The Thunder behind the Lightning’s win can arguably be identified as advantages through a salary cap loophole, timely officiating that impacted the flow of the games, and being able to assemble a very talented team

So, are all the analysts jumping back on the Canadiens are done bandwagon? Probably a few of them because they all want to be right, they want to be first, and they’re going with the odds, on paper.

If the NHL doesn’t suspend Scheifele for at least the duration of this series, if not longer, then the league isn’t just broken, it’s irreparable when it comes to its ability to translate these types of on-ice indiscretions into fair and actionable consequences.

If I was going with overall talent consistency this season, I’d take the Leafs in 5. If I was going with passion and history (and yes, history matters), I’d take the Canadiens in 7.