4) The bottom pair
Victor Mete’s health was in question as to whether he was fully healed from his fracture. And it wasn’t until closer to the end of camp where the defenceman would join the full group. Because of that, there seemed to be a battle for that bottom-pair spot between Noah Juulsen, Cale Fleury and Josh Brook.
Once the group reformed, Julien went with Xavier Ouellet on the left while Mete was on the right, seemingly ended the speculation. That could change.
The Montreal Canadiens’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs could settle any remaining question marks, and perhaps Juulsen or Fleury get in. That’ll depend on how that pair performs on the whole. The competition isn’t going to be as vast, so it’ll really stand out if there issues from those two leaving room for Julien to make any remaining decisions.
5) Is Carey Price the answer?
This has been beaten to death as soon as the 24-team playoff format was announced. Let’s be clear, goaltending is going to be important for every single team participating. Those first pair of games will be sloppy, and netminders will need to be on their game to give their team a chance.
That said, Carey Price is the sole difference-maker.
He can’t go out there and score for the Montreal Canadiens, but he can stop the Pittsburgh Penguins. And if that happens, who knows how this whole thing will play out.