The Montreal Canadiens and Jaroslav Halak, their stand-out goaltender, will try to bounce back from an unexpected thrashing when they meet the Philadelphia Flyers tonight in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals. The Flyers scored four goals off Halek before the star of the Canadiens' improbable play-off run was pulled from the ice in the second period on Sunday. Philadelphia added two more goals against Carey Price, the backup goaltender, and won the first game of the series 6-0.
Philadelphia extended its play-off winning streak to five games. The Flyers won the final four games of their second-round series against the Boston Bruins . They are on their longest post-season winning streak since taking six in a row in 1995. "We knew it was going to be a challenge this series but we came out flying," said Michael Leighton, the Philadelphia goaltender who made 28 saves for his first post-season shutout.
The Flyers and Canadiens are the lowest seeds to make the Eastern Conference play-offs. It is the first time since the NHL adopted its current play-off format in 1994 that the bottom seeds have vied for a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. Also today, the Chicago Blackhawks will meet the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. The Hawks beat the Sharks 2-1 on Sunday on a goal by Dustin Byfuglien with 6mins 45secs remaining.
Patrick Sharp also scored for the Blackhawks, while Antti Niemi made 44 saves. * Bloomberg
