Making Sense of a Crazy Start to Rough-and-Tumble Canadiens-Senators Series

Game 1 of the first-round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators had everything you'd want in a playoff game, assuming you wanted to see poor officiating, a re-enactment of a certain Star Wars scene, a lot of goals and postgame interviews that included threats of vigilante justice.

And who doesn't want that?

In secondary news, the Canadiens won the game 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series on the strength of blah, blah, blah. Did you see that slash? Or what that coach said afterward? What are the odds that a murder takes place in Game 2?

Sorry, I got swept up there for a second. But really, there was a lot happening during and after Game 1, so let's take a look at five things we learned.

1. The NHL enforces its rules when it feels like it

This isn't breaking news for anyone who's been watching hockey for longer than 15 minutes, but it was on full display Wednesday night.

There was the usual on-ice incompetence, whether it was a player closing his hand on the puck and shuffling it away like a quarterback running the triple-option without penalty, or a player attempting a beheading without a penalty, or just the general hook-and-hold stuff that is only a penalty depending on the score of the game.

That's just boilerplate stuff for an NHL playoff game, though. It's everything that occurred afterward that has potential to affect the series moving forward.

Player Safety's impotence was on display again, as it chose to not suspend P.K. Subban for an injurious slash on Mark Stone, who spent the rest of the game going to and from the locker room with what the team is calling a microfracture of his wrist. Stone's status for the rest of the series is in doubt, and his loss would be a huge blow to the Senators' chances of winning four of the next six games.

As the video shows, Subban went full Darth Vader/Locke and chopped down on Stone's exposed wrist. Now Stone will either play the rest of the series with one good wrist or not at all, and somehow that doesn't rise to the level of supplemental discipline.

Maybe that conversion chart that says X regular-season games is equal to X postseason games has different U.S./Canada conversion rules, which can also be made up/enforced selectively.

Then there's the league itself, which chose not to fine Dave Cameron after he issued a threat to the Montreal Canadiens contingent in regard to the league not suspending Subban, which it did not. "You either suspend him, or one of their best players gets slashed, and they give us five," he said during his postgame press conference.

Joel Quenneville was once fined for grabbing his genitals on the bench, while John Tortorella was fined for referring to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as whiners.

So it's probably smart that Cameron kept his hands to himself and didn't threaten the NHL's biggest star, just nameless players on the Canadiens. Free pass, buddy!

The ripple effect of all these actions remains to be seen, but it's possible the useless Chris Neil dresses for Game 2, and there's a 50-50 chance he takes justice into his own hands. With Cameron issuing threats, officials will be on high alert and have an even greater potential to make ill-advised calls. If Stone can't play, the Senators lose perhaps the player most important to their late-season push to the playoffs.

It's true what they say: NHL players need to police themselves (because the NHL has fleeting interest in doing it).

2. How about that Montreal Canadiens depth?

Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Flynn (one goal, two assists) and Torrey Mitchell (one goal) were trade-deadline acquisitions from Buffalo who paid immediate dividends in Game 1 with Max Pacioretty out with a concussion. They were named the game's first and second Stars, respectively, which may be the first time all season two players associated with the 2014-15 Sabres earned that honor.

Teams with ideas about going far in the playoffs always need third- and fourth-line contributions, but it meant even more with Pacioretty not in the lineup and Subban ejected halfway through the game for the slash on Stone.

3. Andrew Hammond looked like a pumpkin

Ever see those people at the gym who tie those rubber things around their ankles and then shuffle sideways ever so slowly? That's how Hammond looked as he moved toward the left post in a failed attempt to stop Mitchell's wraparound that pulled the Canadiens into a 1-1 tie.

The other three goals were the ones that no one ever wants to blame on a goaltender—but, you know, you may want your goaltender to make a few difficult saves now and again.

Cameron had nothing bad to say about Hammond after the game, but it's possible he turns to Craig Anderson if the clock has struck midnight on the goaltender who went 20-1-2 after being recalled in February. If the Canadiens score two or three quick ones in Game 2, look for Anderson.

(Note: Hammond looks like a pumpkin in the metaphorical sense, as this is a reference to Cinderella. Hammond is a handsome gentleman.)

4. What's wrong with Bobby Ryan?

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

This guy has one goal and five assists in his past 20 games and looked absolutely lost at times in Game 1. At one point, he had a two-on-one with the puck on his stick and the defender giving him the shot, yet Ryan attempted a pass that was blocked. He has all the signs of a player who has lost his confidence, which is not ideal for a top-six winger, especially if Stone can't play.

5. This is going to be a fun series

If the NHL is going to drop the ball and let this series descend into some sort of Mad Max/Lord of the Flies DeathBloodFest™, then that's great for us, and by us, I mean people who aren't fans of Ottawa or Montreal and can just enjoy crazy hockey without caring about the outcome. Pro tip: That's the best way to watch hockey.

In Game 2 alone, there's potential for A) a coach fight between Cameron and Michel Therrien, B) Chris Neil holding a Canadien hostage by holding his skate blade to his throat and C) a 5-4 overtime game.

This series has something for everyone.

All statistics via NHL.com. Advanced stats via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com and Puck On Net.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.