Halak, Canadiens return to form from Caps series

The Pittsburgh Penguins might have made things look easy in Game 1, but Game 2 left no doubt that these are the same Montreal Canadiens that took down an offensive powerhouse in the first round of this year’s playoffs.

In fact, Sunday's Game 2, a 3-1 Montreal victory, bore a marked resemblance to the Canadiens’ series-clinching Game 7 in Washington last week. Pittsburgh outshot Montreal, 39-21, but with the way the Habs were collapsing around goaltender Jaroslav Halak, the Penguins got fewer quality chances than they did on 24 shots in Game 1.

Halak himself rebounded from a subpar outing Friday to look once again like the netminder who led his team all the way back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Capitals, particularly in the second period, when Pittsburgh outshot Montreal, 18-3, but got outscored, 1-0.

And the Canadiens’ special teams came through, going 1-for-3 on the power play and shutting down all three of Pittsburgh’s chances with the man advantage – and this after the Penguins went a perfect 4-for-4 in Game 1.

“It wasn’t turning it around; if you look at the job they did in the first round, I think they were exceptional,” Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said of his team. “And the other night, give credit to Pittsburgh. They had good execution and we weren’t sharp. They took advantage of some of our mistakes, and they’re that kind of team.

“As much as Game 1 was dictated by special teams and goaltending, it was the reverse today,” Martin said. “We won the special teams, and our goaltending was a factor.”

The Penguins, meanwhile, got away from what they did so well with the man advantage in Game 1 – moving the puck well, confusing the penalty kill by changing up their shooting angles, screening Halak and putting shots on goal in hopes of cashing in on deflections and rebounds. In Game 2, Pittsburgh found itself instead passing the puck around the perimeter, failing to find shooting lanes or get players in the crease.

“I think the important part is to continue to try to get to our game, continue to play it and get better at it, and not to get frustrated with how they defend well around their goaltender and not being able to penetrate that at times,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “We need to keep working to execute and do things different ways to create the scoring opportunities that we need in order to get goals on this guy.”

Montreal got big efforts from two of its biggest offensive threats, with Mike Cammalleri netting two goals – he now leads the playoffs with eight – and Brian Gionta scoring one, while Pittsburgh’s stars struggled. Evgeni Malkin pulled the trigger a little too late on his opportunities and finished a minus-1 on the day, while captain Sidney Crosby had only one shot and was a minus-2. The two centers couldn’t even find a way to generate much when Bylsma changed things up by pairing them together.

Matt Cooke got the Penguins’ lone goal just 4:38 into the game, assisted by linemates Max Talbot and Pascal Dupuis. That third line brought some speed and energy but, with Talbot centering it in place of Jordan Staal, the scrappy forward was no longer an option on Malkin’s wing, where he has often been effective. Staal is out indefinitely – or, in hockey playoff lingo, day-to-day – after surgery on a lacerated tendon in his foot, sliced by the skate of Habs rookie PK Subban in Game 1.

Subban did an admirable job of stepping up in an increased role, necessitated by the absence of defenseman Andrei Markov, who’s also out indefinitely with what’s presumed to be a knee injury. The rookie logged 23:17 on the ice, including time on the power play and penalty kill, and contributed the primary assist on Cammalleri’s first goal.

Now, the series shifts to Montreal’s Bell Centre, where the Penguins will try to get back to what made them successful in Game 1, while the Habs look to continue to shut them down.

“We can’t get frustrated; we don’t have to go and reinvent the wheel,” Pittsburgh winger Bill Guerin said. “We have to believe in what we’re doing, and I think we gave ourselves a chance. We had a lot of zone time, we had a lot of quality shots and we had the power play opportunities, so there shouldn’t be frustration.

“I thought we played a good game, and Montreal did, too. That’s playoff hockey.”