Playoff Preview: Canadiens vs Lightning (Round 1, Game 4)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens take to Bell Centre ice on Tuesday, looking to close out the first round series against the Lightning in front of their faithful. The game starts at 7:00 and airs on RDS and CBC.

The Habs have gone 3-for-3 so far this series and have the first opportunity to eliminate a team from the 2014 playoffs. The Lightning can take solace in the fact 2 of the 3 games could have gone either way, they lost Game 1 in overtime and dropped Game 3 by a goal after a controversial disallowed marker.

What to Watch:

Rene Bourque is on a tear, opening the scoring Sunday with a goal 11 seconds into the game. He finished the night with 8 shots and leads the team with 15 through 3 games. Brendan Gallagher and Lars Eller each have points in all 3 playoff games for the Habs. Eller's point streak stretches back to the regular season, he has 7 points in his last 5 games.

Steven Stamkos is up to 4 points in the playoffs after assisting on both Tampa Bay goals Sunday Night. Despite recording 3 straight losses, the play of Anders Lindback has improved during the playoffs. Lindback made 28 saves in Sunday's 3-2 loss and did what he could to keep his team in the game despite a handful of top-quality scoring chances for Montreal.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens have a chance to close out this series and move on to the second round for the first time since 2010. A win on Tuesday would see the Habs as the first team through to the second round in this year's playoffs, giving them plenty of all important rest and time to prepare for the winner of Boston-Detroit. A win for the Lightning would keep their playoff dreams alive and shift the series back to Tampa for Game 5.

Who's Out:

The Canadiens are missing Travis Moen (concussion) for at least one more game, but he's received the green light for contact. Alex Galchenyuk (knee) is still out for the time being.

The Lightning are missing Ben Bishop (elbow). Steven Stamkos, who missed the end of the second period in Game 3 is expected to play game 4.

What Else:

The Canadiens are looking to sweep their first playoff Series since eliminating the Buffalo Sabres in 4 en route to their last Stanley Cup in 1993. The haven't been on the verge of a sweep since that series, but they have been swept 3 times since, once by the Lightning. The Habs have gone up 3 games to none 30 other times in their history, winning Game 4 in 22 of those cases.

The Question Mark:

Which teams look most to you like Cup threats so far? Are the Habs in that mix?

Let us know what you think, leave us a comment or send us a tweet with the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens at Lightning (Round 1, Game 1)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens are in Tampa Bay Wednesday night to take on the Lightning in the first game of Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Game starts at 7:00 and airs on RDS and CBC.

The Habs and Bolts faced off 4 times during the regular season. The first 3 meetings went beyond regulation and the Lightning led the fourth game by just one goal until a late empty-netter put that match away for good. In the end, the Canadiens managed just a single win against the Lightning during the regular season, a 2-1 shootout victory in Tampa.

What to Watch:

The Canadiens will depend on Carey Price to keep up his stellar play in the post-season. Price, team MVP for a fourth consecutive year, finished the season with a career best .927 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average, boosted by a 41-save shutout to end the season.

The Habs will also look to leading scorer Max Pacioretty to keep up his production. The sniper fell short of the 40-goal mark this season, but with 39 goals, Pacioretty finished fourth in the league in that department.

The Lightning will start the playoffs without their starting goalie. Ben Bishop is out with an elbow injury, meaning the Bolts will need to rely on backup, Anders Lindback to get the job done. The good news for Tampa is that Lindback was named the NHL's First Star in the last week of the season, he posted a 3-0-0 record, a 0.67 goals against average and a .975 save percentage.

What's at Stake:

The Lightning edged out the Canadiens by just 1 point to earn home ice advantage in the first round, but the Canadiens can swing the advantage back with a win on the road. During last year's playoffs, the teams that won Game 1 in the opening round won just 5 of the 8 series', but beyond the first round, every team that won the series opener went on to take their series.

Who's Out:

The Habs will be without Alex Galchenyuk (knee) for the first round, Brandon Prust (upper body) is day-to-day, as is Travis Moen (concussion).

Ben Bishop (elbow) won't be playing Wednesday, there's no word yet when he may be ready to return. Ondrej Palat (upper body) and Valtteri Filppula (lower body) are day-to-day.

What Else:

This is just the second time the Habs and Lightning are meeting in the postseason, their first meeting came in the second round of the 2004 playoffs while the Lightning were en route to the franchise's first and only Stanley Cup win. The Canadiens have yet to beat the Lightning in a playoff game, they were swept the first time around and managed just 4 goals in four games.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you, what are the Habs' keys to victory in order to eliminate the Lightning?

Let us know what you think, leave us a comment or send us a tweet with the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Habs/Lightning, Fishing For Sharks, Time To Lower Standards? And More...

Good Morning Addicts!



Brandon Prust is coming off a career high three point game, notching
one goal and two assists against the Carolina Hurricanes.

 The Montreal Canadiens kick off the second half of this short 2013 season tonight in Tampa Bay as they face the Lightning hoping to earn their second straight victory after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Thursday night.

The teams will meet for the second time this season with the Habs winning the first contest 4-3 in shoot-out's back in February.

Brandon Prust is coming off a career high three point night and Carey Price was back to his usual form after two less than stellar outings leading up to the win in Carolina.

With Yannick Weber suffering a lower body injury against the 'Canes and Raphael Diaz still out with a concussion, the Habs have called up defenseman Greg Pateryn from the Hamilton bulldogs.

It has not yet been announced whether Price will be in nets tonight and with the team facing the Panthers tomorrow in Florida it's a safe bet that the starting goalie will get one of the twon nights off. Price has a 7-6-2 lifetime record against the Bolts with no shutouts, a 2.55 GAA and .908 sv%. Budaj has gone 2-1-0 with a 3.37 GAA and .880 sv%, also no shutouts.

In nets for the Lightning will be either Anders Lindback who's start against the habs earlier this season was his only contest against the Canadiens where he posted a 2.77 GAA and .912 sv% in the 4-3 shoot-out loss. Cedrick Desjardins, the former Hab, is the other option who posted a 1.00 GAA and .964 sv% in his only start against his former team, a 4-1 Lightning victory.

Habs And Hockey News

- With the word out that the Habs are potentially interested in making a deal with the Sharks, Fred Poulin weighs in.

- Arik Parnass of Habs Eyes On the Prize asks, "Is it time to lower our standards on Habs greats?".

- With the trade deadline less than a month away, here are some rumors from around the league.


(Photo by Gerry Broome, Associated Press)

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