Most NHL fans didn’t anticipate the Philadelphia Flyers or the Montreal Canadiens fighting for the Eastern Conference and a chance to play in the Stanley Cup this season. Both proved skeptics wrong by advancing to the conference finals. The Canadiens upended the Capitals and defending champion Penguins. The Flyers were the last team to make the post-season on a shootout win in the final game of the regular season. Philadelphia went on to top the Devils before making history by besting the Bruins in four straight games. The Flyers became the first team to erase a 3-0 deficit and win a series in 35 years. Now, Philadelphia is high flying and back in their eighth Stanley Cup finals after eliminating Montreal 4-2 in the clinching Game 5 Monday night. The Flyers will face the Western conference-winning Blackhawks in Game 1 this Saturday.
Philadelphia netminder, Michael Leighton, allowed a goal 59 seconds into Game 5 but shutdown the Canadiens the rest of the way to help the Flyers earn the East. The 29 year old Ontario native made 25 saves to run his playoff record to 6-1. Leighton wasn’t even on the team’s roster in the beginning of the playoffs. Both skating squads were 0-for-6 on power play opportunities at Wachovia Center last night. The guest Canadiens were first to find the net on Brian Gionta’s ninth post-season goal but the Flyers offense ignited for three unanswered goals to plow ahead 3-1 after three periods. Jaroslav Halak, the crafty Canadien goalie, made 22 stops and yielded all three goals. Philadelphia’s gold medal winning captain, Mike Richards, tied the game with a first period goal and later added two assists. Richards’ tenacious tap-in slap came after an aggressive Halak collided with his own teammate, leaving an abandoned net as ripe for the taking for the captain.
Arron Asham provided Philadelphia’s first lead in the opening minutes of the second period. Jeff Carter, the Flyers’ regular season scoring leader, notched a pair of goals sandwiched between a Montreal tally by Scott Gomez. Carter’s second period shot from the far post occurred just over a minute after Asham hit the puck between the posts. Gomez’s third period goal wasn’t enough to save the Habs from going 6-0 in elimination games. Instead, the eighth-seeded Canadiens fell for the first time this season in decisive series-clinching games. Carter sent Philadelphia home champions with a put-away empty-netter for the game’s final goal. The spectacular Flyers have stuffed the skeptics by dropping the Canadiens in five games.
Parting Points: Song of the day- Staind’s “It’s Been A While”
Showing posts with label Montreal Canadiens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal Canadiens. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Series Stunner
Masterful Montreal has melted the Mellon. Wednesday’s decisive Game 7 Eastern Conference Semifinal between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens was the final contest at Mellon Arena. That’s because the visiting eighth seeded Canadiens improbably iced Pittsburgh 5-2 at the Igloo. Montreal disposed the defending Stanley Cup champions, despite entering the post-season with the worst record of the playoff teams. The Canadiens completed their ousting of the favored home team in front of a packed house in Pittsburgh, and face the winner of the Boston-Philadelphia series in the Eastern finals. The Canadiens are the first eighth seed to win two playoff series and are in the finals for the first time in 17 years. The Penguins exit the Igloo short of their third straight Stanley Cup appearance.
Pittsburgh lacked production and punch offensively in this series. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins’ top two scorers, combined for one goal and five assists. Goalie Marc Andre-Fleury allowed four goals on 13 shots last night before being lifted by Brent Johnson. It was too little, too late for the Penguins, however. Montreal, who ripped the hearts out of the top-seeded Capitals in round one, skated to an early 4-0 advantage Wednesday. The Canadiens scored 22 seconds after Crosby was whistled for a penalty in the first period. Brian Gionta slapped a power play goal into the net to help the Canadiens build a lead on the road. Montreal was 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Pens were a dismal 0-for-6 in one-man up situations. Dominic Moore made it a 2-0 contest with a wrister near the end of the first period. The gummy bear Pittsburgh offense was on full display last night. Pittsburgh struggled to test Montreal netminder, Jaroslav Halak. Halak was outstanding between the posts, with 37 saves. The Pens committed too many defensive turnovers can couldn’t contain the spectacular play on the opposite end of the ice.
