TOP STORY
CRUMBLING CANADIENS
Carey Price lets in a 1st period goal to Phil Kessel en route to a 4-2 loss
(Photo Credit - AP)
(1) Boston Bruins (3-0) over the (8) Montreal Canadiens (0-3) 4-2
Former Canadien and current Bruin winger Michael Ryder scored late in the second period against his former team and Tim Thomas made 23 saves to lead Boston to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. Phil Kessel, Shawn Thornton and Chuck Kobasew also scored for Boston, which increased its lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal to 3-0 despite the absence of left wing Milan Lucic, who sat out a one-game league suspension.
Ryder, a healthy scratch for all but four of Montreal's 12 playoff games last season, put Boston ahead 17:21 into the second period. Kobasew scored into an empty net with 37 seconds remaining. Chris Higgins and Yannick Weber scored for Montreal, which has lost seven in a row, including its last four games of the regular season.
"At this point, there's not too much positive there," Canadiens Saku Koivu said. "Every game, there are things you try to build on but what we're doing right now is not enough. We have to find a way to get the goals. It doesn't matter how you do it, to get the win."
Canadiens goalie Carey Price, pulled Saturday after allowing five goals through the first two periods, made 26 saves in his third straight start. The Bruins, who haven't won a playoff series since 1999, are poised to beat the Canadiens for only the eighth time in 32 playoff matchups between the longtime rivals. Left wing Alex Tanguay and defenseman Mathieu Schneider were both injured and unable to play for Montreal. The Canadiens, already without injured top defenseman Andrei Markov, announced moments after the opening faceoff that both key players were sidelined by upper-body injuries.
Montreal has lost seven consecutive playoff games. Game 4 is Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.
What has happened to Les Habitents? It seems like the Flyers series inthe Conference Semifinals last year had an Albert Pujols-Brad Lidge effect on this team. This is certainly not the way the Canadiens wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their franchise. If nothing else, it seems like Montreal will manage to steal the off-season headlines in Canada from Brian Burke's first free agent season in Toronto. On the flipside, the Bruins look really, really good right now. Whether Boston draws the Rangers, Hurricanes, Flyers or Penguins in the next round, they are all in for a tough series.
OTHER PLAYOFF ACTION...
(2) Washington Capitals (1-2) over the (7) New York Rangers (2-1) 4-0
Alexander Ovechkin didn't score for the 3rd straight game in the playoffs, but did everything else to help in the 4-0 win. "It was an important game, but it's over," said Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 56 regular-season goals. "It's done. It's history. And we have to battle next game." Ovechkin earned two assists for the second-seeded Capitals, who dominated the No. 7 Rangers from the beginning to end. "We had some lucky goals," said Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin's linemate who had three assists. "It's just one game. We have to regroup and come back Wednesday. "We worked harder and we had to fight for our lives." Ovechkin recorded five shots and was everywhere, even chasing down Lauri Korpikoski on a short-handed breakaway. At the end of a shift, Ovechkin dived from behind and deftly knocked the puck off Korpikoski's stick. "You see the effort that he's putting in," Boudreau said. "It was a tremendous leadership play, and that's why he is who he is."
The star of the game was 20 year old goalie Simeon Varlemov. Playing in just his 2nd NHL Playoff game and 8th ever NHL Game, he made 33 saves to keep the Rangers at bay. "He's played in the finals of the Russian elite league, which to him is probably like our Stanley Cup," Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He's played in the world championship, and the fact that he doesn't understand a word we're saying probably really helps him."
Alexander Semin scored twice in the first period and was on the ice when Brooks Laich added a power-play tally in the second. Former Rangers defenseman Tom Poti also scored a power-play goal with 1:25 left.
New York coach John Tortorella cautioned that the Rangers won the first two games despite not having the puck enough. That trend continued in the opening period, and they paid for it. "They played very well defensively and I thought we stunk defensively," Tortorella said. "That was the key to the game. They defended very well in front of their net and we were chasing our tail all night long -- spinning and watching the puck."
Lundqvist made 36 saves and did all he could to keep the Caps at bay, kicking out his legs, sprawling on his stomach and back and diving post to post. "It felt like they had a little more power out there," Lundqvist said. "We had two great games on the road, but we knew it would be tougher to win this one."
