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Playoff GDT: Round 3, Game 4 Canes @ Habs 5/27 8:00

A

andyt

Canes Moderator
Staff member
With the West locked in, the Canes look to put a stranglehold on the East.

Since the Habs explosion in the first period of game 1, it’s been Canes hockey at its finest. Limit time and space and suppress shots. They had 13 shots in the first period, as many as they took in game 3 and more than they took in game 2. They’ve had 34 shots total in the last 10 periods.

Lots of whining about dirty hits and uncalled penalties from fans and some media up north. Was game 3 poorly officiated? Absolutely. Welcome to the NHL, where the only consistent thing is inconsistency and poor officiating.

TNT for TV, Mike and Tripp on radio, Forslund on national radio.
 
OK, so … the occasion calls for the usual comment, I think. HUGE difference between coming home for Game 5 up 3-1 and coming home tied at 2-2. By definition, this game is a big freaking deal. Hell, Montreal might actually try to raise an actual Forum ghost to bring in the torch this time.

For Carolina, the trick is to not get too geared up and just settle into their game. It’s been a pretty confident bunch this post season, but the Canadiens are going to come out like their collective hair is on fire, so composure is going to be key early on. The Canes have been really consistent, aside from Game 1 last Thursday, in being able to find the pace of the game and start to get on their grind. It’s led to early leads, which for the most part haven’t really held up … which is fine so long as you keep pushing and get your nose back in front eventually. But finding the pace and getting the pressure game going early would help get the crowd to shift from providing support to generating pressure and that has been an issue for Montreal in these playoffs. I don’t anticipate many if any changes for Carolina, although if the first line isn’t producing much at 5v5, then maybe you think about letting PP2 have the lion’s share of the power play time for a bit to light a fire under their butts. That unit should be feeling pretty good about themselves though, after having a strong Game 3 and producing the game winner. So … composure, smart pressure, good decisions with the puck, keep the gaps tight. The usual stuff.

Montreal has to make some decisions. As their fans keep pointing out, they dropped two OT games in a row so it ain’t like they’re getting bombed here no matter what the shot clock says. Do you keep on keeping on and try to focus on working the middle of the ice a little more to get more shooting chances? Do you respond to Carolina’s increased physicality in Game 3 by bringing the heat a bit … maybe even bringing in Xhekaj to do his heat seeking missile act? Hard to say, but St Louis has been a trust the system kind of guy and I suspect that he’ll stick to his guns and try to play to his strengths here. Maybe try to get a little more of a track meet going like they did in the second period on Monday. Use those young legs while they have the gas and see if you can’t get a lead to protect in the 3rd. That’s what I expect so they’ll probably do the opposite and try to muck it up. Either way, they’ll be full of beans early.

Should be … fun? Yeah, let’s go with that.
 
Morning skate notes are coming out for Montreal. Looks like no lineup changes. I kind of thought St Louis would push the heavy button and play Xhekaj and maybe Gallagher, but … nope. Honestly? Good call. Gally would just bump up the special teams minutes and Xhekaj would be a target for Carolina’s pressure every time he touched the puck.
 
Ok it's an early night for me again. If there is one good thing about close games and being nervous about the outcome it is that it makes me stay awake without problem.
 
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