Around the League: Playoff Time

With the excitement of the NHL Draft Lottery behind us (and if you missed it, Edmonton won the lottery, meaning the Canadiens retain their third overall selection), and having survived the below scandalous Tweet from prospect Mikhail Grigorenko last night (which may or may no be an indication of anything at all, but regardless, had Tweeters from Montreal abuzz),

we can now turn our attention to the sadly Habs-less post-season.  Here, then, are my 2012 NHL Playoffs Predictions & Previews for the first round.

WESTERN CONFERENCE


(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings


The matchups in the West are quite something this year, as all 8 post-season teams have a strong enough roster to win a best-of-seven against their opposition.  The Canucks came into the season as a Stanley Cup favourite, and haven't disappointed - Yet.  The Kings came into the year with high expectations based on an exciting off-season, but their play underwhelmed for much of the year.  They squeaked into the playoffs based on a late surge despite having scored just 194 goals - second least in the entire league.  The Canucks are on a mission to win at all costs, while the Kings will benefit from the added playoff experience of bringing in Jeff Carter (who, if/once healthy, will help the team offensively, though Vancouver is dealing with their own offensive health concern in Daniel Sedin) and Mike Richards, while being backed by a likely Vezina candidate in Jonathan Quick.

Canadiens implications: Acquired at last season's trade deadline, Vancouver was able to retain former Canadiens Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre, so that may be a reason to get behind them.  The Kings feature no former Habs, but their roster does include Justin Williams, an enemy of Habs fans for his unpenalized high stick to Saku Koivu's eye during the 2006 playoffs.

Prediction: Vancouver in 6.



(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) San Jose Sharks


The Blues and Sharks were both considered playoff contenders at the start of the year, with San Jose a perennial contender having made some significant changes, and St. Louis a younger team on the rise.  The Blues goaltending tandem has been remarkable this year, combining for 15 shutouts (Brian Elliott with 9 and Jaroslav Halak with 6), while netminding may be a weak spot for the Sharks, with Antti Niemi's numbers a little worse than last season (though he has proven he can take a team to a Stanley Cup).  The Blues may be inexperienced, but this is off-set by San Jose's reputation as a playoff choker, so it should make for an interesting matchup.

Canadiens implications: With Brian Elliott's health a question mark, former Canadiens playoff hero Jaroslav Halak should start the series for St. Louis, a team also featuring Matt D'Agostini as a depth forward.  The Sharks acquired the stud rental Montreal picked up the year of Halak's playoff performance in Dominic Moore as one of a couple of moves aimed to increase the depth on their bottom lines.  I imagine most Hab fans will be behind the Blues in this one.

Prediction: St. Louis in 6.




(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (6) Chicago Blackhawks


The Coyotes defied odds once again to win their division for the first time in club history despite the overwhelming future uncertainty always hanging over the team.  Phoenix has questions between the pipes, but have assembled a rather deep roster at forward and defense, led by the likes of Shane Doan, Keith Yandle, and Ray Whitney.  The Hawks are a far cry from the Stanley Cup team of 2010, but still feature star power at forward (Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp), and some top defenders (Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook).  If the Coyotes have questions in net, the Hawks aren't much better off, with neither of Corey Crawford or Ray Emery instilling tremendous confidence.

Canadiens implications: Former Montreal first round selection Kyle Chipchura played 53 games for the Coyotes this year, scoring a career best 16 points in a checking role.  Chicago has no player with direct ties to the Habs, unless you count the Marian Hossa gloves incident of a few seasons back.  But we'll let Hab fans side with the Hawks since P.K. Subban picked them as a team to watch in the West.

Prediction: Chicago in 5.




(4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings


The Predators find a way to qualify for the post-season with a roster of underdogs virtually every year, but for once, they've actually assembled a contender-worthy squad this time around.  Nashville is never an easy out, and has had numerous epic battles with far favourited Detroit squads in the past, so this should be a series to watch.  We can easily hand the goaltending battle to Nashville as anyone would take Pekka Rinne over Jimmy Howard, while we can give an edge to Detroit's forward group with the likes of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg compared to the Preds' lack of stars.  This may be a series, then, which comes down to defense, with Detroit's old guard of Nicklas Lidstrom, Brad Stuart, and Niklas Kronwall matching up against the younger Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.  The Preds were very active in filling out their roster at the deadline, while the Wings mostly stood pat, so we'll see what effect that might have come playoff time.

