They would be having a hard time with the Montreal Canadiens on Vulcan. For nine games running now, what the Habs are achieving in these playoffs is illogical. It is not the fact that this group of playoff experienced, dedicated, and unselfish professionals is finding a way to win; instead, it is how they are doing it.
It simply does not make sense that a team can be outshot by about a 40 to 20 margin on most nights, spend about 75 per cent of the game in its own zone and be in a position to first oust the regular season's best club, and to now take home-ice advantage away from the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Let's get down to the heart of the matter. Simply put, hockey is a goaltender's game. If you have a goalie who in five playoff wins has a save percentage better than .970, then Spock can be confounded for quite a considerable amount of time.
Credit must be given too to the bend-but-not-break defence. Even though Halak faced 39 shots in game two, it was his easiest win of the five in these playoffs. The quality of shot was not good from the Pens. They said they weren't going to fire indiscriminately, but that's exactly what they did. Shots from the perimeter with Halak set and ready are just not going in at this point. They could soon be listed on the stats page as both shots and turnovers.
The frustration of the superstars is mounting at a surprisingly early stage in this battle. Crosby takes a big swinging whack at Halak's goal post, while Malkin - who hasn't scored in four games - is looking frustrated and already taking heat from the Pittsburgh media.
This frustration at only game two tells me that, just like the Caps before them, the Pens too have underestimated the resilience of this Habs squad.
It is certainly not the Flying Frenchmen of yesteryear with an exciting flair. It is a shaken but not stirred melting pot. A group committed to a cause not just with words, but by deed as well, blocking shots at every turn, fighting for every inch of ice with some of the games greatest stars. Put this in perspective: Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Green, Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar. These are all many of the best players in the world. Against Gill, Gorges, Lapierre, Gionta, Cammalleri who are matching them and beating them. List number one is full of Olympians. List number two watched the Olympics on television.
It is illogical. It doesn't make sense, but it's happening. And it proves this: hockey is a system's game. Great players in this game we love can be neutralized. Great teams can compete with great players. Jacques Martin can give up 150 feet of ice for most of the night, but still devise a plan that eliminates Bruce Boudreau.
Only two games in this second series have been played, but you have to admit the second game felt exactly the same as what be felled the big cherry tree in Washington the first round. Boudreau never adapted. It is time for Bylsma to show that he can. A quote from Sergei Gonchar sounds eerily familiar: "We'll just keep going to the net and keep firing." We heard it before in DC and if we hear it a lot more in PA, it's advantage Habs.
Halak is 7-1-1 after getting pulled. He has a save percentage of .946 since mid-February on the road when facing more than 35 shots. Illogically, he wins even more when he faces more than 40 shots. His save percentage is higher than Patrick Roy's when he led the Habs to glory in 1993. Ridiculous but true as Ripley thinks of adding a chapter to the "Believe It Or Not" sports section.
It feels like all of this cannot go on much longer. Then again, when the Habs had won five straight overtime games in '93, I am going to presume there was some writer out there who predicted it couldn't last. It did as the Habs won 10 straight overtimes to win the Cup.
I will lay down a sacrifice to the hockey Gods and be that writer today who says this cannot last. That this is illogical, even though I know full well that this is sports. And in sports, ours is not to always compute and dissect, ours is simply to enjoy and marvel at the improbable journey that the strong in spirit are willing to boldly go.
