Wilde Horses

-It's interesting to watch the tide roll in on a change in the Habs philosophy of who is their top checking centreman. Tomas Plekanec would always get the assignment of Sidney Crosby, but Michel Therrien chose Philippe Danault to face the league's best player on many occasions. Well, how about that. Marc Bergevin said the other day on TSN690 that Danault was just starting to scratch the surface. If he can match up against Crosby with success, the Habs are set for years to come in the 3C role. Now how about that 2C?

- Best forward was Andrew Shaw. A great nose for the puck. He wins a ton of battles for a guy who isn't exactly carrying a lot of weight. He played with a lot of heart.

- I didn't think the Weber-Emelin pair was going to last but it sure was the best tandem against the Pens. The other two had rough times throughout. Shea Weber and Alexei Emelin were fairly solid.

- Sven Andrighetto's improvement continues as he learns to use his wheels all the time, not just when the offensive spirit moves him. If you wait to go in the NHL, it's already too late.

Wilde Goats

- The partnership of Nathan Beaulieu and Zach Redmond on the ice for the first two Pens goals. On the first, Beaulieu backed away from Evgeni Malkin passively, and he will kill you with time. On the second, a lot of free Penguins hanging around.

- Danault handled his match up in Crosby well when he had the assignment over Plekanec but Alex Galchenyuk didn't have the same success against Malkin when they saw each other. Galchenyuk's line was on for the first two, though the second was not with Malkin at centre. Every shift though, Galchenyuk had a rough time with Malkin's line and had a difficult night overall. Galchenyuk needs softer match-ups. That was never gonna be easy though because Therrien was already trying to match Crosby. Hey, it's not easy when you're facing the best team down the middle in the league with an unequalled one-two punch.

Wilde Cards

- People are getting a little excited over the play of Carey Price. He needs to be bigger at times. This is a technique he says all the time. I'm just repeating his philosophy. In Detroit, he only let in one goal on a deflection. The first goal against the Penguins he had no idea where it was and it was perfectly placed, top corner. The second goal was from 10 feet out. The third goal was also impossible to save as it was an in-close deflection. He needs to be bigger at times. That's it. That's all.

- When you face Malkin and Crosby down the middle and you see how they can control the game, you can also see the Habs need a 2C. Win the middle. Win the game. They can't win the middle against those two amazing players. I'm sure very few teams can match the Pens there. That's why they're Cup champs. I'm just saying if you want to go far in the playoffs and give your fans a nice playoff run probably, the Habs are in the ball park with what they now already have. If you want to give your fans the Cup, you better go get better down the middle. The Habs had 12 shots in the first two periods. That's what happens when you don't control the middle. So how to control the middle? If you want Matt Duchene, it's going to take three pieces and one of them is likely Sergachev. Duchene is not coming for prospects the Habs can live without. Duchene went third overall and he's still only 26. He costs a lot. He's on one of the worst teams in the league in a long time and he's still producing. He would absolutely light it up on a competitive team like the Habs. The change of environment would be massive. However, Bergevin said on TSN Radio that he will likely stand pat at centre. I wouldn't blame him for that as he said that 80 percent of the league wants a top flight centre and it's difficult to acquire one. Sergachev will be a great Habs defender one day but that is what the cost is for a Duchene and then some. Nothing is likely to happen when that is the cost. Somewhere down the line though, the Habs have to find a 2C or they'll be close to the holy grail year after year with this roster but not quite there. That's my call. Not easy to hear I know. Not likely popular with a hopeful fan base but that's my call.