By show of hands, who had the Flyers going to the Conference Final four wins away from their first Stanley Cup Final in 11 years? I doubt there were many takers. Though our newest Flyer supporter would beg to differ since he did accurately predict Philly to eliminate the Canadiens. That it took one less game speaks to just how well they played.

If Martin Biron is playing great, then R.J. Umberger is on a roll. He absolutely owned the Habs scoring eight goals in the series to hike his goal total to nine. It was almost as dominant as Johan Franzen’s nine in a sweep of Colorado. Sad fact. The Avs totaled nine goals.

Back to R.J. How in the world didn’t the Canucks or Ranger get this guy signed? You’re telling me they couldn’t have used a solid all around two-way center who is an outstanding skater with a deadly shot? Did we mention he’s a relentless forechecker? Umberger has emerged from a fourth liner to a second line player who’s now getting big minutes and flourishing. Kudos to overestimated Philly coach John Stevens for the wise move. Early in the series, you could see that the kid’s speed was giving the Canadiens fits.

If you’re going to go deep into the postseason, your best players must be your best players. Night in and night out, Daniel Briere has earned his hefty paycheck by scoring big goals. His power play winner the other night as it turned out was Montreal’s last gasp. Sure, they led 3-1 and had it going their way until a less confident looking Carey Price let in a couple of more soft ones to suddenly put his team in a 4-3 hole entering the third. Speaking of which, might Guy Carbonneau’s questionable decision to bench his 20 year-old rookie have hurt the No.1 goalie even more? Or was there something else bugging him? What was wrong with his glove hand? It sure wasn’t the glove cause they tried a new one and it was the same brutal result. Another story for another day. 

Props also go out to the Montreal fans for how they cheered their guys at the end of the game. That final minute was really cool. You probably wouldn’t see that in a lot of other arenas. They weren’t supposed to be in this position and were picked by many including by myself to finish near the bottom of the East. Maybe that was the problem because the expectations suddenly went from making the playoffs to winning the Northeast and people including again yours truly thinking they could actually go to the Cup.

Or perhaps Canada really is hexed after all.

The Flyers have played rambunctious hockey and deserve to be where they are. They have been a fun team to watch. That’s not very easy to say for a rival fan but it’s the truth. They have attacked and been rewarded. It helps that they got tireless forwards like Umberger, Briere, Mike Richards and the fast emerging Jeff Carter.

What the Philadelphia organization learned in the worst season in franchise history was that if they retooled by pawning off Peter Forsberg, they could compete. Was it a bit poetic that Scottie Upshall would wind up with the series clincher? He was part of what came back. Just wait till Ryan Parent develops and we’ll really be laughing at that trade. Well, the rest of the Atlantic won’t.

Neither are they about former Preds Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell fitting in as key cogs on a team which looks poised and deep enough to actually do this. Yes. I’m saying they can win the whole thing. That might be bad news for them.

How do you think Kevin Lowe feels about giving away Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith for the overrated Joni Pitkanen right about now? That Braydon Coburn pickup for Alexei Zhitnik was also a theft. The Vaclav Prospal trade also ain’t looking bad either.

Has there been one bad deal new GM Paul Holmgren made? My god. Simon Gagne’s career is likely over and it suddenly doesn’t matter because that’s how deep they really are. Mike Knuble can still play also. Funny how my Dad nailed that one indicating that he thought the ex-Ranger could become a 25-30 goalscorer.

The Flyers are even getting mileage out of old school defenseman Derian Hatcher.

You have to give them a lot of credit. They almost didn’t make the playoffs but got hot at the right time. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.

Congrats to them on their run thus far. They’ve earned it.

As the final buzzer sounded in Philadelphia last night and the Flyers took a stunning 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the “anointed” 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens (at least in Montreal, because they feel it is their birthright to win it if they are towards the top), I was smiling. Now some of you who know me might be thinking it makes perfect sense, as a Sabres fan of over 25 years, it is easy to dislike the Habs and seeing them lose gives me great joy.

But this was a bit different: I was not smiling at the joy of seeing the Habs lose, but more at the fact the Philadelphia was winning. Wait, what in the world is this? I am smiling for a team that the Sabres have played 5 times in the playoffs since 1995, and have had wars with, and how in the world can I take joy in a city that has some of the most obnixious fans on this planet?

The answer is…yes.

Why you ask would I EVER root for the Flyers? Maybe it is the Sabres Connection: Martin Biron was a Sabre for 10 years, and had some nice moments with the team, but was never really given a chance to prove himself as a clear #1 goalie. When the time came for that, the sabres were frankly not that good, and Biron was decent. Enter Ryan Miller along with the influx of talent, and the Sabres took off and Biron was regulated to a backup role again.

