The Habs will first and foremost be looking for the win in Ottawa Tuesday night, but all they truly need is to stretch the game into overtime to clinch the Northeast Division crown for the first time in 16 years and guarantee home-ice for the opening 2 rounds of the playoffs, as they will not be able to slide lower than 3rd thanks to Carolina's potential to only reach 96 points this season.
The Habs will be in tough tomorrow night as they visit a Senators team that not only thrives when facing the Habs, but a Senators team that is also looking to silence some of their critics regarding their recent play, having lost their previous 2 matches including a 4-0 shutout in Boston most recently.
Ottawa lost it's last matchup vs. Montreal at the Bell Centre, although they showed resillience in being able to comeback from a 7-1 deficit to eventually lose 7-5. The Canadiens had 6 different scorers in that game, with only Andrei Kostitsyn tallying twice.
The Habs will need more offense from every line as they will ice an A- squad tomorrow with Koivu, Komisarek and Bouillon OUT and Latendresse and Streit game-time decisions.
Ottawa entered Monday in fifth place in the East, but ninth-place Washington is just four points back, meaning the Senators could still earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs or miss them entirely.
Showing posts with label canadiens senators pregame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canadiens senators pregame. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Habs Try For Rare, Precious Win vs. Sens
Montreal looks to move one step closer to its first division title since 1991-92 when it hosts the Northeast Division's second-place Ottawa Senators on Monday.
The Sens have dominated the Habs this season, going 5-1 in the 6 of 8 games played thus far in the season-series. The Habs will really need to bring the A+ game to turn the fortunes around and make the most of what's supposed to be "Lucky Number 7".
Since dropping their first (and only) game to Montreal in game 4 of the series, the Senators have responded and rebounded in spades, winning their last 2 contests 6-1 and 3-0 respectively.
The line of Spezza centering Alfredsson and Heatley has been the NHL's most productive this season, combining for 106 goals. But the trio hasn't played any better than when they've faced the Canadiens.
Spezza has seven goals, Alfredsson four and Heatley three against Montreal in only five games apiece, and they've combined for 36 points.
If the Habs are to indeed turn their fortunes around, a lot of that destiny lies in the hands (and pads) of goaltender Carey Price.
Carey is fresh off a thrilling week which saw him play in some high pressure games, as the Habs played two games to round out the season-series with Boston by sweeping them 8-0. Price is keen to responding to pressure, as we've seen him do as a junior in the WJC leading Canada to gold, and as a minor-leaguer, leading the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs to the Calder Cup last season after joining the team very late in the season.
Price has lost both starts vs. Ottawa this season, but with the posibility of extending their Northeast lead to 7 points - and the dread of dropping the lead to 3 - Carey is expected to bring his own A+ game to the ice tonight.
Carbonneau stated Sunday that there would be no changes to the winning lineup, meaning Latendresse will continue to rest his ailing neck.
Ottawa have recently re-acquired Chris Neil's services, but will be without Chris Kelly who fractured his shin. Martin Gerber will start his 11th straight for Ottawa. Gerber shutout the Habs in Montreal the last time around on March 13th...a game I reluctantly confess to having attended.
Puck drop scheduled for 7:38.
with extracts from AP.
The Sens have dominated the Habs this season, going 5-1 in the 6 of 8 games played thus far in the season-series. The Habs will really need to bring the A+ game to turn the fortunes around and make the most of what's supposed to be "Lucky Number 7".
Since dropping their first (and only) game to Montreal in game 4 of the series, the Senators have responded and rebounded in spades, winning their last 2 contests 6-1 and 3-0 respectively.
The line of Spezza centering Alfredsson and Heatley has been the NHL's most productive this season, combining for 106 goals. But the trio hasn't played any better than when they've faced the Canadiens.
Spezza has seven goals, Alfredsson four and Heatley three against Montreal in only five games apiece, and they've combined for 36 points.
If the Habs are to indeed turn their fortunes around, a lot of that destiny lies in the hands (and pads) of goaltender Carey Price.
Carey is fresh off a thrilling week which saw him play in some high pressure games, as the Habs played two games to round out the season-series with Boston by sweeping them 8-0. Price is keen to responding to pressure, as we've seen him do as a junior in the WJC leading Canada to gold, and as a minor-leaguer, leading the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs to the Calder Cup last season after joining the team very late in the season.