Game 4 is Wednesday night at MSG.
I saw this loss coming from the second Game 2 ended. Washington had their backs against the wall and they are too good of a team to not pull out the victory. The ONLY highlight for the Rangers was that Henrik Lundqvist made some acrobatic saves to keep it from being a 7-0 game. A Capitals win in Game 4 would be the equivalent of the Ultimate Warrior shaking the ropes after being beaten through the first half of the match.
(5) Calgary Flames (1-2) over the (4) Chicago Blackhawks (2-1) 4-2
The Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time this season, and got back into their playoff series in the process. David Moss had two goals, and Rene Bourque and Eric Nystrom also scored to lead the Flames to a 4-2 victory Monday night. Calgary trails 2-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series. "It will hopefully give us a little bit of momentum," said Moss, who has three goals in three playoff games. "We certainly weren't dwelling on the fact we were 0-6 versus them. We just had to win tonight. Going into Wednesday, we'll have the same attitude," Moss said. "We just have to win one and get the series back." Curtis Glencross had a pair of assists for Calgary, which had lost its four regular-season meeting with Chicago and first two games in the playoffs. The Flames have never won a playoff series they've opened 0-2.
Chicago's Martin Havlat scored late in the third for his third goal in as many games. The team that has scored first in each game of this series has lost. After failing to protect leads in Chicago, the Flames came from behind with four unanswered goals after Patrick Sharp scored on a power play just over two minutes into the game.
"Now we know what to expect," Chicago's Jonathan Toews said. "It was a tough night playing in this building, a lot of adversity. We just have to learn how to overcome that a little bit better. Every guy on the bench, everyone's got to be yelling a little bit more and be ready to go. We just have to use this as fuel for the next night."
Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 36 shots, while Nikolai Khabibulin made 24 saves. "Even after those couple of losses in Chicago, we thought we could beat them if we played our best game," Kiprusoff said. The last time the Flames scored four goals against Khabibulin was Game 1 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final against Tampa Bay. "He's been pretty good versus us," Moss said, "and for us to be successful, we've got to keep putting pucks there in traffic and that's where we can solve him a little bit."
CRUMBLING CANADIENS
Carey Price lets in a 1st period goal to Phil Kessel en route to a 4-2 loss
(Photo Credit - AP)
(1) Boston Bruins (3-0) over the (8) Montreal Canadiens (0-3) 4-2
Former Canadien and current Bruin winger Michael Ryder scored late in the second period against his former team and Tim Thomas made 23 saves to lead Boston to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. Phil Kessel, Shawn Thornton and Chuck Kobasew also scored for Boston, which increased its lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal to 3-0 despite the absence of left wing Milan Lucic, who sat out a one-game league suspension.
Ryder, a healthy scratch for all but four of Montreal's 12 playoff games last season, put Boston ahead 17:21 into the second period. Kobasew scored into an empty net with 37 seconds remaining. Chris Higgins and Yannick Weber scored for Montreal, which has lost seven in a row, including its last four games of the regular season.
"At this point, there's not too much positive there," Canadiens Saku Koivu said. "Every game, there are things you try to build on but what we're doing right now is not enough. We have to find a way to get the goals. It doesn't matter how you do it, to get the win."
Canadiens goalie Carey Price, pulled Saturday after allowing five goals through the first two periods, made 26 saves in his third straight start. The Bruins, who haven't won a playoff series since 1999, are poised to beat the Canadiens for only the eighth time in 32 playoff matchups between the longtime rivals. Left wing Alex Tanguay and defenseman Mathieu Schneider were both injured and unable to play for Montreal. The Canadiens, already without injured top defenseman Andrei Markov, announced moments after the opening faceoff that both key players were sidelined by upper-body injuries.
Montreal has lost seven consecutive playoff games. Game 4 is Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.
What has happened to Les Habitents? It seems like the Flyers series inthe Conference Semifinals last year had an Albert Pujols-Brad Lidge effect on this team. This is certainly not the way the Canadiens wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their franchise. If nothing else, it seems like Montreal will manage to steal the off-season headlines in Canada from Brian Burke's first free agent season in Toronto. On the flipside, the Bruins look really, really good right now. Whether Boston draws the Rangers, Hurricanes, Flyers or Penguins in the next round, they are all in for a tough series.