Biron was a ‘good solider’ during this time, and even after Biron subbed for Miller when he was injured in 2006-2007 and won 13 straight starts, Biron went back to the bench and never complained. For that I always commended him, and was happy that he was given a chance to show his skills in Philadelphia.

And now that Biron is having a fabulous run for the Flyers, I am happy for him. Happy that now he was given the chance to be a starter, a REAL chance. Happy that his team did not panic and trade for a goalie at the deadline in typical Philly fashion. Happy that Biron has shut up the skeptics and morons that call 610 WIP in Philly lambasting Biron.

Another reason is Danny Briere. You may ask yourself, he left for greener pa$ture$, why would you like to see him succeed? Why? Because the fact Briere has netted 14 points so far in the NHL Playoffs, including a league high 8 goals, is a slap in the face to Sabres President Larry Quinn, who really plays the big hand on the issues surrounding the poor negotiating tactics of Quinn and his asylum in Western New York.

So I say “good for you Danny and Marty” and shove it right in Quinn’s face. Maybe Quinn can take a look at the Flyers and think what could have been, as the Sabres sit on the outside looking in.

As reported on tsn.ca, Montreal backup net minder Jaroslav Halak will start for the Habs in a critical Game 4 in the city of Brotherly love.

The move to Halak makes perfect sense. After all, it is not like Montreal had any other quality goalies on the roster that they gave away too fast because they thought Price > Sawchuk (rolling eyes)

It will be very interesting to see how Montreal responds to the change.

IN GAME UPDATE: So far the score is 0-0 , End of the 1st period. Based on being here at work and NOT watching the game (gotta love the West Coast for this, sarcasm off!) it seems the Habs have come out with a purpose, peppering 14 shots on Flyers goalie Martin Biron, but Marty looks up to the task again tonight thus far. Halak with 7 saves, so far, so good for Carbonneau on his decision.

When one sits back and thinks about how humans communicate, it truly is amazing how many different languages there are in the world. But there comes a time when certain phrases or words can be translated through several languages.

Now you might be wondering when looking the title of this article, this phrase must apply? Be truthful, it probably does not, and you sit here wondering ‘What in the world am I trying to get across (unless of course you took French in high school and ACTUALLY paid attention!)

Before we provide the translation of the phrase above, let’s provide a quick thoughts about the Philadelphia Flyers / Montreal Canadians series thus far:

1. Fragile Confidence? So it appears Guy Carbonneau will not name a starter in net for Game 4, does he honestly expect us to believe that little used Jaroslav Halak will be between the pipes tonight? I say not a chance, as we all know Habs management might be feeling the pressure of trading away Cristobal Huet and putting too much trust in phenom goalie Cary Price too soon. Expect to see Price front and center tonight.

2. A New Playoff Memory For Umberger?  Flyers forward R.J.Umberger’s playoff career is most remembered for the shocking hit he took from then Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell in a series against the Sabres in 2006. Despite being overshadowed by some of the bigger names on his own team, Umberger is making new playoff memories and has been an underrated force for the Flyers, scoring 5 goals in 10 playoff games thus far.

3. “The Other Goalie”- Cary Price has received much of the attention going into this series, but it is the Flyers Martin Biron who has stepped up front and center and is making all the big saves.  A trade that was questioned towards the end of the season, the Flyers acquistion of Biron from the Buffalo Sabres last year is looking better by the minute. Kudos to Biron, who was a great team guy in Buffalo after Miller arrived and became a backup, for getting his chance and making it count.

So what shall we expect tonight?

From a Canadiens perspective, the first goal is critical. Along with that, it is important that Price makes a few saves early in this game, to get his confidence back and try to shake off the brutal 2nd period he endured in Game 3.   The Habs need the power play to be sharp, and especially be careful with a guy like Mike Richards on the ice, who is for my money the most dangerious shorthanded player in the NHL today.

For the Flyers, continue the momentum. Let’s be fair here, this series could easily be 3-0 Philly and taps would be playing in the streets of Montreal. The Flyers need to have that killer instict tonight, and with the return of Mike Knuble tonight, that should give the Flyers even more of a boost.

Oh, and before we go, I forgot about the French title above. Translation? A Must Win For The Habs Tonight. Any french speaking people reading this blog? Do not expect much more French from me, I did fall asleep in class in high school!

I don’t have the words. It’s awfully hard to win when you can’t score. How about generating an actual scoring chance? Would it kill the Rangers to make the Penguins play defense? Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t have to sweat on any of his saves regardless of what the shots were. Easiest playoff shutout he could have.

