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Ryan Snow on the Habs Game 1 |
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I could not wait for this game. I actually thought it was on Sunday and only realized my mistake when I turned on the TV, so I settled for the Battle of Ontario. Call me crazy but I’m glad the Habs are playing the Caps because I find they match up well against them and in my gut I have a weird feeling the Caps will pull a 2024 Winnipeg Jets. But I could be wrong.
From puck drop, the Caps players were hitting everything that moved. Throughout the game they targeted the Habs defenceman and never let them off the hook once they moved the puck. Hutson, Guhle and Carrier took a lot of punishment in order to retrieve pucks behind their net and it showed in the Habs overall ability to transition smoothly out of their own zone over the course of the game.
In the first period, the Habs came out a little nervous and seemed to fumble with the puck at times, and their play in the neutral zone was often stifled by the Caps relentless forecheck. Unfortunately, Ovie got the Caps on the board with a PP goal that Montembeault had little chance on as Savard was passing directly in his line of sight as the shot was being taken. Overall, I find the Habs had a good road period, but what was missing was their willingness to finish their checks. I can think of a couple of instances where a Hab player (Laine…) peeled off instead of making a hit and that cannot happen in the playoffs. The Caps D must always have in the back of their minds that a hit is coming. This will cause them to rush a pass or have a brainfart. The Habs are a forecheck heavy team so they need to punish the Cap’s D all night. That’s what playoff hockey is all about.
In the second period, the Habs were able to generate more scoring chances and Caufield almost had them on the board with a redirect that glanced off the crossbar. Often though, I found luck was not with them and pucks seemed to never settle on their sticks which caused some ill timed fumbles. Matheson had one at the blue line after a really nice passing play, but the puck randomly bounced when he was winding up for the wrist shot and it just went over the blue line. The Caps were able to add to their lead on a scramble play where again Montembeault did all he could. Monty had an excellent game and has really cemented his status as a number one goalie. I talked about this before, but his record since the Four Nations Cup is one of the big reasons the Habs are where they are.
On to the third period and the Habs did what they do best. Comeback. This has been the story all year as the Habs never give up, never surrender (Galaxy Quest). After being awarded a much needed powerplay, Caufield was able to clean up the puck in the slot to cut down the lead. They kept pressing, and after an insane scramble in front of the net, Suzuki was able to bury one, in part because the Caps dman pushed Thompson (who had an amazing game) out of the net. Unfortunately it was not meant to be and Ovie was able to put it away early in OT in a heartbreaking turn of events.
Looking at the game as a whole here are my plus and minus for the habs players:
+Montembault played amazing and gave the habs a chance to win
+with limited space out there, Hutson found a way to be effective with two assists
+The first line came through again with two goals and generated good chances in the second and third period
+Gally played with a lot of energy and his forecheck was great
+Heinemen had a solid game, took some good shots and dished out some hits
+Demidov’s playoff debut was good, he was engaged and I loved his fake move when he came in from the left side
+During the season I was not sure about Struble, but he proved me wrong and had a solid game
-great effort overall by everyone
-Laine needs to use his big body and punish the Caps with more hits
-Guhle had a great effort but it was tough for him out there
-less giveaways in the dzone, they need to adjust better to the Caps forecheck and less flybys
-they need to generate more speed in the neutral zone
-the second line needs to be more of a consistent threat but I have a feeling this is about to happen
-the Caps did a good job blocking shots but the habs need to do a better job finding the shooting lanes.
I can’t wait for the next game and hopefully the Habs can go back to Montreal with a 1-1 series lead!
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