It's not just in the series between the Bruins and Habs, and a lot of the garbage occurring during the course of the games takes away from the great performances that we're witnessing.
Shawn Thornton's childlike behavior should be an embarrassment to league and more specifically the logo of the Boston Bruins. Getting caught up in the moment is no excuse and spraying PK Subban with water is only acceptable if they're 12-year-old kids running around on a hot summer's day with super soakers. Certainly it has no place in a professional hockey game.
And Thornton isn't the only guy acting like a clown. Milan Lucic's banging on the chest like a caveman or his flexing of the biceps like Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 1980 Mr Olympia is juvenile.
Obviously this isn't the reason the Canadiens aren't winning. But rest assured, even though Subban told us post game on Saturday that this stuff doesn't serve as "bulletin board material," if Game Six in front of the Bell Centre fans isn't enough of a motivator, the antics of Thornton and Lucic will be talked about before the puck drops.
"You back any animal into a corner and it's going to be desperate," said Carey Price.
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So why are the Canadiens no longer winning.
Well the answer is pretty simple. The Bruins have awoken and become the team that manhandled everyone in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. They can score in bunches and when momentum is on their side, they can come at you with many different looks and they're hard to stop.
But the Canadiens have gotten some pitiful performances out of too many guys.
Tomas Plekanec played his worse game since he claimed that he was "playing like a little girl," a few years back.
Max Pacioretty's scoring slide is unacceptable, there's no defending it. If your job is to score and you can't get it done when games matter the most, you're going to be called out.
David Desharnais, many people have said that when the games get difficult in the playoffs that he wouldn't be able to compete. He's currently proving those people right and might be single-handedly the one to blame for Pacioretty's slump.
Thomas Vanek has shifts where it looks like he's not even trying. Those back-check efforts are enough to have any coach pull out his hair. And we can see why there are so many question marks in regards to giving this guy a long term deal.
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The Slick Awards:
Inspiring performer: Martin St Louis
Goaltending God: Henrik Lundqvist
Meathead: Shawn Thornton
Disappearance act: Max Pacioretty
Rally around me: PK Subban
Crazy Comeback: Aroldis Chapman
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