A Look Back at Hockey in The 2010s: The Miraculous Jaroslav Halak Playoff Run

Currently as the backup on the Boston Bruins, Jaroslav Halak has had one interesting career. A lot of people don’t remember what he did in the 2010 playoffs for Montreal. He dragged the Habs kicking and screaming through the playoffs. Let’s talk about how he got there first.

Halak was drafted in the 9th round in the 2003 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens. You could say that he didn’t have many high hopes as a prospect, especially considering that the 9th round no longer exists. Halak then stayed in Slovakia for the 03–04 season. I’m not 100% sure, but I’m pretty certain that he also won a championship ring as a backup with his team that season, HC Slovan Bratislava.

After that season, Halak took his talents across the Atlantic to play in the QMJHL for the Lewiston Maineiacs in the 04–05 season. He would be the starter now, and after a solid season, Lewiston was in the playoffs. They swept the Shawinigan Cataractes in the 1st round, before falling to Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Océanic in the 2nd round in 4 games. Halak would remember this.

He was then sent to the ECHL for the 05–06 season, where he played for the Long Beach Ice Dogs. I know, weird name. Midway through the season, Halak was then called up to the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL, where he posted very impressive numbers. Because of those numbers, he would stay in the AHL for the 06–07 season.

This time, Halak got called up once again to the NHL. He would play 16 games for the Montreal Canadiens that season, playing pretty solid as a rookie. He had a 0.906 Save% with 10 wins for Montreal. In 07–08, Halak would play most of his season in Hamilton, but he did get 6 very good games in for the Canadiens as well.

The 08–09 season was Halaks breakout year. He spent the entire season in the NHL as Carey Prices backup. he still played 34 games for the club, with 18 wins and a 0.915 Save%. He had solidified himself as an NHL netminder, and he was about to enter the 09–10 season with a goal in mind.

Halak earned the respect of his head coach, Jacques Martin. Halak and Price split the starts 43 and 39 games respectively. A 0.924 Save% along with 26 wins gave him 10th place in Vezina Trophy voting that season. Pretty impressive for a netminder playing 40+ games for his 1st time. But this is only the start of the story, the 2010 playoffs is where he caught fire.

Halak ended up leading Montreal to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs. Who did they have to play? Just the president's trophy-winning, Alex Ovechkin led Washington Capitals. No problem, the Canadiens will just lose to them this year and come back as a higher seed next season with their younger players improving.

Wait, they won Game 1 in Washington? Halak made 45 saves and had a 0.957 Save%? Well, he’ll have to keep that up if Montreal wants a chance in this series. Halak let in 6 goals in his next game and got pulled mid-way through Game 3. Price started Game 4 and the Capitals took a 3–1 series lead. Seems like it’s gone back to normal. Halak’s being put back in net for Game 5, but it’s not gonna matter.

Oh? He saved 37 out of 38 in a 2–1 Canadiens win in Game 5? That’s pretty solid but he would have to do something like that again the next 2 games if they want a chance to win this. Let’s see how did he do in Game 6. He saved 53 shots. Out of 54. All in regulation. The Canadiens only had 22 shots that game. The Canadiens won. Ok, this guy is legit.

After that Game 6, Halak said, “I don’t know. I would say another day in the office. That’s what I would say.” Going into Game 7 Halak knew that he would need to play just as well for his team to win. The Canadiens had only 16 shots in Game 7. So you could say he needed to be outstanding. Well, he was. The Capitals had 42 shots. The Canadiens won 2–1. He was on that level of good.

Alright, so Montreal made it to the 2nd round, who’s awaiting them there? Only the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Surely Halak can’t do that again, right? He was pulled in Game 1 after he allowed 5 goals on just 20 shots. Halak stopped 38 of 39 in Game 2. Montreal won that game 3–1, tieing the series. Despite stopping 23 of 24 in Game 3, the Canadiens lost 2–0.

Halak was not letting Pittsburgh win this series. He remembered what Sid did to him in the QMJHL. He wanted to prove himself. So he did. In Game 4 he stopped 33 of 35 in a 3–2 Montreal victory. Halak saved 23 of 25 in Game 5, but it wasn’t enough. The Canadiens lost 2–1. Halak and the Canadiens backs were against the wall, and Halak was sick of his teammates letting him down. If you can call a 0.920 Save% letting his teammates down. He saved 34 of 37, which wasn’t much different. But he got help. The Canadiens won 4–3. It was time for Game 7.

39 Shots? No problem for Halak. He made 37 Saves. The Canadiens had 20 shots. 39 to 20. What team won? Of course, the Canadiens did. A meltdown from Marc-Andre Fleury, who saved 9 out of 13 before being pulled helped out, but it was still Halak. The Presidents Trophy Winners. The Stanley Cup Champions. Alexander Ovechkin. Evgeni Malkin. Sidney Crosby. It doesn’t matter to Halak. A 24-year-old Halak. He just wins anyway.

This would be the end of his fantastic run, however. The Canadiens went on to the Conference Finals against the 7th Seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens lost Game 1 6–0, and also lost Game 2 3–0. The Canadiens showed up in Montreal to win 5–1, but unfortunately, that was an outlier. 3–0 Philly win again in Game 4. They’ve come back from being down 3–1 before, so why not do it again? Well, they didn’t. A 4–2 loss in Philadelphia ended their season. Being shutout 3 times in 5 games certainly doesn't help, but Halak wasn’t the same in this series.

I truly imagine what could’ve happened without Halaks dominance in these playoffs. Another Ovi vs Sid 2nd round matchup. More than likely, a Chicago vs Washington or Pittsburgh Stanley Cup Final. A possible Pittsburgh against Philadelphia conference final. Halak singlehandedly took all of that away, but he left us with one hell of a story. A story that isn’t told as much as it should be.

The Canadiens then had a decision to make, and that was between 25-year-old Jaroslav Halak or 21-year-old Carey Price. They chose the latter, as Jaroslav Halak was dealt at his high point to St. Louis for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Not exactly a high point. He was an RFA, so he needed a new contract and St. Louis gave it to him.

Right then and there Halak’s tenure with the Canadiens ended, but at least it ended on a high note. If the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2010 we would be talking about that being the best playoff run by a goalie in the history of the NHL. But instead, his mere presence haunts Penguins and Capitals fans to this day.