Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals (Game Seven)

Musings and In-Game Scribbles playoffs

My English is as good as yours, I just write these in a stream-of-consciousness mode that I insist excuses me from small things like rules of grammar or general etiquette. Let’s call it conversational English, hopped up on beans. You know what kind of beans (no, Carl Mellesmoen, not the magic ones).

#8 Montreal Canadiens (39-33-10)
host
#1 Washington Capitals (54-15-13)

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Round One – Playoffs (Series tied 3-3)
Game Seven (score posted following scribbles)

Missed it? Musings capture the game in writing. A written transcript typed during the game, posted and edited about thirty minutes afterward. Based on the RDS French telecast of the Montreal Canadiens game, Musings take about 20 minutes to read. More detailed than an article, fresher than a looping highlight and good with morning coffee. Or late-night chocolate. A unique way to re-experience the game.

Anthem.  Bob McDonald.  Short hair, silver and white.  Awkward rendition.  Metro looks like a kindly bluebeard.

Jaroslav Halak and Semyon Varlamov are the two goaltenders.

First Period

Watson and O’Halloran are the refs.

Gomez trio is on against Ovie, Backstrom and Knuble.

Gomez wins it.  Gorges has it low.  Long puck deflects into Washington ice.

And it’s out.

Another Canadiens entry is stopped and the Caps move down and effect a sharp-angle shot.  Backstrom to Knuble.  Halak stops it and a stoppage occurs.

Faceoff to Halak’s left.  Details are difficult.

Long puck is called for icing.  Sergei is still off the roster.  Same with Spacek and Darche.

Faceoff.

Caps control.

They are under the end line.  Kostitsyn waits in the high slot.  He is slow to the puck.  Now he moves to it but his efforts on the side boards are unconvincing.

Another stoppage.

Fleischmann and Poti are both out of the lineup for Washington.

Moore line is on.  Faceoff won.

Canadiens move it up into the neutral zone.  Stopped and they regroup.  Subban is on with Hamrlik.

He has it low after another failed exit.  Passes to Hamrlik.  Turnover at centre ice.  Laich lobs it in and Montreal retrieves yet again.

Gionta has it.  Right side.  Puck to the opposite corner.  Gomez has it in the Gretzky area.  To the slot.  Missed.  Varlamov covers.  Two Habs had crease presence.

Caps win the faceoff.

Backstrom is back on.

High circle.  Ovie.  Shoots low.  Halak gets low and stops it.  Traps it.

Saw it all the way.  Faceoff to Halak’s right.

Plekanec wins it.  Gill has it under the end line.  Failed exit on the left boards.  Gorges resumes control on the right under the end line.

Canadiens are stopped in the neutral zone.

They’re in.  Cammalleri.  Struggles against a stick.  Backhand control is lost.  Plekanec takes it up at the dot.  Slows down.  Looks.  Nothing comes of it.

Canadiens retrieve and change lines.  Metropolit, Pyatt and Lapierre.

Ovie is on the right.  A shot.  Wrister.  Mid-height.  Stopped.

The mercury is high.  Halak, donne moi du glace.

On the other end.  Close in.  Shot.  Saved by Varlamov.

Stoppage in Montreal ice occurs.  Semin is on.  Subban and Hamrlik are the defensive pairing.

Moen chases a puck into the corner to Varlamov’s left.

Can’t retain it.

Caps work a slow exit.  Laich shoots from the high slot.  Deflects to the endboards.  Canadiens exit.

Plekanec is preceded by Cammalleri.  Offside.

Subban is adroit on the replay.  Skywalker face guard.  Hoth.

Long pass for Plekanec is too far.

Lines change.

Long pass from Subban.  Bounces over a Montreal stick.

Hermetic lanes from both teams.

Gill picks it up under the end line.  To Hamrlik on the other side.  Pairs are in the middle of a change.

Canadien possession sees a blue line pass for Subban.  He shoots.  Handled.

Knuble is stopped by Markov at the Washington blue.  Puck moves towards Montreal ice.  Caps enter two against two on the right side but a third man, Lapierre, supports and prevents any further creativity.

Andrei K down the right side.  Puck goes beyond him and can’t be trapped by Cammalleri on the end boards as he is covered by a defender.

O’Byrne and Markov are the pairing.  They control underneath.  Repelled at the off-ramp.  Chimera is in offside.

