Pre-Game Primer: Is Tonight the Defining Moment in Jaroslav Halak's Career?

As we await tonight's third game in the Montreal-Washington first round playoff matchup, most of the conversation is focused on the goaltending in this series.

As my colleague from HockeyBuzz.com, Steve Hindle, astutely pointed out before the series started, we have seen three goaltenders so far.

Steve is also reporting this morning that it looks like Theo will be in the net tonight. If this turns out to be true, I think this is a decision that plays nicely in the Canadiens' hands as Theo just doesn't seem to play very well in Montreal.

As for the Habs, Alexander Ovechkin got things going yesterday when he said that he noticed that Halak's hand was shaking every time he grabbed the water bottle in the last game. Halak must be nervous and that is a good thing for the Caps.

Now, Ovechkin is a smart guy and is clearly playing psychological playoff games, and why not? What's to lose in making a comment like that, which will surely get back to Halak? At worst, he ignores it, is unaffected, and goes out and does his thing.

At best, however, Ovie's comment seeps in Halak’s mind, poisons him, and makes him nervous for tonight's game. If this scenario plays out, the Habs will be in big trouble.

An RFA at season's end and clearly gunning for a big contract, Jaroslav Halak will be playing the most important game of his relatively young career tonight. While he let in a couple of soft goals last game that helped the Caps tie and win the game, I think that in my mind, it is a no-brainer to go back to Halak tonight.

If it wasn't for Halak the Habs wouldn't even be in the playoffs in the first place. Also, Halak has shown the ability to bounce back from a weak performance when given the chance—however sparingly he was given that chance this year.

Tonight's Game Three could be THE defining moment in Halak's career and I fully expect him to produce one of his best efforts of the season so far. And don't kid yourself, because a lot of GM's around the league will be watching to see how Halak responds.

It is in times like this, during the playoffs, that you get to see a player's true colours and how well or poorly Halak responds to the pressure will help determine how valuable an asset he will be in the offseason.

If he falters badly, however, I would not hesitate to go with Carey Price in Game Four.

So, while like many Habs addicts, I sit here with that sick, nervous, seven-and-a-half-hours-till-game-time-feeling in my stomach, I hope that Halak will succeed tonight. However, I am also aware of the fact that the Washington snipers have now figured out that they have to shoot high to score on Halak.

The last two goals—from last game—were evidence of this fact as Carlson and Backstrom scored identical goals from about 30 feet out, by whipping the puck high, glove side.

Tonight's game is pivotal in the series and I think that the winner will very likely go on to win the series.

Here's hoping Halak can recover, the Habs can keep the Caps from running his crease, and that the refs can find their whistles if they do.

Enjoy the game folks!

UPDATE: Halak and Varlamov are getting the starts tonight, Glen Metropolit is back in the lineup, and Sergei Kostitsyn is a healthy scratch.

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Montreal-Washington: Nicklas Backstrom's Hat Trick seals OT win for Caps

Oh man, was that every close!

In losing 6-5 in overtime to the Washington Capitals, last night, the Montreal Canadiens came within one goal of taking a 2-0 series lead.

Despite having a 4-1 lead nearing the end of the second period—albeit for approximately 40 seconds—the Canadiens could not hold on as the Caps stormed back in the third.

With third period goals by Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson—with 1:21 to play in the game—the Caps bombarded the Canadiens and roared back to send the game into overtime.

Despite getting a hat trick from Andrei Kostitsyn, the Caps came away with the victory only 31 seconds into overtime as Backstrom scored his third of the night to seal the deal.

Final score: Habs 5 - Caps 6 (OT)
Series: Tied 1-1


Game Notes
1. For a rare occasion, Jaroslav Halak was not on top of his game.

Despite making some great saves in the game, Halak let in a few softie's tonight—more specifically the tying and winning goals.

On both plays, Halak was too deep in his crease and while both were good shots, they ultimately came from a good 20-plus feet out and were eminently stoppable.

The other problem for Halak is that the Caps were crashing his net all night long. that is not necessarily a problem however on one of the goals Halak was clearly interfered with—as was pointed out by TSN's game crew.

