The Montreal Canadiens are getting hot at the right time. After looking like the league's most improved team to start the season, the Habs sputtered on their way into the playoffs and appeared to be dead in the water after Game 4 against Toronto (you know what happened after that). Now they are hot again, having won five games in a row. The 1-0 win in Game 2 gives Montreal a 2-0 lead heading back to Centre Bell for Games 3 and 4. The Canadiens are now clearly in the driver's seat, as the Jets are also without their leading scorer for three more games.  

Montreal's recent success starts in goal. Carey Price stonewalled the Jets, making 30 saves to earn his first shutout of the playoffs. During the five-game winning streak, Price has earned four quality starts while allowing just nine goals. With a minimum .935 SV% in each of the last three seasons' playoffs, Price takes his game to a whole new level once the postseason begins. His 8.05 GSAA has him among the playoff leaders at the moment.

Earlier in the day, Price also took his place as a model citizen. If you need some background, please read this article, particularly if you’re not familiar with the history of residential schools in Canada.

Carey Price is a proud member of Ulkatcho First Nation.

Today, he met with residential school survivor @LeeShingoose at St. Mary's Cathedral in Winnipeg where survivors are seeking justice from the church.

Hard to root against this guy. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/zyjBJaWvOQ

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) June 4, 2021

Tyler Toffoli scored the game's only goal, a shorthanded marker in the second period. After being held without a goal in his first five playoff games, Toffoli now has goals in three of his past four games, as well as a four-game point streak.

Artturi Lehkonen replaced the injured Jake Evans in the lineup, moving up to the Brendan Gallagher – Phillip Danault line. That still means no Tomas Tatar, who has been out of the Habs' lineup for the past four games. Assuming he's not battling an injury that the Canadiens aren't disclosing, he really doesn't seem to fit into their future plans.

On paper, the trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois seems like a smart move for this very moment with both Mark Scheifele and Paul Stastny out for Game 2. As might be expected, Dubois logged just over 20 minutes in this game, as did Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, and Andrew Copp. With 20 points in 41 games as a Jet, Dubois was on pace for just under 40 points prorated over an entire season. You might have watched Kevin Bieksa targeting Dubois during the first intermission for taking too many shifts off and not making enough of a physical impact. Dubois ended up with four hits and 50% (9-for-18) in the faceoff circle.

Jansen Harkins entered the Jets' lineup in place of Scheifele, while Jordie Benn entered the lineup in place of the injured Dylan DeMelo.

Also, I'm disappointed – but not surprised – that Scheifele and his family were bullied by so-called fans. It's also fine to have an opinion one way or the other on the hit, to whether you thought the suspension was too severe or too light. But let's keep it civil. Okay? Twitter and other areas of social media seem to have escalated with the discussion surrounding this hit.

I think it's fair to say that Evans should have kept his head up. However, that doesn't contradict my comments from yesterday, and it definitely does not excuse the hit from Scheifele's perspective. I have to agree with the guys from the 31 Thoughts podcast when they both said both statements (Scheifele's hit was dangerous, Evans should have kept his head up) could be true. But I'm done talking about this. That's why I'd rather talk fantasy on here more than whether a suspension is fair. It's a conversation that can end up in a rabbit hole with people getting riled up in the comments section if they have a differing opinion from me. And we're talking about something that we don't always have a clear answer for either.  

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Even though Vegas took the play to Colorado over the first two periods (shots 19-5 at one point in the second period), Colorado was clinging on to a 1-1 tie after two periods and even took the lead with a power-play goal early in the third period. More standout goaltending from Philipp Grubauer was the main reason that the Vegas wasn't in the lead at the point. Just when it felt like another Colorado victory would happen, Vegas was rewarded with two goals from Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty less than a minute apart with around five minutes to play, hanging on for a 3-2 win and climbing back into the series in Game 3.

At least we know now that the Avalanche won't run the table, as this was their first playoff loss in seven games. The fact that Vegas also carried the majority of the play in Game 2 suggested that this would be a series rather than an easy four-game sweep for Colorado. In other words, if Colorado managed to win this game, a 3-0 series lead would be misleading to what the play has actually been like.

Grubauer entered this game with six consecutive playoff wins and nine overall dating back to the regular season. He certainly can't be faulted for the loss, as he faced 43 shots from the Golden Knights (while the Avalanche only took 20 on Marc-Andre Fleury). Grubauer could be this year's Jacob Markstrom as the UFA-to-be goalie who is increasing his market value game by game during the postseason.

In spite of the loss, Mikko Rantanen scored another goal, giving him goals in four consecutive games. He has recorded at least one point during every game of the playoffs. In fact, he has a 17-game playoff point streak dating back to last season. Nathan MacKinnon seemed to be the overwhelming favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy by our panel, but Rantanen could have a say in the matter. As could Grubauer.

Carl Soderberg, who was scratched for the first two games of the series, also scored for the Avalanche.  

In a winning cause, Max Pacioretty took eight shots and delivered five hits in addition to his goal. Another reason he's such a highly-ranked multicategory league player. Patches has points in each of the four games he has played in during the playoffs.

As a fan, I can say that Vegas/Colorado has been an infinitely more exciting series to watch than Montreal/Winnipeg. Maybe it's because the Avalanche and Golden Knights aren't afraid to play end to end and take chances offensively. It could be the high-end skill on both these teams as well. The winner of the West series would definitely be an overwhelming favorite against the winner of the North series.

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According to Adam Kimelman of NHL.com, Evgeni Malkin has undergone right knee surgery and is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp in September. Perhaps we will learn more details of a recovery timeline soon, but this surgery could decrease Malkin's value in keeper leagues and single-season drafts. Malkin played just 33 of a possible 56 games during the regular season, so any 2021-22 projections should already assume that he won't play a full season. Malkin will also turn 35 at the end of July, another reason to assume that wear and tear is an issue. He was, however, still able to maintain a near point-per-game pace in 2020-21 (28 PTS in 33 GP).

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Columbus simply can't catch a break right now. On the heels of the news of Seth Jones not resigning, they have announced that Max Domi will miss 5-6 months after undergoing shoulder surgery. This timeline would put him out of action for the first month or two should the season start on time in October. Domi's season numbers (24 PTS in 54 GP) show that you probably wouldn't draft him high anyway, although it's also possible that the shoulder issue hindered his production. There's also the effect of John Tortorella leaving, as Domi was made a healthy scratch twice during the month of April.

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Well, no dice for Gabriel Landeskog, Corey Perry, or Tyson Jost in Tim's Hockey Challenge on Friday. Let's try again for Saturday.

Pick 1: Andrei Svechnikov – When I need goals, I search for players with high shot volume. Svechnikov is third in the playoffs with 37 shots. It doesn't hurt that Sebastian Aho is on his line, either.

Pick 2: Anthony Cirelli – I'm going to keep picking Cirelli here in this group of second-tier forwards and top-tier defensemen. Cirelli is just outside the top 10 in shots during the playoffs while playing on a pretty good line with Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn.

Pick 3: Charlie McAvoy – In a group full of defensemen and fourth-line level scorers, McAvoy at least plays on his first-unit power play. This group is mainly longshots to score a goal, so we have to look for something positive.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding