Swept Away

Sadly, the once vaunted Centennial Season came to an inglorious end last night at the hands of the Bruins. While it's obvious that the Habs were fighting an uphill battle without Markov, Lang, Boullion, Schneider and Tanguay in the lineup, I think it's safe to say that the better team won this series. Boston was just too good in all aspects of the game this year, and while you would have liked to see the Canadiens field a full lineup to try and make the series a bit more competitive, I'm not sure that it would have ultimately made much of a difference other than in the number of games that would have been played.

While the Bruins now move on in their quest for the Cup, the Canadiens will be forced to endure a long summer of questions. With 10 players from the roster coming up for UFA status, we'll likely see a lot of movement before the start of the next season. Additionally, the coaching, management and ownership situations are all in states of flux themselves, so it will most certainly mean some tumultuous times for the team to endure in the coming months.

Random Thought For the Day:

-Does anybody else have a really bad feeling about the situation in goal for the Habs next year? Through his actions, Bob Gainey has made it clear that as long as he's around Carey Price will be the starter (for good or bad). The problem I see with this is that Jaroslav Halak would have given the team a better shot at winning down the stretch (not letting him start Game 3 was criminal), and yet he was overlooked in favour of "The Franchise." After his continual mistreatment by the team this season I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Halak walk, which would be a shame given what he could have done with the right opportunity.

Unfortunately, this becomes an even bigger problem when you factor in the fragile state of Carey Price these days. The fans absolutely gave it to him last night, and the mock cheers and Roy-esque salute after an easy save in the second period were more than a bit worrisome. It's entirely possible that the team and fans could have seriously damaged his confidence through their respective treatments of his game, so going forward it's going to be a delicate situation to see just how it all plays out...

Down 2-0 Heading Home

It wasn't even close last night either. The Habs were crushed 5-1 by the Bruins, and dominated in virtually every aspect of the game. The team now returns home needing to beat the Eastern Conference Champs 4 times in 5 games to win the series; a long shot at best.

Interestingly, the team hasn't won a game since Andrei Markov left the lineup (they're now 0-6), and even though his return would certainly increase spirits, I'm not sure if he'll be healthy enough to be the contributor that the Habs will need him to be. I suppose anything is possible though, and if the series is 2-1 after Monday night then it'll be a whole different situation. Not a lot to go on I know, but right now it might be the best that they've got...

Thoughts and Questions After Game 2:

-Should Milan Lucic be suspended for his hit on Maxim Lapierre? Some suggest that he led with his glove and that the shot was no cheaper than the Lapierre hit on Kessel after the empty net goal in Game 1, but it's certainly a tough call to make.

-Who exactly should start in Game 3? History tells us that Gainey likes Price, but is a GAA of 4 and a .875 SVP what the team needs right now?

-What lines will we see next game? The shuffle will likely continue to try and get things going, but how will it work out? Maybe Gainey should try the Carbonneau route of pulling names out of a hat?

-For all of those people who answered the poll question with the Habs winning this series (and there were a bunch of you), what have you seen so far to suggest that it's still possible?

Round One to Boston

In what was a hard game to really assess, the Canadiens fell 4-2 to the Bruins last night. The Habs certainly showed some positive signs (Carey Price was very solid for example), but the fact of the matter remains that the loss will only build confidence for Boston.

Going into the game, I felt that the Canadiens needed to win to plant some doubt in the Bruins. While it looked for a while like that might very well happen, the Chara goal on the powerplay in the third seemed to eliminate all momentum that the Canadiens had enroute to the eventual loss. The Habs almost certainly need to win this next game to have a realistic shot at winning the series, so we'll see how they react on Saturday night.

Random Thoughts From Game 1

-Georges Laraque probably shouldn't be on the top line in place of Tanguay, no matter how much you think he "deters" Chara...

-Do the Habs have a second line? Whatever happened to Kostitsyn and Plekanec anyway?

-That was a cheap shot from Lapierre on Kessel after the empty net goal. It's not like he was even taunting or anything. He basically smiled and then got punched in the face. The same goes for Komisarek wailing on Hunwick after the game ended. I guess you could say that the team was trying to "send a message" or something like that, but I worry about those types of things motivating Boston more than anything else...

Trouble Bruin?

Talk about backing into the postseason...

The Habs lost their 4th straight game tonight by conceding 2 shorthanded goals in just under a minute, and will now head to Boston to open up a first round series on Thursday night against the Eastern Conference Champion Bruins. Interestingly, the Canadiens finished the season with an identical record as the 9th place Florida Panthers, and only qualified for the final playoff spot through a fortunate tiebreaking situation. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of their play down the stretch to be sure. It is also becoming clear (if it wasn't before) that the absence of Andrei Markov on the blueline is a serious concern. Should he not be ready to go for the start of the playoffs, the Canadiens will be in tough against a rugged and talented Boston team.

Fortunately, not everything was bad in the 3-1 loss tonight, as Carey Price single-handedly kept the team in the game with a number of remarkable saves. It's that type of performance that the team needs out of him if they hope to pull off the upset, so at least it provides something to build from as the team readies for the second season.

Another Hour, Another Rumour

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/h...ins_have_goal/

Rumours are rampant that Erik Cole is headed to the Bruins. Mr. Hab Killer himself is apparently telling friends he is Boston bound. This would be bad, bad news for Les Canadiens, as Cole has been a thorn in their side for what seems like an eternity.

Other rumours have Jordon Leopold headed from Colorado to Boston. Also bad news for Les Glorieux. Anything that makes Boston better has to be a serious worry for Bob Gainey and co.