@Young:
Heard an interesting stat last night during the game… we all know that out of the 120 times (or something like that) in which a team went down 3-0 in a playoff series, only 4 times a complete comeback was made. The interesting thing is that only 9 times a game 7 was needed. So when the Habs went down 3-0, history said that they had a very very slim chance of even forcing a game 7… crazy.
A stat I heard a few days ago was that, in the team’s 100-plus year history, the Habs had never previously managed to get to Game 6 of a best-of-7 playoff round after initially being down 3 games to 0. So in one sense getting to Game 6 was an accomplishment, but in another sense the statistic showed just how steep a hill they had to climb to win the playoff round.
I had a look at a couple of local papers today. One indirectly conceded and one openly acknowledged that the Canadiens have been relying too much on strong goaltending and good defense to compensate for their lack of offensive power. One paper said that two of the team’s best players are Price and Subban – a goalie and a defenseman – but noted that the Habs lack a first-rate centre. This would be fine if hockey could be won by simply keeping the puck out of you own net, but that’s not how the game works.