A goalie redeemed himself from a poor performance in game 5 with an acrobatic save that cost Montreal the series. A player was suspended after getting into a confrontation with a linesman, and another player returned from a year-long sabbatical following his wife's death from cancer and scored a series-winning goal against the Canadiens. A player led the Kings to the finals with a series-winning overtime goal against the defending champion Blackhawks in game 7.