Canadiens implications: Nashville is the team perhaps most supported by Canadiens fans, since they added to a roster that already included Sergei Kostitsyn and Francis Bouillon by bringing in Andrei Kostitsyn and Hal Gill prior to the deadline.  Interestingly, however, the pick Montreal acquired for Gill is for this year's draft, meaning it will be slightly higher if the Preds get bounced in the opening round.  The Wings' core hasn't changed in many seasons, and has no direct ties to former Habs.

Prediction: Detroit in 7.




EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) New York Rangers vs. (8) Ottawa Senators


Some are predicting an upset in this series based on the Sens having won the season series 3 games to 1, but the playoffs are a beat of a different kind.  Ottawa was a big surprise this season as many saw their rebuilding team still a few seasons away from the playoffs, but a remarkable year for Erik Karlsson helped to speed up the curve.  Similarly, it was in part defensemen who helped New York win the conference, with the emergence of Dan Girardi even earning him Norris talk in some circles.  The series doesn't lack for stars at forward either, with Jason Spezza proving his career wasn't washed up thank to an 84-point season in Ottawa, while Marian Gaborik stayed healthy to play all 82 games for the first in his career for the Rangers.  The difference is likely to be goaltending, with Henrik Lundqvist being among the game's best.

Canadiens implications: The Rangers D boasts a talented young player whose name alone pains Canadiens fans, even though he never played a game in Montreal.  Former Hab first round pick Ryan McDonagh was sent to New York in the devastating Scott Gomez trade.  Ottawa also has a player drafted by Montreal but who never played for the team in tough guy defenseman Matt Carkner, while also featuring backup goaltender Alex Auld who battled for the #2 spot with the younger Ben Bishop this season.

Prediction: New York in 4.




(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Washington Capitals


The defending Stanley Cup champions had a strange season of cold streaks and incredibly hot runs.  Their roster hasn't changed terribly much since last year's playoffs, though they will miss the injured Nathan Horton who helped the Bruins through 3 and a half rounds a year ago.  Replacing him will be a much bigger contribution from sophomore Tyler Seguin who was a reservist for much of the run last season.  Washington made some depth moves this summer that sought to address the club's weaknesses for a run at the Cup, but the team disappointed.  We can begin with Alexander Ovechkin who finished below the point-per-game mark for the first time in his career, though 38 goals and 65 points are nothing to scoff at for most players.  The decline of Alexander Semin also continued, with the forward matching last season's points but in more games, and scoring just 21 goals - the least since his rookie season in 2003-04.  Still, many of the Caps additions (Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Tomas Vokoun...) focused on guys they believed could help in the post-speason specifically, so we will have to wait and see if they pay off.

Canadiens implications: As mentioned, the Caps signed both former Habs Roman Hamrlik and Jeff Halpern last summer, while goaltender Tomas Vokoun started his career (albeit briefly) in the Canadiens organization many years back.  Boston lost Michael Ryder who was important in the playoffs last year, but filled their ex-Canadiens quota by signing Benoit Pouliot instead.  Unfortunately for Boston, Pouliot was always entirely invisible in the playoffs in Montreal, even when he had a good regular season.

Prediction: Boston in 6.




(3) Florida Panthers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils


Like Ottawa, Florida surprised in a big way this season, but doing so more through strategic free agent and trade acquisitions than the emergence of younger players.  Though they won their division, the Panthers will be in tough in round 1 against a deeper and more experienced Devils group, which is led by their top trio of Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, and re-emergent 35-year old Patrik Elias.  New Jersey has also gotten important contributions from rookie Adam Henrique and Adam Larsson, providing balance to the roster that no longer depends solely on Martin Brodeur to steal games.

Canadiens implications: Goaltender Jose Theodore continues to revive his career, bettering his last season's numbers in Minnesota this year in Florida.  Montreal captain Brian Gionta's younger brother Stephen is on the Devils' roster, called up for one game this season in which he scored his first NHL goal.  6'5" New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus was also once a Hab for parts of three seasons earlier in his career, before being a part of the trade that brought Richard Zednik and Jan Bulis to the Canadiens from Washington.

Prediction: New Jersey in 5.




