In the Habs’ Room: Shutting down Matthews and Marner was key to series victory
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“I hope everyone realizes how important Phil (Danault) is and how good of a series he had,” says Brendan Gallagher.
Author of the article:
Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette 
Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews (34) and Mitch Marner (16) shake hands with Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) and forward Corey Perry (94) after the Canadiens beat the Leafs 3-1 in game seven of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Monday, May 31, 2021. Photo by Dan Hamilton /USA TODAY Sports Article content
One of the great traditions in playoff hockey is the exchange of handshakes after the final game of a series and, as the TV cameras recorded the moment after the Canadiens’ series-clinching 3-1 win Monday, you couldn’t miss Auston Matthews as he paused to exchange words of congratulations with Phil Danault and Carey Price.
The Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 deficit to the win the best-of-seven North Division semifinal in seven games and Danault and Price played the key roles in thwarting Matthews and his linemate Mitch Marner.
Matthews came into the series as the NHL’s top goal-scorer but he managed only one goal in the series and he failed to earn a point in four of the seven games. As for Marner, he’s more of a playmaker but he collected only four assists and hasn’t scored a goal in his last 18 playoff games.
“I hope everyone realizes how important Phil is and how good of a series he had,” said Brendan Gallagher. “I talked about Matthews and Marner and how difficult they are to play against, Phil had that matchup in the series. We’ve got Pricey back there and we’ve got (Jeff Petry, Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson) going up against them, but Phil is equally as big in that. I know he realizes, and I hope everyone else does, just how important he was to us in the series.”
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Price was at his best in the three games in which his team faced elimination, but it was no surprise when he deflected attention from himself.
“This was our best game this season as a team,” Price said after he stopped 29 shots. He finished the series with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
“I don’t know if there was a particular turning point in this series,” said Gallagher, who opened the scoring early in the second period. “We just hung on. We came here for Game 5 knowing we had to win a game and we had a great start, and that helps. As soon as we went home, playing in front of the crowd, you could see a little extra jump in us and, coming here tonight. it was almost easier being on the road. We were able to settle our game and it helps when you score the the first goal.
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“We just had to find a way to find a way to make one more play than they did,” said Gallagher.
The Canadiens won’t have time to savour the victory. They flew to Winnipeg after Monday’s win and will start the best-of-seven division final against the Jets Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). The Jets haven’t played since they completed a sweep of the Edmonton Oilers on May 24, which means they will either be well-rested or stale.
Head coach Dominique Ducharme, who probably left the interim tag in his title behind wth the series win, proved to be prescient when he said Sunday that the Canadiens were going to Toronto on their way to Winnipeg.
“We need to appreciate this moment,” said Ducharme. “We’ll have a day in Winnipeg to rest and prepare. It can go either way. We have momentum, but we’re playing against a team that is well-rested. There’s an advantage and a disadvantage to that. We’ll prepare for Wednesday’s game, but enjoy this moment as well.”
While Toronto is still under a serious lockdown, the Leafs received permission to invite 550 front-line workers to the game. In addition to free admission, the Leafs gave every one of their guests a team sweater.
phickey@postmedia.com
twitter.com/zababes1
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