As I was watching the last few games of this series it reminded me of 1986. A young goalie played much better than anyone expected and took an ok team all the way. At this point we don't know if Jaroslav Halak is the next incarnation of Patrick Roy, but he might be. If the Habs knock off the defending champion Pittsburg Penguins then we are onto something.
There is a long way to go before we put Halak on the pedestal that some other Montreal goaltenders have been put on but greatness has to start at some point. We may be witnessing a moment or this will be a one series wonder and the Habs will continue to fumble along, just good enough to make the playoffs but not making waves.
It must be tough playing hockey for that franchise. hockey is a religion in Montreal and if you can rise to the challenge you may reach sainthood for the bleu, blanc, et rouge. If you fail you will be run out of town. In time we will see where Jaroslav Halak.
The Caps were quite successful in the regular season but I don't believe they have figured out how to win in the playoffs. I think they were simply outworked by the Canadiens on defense. Halak made a lot of saves but there were a lot of blocked shots.
ReplyDeletePittsburgh, however, knows what it takes to win.
Missing Spacek is not going to help matters, either.