Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers
The Montreal Canadiens have dug themselves into another playoff hole. To continue their miracle run, the Habs will have to win three in a row starting with Monday’s game in Philly.
The goal is to score
The Habs were shut out for the third time in the series, the first time that’s happened in Montreal’s 101-year franchise history. They only mustered 17 shots and were dominated in the second period when the Flyers outshot the home side 13-1.
“We didn’t execute and we got away from the game plan,” Habs forward Tomas Plekanec told the Montreal Gazette. “We had too many guys trying to do it by themselves. We didn’t support the defence and they didn’t support us.”
So what is the game plan?
Hockey analysts say Montreal was successful in Game 3 because it dumped the puck in and harassed Philly’s defencemen into coughing up possession. The Canadiens didn’t attack with the same strategy in Game 4.
“We didn’t get the puck deep in the second period. We turned the puck [over] numerous times,” Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin said after the game.
“We played in what you call a danger zone, if you ask me. The blue lines are usually dangerous zones. At your own blue line, you have to get the puck out, and the offensive line, you have to get the puck deep.”
Welcome back Carter
Philly got a big boost from Jeff Carter’s return. The team’s second-leading scorer in the regular season was expected to miss the remainder of the season when he broke his foot in the first round of the playoffs.
“It’s awesome,” Carter told the Camden Courier-Post. “When I got hurt, I thought I was going to be the cheerleader.”
He played almost 14 minutes in his first game in over a month and skated with Mike Richards and Simon Gagne. He had four shots, four hits and won three of his four faceoffs.
Losing an edge
NBC color commentator Pierre McGuire reported during the second period of Saturday’s game that there was something on the ground in the Flyers’ hallway.
Whatever was on the ground probably didn’t help out Philly’s skaters. Several players missed shifts in the second period because of skate problems.
“We had skate issues, that’s for sure,” coach Peter Laviolette told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “You know, we lost [Mike] Richards three times, Kimmo [Timonen] two times, and I don’t know.”
Whether it was gamesmanship or just some unexplained spillage, there some definitely something whacky going on with the Flyers skates.
“I think it was five times that I had to get my skates sharpened tonight, which is obviously a bit much,” Richards said. “I’m not sure [what happened]. I didn’t check the carpet for [sand].”