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Habs complete rally to oust Caps
Source: Agencies |
April 30, 2010, Friday
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STANLEY Cup favorites the Washington Capitals fell at the first playoff hurdle on Wednesday after another inspired display by Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak gave the Canadiens a shock victory in their Game 7 decider.
"No one gave us a chance but here we are," Halak told reporters after the 2-1 victory over the top seeds at the Verizon Center in Washington.
The Slovakian made 41 saves as the Canadiens became the first eighth seed to win a series after falling behind 1-3.
"After we were trailing 1-3 we said we have nothing to lose and we came out game by game," Halak said. "Now we're going to the second round."
The Canadiens are the ninth No. 8-seeded team to knock off a No. 1 in 32 matchups since the National Hockey League went to its current playoff format in 1994.
Montreal will face Sidney Crosby and the defending Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting tomorrow.
All three division champions in the East are out already: Washington, the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres.
Halak had to be at his brilliant best to repel wave after wave of attacks by the Capitals, who set a franchise record with 54 regular-season wins and boasted the league's top offense.
The Slovak made 37 stops in the Game 5 win and 53 in Game 6 to lead his team back from the brink but the Caps, led by two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin, were still expected to close out the series on home ice.
The Canadiens, however, took the lead when Marc-Andre Bergeron converted a slap shot with 30 seconds left in the first period.
After a scoreless second, Dominic Moore extended the advantage with a snap shot at 16:24 into the final period.
Washington's Brooks Laich got his team to within one with 2:16 left but the Capitals, who had a man-advantage after a Montreal penalty with 1:44 remaining, were unable to find a way past Halak.
Montreal allowed more goals than it scored this season and only qualified for the playoffs on the final weekend, sneaking in with the worst record of any of the 16 teams in the postseason.
"No one gave us a chance but here we are," Halak told reporters after the 2-1 victory over the top seeds at the Verizon Center in Washington.
The Slovakian made 41 saves as the Canadiens became the first eighth seed to win a series after falling behind 1-3.
"After we were trailing 1-3 we said we have nothing to lose and we came out game by game," Halak said. "Now we're going to the second round."
The Canadiens are the ninth No. 8-seeded team to knock off a No. 1 in 32 matchups since the National Hockey League went to its current playoff format in 1994.
Montreal will face Sidney Crosby and the defending Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting tomorrow.
All three division champions in the East are out already: Washington, the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres.
Halak had to be at his brilliant best to repel wave after wave of attacks by the Capitals, who set a franchise record with 54 regular-season wins and boasted the league's top offense.
The Slovak made 37 stops in the Game 5 win and 53 in Game 6 to lead his team back from the brink but the Caps, led by two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin, were still expected to close out the series on home ice.
The Canadiens, however, took the lead when Marc-Andre Bergeron converted a slap shot with 30 seconds left in the first period.
After a scoreless second, Dominic Moore extended the advantage with a snap shot at 16:24 into the final period.
Washington's Brooks Laich got his team to within one with 2:16 left but the Capitals, who had a man-advantage after a Montreal penalty with 1:44 remaining, were unable to find a way past Halak.
Montreal allowed more goals than it scored this season and only qualified for the playoffs on the final weekend, sneaking in with the worst record of any of the 16 teams in the postseason.
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