Canadiens center David Desharnais goes for a slide during the third period in Game 5 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey game in Boston on April 23.BRIAN SNYDER/Reuters
They have to say it, of course.
But there's a difference between talking about game seven as if it's an inevitability and actually believing it.
Insofar as it's possible to divine these things, the Montreal Canadiens certainly appear convinced that they're going to win Tuesday's game six against the Boston Bruins.
"(Wednesday) is going to be even bigger," rookie centre Lars Eller, one of the Habs' best performers this series, replied when asked if game six is the biggest game of his career.
"I like the back-to-back for us at this point," said teammate Michael Cammalleri, evoking the likelihood that the teams will travel back to Boston for a series-deciding game.
Defenceman Hal Gill said that given the narrow victories by the Bruins in the last two games - which has allowed them to climb out of an 0-2 series deficit - "I assume this is going to be a tight game as well."
Asked what the key to winning would be, Gill deadpanned: "for the most part, to score more goals than them."
If the Habs are loose in the knowledge that twice last year they were able to beat favoured opponents at home in game six (Cammalleri scored early in both those games), the Bruins are mindful of the perils of giving their opponents new life.
"We have to find a way to make (the crowd) a non-factor again," said Boston's Milan Lucic, who has produced only one assist in the series to this point.
Lucic also said that the Chicago Blackhawks' comeback against the Vancouver Canucks conjures painful memories of Boston's deflating collapse against Philadelphia last year - an experience the Bruins are determined not to repeat.
"It's hard when those wheels start turning," he said.
The team that scored the first goal has won all but one game in the series to this point (the exception was game four, where the Habs took a 3-1 lead only to lose in overtime), so both teams will be looking to exert early pressure.
There are no lineup changes for Boston, but the Canadiens will likely have to play without centre David Desharnais, who reportedly sprained his knee in a game five overtime defeat this past weekend, and defenceman James Wisniewski, who skipped practice on Tuesday.
Both are officially game-time decisions, although it seems likely that defenceman-cum-forward Yannick Weber will see his first action since scoring the insurance goal in game two.