I’m baffled beyond belief. Of course the refs’ inadvertent early whistle on the one Ranger goal by Martin Straka would prevent it from being tied. And of course our conservative coach didn’t pull Henrik Lundqvist early enough. Hell-o McFly! Earth to Tom Renney! Anyone home? Our freaking power play wasn’t doing anything and needed a full 6-on-4 to have any remote chance of getting it tied.

It’s not all his fault that our players showed no urgency. Where was it? But hey. If you want to continue to send out old man Granahan instead of younger legs Cally, Dawes or Avery, then it becomes essentially a four-on-four.

The Pens did what they had to converting their one power play with Jordan Staal netting the winner on a nifty feed from Evgeni Malkin with little space. They then trapped the heck out of the Rangers who looked way too blue to bother coming back making a one-goal deficit feel like 10.

Is the series over? Well, unless they find a way to win two and imitate last year, it probably is.

Maybe they should try a different strategy. I wish I knew what that consisted of. If I have to hear another freaking network defend Sidney Crosby’s ridiculous antics to draw penalties, I’m going to throw the remote through the TV.

I’m out.

Long Layoff: Having gotten done last week (feels longer) with the rival Devils in five, the Rangers finally start up Round Two with another old familiar foe tonight when they visit the second seeded Penguins. The Pens had no trouble with what essentially was a first round bye sweeping the battered Senators back to the golf course. Believe it or not, it will be a 10 day layoff for the Atlantic Patrick Division champs before they hit the ice at Mellon Arena in Game One at 7 PM on Versus.

Why the two more rested teams couldn’t begin this anticipated series Thursday night probably had something to do with arena schedules. Who knows what’s going in Pittsburgh but Madison Square Garden is always busy which might explain a potentially crucial back-to-back for Games Five and Six spanning two different cities.

Stars In Limelight: For league headquarters here in NYC, this is a network’s paradise featuring baby forced NHL face Sidney Crosby pitted against former Penguin/booing target superstar Jaromir Jagr. Having the new kid on the block against the older Czech who teamed with part-time owner Mario Lemieux to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 is great theater. No wonder NBC got Games Two and Five, helping force the weird sched which could be an advantage for the younger Pens.

The Pens not only possess Crosby in their arsenal but Russian star Evgeni Malkin. The 2006-07 Calder winner was brilliant when No.87 went down with an ankle injury, totaling 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 28 games to lead Pittsburgh to their first division title in a decade since winning the Northeast (1997-98). The 21 year-old Hart contender finished second to countryman Alex Ovechkin with 106 points (47-59-106). He’ll work with dangerous linemates Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone while Crosby will center star right wing Marian Hossa and either Pascal Dupuis or grizzled vet Gary Roberts.

For the Rangers, Jagr isn’t the only star as he’ll get plenty of help from playmaking pivot Scott Gomez (3-4-7, +5 vs NJ) and the seemingly always clutch Chris Drury (all 3 pts last 2 games incl. series clincher). There’s also old hat Brendan Shanahan, who will be looking to improve on just one goal and three helpers. Not surprisingly, all four veterans have won Cups combining for all eight on the team.

Tale of Two: The series will feature two young No.1 goalies with Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury (4-0, 1.26 GAA, .955 Save Pct., SHO) going up against the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist (4-1, 2.36 GAA, .917 Save Pct.). Most would give the edge to the 26 year-old Swede who for a third straight year is up for the Vezina. However, his 23 year-old counterpart out of Quebec has been playing the best hockey of his career and could be just hot enough to get the Pens through. While Lundqvist performed well enough to defeat the Devils in Round One, he gave up three goals-or-more (10 GA) in the last three games. Against a more potent offense, he’ll need to be his very best in order for the Blueshirts to advance.

Remember Me? While Jagr will be facing his former team, No.68’s not alone as Czech mates Marty Straka and Michal Rozsival will also take on the team they each started their careers with. On the flip side, the Blueshirts could see three familiar faces on the Pittsburgh side as Sykora, Dupuis and Adam Hall all play for the Pens up front with the first two having significant roles.

History On Pitt Side: In postseason history, the Rangers and Penguins have met three prior times. Pittsburgh has won all three series with the most recent coming back in the 1996 Conference Semis when Jagr and Lemieux combined for 19 points in a five-game triumph advancing to the Conference Final before being eliminated by Florida.