Price has lost both starts vs. Ottawa this season, but with the posibility of extending their Northeast lead to 7 points - and the dread of dropping the lead to 3 - Carey is expected to bring his own A+ game to the ice tonight.
Carbonneau stated Sunday that there would be no changes to the winning lineup, meaning Latendresse will continue to rest his ailing neck.
Ottawa have recently re-acquired Chris Neil's services, but will be without Chris Kelly who fractured his shin. Martin Gerber will start his 11th straight for Ottawa. Gerber shutout the Habs in Montreal the last time around on March 13th...a game I reluctantly confess to having attended.
Puck drop scheduled for 7:38.
with extracts from AP.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Habs vs. Sens With Division Lead At Stake
The Canadiens (39-23-9) host the Ottawa Senators (39-25-7) tomorrow night at the Bell Centre, with nothing short of the Northeast Division lead on the line.
The Habs lead over Ottawa is a mere 2 points, and with a regulation win for Ottawa tomorrow, they would have the same amount of points as Montreal, yet would have one more win on their record, vaulting them ahead of the Canadiens.
The Habs are 6-4-0 in their last 10, while Ottawa has gone 4-5-1. Montreal scored at least four goals in five of those victories, indicating that the offensive engine is running smoothly.
The season series has seen these two clubs play each other 5 of 8 times, and the results highly favor the Senators. Ottawa won the first three before dropping their first to Montreal this season on February 5th. The two met once again for game 5 on Feb. 9th, where the Sens posted their most dominating win over Montreal thus far this season, winning 6-1.
Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley have combined for 12 goals and 33 points against Montreal this season.
The Canadiens, though, will get a bit of a break Thursday, as Alfredsson will miss his fifth straight game with back spasms.
Martin Gerber continues to be the go-to guy in Ottawa since Bryan Murray's return to the bench, and he is slated to start vs. Montreal tomorrow as well. He's 7-2-0 with a 2.46 goals-against average against the Canadiens.
His counterpart will be (without much surprise) Carey Price. Price is fresh off a stellar outing vs. the Devils Tuesday night. In a pressure game that had 1st place in the Eastern Conference on the line, Price's star shined brightly as he turned aside all 38 shots thrown his way en route to his second career shutout.
Montreal and Ottawa are the two highest-scoring teams in the NHL with 227 goals apiece, therefore it is more than safe to anticipate a high-scoring affair tomorrow night. I'll be watching from the heavens - that is, the blue section at the Bell Centre.
The Habs lead over Ottawa is a mere 2 points, and with a regulation win for Ottawa tomorrow, they would have the same amount of points as Montreal, yet would have one more win on their record, vaulting them ahead of the Canadiens.
The Habs are 6-4-0 in their last 10, while Ottawa has gone 4-5-1. Montreal scored at least four goals in five of those victories, indicating that the offensive engine is running smoothly.
The season series has seen these two clubs play each other 5 of 8 times, and the results highly favor the Senators. Ottawa won the first three before dropping their first to Montreal this season on February 5th. The two met once again for game 5 on Feb. 9th, where the Sens posted their most dominating win over Montreal thus far this season, winning 6-1.
Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley have combined for 12 goals and 33 points against Montreal this season.
The Canadiens, though, will get a bit of a break Thursday, as Alfredsson will miss his fifth straight game with back spasms.
Martin Gerber continues to be the go-to guy in Ottawa since Bryan Murray's return to the bench, and he is slated to start vs. Montreal tomorrow as well. He's 7-2-0 with a 2.46 goals-against average against the Canadiens.
His counterpart will be (without much surprise) Carey Price. Price is fresh off a stellar outing vs. the Devils Tuesday night. In a pressure game that had 1st place in the Eastern Conference on the line, Price's star shined brightly as he turned aside all 38 shots thrown his way en route to his second career shutout.
Montreal and Ottawa are the two highest-scoring teams in the NHL with 227 goals apiece, therefore it is more than safe to anticipate a high-scoring affair tomorrow night. I'll be watching from the heavens - that is, the blue section at the Bell Centre.
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