Parity is the Message

Isles snap Montreal's winning ways at five, winning 4-3 in OT
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Parity.

You've heard of that word, right?

For the last few seasons it's been one of the catch phrases for the NHL. The league has parity.

Huh?

What that means is that any team, no matter their record, can come out and beat another team on any given night -- or afternoon for that matter.

The L.A. Kings are the poster boys for NHL parity. After all, they barely made the playoffs in 2012, got on a roll and walked away with the big trophy.

Carey Price makes a save, but couldn't hold off the storm in a 4-3 OT loss to the New York Islanders. AP

So let it be a lesson to your 2013 Montreal Canadiens, that no matter the score or the team they face, that if they let their guard down, they can be defeated.

And that's what happened in last night's OT loss to the Brooklyn Long Island New York Islanders 4-3.

Your 2013 Montreal Canadiens came out flying and took it to the Isles, at one point running up a 14-3 shot differential and 2-0 score.

Then like a shock from the paddles to a heart patient, a bad penalty by Lars Eller gave the Isles life near the end of the period. And when they scored on that powerplay to start the second period, you could almost see the Canadiens letting this one slip away, even when they went ahead 3-1 on Max Pacioretty's second goal of the game.

Yes, parity. Hey the Isles have some good players... Matt Moulson (love that guy) potted two and wunderkind John Tavares made a terrific play from his stomach in OT to set up the winning goal by Isles dman Thomas Hickey. And Evgeni Nabokov made some big saves when he had to.

But this really shouldn't have been close.

Success can sometimes breed complacency, and that's a dangerous thing in the NHL. A sense of urgency, keeping the pedal to the metal, blah blah blah -- your 2013 Montreal Canadiens must never let go no matter what's the score or how many wins they've won.

Things are getting very tight with the Senators, Bruins and Leafs all winning.

So only time will tell whether your 2013 Montreal Canadiens will take this one and turn it into a positive like they seemed to do with the drubbing they got from the Maple Leafs the other week and start a new winning streak. They'll have their chance to do so on Saturday night against a New York Rangers team who'll be looking for some revenge from the other night. Should be a good one.

PARITY! 

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