After being down 3-1 to start the series, the Montreal Canadiens fought their way back to tie the series at threes. They were carried that way by Jaroslav Halak who put together two masterful performances after being benched in game four. However, Halak had one more game to play to cement himself as a legend in Montreal.

Montreal 2@ Washington 1 – The first, second, and third stars of this game was Jaro Halak. Sure, the Habs blocked over 30 shots that were bound for Halak but the netminder had to be sharp to stop the puck 41 times for the game seven and series win. Marc-Andre Bergeron scored on the power play late in the first and Dominic Moore scored late in the third to give the Habs just enough for the win. Besides the stellar performance of Halak, the talk of the game was the lackluster performance by Alex Ovechkin. The Great Eight never found his way out of first gear and was never the leader that I’m sure Bruce Boudreau thought he would be when he put the C on Ovi’s chest. Now the Habs are moving on to the second round of the playoffs where things don’t get any easier. After defeating the President’s Trophy winner, Montreal’s next opponent is the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Montreal wins the series 4-3

Three Stars of the Night:
1. Jaroslav Halak (Montreal) – 41 saves
2. Marc-Andre Bergeron (Montreal) – 1 goal
3. Hal Gill (Montreal) – 1 assist

Thursday’s Schedule:
Detroit at San Jose (TV: TSN, Versus)

Programming note: Our second round preview is coming up around noon today.