Deep dive: Habs off to the Stanley Cup Final

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Very rarely do I find myself correctly predicting the outcome of a series. Currently I am batting just over .500, with a record of 7-6 in the playoffs. Even rarer is me predicting the series winner and in the correct amount of games. Seeing the opportunity to pat myself on the sack, I did predict the Habs would take out Vegas in 6.

Watching Montreal eliminate those bums from the desert, I picked up on 5 things that were key to their success.

1. The big four

Entering this series, the marquee match up for me was between the Golden Knights aggressive forecheck, and the Habs defence. In particular, the big four. What I didn’t truly realize was just how good Weber, Petry, Chiarot, and Edmundson are.

There isn’t a speedster in the group, and I thought they would be overwhelmed by the aggressive Vegas forwards. Particularly after watching the Golden Knights completely dismantle the mobile group in Colorado. Boy am I an idiot.

There was nothing fancy about this group. Smart, simple plays was the name of the game for them. The few times they did get hemmed in down low, they did an excellent job of keeping the Golden Knights to the outside. They did a fantastic job of boxing out in front of their own net.

Five total goals is all the Vegas forwards could muster. That is simply pathetic, and certainly not good enough to win a series this time of year.

I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Max ‘soft as baby shit’ Pacioretty completely shut it down. That’s what he does. It was Mark Stone’s disappearing act that surprised me. Zero points in the series. Awful.

2. Carey Price

There really isn’t anything I can say about Price that hasn’t already been said. When he is on his game, he is next to impossible to score on.

Outside of game 3, he didn’t have to steal any games. He did however, make timely saves in each one. That’s what is required this time of year. Besides slightly fumbling the puck on the second Vegas goal last night, he played mistake free hockey the entire series.

I love watching his post game interviews. If the score was not posted at the bottom of the screen it would be tough to tell if the Habs had won or lost the game. He is never too high or low. Cool as a cucumber, rarely flustered on the ice. Having a calm presence like that between the pipes goes a long way for the team in front of him.

3. Marc Bergevin

Marc Bergevin is back in the red suit 👀pic.twitter.com/awbh9jofkE

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) June 24, 2021

This guy oozes machismo.

Who wouldn’t want him as their GM. He has been the real MVP for the Montreal Canadiens. Had they lost to Toronto, I thought he was going to be out of a job. Since then he has simply gone on to make himself a legend in Montreal.

The players love him. You can tell by how they were celebrating with him after the game last night.

His suits are absolutely dialed. Is he on TRT or is that all natural? He looks like a million bucks.

That flow is better than any current player has.

The saunter and wink he had while walking into the arena last night was next level.

He could run for office and win. I’m sure of it.

4. Peter DeBoer

Turns out DeBoer isn’t quite as smart as he thought.

By replacing Marc-Andre Fleury with Robin Lehner after Fleury’s gaffe in game 4 he looked like a genius. Logically he would go back to Lehner after his stellar performance.

Nope.

That would be too logical. DeBoer must have been reading the headlines that said how smart the move was. He bought into his own hype.

He went back to Fleury for game 5. Fleury wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t overly good either. He was left with no choice to go back to Lehner for game 6. He backed himself into a corner.

I am curious to see how Fleury’s relationship will be with the Vegas organization going forward.

Also, that was a horrendous suit and tie DeBoer chose for an elimination game last night. They deserved to lose for that alone.

5. Greasy hockey

Sure the Habs have a solid top 4 and an all world goalie, but that is not the true identity of this team.

Greasy hockey is their bread and butter.

From Corey Perry having his face nearly cut off, to Brendan Gallagher being in on every scrum, they are simply doing what it takes to win this time of year.

Everyone is chipping in. No assignments are being missed. They are finishing checks and fighting for every loose puck. The scorers are scoring, and the grinders are grinding. It’s a lot of fun to watch.

The hockey world is falling in love with this team. This might be the most likeable Habs team I can remember.

The contagious smile of Cole Caufield.

No more turtlenecks on Tomas Plekanec.

No Mike Komisarek having his ass handed to him.

And most of all, no Max ‘soft as baby shit’ Pacioretty wearing the C.

It has been a hell of a ride thus far. Here’s hoping they can keep this rolling and grease together 4 more wins.