The Montreal Canadiens skated with the Washington Capitals for 51 minutes tonight as if they were the 2nd ranked team in the Eastern Conference.
Not only did they manage to keep up with the wild, run and gun offense of the Capitals, but the Habs, for the most part, took the game to Washington, overwhelming them time and time again with their speed, aggressive forecheck and net crashing.
For 51 minutes of this hockey game, the Canadiens hung tight with only one minor lapse.
Proof of their desire and hunger to win lay in the fact that they were pummelling Capitals goaltender, Semyon Varlamov, with rubber.
To add further merit to the statement that this may have the Montreal Canadiens most spirited effort of the season was the fact that they outshot the Capitals 33-18 through the first 2 periods, in the process setting a record for most shots against in a 2nd period on the Washington Capitals, with 21.
The Habs were buzzing.
Jacques Martin, forced to be compliant with the wishes of the masses, (once again excusably allowed to do so thanks to injuries), substituted Mathieu Darche and game-time decision Jaroslav Spacek in favour of inserting Ryan O’Byrne on defense.
The last minute loss of the Habs defensive shadow-master, Spacek, would prove to be the biggest loss on the night as his presence and constant pressure on Alex Ovechkin and the other Capitals top liners was sorely missed.
But Martin trucked on, believing, without the option to do otherwise of course, that his team could defeat the Capitals and send the series back to Washington all squared up at 2.
The truth was that his belief in his team wasn’t out of place.
The Canadiens truly mustered up everything they could to beat the Capitals, but it was not to be.
The Habs commanded the flow of the game for 40 minutes, yet the underlying reason they couldn’t take full control of the game was Capitals goalie, Semyon Varlamov.
The Caps young Russian netminder was on point all night long, especially when he needed to be.
Varlamov made 31 saves on 33 shots through 40 minutes and kept Washington in the game. So much so that the Caps seemed totally over-powered at times by Montreal, but, even when the Habs appeared to have the Caps at their weakest, Varlamov would come up with the timely save.
Gomez, Gionta and Plekanec stayed disciplined and Carey Price came up big, but, as is always the case when poor Carey is in nets, the Canadiens just couldn’t muster up enough offense, or hang onto a lead long enough, to get him the W.
Watching the highlights, you can see how the game was an extremely intense battle. It is also very apparent that the Capitals were being out-played for the better part of the first 2 frames, yet if viewed from a different perspective, all you could see was that the Habs just couldn’t get it done when it mattered most.
Comic as it is, the Habs have had trouble with opponents who have frustrated them during their epic offensive tyrades, only crumble with exasperation after multiple attempts. Such was the case tonight as the Canadiens tried as hard as they could to upset and take control of the Capitals.
Finally, as if perfectly on cue, the Capitals picked their moment and capitalized on it with only seconds to go in the 2nd period. Although the Habs had held the lead with only seconds to spare, Washington caught the Canadiens in a lull and jumped all over them. The ensuing short-handed rush ultimately led to the tide turning goal as Mike Knuble scored with 7 seconds left in the 2nd to tie it all up at 2.
The devastating result of Knuble’s goal sent the game back to square one and kicked off a desperate push by the Habs.
Although it may seem surreal at times, the fact that Montreal managed to allow a goal at the very end of a period when Carey Price is in nets speaks volumes to me about the troubles they have endured this season.
They are nothing close to those club-house issues of last season, but the minute issues which have caused monumental frustrations always seem to catch up the team when Carey is in nets.
Don’t get me wrong, I still believe he is the future of this team and will prove everyone right in due time. It’s simply perplexing how things have played out for this team during Carey’s games.
Regardless of the mystical inability to produce offensively when Price is in nets, the one minor lapse of allowing Knuble to tie the game at the end of the 2nd could all but be erased so long as the Habs could gain control in the 3rd.
Cue the 3rd period and the sudden realization that the Habs had burnt most of, if not all, of their competitive desire and energy.
The jump-start speedy Habs that skated with and around the Caps in the first two periods were no longer there. In their wake was a group of tired and struggling warriors.
The devastation of the last second goal to Knuble also had ramifications for the team moving forward as it crippled their confidence.
And confidence was all it took as the Capitals, realizing their opponents were in a vulnerable state, quickly jumped into killer instinct mode and turned the tables on Montreal. Ovechkin and company began taking the play to the Canadiens and by the 11 minute mark of the 3rd, the Canadiens wall began to crumble.
As advertised, it would be Alex Ovechkin who would snap the even score, blasting home his 4th goal of the playoffs and quickly sending the Bell Centre crowd back into their seats in a hushed murmur.
Dismayed but undeterred, the Habs fans quickly attempted to resurrect their teams confidence and hopes, but just as quickly as the fans were attempting to get the team back on their feet, were the Capitals pouncing once again. This time it would happen to be Jason Chimera, clobbering in a rebound and ultimately driving the stake through the heart of the Habs gargantuan effort to beat the NHL’s Goliath.
The teams would go on to trade a few more goals, including a beautiful end to end goal by Dominic Moore and couple empty netters for the Habs, but it was over and done with when Knuble struck shorthanded at the end of 40. The Canadiens tried as they might to fight the inevitable but just couldn’t crack Varlamov.
The heart-crushing loss truly puts the Habs on the ropes as they head back to DC for Game 5 of the series on Friday down 3 games to 1, but never rule the Canadiens out. The one thing that has surprisingly stood out the most over the course of the season with this new Habs team has been the fact that they care. They show it every night and want to prove that they should never be counted out.
Montreal may be up against dire odds as they head back to face the team with the most home wins in the NHL, but it’s the playoffs, a time where you never say die.
Caps 6 – Habs 3 – Highlights
I would just like to say thanks to all of you who participated in our joint Cover-it-Live in game blog. We had a great roster of Caps and Habs writers, including many from HockeyBuzz.com(including myself, Kamal and Ek), HockeyIndependent.com(Jeremy Scriven), George Prax and Scott Lowe from TheCheckingLine.com, Andrew and Gary K. from OnFrozenBlog, Krafty from RocktheRed.net, Kyle Roussel, Rick from AllHabs.com and many, many more. It truly was a great event and brought together two very strong hockey communities for a much needed war.
If all goes well, expect us to try it again for Game 5.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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