Jaroslav Halak Stealing The Show

jaroslav-halakThe Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jaorlsav Halak has bettors scratching their heads in the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs. Halak almost single handedly knocked off the number one seeded Washington Capitals and superstar Alexander Ovechkin in round one. Round two has Halak’s Montreal Canadiens up against Canadian Hero Sidney Crosby and the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As far as matchups go, the Penguins are the heavy favorites to win this series, but all of that seems to be changing because of Halak’s play. After getting dusted in game one, Halak has bounced back in the series and is stopping every puck he remotely has a chance on. He’s been able to Sidney Crosby off the goal sheet and after stealing Game 4, Halak and the Montreal Canadiens have been able to claw their way back to tie the series at two games a piece.

It’s called being in the zone. Being in the zone is comparable to when a gambler rides a hot streak at the tables. I would even compare it to those times when a stud has it going with the ladies. Some guys are fairly consistent in picking up the fine beauties, but then there are those streaky basterds that get on those hot streaks where as soon as they say hello the girl starts to undress. Halak is in the same unstoppable zone. He’s stopping pucks he can’t even see and stopping shots that he has no business keeping out of the net, and he’s doing in style.

You would expect the headline to be about Sidney Crosby stealing the show, but this series has been all about Halak. The biggest question for bettors is how long can this last? How long can Halak continue to defy the odds and steal games? Can Halak really stand on his head long enough for the Montreal Canadiens to upset the Penguins and win the series? Well, a man in the zone is an unexplainable phenomena. A hot streak defies logic and who can really tell how long it will last, that’s the tough part for bettors, you either ride it till the wheels fall off or bet against it.

The thing is, hot goaltenders have stolen the show in the past and taken their teams all the way to the Stanley Cup. In fact, there’s a Montreal hall of fame goalie that stole the show all the way to hoisting a Stanley Cup. His name is Patrick Roy and he did it as a rookie. Can Halak bring back that Hab netkeeping magic?

I’ll tell you right now, I’m betting against it. I bet against Sidney Crosby before and I promised myself I’d never do it again. Halak may be hot right now, but I’ll take my chances with the Canadian kid.