ECF Game 5 - Habs stay alive with 7-4 win over Rangers, finally get penalized for playing like phonies
Facing elimination, the Canadiens played like the Canadiens en route to a 7-4 win over the Rangers in Game 5 at the Bell Centre.
Delaying death: Habs win Game 5 to stay alive vs the Rangers (I know, disappointing) (via ESPN.com) |
Let the record show forever and ever this glorious piece of bookkeeping on a part of the timekeepers in Montreal.
13:05 | Tomas Plekanec: 2 Minutes for Unsportsmanlike - Diving |
It must have killed them to write that in the official game log. Admission of defeat at the hands of the refs that had finally had enough of the Canadiens feigning high-stick penalties and hitting the deck after phantom contact from the opponent.
Those two minutes served by Tomas Plekanec for unsportsmanlike might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And the best part to it all? The Rangers scored on the ensuing power-play to the tie game up, leaving Plekanec to wonder if playing like a weasel is truly worth it in the end.
Oh, and yeah the game itself was pretty alright, with the Rangers battling back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game at 4-4, before Montreal surged back ahead to score the next three goals as they staved off elimination on home ice.
Some other points to note:
- John Moore will have a hearing after clocking Habs agitator Dale Weise in the neutral zone with a blindside hit, almost identical to the one Brandon Prust laid on Derek Stepan in Game 3.
- There were 61 penalties in minute, including Plekanec's glorious two minutes for diving and Moore's 10 minute match penalty.
- Rene Borque netted a hat-trick, and somehow has 8 goals in these playoffs, just one shy of matching his regular season total.