After being dominated in the first period, the Habs spent the rest of Saturday night shooting into the shin pads of Flames’ blockers while running into a wall in Jacob Markstrom when they were able to get to the net and they lost 2-0 as a result.
Thursday’s rematch against Vancouver was quite entertaining for the first 25 minutes, and then the Habs took over in a big way. They were led by the Jesperi Kotkaniemi line for the second night in a row as Tyler Toffoli has looked like a 50-goal scorer so far in Vancouver; he picked up two more goals in a 7-3 win.
In a game where defensive responsibilities were checked at the door, Tyler Toffoli finally hit the mark as he notched a hat trick but unfortunately for the Habs, it wasn’t quite enough on Wednesday night as they fell 6-5 to Vancouver in a shootout.
For the second straight game, the Habs kept Edmonton’s top scorers at bay, received top-notch goaltending, and won the special teams battle as they beat the Oilers 3-1 on Monday night.
Carey Price made key saves, the Habs controlled the even-strength play, and then dominated the special teams. That’s the formula for many wins, and that’s just what the Habs did on Saturday night as they opened up their Western Canada trip with a decisive 5-1 win over Edmonton.
In an exciting season-opener, the Habs showed some offensive muscle proving that Marc Bergevin’s statement that the Habs can play any style was quite true. They faced the offensively capable Maple Leafs so despite the fact that Montreal was likely the better team, Toronto stuck around long enough to squeak out the win as the Habs were dropped 5-4 in overtime.
Tuesday afternoon was a game where the Habs looked like the 24th place team. They couldn’t adjust to a team that shut things down and the result was a second consecutive shutout that gives the Flyers the chance to end the series in only 24 hours.
The Habs showed up for their coach as they dominated the Flyers for an entire 60 minutes in Game 2. They picked up five goals along the way while Carey Price recorded the shutout to even up the series at a game apiece.
It took until late in the third period for the scoring to be opened but Artturi Lehkonen’s first goal of the series was the difference maker as the Habs eliminated Pittsburgh with a 2-0 victory on Friday.
It was another gigantic night on Monday for Carey Price, only this time he didn’t get quite enough support as he Habs lost 3-1 to Pittsburgh to even their Qualifying Round series at one apiece.