A Tale of Two Cities

“IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES…IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES”…
CHARLES DICKENS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A HOCKEY WRITER…
BECAUSE THE MONTREAL CANADIANS AND THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS ARE INDEED…“A TALE OF TWO CITIES”…
THE CANADIANS WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE…
AFTER ALL…THE HABS STUMBLED INTO THE PLAYOFFS…LOSING THEIR LAST 3 GAMES AND 8 OF THEIR LAST 11…
THEY FINISHED IN 8TH PLACE IN THE EAST…JUST 1 POINT AHEAD OF THE NEW YORK RANGERS…AND 8 GAMES UNDER .500…
IN THE MEANTIME THE CANUCKS RAN AWAY WITH THE NORTH WEST DIVISION…
WON MORE HOME GAMES THAN ANY OTHER TEAM IN THE NHL…
AND HENRIK SEDIN TOOK HOME THE ART ROSS TROPHY…
YET IT WAS MONTREAL…THAT UPSET BOTH WASHINGTON AND PITTSBURGH…
THE SAME CAPITALS THAT WON THE PRESIDENTS TROPHY…
AND THE SAME PENGUINS THAT WERE THE DEFENDING STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS…
IN A SINGLE MONTH…MONTREAL GENERAL MANAGER BOB GAINEY HAS BECOME A GENIUS…
AND VANCOUVER GENERAL MANAGER MIKE GILLIS CAN NOT GET A TABLE AT MCDONALDS…
IT ALL MAY SEEM LIKE MADNESS…UNTIL YOU REMEMBER THE “GOLDEN RULE” OF PLAYOFF HOCKEY…
GOALTENDING IS EVERYTHING!!!
SIMPLY COMPARE THE NUMBERS BETWEEN JAROSLAV HALAK AND ROBERTO LUONGO…
HALAK’S GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE IS 2.42…
LUONGO’S WAS 3.23…
SO FAR IN THESE PLAYOFFS…HALAK HAS ALREADY FACED 450 SHOTS…96 OF THEM CAME IN GAMES 6 AND 7 AGAINST WASHINGTON…
THE HABS WON BOTH…AS HALAK GAVE UP A TOTAL OF JUST 2 GOALS…
AFTER 2 ROUNDS…THE CANADAINS HAVE BEEN OUT SHOT IN 12 OF 14 GAMES…
AND THAT INCLUDES GAME 7 LASTNIGHT IN PITTSBURGH…WHERE THE NUMBERS WERE…39-20…
COMPARE THAT TO THE 17 GOALS LUONGO SURRENDERED IN 3 HOME GAMES AGAINST THE HAWKS…
INCLUDING THE ONE TO BRENT SEABROOK…18 SECONDS INTO GAME 4…
FOR THE RECORD…HALAK MADE $800 THOUSAND THIS SEASON…
LUONGO WAS PAID $7.5 MILLION…
WHEN IT COMES THE 2010 NHL PLAYOFFS…MONTREAL AND VANCOUVER ARE CERTAINLY A TALE OF TWO CITIES…
BUT THEY ARE ALSO A TALE OF TWO GOALTENDERS…