The Montreal Canadiens have put together a pair of wins against the Lightning – their first two this season against their division rivals – and suddenly a series that appeared lost is still very much undecided as it shifts back to Tampa Bay for Game 6 on Tuesday. Ironically, even while they were losing, it seemed the Canadiens were playing some of their best hockey this season, and doing it against a team that had their number all year long.
Plenty of ink has been spilled (or at least the digital equivalent) and hours of analysis has been filled with talk this season about how the Montreal Canadiens did not play like a true Stanley Cup contender, largely because their possession numbers, measure by metrics such as shot attempts (Corsi), simply couldn’t keep up with the best teams in the league.