HabsWorld.net --
After the last home game, there weren’t many who thought anyone would be
saying this but there will be a 7th game on Wednesday night to decide the
series. Riding the coattails of Jaroslav Halak’s 53 save performance, the
Habs took care of business on home ice, beating the Caps by a 4-1 count.
Mike Cammalleri scored a pair in the first while Maxim Lapierre and Tomas
Plekanec tallied 3rd period goals; Eric Fehr scored late in the 3rd to spoil
Halak’s shutout bid.
HW 3 Stars of the Night:
1) Jaroslav Halak: There’s games where you’re in the zone and then
there’s games like this. Pretty safe to say that tonight’s effort was the
best of his career. Even when the Caps got a goal late, he wasn’t fazed
and essentially stymied any comeback effort right then and there.
Statline: 59:42 TOI, 1 GA, 53 SVS, .981 SV%, 1.01 GAA, 2 giveaways
(team high)
2) Mike Cammalleri: The only thing you could really complain about him
here is that he only scores in the first period. That being said, his 2
goals in the 1st proved to be huge for the Habs as it gave them the confidence
they needed to get through this game.
Statline: 2 goals, 1 assist, +2 rating, 4 shots (team high), 2 blocks,
1/1 faceoffs, 18:46 TOI
3) Josh Gorges: This is a game where the statline doesn’t do him any
justice. When he was out there, Washington players weren’t getting much
time and space to make things happen. Some credit should be given to Hal
Gill as well, but Gorges takes 3rd Star in this one.
Statline: 1 assist, +1 rating, 1 takeaway, 3 blocks, 22:36 TOI
HM) Maxim Lapierre: I really didn’t like the dive but other than that,
his best game of the season. He was aggressive, physical (something I
called him out on in the HW Recap yesterday), and scored a crucial goal in the
3rd.
Statline: 1 goal, +1 rating, 4 PIMS (team high), 2 shots, 3 hits, 1/2
faceoffs, 11:55 TOI
Stat of the Night: A couple of streaks were broken in this one –
Lapierre’s goal was the first of his playoff career (in 22 GP) while
Cammalleri’s first period goal snapped the series streak of the road team
scoring first in each game.
