The battle of eastern Canada is over, as the Montreal Canadiens are finally on top. After one of the best opening round series in recent memory, the Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators met for a physical, entertaining, emotional playoff series that would last a week and a half. Ottawa, despite being down 3-0 in the series after the first three games, put together a solid comeback attempt, winning two of the final three games in the series, before Carey Price shut out the Senators in Ottawa to clinch a second round playoff birth for the Canadiens.

This series got off to a bang when P.K Subban of Montreal slashed Mark Stone in the wrist in game one. The tone was set, that this series would he extremely physical, and it was the whole way through. Every single game was dominated by whoever could use their body the best. It was Montreal, however, who translated their energy from the physical play into goals on the scoreboard and had better goaltending in the series.

Craig Anderson was a fantastic goaltender for Ottawa, and some fans may wonder what might have happened had Ottawa gone to him in game three. Anderson was better than Price head to head, and in the only game he lost (tonight), he gave up only one goal (in the first period on a double deflection by Brandon Gallagher) as the other was an empty netter (Max Pacioretty). Andrew Hammond significantly underperformed however, and while not solely responsible for the Senators early exit, was at least partially responsible after finishing with an 0-3 record in the series. He lead Ottawa on a remarkable run to be able to get the opportunity to play Montreal, but he squandered his first playoff opportunity. Ottawa will be looking to improve their offense for a run next season, as they couldn't seem to score when they needed to most of the series. While Carey Price is a fantastic goaltender, and could win the MVP of the regular season according to some, offense would have helped them finish higher in the standings as well, and the tandem of Hammond and Anderson looks to be solid for next season.

Montreal will get set to play the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning - Detroit Red Wings series, in which the Red Wings have a 3-2 series lead with game 6 in Detroit tomorrow night. The extra rest will be crucial to Montreal, as winning in six games provides them with at least an extra day off from game action, while not giving them so much time off where they go in rusted as Anaheim possibly could next round later this week. After a series as physical as this one was, every day will help Montreal recover, and with Max Paciorretty who has not looked 100% this series leaving this series on a high note scoring the clinching empty net goal, defeating their rivals on the road allows them to come back home tonight and wait for another team to go into the Bell Center for round two.

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About the author
Chris Robbins
Mostly cover Detroit Sports (Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Pistons), Michigan and Michigan State athletics, as well as NCAA, National and International Gymnastics.