The Canadiens kept putting together good chances against Fleury and added a pair of goals to increase their lead to 4-0 within the first five minutes of the second period. Mike Cammalleri took a feed in the slot and rifled it past Fleury for his league-leading 12th goal this post-season. Travis Moen grabbed a Penguins’ turnover on a Montreal power play and blasted the puck into the net to end Fleury’s night. Coach Dan Blysma pulled Fleury for Johnson, and the Penguins succeeded in scoring two second period goals to make a game of it. Chris Kunitz finally put Pittsburgh on the board at 8:36 with a crease shot on a Kris Letang rebound. The Penguins cut the deficit to two goals late in the second period when Jordan Staal tipped in a Alexi Ponikarovsky miss to stir the sellout crowd. Halak made a couple of incredible saves as Crosby and Malkin failed to help Pittsburgh climb closer. The Montreal defense continued to stuff and suffocate the big stars from Pittsburgh by forcing turnovers. Gionta picked up his second Game 7 goal in the third period, and seventh of the playoffs, to kill the hosts’ momentum. Gionta shoved Cammalleri’s rebound into an open net, catching Johnson out of position. The Canadiens prematurely ended Pittsburgh’s season behind 18 third period sensational Halak stops to seal the victory.
Parting Points: Happy Birthday to Barry Zito. I never realized his uncle was Patrick Duffy.
Music birthdays of note- Mary Wells and Stevie Wonder
Pittsburgh lacked production and punch offensively in this series. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins’ top two scorers, combined for one goal and five assists. Goalie Marc Andre-Fleury allowed four goals on 13 shots last night before being lifted by Brent Johnson. It was too little, too late for the Penguins, however. Montreal, who ripped the hearts out of the top-seeded Capitals in round one, skated to an early 4-0 advantage Wednesday. The Canadiens scored 22 seconds after Crosby was whistled for a penalty in the first period. Brian Gionta slapped a power play goal into the net to help the Canadiens build a lead on the road. Montreal was 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Pens were a dismal 0-for-6 in one-man up situations. Dominic Moore made it a 2-0 contest with a wrister near the end of the first period. The gummy bear Pittsburgh offense was on full display last night. Pittsburgh struggled to test Montreal netminder, Jaroslav Halak. Halak was outstanding between the posts, with 37 saves. The Pens committed too many defensive turnovers can couldn’t contain the spectacular play on the opposite end of the ice.
The Canadiens kept putting together good chances against Fleury and added a pair of goals to increase their lead to 4-0 within the first five minutes of the second period. Mike Cammalleri took a feed in the slot and rifled it past Fleury for his league-leading 12th goal this post-season. Travis Moen grabbed a Penguins’ turnover on a Montreal power play and blasted the puck into the net to end Fleury’s night. Coach Dan Blysma pulled Fleury for Johnson, and the Penguins succeeded in scoring two second period goals to make a game of it. Chris Kunitz finally put Pittsburgh on the board at 8:36 with a crease shot on a Kris Letang rebound. The Penguins cut the deficit to two goals late in the second period when Jordan Staal tipped in a Alexi Ponikarovsky miss to stir the sellout crowd. Halak made a couple of incredible saves as Crosby and Malkin failed to help Pittsburgh climb closer. The Montreal defense continued to stuff and suffocate the big stars from Pittsburgh by forcing turnovers. Gionta picked up his second Game 7 goal in the third period, and seventh of the playoffs, to kill the hosts’ momentum. Gionta shoved Cammalleri’s rebound into an open net, catching Johnson out of position. The Canadiens prematurely ended Pittsburgh’s season behind 18 third period sensational Halak stops to seal the victory.
Parting Points: Happy Birthday to Barry Zito. I never realized his uncle was Patrick Duffy.
