In this week's Eastern Edge, I share a few of my thoughts from the first round of the 2020 playoffs. We'll focus on the Canadiens and Flyers as I've had a bit more time to watch that particular series, but I'll also highlight key points from the Tampa Bay-Columbus matchup.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Sometimes when top-seeded teams face off against lower seeds, the difference in talent and ability is undeniable. This isn't one of those times. Through the first three games of this series, Philadelphia and Montreal seem pretty evenly matched. While the Flyers currently find themselves with a 2-1 lead, the score could just as easily be 2-1 for Montreal if the Habs got a few more bounces in Game 3. In some ways, that's reassuring for an underdog Canadiens' team that's been underestimated at every step of the way. As the lowest-seeded team in this year's playoffs, they've once again proven that they can hang with the big dogs. However, it's also frustrating because they've done a lot of things right and still find themselves down 2-1 in the series.

From a Flyers' perspective, I think you have to be happy that your team is currently up 2-1 in this series when they've been outplayed by the Canadiens so far. It's almost scary how Philly has the lead when they're not even playing at their best. Travis Konecny – the team's leading scorer during the regular season – is still looking for his first point in this series. Similarly, Sean Couturier – who sat second in team scoring during the regular season – is also looking for his first point. Those are two very good players that can greatly influence the outcome of individual games. Philly is going to need more production from those two in order to make a deep run in this year's playoffs. While Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux each have two points in three-game so far, they haven't looked as dangerous as we know they can be. Carter Hart was great in Games 1 and 3 but showed he was human in Game 2, surrendering four goals on 26 shots. We all know how talented he is, but he's also just 22 years old. He has performed very well in his young career, but there are still aspects of his game that need to be developed as he solidifies his status as an elite goaltender. A lot of people were touting the matchup between Carey Price and Carter Hart as a key storyline of this series. At this point in their careers, I think Price is the better goaltender. However, Hart plays behind a stronger team, which makes the matchup seem more even than it really is.

Price brought his magic from the play-in round into this first-round matchup against the Flyers, allowing just three goals over these three games against Philly. He's been the best starting goaltender during the postseason, sporting a .953 save percentage and 1.40 GAA through seven starts. After missing the playoffs for the past few seasons, I think Price understands how important this opportunity is. The Habs find themselves in an extremely competitive Atlantic Division, where qualifying for the playoffs is no easy task. There's a chance that this is Price's last chance to make a serious run for the Cup while he's still on top of his game. As such, he's taken his game to a level that we haven't really seen in recent years. He's rediscovered an elite form at the tender age of 33, showing that reports of his decline have been greatly exaggerated. While Price has been excellent, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Montreal's top four of Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry and Brett Kulak have also been outstanding during the playoffs. During the season, Montreal's defensive play attracted a lot of criticism, but the team's blueline has certainly stepped up now that the stakes are high. The Canadiens' forwards also deserve a lot of credit for their strong defensive play, especially Arturri Lehkonen, Phillip Danault and Paul Byron.

Throughout Price's career in Montreal, there's been one prevailing theme – the Habs can't score. For years we've seen Price stand on his head, only to be let down by his team's offense. During Games 1 and 3 against Philly, we saw the same story with different characters as Montreal managed just one goal over those two games. However, the Canadiens exploded with five goals in Game 2 and made us wonder whether this year's team is different. In my opinion, Montreal's current roster contains more offensive ability than rosters of the recent past. Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are two young players that add new elements of danger and creativity to Montreal's attack. They've shown great development during this year's playoffs and their performance indicates a bright future in Montreal – no longer haunted by a lack of scoring. While the Habs are still missing a conventional superstar forward, they have a long list of 50-60-point players that come together to form a strong and balanced attack. On any given night, a new group of players can step up and give the Habs a chance to win, giving this team an underrated element of surprise. Look for Brendan Gallagher to step up soon. The 28-year-old forward has 31 shots through seven postseason games and no goals to show for it just yet. But he's displayed determination and resilience throughout his career, I'm sure he'll find a way to push one over the line soon.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Your experiences shape the person that you become. Sometimes, you need to experience difficult moments in order to better prepare yourself for future challenges. Forgive me for sounding like a sappy Hallmark card or one of those cliché Facebook posts, but I think those ideas are extremely applicable to this first-round matchup between the Lightning and Blue Jackets. You see, last year, Tampa ate a big slice of humble pie after they were swept by Columbus in the first round of the playoffs. The Lightning were heavily favoured to win that series, boasting a much more talented roster, but overconfidence got the better of them as they fell victim to Columbus' strong defensive system. It seems like that humbling experience prepared Tampa to face the Blue Jackets this time around, as the Lightning find themselves leading this series 3-1 after four very close games. We've seen strong performances from the usual suspects in Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy, but the team's depth has been key to their success so far. As Cam highlighted in today's Ramblings, Tampa's third line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow have dominated possession at even strength. Although Tampa Bay is just one win away from taking this series, you can never count out the Blue Jackets. Columbus has shown resilience time and time again during the postseason – composing themselves for Game 5 against the Leafs after blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 4, and regrouping to win Game 2 of this series, following a heartbreaking loss after five overtimes in Game 1. I had picked Tampa to win this series in five, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Columbus stretch it out a little longer. From a fantasy perspective, Pierre-Luc Dubois' stock has definitely gone up as a result of his strong performance during this postseason, he's tallied nine points in nine games so far. If the Blue Jackets do get eliminated by the Lightning, I feel like some people will forget about his excellent play when next year's fantasy draft comes around – don't be one of those people!