NHL Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

Even when the Toronto Maple Leafs were among the worst teams in the NHL for years at a time, the traditional rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens has always been a passionate one.

Wait a minute, that would be the case now, wouldn’t it?

I mean, the Leafs have been struggling to put up wins for the better part of a decade and this season has been no exception.

Yes Leaf fans, the Blue and White have been a disgrace on more evenings than not this season, leading to just five wins in their past 20 games while causing many Maple Leaf fans to call for the heads of general manager Brian Burke, head coach Ron Wilson and a multitude of players which includes sniper Phil Kessel, who has a paltry three goals over that same 20 game stretch.

The Maple Leafs' record of 10-14-4 has earned them 13th place in the Eastern Conference (27th overall)—a far cry from the playoff aspirations both the GM and many in the Leafs Nation were expecting this season.

To say the Maple Leafs are a mess would be an understatement.

The Buds currently sit 28th overall in goals (2.14), 24th overall in goals against (2.96), 21st on the power play (15.1% and falling fast) and a horrific 29th on the penalty kill (76.1%).

At the other end of the spectrum, the Montreal Canadiens are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent memory, sitting third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 18-9-2 (39 points), good enough for fifth overall in the standings.

The Habs are averaging a total of 2.66 goals for per game (17th overall) while their goals against is an impressive 2.00, good enough for second overall.

Three key components to the Canadiens' success has been their power play which is humming along at 17.8% (13th overall), penalty kill which sits at an impressive 89.0% (first overall) and the play of goaltender Carey Price—who, after endearing much scrutiny is having a career year.

Known as a “small” team, the Canadiens have made up for their lack of size with inspired play, a commitment to defense and strong special teams play.

The Habs truly play as a team—a recipe for success they rode to the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season.

The Habs enter their match against the Maple Leafs with a 6-3-1 record in their past ten games.

The two sides have split the season series thus far, with both teams winning on home ice. The Maple Leafs took the first game 3-2 on opening night, while the Habs shut out the Buds by a score of 2-0 on November 20 in Montreal.

Habs forward Jeff Halpern leads all players with two goals against the Leafs in as many games. All three goaltenders (Carey Price, J.S. Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson) have played spectacular hockey against each other, boasting save percentages of .944 (Price), .929 (Giguere) and .949 (Gustavsson).

Expect Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban to be back in the lineup as he played well for the Habs in their 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Friday night after head coach Jacques Martin choose to sit Subban for three games for what can be described as questionable play and perhaps a little too much cockiness on the ice.

Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson is yet to announce his goaltender for tonight’s tilt, but with Gustavsson looking more and more frustrated with every loss, perhaps Wilson’s best bet is J.S. Giguere.

For the Maple Leafs to be successful they will have to stay out of the penalty box—which means Maple Leafs resident pugilist Colton Orr should be tied to the bench—and a number of forwards need to step it up.

Kessel is scoreless in seven games, Kris Versteeg is a minus five in his past five games, Nazem Kadri is yet to score in 13 games played, Nikolai Kulemin has not lit the lamp in five games, while Tyler Bozak has just four goals on the season.

Clearly the Leafs' forwards have come up small this season, as has the defense, who’s lack of scoring is hurting the team as well.

The bottom line is the Maple Leafs' defense must find a way to score goals. Through 28 games, the Leafs' backend has just four goals—none of which have come on the power play, and none have come off the stick of Tomas Kaberle.

For the Canadiens to be successful they will likely continue to see big efforts from the likes of Michael Cammalleri (who has three goals in his past five games), Benoit Pouliot (four points in his past five games) and Price, who was coming off three straight wins until last night's loss to the Red Wings.

Tomas Plekanec, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta are yet to register a point against the Maple Leafs this season—expect that to change.

There are no easy nights in today’s NHL, but I suspect the Canadiens will emerge victorious tonight, winning a close battle by a score of 3-1.

Until next time,

Peace!