Final Score: Flyers 6, Canadiens 0

A hot goaltender can carry a team, and a poor one can be its downfall.

Montreal Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak single-handedly carried his 8-seeded underdog team past the Cup favorite Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

Halak was hot and impenetrable in round one, able to hold off the league's most talented player Alex Ovechkin and his high-powered Washington offense. Halak faced a barrage of shots all series long, but was able to contain the scoring totals just enough to allow his team to win.

Then in round two, the goaltender's strong play thwarted the high-powered Penguins attack, led by superstar Sidney Crosby. Halak carried Montreal to another upset series victory, playing very well in the latter half of the series.

But in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Halak was a no-show. The Flyers were outshot by Montreal 28-25 in the game, but had a 6-0 blowout to show for it. Halak allowed one first-period Power Play goal before losing it in the second period. The Flyers scored 3 times in the first 10 minutes of the second period, taking a 4-0 lead and chasing Halak to the bench.

The Canadiens had to pull Halak due to his inability to make easy saves. Several of Philadelphia's goals came from long distance that seemed like savable shots. The other goals on Halak came from right in front of net, in scrambles in which the goaltender was unable to gobble up the puck in his territory, allowing for Flyers to knock the puck in from inches out.

While Halak was pulled in this one, don't expect him to be benched going forward. He is still the main reason why Montreal is still playing hockey right now, and they will ride him in this series. It was just one really bad night for the Canadiens goaltender.

Meanwhile, the Flyers got a shutout from their own goalie, Michael Leighton, who improved to 3-0 in the playoffs as the starting goaltender. He stopped 28 shots in a full 60-minute shutout, and was named the first star of the game. He has done a fantastic job since stepping in for the injured starter Brian Boucher, who was hurt in Game 5 of round two.

"It makes it a little bit easier when we score that many," Leighton said. "In the second period, we played really well. We got a few goals and that kind of calmed me down and I think it calmed the team down. It took a lot of pressure off us."

Philadelphia got 6 goals from six different players. It was the usual names who got on the board for Philadelphia (Gagne, Briere, Giroux), as well as some unexpected contributors (Van Riemsdyk, Coburn, Hartnell). Two of the six goals were scored on Power Plays, and there were a total 10 assists tallied on the 6 goals.

Left winger Ville Leino was named the second star of the game, as he had 2 assists. The third star was the defenseman Braydon Coburn, who had a goal and an assist.

The Flyers are hot, and really in a rhythm. They are now on a 5-game winning streak, and continue to get a balanced offensive attack. They don't rely on any one player to score goals, and they consistently pound the net for rebounds and deflections. Their style has proven successful, when combined with their nonstop effort and intensity for 60 minutes in every game.

And now they have found a hot goaltender of their own, as Leighton is doing his best Boucher impression for Philadelphia.

We'll see if the Canadiens and Halak can bounce back in Game 2 with a better effort.