Tonight the Montreal Canadiens open their first home game of the season against the rival Boston Bruins. We all know the history: last season Habs went 8-0, but Boston took them to game 7 in the first round of the playoffs.
The Bruins have added erstwhile Canadien Michael Ryder, and also have Patrice Bergeron back. Bergeron has always personally done well against the Habs, and I fully expect Ryder to bring his A-game. He has a knack for coming up big in pressure situations, with the exception of last season's UFA debacle. He was also coached by, and thrived under, Claude Julien in both the AHL and NHL.
The Bruins will be missing Glen Metropolit this season. He's not a superstar, but he brought chemistry and grit to the Bruins and his absence is bigger than many people may realize. Boston seemed to signal a "rebuilding" clue with the trade and Alberts this week. That one remains a mystery to me.
Of course, we'll roll the dice to see who gets the start in net for the Bruins, and what kind of performance we'll see out of him.
Key players tonight: Bergeron, Ryder, Zdeno Chara
Montreal has added two key players in Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang. So far, so good for them. Now we'll see how Carey Price can play. His glove hand has looked as bad as a Beer-league benchwarmer's so far, so that remains a crucial aspect if Price is going to see continued success. He is also the latest in a long line of Melanson-coached goalies who go down too early, so that may also become a factor. Boston's grit was a major part of the heart-attack series last year, and Montreal has tried to address that with the addition of Laraque.
Alexei Kovalev sent thank-you notes to Chara during the off-season for so many warm invitations to score on Tim Thomas last year, so that might be something to watch for. Latendresse did not send any such warm regards for the multiple pastings he received at the albatross's hands during last year's playoffs.
Key players tonight: Kovalev, Sergei Kostitsyn, Latendresse
I don't make predictions, but I do anticipate more of the same from last season's playoffs. Montreal will have its hands full with Ryder, Bergeron, Kessel, and Savard. Boston, on the other hand, may have trouble keeping up with Montreal's three fast-attack scoring lines.
What say you, P-stone and Derek? Habs win, the colors on the site stay Red/Blue, Bruins win, we go to (YUCK) Black/Gold?
1 comment:
Habs win big tonight. This Bruins team is mind boggling. Why the hell was Andrew Alberts traded this week? Wasn't he a young, stay at home, body banging defenseman? That move has me scratching my head. I'm so sick of crap coming out of this organization. It's always lets be good enough to make the playoffs but never lets be good enough to be a serious contender for a championship. If you can hear me out there: BOB KRAFT PLEASE BUY THE BRUINS!!!
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