Bold Predictions for the Montreal Canadiens as the 2014-15 NHL Season Begins

The Montreal Canadiens' 2014-15 NHL season is finally upon us! Sure, it hasn't been that long of an offseason after last year's playoff run, but any amount of time without hockey in Montreal feels like an eternity. 

The Habs open up their season with games on back-to-back nights on the road. The first will be against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 8, followed by Washington's home opener the next night. They'll wrap up the week with their third game in four nights in Philadelphia on October 11. 

So what can fans expect from the Canadiens this season? Well, a playoff berth is expected. Anything short of that would be a major disappointment. Individually, 30 wins from Carey Price, 30 goals from Max Pacioretty and 50 points from P.K. Subban all seem realistic.

Yet a lot more could be achieved from both the team and its players this year. Let's take a look at what could be if the Canadiens turn in a great year.

Here are some bold predictions for the Montreal Canadiens as the 2014-15 NHL season begins. 

Carey Price Wins the Vezina Trophy

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Carey Price

Carey Price had an incredible season in 2013-14, one that included an Olympic gold medal and eight wins in the playoffs. Statistically, he put up career bests in goals-against average (2.32) and save percentage (.927). 

The only downside of the season was a couple of injuries. The first sidelined him for about three weeks following the Olympics; the other knocked him out of the Eastern Conference Final. 

Price, however, seems to be fully recovered and ready to have another great season in 2014-15. In fact, he looks to be in midseason form already.

In the three full games Price played during the preseason, he allowed just five goals against while making 84 saves. He certainly seems poised to have another dominant season, and if he can stay healthy for the entire year, his numbers could be even better this time around. 

Price would surely never admit it himself, but the 27-year-old should be setting his sights on winning his first Vezina Trophy in 2014-15.

Last season, he finished fourth in Vezina voting to Tuukka Rask, who posted 36 wins, a 2.04 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Price, however, got the better of Rask when it really counted, as he backstopped his Habs to an upset of the Bruins. There's no reason to think Price can't outplay Rask during the 2014-15 regular season. 

Price took a big step forward last season, proving to the hockey world that he is indeed one of the best goalies in the world. This year, he's going to be even better. 

The EGG Line Returns

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Lars Eller

As it looks right now, Montreal will use the following line combinations on opening night, as reported by Stu Cowan at Hockey Inside/Out:

1. Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – P.A. Parenteau
2. Alex Galchenyuk – Tomas Plekanec – Brendan Gallagher
3. Jiri Sekac – Lars Eller – Rene Bourque
4. Dale Weise – Manny Malhotra – Brandon Prust

Head coach Michel Therrien has apparently decided to break up his steady top line of Pacioretty, Desharnais and Gallagher to give newcomer Parenteau a shot at producing offensively. 

This means Gallagher is back to skating with Galchenyuk—just like how things started last season. But this time, Plekanec will center them instead of Eller, who is between Sekac and Bourque on the third line.

Before long, however, expect Eller and Plekanec to switch spots. It just makes more sense. 

Eller is more creative offensively, which of course suits both Galchenyuk and Gallagher nicely. He's also a player who seems to need his confidence boosted, and what better way to do that than by telling him he's the second-line center? And, of course, he's had great success with those two wingers in the past. 

The young Dane just signed a hefty contract extension in the offseason. Management has invested in him, and now Therrien needs to give him an opportunity to prove he's worth it. Getting the EGG line (Eller, Galchenyuk and Gallagher) back together would do just that.

Plekanec, on the other hand, would get to be paired with another veteran in Bourque and his countrymate Sekac. Therrien could then face them off against opposing teams' top trios as a shutdown line, freeing up the other two lines to focus on offense. 

Therrien likely doesn't want to risk insulting Plekanec, the long-time top-six center, by "demoting" him to the third line. But he'll still get his minutes. He's going to be a top penalty-killer once again this season, and, along with Malhotra, one of the top faceoff men on the team. And matching the other team's top line shift for shift means a lot of ice time. 

It doesn't look like the EGG line will be making its return on opening night in Toronto, but don't be surprised if it's back together before long. 

Alex Galchenyuk Scores 25

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Alex Galchenyuk

Alex Galchenyuk, like most youngsters in the NHL, has had his ups and downs to begin his career. But now, as he enters his third season, he seems poised to break out and be a dominant offensive force. 

