Montreal Punches Its Ticket to the Eastern Final

Montreal is moving on, and that alone tells you this story had some serious bite behind it. NHL Tonight wrapped the result and the bigger playoff picture, which means the Canadiens just forced everybody else to reshuffle the board. In this league, a trip to the Eastern Final changes everything from matchups to pressure to the way opposing front offices start talking. The next round now carries all the usual baggage, plus a fan base that suddenly believes.