Hockey Night in Canada's Scott Morrison delivers his insights into the world of hockey, on and off the ice.
Who starts Game 5? It has to be Price
Comments (15)
Thursday, May 1, 2008 | 12:20 PM ET
By Scott Morrison
Put simply, the Montreal Canadiens problem remains in goal.
But it isn't their goal.
Although the decision the other night to start Jaroslav Halak in goal in Game 4 was somewhat controversial, it was also the right one and it neither won nor loss the game for the Canadiens.
The same can't be said for the presence of Martin Biron in the Philadelphia Flyers goal, however. He has been the difference maker.
Tough choice ahead
But first the decision.
The minute that Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said that rookie Carey Price was "rattled" in the third game, the sense was a change had to becoming. Whether it was further fuelled by injury - and there is a suspicion Price has a sore hand, which is why has dropped some shots and not been handling the puck - is not known.
But it was apparent at that point Carbonneau was concerned about the mental state of his goaltender, thus a change was coming. Was it a desperate move? On the surface, yes. But Price was shaky and if there was a time to make a desperate move, that was it.
For his part, Halak played well enough, though the first goal appeared stoppable. But it is the fellow at the other end, Biron, who has been tremendous and a difference maker.
Put simply, the Canadiens haven't had a goaltender win them a game in this series, the Flyers have and either the Canadiens find a way to persuade a few more shots to get past Biron and find a way to inspire their inconsistent power play, or else the series will be a short one. Think about it, had the Flyers retained their lead in the first game and it would be over.
Trailing not nice
Speaking of leads, it would be advisable for the Canadiens to get one. In all four games, they have fallen behind. Three times the Flyers have led 2-0, in the third game it was 3-0. In two of those games the Canadiens have battled back to tie, but digging holes is not a formula for success.
Indeed, the Canadiens have led just once in this series - when they scored the overtime winner in Game 1 after twice erasing Flyer leads.
The question now, of course, is who starts Game 5 for the Canadiens? That is actually the easy question. Again, barring an unknown injury, it has to be Price.
He will have had three days to rest and clear his head, the series switches to the friendlier confines of Montreal and presumably the Canadiens will dig a little deeper staring down elimination for the first time in the series. Besides, the kid has a rich history of dealing with this kind of adversity, though it is not entirely proven at this level.
Canadiens missing accuracy
The tougher question is whether the Canadiens can get to Biron and suddenly become the gang that shoots straight. It is a tough time of year for the league's best offence and power play to be stymied.
And at some point, when either the series or the playoffs are over for the Canadiens, the really interesting question will be what did general manager Bob Gainey think of the coach's decision? It was Gainey, after all, who decided at the start of the year, despite what his coach thought, that Price would remain with the Canadiens, not go to the minors, and would play enough to continue his development.
And it was Gainey who traded away pending unrestricted free agent Cristobal Huet at the trade deadline, leaving his coach with two rookie goaltenders.
But it seems to matter less who is in goal for the Habs and more about who is playing well for the Flyers.
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About the Author
Scott Morrison, the recipient of the Hockey Hall of Fameís 2006 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, has been covering hockey for 25 years. The Toronto native began his career at the Toronto Sun in 1979. After spending more than 11 years as a hockey writer and columnist at the paper, Morrison became Sports Editor in 1991 and led the section to being named one of North America's top-ten sports sections in 1999 - the first sports section in Canada to receive the AP Sports Editors North American Award. Scott, a former two-term president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, joined Rogers Sportsnet in 2001 as Managing Editor, Hockey, and is currently both a commentator on Hockey Night in Canada and a columnist for CBC.ca.
Recent Posts
- Brunnstrom signs with Stars, now must prove hype
- Thursday, May 8, 2008
- Leafs choose curious time to axe Maurice
- Wednesday, May 7, 2008
- Who starts Game 5? It has to be Price
- Thursday, May 1, 2008
- Penguins proving worth on big stage
- Monday, April 28, 2008
- Sharks have much more to lose than Flames
- Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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Comments (15)
Nicky
I think the Habs made a dumb move in game 4 starting Halak. He's okay but Price led their team to where they were. I'm not a Habs fan at all because they suck but come on. When Price started for game 5, he was very shaky, which cost them to lose out. :)
Posted May 3, 2008 10:35 PM
Jason Hueppelsheuser
Lethbridge
What I still don't understand is why they took away the names of the Divisions? I thought it was great when they had names of old time greats, it kept the tradition.
Also, I like the fact of the cross-over of divisions in the play-offs. Have the top 16 play in that order! Then we would have a chance of a Toronto vs Montreal Stanley Cup Final or Calgary vs Edmonton final, now that would be exciting! What do you think Scott?
Posted May 3, 2008 01:09 AM
civo
montréal
The habs have not had superb goaltending in this series but they've had good enough goaltending to win games. It doesn't matter if it's Price or Halak, the problem is elsewhere.
The canadiens always say that it doesn't matter if
they're smaller because the other guys can't
hit you if you're faster. It obviously worked
out fine for them in the regular season but
this is the playoffs!!!
Every flyer forward,with the exception of Brière,finishes his check and pounds the canadiens' d-men. All the time!!
