Canadiens Don't Want Halak to Be Game 7 Hero

WASHINGTON -- "As much as I'm very happy for him," Canadiens left wing Michael Cammalleri said with a sly grin about Jaroslav Halak, "I don't want our goalie having his performances compared to the best ever."

With dark humor comes truth.

Now that Halak has carried the Canadiens to a seventh game against Washington, he's going to need his team to contain Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and the Flying Capitals -- at least to the level of mere mortals.

Although Ovechkin and Backstrom have five goals each through six games, the damage could have been worse if not for the heroics of Halak. If it wasn't for Halak -- 90 saves on 92 shots the last two games, both victories -- the Canadiens would have already had their breakup day. For the Canadiens to become the first team since the current playoff format was instituted in 1994 to come back from down 3-1 to beat a No. 1 seed, they cannot allow another 54 shots on goal as they did on Monday. Wednesday's Game 7 cannot come down to another one-man show between the pipes.

"We have to play with the puck a lot more," said Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges after his team participated in a morning skate at the Verizon Center. "We've also talked a lot the last day about blocking more shots and keeping more shots to the outside. (Halak) stood on his head in Game 6, but we cannot count on that every night. We have to support him. We have to cover each other's backs."

"(Halak) stood on his head in Game 6, but we cannot count on that every night. We have to support him. We have to cover each other's backs."
-- Josh Gorges Said veteran defenseman Hal Gill: "We know what we have to do. There is no need for radical changes. If you try something different, sometimes you get slapped in the face with it."

Gill and Gorges form a penalty killing tandem on the blueline that, along with Halak, has frustrated the Capitals. Washington has only one goal in 30 power play attempts in the series. Alexander Semin, who scored 40 goals in the regular season, has none in six games. Same for Tomas Fleischmann, who scored 23, and Norris Trophy-nominated offensive defenseman Mike Green.

"I know a lot has been made of all the shots we've given up, for good reason," said Cammalleri, "but our guys have been outstanding on the penalty kill. Besides doing our best to be on the offensive attack more, we need to have more of a PK mentality to our five-on-five game."

Gorges agreed. "Our goal coming into this series as the underdog was to lengthen it," he said. "We've done that, with Halak being a big part of it. Now that we've made it to a Game 7 when so many people thought we didn't have a chance, we have to lay it on the line for each other. Not just win it for Halak, but for the guy sitting next to you in the dressing room. This is such a big opportunity for us."

Leave it to Gill, who played for the Penguins a year ago when they won the Stanley Cup in a seven-game final, to best sum up the moment at hand. "When you're a kid, playing hockey on the pond," he said, "you don't think about anything else except a Game 7."


The possible return of D Jaroslav Spacek, who has missed the last three games with a virus, will be a "game-time decision," according to Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin. Towards the end of the morning skate, Spacek appeared to be lobbying Martin for a place in the lineup ...

Top Montreal prospect P.K. Subban, who made his NHL playoff debut in Game 6, has become such an intense focus of the media that he was kept out of interviews after the morning skate ...

The Canadiens are 11-8 in seventh games of playoff series since 1949 ...

Martin, who was 0-4 in Game 7s as head coach of the Ottawa Senators, said he likes his team's approach to the big game. "They've earned the right to be here," said Martin, "and they're excited about the opportunity." The coach also had a global view of the game: "When you look at the stable of elite athletes playing tonight, I think it's really great for our game." ...

Buzz at the Verizon Center: if the Capitals win Game 7, they will host Game 1 against Philadelphia on Saturday at 1:00 pm. The game will be broadcast on NBC. If the Canadiens win, Game 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh are tentatively scheduled for Friday night and Sunday afternoon ...