If the Montreal Canadiens win their playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it will be remembered as the upset magician Carey Price pulled out of his hat.

His .937 save percentage is unquestionably at the heart of the Habs’ 2-1 lead in this best-of-five qualifying round series. Game 4 is Friday at 4 p.m, ET on NBC Sports Network.

But the story of the first three games of this series really reads like the Agatha Christie novel Murder on the Orient Express, in which it wasn’t a single assailant who did-in the victim, but rather everyone on the train had a hand in it.

Likewise, many Canadiens’ fingerprints are all over these results in the first three games. While Price has been memorable with his performance, I’m going to remember Jeff Petry’s two game-winners, including one in over.

And Shea Weber has been monstrous, a bearded beast who looks like he stepped out of a Game of Thrones episode to wreak havoc on the Penguins for 10 days.

Paul Byron. Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Nick Suzuki. Plenty of contributors. Guess we understand why Claude Julien was still smiling when his team was down two goals in Game 3. Good effort. Thus far.

But you can be assured that the Canadiens don’t believe this series is over. Likewise, the Penguins still believe they can win it.

Guaranteed: More fun still to come.

The Penguins are feeling pressure today because everyone in the organization understands that the franchise is running out of quality chances to win the Stanley Cup again with this group.

Evgeni Malkin is 34. Sidney Crosby turns 33 tomorrow. Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist are also 33.

How many good runs do they have left? The NHL’s salary cap will probably be in a holding pattern at least for a couple more years. It’s not going to be easy for GM Jim Rutherford to upgrade the line-up.

But the Penguins believe they have a shot at winning this season. They certainly aren’t the favorites, but they looked very effective at times this season. They played a two-way style that looked like it could translate well to the playoffs.

The Jason Zucker acquisition gave the team another top six performer, and the pandemic gave Jake Guentzel time to be fully healed by the playoffs. It’s almost as if fate was giving the Penguins its best chance to make a long run.

Nothing was guaranteed. Plenty of quality Eastern teams in their path, including the rival Philadelphia Flyers who have developed into a strong contender. Boston, Tampa Bay and Washington also haven’t gone away.

The Penguins, however, believe they have a lineup that can at least stand-up to the gauntlet. And no team looks forward to facing the Penguins.

However, none of that will matter if the Penguins lose one more game to the Canadiens. That’s why there will be plenty of discussion among Penguins about poise, patience and perseverance today. Crosby said the team was far too loose after gaining a two-goal lead in Game 3. The sloppiness of Game 3 won’t matter if the Penguins win the next two games. Many teams have early trouble en route to a championship. Plenty of unknowns are in front of the Penguins.

What the Penguins do know is that if they lose the series to Montreal, this lost opportunity will probably haunt them for the rest of their lives. That’s the way it works for hockey players. They remember the squandered chances as much as they remember the success stories.

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