He showed flashes of what is to come in the playoffs last season, as he returned from injury to score two big goals during the Eastern Conference Final against the Rangers. Perhaps those goals gave him a little confidence boost, because he seemed to have a little extra jump this preseason. In fact, Pat Hickey of The Montreal Gazette even said he was the best player on the ice in the Canadiens' preseason game against Ottawa on Oct. 3. 

“I’m trying to bring the game I played in junior to the NHL and I confident that I can make something happen in one-on-one situations,” Galchenyuk said after the game. “It doesn’t always work but I’m not afraid to try.”

If the 20-year-old is in fact able to play the type of game he did in junior at the NHL level, Montreal Canadiens fans are going to be in for a treat. With the Sarnia Sting of the OHL, he was an absolute offensive force, scoring 58 goals and 86 assists in 103 career games.

It is unrealistic to think that Galchenyuk will score 1.40 points per game like he did in junior, but if he can bring the skill game that he played in junior to the NHL level, his offensive production will skyrocket. 

So far in his career, Galchenyuk has mostly been sheltered and hasn't been given a large offensive role with the Canadiens. He has bounced around between the second and third lines, averaging 12:19 in his first season and 14:23 in 2013-14.

He also hasn't gotten much of a chance on the power play. In his rookie year, he was 11th on the team in power-play ice time per game; last year he was seventh. 

Now that he's been in the league for two full years and earned the trust of his coaches, both of those numbers should increase by a wide margin. And assuming they do, Galchenyuk will deliver. 

Expect Galchenyuk to set career highs in goals and points this season. He's going to be a big part of the Montreal attack, both at regular strength and on the power play. Galchenyuk will break out with 25 goals in 2014-15.

P.K. Subban Leads Defensemen in Scoring

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P.K. Subban

P.K. Subban signed the biggest contract in Montreal Canadiens history this offseason, and now he needs to prove to the league he's worth $9 million a year. He'll do that by leading all NHL defensemen in scoring. 

Last season, Erik Karlsson led defenders in scoring with 74 points (20 G, 54 A) in 82 games. The Ottawa captain averaged a very impressive 0.89 points per game. Subban finished tied for fifth with 53 points (10 G, 43 A) in 82 games, 0.65 points per game. 

Karlsson finished with 21 more points than Subban, which is obviously a lot and almost seems insurmountable. But if anyone other than Karlsson can reach the 74-point plateau it's Subban, and you don't need to look very far back for proof. 

During the 2013 lockout-shortened season, Subban put up 38 points in 42 games en route to the Norris Trophy. That works out to .90 points per game, which, when extrapolated over an entire season, is just over 74 points. 

So, while Karlsson's 74 points last year is very impressive, it's important to remember that Subban was on the same pace just one season prior.

Subban, a year more mature and coming off a confidence-boosting season that included a spot on Team Canada and a couple of playoff-series wins, could certainly repeat or even improve on the offensive numbers he posted in 2013. And if he does that, he'll lead NHL defenders in scoring. 

The Canadiens Win the Atlantic Division

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The Canadiens celebrate a win.

The Boston Bruins dominated the Atlantic Division last season, winning it by a whopping margin of 16 points over Tampa Bay. The Canadiens finished third, one back of the Lightning. 

In 2014-15, however, the division should be much tighter. While the Canadiens and Lightning both made moves to improve their squads, the Bruins weren't able to do much of anything. 

Montreal lost a few key players in the offseason, but general manager Marc Bergevin did a great job bringing in replacements. The squad, top to bottom, looks stronger than it did at this point last season. If Price can stay healthy, Montreal should best the 100 points it put up a season ago. 

Tampa Bay is in a similar situation. If Ben Bishop stays healthy, and newcomers like Jonathan Drouin and Jason Garrison live up to expectations, they should once again cross the 100-point threshold. 

Boston, on the other hand, was unable to do much of anything this offseason due to cap issues. Both Jarome Iginla and Shawn Thornton are gone, and the only new faces will come from the AHL. 

But that doesn't mean the Bruins are going falter and miss the playoffs. They're still a great team. Boston will be in the playoffs again, but the team won't run away with the Atlantic this time around. It'll be a much tighter race. 

The Atlantic Division will be fun to watch this season. All three teams should finish with more than 100 points, and the division could come down to the final few games of the regular season.

Montreal, however, will build on its postseason success from last year and win the division by three points. 

All stats from NHL.com. All salary-cap information from CapGeek.com. 

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