TORONTO — Carey Price had played two periods of hockey — in the minors — over the past month coming into Thursday.
Paul Byron, meanwhile, found himself on waivers three separate times this season, his future with Montreal very much hanging in the balance.
Combined with their teammates' gritty top-to-bottom performance, the duo helped the underdog Canadiens fire a surprising opening playoff salvo in this much-anticipated battle of Original Six rivals.
Byron scored the short-handed winner from his knees with under eight minutes left in regulation and Price made 35 saves as the Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round series.