After the playoff run that the Habs had, there is a justifiable case to be made to ‘run it back’, bringing as many pieces back that they can afford and trying again next season. But that would come at the expense of progress, meaning GM Marc Bergevin will deftly have to navigate the best of both worlds.
With his contract with Montreal now complete, Joel Bouchard became a free agent this month and has found his new home. The now-former Laval head coach has been hired by Anaheim to take over as the bench boss for their AHL team in San Diego.
The Habs have invested a lot of time into revamping their back end in recent years. However, in spite of all of the signings and draft picks used, there are still some holes in the system to address.
The Habs played with tons of courage in Game 5 on Wednesday night, but the Lightning got a goal from Ross Colton in the second period and were able to trap their way to a 1-0 victory to take home the 2021 Stanley Cup.
Of the three lineup changes that Dominique Ducharme made on Monday, the one to sit Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the most controversial. However, with the lineup composition they were seeking, it was the right one.
In a game that likely took ten years off every single Habs fans’ life, Montreal blew two different one-goal leads before finding themselves shorthanded for four minutes with the game on the line. Price was heroic, Suzuki was on another level, and Anderson scored two huge goals as the Habs forced Game 5 with a 3-2 overtime victory.
Enthusiasm for Montreal’s first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1993 went away rather quickly as the Habs already find themselves on the brink of elimination following a trio of losses to Tampa Bay.
As improbable as it may have seemed, the Montreal Canadiens have fought their way to the Stanley Cup Final. It took a full team effort to get to this stage, meaning there are plenty of stars to choose from for the month of June.
The Habs came out flat in both the first and second periods on Friday night, hardly a good recipe for success. Those early goals came back to haunt them as they fell 6-3 and now trail Tampa Bay 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.
We’re now two games into the Stanley Cup Final and a familiar problem has returned for the Habs. Their top scorers during the regular season have all suddenly stopped scoring and the end result is a 2-0 deficit to the Lightning.