The Montreal Canadiens seem to have the organizational genetics, that no other National Hockey league team has. That is, almost as though it was a biological event, every generation or so, a Montreal goalkeeper seems destined to rise up,to steal playoff games along with at least one playoff series. Jaroslav Halak is the latest net minder in the Montreal mold, who has stunned an opponent, with show stopping saves, and a stratospheric shots on goal totals, in 3 consecutive games. Halak stopped 131 of 134 shots from the Washington Capitals in games 5 through 7. Halak made 37 saves in a 2-1 win in game 5, 53 saves in a 4-1 win in game 6, and then 41 saves in game 7, to eliminate the President’s trophy winners. This latest unpredictable outcome seems to follow Habs history, with Halak’s domination of the Capitals, bringing back memories of Patrick Roy, and Ken Dryden.
The Canadiens were certainly outplayed by the Capitals for most of the series, but Halak’s heroics, were similar to what Ken Dryden did, when he broke the backs of the Boston Bruins in 1971. Dryden left Bruins super stars Phil Esposito (76 goals,76 assists) and Bobby Orr,( 37 goals,102 assists) completely frustrated, through their inability to score more goals, in a year when Boston (57 wins,14 losses,7 ties,121 pts, 78 games) had been the most dominant team on offense, with Esposito and Orr being the driving force, behind the Boston barrage. If Alex Ovechkin were to watch the replay of those early nineteen seventy's playoff games, he’d realize that this disappointing outcome has been experienced by many of the top NHL players from different eras. It’s not that unusual for a team with strong Stanley Cup possibilities in their future, to experience an early exit in the post season. Just ask the /93 or /94 Red Wings. The same story holds true for the New York Islanders, who were upset by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1978, and the New York Rangers in 1979. The Islanders hung in their, made a trade for Butch Goring, and eventually went on to win 4 Stanley Cups in the 1980’s.
I would expect that Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee, will only make minor adjustments to his roster, if he makes any at all. Running into a hot goalie in a playoff series, can happen to any team, and is not a reason to make radical changes to a roster.I would fully expect the Capitals to win a Stanley Cup championship with the next 2 or 3 years, in spite of this set back. As for the Habs, I wonder what Jaroslav Halak has up his sleeve for superstar Sidney Crosby and the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins ? In his mind at least, he’s no doubt visualizing a lot of saves. Crosby’s mental pictures, probably have a much different outcome. Let the games begin !