Montreal Canadiens vs. Edmonton Oilers

Musings and In-Game Scribbles

My English is as good as yours, I just write these in a stream-of-consciousness mode that I insist excuses me from small things like rules of grammar or general etiquette. Let’s call it conversational English, hopped up on beans. You know what kind of beans (no, Carl Mellesmoen, not the magic ones).

Montreal Canadiens (33-29-6) host Edmonton Oilers (21-39-6)

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Game Sixty-Nine (score posted following scribbles)

Missed it? Musings capture the game in writing. Based on the RDS telecast, Musings take about 20 minutes to read. More detailed than an article, fresher than a looping highlight and good with morning coffee.

Devan Dubnyk and Jaroslav Halak are the keepers. Sure, why not. Tender. Minder. Keeper.

First Period

Kerry Fraser and Dean Morton are the refs.

They uselessly play the hockey night in Canada theme over the PA system. We know where we are.

Gomez wins the faceoff. Pouliot and Gionta are with him.

Dubnyk gaffles around with the puck behind his net and a slot pass goes dangerously across the ice. No harm done and the Oilers move it out and a whistle follows soon afterward.

Gomez line stays on the ice and the centreman gets a light shot on Dubnyk’s right. Oilers exit. Whistle soon after.

Off the faceoff, the Canadiens exit quickly. Markov up for Andrei Kostitsyn. Down the left. Passes. Plekanec. High slot. Keeps. Shoots. Scores.

Montreal 1, Edmonton 0

Brunet agrees with Houde that Kostitsyn’s pass was a very good one. They comment on AK’s good work in recent games. It’s a bit generous as he only started skating with some urgency last game (Tuesday).

Oilers respond quickly. Three-on-two. Shot from Halak’s right. Nilsson. High over Halak’s left shoulder. Robert Nilsson.

Edmonton 1, Montreal 1

Tom Gilbert and Zack Stortini are on for the ensuing faceoff.

Darche line for Montreal. Dump-in by Montreal is followed by another line change; Gomez line.

Oilers squirt free to the slot and a shot is repelled. Not sure how.

Montreal responds with a short possession but in losing the puck, Benoit Pouliot takes Brule down and is called for hooking. Edmonton goes to the powerplay.

Plekanec and Moen are the first kill pair and Gorges and Gill are underneath.

Gagne gets it in the phone booth area and shoots high. Sam Gagne. High over Halak’s left shoulder. But from the opposite side.

Edmonton 2, Montreal 1

Quick shot of Price on the bench and he’s wearing a white Habs ball-cap. He’s caught in mid-expression. One of disdain. Who knows.

Houde and Brunet remark on the significant changes to the Oilers’ roster from last season. They add that Shawn Horcoff is enduring a tough season.

Oilers are out for something. Montreal matches the intensity

Markov sends a medium pass into the neutral zone. Action stays on the periphery for minutes.

Nilsson enters down the middle and then wheels back to send a puck to the corner for Stortini. Canadiens exit.

Gorges retrieves it behind his net.

Lines change for both teams.

Gomez enters on the right. Tries a high shot. Stopped.

Canadiens keep shooting. And they score.

Montreal 2, Edmonton 2

Some technical problems occur with my Dell. I resume with just under eight minutes left in the first.

Faceoff is outside the Montreal zone.

Gomez line is on again. Markov and O’Byrne are the defence pairing.

Failed move-out results in an arrested Edmonton entry.

Gilbert up for Menard on the right side. Gill and Menard jostle for the puck behind the net. Gill finally wins after six seconds of stretched synch.

On the other end Darche is continuing his good board work from last game. Whistle.

Commercial.

The Canadiens are running a telethon for their foundation and we see several shots of the call-takers throughout the first period. There are several civilians wearing green t-shirts and Guy Lafleur. He’s also garbed in green. Irish green.

Andrei Kostitsyn is back to his January self; we see a replay of the Belarusian forward backchecking with vigour. He gets back to cover an open winger on an Oiler rush. Right at the doorstep.

Now Halak makes a left pad save and holds it for the faceoff.

Moen is on. Puck is in the neutral zone and is moved in on the right side. Sergei Kostitsyn is there for Montreal. Canadiens keep it in control for about five seconds along the boards before the Oilers push them out. Canadiens are back in and Dubnyk stops a mild shot and holds it for a faceoff.

