MONTREAL -- How did they do it?
How did the Montreal Canadiens come from behind three games to one to beat the North Division's top team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in the seventh game to advance to round two of the playoffs.
TSN 690 analyst Mark Denis said Toronto refused to get physical, while Montreal remained patient, on the back of Carey Price.
The Leafs, Denis said, just did not bring any intensity.
"Rarely do you see a team, apply the patience that's needed to actually see and reap the rewards of the first game hit that you will get the benefits in game six or seven, but I thought yesterday, Toronto didn't want any part of it," he said.
Toronto, Denis said, avoided hits where they could have laid in, while Montreal was ready to pound it out.
"They didn't want to get into this one-on-one, hard, physical duel, and Montreal just wanted to do it over and over again," said Denis.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan praised Price, Phillip Danault and the defensive effort of the Habs produced to win three straight.
For those saying the only reason the Habs won was because of Price, Kaplan disagrees.
"The rest of the team really embodied what Carey Price is great at, which is being cool and composed in really big moments," she said.
Kaplan said Price typically doesn't get the credit he deserves due to the league's focus on goalscorers and offensive players over the back line.
"There's definitely some weird complex about him," she said. "I'm not sure what it is, maybe the goalie thing, maybe it's just the market, whatever it is, but you're right, it does seem like you kind of talk about him a bit unfairly or differently than we talked about other star players, especially star players with a big salary."
