The Montreal Canadiens pulled off a stunner in the first round, eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games. In Game 7, they defeated the Lightning 2-1 despite having just nine shots on goal, an absurd statistic that shows just how good the defense and goaltending was for Montreal. This series, it really was about Tampa Bay's and head coach Jon Cooper's playoff experience against Montreal's youth movement.
It truly is a testament to the job head coach Martin St. Louis has done of getting his team prepared for the playoffs. Even in the regular season, he helped coach the Canadiens to a 106-point season, a 15-point improvement from last year. Yet, St. Louis didn't get the recognition from the NHL Broadcasters' Association, as he didn't receive the votes to be named a finalist for the award.
St. Louis already defeated Cooper, a Jack Adams finalist. He now has the chance to truly prove he was a snub for the award if he and he Canadiens can defeat the Buffalo Sabres and fellow finalist Lindy Ruff.
Martin St. Louis can prove he's a Jack Adams Award snub if he defeats Lindy Ruff in Round 2 of playoffs
Sometimes the Jack Adams Award can be misconstrued as the "your team was better than we thought" trophy and is thus given to that head coach. While the Sabres are the biggest surprise of the season, they did not sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Rather, they turned things around, notched 109 points with 50 wins to win the Atlantic Division.
That is a true testament to the work Ruff has done this season. At the start of the year, the Sabres looked dead in the water, but one mid-December hit, they became one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
While there is the fear of good regular season teams disappointing in the playoffs, that wasn't the case for the Sabres. Although it did take six games for them to defeat the Boston Bruins, the series wasn't particularly close. They are not going to be a slouch in these playoffs.
The Canadiens have shown they are capable of making a run. While they were far from perfect, they were able to play better than a Lightning team that knows how to win playoff games. Would it be a shock if they can do the same against a stout Sabres team? No. Let's not forget that the Sabres and Canadiens regular season series was split 2-2.
But if Montreal is to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, there should be serious talks about St. Louis for winning the NHL's Coach of the Year award.
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