The Montreal Canadiens shared one of the top headlines from the qualifying round as they played a significant role in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ demise, a result certainly aided by the Penguins’ own (in)actions as well. The committed defensive effort from the Habs was plain to see, with several of the team’s defencemen getting nightly praise for their efforts in containing the opposition’s offensive stars.
Now that Montreal is into the playoffs, their reward is a seven-game series with a team that plays a similar style. The Philadelphia Flyers were the class of the Eastern Conference Round Robin, putting in an impressive performance in the three games — or at least looking like the most interested team in a group of mostly listless clubs.