Why the Habs failed

Well we had a very good regular season. It is important. The regular season is mostly played during the long winter months where a Habs victory could make us forget the crazy driving conditions and bulky clothing we have on. The playoffs are played in the spring and as we shed our winter fat we want to express our relief through the Habs we survived another hard winter.

Unfortunately the Habs failed this year to inspire us. Last year we had a valid excuse. Yes we beat Tampa with their second string goalie but we had outplayed Tampa the whole series. We beat the first place Bruins fair and square. We lost to the rangers with our AHL goalie and we took them to 6 games. Yes we had a valid excuse and the Habs had shown great spirit during their playoff run.

This year the Habs were unlucky to face the two teams they had had regular season problems with. We got lucky that what remained of the Senators was a depleted lot after their surge to make the playoffs. The Senators stretched us even though their best scorer had been chopped down to size by Subban. We showed signs in that series that our offence was not adequate as we had shown the same signs all year. Then we faced the same Tampa team we had eliminated in 4 games last year but had defeated the Habs in all 5 games during the regular season. Tampa had been stretched by the red wings and looked very beatable. Neither the Habs or lightening had many excuses, both teams were relatively healthy and Tampa had their first string goalie. Tampa proved they were the better team. They did just enough to win some games even though they were being outplayed. Tampa had the goal scorers to get key goals against a very good defensive Habs team with the mvp of the league in nets. They proved a point.

Why did the Habs fail? First off as we all know our power play was atrocious all year. Second, we did not have the firepower to match Tampa and if they got a goal it seemed the Habs had nothing to respond with. Third we have too many defensive minded forwards. It seems to me that Plekanec, Eller, and De La Rose are more of the same. There is no offensive flair in their game. It also seems to me Gallagher is becoming more of a known commodity and maybe like Marchand of the Bruins teams are figuring out how to stop him. Galchenyuk was a major disappointment in the second half of the season and the playoffs. He looks like a wallflower playing beside the kamikaze Gallagher. Our veterans and leaders, specifically Markov and Plekanec after splendid regular seasons, became skating zombies unable to come to life. The coaching staff showed little effort or creativity to improvise when things got stale.

So where do we go from here? Bergy has to start making very hard decisions about what to give up to get some scoring. The Oilers seem like a good match since they need defensive players and have an abundance of offensive players. Bergy has to consider giving up some promising youth to trade for hard to get scorers. That means players like Tinordi, Fucale, and Mccarron have to be considered as tradeable. We also have to decide if we can continue with so many defensive forwards. We have an aging Plekanec, an inconsistent Eller, and a promising De La Rose. I think one of them has to go to get something of value. Anyways as they say wait til next year...




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