Cole Caufield had a delayed start to his playoffs but he has quickly become a fixture in Montreal’s top six. Along the way, he may very well be the biggest wildcard if the Habs are going to have success in the third round.
The Habs were the better team for most of Monday’s Game 4 which was surprising given the fact that the Jets had their season on the line. Montreal let up enough in the second for Winnipeg to get back in the game, but the Suzuki-Caufield overtime magic was just too irresistible as they found an open Toffoli to end the series with a 3-2 victory, sending the Habs to a final-four appearance.
The Habs got another early lead and didn’t look back. Joel Armia had a pair of shorthanded tallies as special teams played a big role on Sunday night as Montreal skated away with a 5-1 victory, extending their series lead on Winnipeg to 3-0.
The Habs needed a win to start the week to keep their season alive. Then, for good measure, they picked up the first two against Winnipeg, starting off the North Division Final on a high note while giving them their first five-game win streak since late 2017.
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.
After the Habs were victorious over the Maple Leafs to start the postseason, the team quickly moved on to the second round of the playoffs two nights later. Our latest podcast looks back at the end of the Toronto series and the start of the Winnipeg one.
After stumbling to end the regular season, May saw the Canadiens pull off the unlikely and storm back to beat the Leafs in seven games so there plenty of heroes to choose the three stars from this month.
Following being hit in the final minute of Wednesday’s victory over Winnipeg, the Canadiens announced on Thursday that Jake Evans has indeed suffered a concussion and is listed as out indefinitely.
It was a full team, complete-game effort that gave the Habs a 5-3 win in Game 1 against Winnipeg. That needs to remain the focus after a disgusting end to the game that should mean the end of Mark Scheifele for most of the series if not the rest of it.
The second round begins tonight as the Habs and Jets are set to do battle. Our writers offer up their analysis and predictions on whether Montreal can make it to the semi-finals.