Canadiens win the faceoff. To the blue. Spacek. Shot. Rebound. Nope.

Canadiens regroup. Pyatt carries it out. He has it in the corner. Turns and sends a puck to the slot. No sticks reply.

In the neutral zone. Canadiens recover it. Send it in for a line change. But the puck is long and called for two-lines. Three lines? Shot from Montreal ice, anyway.

We see a shot of Pierre Gauthier and Kevin Lowe. Lowe is animatedly disagreeing with the Canadiens GM. Are they discussing the recent controversy regarding head shots?

Now Edmonton’s Tom Gilbert is called for interference. Deep in Oiler territory.

Faceoff is to Dubnyk’s right.

Plekanec line starts.

Markov is mobile and loose.

Advances down the left. To Kostitsyn in the slot. Missed.

Markov has it again. Same area. Another slot pass. No.

Andrei waits in the doorstep. Markov tries him yet again.

Two guys in front for Montreal. The power-play looks very convincing tonight. Somehow they are better. Markov is a big reason. When he moves, few can predict him. Great understanding of space. Uh, and time?

Canadiens control for the first ninety seconds.

With fifteen seconds left the puck hops over Markov’s stick.

Now Gionta enters and shoots for seven. Dubnyk’s flash-pad stops a sure goal. Right pad. Mid-slot wrister.

Canadiens and Oilers shot nine times each.

First Intermission
Edmonton 2, Montreal 2

Pizza pops. Yeah. That’s what we need.

A La Une. Crete opens with “oh boy ….. oh BOY”. They share a chuckle. Gagnon discusses the Oiler situation. We see a list of seven players and some fat salaries. Souray is at 5.5. Wow. Actually did not know that. More than Ales Hemsky at 4.4.

Edmonton has missed the playoffs since appearing in the final in 05-06 against Carolina (a series in which they outperformed the red team). No playoffs since then? Really. I didn’t know that either. Gagnon discusses other teams that missed the playoffs for long periods following a finals appearance (the 49-50 Rangers and 92-93 Kings are included).

What would Mordecai say about all these stupid car commercials, I wonder.

Edmonton’s top point-getter is Dustin Penner. At 48 points in 64 games, this is well below expectations. However, the Oilers have suffered more man-games lost to injury than any other team this season. Montreal gave them a run in the winter but Edmonton’s last place standing in the league is reflective of their ongoing bleak fortune.

Crete is joined by Marc Denis and Joel Bouchard.

Bouchard discusses the Canadiens lack of good defensive play and coordination. He says this is not the Montreal brand and that we can expect different in the second period.

Nobody cares to discuss the Edmonton on-ice issues from the first. I see a good level of intensity. Teams are motivated in Bell Central (uh, other teams) and the Oilers are no different.

Chantale Macabe interviews Yvan Cournoyer in the foundation phone area. He’s in a suit; no green t-shirt for him. Yvan looks as 1983 as a man can look. He hasn’t aged, either. It’s the suit.

Chantale says she will let the former captain return to the telephones. So, is he taking calls? Or is he fulfilling some other role?

Renaud interviews Brian Gionta. Lavoie effects a “we’re friends here” demeanour. Lavoie mentions that Gionta’s wife is helping with the telethon tonight. Gionta says that helping with children is a cause that both he and his wife believe in. Lavoie translates for us and we get another shot of the phone answering crew.

Lafleur is in his green shirt but another ex-Hab is in a drab brown suit. Lafleur is a team player. Everywhere. C’est notre gar. Pour toujours.

Second Period
Montreal 2, Edmonton 2

Oil win the faceoff.

Both teams are skating with purpose and poise. No let-up. Sam Gagner leads a rush himself. A la Le Demon Blond, he flies past a teammate, another and another. Fires it into the corner and chases it himself. No shot results.

Andrei K moves down the right side and brakes at the circle. Looks to pass. Oilers have it covered.

Sergei is on with Moore now. They get a six second possession on the under-circle to Dubnyk’s left.

Scramble. Dubnyk can’t get it. Puck squeaks out to the side.

Backhand by Moore. Dubnyk gets it this time.

Brunet chuckles slightly as he discusses Dubnyk’s struggles. It’s a sympathetic chuckle.

Now Halak has to stop Stortini. Mild shot off a big rebound from a side-shot. Whistle.

