Halak in his natural state.
There has never been a goalie like Jaroslav Halak in the history of the National Hockey League. And For the record, I don’t think there’s been a single goaltender who can even call themselves a goalie without crediting Jaroslav Halak for their playing ability, their poise, or their skill. He stopped over 28 of Alexander Ovechkin’s 34 shots on net (29 to be exact). And I’m including the shots on Carey Price, because we all know Jaroslav Halak was on the ice in spirit, Halak was the reason why Price made those saves. Halak possesses the power of telepathy, and was communicating with Price the entire time he was on the bench after he’d been pulled or sat. Everyone knows that Carey Price is a slouch, and there’s nothing he could do without Jaroslav Halak. Quite frankly, the fact that I haven’t been able to work Jaroslav Halak’s name into this opening more is an outright embarrassment.
Nobody this year has been able to stop a shot from the the great #8. You can look it up yourself, he took 50 shots on goal, scored 50 times. The Capitals didn’t need to put traffic in front of the net, they had the best snipers the game had ever seen on the ice. They took shots on net that Halak could see from the tape to his glove every time, just daring him to stop it. And he did more often than not. Washington once again relied heavily on their individual skill rather than their creativity or teamwork in the post season. One moment that sticks out heavily in my mind is Mike Green bringing the puck out from around Varlamov, through the neutral zone, and past the blue line where he met some defenders wearing Habs jerseys, and decided to cross check one of them, drawing a penalty. He had ample time to pass to wide open men along the far boards and even around the faceoff circle, but chose to carry the team on his back and ended up taking an asinine penalty. Halak caused all of that.
Tonight’s game between the Pens and the Habs saw 2 scoreless opening periods. There were good chances on both sides leading into the third, but a carry-over holding penalty on Hal Gill allowed the Penguins power play to provide the difference in the game. Sergei Gonchar passed from the point down to the side boards where Evgeni Malkin was situated. Without stopping the puck to control it first, Malkin let loose a blistering slap shot that was truly one for the record books. This confused Halak, who had never seen such ungentlemanly play before in his illustrious career as the long-time Canadiens goaltender.
Relaxing in front of the net during tonight's game. (Photo courtesy NHL/Getty)
As Malkin was releasing a devilish slapper from the side boards, the Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was obscuring the vision of Mr. Halak, which more than likely assisted in the resulting goal. Frankly, it’s not my place to say, but I believe such unsportsmanlike play should be illegal. Who does Sidney Crosby think he is? How did the referees not call an obstruction penalty against Crosby for being so intrusive of Halak’s sight of the puck? In all my years as a sports fan, I have never seen such play celebrated, and frankly will not stand for it. The goal let every gust of wind out of the Canadiens sails, which they have been flying without blemish for in excess of 100 years. Who’s to say that their fans aren’t the greatest in the history of sport? They quietly voiced their distaste when a leading goal scorer was suspended after being assaulted by a referee in 1955, right? I think any other unruly fans would have done much more than hold a silent protest outside of the arena after the game. That’s how it happened, right?
After Malkin and the Penguins manufactured an outrageous goal, Marc-Andre Fleury had the audacity to make a number of outstanding saves on the other side of the ice. The Canadiens were eventually forced to remove their sensational veteran goaltender Halak in a failed attempt to find the back of the net. Pascal Dupuis really rubbed it in the face of the 197,000 fans in attendance at the Bell Centre by putting the puck into an unattended net, assuring a Penguins victory. The fact that he would not even give the Canadiens a sporting chance for a comeback in front of 250,000+ paying fans is absurdity beyond comprehension. I think that the entire Penguins organization, starting with their owner and rumored chauvinist Mario Lemieux should be investigated by the spotless NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. The Penguins 2-0 victory over the Habs should be a shameful black spot on the history of the NHL.