Countdown to Gametime
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We're only a few hours away from the opening faceoff between the Flyers and Canadiens tonight at the Bell Centre. |
The Habs swept the Flyers in four games in the regular season, but as we saw against Boston, that means absolutely nothing.
Carey Price will probably have guys in his face throughout this series, that's Philly's style. He got a bit of a preview of what he can expect in Game 7 of the Washington-Philly series, when Philly's Patrick Thoresen shoved Caps defenseman Shaone Morrisson into Cristobal Huet, which led to a pivotal goal.
Here's some good news. It seems Price is coming out of his shell a little. After practice in Lasalle yesterday, he was the last guy out to face the media, but he had a good excuse, saying with a smile on his face..."I was getting treatment on my broken leg, but it's OK, it's just a hairline fracture."
Guy Carbonneau told the media that there wouldn't be any lineup changes for tonight's game, including Price in goal. Someone asked "what about his broken leg?"
"He'll still play," responded Carbonneau.
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Special teams will be crucial tonight.
The Canadiens and Flyers had the number-1 and number-2 power plays respectively in the NHL this year...
So far in the playoffs, the Canadiens have 3 power play goals in 33 opportunities for a 9.1 percent efficiency, while the Flyers have maintained their rhythm at 22.2 percent.
Guy Carbonneau's right when he says they have to stay out of the box against the Flyers.
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Markov is the key.
The Canadiens say that Andrei Markov isn't hurt, but he wasn't very effective against the Bruins and the Habs will need him to be the all-star he was earlier this season.
Markov is the most mobile blueliner the Canadiens have and he'll have to be on Daniel Briere like white on rice. Briere's had a great postseason so far and he expects the fans to boo him every time he touches the puck, adding that it's fine with him. Briere says he takes it as a compliment and that it won't affect his game at all.
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Don't know if you grabbed the Journal de Montreal today, but on page 2, there's a replica of Guy Carbonneau's lucky Hermes tie. It's beautiful...a little short mind you.
I'm dying to see how many people have it attached to their shirt collars at the game tonight. If you're looking for the real thing, forget about finding it in Montreal. According to the Journal, you can get it at the Hermes boutique in Toronto for the cool sum of 275$.
Ahhh, the price one must pay for style and good fortune.
