The Montreal Canadiens lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a quick exit from the Stanley Cup Final. To the credit of the Lightning, they’re a deep, well-coached, experienced team, arguably the best put together in the modern salary cap era.
This, however, doesn’t mean the Canadiens should hang their heads in shame. They defied the odds all playoffs long to reach the Final, then ran into a buzzsaw that few teams could have hoped to match. Carey Price shouldered a mammoth task to help carry his team into the ultimate series.