Game 63: Canadiens vs. Hurricanes

Watch the game online
http://www.firstrowsports.eu/watch/52304/1/watch-montreal-canadiens-vs-carolina-hurricanes.html

Conference Finals- Game 5 Preview: Staring Down Elimination... Again

Offence: Montreal needs to score goals... Montreal needs to score goals.  The Canadiens have have to use their speed advantage to get pucks in behind Philadelphia defence, just like they did so successfully in game 3.  It's also time for the skilled guys not named Brian Gionta or Mike Cammalleri to score.  Thomas Plekanec was the Habs leading scorer this season with 70 points, yet has just 4 assists in his last 12 games.  Plekanec, among others (Scott Gomez, Andrei Kostitsyn) have to do more.

Defence:  The defence has not played all that bad in game 4. Aside from P.K. Subban's misplay that led to Ville Leino's goal, Claude Giroux's goal may have been stopped by Josh Gorges had he not a skate problem.  Roman Hamrlik has been solid the whole series, and the defence in general has done a better job of allowing Jaroslav Halak to see the shots.

Goal: Halak has played well enough to win every game except game 1.  The only problem with Halak right now is that he can't score goals.

Lineup: Tom Pyatt didn't finish game 4 because of an upper-body injury.  If he can't go for game 5, Mathieu Darche or Sergei Kostitsyn will.

Conference Finals- Game 4 Recap: Shutout...Again

Montreal was shutout again by the Flyers 3-0 and go back to Philadelphia for game 5 facing elimination again.  The Canadiens had a solid first period when they outshot the Flyers 7-5, but couldn't apply any pressure in the final two periods. 

Offence: Montreal's forwards played a poor game in all areas, including faceoffs, where they lost 68% of the draws.  The Canadiens fired just 17 shots (only 1 in the second period) at Michael Leighton.  Mike Cammalleri got only 1 shot on goal, as Philadelphia were able to block 27 shots on the night.  Maxim Lapierre was the Habs most dangerous player, hitting the goalie 5 times in game 4.  Tom Pyatt missed the third period due to an undisclosed injury.  

Defence: The Flyers won the majority of the loose pucks against the Montreal defence and shutdown the breakout passes through the neutral zone that were so effective in game 3.  The Canadiens only managed to block 14 shots in game 4, again well below the standards set in the first two rounds.  Marc-Andre Bergeron actually had a decent night.  He wasn't on the ice for any of Philadelphia's goals, had 2 SOG, and made a nice play to foil the first empty netter attempt by the Flyers.

Goaltending: Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves and was solid once again in goal, and again had no chance to win due to an anemic offence.  Jeff Carter was allowed to walk through the defence on two occasions and was stopped by Halak both times.  On the first goal, Claude Giroux was left one on one with Halak because of a Josh Gorges wardrobe malfunction.  Halak was then run into the net by Ville Leino on the second goal, and the third goal was an empty netter.

Conference Finals- Game 4 Preview: Keep Up The Energy

Offence: Game 3 saw Montreal's forwards using their speed to get through the neutral zone and making smarter passes to negate Philadelphia's counter attack.  They will need to continue to use the energy offered up by the Bell Centre crowd to keep outskating the Flyers on the forecheck in game 4.

Defence: The Canadiens never allowed Philadelphia's scorers to get anyhting going in game 3.  They were all over them as soon as they came over center ice and only allowed shots from the perimeter.  They targeted Daniel Briere and made him a non-factor in the game.  More of the same is the best approach for game 4.

Goal: Jaroslav Halak should be solid again if the Habs can continue give a clear view on the majority of the shots.  He didn't have his crease crowded by Flyer attackers or Montreal defenders in game 3 and it made all the difference.  The Canadiens need to give him his space to keep him playing effectively.

Lineup: Ryan O'Byrne played only 1:34 after taking a delay of game penalty on his first shift in game 3.  Jacques Martin may return him to the press box in favor of Mathieu Darche.  This would mean Marc-Andre Bergeron would take regular shift on defence again where he has racked up a -11 rating for the playoffs.

Conference Finals- Game 3 Recap: Goals!

Finally! Montreal broke Michael Leighton's series shutout bid when Mike Cammalleri banged home a P.K. Subban rebound. The Canadiens proceeded to fill Philadelphia's net with 4 more goals enroute to a 5-1 win in game 3. The home ice win reduces the Flyers series lead to 2-1.

Offence: Tom Pyatt and Dominic Moore each had a goal and an assist on a night where Montreal outshot Philadelphia 38-28. The Canadiens were finally able to get some traffic in front of Leighton and knock in some rebounds.

Defence: Roman Hamrlik once again logged the most ice time for the Habs defence. Hamrlik collected 2 assists and finished +4 in his 23:06 on the ice. P.K. Subban turned in 3 assists and was a +3 on the night. Subban's 3 points puts him second in rookie playoff scoring behind Ville Leino. Montreal also shutout the Philadelphia powerplay on 3 chances after only killing 60% of penalties in the first two games.

Goal: Jaroslav Halak was solid in net, although it wasn't a particularly tough night for him. The Canadiens did a much better job of allowing him to see the majority of the 26 shots he faced.

The highlights: