Canadiens-Flyers: Montreal Comes Alive in First Home Game of Series

They’re baaaaaack.

If anyone believed the Canadiens would just roll over for the Flyers after two shutout games, they were sadly mistaken.  The Habs looked more alive at home than they have since the beginning of the series.  Even Halak, who some were afraid had run out of gas, looked to be nearly back to the goalie we saw in the first two rounds.

The Flyers seemed to be attracting the attention of the refs at the end of the period, as the last minute brought on a 5-3 advantage in favor of the Habs.  The goal post was Leighton’s best friend, and helped him save some major goal chances. 

At the end of the first period, the Canadiens went to their locker room carrying a 2-0 lead, with none scored during the two-man advantage.

The game lived up to the saying “I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out” as every time the whistle was blown, the refs were skating over to break up a fight. 

Both teams were wearing their feelings on their sleeves, and every little thing had a chance of setting them off.  With only 1:51 left in the game, a full-on fight broke out between the teams, showing just how stressful the playoffs can be.

In the second period, the Flyers seemed to make a slight rally with more puck time.  They made a few strong charges towards the net, but were stopped from scoring every time. 

Between the Habs defense and the gymnastic-worthy moves of Halak, the Flyers were shut out of the second period as well.

The Flyers made a comeback in the third period, playing harder than we had seen them play all night.  They made Halak work for his saves, and tested him to see if he really was back to his earlier playoff form. 

They got one goal from him, but in the end, the Canadiens won with a score of 5-1.

While the first two games in the series were all Flyers (and shocking to those of us that thought this would be a back-and-forth series), the Habs soaked up the home town crowd’s attention and dominated the game. 

We’ll have to wait until Saturday to see if this was a one game comeback, or if the Canadiens have decided to turn the jets back on and power to the Cup.