The game got off to a great start for Pittsburgh as they established the tempo early and went up 1-0 on a nifty play by Matt Cooke (Yes, that Matt Cooke).
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh was later whistled for a penalty, allowing Montreal to take a step back and adjust the tempo from there.
Pittsburgh never recovered its clear momentum and the game morphed into a give-and-take, with the Pens hammering home as many shots as they could while the Habs played more deliberately.
That was a winning formula for Montreal.
Third period, 2:24, 3-1 Canadiens: Craig Adams delivered a big hit on Marc-Andre Bergeron. He hit the deck and was not moving.
If Bergeron misses any time, it would be a significant blow to Montreal's defense, already missing its key cog.
And Bergeron has gone from lying down to all fours and is now on is knees, rising up. While he'll be exiting the game, it looks as if he's avoided a severe blow.
A major penalty was assessed, so Montreal gets a 5-on-4 to close out the game. It's the perfect way to avoid Pittsburgh mounting a rally, even though it'll do what it can.
Third period, 3:00, 3-1 Canadiens: And Montreal just got a crucial insurance goal by Mike Cammalleri.
The Pens turned over the puck in the neutral zone to Cammalleri who drove one-on-one with Marc-Andre Fleuery with two defensemen in tow.
He slapped the shot over Fleury's left shoulder and the goaltender had zero chance.
Third period, 4:57, 2-1 Canadiens: Got to give Halak props for withstanding the barrage the Penguins just engineered.
Halak has now turned away 38 shots while his counterpart down the ice is working his way through War and Peace with 15 saves to his name.
Third period, 6:00, 2-1 Canadiens: The energy has picked back up here as time ticks down toward Montreal gaining a 1-1 series split,
So far in the third, the Penguins have 10 shots on goal while Montreal has just two.
Third period, 11:19, 2-1 Canadiens: Great backhander by DuPuis after fighting off interference that Halak turned away.
Marc-Andre Bergeron will head to the sin bin as a result of the interference and Pittsburgh gets another chance at the 5-on-4.
The Habs are playing very sloppy this period and just keep gifting penalities after being admirably restrained the first two periods.
Can they really afford to give Sidney Crosby and Co. these opportunities? Clearly not.
Third period, 12:22, 2-1 Canadiens: Not too much happening — the tempo isn't up to par with the first and second periods.
It's clear both sides are tiring — perhaps the Pens moreso given they were the ones that kept pushing the envelope earlier.
Third period, 17:38, 2-1 Canadiens: Montreal successfully killed off the Gill penalty, but Cammalleri was just whistled for high-sticking.
That's bad news for the Habs, as the Pens can now continue to firmly establish tempo.
Beginning of third period, 2-1 Canadiens: As a reminder, the Canadiens are without Hal Gill to begin the period as he was whistled for interference as the second period ended.
End of second period, 2-1 Canadiens: A late surge by the Penguins isn't enough to knot the game going into the third period.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin paired up to drive to the goal, but Halak turned away a Crosby feed to Malkin — then wipes out a backhand several seconds later.
Maxime Talbot then banged one off Halak in the waning seconds. Time was stopped as Hall Gill was cited for interference against Talbot.
The Penguins will have a man advantage entering the third for just under two minutes. It will be a crucial set for Pittsburgh — not just in the opening to score a goal, but to establish momentum.
Second period, 2:12, 2-1 Canadiens: The Penguins have 15 shots on goal. The Habs have two.
And yet the Habs have the one that counts that has them up 2-1.
The Penguins keep trying to corral the puck and push hard down on the ice, but Montreal has established their own tempo and is doing a great job in disrupting any attempt.
Second period, 3:26, 2-1 Canadiens: Halak has been nothing short of impressive thus far, turning away 20 shots on goal.
The Pens' Fleury has been able to take it easy with 14 stoppages, although he's let two go through compared to Halak's one.
Second period, 7:00, 2-1 Canadiens: Sidney Crosby is not happy. He snapped his stick after feeling he was interfered with — there was no call on the play.
Crosby so far has been held to just one shot on goal in the opening minute of the game but otherwise has been non-factor despite leading the Pens in time on ice.
Second period, 12:15, 2-1 Canadiens: The Canadiens are now ahead of Pittsburgh on a goal scored by Mike Cammalleri.
