While the Montreal Canadiens could very well get blown out in Wednesday night's Game 7 in Washington, until then Habs fans can revel in the awesome performance of goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

And if Montreal wins, there's no doubting the reason why.

Halak made a number of scintillating saves, per the late Danny Gallivan, among his 53 stops in a tour de force performance in Montreal's 4-1 victory in Game 6 at Bell Centre on Monday night.

Hockey Hall of Fame writer Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette told CBCSports.ca it was one of the greatest goaltending performances he's ever seen.

That's saying something, given Montreal's history of clutch playoff goaltending. Focusing on the modern era, there are a number of highlights:

• Ken Dryden stones Jim Pappin/Chicago Blackhawks, Game 7, 1971.
• Patrick Roy, 44 saves, 13 in overtime, vs. New York Rangers, Game 1986.
• Roy, 40 saves vs. Los Angeles, Game 4, 1993 (the wink was directed at teammate John LeClair, not Tomas Sandstrom as often claimed).
• Jose Theodore, 32-save shutout vs. Boston, Game 7, 2004.