For a moment, Metropolit looks like Koivu in the dot. Then he hunkers into position and wins the faceoff. It’s Metropolit.

And it’s Metropolit in the corner looking for Darche in the slot. Pass doings away. And Darche is dumped like grocery. He gets up looking for a whistle but none occurs.

Edmonton rush is smartly intercepted by Markov standing there like a pinwheel hydrant. Quick pass up. Shot. Dubnyk stops it.

Edmonton sends the puck down to facilitate a line change.

Pace is increasing.

Lots of puck carrying and less passing than I expected.

Plekanec is sent in alone. Accelerates to the space. Looks left, switches to his right and the puck goes over the net. Or Dubnyk got it.

Moore line is on now.

They chase the puck. All of em. It’s in the Edmonton zone. Moore has it down low. Works up on his backhand on the boards to Dubnyk’s right. Turns it over. Just gives it away. He is too careless with the puck.

Metropolit line follows. Canadiens are carrying the play. Markov up again. All the way behind the net. Turns. Keeps. Shoots, finally. Dubnyk handles the sharp angle shot.

Gomez line jumps on.

Stortini exits down the right side. His shot is wide.

Exit and re-entry for the Oilers.

Finally Hamrlik recovers in the left corner. Gomez has it now. Accelerates to top speed down the left. Drop pass. Shot. Puck goes out of play.

Replay shows that Plekanec’ breakaway shot went off the crossbar. His earlier goal was his twentieth goal of the season. It’s his fourth twenty-goal season.

Plekanec is in on an angle and mis-balanced in that waiter-orange-juice way of his. Breakfast and a squirt of Windex. Kostitsyn gets the puck from him and floats around and loses the disc.

Now the Canadiens are called for too many men on the ice. It’s been a few games coming, I’d say. Too sloppy. Legit call. They count it out for us.

Oilers power-play.

Seeing the Oilers playing on an ice surface with the yellow band makes me nostalgic. I watched more than my share of Oiler games through the eighties. I liked em against the Islanders but, believe it or not, supported the Flyers in 85 and 87.

Canadiens are breathing liquids. Moore mostly. They keep the puck from Edmonton and then do more. They dominate. Crowd rises in response. Finally the Oilers end all that and establish in Montreal ice.

But not for long.

About three seconds. And now the penalty comes to an end.

Maxwell and Metropolit are on again.

Gorges bumps it along the boards and is upended an instant later by Edmonton forward Ryan Potulny.

Action moves to the Edmonton end and a whistle goes after four seconds of white-board triangles and doubt. Edmonton’s Theo Peckham is going to sit his angles-defying self in the box. The rectangular box.

Holding. Peckham is a big fella; six-two and 223 pounds.

Edmonton gets an early clear.

Gomez line is on the first wave. Markov and Hamrlik are on the blue line. Markov is on the right side.

They move it around. To the high hash where Gomez’ cross-ice pass bounces off an Edmonton stick.

Oilers clear it and the puck goes out.

Crowd reacts. They think it is a delay of game. Quinn is indicating it hit the glass or bench area first (which would neutralize a delay-of-game call). Houde chuckles and says that Quinn had good position on it. No penalty.

Canadiens win the faceoff. Pouliot line. Puck is cleared.

Gorges beats his man on the boards in the corner. Puck is moved into the Edmonton zone. And it is out just as quickly.

Next sequence sees Andrei K shoot a puck high. Another clear.

Canadiens get in for one last possession. A high shot from Plekanec makes Dubnyk jerk like a marionette; right shoulder, biscuit and stick pop high. And we hear the clatter on the glass.

Another whistle.

Marc-Andre (Bergeron; injured Montreal defenceman) is chewing on something up in les gradins. He is still hurt.

We resume.

Shot. Catarangs back and Dubnyk is spooked again. Two Oilers are there and make short work of it.

Sergei swerves in. Left. Right. Waits. Fakes the shot. Passes. Clever. Moen misses it. Moore misses it. Moen misses it. Now Moen gets it. How did it fail to go in the first three times?

Montreal 3, Edmonton 2

Sergei stays on the ice. Habs win it. Sergei is down the left and around the net. Holding it and now trying a wrap-around. That’s not his thing and he loses the puck. But his efforts lead to a holding call against Peckham. Peckham is shaking his head with little conviction in the penalty box.

