No fear of Montreal. I don't think there's a goalie who can shut us down over a 7 game series, regardless how hot, without a good team and system in front of him. ...Which is why the Isles are my biggest fear this year.
I think any of the better teams CAN beat us. We're definitely not invincible, and I do worry about a team clogging us to death. More specifically, I worry that Jon Cooper won't have a response for it.
I think we match up a lot better against the Pens than in 2016, but it's hard not to be a little intimidated by all that success. And Washington just always seems to have our number in the regular season, and obviously in the playoffs last year, but I think at least part of the reason they were SO much better than us last year was Trotz vs. Cooper (and Bowness wasn't exactly helping).
The coaching shake up we underwent (firing Bowness, moving Richards, hiring/promoting Halpern) has paid off in the regular season, but we'll have to wait to see just how real the results have been.