Interestingly, though Montreal was pictured as a smaller team that the Caps needed to play a "heavy" game against, the Habs actually played a more physical, heavier game than the Caps during the regular season - 7th in hits and 2nd in blocked shots, both rankings higher than the Caps. Carolina on the other hand, though they might be pictured as a team with a "heavier" game than Montreal, was actually 3rd from the bottom in hits and dead last in blocked shots. Carolina's game approach seems to be to do whatever they need to do to generate shots on net. They are also a good face-off team, better than either the Caps or Montreal, which is a crucial territorial advantage, and probably partially explains how they generate shots.
This next round may have a different feel to it than the first round, but not in the ways you might expect.
