In many ways being forced to seven games by the Bruins showed the Canadiens' strength of character. They saw how rookie goaltender Carey Price could deal with pressure and adversity. They saw their big players, such as Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev, lead the way in Game 7. While Price struggled at times, he is the real deal. Canadiens got production from a variety of sources, including their checking line. Mike Komasarik played well at the back end and the penalty killing was solid.

The Flyers, in large part, proved in the Washington series that they can shut down the dangerous snipers. Kimmo Timmonen and Braydon Coburn were really good and goalie Martin Biron erased some doubts about himself, especially playing back-to-back games to finish the series. Mike Richards looks like he deserves every year in his contract and how can the Flyers not find a way to sign Jeff Carter? Coach John Stevens did a nice job of assembling a game plan to best neutralize a very dangerous Washington team and those same plans will be needed against Montreal. More good news for the Flyers is that Daniel Briere had a good series and will be inspired against Montreal and their angry fans.