Weird Cbc Article

[les_glorieux]

Hurting Habs host Carolina

Playing through pain, injury and fatigue is par for the course during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just ask the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens pulled off a 6-5 double overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final.

Game 3 is Wednesday at Montreal's Bell Centre (CBC, 7 p.m. EDT).

Already playing without top checking forward Steve Begin (knee injury), Montreal lost veteran defenceman Sheldon Souray in the first period of Monday's contest to what the team said was a lower-body contusion.

The loss of Souray meant the Canadiens had to play the rest of the way with just five defencemen, a tough task at the best of times against a talented Hurricanes club, but even rougher when the game goes an extra two periods.

"I think everybody was having some fatigue at the end of the game, especially our [defence]," said Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet. "Our [defence] played very simple, they didn't join the rush so much and we played tight. That's a big change, and we were on our heels a few times because of that."

Without Souray – who typically logs upwards of 22 minutes per game – head coach Bob Gainey was forced to put the bulk of time on the shoulders of Andrei Markov, Craig Rivet and Francis Bouillon.

Markov, who battled back problems late in the regular season, played just over 38 minutes, Rivet played 34 and Bouillon logged 33 minutes. It was just Bouillon's third game back after missing 15 contests with a sprained ankle.

Mike Komisarek and Mathieu Dandenault played 27 minutes a piece.

"The longer the game went, the tougher it was for us," Dandenault said.

Gainey was mum if Souray, who went to the dressing room after blocking a shot, would be back in the Habs' lineup for Game 3.

"He was possibly coming back in [Monday] night, but didn't really feel like it," said Gainey after Tuesday's skate. "He feels better today, so we'll see [Wednesday]."

Souray's unexpected injury and Gainey's decision to dress just six defencemen against Carolina didn't just exhaust the five remaining blue-liners, the fatigue rippled through the rest of the squad.

Huet, a relatively unknown goalie before Montreal acquired him in the off-season, played the bulk of the Canadiens games down the stretch of the regular season and faced 89 shots over two playoff games so far.

Exhaustion became a factor for Huet during the second and third periods of Monday's game. The native of France had problems keeping his position and seemed to tire as the game progressed. On several chances by the Hurricanes, Huet was seen going down on the ice early – a textbook sign of fatigue among goaltenders.

Not helping matters was the Habs' lack of composure. Montreal's undisciplined play in the second period – perhaps due to fatigue – led to seven penalties that allowed Carolina to score four unanswered goals.

The grind of Game 2, combined with the travel from North Carolina, could be a factor in Game 3 against the Hurricanes, a talent-laden, speedy club, which has yet to play to its full potential.

Carolina, seeded second in the Eastern Conference, dominated the Canadiens during the regular season, outscoring them 25-9 in winning all four meetings. But all four of those victories came against former Habs netminder Jose Theodore, now with Colorado.

While solving Huet is a top priority for the Hurricanes, so is keeping pucks out of their own net.

Carolina coach Peter Laviolette has yet to name his starter for Wednesday's contest. No. 1 netminder Martin Gerber has struggled in this series and was pulled in Game 2 after giving up three first-period goals on only 13 shots.

Rookie Cam Ward was terrific in relief, making 20 saves to bail out Carolina and send the game to overtime.

Game 4 of the series goes Friday night in Montreal (CBC, 7 p.m. EDT).

With files from Canadian Press

[blaze53]

Thanks for the info loll

take it easy

[fromage]

Now we're hurtin'

[kaos]

Montreals no hurting, they're ######ed up....

Poor Koivu. JUst bad luck. Guys never going to be healthy.

[Makh2o]

Has there been any update on the Begin injury?

[mclusky]

Injuries and non-calls, I'll be 27 going on 72 if this series keeps it up.