Lightning finding ways to win, Canadiens finding ways to lose
The Stanley Cup final is beginning to feel more like a coronation than a playoff series, with the Lightning coming out on top in games regardless of how well or badly they play
The Montreal Canadiens have displayed remarkable fortitude, resilience and poise in these Stanley Cup playoffs and until Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, they had yet to beat themselves in the post-season. When you’re playing against a foe as formidable as the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s difficult enough to beat just one team. It’s impossible when the other opponent is yourself and you all but hand victory to the defending Stanley Cup champion.
The Canadiens could not defeat a Lightning team that was very good in Game 1. And they could not beat a Lightning team that was very bad in Game 2. They’re running out of alternatives here. This wonderful playoff run is on the verge of hitting a brick wall going into Game 3. Not only were the Canadiens denied by the Quebec government in their bid to get 10,500 fans into the Bell Centre for Games 3 and 4, they now have no margin for error.
And that’s daunting for a team that has made more than its fair share of them. The Canadiens outplayed the Lightning, by a significant margin for long stretches of Game 2, and did so many good things. But all of that was undone again by poor puck management and soul-crushing mistakes that are inexcusable on a stage as big as the Stanley Cup final. Yes, Andrei Vasilevskiy was very good for the Lightning, far better than Carey Price. But this game was defined far more by the Canadiens errors in execution than anything else.
“Much better,” Canadiens captain Shea Weber said of his team’s overall puck management. “We definitely put the puck in areas where we could get it back and make them work a little bit more and I think we obviously generated a lot more because of it. They’re opportunistic and it only takes them a couple of mistakes for them to score.”
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The Canadiens knew going into these playoffs that they were going to have to ride their big four defense of Weber, Ben Chariot, Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry if they were going to be successful, and it worked for three rounds. But you can’t help but think those four players are getting worn down by all the heavy lifting. And it showed in Game 2. The backbreaking goal came on a turnover, then a Barclay Goodrow fly-by on Ben Chariot while entering the zone. Goodrow passed the puck to Coleman, who dived and directed the puck past Price with a one-handed stab with 0.3 seconds remaining in the period. The Canadiens had been outshooting the Lightning 16-6 in the period to that point. That turn of events, more than anything so far in this series, highlighted the difference between the Lightning and Canadiens. Montreal had its top defense pairing and its best defensive forward in Phil Danault on the ice and they could do nothing to stop the Lightning’s third liners.
“It’s one of those where the announcer says, ‘You’ll see that on SportsCenter tonight,’ ” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “That’s what that was.”
Then the insurance goal came on a monumental blunder by Edmundson, who reversed the puck behind the Canadiens’ net thinking Petry would be there to support him. But the pass wasn’t near hard enough and landed on the stick of Ondrej Palat, who jumped on the opportunity like a shark in bloody water and sealed the game. And Vasilevskiy, who only once in his 78-game playoff career has stopped more than the 42 shots he turned aside in Game 2, took care of the rest. A day after losing the Vezina Trophy in a very close vote, Vasilevskiy played very much like the best goalie in the world. (It should be noted the Vezina is voted on by the 31 GMs. Vasilevskiy was the NHL’s first-team all-star, which is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. So there’s that.)
“If you’re going to have any success at this time of year, you’re going to need your goaltender to be good for you,” Cooper said. “There were some remarkable performances (in Game 2), one by Vasy and Coleman and a couple other guys. But it was definitely an unremarkable team game we had going on.”
And yet, here the Lightning are, two wins away from claiming their second straight Stanley Cup. It’s starting to feel more like a coronation than a playoff series.