WASHINGTON - They are already calling it a goaltending performance for the ages.
The fact is, the Montreal Canadiens might need another like it Wednesday night in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal against the Washington Capitals.
Caps coach Bruce Boudreau has seen performances like the 53-save gem by Montreal Canadiens' Jaroslav Halak in Game 6 before, knows that feeling that comes with a goaltender stopping everything he sees and doesn’t see.
“You just know it’s just not happening,” he said Tuesday. “I’ve faced those goalies and you just want to take your stick and hit them over the head with it. You can’t do that. If he stops 54 shots (Wednesday), there’s a good chance Montreal is going to win.”
Halak’s performance in the Canadiens 4-1 victory in Game 6 at the Bell Centre had the folks in Montreal comparing it Tuesday to the stuff of legends like Ken Dryden in 1971 and Patrick Roy in 1986.
Whoa.
Halak was exceptional Monday night, but, really, without a win to close the deal Wednesday and oust the top-seeded Caps at Verizon Center, his Game 6 performance simply falls into the category of pretty good.
The thing that made Dryden and Roy legends were they closed the deal.
They won the Stanley Cup.
That’s what gave them their stars in the red, white and blue firmament.
As far as a one-off performance, Halak can get a seat at the table of great.
Heading into Game 7, he looks like he has frustrated the Capitals stars, captain Alex Ovechkin now passing when he should shoot; defenceman Joe Corvo looking skyward in exasperation; Alexander Semin not to be seen, but rumoured to be somewhere in the fetal position.
Their power play, which led the NHL in the regular season, is now 1-for-30 in the series.
But - and this must be the one thought the Capitals take into Game 7 - they are just one shot from breaking through.
They directed 94 - yes, 94 - shots in the direction of the Canadiens’ net in Game 6; 54 on goal, 23 were blocked and another 17 missed the net.
Ovechkin had eight on goal, four blocked and another two off target.
Semin had seven on goal, six blocked and missed with three.
Corvo: 10 on goal; three blocked.
At some point, they have to find the range, don’t they?
Halak can’t do what he did Monday night again, can he?
He’s stopped 90 of the last 92 shots he’s faced. He’s now 9-0-1 this season in games where’s placed 40 or more shots.
“We need goaltending, but (Monday night) was exceptional,” said Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri. “Sometimes a goalie makes 50-so saves in a game and it’s always a great effort, but (Monday night) it was one better than the next. He was so sound positionally, but he also made reaction-type saves. You can’t ask for more than that.
“It was beyond the call of duty.”
This will be the fourth-straight time the Caps will play a seventh game, having won once. If the Caps win, they'll face the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Habs win, they'll face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“We’re confident. We’ve been in this situation before,” said Caps defenceman Mike Green. “It’s a matter of rising to the occasion now.”
They must first find a way to get by Halak.
“He’s been great the last couple of games, there’s no disputing that. But every day is a different day,” said Boudreau. “We’ve all seen goalies play great then play bad...a lot of baseball analogies, but as a Yankees fan, I’ve seen Andy Pettite throw an awful lot of bad games last year and then in the playoffs, he goes 3-0.
“Who knows what they’re feeling that particular day?”