Faceoff.

First drop fails.  Second one sees Gomez win it and turn to send it to Gorges.  Gorges is playing on the right side.  And another stoppage.

Replay shows that Cammalleri was hurt on a previous shift.  Doesn’t seem serious enough to keep him out of action.

Moen chases a puck into the corner.  Can’t retain.

Now Gorges fires a puck in off the end boards to Varlamov’s left.

Backstrom exits on the right.  Plekanec intercepts and bumps the disc up.  Some back and forth.

Caps benefit from some miscommunication between Halak and Gorges.

One hand control by Backstrom on the side boards.  Coverage is close to a holding call.  Caps keep control.  No call.  Caps keep it in for another six seconds.

Line change on a puck send-out.  Re-entry and a whistle.

Pace is slow and deliberate.  Both teams are nervous.

Lapierre and Moore are on.

Bergeron is on the blue line.

Bergeron is chasing and loses a puck.  Doesn’t matter as a turnover sees the Canadiens exit.  Good incursion.  To the point.  Subban.  Advances.  High wrister.  High blocker save.

Just over eight minutes left in the first period.

Replay shows Pouliot’s work on the last shift.  Some puck control and the pass to Subban.  Brunet says it’s the best work from Pouliot since the series started.

Two on one.  Caps.  Laich on the left.  Has the space.  Has the lane.  To Ovie.  Low column.  Coverage beaten.  Off the post.  Open look, should have been a goal.

Another stoppage.

Halak’s eyes are a child’s.  He blinks and leans low waiting for the faceoff.

Brunet says he was beaten.

Faceoff to Varlamov’s right.  Won by Montreal.  To Gionta, inside hash.  Shot.  Up into the stands off Varlamov.

Faceoff to Varlamov’s left is won by Washington.   Canadiens retrieve.  Lost in the stands in the neutral zone.

The teams are dancing as they did in the previous period.

Washington is waiting.  Montreal is working.

Both teams are a smidge too casual.

In the corner to Halak’s left.  Board work.  Markov and Gordon.  Markov gets it.  Fires it around the other side along the boards.  Caps retrieve.  Dump-in.  Backhanded.

Subban uses his size to shield the puck from Morrison behind the net.  It works.

Puck is deep in Caps ice now.

Pouliot hits a defender high.

Puck goes out.

It’s back in with Moore controlling.  Backhander to Moen at an awkward angle.  Can’t convert.

With just under five minutes, the crowd begins voicing its desire.

Chant lasts about 16 seconds.

Puck stays on the perimeters throughout.  Still on the perimeter it is sought on the Montreal side boards.

Sharp shot with a mild screen.  High and stopped.

Caps are exited and re-enter.  Knuble and Backstrom combine for a distance shot that is seen all the way.

Gomez line.  Gomez and Gorges work against Ovie and Knuble.

They succeed with Gill watching the cage in the meanwhile.

They effect a rush and shot.  Pace begins to increase.  Caps Apply pressure.  Wraparound is stopped by Halak.  Then a save on a slot shot.

Crowd cheers as the play is stopped.

Halak is a slow blue drop growing.  A diamond ocean plunk drop.  Giant.

Refs fuss with the ice.  Halak readies himself.

Faceoff is to his left.

Lost by Montreal.  Shot.  Nope.

Behind the net, Markov retrieves.

Semin moves to the net after the exit attempt fails.

Halak makes three saves.  Good, great and monstrous.  Spread squid with white speed.

Stoppage.  Gorges is entangled with a forward.  Officials are in there to quell.

Faceoff.

Forget, forget, forget.  And type.

Gionta and his logger’s expression.  Khaki and checkers.  With a Work Warehouse beard.

Martin is as calm as his sea-blue shirt.

Four-on-four due to a double-minor from the net melee.

Faceoff.  Stoppage almost immediately.

Canadiens lose the puck.  Chase.  Gill moves up.  Gets support.  Coverage looks sound.

Gorges comes up with it.  Moore carries it in.  Backhand.  Stopped.

Lines change.  Gomez line.   Pairing, I mean.  Markov takes a pass down the middle.  Looks for Gionta to his left.  Doesn’t work.

On the other end Green enters and takes down his coverage, Markov.  It’s interference.  They call it a cross-check.