Special Battle: If there’s an area the Rangers want to avoid, it’s putting the Pens on the power play. Given who they have, it would be wise for Tom Renney’s club to stay out of the box. Not only do the Pens boast great players up front but blueliners Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are equally capable of lighting the lamp making their PP the Pitts for opposing penalty killers. Entering second round play last night, the Pens ranked third best in the playoffs connecting at a 26.1 clip (6-for-23 vs Ott). During the first round, the Rangers PK got worse guilty of too many penalties and permitting five PPGA in 24 chances (79.2 percent) placing ninth.

Surprisingly, the Ranger power play scored just enough converting on 4-of-17 opportunities (23.5 percent). Even weirder was that three of the four PPG came on home ice going 3-for-9 in Round One. They managed only 1-of-8 in Newark. That will need to pick up as they’ll be against the top rated Pens, who successfully killed 12 of 13 Ottawa power plays.

Odd stat coming from the season series which New York took 5-3 had them outperforming the Pens 9-5 on the man-advantage with the Rangers clicking at 21.4 percent as compared with their division rival’s 14.3. They even got seven more power plays just for any conspiracy theorists out there.

Each club has good penalty killing forwards who can be shorthanded threats. The Rangers’ best is speedy rookie Ryan Callahan. He got their lone SHG which was the first momentum swing last series resulting in a Game One road win getting his team off to a good start. Shanahan, Straka and Gomez also kill penalties and can attack if given opportunities. The Pens have their own dangerous PK threats in Malkin, Malone plus speedy tandem Jordan Staal and Max Talbot. Talbot is especially dangerous tying with Malone for the team lead with two this season. Pen pest Jarkko Ruutu also kills penalties.

Grit Matters: At this time of year, the key battles along the wall can go a long way to determining a winner. In the first round, NHL poster boy Sean Avery was a royal pain and got into the head of Martin Brodeur. Not only was the former beau of Elisha Cuthbert effective but drew plenty of attention for Screen Gate (Rule No.57) while still producing five points (3-2-5) and taking hits to setup goals. The Rangers will need more of the same from Avery along with Callahan and Nigel Dawes to offset the Pens’ own version of Jagr hunter Ruutu, Roberts and enforcer Georges Laraque. Whichever team’s gritty forwards perform the best could provide a hint of who shall be left standing. 

Blueline Special: Much has been covered about the stars up front and the netminders but what about the bluelines? The Pens have three superb skating D in Gonchar, Whitney and Kris Letang who can get involved offensively. They also boast a pair of physical specimen in Brooks Orpik and deadline pickup Hal Gill who each should see a lot of Jagr. That will be a key match-up for Michel Therrien. Rob Scuderi is overlooked.

The Rangers counter with top pair Rozsival and rookie Marc Staal, who was their best D in the first series. The very mature 21 year-old has developed into a solid physical skating defenseman. He could see a few shifts against younger brother Jordan but expect him to go up against Crosby or Malkin. Whoever Renney puts Staal against will determine which star underrated tandem Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi will face. They work well together and will take the body to make plays. Out of the pair, Girardi is steadier and capable of offense. His three assists led all Ranger blueliners in Round One. Rozsival also had a goal and helper.

The Ranger third pair of Paul Mara and Christian Backman can be forechecked but didn’t make any glaring mistakes. Each will get more tested. Especially Backman, who needs to find offense in this round to be effective.

Dubi Dubi Doo: Remember those Beware The Penguins Bud Ice commercials a decade prior? Well, the Pens should be very cognizant of Ranger rookie Brandon Dubinsky. The 21 year-old Alaskan centers the Jagr line. Possessing size, speed and strength, he didn’t look fazed in his first NHL series pacing all rookies with six points (3-3-6). He’s a solid all around player who’s excellent in transition and on the cycle. The Blueshirts are depending on him to be a factor taking pressure off the playoff tested center duo of Gomez and Drury.

Coach’s Corner: Both clubs have experienced enough coaches who understand what’s at stake. Renney always seems to have a good grasp of his bench. In the first round, the Ranger coach showed better judgment biting his tongue when a few questionable calls went against his team opting to focus on the task at hand. He also didn’t overuse the fourth line centered by Blair Betts, choosing to go with his best players. That’s a must against the top heavy Pens.

Therrien has been here before with Montreal. So, he has something to draw on if things start out slowly. He’s not afraid to send a message to his team by sending out Laraque to bang bodies. But the Pens will go as far as their best players take them.

Intangibles: If there’s an edge here, it goes to the Rangers who experienced a tough second round defeat last year to Drury’s Sabres with the crucial FA addition from last summer having plenty to do with it. 7.7 seconds? The Pens will be hungry and have enough experienced vets who want to taste the bubbly.

