Montreal Canadiens: Looking Back at the Five Unforgettable Moments From Habs Playoff Run

The Montreal Canadiens fell in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final and had to watch as the Tampa Bay Lightning hoisted the trophy for the second consecutive season.

It was obviously not the ending that anyone on the team wanted and the looks on the faces of the players after the final horn sounded was painful enough for the viewers to experience.

However, it was an incredible ride.

The Canadiens were not expected to go deep into the postseason, and at some points this year didn’t look like they were going to hang on to that final playoff spot in the North Division. They did manage to squeeze into the postseason but drew the underdog card in all four rounds. Upsetting the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights was no small feat.

The Habs fell behind 3-1 in the first round against the Maple Leafs and losing to their oldest rival appeared to be inevitable.

But they were able to storm back and win that series before dominating the Jets and then making a huge statement to the entire hockey world by shocking the Golden Knights in round three.

Yes, the Canadiens would fall in a short series in the Stanley Cup Final. But that doesn’t mean it was a bad year or a waste of a season. In fact, it was the best season the Canadiens have had in 28 years and it produced a lot of special, memorable moments.

Many moments that will live in the minds of a generation of Habs fans that don’t recall the “usual route” for the Stanley Cup parade in the 1970s.

Let’s take a quick look back at the top five moments in the Montreal Canadiens run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Paul Byron wins Game 1

The Canadiens entered the playoffs as heavy underdogs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They stumbled down the stretch of the season and barely limped their way into the postseason thanks to a couple of late season loser points in overtime games against the Edmonton Oilers.

They faced the Toronto Maple Leafs, the top team in the Canadian Division during the regular season. Anyone and everyone was picking the Maple Leafs to win the series and to do so rather quickly.

The Canadiens were going to need a big effort from everyone in the lineup if they were going to have a chance against Toronto. In Game 1 of the series, they got a huge goal from an unlikely source at an unlikely time.

With the Canadiens shorthanded with seven minutes to play in a tie game, Joel Armia forced a turnover just inside the Canadiens defensive zone. He chipped the puck up ice to a streaking Paul Byron who blew past Rasmus Sandin. The Leafs prospect defenceman stretched out and tripped Byron, but he pulled the puck to his forehand anyway and shovelled it over the arm of Jack Campbell in the Leafs goal.

The shorthanded goal proved to be the game winning goal as the Habs took a 1-0 series lead.

Tyler Toffoli finishes off the Jets

The second round of the postseason started pretty much the same way as the first round – with everyone picking the Canadiens to lose in a short series. Well, it turned out to be a very short series.

The Canadiens shocked the Jets by winning both games in Winnipeg to begin the series and take a commanding 2-0 series lead. When things returned to Montreal, they really stepped on the Jets throats by jumping ahead 3-0. This set the stage for a quick series and the Canadiens took advantage.

Game 4 went into overtime at the Bell Centre, with the Jets season hanging in the balance. Just when you thought the Jets would play their best, the Canadiens dominated play for 60 minutes, but the score remained tied at 2.

Early in the overtime period, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield worked a puck loose in the Jets corner and Caufield found some open ice as he jumped around Andrew Copp. He quickly gathered the puck and fired a perfect pass across the top of the crease to Tyler Toffoli who one-timed it home and sent the Jets packing.

Suzuki gives Habs hope vs Leafs

The Canadiens won Game 1 against the Maple Leafs thanks in large part to Paul Byron’s memorable shorthanded goal. They would then go on to lose the next three games in a row and face elimination in Game 5.

With their backs against the wall, the Habs came out flying in the fifth game of the series and stormed out to a 3-0 lead. That wouldn’t last however, as the Maple Leafs crawled all the way back and tied the game, sending it to overtime.

Less than a minute into the extra frame, a brutal turnover by Alex Galchenyuk just inside the Leafs zone sent Caufield and Suzuki the entire length of the ice on a wide open two on zero break.

The two young forwards crossed the Leafs blue line and fired the puck back and forth three times before Suzuki fired it into the back of the net. The Habs won the game and were back in the series, eventually taking down the Leafs with a defensive masterpiece in Game 7.

This was the moment the young forwards arrived in the postseason for the Canadiens. After that goal, Suzuki and Caufield played the remainder of the postseason together and were a huge part in the big run made by the Canadiens this year.

Lehkonen sends Habs to Stanley Cup Final

The Canadiens came back to surprise the Toronto Maple Leafs and thoroughly dismantled the Winnipeg Jets. They then faced a tough opponent in the Vegas Golden Knights, a team that has been on the verge of dynasty status since its inception in 2017.

Vegas handled the Habs easily in Game 1, resulting in cries that the Canadian Division was weak and no team from Canada had a chance against the Vegas Golden Knights or the other powerhouse teams in the United States.

The Canadiens quickly flipped the script though and won Game 2 and 3, before dropping Game 4 in overtime. They headed back to Vegas for Game 5 and won handily. This set the stage for a chance to win the series and move on to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years in Game 6, on home ice at the Bell Centre.

Shea Weber scored a power play goal in the first but Reilly Smith quickly tied it. Cole Caufield scored a beautiful goal in the second period, but Alec Martinez tied the game in the third period. This sent the contest to overtime.

A broken play in the Canadiens zone sent the Habs line of Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault and Artturi Lehkonen down the ice on a three on two rush. Gallagher got the puck to Danault in the middle of the ice, but it looked like he was going to lose the handle. He managed to just barely maintain possession before firing a perfect backhand pass across the ice.

The pass landed right on Lehkonen’s stick and the guy who just misses the mark so many times, sent the puck directly into the top corner of the net. It was a perfectly executed odd man rush that was ended with a perfect shot by Lehkonen.

The second the puck hit the back of the net, the Canadiens had punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final. They were not supposed to be able to beat Toronto, Winnipeg or Vegas, but they did. Lehkonen’s goal was the cherry on top of an excellent run for the Canadiens and was certainly the most memorable moment of the entire postseason for Habs fans.