Forty seconds in the period.  Four on three man-advantage.  Bergeron, Gionta, Gomez and Markov.  They move it well.  Tight trapezoid.  Gionta is in front now.  Shot by Bergeron.  In.

Houde’s joyful note.

Montreal 1, Washington 0

Every break is appreciated.  This one ends the period.

Brunet says that one thing he appreciated from Montreal this period was Montreal’s defensive play.

Shots on goal are 11-8 in favour of Washington.

First Intermission
Montreal 1, Washington 0

Just work, baby.

Alain, Jacques et Joel.

Crete is smiling.  Bouchard is leaning.  Demers gestures like a senator.  Fist and talk of energy.  Audio timing is off a bit.

We are shown some replays.  Bouchard says that Halak is the key.  Bouchard says that Montreal’s forecheck needs work and that they let Washington out too easily.

Francois et Alain.  Gagnon is laughing about Mike Green.  A third pick he made.

He discusses home ice disadvantages.  Several teams have won a series on enemy ice this season.

Replay of the goal against Bob Hall is shown.  Lafontaine in 1987.  I watched that game from the second period on.  What a performance by Kelly Hrudey.  I think he faced some 67 shots.  Some other historic moments are shown with a mind to road wins.

I really don’t want to be precise about it.

The week leading up to the Tampa game,  Tim Brown forbade his family members from saying either of “super” or “bowl” in the home.

More numbers.  I watch as a convict watches his own sponge preparation.

Sacco (Colorado), Tippet (Phoenix) and Trotz (Nashville) are finalists for the Jack Adams trophy (NHL coach of the year), Francois tells us.  He validates the choices.  Over here, Tippet is a joke choice.  He benefits from the toxin removal.  And nothing else.

Animal Farm trophies.  Aesop’s lion gets all three pieces of meat.

Bergeron is interviewed.  There is something very odd about him.  There is something missing from his perception.  I’ve wondered about this for some time.  More as I map the territory.

Second Period
Montreal 1, Washington 0

Replay of Bergeron’s shot shows it go high over Varlamov’s right shoulder.  High velocity shot off a one-timer.

Halak sweeps imaginary ice shavings.

Varlamov squats low, his head like a small lion, perched on his eagle shoulders.

Hey, you used the word manticore, not me.

Early action from Montreal resembles a powerplay possession.  Gomez on ice solo at the top of the circle.  Plying and choosing.

Then Gionta at the post.  Backhand to forehand.  And just misses.

Exit and re-entry.  Plekanec enters on the off-wing.  Is tripped.  Slides along the ice for a leisurely few instants and reminds me of Michael Ryder as he does so.  Ryder would sometimes relieve fatigue after being tripped.  OR something.

First entry is repelled.

Second sees Gionta get in alone.  Somme coverage.  Shot.  Stopped.  Rebound can’t be had.

Capitals clear twice.

Second wave.

Gomez line.  Subban on the point.

Metropolit has it at the hash.  It’s in the slot.

Gionta is stumbling, weather waving.  Can’t get his stick on it.  Puck stays on the perimeters and in Capital ice.  Crowd boos as they perceive a missed call on the high boards.

Penalty ends.

Stoppage, too.

Replay shows that Gionta’s second shot was off the post.

Habs win the faceoff.  Puck stays inert til Gill advances to carry it up and shoot it in.

Moore, Lapierre and Pouliot are together now.  That’s an adjustment; removal of Pouliot from the Gomez line.

Puck goes out of play.

Tepid hockey from Washington.

Canadiens coverage is a factor.  Cammalleri is low in the Montreal slot.  Two defenders under him.  Caps try to slot passes but Cammalleri and company are there.  There is no panic when Cammalleri picks up one of the missed pucks.

Ovie has on the opposite side.  Shot.  Wide.

Knuble is taken down.

Markov returns to the bench.  Whistle was for the puck going off the moorings.

Replay shows that Knuble was exaggerating some incidental contact between himself and Gorges.

Faceoff.

Gomez, Gionta and Moen are together.

They work underneath.  Deliberate work.  Short passes.  Small arrow.  Small arrow.  Small arrow.  To the neutral zone.  Puck is sent back in but goes out of play.

Centre ice faceoff.  Caps chase it in to Montreal ice.  It’s underneath.  Two defenceman turn their sticks like Coleco players.  They are patient as plastic.  Moore is right in front of Halak.  Defensive stationary.

It all works.