Analysis: A lot could depend on the match-ups. The team who dictates the play will win this series. The Pens are a high flying transition team while the Rangers do most of their best work off the forecheck. Each goalie will get severely tested. Both teams have plenty of offense but it’s awfully hard to go against that 1-2 punch of Crosby and Malkin.

Series Prediction: Pens in 7

They’re going to overtime at The Verizon Center in DC. Twenty years prior, another series between the Flyers and Capitals required sudden death to decide before Dale Hunter won it 5-4 on a breakaway.

Will history repeat itself for Alex Ovechkin and the Caps tonight? His ridiculous rocket is why Game Seven is tied 2-2.

As Dave Strader mentioned on Versus, this will be the 30th Stanley Cup Playoff Game Seven to go to OT. Who will be the hero?

I’m going to pick a player from each side before it begins.

Flyers- I’ll go with Daniel Briere. He’s been dangerous all game and leads the playoffs with 10 points including six goals.

Capitals- Most would go with logic and take Ovechkin as he’s been flying all night long. I’ll go with his Russian comrade Alexander Semin as he’s had some good chances.

We’ll see if I know what I’m talking about.

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

If you love great hockey, then most of this first round has been riveting. We had one Game Seven tonight between Original Six Northeast rivals Boston and Montreal. Thanks to another Flyer-esque collapse, there will be a couple of more deciding series later tonight!

Had the Bruins completed the comeback from 3-1 down against Les Habitants for the first time in franchise history, it would’ve been a no brainer to lead with that. However, that didn’t transpire as a more focused top seeded Montreal squad had what it took getting splendid netminding from rookie Carey Price and inspired play by the Kostistyn brothers and Alex Kovalev to eliminate Boston 5-0 before an electric Bell Centre towel waving crowd.

More on this later.

For much of the first round, the Flyers had bottled up Alex Ovechkin limiting the league’s leading scorer to just one goal. The 22 year-old Russian responded by ratcheting up his physical game helping the Caps stay alive the other day with a 3-2 Game Five home win. Having been shutout four consecutive games, Ovechkin finally came through when his desperate team needed it most tallying twice in the third period putting an exclamation point on four unanswered goals by his team in a 4-2 Game Six win before a stunned Sea of Orange at Wachovia Center.

The Flyers built a 2-0 lead thanks to power play goals from Mike Richards and series leading scorer Daniel Briere. Down a couple, the third seeded Caps never panicked. They started to carry the play in the second and got rewarded. First, rookie Nicklas Backstrom finished off a nifty passing play from Alexander Semin to slice the deficit in half with 10:26 left. Less than nine minutes later, Semin tied it at 18:03 when he easily put home a John Erskine rebound.

With the Flyer crowd becoming a little more edgy, (wouldn’t you be given their recent history?) their worst fears were realized when Ovechkin beat Martin Biron on a clean breakaway 2:46 into the third. The deciding tally was made possible by some excellent defensive work by <gulp> Viktor Kozlov. The lanky Russian enigma broke up a good Flyer opportunity and then made a perfect stretch pass to spring Ovechkin. He broke in from the Flyer blueline and went to his bread and butter deking Biron going forehand top shelf to give his team their first lead.

“All year I didn’t have a chance to score on a breakaway,” the 65-goal regular season scorer told the AP.

“I probably had one goal on a breakaway, I did what I always do and thank God it worked.”

“It’s Hollywood here and the script said he wins the game,” pointed out pumped Caps owner Ted Leonsis.

Philly tried to get back in it but ex-Hab netminder Cristobal Huet was solid turning aside all eight of their shots to finish as the game’s Second Star with 33 saves. An undisciplined Flyer bench minor for too many men proved costly when Sergei Fedorov and Brooks Laich combined to setup a laser of a one-timer from Ovechkin which made it 4-2 with 9:19 to go.

From there, the Caps would hold on to force Game Seven which is Tuesday night back in the nation’s capital. Washington will attempt to become the 21st team to rally back from a 3-1 deficit. Oddly enough, the only time in franchise they history they turned the trick was 20 years ago against those Flyers back when each was in the Patrick Division with Dale Hunter netting an OT goal.

That can’t be too comforting for Flyer fans.

“We just got away from our game,” Richards lamented . “Now, tomorrow night’s desperation time.”

“There is still another chance,” a philosophical Briere noted. “We have to forget what happened and leave it all on the ice over there. We know we can win there, we did it earlier in the series. That is all we have to think about.”

The Flyers will try to have short memories later tonight in the first of two Game Sevens which concludes the First Round. The Sharks will play host to the Flames in the second game which decides who moves on and who books tee times.

