EC Round 3: Montreal Canadiens vs New York Rangers

[fungchen3]

Defensive depth and forward depth was the key to this series. Rangers were simply deeper in both areas

There's no doubt. And even though Tokarski was excellent, the losses of Price, Galchenyuk, Weise and Emelin throughout the series were too costly for the Canadiens. Markov was cooked, Subban was played to the max and the bottom D pairing of Boullion and Beaulieu were shaky at best. Keith Jones made the point tonight, and he was correct, that the game 1 no-show by the Habs cost them the series. If the Canadiens split the first two games in Montreal, this would have been a different series.

[agentzero]

Prust was awful.
Emelin looked slow, so did Markov.
Habs need more talent in the top 6.
Habs need more takeover players, as you say. If only Subban played forward too. Yeah he made some bad plays but without him we were nowhere.
I think the Habs had as much a chance as any to beat the Rangers with Price. He changes everything when he's in net.
Losing Wiese tonight was big. He brings a lot of energy and fight.
Rangers had all parts playing and needed no Price, overtime and Lundqvist to play outstanding in order to win. Yeah the Habs sucked, but if the blueshirts were that much better, it should have been over in 4, with every game a 5-zip beating. Tokarski played admirably, but he was beatable with the right plays. A lot of the time the Rangers shot it at his pads (which were in the right place, but still). If the Rangers were that much a better team then the series should not have been competitive but it was a little, even with the players missing. The Habs were awful, but the Rangers weren't the globe-trotters. I'm hoping for an LAK win..

And going to bed. Sad loss. Just blows because the Rangers gave me too many reasons to hate them in the process (Kreider, Dorsett, Moore, Vigneault, a former of our ours, no less), versus reasons to respect them (Lundqvist, St-Louis...).

Go Kings Go.

[Burgundy]

Outside of Tokarski and Galchenyuk, I thought that the Habs played pretty poorly in general. The veterans who are supposed to lead by example simply didn't in this series - Markov, Gionta, Plekanec, etc. They were outmatched in size, speed, and work ethic by the Rangers and that was obvious. Extending the series to 6 games was a bit of good fotune and hard work at certain times. Honestly - they looked completely spent by the Bruins series and were then dealt a huge mental blow by the loss of Price. But the Rangers wanted it more.

Losing Price changed the series completely - there is no way to predict how it might have gone. He would have played pucks differently than Tokarski, let in different goals than Tokarski, saved goals that Tokarksi let in, etc. It's easy (and comforting) to point at Price's injury but the Rangers came at the Habs in waves and eventually wore them down to the point that the Habs could barely muster a few shots on goal in their most important period of the whole season. Props to the Rangers, they earned it.

The bright side is that the Habs core is young and this was all good experience for them and what it takes to win in the playoffs. They need to fill in some holes (and not offer Vanek a contract) to ensure they have four solid lines rolling every game but they should be a top Eastern team each year with this roster.

[newfcollins]

Budaj is gone.
Galchenyuk needs a full summer to get stronger or he might not stay on track to reach his potential.
Vanek is gone and that's ok.
Gallagher is great, but Habs need way more talent in the top 6 if they are gonna keep this up.
Emelin needs a lot of rehab and training. He's a lot slower than he was pre-knee blowout..
Lock-up Subban for life. I think he'd be ok with that too. (obviously lifetime contracts are gone, but go as long as you can).

Budaj is signed for just one more year, so he'll stay. He's a great backup, but not a good #1 guy. Tokarski is better off getting lots of starts in the AHL than to get 15 starts in the NHL.

The key is pretty much is to not re-sign their free agents. Let Vanek walk (although I believe he was mishandled: He's a scoring guy. Don't put him on the fourth line, play him 10 minutes a night and expect him to do much).

Markov should go as well. Same with Bouillon and Murray. Let Beaulieu and Tinordi start playing regularly.

Re-sign Weaver. The Habs top six becomes Subban, Gorges, Emelin, Weaver, and the two young kids.

Gionta has to go. He doesn't really contribute much.

Moen has pretty much played his last game in Montreal. He's just not effective anymore.

Re-sign Eller and Weise.

Even if Subban signs a $8 million deal, the Habs would still have about $16 million in cap space.