Canadiens are now moving the puck.  Entering.  It’s snarled.  AK46 tries a bang at it.

Caps try an entry.  Gill whacks a puck away.  Moments later, Kostitsyn deflects a shot standing from the blue line.

Two forwards in the slot for Montreal in front of Halak.  Capital shots from rebounds are forbidden.

Stoppage soon afterward.

This is the equivalent of bringing three to the net in table hockey.  But it’s not physically possible in that realm.  Parachute collapse.

Commie.  I mean commercial.

Muller looks on with a black-wire earphone and a neutral expression.

Faceoff is to Halak’s right.

Gionta takes and wins it.  Gorges and Backstrom jam it up against the boards.  Knuble and Gomez work it now.  Gionta is right there.  Canadiens come up with it.

Pouliot’s exit is stopped.

Capital rush is also stopped.

Habs have it again.  Gomez misses a slot chance.  Space is strange to see all of the sudden.

Moore line hops on.  Moore beats Corvo to a puck behind the net.

Montreal’s defensive play is one glove, five fingers.  Yeah, yeah.

Moen is on.

Board battle won under the Capital blue line.

Crowd begins another chance.  It means little to the Capitals who gain no openings from the Montreal defenders as a result.

Entry on the right side.  Not much room. Slapshot.  Halak stops it.  Covers it.  Another shot of Muller.  Chewing gum thoughtfully.  Looking at some information.  Then back up at the ice level.

Gomez is sent in on a horizontal pass to the right.  Gionta just precedes him.  Faceoff for the offside.

Martin has arms folded and is nodding to his right.  Says something.

Canadiens are fully committed to the playbook.

Another Washington entry sees a small column of Montreal players in the slot.  Forwards are defenders, Capitals can only hope for transition chances.

Lapierre is deep supporting some deep board work.   Puck is touched by a hand and play is whistled.

It’s an Adams feeling.  But more accurately, it’s a Bomber 88 sensation.  There’s just nowhere to put the football.  Down the middle is gone.  Flat passes are all Washington has.  And the hope that Montreal will turn the puck over deep.  But the Canadiens are rarely passing across the ice.  The image and mentorship of Martin, his imprint and will are the emphasis to which each Canadien leans.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman watches thoughtfully from the stands.

Caps work in the Montreal zone.  Cross-slot pass results in Gill sliding and losing his stick and Plekanec’ pulling a slot-bound player down in response.  Good penalty.  Stopped a scoring chance.

Caps control for about eight seconds before a Canadien touches the puck to cause a whistle.

Faceoff to Halak’s right is won and cleared.

Montreal is like model glue drying.  It’s such a late point in the season yet it’s happening.

Entry and repulsion.

Now Washington sets up.

Corvo has it in along the blue.

Habs are in a diamond.

Now it folds into something else.  Two up, two down.  Both formations work.  Second shuttering sees Halak stop and then smother on two shots.  Butterfly late and then a glove reachdown on the left of his crease.

So this is how great defensive play can look like in the post-lockout era.

Ovie enters on the right.  Loses it to Markov under the blue.  Cleared.

Penalty ends as Washington enters again.

Canadiens are back in position again.  Plekanec is the slot centre this time.

They push the puck out.

It’s back in.  Along the end boards.  Gorges is called.  Houde says that the Caps will get a second chance.  His tone is factual.

So the Caps are working as hard as they can.  But they are riddled by the spacing tree created by Martin, Muller and Pearn and fully executed by men like Gill, Moore and Gorges.  Very intriguing.

Defence.  It has a name again.

Replay shows the call is legit.

Habs win the faceoff to Halak’s right.  Gomez trundles forward and clears it up.

Caps set up.

Along the blue line.  Passing between Corvo and Ovie.  Shot.

Two Habs are there to block it standing.

Next entry results in another clear.

Houde says we are starting to hear murmurs of disapproval from the crowd now.

I find myself thinking of Bud Grant’s comments on the diligent zone and Air Force books on team defensive play.  Air Force football.

It’s all business.  Blue portfolios.  And there’s nothing to stop it being the Montreal motif regardless of outcomes.

Stoppage following some perimeter passing.

Now a long shot off a won faceoff reminds us that the net is a rectangle.

Wide.

In the corner.  Gill takes the expert’s position and falls on his puck-carrying opponent.  Stoppage.

Halak made a save on the long shot.  It wasn’t wide.