As for the Bruins, they tried hard but just couldn’t find that first goal on Price which might’ve made all the difference. Despite a decided edge in play (11-8 SOG edge), they trailed after 20 minutes 1-0 on Mike Komisarek’s goal 3:31 in from Kovalev and Saku Koivu which deflected off a Boston player past Tim Thomas.

Price thwarted attacking Bruins including a crucial stop from in close on Phil Kessel which kept his team ahead. He got more support from Mark Streit in the second when the two-way threat made Boston captain Zdeno Chara look like a traffic cone before opening up Thomas five-hole for a two-goal Habs’s lead more than halfway thru.

It only got worse for Chara who took a penalty which led to Andrei Kostistyn’s tally from in close as the big defenseman stepped out of the box. Taking a tough pass from brother Sergei, he was able to get his shot off between two defenders beating Thomas for 3-0 at 15:13.

Game. Set. Match. Sure, Claude Julien’s Bruins had exploded for eight goals (four each) in the third of the past two wins to extend this series and give themselves a 21st shot at finally coming back triumphant from a 3-1 hole.

But any rational person knew that wasn’t happening before rabid Habs fans who I’m told by my good Montreal buddy rioted in the streets. Apparently, one series win did a little too much to their brains.

Goals by both Kostistyns late in a game they dominated put the stamp on Montreal’s 5-0 deciding game victory. The top seeds live for another round getting quality performances from all their best players including Chris Higgins, who despite no points was a beast along the walls on a reconstructed line with Koivu and Kovalev. They had chemistry because they played together last season. The Kostistyns worked with Tomas Plekanec, who notched a primary helper on Sergei Kostistyn’s third with eight seconds left.

The Kostistyns combined for three goals, two assists and a plus-four rating. Kovalev, who also was quiet last game with a minus-three responded with two helpers and a plus-two rating in improving to 6-0 lifetime in Game Sevens.

Price recorded his second shutout of the series stopping all 25 Boston offerings. Now it’s onto Round Two.

With the Caps and Flyers going seven and Montreal winning, the Rangers will play either the Canadiens or Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semis which won’t get underway till Thursday or Friday.

If Washington wins, then all three top East seeds advance which would setup another Original Six battle between the Canadiens and Rangers. The Caps would start on the road at second seeded Pittsburgh.

However, if the sixth seeded Flyers prevail tonight, then they’d visit Montreal leaving an all Atlantic battle between the fifth seeded Blueshirts and No.2 seeded Pens.

Get all that? We’ll see how it plays out later tonight.

All Photos Copyright Getty Images 

I said the other night that it wouldn’t shock me to see a seventh and deciding game between the Bruins and Canadiens. With a four goal third period explosion in a wild Game Six last night at TD Northbank Garden, Claude Julien’s pesky club did just that by pulling out a 5-4 home win.

Plenty will be riding on the line Monday night at the Bell Centre. Can the top seeded Canadiens recover from blowing a 3-1 series lead to force the first ever Game Seven in their proud history. According to the Associated Press, no Montreal team had ever led a series by that margin and needed a deciding game.

The Habs have played 18 Game Sevens in their history. They better hope No.19 doesn’t comeback to haunt them. The Bruins are looking to make some history of their own. They’ve never comeback to win a series after trailing 3-1, going 0-for-20. Will No.21 be one to remember avenging a devastating First Round loss to the same opponent four years prior? Oddly enough, Julien was the Montreal coach when his club rallied from that deficit to eliminate the B’s.

The Bruins had trailed the Canadiens 2-1 after 40 minutes last night. However, they showed plenty of resolve outscoring Montreal 4-2 to force Game Seven. I wish I had been around to see this but was instead in Brooklyn Heights picking up stuff for Passover cause the stores where we live are lame. Haha.

I still was able to get plenty of texts from my Dad who concluded that these teams had no defenses. Maybe it was just one of those nights. What has to be alarming for Guy Carbonneau’s Habs is that rookie Carey Price has allowed eight goals in the last couple of third periods against their Original Six bitter rival.

Unlike the other night where his gaffe led to the Habs’ demise, Price couldn’t be blamed for the lackluster D his team exhibited. Well, both teams weren’t exactly putting on a defensive clinic. Montreal had led thanks to a Tomas Plekanec breakaway goal at 7:43 of the second. With their rookie netminder turning aside 19 of 20 shots including 12 of 13 in a busy middle stanza, it looked like the East’s top seed were poised to close out Boston.