Quinn chews his gum like a bitter gasoline salesman.

Pouliot, AK and Plekanec are on. Pouliot has it at the top of a circle. Long pass to the side. Off. Puck is pushed out. Brunet makes a comment regarding looking for the perfect play.

RE-entry.

On the sides. Puck moves around the pentagonal. Finally a shot. Dubnyk has it. Faceoff is to his left.

Canadiens win it. Gomez line is on.

Quick passing and a lot of movement from the forwards.

Shot is wide.

Gomez has it at the point.

Metropolit misses a puck on the side; open net. Oy.

Penalty ends but the Canadiens have the Oilers chasing and stay ahead of them.

Finally the Oilers clear it and Ryan Whitney is shown limping off the ice.

Strudwick is beaten for the puck by Moen.

Moore continues and elaborates on the possession . On the side. Backhand control. Back to the defence. Pass. No sticks.

Edmonton’s Dustin Penner line is on.

Oilers get some control. But they are moved out quickly.

Brunet says that we are seeing typical Western Conference hockey and that all that matters is that Montreal needs to simply win. Nothing fancy tonight, he adds, just stick with it and win.

Uh. Hmm.

Montreal leads on shots 18-14.

Second Intermission
Montreal 3, Edmonton 2

Marc Denis says that the Canadiens need the “brothers K” to be on their game tonight and both he and Joel Bouchard agree that Andrei is playing a more complete game tonight. We see some highlights including the chase-down that, according to Bouchard, prevented a sure goal. Fair enough.

Chantale interviews Mike Cammalleri. She asks him about the Breakfast Club (for kids) he participated in a few weeks ago. Cammalleri presents well. He has a new haircut and a grey charcoal-speckled suit.

Cammalleri gives us some authenticity and builds on the good will he has generated thus far. Macabe asks him when he’ll be coming back and he responds that he doesn’t know yet.

And PJ Stock will be on Ante-Chambre ce soir. Been a few episodes.

Third Period
Montreal 3, Edmonton 2

Pierre Houde is wearing one of those white-collar shirts. Where the rest of the shirt is some other pattern or colour. Are those coming back? Or does he just take really good care of his clothes?

Quick whistle following the opening faceoff. And another. Nothing heavy.

Third faceoff is just outside the Montreal blue line.

Oilers enter.

Penner is on the side of the net. Shoots. Jams. Stays there. Forces it in.

Halak’s pad got pushed back. Grinder goal. Ugly. Low-skill. Just shove til it gets in. Whoop-de-do.

Edmonton 3, Montreal 3

Oilers get called in their own zone. Sam Gagne. High stick.

Accidental.

Gomez line is the first wave.

Canadiens get the early control. Metropolit tries a quick put-in from the side. Dubnyk is ready.

Oilers move it out. Horcoff.

Markov is hooked accidentally by Horcoff. They’re calling it.

Horcoff says that Markov exaggerated.

Can’t see it from that angle.

Horcoff demonstrates what happened to Gagner. Horcoff and Gagner are in full agreement in the penalty box. Gagner nods and gets that smug we’re-Canadian-we-know-everything expression.

Canadiens take three shots. All are wide.

Clear after clear. Unimpressive shot selection.

Brunet says that he is convinced that with the velocity on these shots, that if they were just able to put them on net, they would beat Dubnyk.

Just over four minutes elapsed.

Brule comes in now. Creates a one-on-none and Halak gets across. Great save. Left to right, sprawled but springy.

Moen pushes it into the corner and chases it. But he can’t come up with it. Canadiens line change is brutal. Moen stands like a mummy at the boards and can barely get over. Slow as a corpse.

Edmonton won’t go away.

But here comes Gomez down the right side. Accelerates. Fourth gear. Fires. Dubnyk stops it from an angle and then falls backward. Looked exaggerated.

Puck leaves the Edmonton zone.

Horcoff and Strudwick are working it. Horcoff shows one of the reasons he is having a bad season. As the puck leaves the Montreal zone, he shows the least effort and uses the end of his shift as an excuse.

Pyatt, AK and Plekanec are on.

Kostitsyn has it in front of Halak. Leaves it for a defenceman and heads to the bench. Whistle soon after. Montreal for icing.

Faceoff is to Halak’s left.

