The Montreal Canadiens have been here before against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They swept the Lightning during the 2014 NHL Playoffs. It was a wild experience. That next year, Tampa Bay took three straight games before Montreal countered with two wins to make it somewhat of a series. Then, the Lightning clinched in six games.
What will happen now?
Yes, the 2021 Stanley Cup Final feels different. The 6-3 win in Game 3 for Tampa Bay felt like a finality of sorts. Montreal could not get out of its own way with miscues and penalties. The Lightning made Carey Price look like regular season Price (far from Price’s fault by the way). Basically for every Montreal counter, Tampa Bay had an answer.
It was like that know-it-all in grade school where no matter what you did, they had the correct move or moves right after. Sometimes, it just happens.
Could the Montreal Canadiens come back? Yes, it is possible albeit not remotely likely. They did win three straight games versus the Toronto Maple Leafs in a pretty dramatic fashion.
However, these are not the Maple Leafs. Besides, everyone beats Toronto in the playoffs.
There is one thing to consider here. Just think about how grand of a ride this has been. Even during a pandemic, the Montreal Canadiens run has been a treasure of sorts.
The Montreal Canadiens’ Grand Ride
Again, it has been the grandest of privileges to be able to cover the Montreal Canadiens for Full Press Hockey. Come next week sometime, I will be hopping back on the New Jersey Devils, fantasy hockey, draft, and many other beats. That includes the NFL, college football, and other sports too. In the meantime, I wanted to again reiterate just how enjoyable the past four months have been.
To be so welcomed by the English and French writers alike, there have been too many to thank here. There have been so many fans that I have interacted with on social media as well. I have learned so much. When Montreal went down three games to one in the first round, I thought it would be goodbye then and they showed me and a lot of other “pundits”. Hey, a little humble pie never hurt anyone.
Then, the Montreal Canadiens just kept on serving it. They topped it with whipped cream and a cherry too. No matter what happens next year or beyond, there will be this run. It will be remembered for so many reasons.
The biggest oddity of this run might have just been before Game 6 against Vegas. The Montreal Canadiens were favored to win a series that they were underdogs in a game. Let that sink in. Montreal was an underdog in every single game of their best-of-seven with the Vegas Golden Knights. They won four of six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The -200 line to win the series while being a +125 underdog to win Game 6 at home will be a lasting memory as much as the comeback against Toronto and the Cole Caufield goal in Game 6. There were just so many quirks in this grand ride.
Latest Canadiens News
- NHL Revamped Rosters for 2021-22: Atlantic Division Pt. 2
- The Best Option For Montreal Is To Let Jesperi Kotkaniemi Go
- NHL Free Agency Notebook: Predictable As Usual
- Montreal Canadiens Free Agency Day One
- Dear Montreal Canadiens, Why Logan Mailloux?
Some final Montreal Canadiens thoughts…
Again, there will be some more recaps and who knows maybe a little more coverage too. This is by no means a goodbye but a thanks again.
Allo Montreal….allo!
There is no au revoir ici!
On Monday, there will likely be the primer as well. Do not miss that. In the meantime, we prepare, listen to pressers, transcribe material, and relax a bit.
Tomorrow never dies. It will come. Thanks for reading.
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