The goal came on a power play, and that's been what's hurt the Penguins severely so far.
Besides the obvious of giving up a goal with a man down, the first power play in the first period caused the Pens to lose the momentum and tempo they had established.
Second period, 13:16, 1-1: Both teams won't be having dinner together anytime soon.
The Penguins smelled a chance to get a goal. While that didn't happen due to missing the puck as it bounced around a scrum in front of the goal, it did spark people taking swings at each other.
Just when it looked like a full-scale brawl might ensue, the puck was kicked out and since play was still live, players quickly dispersed to grab the puck.
Halak gloved another attempt to force a goal into the Canadiens' net and play has now stopped.
Second period, 16:00, 1-1: Although the Canadiens have done a good jobin making sure the momentum is at the very least not established, they've been whiffing on a lot of chances.
A Canadien player tried to one-time a shot and missed badly, and passes have gone awry. The Penguins are faring better in execution, but haven't been able to break through just yet.
Beginning of second period, 1-1: For the Canadiens to keep things close, they'll have to come barreling out of the period establishing the momentum.
As the first period showed, once Pittsburgh gets to play their fast game, the Habs will struggle to keep up.
End of first period, 1-1: A game that started out firmly in favor of the Penguins has now ended with both teams trading punches and trying to establish momentum.
Matt Cooke got the scoring started for Pittsburgh and the team held the momentum until a Ruslan Fedotenko interference call interrupted Pittsburgh's momentum.
The Canadiens took advantage of the 5-on-4 to establish their own momentum.
That paid off minutes later as Brian Gionta buried home a goal to knot the game.
1st period, 4:00, 1-1: Brian Gionta ties the game for the Canadiens.
Gionta set up in front of Fleury as his teammates went to the backboards and fed the puck back to Gionta.
Despite a defenseman in between Gionta and the goalie, it was easy pickings for the winger, who has his fourth goal of the playoffs.
1st period, 4:10, 1-0 Penguins: The last few minutes have been a see-saw affair as the power play opportunity seems to have balanced things.
1st period, 9:10, 1-0 Penguins: The Montreal Canadiens have the advantage of a power play, and it's finally gotten the team a bit of momentum.
Scott Gomez passes to Brian Gionta in front of the crease and he attempts to flip it into the goal, but Marc-Andre Fleury holds on.
1st period, 12:00, 1-0 Penguins: Even as Matt Cooke departs the game after being the victim (for once) of a check into the boards, the Pens aren't losing a beat.
The heat continues to stay on the Canadiens and it is striking how much Pittsburgh is controlling both the puck and the tempo. It's all Montreal can do to just keep up.
1st period, 13:41, 1-0 Penguins: Pittsburgh is keeping at it and Halak had to withstand a barrage of choppy sticks in front of his face.
Halak keeps getting assaulted on all fronts as the Habs desperately try to gain momentum on the other side of the ice.
1st period, 15:22, 1-0 Penguins: The Penguins have really brought the pressure early and fast.
They've already extended Halak and barely missed a goal after catching the goalie napping behind the net trying to clear the puck.
And now they've got what they came for.
Pascal Dupuis won a faceoff, dished it to Maxime Talbot who fed it onto Matt Cooke.
Cooke did a nice deke and got a goal to send the Penguins up 1-0.
2:25 p.m.: There's a lot of frenetic action back and forth, and the Penguins have a 2-1 shots on goal advantage already.
2:10 p.m.: And we are about to kick off action on NBC.
Both teams are without the services of a key player that has gotten their respective teams to where they are.
Jordan Staal is out indefinitely with a severed tendon in his right foot. Not good news for the Penguins, who will miss the fantastic two-way player.
The Habs will be without defenseman Andrei Markov who was injured when checked by — get this — Matt Cooke (pictured). Of course.
8 a.m.: Even without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins made mincemeat out of the Canadiens Friday.
After taking Game 1 of the second-round series 6-3, the Penguins will look to keep the pressure on the Habs in a game scheduled for 2 p.m on Sunday.
Keep an eye on who will be in goal for the Canadiens. After giving up five goals in the game, Jaroslav Halak was yanked in favor of Carey Price.
Will Halak's 1.00 GAA in the playoffs prior to Friday's debacle prevail, or is a changing of the guard taking place?