Habs edge Mammoth 5-4 in a one-goal thriller

Canadiens 5, Mammoth 4. Montreal gets the job done at home, and the scoreboard says this one stayed within a single goal from start to finish. That is the kind of result that makes a fan base exhale and a coach grumble about margins in the same breath.

Let's be honest about what a 5-4 final tells you. Both teams were putting pucks in the net, so nobody was getting a nap in the second period. This was not shutdown hockey. It was a track meet on skates, and Montreal came out on top when the last tally went up.

For Utah, a four-goal night is not a shameful way to lose, but it stings when the margin is one goal. Every close loss invites the same question: what happened on the one that got away? Plenty of you will have your own theories about which shift or bounce decided it, so argue the details in the comments. Just don't pretend the outcome was anything other than close.

For Montreal, a home win is a home win. Take the two points, bank the momentum, and move on to the next one. The Stable will have plenty to say about this result, and that is exactly how it should be.