(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers


The Penguins may be the fourth seed, but they earned that while dealing with a plethora of key injuries all season.  If there's a team that has no sympathy for that, it's Philadelphia, who had to get by without top players for much of the year as well.  The difference is that the Pens are now basically at full strength, while the Flyers are still getting by without defensemen Chris Pronger and Andrej Meszaros.  And in a matchup as tightly-contested as the battle of Pennsylvania - sure to be one of the most physical and entertaining of the opening round - that could be enough to make the difference.  The Penguins know what it takes to win and have arguably the top two players in the league with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, while Philadelphia will attempt to counter with their own wave of young talent that includes Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, and Matt Read, supported by proven playoff performers Daniel Briere and 40-year old long-time former Penguin Jaromir Jagr.

Canadiens implications: Flyer Blair Betts was Hab property for a few days this season, but the injury that saw Montreal return him to Philadelphia following their waiver claim kept him out the remainder of the year.  Big Penguins forward Arron Asham was a third round pick by the Canadiens in 1996 and played 121 games for Montreal over 4 seasons.  Both clubs have contingents of French Canadian players, but both are also recent Montreal playoff rivals, so fans can go either way.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 7.

One Last Chance?

There will still be 36 games left in the Montreal Canadiens' season after tonight's matchup against the Washington Capitals, but if the team doesn't get hot in a hurry, their outcome won't particularly matter. The Habs enter tonight's contest with a dismal 42 points in 45 games, finding themselves 8 big points behind those same Capitals for the 8th and final playoff spot, with Washington also holding a game in hand. (Meanwhile, Montreal is just 2 points ahead of Tampa Bay for last in the East, though the Canadiens have 3 games in hand in that "race") The team is running out of track to make up the difference with their only shot at the post-season looking like an extended win streak starting soon.

At this point, the team won't be mathematically eliminated for quite a while, so there is no set date or game that officially marks the end of the playoff dream, but coming off a big win against the New York Rangers and playing against the team they're chasing makes tonight a big one for our boys. I've written a couple of times that in my mind, the playoffs are already out of reach for this season, but hope springs eternal so if they can win tonight, I'll believe in the team getting on the comeback trail for just a little longer. After the 8th place Capitals, the Canadiens have a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs, in 7th and 9th place respectively. A perfect week might put the swagger back in the step of Habs fans who have walked through most of the season with their heads hanging low. The Canadiens look about as healthy as they're going to be, with Brian Gionta likely done for the season and Andrei Markov's return date in doubt given that he still has yet to resume skating. Only Ryan White, expected back after the All-Star game, will provide reinforcements, but while he'll be a welcome addition to the fourth line, he won't be the difference maker to the team's season. But if they can get strong play from newcomer Rene Bourque (who will be a marked man tonight after a hit on Caps' Niklas Backstrom landed him a 5-game suspension) and consistent effort from the likes of Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty, and Lars Eller (I leave Erik Cole and David Desharnais out of this sentence as they've been the team's top forwards for most of the season and thus should be expected to keep performing), getting hot isn't out of the question. And then maybe, just maybe, if and when Markov does return, the team finds a way to squeak into the playoffs thanks to a dominant second half.

Of course, the opposite is true as well. A loss tonight would put the Habs 10 points out of 8th with the Capitals still holding a game in hand. Should this happen, the only games I'll have circled on my calendar are those against the Leafs, hoping that Montreal can do its part to extend their playoff drought.

Your Canadiens for December 15, 2011

The Montreal Canadiens host the Philadelphia Flyers this evening at what would seem like the best possible moment. The Flyers are without their #1 defenseman Chris Pronger and also without the NHL's leading point-getter Claude Giroux, both sidelined with injuries. But we've all seen enough from the Habs to know that nothing is a given, so it's sure to still be a challenge tonight, as the Flyers come to town on a 6-game win streak and holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

- Travis Moen, Brian Gionta, and Scott Gomez are all out with injuries tonight, meaning the following forward lines after Mike Blunden was called up yesterday:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Erik Cole

Mathieu Darche - Lars Eller - Louis Leblanc

Mike Blunden - Petteri Nokelainen - Yannick Weber

Don't expect that fourth line to get much ice time, even with Petteri Nokelainen coming off his best game as a Hab. If all three injured forwards are going to miss considerable time, it seems that Pierre Gauthier will have no choice but to bring in some added depth.

With injuries to Gionta and Moen, the team is scrambling to find replacements for the penalty kill. It seems Louis Leblanc may have earned a shift down a man, while Blunden may be tried there as well. Leblanc's two-way play leaves little doubt that he will eventually be a strong penalty killer, but it is perhaps uncharacteristic of Martin to trust a green rookie with such duties.

