Pages

Wednesday 15 October 2014

PRE Game Five: Boston @ Habs



It's an exciting time.

Habs fans will pile into the Bell Centre and witness a rematch with the team that provided them with the most entertaining moments last spring. The series fresh minds of both teams. The wounds, both physical and mental are still raw. BOSTON VS MONTREAL. It'll be good.

Here are some of the questions fans have heading into tomorrow's tilt:

Scooter ‏@Habs_Scooter : Will Swedish Gretzky, Dale Weise, drop Milan Lucic about his comments from last year??

LOL. Swedish Gretzky... I think that the situation was pretty well diffused by both sides. The playoff series was so emotionally charged and that was definitely a boiling point. The waters have calmed and I'd be surprised if we saw anything occur. It wouldn't be a smart decision for Weise to try to "drop" Lucic. Unless it's a sucker punch, I'd put my money on Lucic staying on his feet and landing some damaging blows. Don't expect anything to happen, Weise will stay away and if Lucic is completely distracted to settle a personal vendetta, advantage Habs. Furthermore, I don't even think they'll be on the ice at the same time on many occasions, considering the roles they play. I'd be more inclined to see a confrontation between Lucic and Alexei Emelin, with Lucic taking a retaliatory penalty.

@Cnt_ScrutinizerTherrien protect Weise and have him as a healthy scratch?

This is the Boston Bruins, on opening night at the Bell Centre. There's no "protecting players." You have to go with the lineup that gives you the best chance to win. That lineup would include Weise and not Travis Moen. Plus, it sends the wrong message. Scratching Weise for that reason would be playing scared. He's a big boy and he can handle himself. And he's going to have to face Lucic at some point. Wouldn't a better spot be the friendly confines of the Bell Centre instead of the TD Garden in Boston?

HabsFan ‏@ChrisShannon16: Are the Bruins going to goon it up is my question. Would love to hear your opinion And how should the Habs set their lineup for tomorrow?

Thanks for the questions. The Bruins really appear to be heading away from that identity of "gooning" it up. Of course they have a ton of guys that play tough, physical and can hold their own in a fight. But I don't think they'll go about looking for fights. Having started the season slow by their standards, with expectations high... they're better off just playing hockey. If the score is titled in either direction, then all bets are off.

As far as the lineup is concerned. I don't think much changes. The Canadiens won 3/4 on the road to start the season. The only question mark I have is the final defensive spot. With Emelin potentially coming back from injury, that leaves Jared Tinordi or Nathan Beaulieu at risk of coming out. My preference would be to see Beaulieu stay in the lineup, however with the size and physicality of Boston, perhaps Therrien plays things differently.

FROM MYSELF: What is the pre game ceremony going to look like?

We all remember what the pre game ceremony was like at last year's opener... Daniel Briere lightning the torch. It turned out to be a bust. As did the Briere experiment in general. This year, I'm hoping they get it right. This team is Carey Price. The team knows it, the media knows it and the fans know it. Many have speculated that despite having four alternate captains, Carey Price is the true leader on this team. There wouldn't be a better way of showing that than having Price light the torch. It won't be a bust like a year ago.

- Mitchy



No comments:

Post a Comment