Montreal Canadiens Lineup & Preview of Preseason Opener Vs Boston Bruins
The Montreal Canadiens make their long awaited return to action tonight when they host the Boston Bruins in their pre-season opener at the Bell Centre.
The two teams last met in a heated second round playoff series last spring, that resulted in a seven game series victory for the Canadiens. It is unlikely the heated rivals will match the intensity level that we saw in the postseason, but it will surely be more exciting than the intra-squad scrimmages we have witnessed over the past several days.
The Canadiens play seven exhibition games over the next 12 days, and still have 63 players in camp, so their lineup tonight will not be full of veteran players. Tomas Plekanec and Rene Bourque are the only two forwards who suited up in the postseason that will be on the ice tonight.
May 6, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec (14) reacts after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins during the first period in game three of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
The rest of the Habs lineup is:
Jacob De La Rose – Tomas Plekanec – Jiri Sekac
Rene Bourque – Charles Hudon – Nikita Scherbak
Drayson Bowman – Jake Dowell – Michael McCarron
Nick Sorkin – Sven Andrighetto – Christian Thomas
Joe Finley – Magnus Nygren
Joey McDonald
There is a spot in the Canadiens top nine up for grabs, and De La Rose and Sekac have a chance to win that spot. It will be interesting to see how each of them play tonight alongside Plekanec.
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Nikita Scherbak poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number twenty-six overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
This will be your first real look at Nikita Scherbak who was taken in the first round in June. The highly skilled Russian winger showed off his offensive instincts and abilities during the scrimmages, let’s see how that translates to something closer to real game action.
Michael McCarron was the Habs first round pick a year ago, and he could not have less in common with Scherbak. McCarron is an enormous winger who will have to show that he can use his size and strength to his advantage. While Scherbak’s speed and skill will eventually see him crack the Habs lineup in the future, McCarron will have to pound his way onto the team.
Neither former first round pick is likely to make the team this season, but it is always fun to keep an eye on their progress.
Andrighetto finished second on the Hamilton Bulldogs in points last season, his first in the AHL, and also has a chance to beat out Sekac and De La Rose for a top nine role. He is a small, skilled forward so it is interesting to see him centering a fourth line when he played with Plekanec for most of the intrasquad games.
Mar 1, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing David Clarkson (71) is checked into the boards by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jarred Tinordi (24) during the first period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
The Habs are taking a look at using puck moving defenders Andrei Markov and Tom Gilbert together, and though neither is known for their physical, defensive style, they will distribute the puck extremely well together.
A very interesting defence pairing to keep an eye on tonight is Jarred Tinordi with Greg Pateryn. The young defenders are in direct competition for one of the Habs final roster spots on the blue line, and will have to have a solid preseason to start the year with the Habs.
Tokarski and McDonald will split the goaltending duties tonight, and though McDonald is already ticketed for the minors, Tokarski has to show last season’s playoff success was no fluke if he wants to beat out Peter Budaj for the backup job.
Puck drops at 7:30 PM Eastern at the Bell Centre, and the action can be caught on RDS.