The
Canadiens (17-8-2) continue their road trip Friday night as they are in
Chicago to face the Blackhawks (16-8-1). The game starts at 8:30 and
airs on RDS and Sportsnet East.
This is the second and final
meeting between the Habs and the Hawks this season. The Canadiens
dropped the first game on home ice 5-0. Despite out-shooting the
Blackhawks 11-5 in the first period, the Canadiens went into the first
intermission trailing 1-0 on a goal by Jonathon Toews. Corey Crawford made 28 saves in the game to earn the shutout.
What to Watch
Alex Galchenyuk
scored his sixth goal of the season against the Wild on Wednesday, it
was his third straight game with a point, bringing him up to 17 on the
season. Like Galchenyuk, PK Subban also extended his point streak to three games and reached 17 points on the season with an assist on Wednesday.
The Blackhawks have won four straight led by the trio of Patrick Kane, Kris Verteeg and Brad Richards.
Kane has 25 points on the season including seven in his last games.
Versteeg has a goal and six assists in his last three games and Richards
has five points in his last three.
What's at Stake
The Canadiens have slipped to three points back of the Lightning for top spot in the East, and are two points back on the PenguinsIslanders (the Islanders, really? are you sure?) as well. Moreover, the
Canadiens have a chance to avenge the 5-0 loss they suffered to the
Blackhawks on home ice earlier in the year.
Who's Out
Michael Bournival has been sent the the Bulldogs for reconditioning as he nears his return to the Habs lineup.
Corey Crawford injured his foot at a concert earlier in the week and will be out for two to three weeks. Patrick Sharp (leg) and Trevor Van Riemsdyk (knee) are also out for the Hawks.
What Else
The
Canadiens are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Wild on Wednesday, it was
the 11th time in 27 games that the team was held to one goal or fewer in
regulation. It's a trend the team will need to reverse if they expect
to have continued success as the season progresses.
The Question Mark
While Carey Price has probably been the team's MVP to this point in the season, who has been the team's best skater?
I've just got to start by saying wow, is hockey an awesome game or what?
What incredible hockey we have been, and continue to be, treated to so far in these 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If you haven't been watching the Stanley Cup finals, it has so far been a tremendously hard-fought two games with no quarter asked or given.
So far, it looks like the Canucks have the Bruins exactly where they want them.
But if there's one thing we've learned about Boston this offseason it's that they never give up. Ever. The Bruins are the most tenacious team in this year's playoffs and, as such, I don't expect them to roll over for the Canucks any time soon.
To steal a line from Teddy KGB, this team's got alligator blood. They keep hanging around and hanging around.
As such, I expect their strongest effort of the playoffs tonight as the series shifts to the TD Garden in Boston.
The Burrows Effect
Alex Burrows is a player that knows how to drive the opposition crazy. Not only by his lip-flapping after the whistle, but by his tremendously gritty on-ice play and timely goals.
So far in this series, Burrows continues to be the yin to the Sedins' yang as he does the dirty work, creating time and space for the talented twins. In addition, Burrows continues to agitate the opposition.
During Game 1, Burrows was accused of biting Patrice Bergeron's finger while in a scrum and, looking at the replay, he looks pretty guilty. That being said, Burrows got a good talking to by his father after Game 2.
His dad told him that he didn't like that Burrows was getting attention for foolish things like finger biting. He went on to tell Alex that he should get attention by scoring goals and not by performing foolish antics.
Well, it looks like Alex listened to his father because he scored a huge game winning goal in Game 2. 11 seconds into overtime, to be specific, sealing the victory and a 2-0 series lead for Vancouver.
And if that wasn't enough, Burrows, speaking to the media after the game, explained that the Canucks did some advanced scouting on Boston goalie Tim Thomas. He went on to say that Thomas tends to be overly aggressive and that he took advantage of that on the goal.
Since then, that seems to be the only thing anyone is asking the Bruins about, as the soon-to-be two-time Vezina winner's play is suddenly called into question. Boston, from their coach on down to Thomas himself, are pooh-poohing any notion their goalie needs to change anything, and I tend to agree.
