NHL Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Free Pick: Montreal Canadiens
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In Game 1 of its Round 2 series vs. the Penguins, Montreal lost 6-3; it bounced back with a concerted effort on both ends of the ice and won 3-1 in Game 2; I believe this contest will follow suit.

I have to admit, I was surprised how flat the Canadiens came out and played in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

After shutting down the offensively minded President Cup trophy winners in Round 1, and the defending Stanley Cup Champs in Round 2, the physical Flyers pounded the Habs into submission on Sunday.

No doubt Philadelphia poses a different challenge for this team; simply put, its much bigger.

Montreal has shown incredible heart and hustle to get to this point, but must make changes to its game plan in Game 2 to create traffic in front of Philadelphia’s net.

On the other side of the ice: Backup and now starter Michael Leighton has played great to this point; however I expect a letdown against a determined Canadiens team.

To say Philadelphia has been “over-achieving” would be an understatement; never mind the injury to Brian Boucher, this team is still missing Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere.

Bottom line: In my opinion the most important thing that the Habs have done to make it as far as they have, more than all of their blocked shots, or the stellar goaltending they’ve received, or anything else they’ve done to get to this point, has been their ability to make key/necessary and sometimes subtle adjustments on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice; a testament to Jacques Martin’s coaching.

Jaroslav Halak has consistently played at his best after a sub par effort all season; I believe this will be the case once again.

Montreal is 5-1 (+9 units) when trailing in a playoff series while Philadelphia is 3-4 (-2 units) after shutting out its opponent in its previous game; when taking all of the above into account, the CANADIENS offer great value in this situation.

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