Sens will be looking to eliminate the Habs in their own barn on Thursday night, after an impressive, improbable come-from-behind overtime win in front of the hometown fans Tuesday night. The Canadiens did everything right by ignoring Gryba and focusing on the game, and they were rewarded with a 2-0 lead going into the third period. Perfectly placed snipes from Subban and Galchenyuk, combined with lacklustre play from the home town team had Montreal out in front and in command.
But the hockey gods were on our side as a soccer goal from Zibanejad was allowed to stand, then two late (and slow) icing calls left the Habs tired for two important face offs, eventually leading to a mad scramble in front of Price, with Conacher burying the tying goal with 25 seconds to go.
But the hockey gods were not finished yet. On that scramble, as Price slid back and forth across the crease, he tweaked something in his left leg -- you could see him roll over in pain after the puck went in. Then on a last second nothing shot from Zibanejad (which sailed 10 feet over the net) Price seemed to aggravate the injury even more going into the (in retrospect, unnecessary) butterfly. Remember when Therrien was asked if he would consider putting in Budaj after the 6-1 loss? He showed very little of the class and respect he seems to crave from MacLean, as he laughed off the suggestion saying "Seriously?" Well, Karma can be a you-know-what, and the disrespect and lack of confidence that he showed in his backup came back to bite him. Budaj replaced Price in the overtime, stopped one shot, then missed the second, as it sailed through what Turris later called the "arm hole".
To Budaj's defense, "Player 61" stuck his elbow out and deflected the puck, ever-so-slightly.
So, what have the Habs got left? They lost when they totally outplayed the Sens in game 1; lost when they tried to goon it up in game 3; lost again when they had a multi-goal lead midway through the third period; they (possibly) lost their starting goalie. The only time they won was when they iced a "B" lineup in game 2, but of course the Sens are notorious for not being able to win two games at the start of a series, having done it only once in 12 tries, now.
On to Montreal. Let's finish them off!
GO SENS!!!!!
P.S. Add a 'stache to your avatar here: www.facetache.com/
But the hockey gods were on our side as a soccer goal from Zibanejad was allowed to stand, then two late (and slow) icing calls left the Habs tired for two important face offs, eventually leading to a mad scramble in front of Price, with Conacher burying the tying goal with 25 seconds to go.
But the hockey gods were not finished yet. On that scramble, as Price slid back and forth across the crease, he tweaked something in his left leg -- you could see him roll over in pain after the puck went in. Then on a last second nothing shot from Zibanejad (which sailed 10 feet over the net) Price seemed to aggravate the injury even more going into the (in retrospect, unnecessary) butterfly. Remember when Therrien was asked if he would consider putting in Budaj after the 6-1 loss? He showed very little of the class and respect he seems to crave from MacLean, as he laughed off the suggestion saying "Seriously?" Well, Karma can be a you-know-what, and the disrespect and lack of confidence that he showed in his backup came back to bite him. Budaj replaced Price in the overtime, stopped one shot, then missed the second, as it sailed through what Turris later called the "arm hole".
To Budaj's defense, "Player 61" stuck his elbow out and deflected the puck, ever-so-slightly.
So, what have the Habs got left? They lost when they totally outplayed the Sens in game 1; lost when they tried to goon it up in game 3; lost again when they had a multi-goal lead midway through the third period; they (possibly) lost their starting goalie. The only time they won was when they iced a "B" lineup in game 2, but of course the Sens are notorious for not being able to win two games at the start of a series, having done it only once in 12 tries, now.
On to Montreal. Let's finish them off!
GO SENS!!!!!
P.S. Add a 'stache to your avatar here: www.facetache.com/