That being said, the question is not whether Thomas should change anytime, but rather if Burrows' comments will affect Boston, and more specifically, Thomas. Thomas was noticeably agitated by questions about his play during interviews yesterday.
So does that mean that the next time a Canucks player comes down the wing Thomas will think twice about challenging the shooter and in doing so, get away from playing his game?
It remains to be seen, but you've got to love the playoff psychological games that are being played by Burrows.
Masterful.
While I fully believe that Vancouver will win this series and originally picked them in six games, the Bruins will not lose both games in Boston. They have too much pride, grit and determination to get swept. That being said, I think they'll lose one, however, and that the Canucks will wrap this up in five at home in Vancouver.
Topics include:
-reflections and recap of the Stanley Cup Finals thus far implications for game 3 in Boston
-Winnipeg gets an NHL franchise... again...will it work this time? (see Atlanta, Minnesota etc...)
-Colin Campbell steps down...thoughts
-Shanny to take over functions...thoughts
-expecting drastic changes or same old same old?
-Habs signed Hal Gill: good or bad signing?
-Dallas will not make an offer to Brad Richards, should Habs follow suit with AK46?
Click play below to listen in (listing time 47:06):
--- Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
Topics include: -reflections and recap of the Stanley Cup Finals thus far implications for game 3 in Boston -Winnipeg gets an NHL franchise... again...will it work this time? (see Atlanta, Minnesota etc...) -Colin Campbell steps down...thoughts -Shanny to take over functions...thoughts -expecting drastic changes or same old same old? -Habs signed Hal Gill: good or bad signing? -Dallas will not make an offer to Brad Richards, should Habs follow suit with AK46?
Click play below to listen in (listing time 47:06):
The Montreal Canadiens have been going through a rough patch lately.
Since roaring out to a 12-5-1 record over their first 18 games the Canadiens have struggled to maintain a .500 record since, going 7-7-1 over 15 games. The Habs' latest set back was a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in Denver, with the game marking the first of seven on a grueling road trip.
The Habs roll into Dallas tonight to take on the Stars, winners of two straight including a 4-3 overtime victory over the Red Wings on Sunday. To say that the Stars are hot right now would be an understatement as they have gone 10-2-2 in their last 14 games to roar to the top of the Western Conference standings.
The Stars currently have 43 points in the standings, one back of Detroit for first overall in the West. They are also currently tied for third overall in the league with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Yes, you read that right, the Thrashers.
The Stars offense is led by the brilliant efforts of Brad Richards. His 38 points (15G, 23A) tie him for sixth overall in league scoring with Daniel Sedin and Alexander Ovechkin, one point back of Pavel Datsyuk and Corey Perry.
Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson, James Neal and Brendan Morrow account for 58 of 95 goals the Stars have scored this season, or 61 percent of their offense. As such, the Habs would do well to try and shut down these players and to avoid the costly turnovers that have been so present over the last few weeks.
The Canadiens power play has come to life over the last month and now sits 11th overall in the league at 19.1 percent while their PK is still tops in the league at 87.9 percent. Dallas, on the other hand, has not been very good in the special teams department with a 16.7 percent power play (18th overall) and an 80.3 percent penalty kill (22nd overall).
If the Canadiens attack with speed and draw penalties they should be able to press their advantage.
The Stars are a team that tends to win tight, one-goal games as their plus-five goal differential demonstrates. So with the Habs likely to employ a neutral zone trap, tonight's game should be a close, tightly contested match.
Carey Price will get the start for the Habs, his 31st of the season, and he will be pushing for a league leading 19th win. There is no official word yet on who will be in the net for Dallas, but with two day off since their last game you would expect Kari Lehtonen to get his 25th start of the season.
The puck drops at around 9:10 pm EST.
Player Updates
1:18 pm EST - RDS is reporting that both Yannick Weber and Andrei Kostitsyn will be healthy scratches for tonight's game. Lars Eller looks like he will slot in on the top line with Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri.
