In this, the most dramatic of Habs summers in recent memory, one thing is for certain: the team will be starting the 2021-22 NHL season without Shea Weber, its longtime captain and a rock, err, man mountain, on the first pair of its defence corps.
The Habs came out flat in both the first and second periods on Friday night, hardly a good recipe for success. Those early goals came back to haunt them as they fell 6-3 and now trail Tampa Bay 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Habs weren’t able to hold onto a pair of one-goal leads on Thursday night but it didn’t matter as Artturi Lehkonen scored early in overtime to give Montreal the 3-2 victory, win the Clarence Campbell Bowl, and send them to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Habs put forth a much more complete effort in Game 4 on Sunday night. However, it wasn’t enough as Vegas turned the tables with a 2-1 overtime victory, squaring up the series at two games apiece.
The Habs hardly put their best foot forward in regulation on Friday night but some heroics from Carey Price and a late gaffe from Marc-Andre Fleury sent the game to overtime. Montreal was much better in the extra frame and skated away with a crucial 3-2 victory.
The Habs led the league in shorthanded goals during the regular season and picked up another one on Friday as Tyler Toffoli’s tally was the only goal of the game, sending Montreal back home with a 2-0 series lead.
The Habs got off to a strong start in front of fans for the first time but it took until the third to open up the scoring. Two power play goals were erased by Toronto with the game going to overtime where Montreal was once again victorious with Jesperi Kotkaniemi picking up the winner to force Game 7 on Monday.
The Habs looked to come out of Toronto with both games to start their playoff series. However, despite an early goal, they weren’t able to generate much after that, ultimately falling 5-1 on Saturday night.