#MTLHockey Preview
Match-up
The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs launch the 2014-2015 NHL Season Wednesday night when the puck drops at the Air Canada Centre at 7:15 p.m. Opening day celebrations, dubbed NHL Face-Off, start at noon in Toronto with Maple Leafs Alumni on hand, including Wendel Clark, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Darryl Sittler.In Canada, the game can be seen on the NHL's new broadcasting partners, TVA Sports in French and Sportsnet in English.
The Habs and Leafs meet four times this season, including the last game of their 82-game schedules. After Wednesday, the teams won't meet again until February 14. Last year the Habs earned wins in three of the five meetings between the two Original Six rivals, including an overtime win. Last season, Max Pacioretty had five goals and two assists in five games against the Leafs while James Van Riemsdyk had five points, all goals, against the Habs.
What to Watch
A new season brings fresh faces, fresh contracts to live up to, fresh expectations, and fresh hopes after a deep playoff run ended in the Eastern Conference Finals with Carey Price watching from the crowd.New to the Habs this season are P.A. Parenteau, Jiri Sekac, Manny Malhotra, and Tom Gilbert. Parenteau is expected to start with David Desharnais and Pacioretty on the top line, while Sekac had been practicing with Lars Eller and Rene Bourque the team's two top scoring forwards in last year's playoff run. Malhotra meanwhile slots between Brandon Prust and Dale Weise.
The addition of Gilbert and Nathan Beaulieu, expected to be a regular with the big club this year, means the Canadiens have more offensive firepower on defense. PK Subban will continue to lead the way this season, the former Norris Trophy winner is expected to be called upon for even strength, power play, and penalty kill duties.
The Leafs have made several new additions as well, including the return of Russian tank Leo Komorov, who played in the KHL last season after his 2012-2013 rookie season with the Leafs. Stephane Robidas will be playing his first game with the Leafs Wednesday night, and his first game since a broken leg ended his season last year. Robidas will start his tenure with the Leafs against the team that drafted him 19 years ago.
Other new additions to the Leafs roster this year include Mike Santorelli, Roman Polak, Daniel Winnik and David Booth. Matt Frattin also returned to the Leafs this off-season, he last played for the team during the 2012-2013 season.
What's at Stake
With the Canadiens and Maple Leafs playing the traditional first game of the hockey season, the winner will take the early lead in this year's Presidents' Trophy race, at least until the Boston-Philadelphia game finishes up about a half hour later. Both teams will want to start the year off right, the Habs will be looking to continue their success after a long run in last year's playoffs, while the Leafs will hope to rebound from an end-of-season slide that saw them miss the post-season for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.Who's Out
The Canadiens go into the new season healthy, despite a couple of pre-season bumps and bruises to Parenteau and Eller.The Leafs are missing new acquisition David Booth who is expected to miss at least a month of action with a broken foot. Cody Franson (knee) is also out.
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