2) Andrei Kostitsyn: Either his injury from Game 1 wasn’t too significant
or he’s doing quite the job playing through it.  He scored in both games at
home while leading all players on either team in hits in the double OT loss. 
A pretty well-rounded effort from a player who seems to be shaking his playoff
demons.
(Previous: 12  Playoffs:
7.00  Season:
10.46)

3) Carey Price: Some fans unfairly jumped on him after a pair of average
games at home (this after allowing 1 goal in 2 games in Boston, that was
forgotten in a hurry) but he played arguably his best game of the series in Game
5, albeit in a losing cause.
(Previous: 1  Playoffs:
2.00  Season:
2.73)

4) P.K. Subban: He scored a crucial goal in Game 4 and logged a lot of
minutes.  I do think he needs to change things a little as Boston seems to
be forcing him to turn it over in the neutral zone.  It might be worth
trying to pass the puck ahead a little more often if they’re overplaying to try
and force a Subban turnover.
(Previous: 2  Playoffs:
3.00  Season:
7.46)

5) Jeff Halpern: It’s times like these that you can’t understate the
value of a tried and tested veteran.  A timely goal, some strong defensive
play, and an excellent success rate in the faceoff dot, something no one else on
the Habs can claim.
(Previous: N/A  Playoffs:
5.00  Season:
12.08) 

6) Tomas Plekanec: No problems whatsoever with his defensive play, which
was steady as usual.  Offensively, he wasn’t terrible either, picking up a
point in 2 of the 3 games.  It’d be nice to see him produce a little more
but he has helped the cause more than last season.
(Previous: 5  Playoffs:
5.50  Season:
6.04)

7) David Desharnais: He got better with each game even though the
offensive production wasn’t really there (aside from a second assist). 
When he was moved with Gomez and Gionta, that line started to take control. 
We’ll see soon enough if he’ll be able to play in Game 6 after being injured
(knee) on Saturday.
(Previous: 19  Playoffs:
13.00  Season:
10.08)

8) Lars Eller: Like Desharnais, he just seems to be getting better every
time he hits the ice and has found chemistry with Darche and Halpern, a
combination that rarely played together during the year. 
(Previous: 10  Playoffs:
9.00  Season:
13.60)

9) Hal Gill: He wasn’t as flashy as Subban, but he was nearly as
effective, especially on the penalty kill.  He is logging major minutes for
the second straight playoffs and is making the most of the extra time.
(Previous: 15  Playoffs:
12.00  Season:
14.92)

10) Brian Gionta: He got burned on a couple of the goals but the rest of
the time played pretty well.  However, quiet games aren’t what the Habs
need from their captain right now.
(Previous: 3  Playoffs:
6.50  Season:
6.38)

11) Ryan White: Getting lots of hits in limited ice time is probably what
his NHL ceiling is going to be and to his credit, he is getting better and
better in this role.
(Previous: 7  Playoffs:
9.00  Season:
15.70)

12) Scott Gomez: Like Gionta, his play wasn’t that bad most of the time,
but when he made a mistake, the Habs paid for it.  I’d like to see him
taking less faceoffs, that has been a negative for him all series.
(Previous: 6  Playoffs:
9.00  Season:
10.27)

13) James Wisniewski: I’ll say this much, he isn’t helping his next
payday with his performance so far.  I give him credit for coming back in
the overtime and playing relatively well; he even shot the puck a few times
which is encouraging.
(Previous: 13  Playoffs:
13.00  Season:
6.86)

14) Mathieu Darche: He is playing well with Eller and Halpern but he
needs to drive the net more.  He has the size to create at least a little
havoc in front of Tim Thomas.  As the goals seem to get scored in the slot,
this would go a long way toward helping the cause.
(Previous: 14  Playoffs:
14.00  Season:
12.95)

15) Brent Sopel: On the whole, he isn’t playing too badly.  But he
continues to contribute to his own demise with some bad passes that are causing
a lot of problems in the defensive zone.
(Previous: 11  Playoffs:
13.00  Season:
16.33)

16) Tom Pyatt: Defensively, he was strong as usual.  In the playoffs
though, it’s hard to have more than one uni-dimensional player (White and his
physical play is playing a more prominent role); his lack of offence is holding
the attack back.
(Previous: 8  Playoffs:
12.00  Season:
16.84)

17) Roman Hamrlik: Defensive positioning was one of his strengths during
the regular season but lately, it has been his downfall.  On the plus side,
he has done well in Boston’s zone, often making the right calls on when and when
not to pinch.
(Previous: 16  Playoffs:
16.50  Season:
8.76)

18) Travis Moen: When he’s sat down late in games despite being someone
who was brought in to be a playoff presence, that says a lot about his play. 
If he’s going to play in a scoring role, he needs to at least be adequate out
there.
(Previous: 17  Playoffs:
17.50  Season:
14.92)

19) Jaroslav Spacek: I said after Games 2, 3, and 4 that he needed to sit
for Mara.  Not surprisingly, I feel the same after Game 5.  He’s not
protecting the crease area well so it’s time to try Mara, whose size and
strength should help just that…though not playing in 2 weeks may work against
him.  Maybe that’s why Spacek has been staying in the lineup.
(Previous: 18  Playoffs:
18.50  Season:
13.11)

For starters, Leblanc clearly isn’t 100% (there are some reports he may need
shoulder surgery).  As much as he says he wants to join the team (RDS had
that earlier in the week), how effective is he going to be, especially in a
checking/grinding role?  Also, he played just 31 games last season at
Harvard but this year, factoring in the World Juniors and the preseason, nearly
75.  Couple that increase with the pressure of representing his country and
being the face of a fairly new QMJHL franchise trying to establish itself and
there probably is a pretty good mental drain on top of the physical one.