Music birthdays of note- Mary Wells and Stevie Wonder
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Flirting with Fleury
Marc-Andre Fleury’s flawless goaltending and a Pittsburgh power play were all the Penguins needed to defeat the Canadiens 2-0 at Bell Centre Tuesday night. The Penguins lead the Eastern Conference playoff semifinal series 2-1 after shutting out and shutting down Montreal at home. The accomplishment was the first time since 1983 the Canadiens have been blanked in a playoff home contest. Fleury turned away 18 shots on goal and Evgeni Malkin provided his fourth power play goal, and fifth of the post-season, to lift the visiting defending Stanley Cup Champions to a Game 3 victory. Game 4 is Thursday night at Bell Centre with Game 5 slated for Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena.
The game remained scoreless through two periods until Malkin broke through with a goal at 1:16 in the third. The Canadiens controlled play during the opening period, ringing up seven shots to the Pens’ three on goal. The Pens buckled down on defense and committed to blocking shots in the next two periods. Pittsburgh’s offense also dominated the final two periods, outshooting Montreal 22-11, despite skating without Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin. The offense cleared rebounds and relied on their energetic goaltender. Mark Letestu replaced Staal. He won ten faceoffs while logging over twelve minutes. The Penguins went on the power play when Canadien defenseman, Hal Gill, was whistled for holding Sidney Crosby. The Penguins immediately put the one-man advantage to use. Sergei Gonchar found Malkin from the left point and the 23 year old Russian rifled the puck past Jarsoslav Halak to put the Pens in front 1-0. Alex Goligoski assisted on the goal and Malkin used Crosby as a screen in front of the net. Malkin has 10 points in nine playoff games this year. Last night ended a four game scoreless drought for the Penguins’ center.
The Montreal netminder made some brilliant saves and had to be at his best when the Candiens trailed late in the third period. Halak stopped 23 shots for Montreal but the Canadiens were 0-for-2 on the power play and couldn’t squeeze anything by Quebec native, Fleury. Former NJ Devil, Brian Gionta, took seven stabs at the goal, with little success. Fleury made eight saves after Malkin gave the Penguins a one-goal edge, including a right pad stop on a Gionta slap shot from the right point. Pascal Dupuis dropped an empty netter in the final 15 seconds to seal the 2-0 win for Pittsburgh. Fleury flirted with a shutout and succeeded. The shutout was Fleury’s fourth NHL playoff shutout. The Penguins snatched back home advantage with the Tuesday’s triumph in Canada.
Parting Points: Sad news about the passing of legendary broadcaster, Ernie Harwell.
In other Detroit area sports stories--It looks like the Sharks are on the verge of eliminating the Red Wings.
Song of the day- Beck’s “E-Pro”
The game remained scoreless through two periods until Malkin broke through with a goal at 1:16 in the third. The Canadiens controlled play during the opening period, ringing up seven shots to the Pens’ three on goal. The Pens buckled down on defense and committed to blocking shots in the next two periods. Pittsburgh’s offense also dominated the final two periods, outshooting Montreal 22-11, despite skating without Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin. The offense cleared rebounds and relied on their energetic goaltender. Mark Letestu replaced Staal. He won ten faceoffs while logging over twelve minutes. The Penguins went on the power play when Canadien defenseman, Hal Gill, was whistled for holding Sidney Crosby. The Penguins immediately put the one-man advantage to use. Sergei Gonchar found Malkin from the left point and the 23 year old Russian rifled the puck past Jarsoslav Halak to put the Pens in front 1-0. Alex Goligoski assisted on the goal and Malkin used Crosby as a screen in front of the net. Malkin has 10 points in nine playoff games this year. Last night ended a four game scoreless drought for the Penguins’ center.
The Montreal netminder made some brilliant saves and had to be at his best when the Candiens trailed late in the third period. Halak stopped 23 shots for Montreal but the Canadiens were 0-for-2 on the power play and couldn’t squeeze anything by Quebec native, Fleury. Former NJ Devil, Brian Gionta, took seven stabs at the goal, with little success. Fleury made eight saves after Malkin gave the Penguins a one-goal edge, including a right pad stop on a Gionta slap shot from the right point. Pascal Dupuis dropped an empty netter in the final 15 seconds to seal the 2-0 win for Pittsburgh. Fleury flirted with a shutout and succeeded. The shutout was Fleury’s fourth NHL playoff shutout. The Penguins snatched back home advantage with the Tuesday’s triumph in Canada.
