By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
I know what Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said the other day about Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak.
"We know he's human."
I still wasn't so sure.
I mean, really, were you?
PITTSBURGH - APRIL 30: Goaltender Jaroslav Halak(notes) #41 of the Montreal Canadiens follows the puck behind the net after turning aside a shot from the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 30, 2010 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)After watching Halak stone the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs? After seeing him stop 131 of 134 shots as the Canadiens won the final three games to complete one of the great comebacks and great upsets in NHL postseason history?
Smart man, Bylsma.
Actually, give the credit to his players. The Penguins didn't just force Halak to fish five pucks out of his net Friday night, eventually driving him out of Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Mellon Arena. They proved to the world that Halak pulls on his hockey pants one leg at a time.
That strikes me as being significant.
The Penguins' 6-3 win had to do much more damage to the Canadiens than a typical first loss in a playoff series. This game had to go a long way toward shattering their belief that they can somehow hang with a more talented Penguins team because of Halak's brilliance. That formula worked against the powerful Capitals, no doubt. Thanks to Halak, they held a Capitals team that scored at least two goals in 83 of its first 86 games -- playoffs included -- to one goal in each of the final three games. But I'm thinking it's not going to work in this series.
Halak didn't look anything like the goalie who beat the Capitals 2-1, 4-1 and 2-1 in the final three games. The Penguins beat him for goals with their third, sixth, eighth and 15th shots to take a 4-2 lead after two periods. Not long after defenseman Alex Goligoski took a pretty feed from Sidney Crosby and beat Halak to make it 5-2 early in the third on their 18th shot, Montreal coach Jacques Martin replaced Halak with Carey Price.
So much for invincibility.
So much for the Canadiens' best chance at winning the series.
Or maybe not.
"You have to expect [Halak] to come back strong," Penguins winger Bill Guerin said, moments after his empty-net goal completed the scoring. "Guys on this level are here for a reason. They're so strong mentally. That kid is a hell of a goalie."
Who said the Penguins didn't learn something from the Capitals?
Remember how Washington star Alex Ovechkin dissed Halak after Game 2 of their series by saying he saw Halak's hand shaking when he drank from his water bottle during the game? Well, the only shaking after Game 7 was done by Ovechkin in utter frustration. No one in the Penguins' room was about to make that mistake Friday night.
"Halak has been so good and so dominant, it's nice to get a couple by him," Penguins forward Max Talbot said. "But it's only one game."
I beg to disagree.
Had Halak come out, pitched a shutout in Game 1 and added to his legend, it would have been bad for the Penguins.
I think we all can agree on that.
"Had that happened, I won't say it would have created doubt," Penguins winger Matt Cooke said, pausing for several seconds to choose his words carefully, "but it would have created a sense of urgency."
Cooke paused again, then made the most important point of the night.
"It wasn't just about getting goals. It was about getting traffic around [Halak]," he said. "Look at the Washington series. They had a guy here and a guy here" -- he spread his hands wide -- "when they shot the puck and Halak saw it all the way. We had [Guerin] right in front of him on a couple of goals and [Kunitz] was right in front of him on [Jordan Staal's goal]."
A rough translation:
Not even a superhuman can stop what he can't see.
There's no guarantee the Canadiens will go back to Halak in Game 2 Sunday afternoon. In the Capitals series, Martin pulled him from the Game 3 loss and then played Price in the Game 4 loss before going back to Halak, who, somehow, found that mental strength Guerin talked about and performed magic.
Again, I'm thinking we're not going to see a replay.
No matter what goaltender the Canadiens use, the Penguins plan to keep that same strategy of getting bodies around him. It paid off big time on their first three goals in Game 1 by defenseman Sergei Gonchar, Staal and defenseman Kris Letang, all on the power play. Goligoski's goal made it 4 for 4 with the man advantage.
Just for the record, the Capitals went 1 for 33 on the power play against the Canadiens.
It's worth saying one more time:
This is going to be a much different series.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. More articles by this author
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