OTHER PLAYOFF ACTION...
(2) Washington Capitals (1-2) over the (7) New York Rangers (2-1) 4-0
Alexander Ovechkin didn't score for the 3rd straight game in the playoffs, but did everything else to help in the 4-0 win. "It was an important game, but it's over," said Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 56 regular-season goals. "It's done. It's history. And we have to battle next game." Ovechkin earned two assists for the second-seeded Capitals, who dominated the No. 7 Rangers from the beginning to end. "We had some lucky goals," said Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin's linemate who had three assists. "It's just one game. We have to regroup and come back Wednesday. "We worked harder and we had to fight for our lives." Ovechkin recorded five shots and was everywhere, even chasing down Lauri Korpikoski on a short-handed breakaway. At the end of a shift, Ovechkin dived from behind and deftly knocked the puck off Korpikoski's stick. "You see the effort that he's putting in," Boudreau said. "It was a tremendous leadership play, and that's why he is who he is."
The star of the game was 20 year old goalie Simeon Varlemov. Playing in just his 2nd NHL Playoff game and 8th ever NHL Game, he made 33 saves to keep the Rangers at bay. "He's played in the finals of the Russian elite league, which to him is probably like our Stanley Cup," Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He's played in the world championship, and the fact that he doesn't understand a word we're saying probably really helps him."
Alexander Semin scored twice in the first period and was on the ice when Brooks Laich added a power-play tally in the second. Former Rangers defenseman Tom Poti also scored a power-play goal with 1:25 left.
New York coach John Tortorella cautioned that the Rangers won the first two games despite not having the puck enough. That trend continued in the opening period, and they paid for it. "They played very well defensively and I thought we stunk defensively," Tortorella said. "That was the key to the game. They defended very well in front of their net and we were chasing our tail all night long -- spinning and watching the puck."
Lundqvist made 36 saves and did all he could to keep the Caps at bay, kicking out his legs, sprawling on his stomach and back and diving post to post. "It felt like they had a little more power out there," Lundqvist said. "We had two great games on the road, but we knew it would be tougher to win this one."
Game 4 is Wednesday night at MSG.
I saw this loss coming from the second Game 2 ended. Washington had their backs against the wall and they are too good of a team to not pull out the victory. The ONLY highlight for the Rangers was that Henrik Lundqvist made some acrobatic saves to keep it from being a 7-0 game. A Capitals win in Game 4 would be the equivalent of the Ultimate Warrior shaking the ropes after being beaten through the first half of the match.
(5) Calgary Flames (1-2) over the (4) Chicago Blackhawks (2-1) 4-2
The Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time this season, and got back into their playoff series in the process. David Moss had two goals, and Rene Bourque and Eric Nystrom also scored to lead the Flames to a 4-2 victory Monday night. Calgary trails 2-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series. "It will hopefully give us a little bit of momentum," said Moss, who has three goals in three playoff games. "We certainly weren't dwelling on the fact we were 0-6 versus them. We just had to win tonight. Going into Wednesday, we'll have the same attitude," Moss said. "We just have to win one and get the series back." Curtis Glencross had a pair of assists for Calgary, which had lost its four regular-season meeting with Chicago and first two games in the playoffs. The Flames have never won a playoff series they've opened 0-2.
Chicago's Martin Havlat scored late in the third for his third goal in as many games. The team that has scored first in each game of this series has lost. After failing to protect leads in Chicago, the Flames came from behind with four unanswered goals after Patrick Sharp scored on a power play just over two minutes into the game.
"Now we know what to expect," Chicago's Jonathan Toews said. "It was a tough night playing in this building, a lot of adversity. We just have to learn how to overcome that a little bit better. Every guy on the bench, everyone's got to be yelling a little bit more and be ready to go. We just have to use this as fuel for the next night."
Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 36 shots, while Nikolai Khabibulin made 24 saves. "Even after those couple of losses in Chicago, we thought we could beat them if we played our best game," Kiprusoff said. The last time the Flames scored four goals against Khabibulin was Game 1 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final against Tampa Bay. "He's been pretty good versus us," Moss said, "and for us to be successful, we've got to keep putting pucks there in traffic and that's where we can solve him a little bit."
Game 4 is Wednesday night in Calgary.
