Good Effort But No Victory-Caps 6, Habs 3

The Montreal Canadiens find themselves on the verge of elimination thanks to a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals in game 4 of their 1st round matchup. The Canadiens controlled the play for the first 2 periods, but found themselves in a 2-2 tie thanks to a Caps shorthanded goal with just 7 seconds to go in the period. They then added a pair of quick goals half way through the 3rd to take a 4-2 lead before scoring 2 empty net goals, with a Habs marker in between. Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Dominic Moore scored for the Canadiens who outshot the Caps 39-38, including 21-9 in the 2nd period alone. Carey Price got the call in goal for the Habs and made 32 saves. Seymon Varlamov was great at the other end making 36 saves and holding the Capitals in it through 2 periods. The Canadiens penalty kill finally allowed a goal in 5 Caps chances. The power play went 1/4 on the night, but as noted gave up a back breaking shorthanded goal for the 2nd game in a row. Some other observations:

>Hamrlik was the direct cause of the shorthanded goal tonight, as he was in game 3. I really don't know what's going on with him, he is usually one of the more reliable players on defence. Spacek missed the game with an injury and Ryan O'Byrne drew back in to take his spot.

>The forwards had a ton of chances, but just could not turn those chances into more goals. Sergei Kostitsyn was back in, with Darche in the pressbox.

>Price played well and really didn't have much of a chance on the Caps 4 goals they scored on him. The Caps again took advantage of the Canadiens mistakes.

Other than the errors, the Canadiens deserved to win this game. They outworked the Caps most of the night, but at the end of the day if you can't score on your chances and you make mistakes at key times, you won't win. Some fans might be upset, but you really can't say this team didn't leave it all on the ice tonight. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game goes to Glen Metropolit. Had an assist and a great shot block...all this from a guy that came back 3 weeks early from injury to play. Consideration also given to Cammalleri and Gionta. The Canadiens will now try to keep their season alive Friday night in Washington.