The Canadiens had lost the first game 2-1 and then lost their head coach overnight after Claude Julien was taken to hospital suffering from chest pains. This morning, it was announced that Julien was doing well after a stenting of a coronary artery and that he would go back to Montreal. This meant that Kirk Muller would be in the driving seat for today’s game. Prior to the game, we learnt that Dale Weise would make way for the return of Jake Evans to the line-up and once the puck dropped, I was please to see the new look lines:
Tatar-Suzuki-Gallagher
Drouin-Kotkaniemi-Domi
Byron-Danault-Lehkonen
Belzile-Evans-Armia
Straight from the get go, it was obvious that the Habs were ready for this game and that they wanted to win it for their coach. They started shooting the puck towards Hart from every which way and it took a minute and 2 seconds for Tomas Tatar to score the first goal of the game with his line mates each picking up a helper. Montreal was literally flying around the Flyers and their passing game was on point. Philadelphia wasn’t ready for the speed the Canadiens put on display and they looked like headless chicken in the first. Poor Carter Hart clearly wasn’t used to his team reacting like this and he even got caught behind the net handling the puck. The Habs doubled their lead past the halfway point of the frame when Kotkaniemi scored his 3rd goal of the playoffs. With 20 minutes gone, the score was 2-0 Montreal and the shots 16-6.
The challenge then became to keep this up in the second and the Canadiens rose to it. They started the second on the power play and Tomas Tatar got his 2nd of the game, putting a dagger through the Flyers’ heart.
They did have a better period, managed to shoot on Price 15 times but they failed to put a single one past him. Joel Armia scored the 4th goal of the Habs on a shot from the corner that took a deflection of the skate of a Philadelphia defender.
With a score of 4-0, the Flyers looked disengaged and that wasn’t surprising, the thought of having to score 5 goals on Carey Price to win is quite disheartening. There would only be one more goal in the game, once more on the power play thanks to Kotkaniemi. Final score: 5-0 Habs, series tied 1-1.
This was an impressive display by the Canadiens, they put in a real team effort and never thought about just protecting the lead they just kept playing their game. There were so many positives today, bumping Domi to the 2nd line was an inspired decision, the gritty winger (tonight at least) had himself a 3 point night, which were the first playoffs points of his career. Jesperi Kotkaniemi looks like he has turned a corner out there, he’s smart, he’s dedicated, he’s everywhere! His skating his miles better than it was in the regular season and he has no problem getting his nose dirty going to the net. To me, these playoffs are KK’s coming out party, we are now seeing what the Habs recruitment team saw when they decided to pick him 3rd overall. Victor Mete was used on the second wave of the power play and was instrumental in both special unit goals, getting his first 2 career playoffs points. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Tomas Tatar finally looked like the Tuna we've all come to know and love in the regular season, not a minute too soon!
The one caveat I’d put on the game is the amount of penalties taken. Tatar and Lehkonen each got 2, Drouin once again took a useless one… Thankfully, the penalty kill was on point but still, you need more discipline in the playoffs. Domi also received one for interference on Brian Elliott when he cut to the net and ran over the goaltender. That one I was a little bit worried about, if a Philadelphia player ran into Price like that, we would have been livid. You just don’t want them to start doing that looking for payback.
Where do the Habs go from here? Well, they can enjoy this dominating win tonight but once the clock strikes midnight, it will be time to start thinking about the next game and forget about what happened today. Much like they said when they won the first game against the Pens, it’s only one win and the job is far from done. You can bet that come Sunday night, the Flyers will not only be ready, but they will be pumped. Vigneault’s team was humiliated this afternoon and they will be looking for revenge. In the meantime, kudos to Kirk Muller for his first playoffs win as a head coach and a big thumbs up to captain Shea Weber who picked up the game puck for Claude Julien as a memento of the win they dedicated to him.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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