The Montreal Canadiens Driving for Their 25th Stanley Cup!

Apr 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec (14) celebrates his goal against Detroit Red Wings with teammates during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

FORWARDS

Although things are fairly straight forward when it comes to G and D comparisons, the forward situation is a little different. First, we don’t know how healthy Max Pacioretty is going to be. Second, we don’t know how settled all Habs lines are. And finally, the Senators lines may be the hardest to evaluate clearly as nobody expected them to be as effective as they have been of late.

The Lines for Ottawa may be as follows:

1. Clarke MacArthur – Kyle Turris – Mark Stone
2. Mike Hoffman – Mike Zibanejad – Bobby Ryan
3. Erik Condra – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Curtis Lazar
4. Zack Smith – David Legwand – Alex Chiasson

Here’s how odd the Sens forwards shake out: Legwand, who centres the 4th line, is also often on the first power play unit. Does that sum it up for you? It is, however, a talented group that works extremely hard and in unison to get the job done. They are particularly strong at centre, and their 3rd and 4th lines are very effective in shutting down opposing teams.

In comparison, the lines for Montreal may be as follows:

1. Alex Galchenyuk – Tomas Plekanec – Brendan Gallagher
2. Devante Smith-Pelly – David Desharnais – P.A. Parenteau
3. Jacob de La Rose – Lars Eller – Dale Weise
4. Brandon Prust – Torrey Mitchell – Brian Flynn

I left Pacioretty out for now, but obviously things would be better with him in the lineup. Without Max, the emphasis in comparing these lineups seems to be the second line. The Habs first line is likely going to be facing Karlsson and will need to work extremely hard to create chances. Therefore, the emphasis falls to the second and third lines to effectively outscore the Sens second and third lines. Will they? Time will tell, but if we add Max to the first line and shift Galchenyuk down to the second line I like the Habs chances a lot more.

The playoffs are an entirely new season and nobody truly knows why, but there always seems to be a hero that comes out of the Forwards group and scores more points than anyone has anticipated. Here are my early sleepers (S) Grades at forward for each squad:

Overall, I think that the adjustments the Habs make with or without Pacioretty in the lineup, and how quick they are to get to loose puck will decide just how effective they are against a strong Sens D. Thee won’t be much room to get in front of Hammond, so I expect the Habs to have to work really hard to get pucks to the net. With that in mind, Gallagher, Galchenuyk, and Eller will have to continue to drive to the net and force the Sens hand. Also, as I stated earlier, the lines that play against Erik Karlsson will have to get physical and hit him as often as possible.

These games may be middle-of-the-road in scoring. But with Price and Hammond’s effectiveness in the regular season, these games will more than likely be low scoring. Fewer turnovers, creating turnovers, and taking shots from all angles will be key issues for each of these teams. So long as the Habs get traffic in front of Hammond and neutralize Karlsson, they should come out on top.

Doing so would provide the Habs and their fans with the franchise’s 25th Stanley Cup, continuing to make this one of the most impressive franchises in professional sports.

Other Montreal Canadiens Drive for 25 Articles:

• In Prust We Trust
• Emelin Will be Rockin’

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