Cheering in Montreal: Canadiens Win a Wild One and Tie the Series

What a game. What. A. Game.

Coming off of a decisive shutout in Game Three, the Penguins roared out of the gate to put the pressure on Montreal right from the start. They were all over the Habs deep in their zone, and just like that it was 2-1 for Pittsburgh.

The second period was just as wild with chances galore for each of the teams, but the score remained 2-1 after 40 minutes.

Then came the third and the Canadiens were the ones who were applying the pressure. They sent shot after shot on Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and just like that it was 3-2 for Montreal.

Endless chances against both goaltenders yielded nothing as time was slipping away from the Penguins. To the deafening cheering and boos of a crazed crowd, the Canadiens outlasted the Pens despite all that was thrown at them.

How did they win? One word: Halak. To be honest, Montreal had no business winning tonight's game after all the turnovers they committed, but they owe it all to their man between the pipes. Playing at home, the nerves set in early as Halak gave up goals on Pittsburgh's first two shots. After that, he was a brick wall.

The Habs simply played their butts off. Going down by a goal after two shots is a tough pill to swallow but the Canadiens persisted, attacked and fought hard for the win. The momentum now belongs to them, as they sent the defending Stanley Cup Champs home looking for answers. Answers about how to get past Halak.

The Penguins did play an amazing game tonight but, after the initial barrage, couldn't get any solid chances. They need to work on getting in front of the net and messing with Halak in his zone or they're never going to beat him.

It's not going to be easy, for either team, moving forward in the series, but it's anyone's game right now. If Halak keeps it up we could be seeing a new championship team in a few weeks time.

Great game by Montreal, and I can't wait to see what happens on Saturday.