1) Here's one of the more insightful tweets launched my way this season. It comes from Stephen Lee and reads: "If that's the goaltending the Habs get in the playoffs, I like their chances. If that's the goaltending they NEED, I don't."
Can't argue with that notion.
It would've been worth it to pay for the most expensive tickets in the house last night just to watch Carey Price do his thing. As for the Canadiens...well, at least they clinched a playoff berth. The Lightning even outdid them in that department--accomplishing the same with a win.
Here's the wake-up call: In four games against Tampa, the Canadiens have scored four goals and a shootout winner.
Why?
2) Watch Mike Weaver open it up, get a quality chance in on Bishop, and then watch Brendan Gallagher's determined follow up, willing his way to the hard area in front of Tampa's hulking netminder and shoveling that puck under the bar for the kind of goal Montreal's going to need to score to beat this team in the playoffs.
Gallagher can't be the only player doing these things.
The finesse game works against teams that are far less defensively responsible than the Lightning are. They may not have the toughest blueliners in the league, but this team--as a whole--does as good of a job as the Canadiens do of shutting down the middle of the ice, and you aren't going to score on them unless you force the issue with simplicity.
The only other way is on the powerplay, and if you're going to tick one box off for the Lightning in their head-to-head matchup with the Canadiens, it's the powerplay.
3) Indiscipline is inexcusable at this time of year.
I like the way Lars Eller competed in this game, but he can't be sitting for four minutes because of penalties taken 200 feet from his own net. That's not a recipe for success.
Alexei Emelin got caught on a couple too, one of which was 200 feet from his own net.
The Habs played that game in Boston and it should've cost them there. They played it in Tampa, and eventually it did cost them. Play this game in the playoffs, and it's a guaranteed recipe for losing.
4) Speaking of which, Douglas Murray isn't a dirty player, but don't try to tell me his elbow on Mike Kostka wasn't dirty.
Yes, Murray was angling to hold the blue line as he usually does in even-numbered situations. Yes, he mistimed his hit. Yes, it was reactionary to push his elbow up, knowing that if he didn't, Kostka would've slipped by unimpeded. But once Murray made the conscious decision to put his elbow up, there was only one thing that could've resulted; a devastating blow to Kostka's head.
Let's stop making excuses for these kinds of plays. We should be happy we've seen less of them this season, and softening on them and making excuses for them only encourages their re-emergence.
Fact: Murray's never been suspended.
Fact: Kostka left the ice of his own volition.
Fact: Murray was ejected from the game.
I'd like to see this kind of thing harshly punished, which I believe would've amounted to a five-game suspension, thus keeping Murray from the rest of the regular season games. But in light of all those facts above, I believe it'll only be two, and Murray is scheduled for a phone hearing at 11:00am with the league, as reported by Renaud Lavoie of TVA.
5) Let's go back to the procedure on Kostka. It doesn't wash well with me.
Medical protocol in the NHL is to remove a player that's been knocked unconscious on a stretcher, as a preventative measure (neck and head concerns). Once Kostka woke up, why was it enough to take his word for it that he was fine and allow him to insist on leaving the ice of his own volition?
The Canadiens wouldn't have allowed this. They've been beyond rigid when it comes to concussion/head injury protocol they're supposed to invoke.
At the end of January, in Ottawa, Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop was clocked in the back of the head with a skate by his own teammate, Nikita Kucherov.
Here were Bishop's comments after leaving the game in the first period:
"At the beginning I didn't feel good at all, kind of real weak," Bishop said. "I kind of have my bearings now and feel good, just a little bit of a headache. I think it's gotten better as the game has gone on, so hopefully I'll wake up (Friday) and feel good and hopefully be able to practice."
The players always want to come back. They don't want to miss time. In the same game against the Senators, backup Anders Lindback got dinged up. Wouldn't you know it, despite being questionable, Bishop was back in action against Montreal two days later.
Here's Jon Cooper before the game, wondering who his goalie would be for the game.
Some teams have been really advanced on the whole concussion issue. We'll see how Tampa handles Kostka--who clearly suffered a concussion last night.
6) Thought the Canadiens did a bang up job on the penalty kill once again. Plekanec and Gionta were so good at taking Stamkos' one-timer away.
Then it was Bournival and White in relief, and that was a different story. Both players are super-aggressive on the penalty kill, and they tend to overplay. When they were on the ice, that's when Stamkos had his chance. Luckily, he missed.
Victor Hedman became the primary shooter on Tampa's powerplay--and the Canadiens were more than happy that was the case.
There were a couple of brilliant cross-slot passes from goal-line to slot by Ryan Callahan, feeding Valteri Filppula, and if not for Carey Price, those would've been nice goals. Callahan scored a beauty of his own on the rush. Price was mad at himself for it, but he sure shrugged it off quickly.
7) The Canadiens are going to be deprived of Douglas Murray's services--for how long, we'll know soon enough.
If they didn't believe in playing Jarred Tinordi for this one, then what does that say about him for a playoff series against Tampa?
Enter Nathan Beaulieu? Finally?
Or will Greg Pateryn get the call so they can have a look at him now?
8) I don't have an explanation for P.K. Subban's 17:00+ minutes of ice in Tampa Bay. Neither did Therrien.
I can admit that Subban looked entirely sloppy when he was out there, but how much stock do you put into that when he's not being permitted to play in rhythm?
Whatever the problem is here, somebody needs to check their ego. The Canadiens need this player. They need to rely on him big in the playoffs, especially against a fast team like the Lightning. Figure this out, now!
9) It's been a few really good nights for Daniel Briere, but one costly turnover, enabling the sequence that had Price rob Stamkos, before making a freakshow save on Teddy Purcell was enough to have him relegated to the fourth line.
Briere can be a real difference-maker for the Canadiens in a series where they're going to have to show Tampa they can score.
10) Pacioretty-Desharnais-Vanek. Too much cheating. Too casual. And unforgivable on the game-winning goal by Tyler Johnson.
These guys can play like this for 90% of a game and make the other 10% look like they were brilliant, because if you give them two or three chances, they're going to score. But man, when it doesn't work out, it sure looks ugly.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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