Unexpected Run Comes To An End-Flyers 4, Habs 2

The Montreal Canadiens miracle run finally came to an end with a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The loss gave the Flyers a 4-1 series win and sent them to the Stanley Cup final to face the Chicago Blackhawks who swept the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference final. The Habs Brian Gionta scored 59 seconds in to the game, but gave up that lead under 4 minutes later. The Flyers then scored a pair of goals in the 2nd period 1:24 apart that proved too much to overcome. Scott Gomez scored in the 3rd but the Habs could not put another one by Michael Leighton despite having several great chances. Philly then scored an empty net goal to put the final nail in the coffin. Gomez and Gionta both had a pair of points. Leighton finished the night with 25 saves while Jaroslav Halak made 22 stops in a losing effort. The story of this game, like has been most of the series, was the Canadiens inability to scored on the power play. They went 0/6 on the night, as did the Flyers. Some other thoughts:

>There were just too many guys who didn't score this series. Pleks, A. Kostistyn and Pouliot were all held goalless, while Gomez had his only goal tonight.

>As I discussed before, the power play was brutal. This is directly related to the Markov injury. He is the guy who makes things happen and any team that loses their #1 defenceman would have trouble scoring with the man advantage (glad you finally mentioned the injury with 5 minutes left in the game CBC).

>Halak was a star in these playoffs and made several huge saves tonight. His biggest error came in the 1st when he came out to play the puck when it appeared Hamrlik had the Flyers player under control. This resulted in a crash between the 2 Canadiens and a short handed marker for the Flyers.

Tough loss tonight but this years version of the Montreal Canadiens gave fans a lot to be proud of. It's obviously disappointing to come so close to the Cup final, only to ultimately fall short, but knocking off the Caps and Pens in thrilling 7 game series was amazing. Hopefully they can build on this for next year, avoid injuries, and go even further. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game goes to Scott Gomez tonight. Had 2 points and was the best player on the ice for the Habs. Consideration also given to Gionta and Gorges. Good job boys, it was a great run.