The canadiens' forwards don't go to the front (or the back !!)of the net and even less in the corners because they're afraid. Where are the Kostitsyns and Plekanec and Kovalev? The only one giving it his all is (once again) Saku Koivu.
Even the defensive corps of the canadiens don't hit. Hamrlik had an amazing series against Boston but where is he now? Kapanen probably has more hits then he does...
If the canadiens want to win and get back in this series,they will have to start making the flyers pay physically but I really can't see it happening...
But I don't mind, I've been a flyer fan for as long as I can remember.....
LET'S GO FLYERS !!!!!!!
Posted May 2, 2008 05:38 PM
Steve
Winnipeg
Boy Price has been shakey, there's been no denying it. Rarely does a team dominate three games in the playoffs and lose all three. Imagine if les Habs got even decent goaltending in those games-or imagine how Huet might have played? It might be 3-1 Canadiens right now. The debate would be who'd you rather play, Pens or Rangers. The thing is, I think Price will come back to win Saturday. The questionable game will be back in Philly for game 6. That's the game the Flyers will dig hard to win.
Posted May 2, 2008 03:47 PM
jay
FL
They miss Ryder on the power play.
If they don't use him any other time at least play him on the power play. That's where he scored most of his goals last year
Posted May 2, 2008 01:12 PM
asad
somewhere
I think canadiens go with price in game 5. but if canadiens want to win they need start playing like it. They need to play outstanding defece in front of price or who ever it may be and get pucks past Biron. If they don't do that then...GOOD BYE MONTREAL
Posted May 2, 2008 11:06 AM
Todd
NL
Montreal needs to have players in front of the net if they have any chance of winning Saturday night. The best player to get this working and help his team has not played a game in this series. It might be that the coach just don't like him and it's "M.Ryder". They need his grit if they have any change at winning.................
Posted May 2, 2008 10:25 AM
Glen Cunningham
Burlington
Other notes: What a joke! A conspiracy theory against the Flyers. Right! Anyone who has a basic understanding of the game knows the conspiracy is in fact against all Canadian teams. No doubt the refs are coached to make the Stanley Cup beautifil, make it America's.
Posted May 1, 2008 08:18 PM
Blaine
Halifax
I don't think goaltending is the problem in montreal, rather the powerplay. All season long the Habs fed off the powerplay at a goal a game and now they are struggling badly. So stop being so negitive about price and halak and start watchin kovalev if you can see him out there. I find he is doing next to nothing with little effort. Just my thoughts.
Posted May 1, 2008 07:31 PM
REVO
Kelowna
The habs got lucky beating Boston.Bottom line is that the Flyers are a better team.Make up all the excuses you want about goaltending,etc.....
Go Flyers!!!!!!
Posted May 1, 2008 07:05 PM
james hogan
montreal should put no.8 on the forward line during power play. then park him in front of the net
Posted May 1, 2008 06:19 PM
Hamid
Brussels
I think also that Carbo will go with Price in the decisive fifth game. The Habs' woes is not just with inconsistent goaltending by Price, but also by inconsistent -- read, VERY inconsistent -- powerplay by the rest of the team in the entire postseason so far. It worries me to no end that Flyers keep scoring first and not a single one at that. This forces the Habs goalie, whether Price or Halak, to be more on their heels. Clearly, the Flyers have been outstandingly opportunistic, and this is the sine qua non for any team wishing to go far in the playoffs -- taking advantage of PP would be a good start and not taking bad penalties (I love Begin but he killed me with his awful penalty in the last season match against the Leafs last year, and then again in Game 4.) Anyhow, this is far from being over...Habs will prevail. Go HABS!
Posted May 1, 2008 06:04 PM
David -- Habs fan since the 70s
Montreal
Zen guy is exactly right, they need to get traffic in front of Biron and disturb him. Carboneau and others are saying that they're playing well and their luck will eventually change, but I beg to differ. This is exactly the way Philly wants it -- Biron sees all the pucks and stops them, then the Flyers capitalize on opportunities (and get in front of Halak/Price, I might add). Some changes in tac to the powerplay wouldn't hurt either, along with a reminder to the Canadiens that they need to go into the corner and finish every check. I saw of lot of checks *not* being finished in the third period last night, when it could've really helped.
But the main thing is, get in front of Biron and bother him, or this series is over in 5.
Posted May 1, 2008 06:01 PM
DJD
Kamloops,B.C.
The rookie goalies are not letting Montreal down.The veteran Montreal players are.Philly seems to be handling playoff pressure better.Look at Montreal/Boston-regular season records,then the playoffs. I have said for years that it DOESN'T matter where you finish the season....just MAKE the playoffs and ANYTHING can happen.The so-called BEST goalies in the league are presently watching the playoffs as well.(fore...)
Posted May 1, 2008 05:45 PM
zen guy
edmonton
I thought it was a no-brainer as to who would start in goal for game 4 - so much for my arm chair coaching skills.
If the Habs continue to refuse to get traffic in front of Biron, for the whole game, it won't matter who is in the Montreal goal.
As for the trading of Huet, seems to me that he wasn't able to beat these same Flyers. What would it matter if he was on the Hab's bench or between the pipes now?
Posted May 1, 2008 05:03 PM