But then the third came in which the Bruins exploded for four goals on 16 shots. First, Vladimir Sobotka tallied at 3:13 to tie the game at two. Following a Francis Bouillon goal which deflected past Tim Thomas, Boston rookie Milan Lucic answered the bell 2:09 late to make it 3-3.

Phil Kessel’s second of the night in which he buried a Marco Sturm pass gave the Bruins their first lead with 4:15 left. However, Montreal replied only 11 seconds later when Long Island native Chris Higgins was left all alone to tap-in a Saku Koivu feed for his second of the topsy turvy contest.

When I received that text as I headed into the Key Food in Park Slope, I figured the game was destined for overtime. Maybe I’d luck out and get home in time to see part of it. Instead, here came another text telling me Sturm had put the Bruins back in front with 2:37 remaining. At that point, I guessed that would be enough to get Game Six and force an always riveting Game Seven.

A couple of minutes later, there was a message which read, “7th Game.”

Maybe it’s not so great if you’re a Habs supporter. Let’s face it. You have to be extremely nervous about this. So much is working against them. They’ve never even had to go seven after leading a series 3-1 which is stunning in itself. But then again, speaks volumes about how amazing Montreal’s playoff history is. The thing with Boston having never comeback with an 0-20 record also is probably not a good sign.

One of these times, they’re going to come through. So, will this be it? Can a team which dropped all eight regular season meetings including the first two in Montreal suddenly comeback and pull the upset in front of rabid Canadien fans?

Let’s not forget that in 2004 during the same round, the Bruins were the heavy favorite who had a great regular season only to fold up like a cheap deck of cards after building a 3-1 lead. Alex Kovalev and Glen Murray sure remember it quite well. That’s for sure. Hey. They’re still both around for their respective clubs. A rarity. If I’m correct, only the much overlooked P.J. Axelsson is also left from that Boston team which choked.

On the Montreal side, you got Kovalev, Koivu, Bouillon, Andrei Markov, Patrice Brisebois, Steve Begin and maybe Mike Komisarek.

So, how can a team which has that many players still around blow a 3-1 lead with two games in their own building? Just ask the 2004 Bruins or the 2000 Flyers. Or how about the Todd Bertuzzi 2003 Canucks? The symbol of choking.

Usually, when these comebacks take place, it’s all about momentum. If a team suddenly rises up, they have nothing to lose as most usually are busy writing their obituaries. Pressure mounts on the opponent who had a strangle hold on the series and failed to close it out.

Anything can happen in a seventh game. The good news for Montreal is that they have arguably the best fan support around. That place will be rocking. However, all it takes is an early Bruin lead to make a few of their players start having doubts. Most crowds can be taken out of it if their team falls behind. If you were fortunate enough to catch the Habs’ four-goal comeback in a 5-4 win over the Rangers, then you know that shouldn’t happen tomorrow night. Those fans BELIEVE in their team and will support them to the very end.

The Canadiens need more inspired play from Kovalev, who finished Saturday night a dismal minus-three with no points. AK27 must deliver or there won’t be much to celebrate for Canada this postseason.

There will be immense pressure on Price. It should be intriguing to see how such a poised kid handles the adversity. All in all, it should be fun.

In the other two playoff games yesterday, the Avs eliminated the Wild 2-1 with Ryan Smyth’s second period tally holding up as the difference. Ex-Hab goalie Jose Theodore made 34 saves to backstop Colorado to the Second Round. 

Meanwhile, the Capitals fended off elimination by hanging on to edge the Flyers 3-2. Cristobal Huet was strong in the third making 20 of his 30 saves. Sergei Fedorov notched a goal and assist while Alexander Semin’s power play goal held up as the winner.

It is kind of odd how former Montreal netminders are having an impact on other playoff series. If the Caps do comeback against Philly, it will be because of Huet, who’s elevated his play the past couple of games.

Later today, the Red Wings attempt to close out the Predators in Music City. The Sharks will also look to advance when they visit Calgary. Dallas also needs a win on home ice to eliminate the defending champion Ducks. So, there shall be plenty of action today out West.

Enjoy the games!

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

Martin Brodeur didn’t have much to say. Aside from the predictable handshake snub of Sean Avery, the normally unflappable Devil franchise netminder handled questions in odd fashion after the Rangers had eliminated his team with a 5-3 Game Five win at The Prudential Center Friday night. 

To say it was awkward would be an understatement. Or maybe as he’d term it, ”Weird.” 

Aside from the unusually brief Brodeur postgame reaction, several other teammates took it in better stride analyzing what went wrong. I watched a vast majority of both sides of the Battle of Hudson MSG postgame coverage and came away impressed with how other Devs handled the crushing defeat. Particularly John Madden, who almost was the hero.

