2010 NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh Penguins' Keys To Defeating the Montreal Canadiens

The eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens made a statement that resonated loud and clear in their dramatic upset of the top-seeded Washington Capitals.

Do not underestimate us.

I admit it, I was among the many who saw the Capitals/Canadiens match-up at the start of the playoffs, and gave the Canadiens five, definitely no more than six games, before the Caps would take the series.

While many people could fairly argue that the Caps were the overall "better team," this series exposed precisely what the Caps were doing wrong against the Canadiens, ultimately leading to their shortened playoff life.

Comments from Caps' head coach Bruce Boudreau and captain Alex Ovechkin illustrate that overconfidence, and underestimating the Canadiens definitely had a hand in this, among many other details.

We already know that the upset definitely won't boost the Pens' confidence, so here's what the team needs to keep in mind if they want to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals:

1. Put a body on the Canadiens

I cannot emphasize this enough because I think if the Caps did just that, they would be facing Philadelphia instead of the golf course.

Here's the deal: the Canadiens are a small team. The Caps, on the other, are plentiful in size but seem to not know how to use it to their advantage.

If the Pens hit them like they do when they're playing their game, then the Canadiens will turn over the puck and eventually tire out.

The fact of the matter is that no one can beat the Pens when they are playing their aggressive forecheck game. There is far too much talent on the team that when paired with their working system, they are unstoppable.

If the Pens dictate and dominate the physicality of the game, the series is theirs. This takes me to my next point:

2. Don't play a clean game

I have a feeling that this series will depend on which team can get nitty-gritty the fastest.

If you look at the Caps/Canadiens series, you could see that one of the most successful lines on the Caps was their grinder line because they were able to maintain puck possession in the offensive zone.

How?

They got in the corners and clogged up the crease.

The Pens' third line—Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke, and Tyler Kennedy (or Pascal Dupuis)—need to answer this call along with Max Talbot, Craig Adams, and Mike Rupp.

Causing chaos in Montreal's zone will allow messy plays, and messy plays can lead to messy goals...and my next point:

3. Depend on the messy goals

Jaroslav Halak has demonstrated that he is as close to a brick wall as a human can get. How will the Pens be able to solve him when the heavily offensive Caps could not?

Again, invade that crease and score the messy goal, the one that comes off a rebound or deflection.

The only time the puck was going past Halak was when the Caps were doing just that.

I would advise the Pens to not get too patient with the puck because Halak can, and he will, stay with any puck he can see.

This doesn't mean they have to be hasty and listen to the crowd when they yell "Shoot!" anytime someone enters the offensive zone.

Get those shots toward the net if the shot can get there, and players need to really sacrifice the body in order to put one in. They have a better chance scoring that way than getting that perfect shot that will be countered with a perfect glove save.

4. Keep up the power play success

No kidding, right? This shouldn't even be on the list because it's so obvious.

However, the Pens need to keep in mind that the Caps went 1-for-33 on the power play and that definitely built the confidence of the Canadiens.

Throughout the season, the Pens managed to get away with a weak power play because they have so much offensive talent, but it doesn't look like that will work against the Canadiens.

Make the Canadiens pay for their mistakes and don't let them think for a second they can do to the Pens what they did to the Caps. The Canadiens' confidence is high right now (and rightfully so), and it cannot get any higher with a good penalty kill.

5. Better transition game

This is not geared toward the Canadiens specifically, but rather something I noticed in the Ottawa series.

The Pens have been slow getting the puck out of their zone. If it does make it out of the zone, many times, it ended up on the stick of an Ottawa player. For this, I point to the defense.

They need to get that transition game going. The speed is there up front; it just needs to start from the back with good outlet passes that aren't turned over at the blue line.

This series would have seemed pretty bland if this was Round One, but after watching what transcribed between the Caps and Canadiens, I think we're in for another interesting series.

The Canadiens are going from one powerhouse team to another.

The Pens need to find their game and execute it consistently.

Either way, the Canadiens have added a new dimension to the Eastern Conference and the Pens will need to be ready to play their game if they hope to continue their quest in repeating as Stanley Cup champions.

My pick: the Pens have won their last five series on the road. Since the Canadiens are coming into this series with a ton of life, I obviously don't see the Pens sweeping them so I'll say Pens in six.