No thesis to spout after game four. Just a collection of random thoughts on the Habs and this series.

The last big center on the Habs roster was Vincent Damphousse. How's that going for them? Check your history books. Nine times out of ten the Cup winner dominates down the middle with size. Put their habit of finishing in 8th place on that more than anything else. Some teams have a goalie nemesis through the years. The Habs have the big centre blues.

The Gazette's Stu Cowan says draft 5 big centers in a row one summer. Play the lotto on 5 guys that are 6' 2" 210. Hope they hit the jackpot with one. Great idea Stu.

Little guys get worn down as the playoffs and individual games get deeper. The Habs always say they played well for 40 minutes. There's your answer why. The physical strain on the smaller man.

The Habs lost game four because the other team can finish better. No other reason. The Caps weren't better. They just finish better. That is the object of the game after all: to score. They can do that. The Habs need twice the chances to get an equal amount of goals.

The Caps will have to be way better the rest of the playoffs. They may look good now. They won't soon, playing like that.

If you're a Habs fan, simply hope that game 5 isn't a rout.

Price was good. Not amazing. But enough already allowing him to do whatever he wants. You can't fire a puck into the Caps celebration. You can't. You have to be critical of it as an organization.

Max Lapierre needs to stop staring at his opponent and do something when he's face to face in anger. At least a face wash is the minimum. Enough of the mime routine.

Andrei Kostitsyn is a tank on skates. He can do damage when he hits. Time to use the frame God gave you or move on. He could be so much better. You can't move him. What a skill to have if he'd commit to the low slot like a Ryan Smyth. Imagine a hitting, planted in the low slot Andrei Kostitsyn. Now that would be a heck of a player.

Is Roman Hamrlik injured?

Benoit Pouliot is very close to figuring all of this NHL stuff out. When he does, he's gonna be a star. Play him at centre. He's a puck carrier. Watch game four again if you don't believe me. All he lacks is confidence. If I'm Martin, I encourage him to carry the puck more, hold on to it more, only then will he discover how good he actually can be. Don't talk to me about defensive responsibilities at centre. He already lost 2-3 years of his career learning about that from Lemaire. He's fine in that area. And no one was ever not allowed to play centre because he hasn't practiced faceoffs. He trained to be a centre in Sudbury. Enough said. Put him there. Jordan Staal is a pretty good third line centre. You can have a great third line centre. Its a good thing.

Alex Ovechkin was very average in game four. He only had two moments where you even noticed him. He scored on both of them. That's a great player. Stinks for every moment but eight seconds.

Alexander Semin was very average too. There was only one moment you noticed him. His speed set up the winner. Stinks for every moment but four seconds. Great player. How can you call two players great who collectively played 12 good seconds of hockey. The game is measured by how many times the puck goes in the net.

Jacques Martin knows people question his having Hamrlik on the ice for the shorthanded marker. In the presser after, he defended Hamrlik on the ice without even being asked about it.

Why do people keep saying this is a physical series? In terms of hitting this might be the least physical playoff series I've ever covered. The Oilers-Flames series of Gretzky's era was punishing. I remember a CBC montage once before the game to tease game 6 or 7 and they just showed some the most bruising hits you're ever gonna see for 2 minutes. This here. Tame. Super tame.

The Habs had the best matchup they could have hoped for from a physical stand point and they were still too small. The only way this series is physical is crease crashing. What playoffs have ever not had guys in the crease fighting for space. You're not doing that. You're not winning. Only problem is for the Habs, they just can't get there like the other guys.

Regular season hockey: speed.

Playoff hockey: size

Regular season hockey: shootouts, 4 on 4 OT

Playoff hockey:

5 on 5 OT

Result: The Habs 24 regular season regulation time wins not enough without regular season OT rules. And of course all that speed neutralized in the playoffs.

The amazing players, the truly amazing that win cups, they have speed and size. They outskate you in open ice and in tight corners they win the puck with their balance and strength. You see Crosby handle Spezza the other night? That's the full package in 15 glorious seconds.

Should they try to resign Tomas Plekanec? He had a very consistent and strong regular season. What did you think of his playoffs? I say he got the best match up he could have hoped for playing a skills first Caps team. The Flyers would have planted his face against the glass for as long as it would have taken for him to submit. I'm not saying No. I'm just saying he got a better chance to look good than he would have against a team with a different skill-set.

I said the Habs would compete. I said the Caps in six. They competed. But now they're done. Caps in 5.