Call me a pessimist if you like, but I don't think the Montreal Canadiens are going to even up their series tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Sad, but true. I've been a Habs fan all my life, even when I lived in Toronto Maple Leaf territory (*shiver*), and I've been a season ticket holder for a handful of years. I used to have more time, so I'd go to 20-30 games a season, but this year I only went to 3 or 4 (the rest of the tickets were sold). Sadly, I think this year we won't see any miraculous first round victory by the Canadiens, they just don't seem to have the oomph required. In Sunday's game they only woke up in the 3rd period when suddenly they realized hockey was a contact sport. The Canes, in their defense, are a better team; they showed it in the regular season and they haven't collapsed (as I thought they might due to their inexperience and especially after those first two games with Gerber the Sieve.) But I blame the Habs for their current predicament, because unlike the New Jersey Devils, the Hurricanes are a beatable team. I still hold out hope, and I want the Habs to prove me wrong and win tonight, forcing a game 7, where all hockey fans know, "anything is possible." In the meantime here's what we need to see tonight:

• Hitting. Hitting. And more hitting. The defensemen are doing a decent job of hitting (particularly Dandenault and Bouillon) but the forwards are playing like pansies (minus Begin). Finish your freaking checks, this isn't Pee-Wee.
  
  
• Charge the net. Take a chapter out of Rod Brind'Amour's book and charge that goalie. Interfere a bit, stand in front, create some traffic. The Canes are mauling Huet and often, they're getting away with it. When did hockey become a polite game of chess? The Habs have to sacrifice, crash the net and put Cam Ward off his game.
  
  
• Show some emotion. This is the playoffs, not preseason. Where's the spirit? Where's the heart? Where's the sacrifice? I haven't seen much of it (again, except Dandenault, who deserves serious kudos even though he had a lacklustre season: his experience in Detroit is shining through.) No one is truly stepping up and putting their bodies on the line in a moment of desperation.

I could go on and on, but I won't. It's do or die, do or golf...and if these guys would rather be golfing than winning hockey games they don't deserve to wear the CH on their chests. Come on les boys! (Technorati Tags: montreal canadiens, habs, hockey, playoff hockey)