The frustrating thing is that it's not like anybody didn't see the Montreal game coming. All the media guys traveling with the team were harping on that last let down after beating the Oilers the first time and theres no way the coach wasn't speaking up about the same thing in the room.
It kind of falls on the top players/leaders for needing to ensure that they don't come out with a completely limp first period after that big game, yet still they had possibly one of their worst in the past couple seasons. And not even against a strong opponent - Habs were 8-10 going in at home! Truly ripe for the picking for any road team. But I think they gave them a ton of confidence in the first several minutes with the endless giveaways and they just carried the momentum from there.
The peaks and valleys have been rather extreme which is perplexing. Saturday was one of the most complete games from a 60 minute standpoint to getting contributions and consistent effort from everyone.
Maybe a letdown is inevitable but it just can't be that night and day from the last one. The top guys have to mitigate that a bit at least.
|