Montreal Canadiens eliminated from playoffs but remain positive about future – NHL news
Montreal Canadiens have been eliminated from the 2011 National Hockey League playoffs but they certainly are not in any sort of doubt about their future prospects.
Losing to their rivals Boston Bruins in the quarter-finals had definitely disheartened them, but they are determined to bounce back next time.
Two of their youngest players emerged to become unstoppable forces during the first round series. Carey Price and P.K Subban shocked everyone by performing at such a high level so early in their careers. Price remained at par with the NHL’s leading veteran
goalie Tim Thomas in the quarter-finals and proved that it is not the experience that counts, but the level of dedication you have that really makes the difference.
“If Carey wasn't playing today, I don't think we even make it to overtime,” Subban said. “He made some key saves for us down the stretch, as he has all year. He carried us this far, and obviously we wanted to get the win for him today and make it to the
second round. It just didn't happen.”
Price shutout the Boston Bruins in game one of the quarter-finals. In his first game as the opening goalie, he blocked all 31 shot attempts on net for their first win of the playoffs. In game two, he continued dominating the offence as he rejected 34 shots
and helped the Canadiens to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. The remaining games were all close calls, even the deciding game seven which ended in a hard-fought overtime. Remaining on the bench throughout the previous playoffs, Price has definitely
shown improvement in his game after all that observation.
He maintained 2.11 goals against average and .934 save percentage during the series.
There are many other younger players on the Montreal roster like Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty, but a unique case which overshadows all others is P.K Subban.
The 21-year-old defenseman has literally taken lead as an offensive player, scoring the most points behind Mike Cammalleri and continued his scoring streak from the regulation season. During the season, he registered his first career hat-trick and became
only the second defensive player to ever do so in Montreal’s long history.
“Not very many guys can have the experience I've gathered in the playoffs this early in my career,” Subban said. “This was my third Game 7 already. It's great in terms of experience moving forward. I'm happy to have that experience, but it would have been
nice to move on.”
Even though Montreal have young and inexperienced players, they still managed to take a team like Boston into a game seven decider. Surpassing everyone’s expectations, the Canadiens performed even better than they would have thought themselves. Losing in
the playoffs might mean the end of the road for most, but P.K Subban and Carey Price are excited about the next season.
Tags: