Can the Montréal Canadiens win another crucial Game 7 on the road against a heralded NHL star? In the first round, the Canadiens came from behind to beat Washington. Now, Montréal goes back to Pittsburgh for another Game 7.
The Canadiens held on in its own building, edging the Penguins 4-3 at the Bell Centre. Michael Cammalleri scored the first two goals on his first two shots. Versus played up the loss of Montréal defenseman Hal Gill, and Gill's loss was prominent in Pittsburgh's first goal by Sidney Crosby.
Rare to find one Jaroslav on television, but Montréal had two: Jaroslav Halak in goal and Gill's replacement, Jaroslav Spacek, who also added a goal.
Cammalleri leads the NHL playoffs in goals with 11.
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The starting time for Game 7 on Wednesday is officially listed at 7 pm. The NHL likely figured either of the Eastern Conference series would end on Monday night. Boston-Philadelphia is set for Wednesday at 8 pm Eastern. Versus will carry Montréal-Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, and will join the Bruins-Flyers in progress.
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Versus returned to Montréal in a better mood toward being in the bilingual city. There was the same shots of Montréal — screaming fans in the beginning, the skyline shot, and the same restaurant scene we saw before in Games 3 and 4.
The announcers got more into the story of Montréal's underdog run. Even Darren Eliot went "Wow."
One of the top points to showing a game in Montréal is showing off the exuberance of the fans. The fans have shown they are more knowledgeable than fans in Phoenix and Nashville. They boo Sidney Crosby when he touches the puck. They know when penalties should have been called, which makes them smarter than the Versus announcers.
The fans had many moments, but the reaction surrounding Cammalleri's second goal midway through the second period displays why Canadians love hockey. The fans were standing and cheering in the break that followed after Cammalleri tied the game at 2. Versus showed the crowd standing, cheering, and waving the white towels of support.
"None of this was urged on by a scoreboard or anything electronic ... That kind of cheering continued through the whole break. Spine-tingling just to listen to it." — Doc Emrick, Versus play-by-play.
Would be nice if Montréal advances, and by a miracle, the French Canadian city gets exposure on NBC.
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Just a minor thought: there were reports that the Chicago Blackhawks had packed enough clothes to stay on the West Coast to go to San Jose after the Vancouver game on Tuesday. After losing Game 5, why would you want to give your opponent a point to put on the bulletin board.
The beautiful thing is that the Stanley Cup Playoffs prove that it isn't over until it's over. Montréal and Philadelphia are proving this at the moment.
This isn't to say Chicago won't win. But the Hawks shouldn't make things more difficult for themselves.
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