Edmonton wins it.

Cogliano flits about looking for an opening in the high slot.

Canadiens exit.

Sergei. In the corner. Beats two Oilers. Labours to the low slot.

Sergei shoots it high. Scores.

Montreal 4, Edmonton 3

Sergei stays on the ice with his linemates.

He has it on the left. Sends it along the boards for Moore under the end line. Sergei leaves the ice.

Puck goes to the Montreal end. They break out. Two on nearly three. Gomez carrying. They can’t make it work.

Edmonton moves out. Horcoff crosses the blue line. Winds up. Beats Halak. From over forty feet. Good shot.

Edmonton 4, Montreal 4

Brunet says it’s an entertaining game and chortles.

Pyatt moves it in. Stick and skate and turnover.

Nilsson sends in a diagonal dump-in. Moen moves it out for Montreal. And now Markov has to retrieve it.

Markov is on a mission tonight. Is he gearing up for the playoffs?

Penner gets in now. Deke. Beats Halak. Hits the post. Penalty. Second chance. Stopped.

Commercial but a view of some green shirts first.

Markov is called for hooking. Legit, legit, legit. Aren’t they all. Hey, almost. Good season from the refs continues.

Ice is repaired in Halak’s crease. Just a puck-on.

Oil win the faceoff.

Gilbert sends into the slot from the blue line. It’s intercepted and cleared.

Back in Montreal ice. On, about, along, over.

Penner passes along the boards next. And it goes out of play.

Houde says that Moen knows the Western Conference style as he played in that Conference for a number of years. He was on with Plekanec. Moore and Sergei are the next kill pairing. Thirty seconds left. Moore is positionally sound. He gets up high like Higgins sometimes used to. And the old Plekanec.

Canadiens kill the two. Minutes.

Long pass for Markov misses.

Five-on-five. Edmonton continues. Momentum from the penalty. Lasts about eight seconds.

Just six and a half minutes.

Long pass by Montreal misses everyone. Icing.

Houde says that Montreal is in survival mode all of the sudden.

Plekanec wins the faceoff to Halak’s right.

Strudwick has it inside his blue line. Up. Cogliano. Shoots from the side. Halak compresses it against the post and holds it there.

Darche gets 81% of the votes to the RDS poll “Which Hamilton call-up has impressed you the most this season”. Next highest is about 9%. Darche is my answer as well.

Five and a half minutes.

O’Byrne goes into the corner and falls. Marc Pouliot falls a moment later and the puck is out.

Now Moore is chasing it behind the Edmonton net. Three under the end line.

Edmonton’s motion is marvelous. They are circling and finding spaces in the Montreal secondary. Well, what else is it?

Gionta line is on now. Canadiens are looking for the go-ahead score. Again, they are tied with or behind an opponent they believe themselves to be superior to.

O’Byrne retrieves the puck. Canadiens are controlling time of possession over the past two shifts. Finally Pyatt dumps it in for Stortini to retrieve. Pyatt leaves. Stortini drops the puck for Gagner and a whistle goes soon afterward; long pass gone awry.

Faceoff is to Dubnyk’s right.

Moore versus Gagner. Moore wins it. To the point. Shot. Moore has it. Dubnyk is out of position. But so is Moore. Moore just takes the bad-angle shot.

Entry by Gomez, Pouliot and Gionta. A question mark pattern and a pass. Pouliot can’t get anything on it.

Just over a minute left in the game.

Montreal mistake. Results in a deep three-on-two.

Now Andrei K is taken down. It goes uncalled. Bush league no-call. But plenty of old-world smugness behind it, I’m sure.

Now they call too many men. Against Edmonton.

Quinn says “[do something to] me”.

Just over ten seconds. Metropolit and Gionta are on. They move the puck into the corner. Pass does come to the slot in time. But nobody can get tape to rubber.

Siren goes.

Oilers led 10-7 on shots in the third. Montreal has 25-24, overall.

Overtime
Edmonton 4, Montreal 4

Power-play is a four-on-three. Overtime is four-on-four, normally.

Horcoff and Gomez are on first. Tom Gilbert is on for Edmonton on defence. Gionta and Markov are also on for Montreal.

Montreal gets the early push.

Gomez on the point. Plekanec under him. Gilbert interrupts all this and clears it.

Gomez re-enters.