Penalty ends.

Three and a half minutes in the period.

Moore and Andrei K are on together.  Moore is deep and back helping Hamrlik.

Chmera has it.  Now Fehr on the deep boards.  To the crease.  Halak dives forward to capture it.

Brunet says that Halak is doing well but says something positive about the defensive coverage.

It’s been years since I have been able to learn about defensive hockey just by watching a Montreal team.

Moen water buffaloes down the left side.  Keeps it.  Puck is in his skates.  To his stick.  Green gets back to assist.  Called for holding as the net goes off the moorings.

Canadiens take up the puck.  Seven seconds along the boards before it is cleared.

Canadiens make a transition entry of it.  Cammalleri.  Right side.  To Plekanec in the slot.  Plekanec tries to get it from forehand to backhand but he is blinking in too quickly.

Faceoff.

Habs keep it along the boards for about eight seconds.  And it’s cleared.

Gomez enters.  Right down the middle.  Washington square.  Sideboard pass.  Some stumbling.  Now to the point.  Hamrlik shoots.  Varlamov was beaten but the puck goes wide.

Exit.

One last segment.  Cammalleri loses the puck on the left side boards.

Puck slithers out alone.  Two Caps chase it.  The camera is a hooded horse.  Hamrlik comes in out the peripheral.  And.  Just.  Gets.  A.  Long.  Single.  Hand.  Stick.  On the puck.

Caps skate.  Ovie.  In on the left.  His off-wing.  Shot.  Wide.

Puck returns to the boards.

Offside entry by Montreal with about a second left leads to a one-drop puck and a siren.  Or a horn.

Period ends.

The team leaves pixilated sequence.  Caps had a slight edge on shots.

Uniformity is uniform calm when eighteen and one are in sync.

Second Intermission
Montreal 1, Washington 0

But one is not enough.

Alain has a corner smile.  Jacques shakes his head in admiration about the blocked shots by Montreal players.  Twelve in the first and fourteen in the second.  He says it’s a system, c’est systematique.

Y’a raison.

Bouchard listens closely and then adds that the coverage has been very good and has been the difference.

Crete talks about Ovie’s mandate as captain and asks Bouchard about his performance tonight.  Bouchard says that it isn’t a case of not trying hard.  It’s some other things.

Uh.

Tim?

I can say Tim, can’t I?

Demers defends Jacques Martin.  Crete has heard this song before but is more interested.  He asks Bouchard about the other coach now.  Crete is smiling and I think I know why.

Bouchard says some more things I don’t want to repeat.

It’s, uh, not favourable for the other group.  And if I repeat it, true as it may be…

Two TVs behind them are trained on the ice.

Demers nods, Crete recaps and we go to commercial.  Bob Hartley is talking Honda locations.  Repentigny is mentioned.

Repentigny is some distance north of Montreal along the St. Lawrence and I’ve been through there before.  I like the name quite a bit.  Very Aylmer, very tomate, very St. Hubert.

On parle de tout choses moin qu’on arrive autre-part.

C’est un grand province.  La Belle Province, c’est vrai.  Red lobster, green churches and cold, blue bay waves.  Don’t tell me about what’s in the froth.

A church bell is grand and Catholic and le rue Pere-DIvet is very close to the city hospital.  But I’m on Brochu and then Laure ce soir.  It’s a glitter spring evening and the salt is as cold as it is invisible.

J’aime ma ville,  j’aime ma place.

Renaud Lavoie interviews Hal Gill.

Gill has a beard and thinks before he answers.  Lavoie asks about how much Gill likes his team’s composure tonight.  Gill responds with a bit more enthusiasm.  Nothing informative or profound or revealing.  But we see that Lavoie has interesting taste in suits.  Could be a lead-off point for further RDS research.

Some replays.

Third Period
Montreal 1, Washington 0

The late third period wave will start early for Washington tonight.  But will it be zoned and pipetted?

Gomez line against Backstrom’s.  Backstrom wins the faceoff.  Habs come up with it.  Gionta lobs a puck into a Cap in the neutral zone.

Entry.  Pass to the blue.  Shot.  In.  Halak was knocked flat.  Man in the crease is called.  Goal is waved off.  Knuble interfered.  Brunet says he thinks it’s a good call.

Top shot shows that it’s legit.  They are calling them tight tonight, though.  That might have been let go by another ref pairing.

