Carey Price was the best player on the ice for much of the evening and it still required overtime to get the Habs a Game 1 win against the Penguins after Jeff Petry scored in the extra frame to give Montreal the 3-2 victory.
If the forward group leans heavily in favour of the Penguins and the goaltending leans in favour of the Habs, the defensive matchup is a bit more even between the two clubs.
With the NHL looking for ways to come back this season, here’s a look at a quirky proposal that could check off many of the boxes required by the league to make a postseason that is fair, meaningful, difficult, and entertaining to the fans.
It was all Nashville for the first 40 minutes of play and only Carey Price kept it from being an embarrassing loss. When the playoff-hopeful Predators let up with a 4-0 lead, the kids on the Canadiens pushed back to make it interesting, but a game that was never really in doubt ended with a 4-2 win for Nashville on Tuesday night.
With most of the regular Laval lineup now in Montreal, what’s left of the Canadiens faced one of the league’s best in the Lightning. The result was therefore no surprise as Tampa Bay never really appeared threatened by the Habs as they breezed to a 4-0 victory
At some point, the coaching staff might be required to play some different players in their attempt to defend leads. Regardless, it was another blown lead for the Habs who just can’t seem to figure it out as they allowed five unanswered to lose 5-2 to the Rangers on Thursday night.
In a game that once again seemed like it was within reach, the Habs showed that nothing has changed after the trade deadline. They started strong, coughed up two leads and played not to lose, which they ultimately did by a 4-3 score to Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Another night, another disheartening loss for the Habs. The Habs held the lead for much of the game, but their recent trend of blowing leads in the third period once again showed its ugly face as the Red Wings stormed back after being down 3-1 to beat the Habs 4-3 in regulation on Tuesday night.
Following a disappointing loss to Arizona on Monday, the Habs weren’t able to get back on track on Wednesday night as they fell 4-1 to the Bruins while receiving some tough news on the injury front as well.
The Habs had their three-game win streak snapped on Monday night as the Coyotes completed a 55-minute comeback to beat the Habs 3-2 after the Habs scored twice in the first two minutes.