Was that thud you heard Sunday night the sound of the Montreal Canadiens' chances of winning the series against the Philadelphia Flyers?
Of course, it's way too early to tell. But after a lacklustre performance in Philly on Sunday that saw Jaroslav Halak get chased from the net in a 6-0 loss, it's a question worth looking at.
The Flyers play a brand of hockey that is much different than both of the Canadiens' previous opponents in the playoffs - the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
They're a big team that really plays a physical, punishing style on the ice and that could spell trouble for a Canadiens team that has been knocked for lacking size in their own right.
"They tried to put a lot of big bodies in front of me and the same thing happened against Washington and Pittsburgh," said Halak on Monday. "We just need to do a better job of boxing guys out and we should be okay."
Another advantage for the Flyers could be momentum. While it looked like Montreal had a large dose of it entering the series, the Flyers were coming off a historic series win over the Boston Bruins that saw them come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win in seven games.
The Flyers are also seemingly getting healthier as the playoffs go on. While there is still no timetable for Canadiens' defenceman Andrei Markov's return, the Flyers got Simon Gagne back from a foot surgery in the Boston series and now look to have Jeff Carter (who also had foot surgery) return before this series ends.
Fans of Les Glorieux will undoubtedly point to the club's 6-3 loss to the Penguins in Game 1 of their series, as well as Montreal's poor performances in Games 3 and 4 in their series against the Capitals. The club didn't give up then and certainly won't now.
The point could be valid, as the Habs have shown plenty of resilience this spring and have managed to beat teams that many - if not all pundits - felt that they had little chance against.
Head coach Jacques Martin has already shown that he's capable of implementing a system to shut down their opponents' greatest strengths and Habs Nation expects him to do it again.
And for their part, the Canadiens didn't seem worried after Game 1.
"You have a day to regroup and correct things that need correcting and get prepared for the next game," said Canadiens forward Brian Gionta. "Momentum shifts so much throughout the course of a game and a series. It's the first game so there's a lot more left in this series."
So our question for you in the latest edition of Netcrashing is this: "What do you think the Montreal Canadiens need to do in Game 2 to earn a split in Philadelphia?"
Let your opinion be known in our 'Your Call' feature below.
