Montreal rode a familiar formula of P.K. Suban and Carey Price to a 2-1 Eastern Conference semifinal series lead over the Bruins on Tuesday. In the West, the Wild shut out the Blackhawks to bring their series to 2-1 as well.
Earlier in the second round Thomas Vanek was getting called out by his coach and briefly demoted to the fourth line. Maybe the message got through.
After scoring a pair of goals in a Game 2 loss to the Boston Bruins, Vanek made an immediate impact in Game 3 when he set up Tomas Plekanec with this outstanding slap pass that left Tuukka Rask completely helpless in the crease.
P.K. Subban also picked up an assist by jumping into the offensive zone and getting it back to Vanek to start the play. For Subban it's already his 10th point of the postseason, tops among all NHL defensemen.