In a game where defensive responsibilities were checked at the door, Tyler Toffoli finally hit the mark as he notched a hat trick but unfortunately for the Habs, it wasn’t quite enough on Wednesday night as they fell 6-5 to Vancouver in a shootout.

For the second straight game, the Habs kept Edmonton’s top scorers at bay, received top-notch goaltending, and won the special teams battle as they beat the Oilers 3-1 on Monday night.

Carey Price made key saves, the Habs controlled the even-strength play, and then dominated the special teams. That’s the formula for many wins, and that’s just what the Habs did on Saturday night as they opened up their Western Canada trip with a decisive 5-1 win over Edmonton.

In an exciting season-opener, the Habs showed some offensive muscle proving that Marc Bergevin’s statement that the Habs can play any style was quite true. They faced the offensively capable Maple Leafs so despite the fact that Montreal was likely the better team, Toronto stuck around long enough to squeak out the win as the Habs were dropped 5-4 in overtime.

Tuesday afternoon was a game where the Habs looked like the 24th place team. They couldn’t adjust to a team that shut things down and the result was a second consecutive shutout that gives the Flyers the chance to end the series in only 24 hours.

The Habs showed up for their coach as they dominated the Flyers for an entire 60 minutes in Game 2. They picked up five goals along the way while Carey Price recorded the shutout to even up the series at a game apiece.

It took until late in the third period for the scoring to be opened but Artturi Lehkonen’s first goal of the series was the difference maker as the Habs eliminated Pittsburgh with a 2-0 victory on Friday.

It was another gigantic night on Monday for Carey Price, only this time he didn’t get quite enough support as he Habs lost 3-1 to Pittsburgh to even their Qualifying Round series at one apiece.

Carey Price was the best player on the ice for much of the evening and it still required overtime to get the Habs a Game 1 win against the Penguins after Jeff Petry scored in the extra frame to give Montreal the 3-2 victory.

If the forward group leans heavily in favour of the Penguins and the goaltending leans in favour of the Habs, the defensive matchup is a bit more even between the two clubs.