MONTREAL — Greatness isn’t what it once was.
In a 30-team league, in an era with so little separation between teams, stringing together anything approximating sustained success is worthy of distinction.
Consider what it would represent if Montreal was able to eliminate Ottawa with a victory on Friday night. That would give the Habs consecutive appearances beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1993.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: | Broadcast Schedule
Rogers GameCentre LIVE | Stanley Cup Playoffs Fantasy Hockey
New Sportsnet app: iTunes | Google Play
Put another way: It’s been quite a while since a long playoff run could safely be considered an annual rite of spring — here in Montreal, or anywhere else.
As Habs general manger Marc Bergevin noted on the eve of last year’s Eastern Conference final, a series his team eventually lost to the New York Rangers, “next year we start at zero.”
They have climbed a good portion of the way back up the ladder because Carey Price continues to be an all-world goaltender and P.K. Subban continues to dictate the terms of the game for large stretches and the supporting cast is strong enough to step into the spotlight from time to time.
There is also a general confidence that comes from having previously handled the unique swirl of emotions which pop up in these games, and in between these games. Having missed out on a chance to sweep the Senators with a 1-0 loss in Game 4, there wasn’t even the smallest hint of regret hanging over the Habs.
“Since I’ve been here, the core has kind of stayed the same,” feisty winger Brendan Gallagher said Thursday afternoon. “We’ve learned from each playoff experience that we’ve had. … Come this time of year, it’s so important to get any advantage that you can. I think we’re comfortable in the situation we’re in.”
The entire focus for the Senators is on trying to change that. A Game 5 victory is required at minimum — it would push Montreal one step closer to becoming the fifth team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead — but that alone won’t likely accomplish the task.
With Price in goal, there is never a reason for his teammates to panic.
Sportsnet Magazine: An all-access pass to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a behind-the-scenes look at Coach’s Corner and exclusive camera angles in Montreal. Download it right now on your iOS or Android device, free to Sportsnet ONE subscribers.
Remember that he played in five must-win games a year ago and allowed just two total goals against while picking up five victories. It’s a big reason why Team Canada came home from the Sochi Olympics with a gold medal and the Canadiens reached the third round of the playoffs (a run that fell short only after Price was injured).
Even as Montreal and Ottawa have matched one another pound for pound in this series — “The line is very thin,” noted Habs coach Michel Therrien — Price has made it appear as though his team always has the edge. It’s almost like an optical illusion.
“He’s so calm in the net and he’s tough to rattle,” said Senators forward Mark Stone. “He’s one of those guys you need to find second and third opportunities to bang in pucks.”
As a result, you are not likely to find a crisis of confidence around the Canadiens. Sure this team struggles to score, particularly on the power play, but at a time when goals are especially hard to come by that isn’t always the disadvantage you’d assume.
No matter what, the Habs know they employ the goalie who is least likely to crack in tight situations.
That, along with a core that’s been playoff conditioned the last few years, has instilled some belief. The biggest lesson they’ve learned from past playoff battles?
“Just understanding yourself as a player, and how you handle different situations, and how you can maybe better that,” said Gallagher. “And then there’s the ups and downs of the playoffs. After you win a game you feel like you’re unbelievable and after you lose you feel like you’ve got to make so many changes, but it’s the opposite. …
“It’s little mistakes, little bounces here or there, that make a difference.”
Hence Montreal’s plan to keep everything status quo heading into Game 5: No personnel shuffle, no revamped power-play structure, no bold new line-matching strategy.
The team will instead stick to the principles that have put them in position to advance to the NHL’s final eight once again. It’s where this group always expected to be.
“We’re a tight bunch,” Price said recently. “We have fun coming to the rink together, we enjoy playing hard for each other, we back each other up. Those are all great qualities in a team.”
We are still in the early days of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there seems to be a feeling of unpredictability governing the proceedings. There is no juggernaut out there; no seemingly unstoppable force.
It’s given a team like Montreal the chance to start dreaming of a special spring — at least for the few idle seconds here and there players will allow themselves to entertain those kind of thoughts.
“Oh yeah, of course,” said forward Alex Galchenyuk. “I think there’s no doubt in our mind about that. But it’s a tough question to answer because you focus on your series. You’re in the moment, you’re so zoned in and thinking what you can do to go to second round.”
Truth be told, making it that far would represent an accomplishment, although hockey’s most decorated franchise probably won’t view it that way.
