Playoff Preview: #1 Montreal Canadians vs. #8 Boston Bruins

Forwards:

The Habs are an extremely deep group of forwards that are among the conference elite. The Habs offer the best 1/2 center combo north of Pittsburgh with the wily old Saku Koivu (psst... Koivu is hurt) still being his usual annoying self and the emergence of a young Tomas Plekanic who has seen his game grow leaps in bounds. The Bruins too have talent. There’s that Patrice Bergeron guy (what he’s hurt...fuck), Marc Savard (what he’s hurt too…fuck) and even emerging winger Chuck Kobasew (yep even he is out) so uh whose going to score? The only guy I think will do anything worth it for the Bruins is rook Milan Lucic. Milan Lucic is the real deal and built for the playoffs. The kid is a hitting machine and fighting machine and will be the guy that Habs fans will grow to HATE. Regardless, The Bruins need one of Marco Sturm, Phil Kessel to help young Lucic out as the only the Bruins can expect to win this series is by keeping close and keeping up with the high octane Canadian offense. Maybe even Glen Murray can eventually remember how to score again.

Edge: Habs

Defensemen:

What you will see in this match up is two of the best defensemen in the East go at it. Obviously, Zdeno Chara is a beast for the Bruins and will be an impact player in this series but Andrei Markov for the Canadians is an offensive dynamo but has backed it up with solid defensive play in his own zone. However with the rest of the crew, the Habs have more depth all around. Streit and Komisarek can all be game breakers while Harmlik is such a great stabilizing force on D. Bruins have some talent on the backend too but it pales in comparison. Montreal's defense is faster, more skilled, chips in offensively more often, and most importantly doesn’t have to rely on a trap system to be effective.

Edge: Habs

Goalies:

On one hand you got Carey Price who is only 20 but already is showing a tremendous amount of poise and talent in this his rookie season. On the other hand, you have average Joe Tim Thomas who somehow continues to get wins. It’s not that Thomas is anything special. He’s just a blue collar, lunch pail, and try hard sort of guy. I’m sure he gets his inspiration from the great Tyler Hansborough. Anyway, Thomas will have to keep the Bruins in it otherwise this series will be quick. It’s still a mega risk for the Habs to go with a 20 year old and expect to compete in the playoffs. Price definitely has the tools but can he handle the pressure? Especially in hockey’s hot bed (yes there is such a place)?

Edge: Bruins

Intangibles:

For whatever reason, the Bruins continue to hang around all season despite a ton of man games lost due to injury. If you compare the teams, the Bruins have lost 330 man games to the Habs’ 70. The Bruins know how to deal with stress as they’ve rocked out all year. They are coming into this series with nothing to lose and that’s always good in the playoffs.

Edge: Bruins

Coaching:

Claude Julien has instilled his trap in Boston and the team has responded with a playoff year when many wrote of this team (myself included) It’s not a fancy system by any means but built on sound defense and punishing play. Julien has to echo to this team the need to stay disciplined. Montreal has the top power play in the league with 2 units that can score amongst the best of them so staying out of the box is absolutely crucial. Julien has maximized his group to its full potential and than some. Carbonneau isn’t a slouch either by any means but he has way more toys to work with.

Edge: Bruins

Prediction:

The 31st postseason meeting between will have its share of intrigue and history. All-time, the Habs have taken 23 of 30 playoff series all time from the Bruins. No two clubs have faced each other more often in the NHL's postseason. The Habs have beaten the Bruins 11 times in a row going back to last season and are 8-0 against the Bs this year. I don’t see a sweep because the Thomas will steal a game and the Bruins are among the best defensive teams in the East. Still Chara will attempt to slow down Alexei Kovalev and I think he’s up to the task. The scoring burden falls on the other Habs like Tomas Plekanec, Bryan Smolinski, Chris Higgins and the Kostitsyns to pick up the slack in Koivu’s absence which they are more than capable of doing. Bruins should get back Bergeron and Savard at some point so there is some hope for the Bruins. They absolutely must score first and force the Habs into their type of game.

Habs in 6