A Winning Habit
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Montreal once again underdogs in Cup final vs Tampa Bay Lightning

By Elias Laradi

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 02: Lukas Vejdemo #42 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against Pat Maroon #14 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at the Bell Centre on January 2, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 02: Lukas Vejdemo #42 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against Pat Maroon #14 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at the Bell Centre on January 2, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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It’s been 28 years but the Montreal Canadiens are finally back in a Stanley Cup final after pulling off another massive upset against the Vegas Golden Knights and defying all the odds and the hockey analyst who didn’t even have them beating Toronto in the first round.

The Canadiens somehow someway have found a way to shock the world once again and we are seeing shades of 1993 the last time les Habitant raised the cup in La Belle Province. The team is very similar to the one of that year with a good mix of veteran leadership, young guns, and one of the best goaltenders in the league.

They will be once again tasked with facing a team that is looking to defend its title the Tampa Bay Lightning who are an offensive powerhouse with a solid back end and not to mention a Vezina-winning goaltender in Andrei Vasilevsky.

The Canadiens every round have mentioned they have zero issues playing with the underdog mentality and it seems to have worked for them since they feel they can play with zero pressure and nothing to lose.

The city of Montreal is buzzing once again and with 3500 fans in the building not to mention the thousands outside watching the Canadiens have a ton of fan support which will be key to keep the Habs going.

Like Vegas who had the likes of Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone the Lightning have Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov so the Canadiens top-four defenseman will be busy once again shutting them down which they did a good job and Stone was held pointless while Pacioretty only scored one goal.

Carey Price will need to be at the top of his game once again and the Canadiens will need to do everything they can to make Vasilevsky’s life difficult and I can say in the previous round they did a perfect job against Marc Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner.

If the Canadiens are able to continue to play their game and show their true identity as a team that plays with speed and a hard forecheck they should have a decent chance of bringing back the Stanley Cup to its rightful place in the greatest hockey city on the planet.

Enjoy the series and Go Habs Go.

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