The Thrill of Victory

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I knew all along that the Montreal Canadiens would win their first two playoff series this year and advance to the Conference Final.

Sure, like all Habs fans I was hoping and even praying for it but after the way they limped into the post season, I had my doubts that they’d even win a game or two against Washington.

Of course, not only did they win a game or two but they won three straight games to oust this seasons President’s Trophy winners in seven games. The look of disbelief on the faces of Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau and Alexander Ovechkin reminded me of those MasterCard commercials…Priceless.

That isn’t to say I don’t like Boudreau or most of the Capitals and I do think Ovechkin is a very talented and exciting player to watch but I was thrilled to see him shutdown by the Habs and sent packing.

Ovechkin plays like a spoiled kid with little respect for the traditions of the game. His on ice celebrations are a slap in the face to his opponents and totally unnecessary. A fist pump, raising your arms in the air or hugging your teammates after a goal is perfectly fine. But there’s no need to go jumping into the glass or jump on the backs of your teammates unless you score the game winner in overtime of a playoff game. That’s something worth getting excited about. I think Ovie may have celebrated a bit too hard during the regular season because he had nothing left in the tank during the first round.

After whipping the Capitals the road didn’t get much easier for Montreal as they had to face Cindy Crosby (not a spelling mistake) and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Just when I thought Crosby had matured as a player and was starting to respect him more, his constant whining, embellishing and complaining to the officials was beyond annoying. Once again, he’s also a player that can be very fun to watch and I’ll be the first to admit; I wanted to kiss him on the lips after he scored in overtime against the U.S. to win the Gold Medal at the Vancouver Olympics, but the incessant bitching when things didn’t go his way was nauseating to watch.

Now I’m not saying that Montreal is a better team on paper than both the Caps and Pens but the Habs did what they needed to in order to secure victories in both seven game series. The key to any underdog having a fighting chance is goaltending and Montreal has had that in abundance. Jaroslav Halak has clearly been the star of these playoffs so far. Just when you think he can’t make a better save, he comes through one more time.

Aside from the goalie, the Montreal defence has gone through injuries, viruses and resorted to calling up a young player from Hamilton of the AHL in P.K. Subban. He has stepped into the injured Markov’s skates and not missed a beat for such a young and inexperienced player. It’s no wonder the fans at the Bell Centre chant his name when he’s on the ice. Hal Gill was a player I yelled at all season. Of course he never heard me since I was only yelling at the TV but you get my point. Gill seemed to make the biggest gaffs in the regular season at the wrong times but this post season, “No Skill Gill” has quickly turned into a puck blocking machine.

Mike Cammalleri has also picked up his game at the right time and currently leads all goal scorers with 12 in the post season.

The Canadiens haven’t advanced this far in the playoffs since 1993 and we all know what happened that year. Will it happen this time around? Only time will tell. One thing is certain… this is a fun time to be a Habs fan.