The Montreal Canadiens have to be wondering just where exactly this latest losing streak is coming from, and where their offense has gone. After upsetting the Capitals and Penguins, the Habs were shutout for the 2nd straight game, as Michael Leighton and the Flyers turned in another great performance at the Wachovia Center to take a 2-0 series lead before the series headed to Montreal.
Leighton stretched his shutout streak to 165:50, dating back to the first period of Philly’s Game 7 against the Boston Bruins. He made 30 saves in Game 2, including 16 in the first frame, and never gave Montreal a chance to make this one interesting. The Flyers came out strong again after dominating Montreal in Game 1, and Danny Briere scored his 9th goal of the playoffs on an early powerplay just over 4 minutes into the first period. Scott Gomez, one of the key cogs in the Habs’ success so far, has struggled mightily in the last two games at the Wachovia Center, and was the party to blame for Philadelphia’s early man advantage.
Another key part of Montreal’s previous successes was to blame for Philly’s 2nd of the night, as Brian Gionta was in the box when Simon Gagne scored a powerplay goal with just over 4 minutes to play in the 2nd period. The Flyers’ powerplay continues to be one of the most effective in the postseason, while the Canadiens’ play with the man advantage has been nothing short of abysmal. They went 0-for-3 in Game 2, and Gomez’s penalty in the first actually neutralized an early Montreal advantage with Lukas Krajicek already in the box for the Flyers.
Montreal will have to hope they can find their game on home ice, as they were unable to make any sort of headway against a Flyers’ team that forechecked hard, created turnovers and pressured the puck all night long. Jaroslav Halak didn’t give up as many goals as he did the other night in Game 1, but I’m sure he’d like to have the last one back, as Ville Leino’s flip shot that caromed in off his glove midway through the 3rd really took away any hope the Canadiens had of mounting a comeback. He’s been able to bounce back from bad outings in these playoffs before, and the Habs will have to hope he can do so in Game 3, or their magical playoff run will come to an abrupt end.
