MONTREAL , QUEBEC – Montreal has housed many great netminders – Dryden, Plante, Roy – but right now, it’s only one that matters. Jaroslav Halak stopped an incredible 53 shots as the Canadiens forced Washington to a seventh game show down after beating the Capitals 4-1 in game 6 at the Bell Center.
Few would have predicted the Habs would go the distance when Washington took a 3-1 lead in the series after winning games 3 and 4 in convincing fashion. Only once in fifteen previous attempts have the Habs managed to overhaul a 3-1 series deficit, but the outstanding play of Halak, combined with Mike Cammalleri’s fourth and fifth goals of the post season, have put the team on the cusp of one of hockey’s greatest come backs.
Cammalleri is now tied for 3rd in both points (10) and goals (5) during the post season, and has arguably been Montreal’s best forward throughout the series. But it was also a night to remember for Maxim Lapierre. The feisty Canadiens forward was twice called for diving, before scoring Montreal’s third goal in the final period with a booming slapshot past Semyon Varlamov. Thomas Plekanec rounded things off with an empty net effort to ensure a winner take all show down in Washington would take place on Wednesday.
P.K. Subban also got his first taste of play-off action for the Habs, having been called up due to Jaroslav Spacek’s injury. Subban wasted little time finding his feet, landing a strong hit on Matt Bradley and grabbing his first post season point with a neat back hand pass to set up Cammalleri during the first period.
Few can argue that Halak has been the man of the series thus far. After sitting out game four, Halak has stopped 90 of 92 shots over the past two contests and has made a string of top tier saves to keep the Caps at bay. Combined with a strong defensive effort from the Habs blue liners, frustration was clearly setting in on the Caps bench towards the end of game six.
Another amazing, and possible unwanted statistic for the Capitals, is that the last team to go on to win the Stanley Cup after going the full seven games in round 1 was Pittsburgh, way back in 1992. The Penguins beat the Capitals that year in the first round, going on to sweep Chicago in the final to lift their second Stanley Cup. Whether lightning will strike twice for Washington, or Bruce Boudreau can re-write a little bit of history will be determined when the two sides meet again on Wednesday.
Contact the author: rob.mcgregor@prohockeynews.com
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