by DAVID CARTY, Inside Hockey

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Why the Canadiens won: The Habs found their stride with their backs against the wall. After a dismal Game 5 and an unsuccessful Game 6, Montreal blew Boston out of the water in the final game of the series. They dominated in front of the net and in the corners, winning virtually every physical battle on the night. Montreal also clogged the shooting lanes, not allowing the Bruins to really get off any quality chances. The Habs were more physical and eliminated a lot of the hard work for their goaltender Carey Price.

Why the Bruins lost: Boston fell flat after an impressive bounce comeback from 3-1 down in the best-of-seven series. The Bruins' main offensive protagonists were invisible for much of the game. Phil Kessel returned to mediocrity, Marco Sturm's efforts went for naught, and Marc Savard's offensive talents weren't enough to lift the Bruins to victory. Boston limited itself to long drive attempts from the point and never really established itself in front of Montreal's Price. They played the first 30 minutes of hockey pretty strongly, but the last 30 minutes can't even be classified as mediocre hockey.

Key play of the game: Mark Streit's second-period goal deflated the Bruins, who never recovered. Maxim Lapierre took the puck into the zone and lured the Bruins' defense to the left side of the ice before hitting Streit, the trailer. He made Zdeno Chara look foolish in his flailing attempt to disrupt the chance and beat Tim Thomas for a crippling goal that effectively ended Boston's playoff run.

What's next: The Canadiens will wait to see who awaits them in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This Jekyll-and-Hyde routine won't fly from here on out. The Habs need to put teams away and must keep up the physical play. The Bruins have a lot of good building blocks in place and this will be an interesting postseason. Both Aaron Ward and Dennis Wideman have expiring contracts and both demand a healthy sum of money. Will the Bruins stand pat or reach for an offensive stud, a la Marian Hossa? Either way, the black and gold have to feel positive about what they accomplished this season.