This is an interesting series. On paper, the Flames are the better team, but Chicago beat them in every opportunity. Sometimes, all a team needs is to finally get that victory against a team they've had trouble against to get going. I still think the Blackhawks win the series, but Calgary may push this one to the brink now.
OTHER NEWS
-The Dallas Stars have signed defenseman Philip Larsen to a three-year entry-level deal. Terms were not released Monday. The 19-year-old Denmark native was the fifth-round selection by Dallas in the 2008 NHL entry draft. He spent the past season with Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League. Larsen had 17 points and 18 penalty minutes in 53 games with Frolunda.
-The Minnesota Wild have re-signed defenseman John Scott to a one-year contract for US$550,000. Scott was eligible for unrestricted free agency, so this leaves the Wild with one less player to address this summer while their front office is in flux. President and general manager Doug Risebrough was fired last week, and assistant Tom Lynn is acting as GM. Owner Craig Leipold is interviewing candidates for the vacancy, and his hire must then find a new coach to replace Jacques Lemaire. The six-foot-eight, 260-pound Scott had one assist and 21 penalty minutes in 20 games this season, his first in the NHL. He added a physical presence to the blue-line that had been missing.
-There was someone doing some "scouting" at the New York Rangers' practice on Monday, but the team wasn't very keen on the idea. And who can blame them? Capitals' winger Alex Ovechkin decided to observe his opposition from the visitor's bench at Madison Square Garden, just hours before Game 3 of the Caps/Rangers playoff series. One of the Rangers' trainers complained to the Capitals, who had a public relations staff member ask Ovechkin to exit the rink. According to the PR man, Ovechkin was just looking for a place to relax. That wasn't the story from Ovechkin himself, though, who joked that he sat in on Rangers practice to "tick off" head coach John Tortorella. According to espn.com, Tortorella said afterwards he didn't even know Ovechkin was at the practice, saying, "Ask me a question about the game, not that [expletive]." Ovechkin was asked why the Rangers wanted his removal, joking, "Because they're afraid of me." Caps' coach Bruce Boudreau playfully dismissed the idea that there was anything mischievous behind the sit-in. "I don't think he had a pen and paper and was writing down line combinations," Boudreau kidded. "I can understand (the Rangers asking him to leave). I've gotten into the same arguments with people when I've wanted privacy in my practice, so I can understand what John was going through."
This isn't a big deal. He couldn't have been on the bench for more than five minutes and other than maybe learning a new practice drill, he probably didn't gather much information before Caps PR man Nate Ewell got him off the bench. AO is also officially the Shaq of the NHL when it comes to being able to say what he wants. He gets away with it because he's a loose, fun, likeable guy. If Sidney Crosby had made the comments that he did that to piss off Tortorella and that the Rangers were "scared" of him, hockey might have made the back pages in NYC for once.
TONIGHT'S ACTION:
Gm 4 - (4) Pittsburgh Penguins @ (5) Philadelphia Flyers (Pittsburgh leads 2-1) - Versus
Gm 3 - (2) Detroit Red Wings @ (7) Columbus Blue Jackets- 7PM - (Detroit leads 2-0)
Gm 4 - (3) New Jersey Devils @ (6) Carolina Hurricanes - 7:30PM - (New Jersey leads 2-1)
Gm 4 - (3) Vancouver Canucks @ (6) St. Louis Blues - 8PM - (Vancouver leads 3-0)
Gm 3 - (1) San Jose Sharks @ (8) Anaheim Ducks - 10:30PM - (Anaheim leads 2-0)
Email From The Slot at fromtheslot@gmail.com
Gm 4 - (4) Pittsburgh Penguins @ (5) Philadelphia Flyers (Pittsburgh leads 2-1) - Versus
Gm 3 - (2) Detroit Red Wings @ (7) Columbus Blue Jackets- 7PM - (Detroit leads 2-0)
Gm 4 - (3) New Jersey Devils @ (6) Carolina Hurricanes - 7:30PM - (New Jersey leads 2-1)
Gm 4 - (3) Vancouver Canucks @ (6) St. Louis Blues - 8PM - (Vancouver leads 3-0)
Gm 3 - (1) San Jose Sharks @ (8) Anaheim Ducks - 10:30PM - (Anaheim leads 2-0)
Email From The Slot at fromtheslot@gmail.com
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