Breaking down Habs-Flyers

After a hard-fought battle against the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening game of the series, several things stood out, crucial elements that will likely go on to dictate the rest of the games.
The Canadiens can clearly compete with the Flyers, Carey Price and Carter Hart are ready to put on a show, Shea Weber still has a nose for the net, and most importantly, the Canadiens will need to do a better job capitalizing on their scoring chances.

Unlike the previous series against the Penguins, the Canadiens dictated the shots and high-scoring chances, to the tune of 55.5 percent and 62 percent, respectively.
And while generating 13 high-danger chances at 5-on-5 is a very encouraging sign, there's no room for moral victories in the playoffs. The Canadiens can, and must, play better moving forward.
With that in mind, we'll take a closer look at what worked for the Canadiens, and a few elements they can improve before game two.
The Save
I have to admit, I'm rarely impressed by a Price save these days.
That's not to say he doesn't make impressive saves; it's more that if you spend 10 years sampling the best baklava in the world, you probably won't get very excited for the newest, tastiest baklava on the market.
What I'm saying here, is that I could definitely go for some baklava right now.
Oh, and Price, yeah, that save.
It's not fair to the Canadiens' netminder; however, after 20,000 saves, many of them spectacular, you start to become numb to his excellence.
But once in a while, there's a save that makes even the greediest baklava fans, such as myself, stop dead in their tracks and take notice.
Saves such as this one:
Now, we need to take another look at that save, because like baklava, there's more than meets the eye. There are layers. Delicious, honey-covered layers.
There are so many amazing elements that happened in such a short time frame. First off, you may be wondering why Price was so far out of position to begin with, and that's a fair question.
But let me ask you this, if you could combine one of the coolest looking moves (the 80s pad stack) with arguably one of the best saves of all time, would you not take the opportunity?

Of course, there's more to it than just a very cool looking, yet archaic save style. Price was attempting to compensate for the defensive miscue, which allowed the Flyers not only to gain the zone with relative ease, but also generate not one, but two cross-crease passes prior to the shot.
And he wasn't the only one attempting desperation saves.
Cue Nick Suzuki, who showed a complete and utter disregard for his own safety -- and face symmetry -- by jumping in front of Scott Laughton's slap shot from below the hash marks.
Personally, I try to avoid any situation that may lead to an iota of discomfort.
Do you know that old saying, "no pain, no gain,"? I like to simplify it: "No pain, no pain."
That may explain why Suzuki is the elite athlete while I peruse cashew sales online, but I digress.

Of course, Price is no fool. He knows that Suzuki's value, which we'll explore a little later in this article, goes way beyond cannon fodder, which explains why he pulled off one of the most ridiculous saves you'll ever see.
Keep in mind, the videos we've watched of the play are in slow motion, allowing us an opportunity to actually see what happened, but this play happened in real time, a few feet in front of his net.
It was a slap shot, from below the hash marks, from an NHL calibre player, to boot.

Not only does Price make the save, somehow (we'll attribute it to wizardry until we can come to a proper scientific conclusion), but he also saves Suzuki's face and keeps the Canadiens in the game in the process.
I haven't had a chance to review every single save Price has made in his career, but I get the sense that this one ranks somewhere between first overall and first overall.
Furthermore, it shall be referred to asThe Save.

Someone Saved My Life Tonight
There's no denying Suzuki is overflowing with talent.
And talent is crucial, but not as essential as having the right type of hockey IQ to process things at high speed.
That's what sets Suzuki apart, and what makes him one of the most exciting Canadiens players in recent history.
His intelligence allows him to maintain proper defensive positioning, pull off fantastic plays with very little space, and anticipate the play well ahead of his competition. Not to mention, it leads to a bevy of creative plays. On a team like the Canadiens, where creativity is at a premium, it's a breath of fresh air.
We tend to interpret his skill set as a result of quick hands and quick feet, and there's no denying that's a part of it, but it would be meaningless without the driving force behind his skill; the computer that sits on his shoulders.
Don't call it a comeback
Shea Weber scored. Again.
Don't look now, but he's quietly leading the Canadiens in scoring, with five points in five games, including three goals.
Actually, do look now, because unless you're an NHL goaltender, you have nothing to fear from observing Weber at work.
In many ways, Weber has managed to evolve into an offensive defenseman since arriving in Montreal, where he's put up three of the four best offensive seasons of his career, statistically speaking.
But Weber leading the Canadiens in scoring can be seen as a red flag. As can the rest of the top five, which consists of Paul Byron, Jeff Petry, Artturi Lehkonen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
With all due respect to the aforementioned players, who haven't taken a shift off, they're expected to be secondary, if not tertiary sources of scoring.
The Canadiens will need to receive more offense from the usual suspects. It's as simple as that.
A few more goals from high-end players, a sustained effort like the one we saw on Wednesday night, and perhaps even one more face-melting save by Price, should lead to good things for the Canadiens.
Baklava optional\.
(\But strongly encouraged.)
[All statistics are 5-on-5 unless otherwise noted, courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com]