HABS NOT READY TO LEAVE BUBBLE
Canadiens put up spirited performance against Flyers in Game 5 and stay alive
Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet was really upset after his team was blown out 7-1 in Game 4 Monday as the Colorado Avalanche took a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven first round playoff series.
Tocchet described his team’s performance in Edmonton’s NHL bubble as a “total debacle.” The coach added that some of the Coyotes “looked like they haven’t even played before” and that “we were embarrassed.”
“I know everyone’s going to say that we have no chance in the next game, but I’m looking for some character from some guys,” added Tocchet, who was a fiery competitor as a player. “I saw some stuff that I didn’t like. But we have 36 hours to regain something.”
Thirty-six hours later, the Coyotes got pounded 7-1 again by the Avalanche in Game 5 and were eliminated. Also on Wednesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets were eliminated in Game 5 when they lost 5-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in OT and the Carolina Hurricanes were eliminated in Game 5 when they lost 2-1 to the Boston Bruins.
That brings us back to something else Tocchet had to say after the Coyotes were blown out in Game 4.
“This whole bubble thing ... it’s about who wants to stay,” Tocchet said. “You can tell who wants to stay and who wants to go home. For this game, it looked like we wanted to go home. We’ll see about the next game.”
The Coyotes definitely played like they wanted to go home in Game 5. The Blue Jackets and Hurricanes both put up a much better fight when facing elimination in Game 5, but they also get to leave the NHL bubble now and enjoy what’s left of the summer with their family and friends.
For some players that might be appealing during this COVID -19 pandemic — especially when you’re down 3-1 in a best-ofseven series, the odds of coming back are slim and summer is slipping away.
That brings us to the Canadiens, who obviously weren’t ready to go home while facing elimination in Game 5 of their series against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena. The Canadiens put on a real gutsy performance during a wild game to beat the Flyers 5-3 and force Game 6 on Friday (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).
“I think it’s something we addressed before the game,” Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry, who has a young family, said Thursday when asked about the possibility of leaving the bubble. “I don’t think there was anybody in our room that was ready to go home today with a loss last night and we proved that last night that we were going to fight and play our game until the end. We knew if we played our game, a solid game, we were going to live to fight another day. I think we have to have that same approach here for the game tomorrow.”
At this point, I wouldn’t bet against the Canadiens coming out with another gutsy performance — even without Brendan Gallagher, who is out for the rest of the series with a broken jaw suffered in Game 5.
The Canadiens didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs, but they’re making the most of this opportunity as the 24th seed. The Canadiens have older veteran players such as Carey Price and Shea Weber — both with young families — who already have more money than they could spend but are still missing a Stanley Cup ring. They have eight players who have played in their first NHL post-season game and this experience is something new and exciting for them. They also have players looking for new contracts down the road, including Max Domi, Xavier Ouellet and Victor Mete, who all can become restricted free agents after the season is over.
It’s a good mix to have in these bubble playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs are led by four young, rich stars with long-term contracts — Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander — who played like they were looking forward to heading to their Muskoka cottages when they were shut out 3-0 by the Blue Jackets and eliminated in Game 5 of their qualifying-round series.
Who’s bringing the beer and steaks?
This Canadiens team is nowhere near as talented as the Leafs, but they are displaying a big heart in this post-season, starting with their upset elimination of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round.
“Basically we came out ready to play,” Canadiens coach Kirk Muller said after the Game 5 win over the Flyers. “It’s do or die … we all know that. The effort was there right from the beginning, the focus was there. Those things you can control, there’s things you can’t. I just thought when situations happened tonight we just had a good bounce-back and we stayed focused on it.
“We’re playing a team that is playing hard and playing aggressive against us and you got to fight for all your space,” Muller added. “So I was just pleased with the all-out effort from every guy on the team. It was a team effort tonight, team win.” Yes, it was.
Life in the bubble isn’t over yet for the Canadiens and they seem very happy about it.
We knew if we played our game, a solid game, we were going to live to fight another day.