The noble spirit of hope embiggens the smallest man, or the most unlikely of playoff teams. The Montreal Canadiens finished 18th overall in the NHL, limping into the final North Division playoff spot with next to no time left in the season. Their reward was a first-round meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a series where the running joke was “Leafs in 3.”
Then they won Game 1 on the heels of an incredible Paul Byron goal, and the seed of hope was planted.
Then, that seed was buried under layers of dirt and doubt as Montreal stumbled over itself while falling behind three games to one in the series.