5 p.m .: The Bruins and Canadiens have played 144 minutes of hockey thus far in this second-round series, and all they've got to show for it is a deadlocked 1-1 tie.
Both teams have engineered massive swings of momentum throughout the two games, with the Bruins storming back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits in Game 1, only to lose in double overtime, and then rallying from a 3-1 deficit in Game 2 to win 5-3 in regulation.
These games have been tremendously exciting, and there's no reason to think that'll change as the series heads north to Montreal.
By now, the teams have an idea of what the other is trying to do. The Canadiens' best strategy is to draw penalties and capitalize on the power play, where they are functioning at an absurd success rate of 44.4 percent through two games. As a team, they own a 26.7 percent shooting percentage while on the man advantage, which means both that they're making the smart plays when on the power play and also that the Bruins are simply doing a terrible job of disrupting what the Canadiens are trying to do.
On the flip side, the Bruins' strategy has been a bit less clear. They've lived up to their reputation as the best third-period team in the NHL, but their problem is that they've needed to be. They've made it extremely tough on themselves, taking penalties and falling behind in both games. That's a great way for a great team to find itself facing elimination earlier than necessary, and it's something the Bruins really need to clean up if they hope to go as far as they really should in this postseason.
Obviously, officiating has played a big role in the series thus far, and there's a good chance you'll be hearing from Tim Peel and Chris Rooney tonight. Hopefully, for the sake of hockey, they don't call a penalty on Claude Julien for using naughty words.
As for the rest of the game, I'll have updates and analysis from the pregame lineups all the way until one of these teams owns a 2-1 series lead, so check back throughout the night.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
Original Post by: http://ift.tt/1jab1cZ
Source : http://ift.tt/1jab1cZ
0 comments:
Post a Comment