Sportsnet.ca (Pierre LeBrun):
No. 1 Montreal vs. No. 6 Philadelphia: The Habs hammered the Flyers 4-0-0 in the season series, outscoring them 15-6. But the last two wins came during Philadelphia’s season-high 10-game winless streak. They’re a different bunch now, playing their best hockey of the season and as confident as they’ve been all year.
The Canadiens are a faster team and that should be an important edge. And yet we all thought the same in their previous round with Boston but the Bruins managed to push it to seven games. Star defenceman Andrei Markov of the Canadiens was not at his usual standard in the first round. He needs to bring it up a notch. So does the Montreal power play. The NHL’s best unit in the regular season scored on only three of 33 power-play opportunities against Boston.
Then, there’s the battle in goal. Celebrated Montreal rookie Carey Price recovered from giving up 10 goals in Games 5 and 6 to shut out the Bruins in dramatic style Monday night in the clinching game. Philadelphia’s Martin Biron allowed five more goals than Price in his seven playoff games but also buckled down when it mattered most in Game 7. A slight edge to the Canadiens here.
The Habs are in tough, more than many will predict. Home ice could be the difference …
Prediction: Habs in seven.