The Habs do need to find that one guy who can step up.

They also desperately need a faceoff guy. Most of the Habs centres are under .500 for the regular season and playoffs.

Truthfully, I think the Habs can only get these last couple of things in a trade. That's why I'd like to see Montreal make a move for Spezza. It won't happen, but Spezza is very underrated when it comes to faceoffs, and I think he could be a game breaker. That would take care of a few issues of the Habs.

[Luffy D Monkey]

Let Vanek walk (although I believe he was mishandled: He's a scoring guy. Don't put him on the fourth line, play him 10 minutes a night and expect him to do much).

This. Vanek could have been the key to victory but the coach and fans wanted to make him a scapegoat. Tonight Pacioretty was way worse but I doubt anybody says a thing since I guess he's built up enough goodwill out there or something.

Therrien overcoached and overthought this one. He got fired from Pittsburgh for being too hard on his superstars and losing them.

Vanek isnt a "hustle" guy but he still could have propelled them past the Rangers if they'd given him some slack to work with and the time to be a top line player.

[Carcillo]

A team employing Daniel Carcillo going into Stanley Cup finals for the 3rd time in the last five years! Natural born leader, a living legend, Danny Carcillo.

[Axeman33]

The goaltending was not the downfall for Montreal in this series (which is quite surprising all things considered). Tokarski held up his end of the bargain, the rest of the squad let him down.

Personally, I hate the Habs and glad they lost but you sure can't say today that it had to do with the Price injury. I am not sure Carey Price could have done much more then Tokarski did.

[Atomic Wedgy]

Yes one guy in this thread is making excuses. Everyone can see it.

I'll gladly visit that country to see the riots this weekend.

Ev..... stop intentionally trying to wind folks up. You are in this thread looking to stir the pot. I dont appreciate these kinds of posts. AZ's and Mcgoo's team lost and they are not happy about it. No need to try and make them feel worse.

[Atomic Wedgy]

Injuries are part of a Cup run. It sucks when it happens to someone like Price, but hopefully your team has the depth to hold fast. From what I saw, Tokarski played very well and I dont think the outcome would have been vastly different if it was Price in there instead. I was actually hoping for MTL to win the series. It would have been nice to see a Canadian team come out of the East.

[cbergeron]

There seems to be somewhat of a consensus that the Canadiens played poorly during this series. So did the Penguins before them (starting from Game 5 especially). Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. The Rangers dominated this series (in general). If they don't lose Game 3 in OT (in a game filled with greasy/garbage goals), this thing is likely over in 4. I too absolutely hated to see Price hurt like that. No one in their right mind in New York wanted that to happen. We couldn't wait for a duel between 2 of the best Gs in the league, I know I did. The injury made the series much less exciting and a foregone conclusion it seemed after Game 1.

The Canadiens can be proud of having eliminated arguably the best team in hockey. That is something the Rangers may not have been able to do. Hats off to the Canadiens for a great playoff performance.

Now, let's go Rangers!

[Shiva Blaster]

Way to go Rangers. You needed to take suspensions and play a 3rd string AHL goalie in order to take this one in 6 games, by one goal. Awful series that leaves a sick taste in your mouth for what could have been but instead played out.. I hope they get swept at the hands of the kings, losing the first 3 games 7-0 and the Cup on home ice 11-0. That would be somewhat satisfying.

Go Kings!

Some seriously sour grapes right here.....there is something to be said for losing gracefully and giving credit where credit is due.

[Big Ev]

Some seriously sour grapes right here.....there is something to be said for losing gracefully and giving credit where credit is due.

Dude, stop trolling

[lucifer316]

The goaltending was not the downfall for Montreal in this series (which is quite surprising all things considered). Tokarski held up his end of the bargain, the rest of the squad let him down.

Personally, I hate the Habs and glad they lost but you sure can't say today that it had to do with the Price injury. I am not sure Carey Price could have done much more then Tokarski did.

i agree with this, i thought Tokarski acquitted himself rather well all things considered

yeah he has to work on his rebounds but that is not something you worry about when playing the Rangers, someday i hope but not right now unfortunately

i think that the Canadiens said they knew about the Rangers and their speed but it didn't look like they were completely ready for it

it was an interesting series for sure though