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Habs need to take advantage of home ice

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Amazingly, the Monteal Canadiens haven’t played all that well at home in front of their enthusiastic home crowd, something that will certain have to change if the Habs hope to avoid slipping into another 3-1 series deficit.

For some reason the Candiens have yet to take advantage of the energy generated by their home crowd, winning just once in their last eight playoff games at home and using a much more conservative approach on home ice than they do on the road. It’s odd to see such a flip flop, especially when you consider how electric the Bell Centre atmosphere can get.

From Pat Hickey, Habs playoffs spokesman Tomas Plekanec agrees that something needs to change.

“With the crowd we have behind us, we definitely should make it be our advantage,” Plekanec said. “I remember from previous years, we haven’t been able to take advantage of that. It seems on the road we’re defending the lead and playing strong defensively and we’re able to score on the rush and on the power play. Maybe we play a different game at home.”

The Canadiens seem to be happy with their effort in Game 3, despite playing a very conservative game that resulted in just 18 shots and no goals. It was a close game until the latter stages, but at some point the Habs will have to start taking risks with their attacks on the Penguins. Jordan Staal is likely to return tonight, giving the Penguins more depth at center and despite how well the Habs have held back Sidney Crosby, they’ll need to do more to keep the rest of the team in check.