NHL Analysis and Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The first round of the NHL playoffs brought many surprises and a few upsets. Boston ousted Ryan Miller & the Buffalo Sabres, the Broad Street Bullies defeated the Devils in five games, & of-course, The Montreal Canadiens defeating the best team in the NHL in seven games.

With the second round starting Thursday night, there are four match-ups that are set to make for an exciting second round.

Montreal Canadiens (8) (39-33-10) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (4) (47-28-7)

Season Series: Pittsburgh: 3-1-0 / Montreal: 1-3-0                                              

Goal-Scoring: Pittsburgh:15 Goals / Montreal: 9 Goals                                                 

Games In Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh: 2-0-0 / Montreal: 0-2-0                                           

Games In Montreal: Pittsburgh: 1-1-0 / Montreal: 1-1-0

Under-Dog: Montreal

Analysis: Montreal Canadiens have the advantage in goal with Jaroslav Halak being the hero for the Habs in the first round. Big confidence gained in the Montreal Canadiens line-up. Pittsburgh has the winning experience and know what it takes, a well balanced team that will need to find the holes through the Montreal well structured defense. Montreal offense must step up and get to Marc Andre Fleury quick & often.

Keys to winning for the Montreal Canadiens:

—Montreal will benefit if they take as many shots as possible from all possible angles. Marc-Andre Fleury has not been great in the post-season and Montreal should use that to their advantage. Getting off to a good start early and quick in each games will be critical for Montreal.

—Jaroslav Halak had an out-standing first round however, he must keep up his play and the team all around needs to be more confident in carrying the puck into the opposing zone to help Halak out, keeping him from getting fatigued over a long series.

—Montreal needs to contain Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin. When on the penalty kill, Montreal must be real careful keeping an eye on Crosby down by the net and avoid him from keeping control near & behind the net.

Keys to winning for the Pittsburgh Penguins:

—Marc-Andre Fleury must step up. If Pittsburgh has trouble beating Jaroslav Halak, Fleury must step up to steal one or two games for his team. He often looked shaky in the first round and has to keep his composure and focus.

—Pittsburgh must do their best job at being disciplined. If they tend to take to many bad penalties, it might very well haunt them especially for Fleury.

—Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin need to continue their dominance and if they can find a way to beat Jaroslav Halak early and quick, they might throw Halak off his game for the entire game.

Prediction: Montreal in seven.