Round 1 Recap

Habs Moving On

  As predicted earlier by Habs GM Remi Rainville, special teams and faceoffs would be the key to winning their round one series against the Florida Panthers.  Montreal was out shot 211-188.  Goal totals were similar, 21 for the Habs and 18 for the Panthers over the six game series.  The big difference was the power play.  The Panthers ended the series 2/26 while Montreal went 9/30.  The faceoff circle wasn't friendly to the Panthers either.  The Canadiens won 323 faceoffs compared to a mere 239 for Florida.  That's almost 100 faceoffs difference over 6 games.  The big surprise was the performance in net.  Mike Smith blew his season average out of the water with a 91.47% save percentage in the first round.

  Now the Habs have to face off against the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning for the second consecutive year.  The last experience wasn't a good one for Montreal with Tampa moping the floor with this team.  The Canadiens are all in this season and losing to Tampa would be unacceptable.  This is the moment of truth, the moment of reckoning for a team and a man who've done everything they can to make this team the best that it can be.  Will it be enough?