More Predictions - Round 2

Hey, just because the Habs are done doesn't mean we'll stop posting. There will soon be trades and a draft to start thinking about, and we'll do what we can to provide updates and commentary where they're possible.

Until then, there's still playoff hockey to be played. For Round 2, I'm going to go with:

Detroit over Anaheim in 6

Chicago over Vancouver in 7

Washington over Pittsburgh in 7

Boston over Carolina in 7


Nothing like a little dissension amongst bloggers to keep things interesting...

Also, for actual expert picks we direct you to the wheel-spinning monkey.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11809

Predictions - Round Two

Anaheim over Detroit in seven.

Vancouver over Chicago in six.

Pittsburgh over Washington in six.

Carolina over Boston in seven.

And the train came off the tracks

That thunderous thud on Wednesday night was the Canadiens' 100th season coming to a halt. And wow, what a disappointment. The Doc did a good job breaking down what happened, and has written a bit about what he figures might happen. My five big questions heading into the off-season:

1) Will Vincent Lecavalier be a Canadien come September?

2) What happens with Carey Price - can he get his confidence back? 

3) Speaking of goalies, will Jaroslav Halak be back as a Hab? Or will he walk?

4) Can Tomas Plekanec regain his 2007 form?

5) Will Bob Gainey return as Habs GM?

As always, we welcome your thoughts, discussion and poll voting.

Interesting Article

A good read on the Habs' current situation by Elliotte Friedman.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/2009/04/canadiens_season_far_from_a_lo.html

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...

Hmmm...

...Habs in eight?

Seriously, congratulations to the Bruins. 

Pushed to the Brink

It all started so well too. For the first 15+ minutes last night the Habs looked like they might be able to make this a series, but sadly, reality eventually caught up with them. You just can't expect to beat a #1 seed missing the likes of Markov, Schneider, Lang and Tanguay, and that's exactly what showed down the stretch. The Bruins (despite a shaky start) played disciplined hockey in all 3 zones last night, and now have up to 4 chances to end the Habs' Centennial Season. After the last few weeks of losing (7 in a row now) and injuries, I'm not sure that it'll take more than 1 or 2...

Random Thoughts From Game 3:

-I know that Price played pretty well last night all things considered, but after Game 2 I was sure Halak would get his shot. He has a lifetime GAA of 1.82 and SVP of .943 against the Bruins, and as evidenced by the Washington series, a change in net can drastically alter the fortunes of a struggling team. Guess Bob likes Carey too much for that to happen though...

-Yannick Weber looked really good last night. Pairing him with Markov next season should make for a solid PP tandem.

-What's up with all of the noise/booing from the Montreal crowd during the American National Anthem? They always seem to do this, and it just looks petty. I know they hate the Bruins and all, but save the displays for the game itself. I'm sure the American players and owner of the Canadiens would also agree...

Lang and Markov skating and shooting today...

...a guy can dream, right?