To the point for Markov. He leaves it for Gomez. Down low. Back to Gomez. Pass goes just wide. Gomez is on the point. Gionta across from him.

Passes are moving. Now a shot from the opposite point.

Gionta hits an Oiler. Whistle. It was Strudwick and he didn’t like it. Infantile. Checking is part of the game. Nothing more. As Gainey said a while back, he’s noticed that today’s player is less willing to take a check.

Takes it personally. But, hey, the same ones love dishing out the death-dealing cripplers. Let’s see how they do when they’re in their nineties.

Gionta stays on the ice for a long time. Oilers kill the penalty.

Metropolit line hops on for a faceoff to Dubnyk’s right.

Just under three minutes. Metropolit loses the faceoff but the Canadiens keep the puck from leaving on the blue line. Metropolit falls chasing the puck. Oilers push it out.

Canadiens retrieve.

Pouliot has it on the left. Keeps it going behind the net and then loses it. Turns and slows the Oiler but can’t create a turnover.

Neutral zone snow swirl.

Canadians re-enter.

Penalty.

Against Edmonton.

Brunet says that Pat Quinn is not happy. When are these traditionalists leaving? J’ai hate. He swears at the referee and calls him something that a Murray, a Ruff, a Clouston, a Trotz or a Babcock wouldn’t.

What a winner. Oh, did I spell that right?

Gomez paired with Gionta. Plekanec, too. Markov is the defenceman.

Oilers get the early clear.

Markov. Up for Gomez. They set up.

Who’s going to set up? Who’s going to be the finisher? No matter.

Oilers move out. Horcoff. Breakaway.

Halak closes the five-hole.

Plekanec is called for slashing.

Markov is talking with Gorges and Moore at the bench area. Moore knows everything.

We resume.

Faceoff is to Halak’s left. Won by Montreal.

Gorges is out. Right side. Little long to the slot for Moore.

Moore is signaling while defending (wants someone to hop on). Markov has it. They scramble.

Moore is another word for nerve.

Oilers are controlling.

Canadiens let the Oilers look better than they are for half a shift. Shot goes out of play as the siren goes.

Shootout
Montreal 4, Edmonton 4

Penalties should have an effect on the shootout. How about this; if you’re penalized, the clock goes into bonus time til the penalty is over?

We see a review of Edmonton and Montreal’s shootout record this season. Edmonton is 6-4 and Montreal is 6-2.

Pierre Gauthier looks on. He needs a sandwich.

Potulny is the Oilers’ first shooter. Got a look at the sheet.

Canadiens shoot first. Plekanec. Crowd cheers him.

Je suis un peut nerveux.

Plekanec is in over the blue. Right left. Shot. Five-hole. Stopped. Wrister.

Potulny. Former Flyer, says Houde. Shows good moves and speed. And Halak looked beaten but got his skate over.

Gomez.

Chewing his cud.

He goes. Over the blue.

Move. Shot. Very close to Dubnyk. Nothin’. Another five-hole.

Horcoff. Hesitates. Fakes. Gorgeous. But Halak stops it. Looking behind him all the while.

Gionta. With the “A”.

Gionta tries the deke. Right. Left. Backhand. Goes off Gionta’s stick.

Brule.

Shoots. Post. Halak was beaten. Whoof.

We go to one and ones.

Pouliot. French. I mean number 57.

Tries a deke. Five-hole. Another stop. Pouliot looked slow-mo. Crowd was chanting his name. As for no other. God. Fifty, fifty, fifty, fifty. Just be glad.

Nilsson. Beats Halak. But he can’t get it high. Butterfly low save.

Andrei Kostitsyn. I get an electric feeling.

No mistake. Deke. Up high. Scores.

Droight de replique. Brunet remarks on Andrei’s quick hands.

Sam Gagner. Deke. Appears to beat Halak. Misses the net. Hmmm.

Canadiens win. Feels rather like a loss.

Montreal 5
Edmonton 4 SO

HDS Stars: Andrei Markov, Robert Nilsson, Andrei Kostitsyn
RDS Stars: Sergei Kostitsyn, Shawn Horcoff, Andrei Markov

Related posts:

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals (Game Five)
2. Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals (Game Three)
3. Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
4. Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins
5. Montreal Canadiens versus Florida Panthers
6. Montreal Canadiens vs Ottawa Senators