While I am not generally one to blame the refs—as I understand that they have a difficult job to do and are only human—last night, there were some very bad missed calls and they might have contributed to the Habs losing the game.

Ultimately, the Habs were masters of their own destiny and let the Caps back into the game. But, suffice it to say that Halak let in a few goals that he would like to have back. Six goals on 36 shots is not very good.

2. Speaking of goaltending, I thought Jose Theodore was not on a short leash this year?

After letting in two goals on the first two shots by the Habs, Caps Coach Boudreau pulled Theodore in favour of Semyon Varlamov. This despite coming out publically before the series to say that Theo was not on a short leash.

I guess Coach Boudreau's definition of a short leash is different than mine.

3. Alex the Gr8 woke up.

Of course he did. Would you have expected anything less? Did you expect him to be held shotless two games in a row?

No, last night, Ovie was intent on making a difference in the game as he came out on his first shift like he was shot out of a cannon.

The result was one goal, three assists, a plus-3 rating, and six shots on net. Pretty much exactly what was expected of him and the Caps were able to win as a result.

4. Hello, Andrei Kostitsyn, and welcome to the party!

In score a hat trick last night, AK46 moved into a first place tie for points in the playoffs, with five.

As of this morning, he sits tied with the Caps' Nicklas Backstrom and the Pens' Sidney Crosby.

Not bad company to be hanging with.

It's great that he is scoring but I get the sense that Habs fans are holding their breath. And why not? Andrei's skills have never been in doubted but his consistency is something that has always been a problem.

Here's hoping he can keep it up because the Habs will need him to be scoring if they hope to have a chance with the Caps.

5. Speaking of hat tricks, Nicklas Backstrom is a sick player!

While the Caps were ecstatic to see Ovie get back on the scoreboard, it was actually Backstrom that stole the show.

Scoring twice in regulation and sniping the winner 31 seconds into overtime, Backstrom showed exactly why the Caps are categorized as a "quick strike" offense.


Look Out Ahead!
On the RDS post game show last night, former Habs coach Jacques Demers said that while he thinks Halak is not to blame for the loss, he would put Carey Price in the net next game.

And cue the goaltending controversy. I am sure this means that the talk over the next 48 hours will focus largely on this aspect of the Canadiens game. And, while Halak did let in two soft goals, we have to keep in mind that the Habs held a 4-1 lead with less than three minutes to play in the third period.

While I don't think the Habs can go wrong with either Price or Halak, I think that Halak, as the unofficial No.1, should get the next start. If he falters in game three, then and only then would I look to bring Price in. Give Halak a chance to redeem himself.

As for the Caps, I think it is pretty likely that we will see Semyon Varlamov starting the rest of the Caps' games.

Short leash indeed.


Next Game
Both teams now fly to Montreal for game two on Monday night at the Bell Centre. While I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the noise and passion level demonstrated by the Capitals fans in their building, suffice it to say that they ain't got nothing on Montreal.

Despite Habs fans feeling depressed this morning with what could have been, we must keep in mind that the Habs barely squeezed into the playoffs while the Caps are the best team in the league.

As such, leaving Washington with a split is actually a great outcome. So trust me, Habs addicts, the disappointment of what got away will fade and the realization that the Habs still have skated with the Caps for two games will emerge.

Moreover, the realization that despite the Caps being an offensive machine, the Habs can still very much win this series. Or rather, after coming out of Washington with a split and almost up by two games, the Habs actually have a chance of winning this whole thing.

As is usually the case, Game Three in any series tends to be one of the most pivotal and it will be fun to see who takes the lead Monday in Montreal.

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Habs News Links - Washington ties series, Halak, Backstrom

Game Two: Habs 5 - Caps 6 (OT)
Habs Inside/Out - Round 1, Game 2
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/32860

Late afternoon meeting for Habs
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/33023

RDS - A victory by Backstrom
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/297410.html

TSN - Backstrom Scores in OT as Caps Rally to beat Canadiens
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=318453

ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=300417023

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