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Jaroslav Halak drags Habs-Caps to Game 7

Washington Capitals v Montreal Canadiens - Game Three

MONTREAL- APRIL 19: Jaroslav Halak #41 of the Montreal Canadiens stops the puck on a backhand attempt by Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on April 19, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Richard Wolowicz

He might not have been able to keep his shutout going, but my guess is a lot of people know the name Jaroslav Halak right now. The Slovakian-born goalie put together a sensational 53-save effort, at one point making a glove save with enough flair that I jokingly called him “Roy-aslav Halak.” As I wondered earlier, the Capitals will indeed take part in their fourth consecutive 7-game series - all of them coming at “The Phone Booth” in DC, by the way.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Washington Capitals 1

Series tied at 3-3

While Halak wowed the hockey world, Semyon Varlamov allowed some tough-to-stomach goals. The Russian goalie allowed 3 goals on 21 shots but - to be fair - he did make some big saves when his team was still in the game. I haven’t heard many comments about a Jose Theodore-Varlamov Game 7 debate, but isn’t that the nature of this playoff beast?

In the last two games, Halak allowed only 2 goals on 90 shots. People mocked the Canadiens for starting Carey Price for a brief spell in this series (which seems amusing since the Capitals changed goalies, too), but maybe that lit a fire under Halak? Either way, he’s playing so well that people are wondering if he’s in the Capitals’ heads at the moment.

All I know is that with every dominant performance, Halak’s value as a restricted free agent rises higher and higher. More on the playoffs’ second guaranteed Game 7 soon ...