Post Game Thoughts

1) Tough way to end an amazing playoff run. From the comeback(s) against Ottawa to beating the Bruins, this was truly an amazing team to watch. 2) What's even more incredible? Galchenyuk- 20 years old, Beaulieu- 21, Tinordi- 22, Gallagher- 22, Tokarski- 24, Eller- 25, Pacioretty- 25, PK- 25, Price- 26. That's a bright, bright future. 3) Lars Eller was the Habs' best, and most consistent player this postseason. Eller was great game in and game out and has become a really important player on this roster. 4) In 5 playoff games, Alex Galchenyuk was the difference maker we expected him to be. Now imagine him in 3 years, playing centre with Brendan Gallagher by his side. Consistent 80+ point seasons is seriously possible. 5) For all the David Desharnais haters out there, if you watched any games this postseason, you'd see how important this player is. Not only to Max Pacioretty, but to the team. As good as he is offensively, Desharnais has improved his defensive game ...

1) With their second win in the ECF, this is officially the best Habs' best playoff run since '93. 2) Whoever found playoff Rene Bourque, thank you. 9 regular season goals, 8 playoff goals. 3) John Moore better get 2 games for that hit on Weise. Filthy, just like Prust's hit. 4) Josh Gorges is on a mission; to kill Dustin Tokarski. For some reason, Gorges has ended up on top of Ticker, alone or with a Ranger, at least 5 times this series. He must be pretty good friends with Budaj. 5) The big guns stepped up tonight. Big games from Galchenyuk, Plekanec, Pacioretty, Markov, Bourque and Eller. That Subban guy wasn't bad either. 6) I love Brian Gionta, but he has pretty much played himself out of a contract for next year. Worse than his 14 straight games without a goal is the fact that he has yet to even affect the outcome of a game in this series. Same goes for Plekanec, however, things may change with his goal tonight. 7) Bourque, Weise and Eller were incredib...

1) Brandon Prust needs to be suspended. Blatant elbow to the head. No room for that stuff. 2) Say whatever you want about bad contracts like Briere and Desharnais. None of them are worse than Alexei Emelin's. And I'm not just saying that because of the last goal. He's slow, doesn't move the puck well and makes so many questionable decisions. I'm still trying to figure out why he was on the ice protecting a one goal lead in the last minute. 3) Andrei Markov played some inspired hockey tonight. Best game since the Boston series. 4) Heroic effort from Dustin Tokarski. Neither of the Rangers' goals should've gone in. 5) Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta have been awful this series. That didn't change tonight. They have to be way better if the Habs are going to win this series. 6) My boy Alex Galchenyuk with the winner. What a beauty. 7) Max Pacioretty has been incredible this series. 1 assist and 3 shots tonight, but even more impressive is how muc...

1) Well that was fun, wasn't it? Habs were absolutely dominated, and are now 0-6 this season in afternoon games. 2) Screw afternoon games. 3) No matter what the score was in that game, it's only 1-0 Rangers in the series. 4) Everyone say a prayer tonight for Carey Price. If Price can't play (knock on wood) the Habs are cooked. 5) Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov are slow. I wonder who would win a race between those two, and Thomas Vanek. 6) Speaking of Vanek, boy did he look uninterested. While his body may be in Montreal, his head is in Minnesota. 7) Ryan McDonagh had 4 points, which equals Scott Gomez's point total with the Habs. 8) Good news is Max Pacioretty was the Habs' best forward tonight. A lot of good chances and was skating really well today. 9) As the great Carey Price said, "Winners regroup". 10) Monday will be much different. Habs now understand who they are up against, and will come out flying in game 2. I'm predicting a...

1) I don't even know where to start. Wow. What a feeling. What a team. 2) Dale Weise. Gotta find a way to sign this guy. 1 goal, 4 hits, and played pretty much the perfect game. Amazing story. 3)  Danny Briere had 2 points tonight on 9 shifts (8:06 TOI). That's a point on 22% of his shifts. Also has 7 points in 5 career game 7s, and has a 4-1 record. 4) Max Pacioretty is back. Watch out, New York. 5) Nathan Beaulieu has 2 points in his first 2 playoff games. Stud. 6) I never, ever, ever, want to hear that Tuukka Rask is a better goalie than Carey Price. Ever. 7) Speaking of Price, including the olympics, Carey has allowed 2 goals in 5 elimination games, this year. 8) David Desharnais had himself a game. DD outworked every Bruin that came near him, and made a hell of a pass to Pacioretty on the Habs' second goal. 9) Heroic effort from Tomas Plekanec tonight. In his classic Plekanec way, he was one of the best players on the ice, yet still managed to go unno...

