Habs Stage a Stanley Cup Show before the Puck Even Drops

Hockey in Montréal has always been in the spotlight.

And these days, what the Canadiens have done with that spotlight is almost worth the price of admission by itself.

Last night's version almost made their crucial Game 3 against Boston an afterthought. There wasn't much the pre-game ceremony didn't pack into the presentation:

Once the clock started, though, it was all PK Subban, all the time.

Montréal's 6-0, 170lb blueliner put himself in the mix from start to finish yet again as the Habs took a 4-2 decision and a 2-1 series lead.

Subban now has a six-game point streak, which hasn't been done by a Hab defenseman since legendary Larry Robinson in 1985.

And his havoc-wreaking hits have now been felt by both teams. When he took aim at the Bruins' Reilly Smith cruising through center ice, he was unable to make a final-moment adjustment when the Boston winger ducked. That made teammate Thomas Vanek the primary target, and he felt it. Vanek missed a few shifts after that.

Meanwhile, the Bruins' tactic of publicizing that they'd found goalie Carey Price's weakness -- shoot high, as if that's a pinpoing analysis -- in an attempt to mess with his mind that worked about as well as it did when they tried the same thing last year with the Blackhawks' Corey Crawford.

Game 4 is set for tomorrow night at the Bell Centre. Showtime, though, starts a bit earlier, and it's well worth it.