32 Times and Counting: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadians

Once again the Bruins and Canadians meet in the playoffs. The Canadians come into this year’s playoffs struggling while the Bruins come in with all the confidence in the world. These two teams have never liked one another as shown last week in Boston’s 5-4 overtime victory over Montreal.

The Bruins come in to the series confident about their dominance over Montreal, but Montreal felt that way last year. However, unlike last year when the Bruins were playing well entering the playoffs, the Canadians have accumulated one point over their last four games.

The injury bug has hit the Canadians defensive corps hard, with Andrei Markov and Mathieu Schneider both banged up. However, Schneider should be in the lineup for the Canadians and Markov is still out.

Yet, don’t expect the Bruins to go easy on the nicked up Canadians. The Bruins big forwards, including hard hitter Milan Lucic, will try to bring a lot of physicality to the series.

One matchup to keep an eye out for is Lucic vs. Mike Komisarek. These two have tangled numerous times over the past few meetings and I expect the playoffs to be no different.

Goalies: Tim Thomas has beenby far one of, if not the, most consistent goaltender in the league this year leading all goalies in GAA and save percentage. Carey Price on the other end, has been very inconsistent and ranks 31st in each one of the categories. Advantage: Boston

Forwards: The physicality of the Bruins’ forwards should cause issues for the injured defense corps of the Canadians. The Bruins have seven 20 goal scorers, including deadline pickup Mark Recchi and team goal leader Phil Kessel.

The Canadians have three 20 goal scorers and their leading scorer Alex Kovalev has been very inconsistent, at one point he was even sent home to clear his head. The Canadians will try to match the physical play but the Bruins might just be too big.
Advantage: Boston

Defense: The Bruins have Norris Trophy candidate Zdeno Chara leading their defensive corps while Montreal’s leader is out. The Bruins defensive could also be very physical and be very smart with the puck.

The addition of Steve Montador has helped the Bruins get depth at the position. The Canadians are already injury riddled at the blue line and another injury could push them over the top.
Advantage: Boston

In the end the Bruins should make mince meat of Montreal this series however, the Canadians have history on their side. The Canadians also have nothing to lose which makes the series that much harder for the Bruins. If Montreal can steal a game in Boston, the Bruins might be in trouble.

If Montreal can get the Bruins to become undisciplined like they did last week, the Bruins could be in trouble. In the end, I see the Bruins winning the series in five but I won’t be surprised to see the series go to seven.