The Canadiens get few good chances, and even those had little chance.
By TOM JONES
Published April 24, 2004
TAMPA - "All in all, you're just another brick in the wall."
Over and over it plays inside the St. Pete Times Forum. First period, second period, third period. Again and again. Every time Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin makes a nifty kick or a snazzy glove save, the public address system cues up the Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall.
It has become a broken record.
And if Khabibulin keeps going as he has been, he'll break this record: most playoff shutouts in a season. He is more than halfway there.
The Lightning has played six games in these playoffs. It has won five. Khabibulin already has four shutouts, including Friday's 21-save performance against the Canadiens.
Only three goalies have had more shutouts in one postseason and all three went the Stanley Cup final. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur had seven in 2003 and won a Cup against Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who had five. Detroit's Dominik Hasek won a Cup with six shutouts in 2002.
Khabibulin has one more shutout than he did in the regular season, but Friday's shutout was more of the team variety.
"Habby obviously stole a few in the first series," Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle said. "He's obviously the key. He deserves a lot of the credit, but we did play well in front of him."
The Lightning played well in front of Khabibulin, around him, near him and, most of the night, far from him as it spent a good portion of the game in the Montreal end, outshooting the Canadiens 34-21. Only a handful of times did Khabibulin have to make a tough save. Most were easy or, at least, looked easy though Khabibulin was seeing his first game action in a week.
"I really didn't think about (that)," Khabibulin said. "I tried to handle the puck (early) and get in the game a little bit."
He did handle it early, but not often. He needed to make six saves in the first period then was able to relax once the Lightning grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second. Though no official records are kept, Khabibulin's teammates blocked dozens of Montreal shots and never let the Canadiens cultivate a flurry.
"The team played well in front of him, but he had to make some key saves early and he's done that throughout the playoffs," center Tim Taylor said. "We have a lot of confidence in him and he has a lot of confidence in our shot-blocking ability."
It's what Boyle calls a two-way street, and it was a busy thoroughfare Friday.
"We didn't give up much," Khabibulin said.
"And at the times we did break down, Nik was there," coach John Tortorella said.
Khabibulin slipped out the back door of the Lightning dressing room late Friday, avoiding most of the media. But he did talk to two reporters in a pleasant and quiet manner. He seems genuinely disinterested in drawing attention to himself even though he is the playoff MVP through two weeks.
But he is showing up somewhere: in the heads of opponents.
"You put pressure on the other team, especially the way he has played in the playoffs," Taylor said. "Maybe they'll start thinking a little more on their shots because they haven't beaten him. ... If you can do that and get a lead and then have them in their minds thinking, "Khabibulin is playing unbelievable,' I think that just works on their minds."
