon, as I’m already enjoying the way the media is lining up to crown the Hawks champs.
The thing is, the Flyers are also a team that has faced an uphill battle, and fought through some bad breaks, and shown a lot of character and grit, not unlike the Habs. It would be classy to wish us luck, but perhaps that’s not possible for you right now. Over on our blog, there was a thread where someone made a one line comment and you banned him, so I’m not expecting anything different but it pretty much has to be said, as one hockey fan to another — that your comments are coming off more than a little bit as sore loser sour grapes.
I’m truly not here to rub the salt in anyone’s wounds — your team provided some great entertainment for me this year, and I think you should be proud of what they accomplished. Cheers and we’ll see ya on the ice next year.
I’m not sure why you’re in such a hurry to declare your support for the Hawks… which is pretty much the equivalent right now of jumping on the bandwagon.
You wouldn’t see the hurry. I’ve loved the Blackhawks as a second team since I was about 12 years old.
As for banned comments, I zap anything inflammatory the moment in hits the pages. I have zero tolerance for shit disturbing, taunting, provocation, whatever. I don’t judge the success of my articles by the number of comments each receives. That comment was not the only one deleted. The ones following, where the conversation degenerated into something else where gone as well, including ones from a long-time reader here.
it’s sorta good sportsmanship to root on the team that vanquished you
Very true if that is how one feels, I just don’t feel that way. I’m not going to start smacking on the Flyers now. I don’t do that, and I haven’t done it during the series. But they are not a team I can pull for.
Besides, if Toews, Byfuglien, Sharp and Keith can outscore Richards and Briere in the final, I’m up about $300 from my playoff draft!
Fair enough
I certainly can understand your stance on that, and I guess I had you wrong.
You’re certainly welcome to run your blog as you see fit, and over at BroadStreet Travis has had to wield the banstick a few times this playoff, and a couple times last year.
Not to defend some of the other regulars who made a brief appearance here, but it’s really not the style of our regulars to go in and troll other boards, and stir crap. I think any comments were meant as gentle ribbing in the heat of a hard fought series. People who are genuine tools certainly tend to prove themselves as such in short order.
Anyone who read what we were saying would certainly know the genuine concern about facing you in the finals, and respect we had for the Habs coming in.
I won’t speak for Robert, but as someone who started as a Habs fan in the late ’70’s, the Flyers have always been a team to dislike. Also, the Flyers teams of the ’90’s with LeClaire and Lindros owned us, so I’ve always hated the Flyers… just force of habit. Nothing against the fans.
Also, most importantly, the Hawks are an original six team that has not won the cup in 49 years!
I don’t dislike the Flyers. I not only posted the entirety of the Broad Street Bullies movie here, I actually watched it twice.
Giz is actually right to call me out on a couple of things. I did a little backcheck since his comment and yup…not one of my finer moments I’ll admit. It’s likely why I deleted the comments, theirs and mine. They got a screenshot of it at BSB.
What likely struck my nerve wasn’t so much the comment itself, but the steady daily trickle of Flyers fans coming over, not to beat on the Habs, but criticize this blog. After all the kindness and respect from Caps and Pens readers, it was a little much.
Wires touch sometimes. Mine did.
I know that more than a few people over there are impressed with the quality of your content here. We all want to win games, and again this isn’t the best time for me to be coming in and lecturing anyone, but hopefully the future interactions between our respective fanbases will improve to the point that we can tease each other from time to time, and more importantly, talk and share Hockey.
I am pulling for the Hawks because I like their core better than the Flyers.
The Flyers deserved to win the series, but I don’t and have never appreciated the way the Flyers play the game. Richards, Pronger and Hartnell all toe the line the way they play and if I had a choice between any of those guys or Toews, Kane and Keith it is no contest.
They also took away the Habs greatest weapon, the counter strike.
Sitting in the nosebleeds in Game 4 I got to watch a clinic on the left wing lock, faceoffs and winning puck battles.
by Chris Boyle on May 25, 2010 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions
I think aside from what the Flyers did right, we had too many guys being bystanders. You can’t keep winning with only 3 guys scoring. We strayed from what got us to the conference final and brought our regular season game with us rather than our playoff game.
In the end, all I saw was Gionta playing well and Gomez playing his ass off. That was not enough.
Still, hats off to our team for a great run.
Thanks for the Ride, Boys.
