In a series featuring a pair of power plays drowning under the weight of enormous slumps, the unit that is least inefficient could produce a winner.
The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning combined to go 0-for-7 on their power play opportunities during Tampa Bay's 2-1 double overtime Game 1 win on Friday. The two units entered the game without a conversion in their last 17 and 19 consecutive opportunities, respectively. They finished the game on streaks of 20 and 23 and were just as frustrated as ever.
Offensive zone entries proved to be difficult for both sides—most likely the source of the struggles for both sides. Montreal maintained possession (completed at least one pass within the zone) following just five of 14 attempted tries, while Tampa Bay did so on only 10 of 20.
The three-man trap instituted just inside the defensive blue line seemed arguably impenetrable for both teams at times. Too often, the power play unit was forced to dump in the puck without any chasers entering the zone with a head of speed, or a single man attempted to cutely break in himself and experienced equally litt ...
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Article written by Mark Jones
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May 3rd, 2015 by Mark Jones Leave a reply »
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