Crowd cheers derisively.

Caps are working with a fever.

Habs are in position.  Buttons and threading are tight.

Laich and Semin combine in the mid-slot.  Semin.  Shot.  Misses.  Houde’s throat stretches.

Lapierre and Moore are on.  I feel a sense of calm when I see Moore.  Because I know what to expect.  And I know he’ll top up on defence and have some left for unexpected streaks of offence.

Caps are in.  Halak rotates left in time to scoop an upper-puck atmospheric.

Faceoff is to his left.

Chance is throttling and I feel greensward about it.

Faceoff is moved out to the neutral zone.  Caps enter but are interrupted immediately.

Home team retrieves.

Gill comes up with it in the neutral zone.  Sends it down.

Plekanec line is on.  Ovie in response.

Green enters deep down the right.  Plekanec is in the low column to intercept the slot pass.

Next entry is stopped by Gorges who steps into the passing lane.

Moore and Lapierre work the boards.  Cross-slot puck.  Now a shot from O’Byrne.  Varlamov stops the hard shot.  Aimed slapper.  Killshot look at the puck.

Caps enter after the faceoff.  Caps are working with four guys deep in the zone now.  Montreal seems to have the same set-up.

Subban comes up with it in the corner.  Exit results.  Line change, too.

Laich enters on the left.  High slapper.  Over everything.

Plekanec down the right side.  Stops at the hash.   Sees Markov swooping in.  Sends it across.  Missed.

Semin on the other end.  Mid-slot.  Wind-up wrister.  Stopped.  Somehow.  Somehow, somehow.

Exit and re-entry.  Off-wing shot is stopped and held by Halak.

Gill supports a lost faceoff.  Puck squiggles to the crease.  Nobody can see it.  Except the one guy paid to see it all the time (officials don’t count, goal judges don’t count).  Smothered.

Commercial.  One more.

If four guys come up, that leaves just one on the blue.  Montreal math.

Backstrom line.

Faceoff.  On the boards.

Canadiens exit.

Pyatt stickhandles down the right side.

Works hard.  Gionta has it under the end line.  Pyatt grabs it again.  Tries to circle back for a backhander.  Nope.  Brunet compliments the work and notes the line tinker.

Belanger versus Plekanec to Halak’s right soon afterward.  Plekanec wins it cleanly.  Puck is snarled under the blue line.

Habs are able to leave.

Caps re-enter after the chase and no-shot ends the shift for Montreal.

Moore line.  Underneath.

One creation.  And another.  Second one nearly results in a goal.  Lapierre created, waited and then an open net chance was missed.

Pouliot’s bang-shot was deflected prior to that.

Action is stopped.  Net off.  Arms up.  Refs waving it off.

They must check the video replay.

We are shown.  Puck went in.  But.  It’s hard to tell.

Long shot was handled by Varlamov, whistle went and then the puck dropped in.  Lapierre interfered with the goalie.

No penalty.

If the puck enters the crease and the player jams into the keeper, it is considered different than an interference on a long shot.

We resume.

Caps are skating with more purpose.

Habs match the effort.  Add a blocked shot.  Pyatt ends another solid shift.

Markov retrieves.

Puck goes around the net.

Varlamov comes out to play it.

On the boards.  Montreal gets a long shot.

Ten minutes left in the game.

Caps are working.

Pouliot and Moore are where they need to be.

Now a side of the net chance.  Stopped.  Immediate wraparound try on the other side.  Post to post and Halak is there.

Puck is still free.  Small crowd.  One red man.  Limbers, winds, shoots.  I can’t see it.

Whistle.  Brunet expresses relief, admiration and mild excitement.

Question Dodge.  No grip.

Canadiens win the faceoff.

Gionta backhands it into the zone.  Offside.

Faceoff.  Gorges retrieves.  Sacrifices.  Gill picks it up and moves it up.  It’s underneath the blue.  Finally it’s whistled.

About four seconds.  Glass rattles.

Hard to believe there is life outside this rink.

Faceoff.  Puck skitters across Halak’s crease.  Cammalleri picks it up.  Eventual entry.

Andrei K hits someone and gets the puck.  Almost casual in his navigation through the Washington pylonry.  Backhand pass and shot by Plekanec.  Bouncer.

Big chance.  No.

Moore line follows.

Lapierre intercepts an exit pass and shoots.  Guggle.