It was a rough night for Brodeur, who didn’t have a good showing allowing another questionable goal in what amounted to another high scoring game. If there was a turning point in this game, it had to be after the Devils got on the board first courtesy of a Brian Gionta goal from Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus. Wonder where that line combo came from?

Oddly enough, all four of Brent Sutter’s lines were exactly what was written here. Did someone spread the word to the first-year coach? I just found it totally amusing. 

Anyway, Gionta finally solved Henrik Lundqvist and it came early. You had to figure that boded well for the Devs as the team who scored first had won the past four games. Plus the percentage had been fairly high thus far in these playoffs.

Instead of keeping momentum, the Devs allowed the Rangers to come right back 18 seconds later when the series’ best player Jaromir Jagr got to a loose puck behind the net and centered for teammate Michal Rozsival, who beat Brodeur upstairs for his first of the series. Not long after, Jagr notched his second of the series while on the power play when for some reason the Devils backed off allowing him enough time to setup and wrist one five-hole on Marty.

MSG-Plus (that’s the best name they come up with? Geez.) Devil analyst Ken Daneyko had it right when he said that the Devs’ PK needed to be more aggressive there against Jagr. You don’t let a skilled player like that get so much space. It was just way too much time for what was a stoppable shot.

The turnaround continued thanks to a great shift by Avery. With a target on his back all period where Devils hit him often including a few illegally, the Ranger pest took the abuse during one shift coming out with the puck forcing Brodeur to make a save. Instead of taking their former teammate, the Madden line was preoccupied with Avery allowing Scott Gomez an early Christmas present which made it 3-1 Blueshirts with 1:59 left in the first.

That goal really categorized why the Devils came out on the wrong side in this series. There were just too many instances during this heated series where they were going for the big hit and forgot about their defensive assignments. Not the kind of disciplined hockey one would expect from New Jersey.

Another glaring example of this was Chris Drury’s series clincher. The Devils had a solid shift in the Ranger end but couldn’t make a dent on the scoreboard. Somehow, Nigel Dawes came out with the puck during a two-on-three and made a perfect cross feed between Mike Mottau’s legs to a cutting Drury, who buried it for his second in two contests at 5:35.

At the time, it looked like a knockout blow because the Devs didn’t have much life. However, hockey’s a weird game. Sometimes, you’ll get a couple of bounces to get back in it which was precisely what happened when a Bryce Salvador dump-in from his bench deflected off Brandon Dubinsky’s back past a stunned Lundqvist which suddenly cut it to 4-2 with over 30 minutes still left in regulation. Maybe one of the oddest goals I’ve ever seen.

A few minutes later, a loss of discipline from Dubinsky (offensive zone- interference) and Marc Staal (slash) led to a Patrik Elias five-on-three tally at 13:50 making it a one-goal contest. During a siege in front, Elias threw a puck which caromed off a Ranger past Lundqvist. Suddenly, it was the Devils with all the momentum and plenty of time on their side.

Ultimately, the game came down to Madden, who was pulled down by Ranger defenseman Dan Girardi leading to the first ever penalty shot in Stanley Cup playoff history in the third period. He made a strong move opting to go to the backhand but Lundqvist got just enough of a pad on Madden’s five-hole stuff attempt to keep it out with 7:08 remaining.

With the Rangers playing more conservatively (more on this in another column) trapping, the Devs only got one more quality chance to tie it but a wide open Gionta one-timer similar to the one he scored on was foiled by Lundqvist, who got enough of his goalstick to push the puck over the net.

An inspired shift by Ryan Callahan where he controlled the puck deep in Devil territory for roughly 40 seconds seemed to take the wind out of Sutter’s club as they never threatened again.

A Dubinsky empty netter was the final nail in the coffin with exactly a minute to go, allowing the Rangers to become the second team to advance to the Eastern Conference Semis- joining possibly future opponent and division rival Pittsburgh.

That all depends on what happens with the two remaining series. The Flyers will try to wrap up a spot in D.C. later today while the top seeded Canadiens look to do the same tonight in Boston. If the Habs prevail, they’ll get either the Rangers or Flyers. That’s if the Caps don’t mount a 3-1 comeback. There are other scenarios. So we’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

In the other two Western Conference series, the Red Wings got a Johan Franzen OT goal at 1:48 to edge the Predators 2-1, taking a 3-2 series lead back to Nashville. Meanwhile, the Ducks responded to adversity getting a goal and helper from veteran Teemu Selanne and 42 saves from Jean-Sebastien Giguere while getting the better of the Stars 5-2 to force a Game Six back in Big D.