Parting Points: Sad news about the passing of legendary broadcaster, Ernie Harwell.
In other Detroit area sports stories--It looks like the Sharks are on the verge of eliminating the Red Wings.
Song of the day- Beck’s “E-Pro”
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Punchless Power Play at Prudential
The New Jersey Devils managed to skate past Montreal 2-1 Wednesday even without a power play goal in five tries. The Canadiens played short-handed and took the first five penalties of the game, but the Devils were unable to capitalize on the advantage. The Devils sputtered on the power play throughout the first two periods. Instead, New Jersey benefited from awesome goaltending and a fluke goal from first year Finland native, Illka Pikkarainen. Devils’ netminder, Martin Brodeur, tied Patrick Roy’s NHL record for regular season appearances at 1,029. Brodeur also inked his 598th career win. The goalie missed passing Terry Shawchuk on the all-time shutout list because Travin Moen scored unassisted in the first period. The Devils fell behind and squandered a two-man advantage when the Habs inexplicably scored a shorthanded goal. Moen took the puck off a Jamie Langenbrunner turnover and deposited into the net for a 1-0 Montreal lead. Langenbrunner flubbed the puck on a cross-ice pass from defensiveman, Andy Greene. The Prudential Center crowd showered the arena with boos. Most of the jeers were directed at former Devil forward, Scott Gomez. The Canadien Gomez was booed every time he touched the puck. The Devils couldn’t get much going or facilitate much against Gomez’s new team until the second period.
The Devils answered in the second period on Pikkarainen’s wrister that deflected off the glove of Carey Price in goal. Price accidentally knocked the puck with the back of his right skate to allow New Jersey the equalizer to score. Patrik Elias broke the 1-1 tie 17:24 into the third period to salvage the Devils’ 23rd win. Elias picked up his seventh goal of the year by redirecting his own rebound into the net. Price stopped the initial shot, but Elias whistled in the game winner with 2:36 remaining, just in time. Elias’ goal sealed the fifth consecutive New Jersey victory over Montreal. The franchise’s all time leading scorer was coming off his 300th goal in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Flyers. Price made 25 saves for Montreal. He made eight during the four-penalty first quarter. The 16 year veteran, Brodeur, was credited with 17 stops. The Devils are second to Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey improved to 12-6 at home. Montreal sits at fourth in a close Northeast Division. One game separates the two teams ahead of the Canadiens. The Sabres own the division lead, five games up on the Habs.
Parting Points: Sad news about former WVU Mountaineer Chris Henry’s passing today. Thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teammates.
Halladay is finally a part of the senior circuit…but he hasn’t pitched a playoff game yet.
Song of the day- “This Magic Moment” by the Drifters
The Devils answered in the second period on Pikkarainen’s wrister that deflected off the glove of Carey Price in goal. Price accidentally knocked the puck with the back of his right skate to allow New Jersey the equalizer to score. Patrik Elias broke the 1-1 tie 17:24 into the third period to salvage the Devils’ 23rd win. Elias picked up his seventh goal of the year by redirecting his own rebound into the net. Price stopped the initial shot, but Elias whistled in the game winner with 2:36 remaining, just in time. Elias’ goal sealed the fifth consecutive New Jersey victory over Montreal. The franchise’s all time leading scorer was coming off his 300th goal in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Flyers. Price made 25 saves for Montreal. He made eight during the four-penalty first quarter. The 16 year veteran, Brodeur, was credited with 17 stops. The Devils are second to Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey improved to 12-6 at home. Montreal sits at fourth in a close Northeast Division. One game separates the two teams ahead of the Canadiens. The Sabres own the division lead, five games up on the Habs.
Parting Points: Sad news about former WVU Mountaineer Chris Henry’s passing today. Thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teammates.
Halladay is finally a part of the senior circuit…but he hasn’t pitched a playoff game yet.
Song of the day- “This Magic Moment” by the Drifters
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