1) Nathan Beaulieu. I don't even know where to start. 1 assist, +2 in 9 minutes of ice time, but that doesn't even tell the whole story. Beaulieu was engaged, skated extremely well and did not seem nervous or out of place at all. While his assist was a great heads up play, it's that amazing blocked shot that really caught my eye. G-d knows what took so long to get this kid in the lineup, but I think it's safe to say that he won't be going anywhere for a while. 2) PK had another very solid night, but I have to admit, there's one part of his game that drives me absolutely nuts. PK has a cannon, which was on display last game, yet he hesitates to shoot the puck. PK has to understand that you don't always have to shoot to necessarily score, but rather shoot to create opportunities. Not one goalie in this league, not even Carey Price, can control the rebound of a PK Subban bomb from the point. The more PK shoots, the more the Habs will score. 3) Welcome back ...

1) What an absolutely atrocious effort tonight. No desperation from this team. This worries me. 2) Marc Bergevin signed Danny Briere specifically for the playoffs. I'd love to know why a one-armed Brandon Prust is a better option than Briere. 3) Doug Murray might be the luckiest guy on the planet. Makes me believe that if I grow to be 6'3, I'll have a shot at going pro. 4) If nothing else, this game showed that the Habs can't beat Boston unless #31 stands on his head. 5) With 10 minutes left in the third period, down by two goals, Michel Therrien sent out a line of Travis Moen, Brandon Prust and Dale Weise. If that doesn't show zero confidence in the top line, then I don't know what does. 6) That defenceman #76 can shoot the puck. Hard. 152 Kmph. 7) Favorite Tweet of the night: "Max Pacioretty playing more like Min Pacioretty".  Spot on. 8) On a positive note, I think the Habs are heading home more confident than people think. Only lost b...

1) I really liked what Conor Mckenna said about the loss tonight. It's not a devastating loss for the Habs, but a heartbreaking one for sure. 2) Montreal deserved this game. They outplayed Boston for most of the night, including a really strong effort in the third period. 3) Michael Bournival played the best game of his short career tonight. Bournival can flat out fly and never gives up on a play. Ryan O'Byrne for Bournival = genius. 4) I'm not one to complain about officiating, but wow was that terrible. The calls that were made were fine, but it's the missed/ non- calls that bothered me. 5) G-d knows why Doug Murray was on the ice during overtime, let alone the second half of the third period. There is way too much confidence in a guy who can barely skate. Yes, he did have a couple nice hits but the Habs don't leave their zone with this guy on the ice. If I remember correctly, there's a dude named Tinordi sitting in the press box. 6) So much icing. ...

1) Let's give a warm welcome back to our old pal Thomas Vanek. Although he wasn't at his best, I thought #20 had some good chances and was involved in the play tonight. Looks like he has some nice chemistry with Plekanec and Bournival. 2) King Subban with another beauty of a game. The brighter the lights, the better PK plays. That's what you want from your superstar. 3) Michael Bournival played one hell of a game tonight. This kid has more heart than almost any Hab I've watched over the past few years. 4) I had my doubts after Jarome Iginla scored Boston's second goal, but credit Therrien and his staff for keeping the team focused. 5) Continuing with Therrien, I thought it was very bold of him to break up the top line. Kudos to him because it worked. We knew Brendan Gallagher's game wasn't going to change but I thought it sparked Vanek and Plekanec. Pacioretty was still below average, but he'll break out at some point. 6) Lars Eller has been in...

1) That was hard to watch.  50 or so minutes of really solid hockey from the Canadiens, but it's those last 10 that were just brutal. 2) This wasn't unexpected - the Bruins scored 104 third period goals this year. Montreal needs to find a way to slow them down in the third. 3) Despite my negativity during the game, this series is far from over. The downside is that they gave up a 2 goal lead in the last 4 minutes of the third period. The bright side, however, is that the Habs are headed home with a split. 4) Yes, Thomas Vanek scored 2 goals, but I still don't think he played his best hockey. Made some really questionable plays today and his passing seemed off. 5) Turns out the Habs do have a powerplay. 3 PP goals over the last two games, including 2/6 today. 6) Call in an missing persons alert for Max Pacioretty; or maybe they just forgot him in Montreal. Either way, the Habs won't win without him. 7) Price was spectacular - for 50 minutes. After Dougie Hami...

1) I counted at least 4 attempted "Buttchecks" by PK tonight; all resulting with him being caught out of position. When it works, it's a thing of beauty. Only issue is that it rarely does. This needs to stop ASAP. 2) PK can buttcheck all he wants if he's gonna score 2 goals. 3) I thought the Habs, as a team, kept their composure. One play that stood out to me was David Desharnais taking a hack and a crosscheck from Brad Marchand. Instead of going back at Pinocchio, DD skated away as if nothing happened. That's how the Habs will beat the Bruins. 4) I don't know what to say about Rene Bourque. The man is on fire. 4th goal in 5 games for Bourque this postseason. 5) This was one of the best games I've ever seen Carey Price play. Especially that 2nd period PP. I'm starting to doubt that he is human. 6) I thought the Habs played a solid road game, but boy were there moments when the Bruins absolutely dominated (the entire 3rd). Boston spent minutes...