Other end.  Halak waits for the puck to get close.  Is run into by a crowd.  Has it.  Stoppage.

Penalty could have been called on the play against Montreal.  But the refs are setting the bar a bit lower now.  Carlson complains about it.

Seven.

Gomez.

Gionta precedes him.

Faceoff outside Washington ice.

Thirty-six.

Washington shoot-in.

Gomez and Gorges work against Ovie and Knuble.  On the other side.  Habs one-stick, kick and bat it out.

Caps are back in.

Blue line.  Ovie.  Big shot.  Habs stand to block.

Other end.  In the crease.

Cammalleri.  Turns.  Backhand.  Post.

Washington entry.  Ovie is stopped on a slot chance.  Great shot.  Good save.

Stoppage.

About six and a half.

Is it time.

Commercial.

Shh.

….

…

…

Three chyron lines.

Post chance is shown.  Good pivot, says Brunet.

Faceoff outside Montreal ice.  Stoppage.

Moore line.

Lost faceoff.  Caps’ Schultz retrieves.

Long puck is called against Washington as Gorges touches the deep puck.

Faceoff is to Varlamov’s right.

Puck skitters to the opposite boards.

O’Byrne makes a mistake.  Gets it back along the boards.  Works this time and he gets support.  Team works it out.

Caps are back in though.

Gionta blocks a shot from the blue line.  Kicked out his leg and go low like a plumber dwarf.

Four.

Ovie is on.  Accelerates.  Puck trickles through Halak’s pads and across the crease; stays out.

Gill retrieves.

Lots of ice time for these two.

Moore is down the right side.  Lapierre has the puck.  Tries for it.  Covered.  Moore swoops in.  Cuts with it.  Shoots it.  High.  And in.

Montreal 2, Washington 0

Puck goes long.  Icing against Montreal.

Three minutes.

To Halak’s left.

Gomez wins it but Chimera gets to the puck first on the end boards.

Habs work it out but send it long.  Another icing.

Caps win it.  Ovie sends a sneaky puck along the ice to the net.  Deflected.  Nope.

Another long Montreal puck.

Zednik’s goal is shown on the replay.  Off a Kovalev rebound.  You know which game.

Two.

Caps enter.  Shot.  Gorges can’t move up to clear.  Should have.

Shot.  Rebound.  In.

Washington scores.  Crease backhander.

Montreal 2, Washington 1

Siren is going but the crowd is.  Not responding?  Wow.

They’re full of nerve liquid.

Now the Caps have a death blow chance.  Carlson.  Shoots it high.  Gorges and Gill have to get off the ice.

Replay to Halak’s left.

Markov pairing is on.

O’Byrne is with him.

Moore line.

Lost faceoff.

Canadiens are being called.  Delayed call.

Two minutes left.  Stoppage.

Caps will get the power-play.

O’Byrne is called.  Why was he on the ice.  Hamrlik and Markov.  Should have been.

Timeout.

Martin has a sick expression cross his face.  Halak’s eyes are wide.

Ovie exhales.  Net is empty.

Faceoff is to Halak’s left.

Backstrom.   Wins it against Gomez.

Puck is iced.  Just misses the net.

Caps reenter.

Good work on the boards.  Another long puck.  A Cap has to dive to keep it from going in the net.

Gill falls.

I’m one organ.

This and that.  Oh my.

And out.

And now a pass avec la main.

Faceoff is outside the Montreal zone.

Caps win it.

Thirty.

Caps are ahead of the play.  To the side.  Shot is deflected by Markov.

Faceoff.

Gionta moves it out.

Now he works deep.  Rounds it around the net.  Still time.  Five.  Ovie enters.  Gionta is there.

Gets it.  Gionta.  Clears it.  Gionta.

Black lines, gold score.  The game is over.

Over.

Is it time.

Montreal 2
Washington 1

HDS Stars: Hal Gill, Jaroslav Halak, Dominic Moore
RDS Stars: Jaroslav Halak, Hal Gill, Josh Gorges

They shake hands.

Montreal wins the series four games to three.  Next game is Friday in Pittsburgh.

I can’t feel it yet.

Is it time.

Gill was magnificent.  So was Gorges minus one play.  Moore.  Gomez, Gionta, Plekanec and one glittering glove.

Martin says this team has character.  He is interviewed on the ice.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals (Game Seven), 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

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