Words cannot describe how proud I am of our Habs. As you said Robert, no one expected them to play so sound and this far into the playoffs. For the first time in a long time, fans will have a summer where all will have hope for the coming season. It will be interesting to see who stays, who comes on and who goes. I will say, even though the team is gearing up for the links, all fans will have a lasting profound appreciation for Bob Gainey and his accomplishments with Les Boys. As much as I would like to support the team that took us out, I can’t help but support the Original Six team – the one, I have to admit, that has the best sweater in all professional sports.
I have always loved the Haws sweater… second to the Habs though. As a kid playing hockey, the first sweater I wore was a Hawks sweater because my team used that jersey. But, when I saw the Habs sweater in the pro shop, I was hooked on it.
I wish the Habs would use the 1946 white sweater as their road jersey. I LOVE that sweater.
Refs...
…have been a goddam joke ALL postseason. How many friggin times am I gonna see a Hab PP negated by an OFFENSIVE penalty. Ridiculous. I’m so fed up with the NHL and the officiating that I will not renew my subscription to CenterIce next season; they will NOT get my money again. The NHL should be ashamed of the overwhelmingly lopsided calls that occurred throughout the entire season, much to the chagrin of our passionate fanbase.
Bettman and his lackeys got what they wanted, Stanley residing in the states for one more season.
Glad for the run
Don’t get me wrong, it was fun knocking out the Caps and Pens, making the job for the Blackhawks a lot easier. I never dreamed a Cup could happen, and the Hawks are my very distant 2nd team, so I’m glad there job is a bit easier because of the Habs (and if they lose to Philly, it’s their own damn fault!).
But from a pure Habs perspective, it was still a disappointing year. 39 wins in 82 regular season games, then 9-10 in the playoffs does not give me the warm fuzzies. That is, by definition, a losing season. A long losing season, but a losing season nonetheless. It’s not the stuff dreams are made of, either. Lots of work still needs to be done to make this team a true winner in Season #101 and beyond. And I hope this run doesn’t blind management to that fact.
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And I hope this run doesn’t blind management to that fact.
Ditto. There’s a lot of work to be done on this team, and some unpopular decisions that really ought to be made even though you’re not supposed to make them after your team gets to the conference finals.
The team underperformed, IMHO, considering its talent level. They had a nice playoff run, but the manner in which they did it was not reassuring.
I think that making the playoffs next year is going to be life-and-death. But I don’t think the club is hopeless, just buggy. They have some great pieces, but they need a new approach.
great blog btw
Always enjoyed coming around here and reading your write-ups.
Robert,
thank you for your daily work at this blog throughout the season. I haven’t been commenting frequently, but I enjoyed reading your work regularly and would like to tell you I appreciate your work, as well as respect to other NHL teams.
Having seen a lot of disrespect on other SB Nation blogs, I am glad this Habs site has also served as a good example.
Enjoy the off-season and keep the good stuff coming!
Congrads
Goes without saying, Habs had an amazing run.
When the flyers were in desperate need of points in the regular season with a handfull of games remaining they hit a brick wall called Halak. I did not know much of Halak at this point but he shut the flyers down 1-0 and pushed the flyers closer to the golf tee.
Next thing I know Halak gave the best of the East a dose of what he dished the flyers that one regular season game. He’s a gem, thank god you didn’t pull the trigger and trade him.
Being on the other side of things (flyers) I’m not gonna lie I was scared that the Habs were going to strike at any time. I watched parts of the first two Hab’s series, I know that you guys could get away with under 20 shots on goal most nights and get the win.
Thing is the Habs would demoralize the other team as they posted 30+ shots with little to show on the scoreboard and at any point they were able to counter and score on their opportunities. This is what scared me and led me to believe the Habs were ready to take over any game in the flyers series, like the period they had a shot on goal in the second I was waiting for a counter rush and a goal.
Too bad Metro was banged up for the playoffs. I know he had a hell of a year. We had him last year and I loved the guy. Horrible cap management had us put him on waivers and it sucked we lost the guy. I loved him in philadelphia because he was one of those balls to the wall guy left it all on the ice every game.
PK Subban also awesome, what a story coming in with limited (a few NHL games?) experience before hand and no playoff obviously to have such impressive play. Man is mobile, I mean how many times did he practically go end to end? I mean hell he gets some time next year he’s going to be scary good.
Hated Lapierre but he did a good job at making noise. Oh and yeah I know there is probably a list of flyers that you don’t like ha I don’t blame you everyone else does…
I just wanted to say what a great run Montreal had this year. I mean the Caps the Pens I found myself rooting for you guys hard. I mean what’s better than taking down the East’s powerhouses? Thank you guys for a good series which I believe could have been different with a few more bounces your way…
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