Montreal Canadiens Need To Come Out Strong In Game Six
By Jared Book
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Montreal Canadiens have had a chance to win four of their five games so far in their series against the Boston Bruins. Despite that, they are facing elimination heading into Game six at the Bell Centre tonight.
The key for everyone right now is to forget about the first five games of the series and look at it this way. If the Canadiens don’t come out to a great start, you need to question their leadership. You can pretend to be desperate, but nothing works as well as really having your back against the wall.
There are rumblings at some roster changes for tonight’s game, and after the performance on Saturday, that isn’t really a surprise. Rumblings have Nathan Beaulieu and Daniel Briere in for Douglas Murray and Travis Moen. That would be a welcome sight for most every Canadiens fan but nothing has been officially unveiled from under the cloak of secrecy that surrounds the playoffs.
The Beaulieu for Murray switch is one that kills two birds with one stone. It adds more speed to the backend which should help against Boston’s third line that has carved Murray up and it also adds another proven puck moving defenceman who can get the puck forward. It also gets the Canadiens another option for the second power play unit that isn’t Josh Gorges or Alexei Emelin.
It would be a smart move – better late than never – but the order in which players left the ice today could be just a chance to mess with reporters and Bruins coach Claude Julien.
The Canadiens have not been out classed of any game this postseason before Saturday, and with the home crowd in Game 6 tonight have a chance to turn the series around and get back momentum for a Game 7 where anything could happen.
One thing is for sure. If the Canadiens do not play well tonight, they have no reason to look at what could have been through the series first four games. They need a great game tonight and anything less could – and probably would – end their season.