from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,
This is the moment of reckoning for the Montreal Canadiens.
The NHL's second-best team in the regular season with 110 points never has garnered the kind of respect and belief from the rest of the hockey world that the runners-up to the Presidents' Trophy would normally get. Perhaps some of that is the new age of parity in today’s NHL, where there are truly no longer any great teams by yesteryear’s definition.
But more than anything, it’s the perception, fair or not, that Hart Trophy front-runner Carey Price cooked the books all year long and provided a mirage in the standings, lifting the Habs to a place they truly don’t belong.
And so with the Ottawa Senators now breathing down their necks with that knowing look in their eye, the Canadiens are faced with their first real adversity of the entire season.
Unlike the Sens, who have played like there's no tomorrow for two months, the Habs have coasted comfortably from Day 1 in October, never once losing more than three games in a row all season.
They’re in the frying pan for the first time. And all those people around the league who don’t believe in them, from the analytics community to just old-school scouts, are waiting breathlessly to jump on them over the next few days if they blow a 3-0 series lead.
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