It's Clear The Montreal Canadiens Are Not Listening
Regardless of which side of the score you land on, 120 minutes of scoreless hockey is something worth mentioning.
One thing is clear, however, and it's this: only half of the Canadiens read my Hockey 101 column on Monday. Sure, after a 6-0 drubbing on Sunday, Tuesday's 3-0 half-drubbing might be considered a moral victory in some circles, but I'm not the mother of any of Montreal's skaters.
Props to the Flyers for blanking the Habs for the entire duration of the opening two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. There's no guarantee that just because your team can score that it can win. After all, the other team could score more. I've watched basketball teams score in the 150s and lose. However, if you keep your team off the scoreboard and, assuming you can score just 1 goal, then you will win every game you ever play.
Defense wins championships. That mantra is instilled in hockey players just about the time they lace 'em up for the very first time, and statistics don't lie. Oh, and one other thing, Montreal. You never want the first goal of the game to be the "game winning goal" in the box score at the end of the game.
It should come as no surprise that Flyers' goaltender, Brian Boucher, is the top rated keeper in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I'm glad I've got this one saved on my DIRECTV DVR. Watching highlights in the off-season is a great pleasure!
In the other game Tuesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks tied the series at a game each by scorching the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in the Shark Tank. Hard to expect anything less than the series tied after 2 games. After all, they're the #1 and #2 seeds in the Western Conference!
Check back next week for an up-to-date look at the Conference Championships!
