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Whoa, a couple of unlikely teams meet in the first round.

It's Carey Price vs. Future Carey

Both teams have young players looking to break out.

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I think these Habs can surprise when healthy, and they're healthy right now.

They look strong against the Pens, playing a solid team game, without a working powerplay and with Tatar/Drouin/Domi doing zilch.

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This is a bad draw for Montreal. Philly has been sneaky good. Habs probably wish it were the B's and the Fantomes Du Forum could carry them along. Habs may have previously surprised a veteran club that wasn't in form (Pitt) but I don't think that's going to happen here. I could see this one being quick but who knows. Either way the Habs are going to need a little help from those Ghosts.

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No AI has been used in the making of this post

Totally agree, the Habs would've been better off coming in as an underdog, but in this case they're facing quite simply the hottest team in the league since before the hiatus.

It'll be interesting to see how Price plays. I'd imagine he's not in the mood to get bested by the next great Canadian goalie.

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Price made one of the most impossible stick saves I've ever seen.

Suzuki and Kotkaniemi are beasts.

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Flyboys take the opener. Suzuki rang one off the crossbar. Argh, could've been a legend. Habs have some dead weight they need to drop before game two.

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Oh no...

https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2020 ... -canadiens

Sucks for CJ, wish him a speedy recovery. Can't mess around when it comes to your ticker.

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The Kirk Muller era is off to a fast start: Tatar and Kotkaniemi make it 2-0. Kk looks strong, basically whacked it in.

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Big game for Kotkaniemi, Domi, Mete, Tatar with Price and Weber shutting the door the other end.

The Habs absolutely dominant in game two.

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Not that one playoff win is some kinda of paradigm shift, but Wysh sarcastically pointed out that the Habs really don't need to require that their coaches speak French anymore.

Habs hitting a million posts, down a goal in game three.

Kotkaniemi is bashing everyone in sight. What a treat. Also, I hope Evans gets a real shot at being the 4th line centre next season. He's ready.

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Vigneault got the Flyboys to buckle down. Zero offence this game, although in reality, the Habs were a post away.

The Habs have only two productive forwards right now: Suzuki and Kk. I'd take a long hard look at extending any of the others. Time to build around the future.

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I really detest watching these teams that turtle like crazy having their efforts pay off.

Habs shutout in two straight games. Down 3-1 in the series. Vigneault has the Flyers playing like boring robots, Habs have no answer.

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The Habs offence comes alive! They take game 5.

Kotkaniemi got a game major for a bad hit, but Voracek and Couturier did way worse on Gallagher and Lehkonen and got no call. Chris Lee has been reffing the series and doing a Chris Lee kind of job.

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Gallagher was getting it from fans and media (and even Muller) after game 4, where he had his ice time cut after not producing all series. He looked motivated last night, so Muller was smart to light a fire under his heart and soul leader.

No question the Flyers are the more talented team overall, but when the Habs are on and their goalie is making saves, anything's possible. The Pens found that out.

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Flyers are getting absolutely NO production from their top scorers. They're winning right now based on defensive efforts and Carter Hart bailing their asses out. They're not playing like a team that deserves to be there even though they're one of the most talented teams in the league.

Whereas I've been heaping praise on Travis Green over in the VAN thread, I really haven't loved Vigneault's performance in ye olde bubble thus far. In the game last night he literally pulled Hart after a Suzuki goal (that admittedly wasn't great to give up) but then changed his mind when the team decided to issue an offside challenge (they won). He should have these guys dominating in aggressive fashion, especially with such an amazing young goalie, but he's opted to be ridiculously conservative and just choke the life out of the opposition. I haven't always like AV, but I've come to really admire his hockey acumen, the guy can be defensive but he can also deploy a brilliant offensive attack. Don't know why he's holding back so much with all the weapons he has at his disposal. Habs aren't as big, and if we're being honest, I'm not convinced they're all that much faster.

Credit to Jul...er...Muller and his boys so far, they're clicking on almost all cylinders, and Price has been really good (not perfect, but really good).

Contrary to what I said earlier, it was cheap shot legend Niskanen who busted Gallagher's face. Thanks for nothing, NHL. Vigneault said it was an accident because Gallagher is short. Fucker.

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Niskanen suspended a game.

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