Montreal were led brilliantly by goaltender Carey Price in their 2-0 win over Boston in game one of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference quarter-final.
The series has been touted as a showdown between two of the best goalies in the NHL, with Price taking on Boston's Tim Thomas, but it was the Canadiens man who reigned supreme on Thursday, stopping all 31 Boston shots to post his third playoff shutout.
Two goals from right-wing Brian Gionta, assisted both times by centre Scott Gomez, helped the Canadiens take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Montreal have a history of upsetting their more fancied rivals in the playoffs, after last year entering the post-season seeded eighth and upsetting top seeds Washington in their quarter-final.
Eastern Conference seventh seeds Buffalo took a 1-0 series lead over last year's Stanley Cup runners-up the Philadelphia Flyers thanks to a third-period goal from Patrick Kaleta and a shutout from goalie Ryan Miller which lifted them to a 1-0 win on the road.
And in the Western Conference quarter-finals, second seeds San Jose gained the edge in game one against the Los Angeles Kings with a 3-2 overtime win at HP Pavilion.
With scores locked at 2-2 after regulation time, a goal from centre Joe Pavelski 14 minutes 44 seconds into the extra period was enough to hand the Sharks the win.
Dany Heatley and Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, while Dustin Brown and Justin Williams converted for Los Angeles.