Blunden's call-up poses another issue, in that after playing tonight's game he would have to clear waivers to re-join the Hamilton Bulldogs. While I don't think there is a huge risk of him being claimed by another team, given the lack of depth in terms of bottom 6 toughness at the pro ranks, Gauthier may decide to keep him in Montreal for a while rather than risk losing him.

- On defense, Raphal Diaz is out sick. That means Alexei "BOOM!" Emelin returns to the line-up, again forming the vaunted #KabBoom pairing with Tomas Kaberle. The full D looks like:

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban

Hal Gill - Chris Campoli

Tomas Kaberle - Alexei Emelin

Since Emelin is again stuck on his uncomfortable right side, I am very curious to know what Jacques Martin would have done had Diaz been healthy. Emelin's size, strength, and physicality are needed all the more against a team like the Flyers, so one would hope he would found a spot in the line-up either way.

I still think the team needs to find a way to play him on the left. Many are opposed to splitting up Josh Gorges and P.K. Subban, but I see no issue with it really. They may log big minutes, but they haven't even played 30 games together, so it's not like they're joined at the hip. Martin has referred to them as a top shutdown pair, but Subban doesn't belong on a true shutdown duo at this point. Gorges is the left D who is most comfortable on right, so I'd like to see more balanced pairings with him shifting over.

- The Flyers are part of this season's "24/7," the HBO documentary series that follows the two teams playing in the Winter Classic as a build up to the actual game. Thus, there are camera crews following the team in Montreal, and the Habs will be "featured" in one of the show's episodes.

- I wonder if Flyers forward Jaromir Jagr remembers this #EmelinBoom from the World Championship. Hopefully Mr. Emelin can give us a repeat tonight.

- Last night, the Hamilton Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 decision in a shootout to the Lake Erie Monsters. Alexander Avtsin, with his 4th of the year, on the powerplay, had the only tally for the 'Dogs. Gabriel Dumont was awarded a penalty shot with 46 seconds to play in regulation, but was stopped by former Hamilton star Cedrick Desjardins. All 5 Hamilton Bulldog shooters were stopped in the shootout, while notorious first round bust Hugh Jessiman was the only player to beat Nathan Lawson, good enough for the win. Despite being held off the scoresheet, leading all skaters with 6 shots on goal, Bulldogs leading scorer Brian Willsie was named the game's first star.

- As I covered yesterday, the Canadiens will have three players on Team Canada for the upcoming World Junior Championships (Brendan Gallagher, Nathan Beaulieu, and Michael Bournival). This is more than any other NHL team, and is the first time the Habs have had 3 prospects on the club since 2000 (Mike Ribeiro, Michael Ryder, and Eric Chouinard).

Two other young future Habs seem poised to make their national teams, being defenseman Jarred Tinordi with Team USA, and center Daniel Pribyl with the Czech Republic. Tinordi should be an important shutdown d-man for the Americans with some talk he may get consideration for team captain. Tinordi, captain of the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League, previously captained the U.S. Under 18 team. Pribyl, who turns 19 in 3 days, seems penciled in for a 4th line role with the Czechs.

Montreal, Get Ready to Rock!

For the first time of the 2011-12 NHL regular season, the Montreal Canadiens will take to the Bell Centre ice this evening as they host the Calgary Flames. The roof is sure to be rocking, though as per the Canadiens' Facebook account yesterday, some tickets still remain for the game! In fact, when I checked last night, there were even some pairs left in the more expensive sections. If you're looking for tickets, try here:

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=56633

It's the home opener! Anything less than a sellout is unacceptable!

- Habs line-up for tonight:

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta

Travis Moen - Tomas Plekanec - Erik Cole

Mathieu Darche - David Desharnais - Andrei Kostitsyn

Lars Eller - Andreas Engqvist - Aaron Palushaj

Hal Gill - P.K. Subban

Josh Gorges - Raphael Diaz

Alexei Emelin - Yannick Weber

Carey Price

Let's hope for a strong performance from the injury-depleted boys, because what is certain is that unlike Winnipeg, if Montreal is down 5-1 in the final minute, Habs' fans will definitely not be giving a standing ovation to the team.

Aaron Palushaj and Lars Eller will both make their season debuts tonight, while Yannick Weber will start on defense for the first time after finishing both of the first two games on the blueline.

I've advocated for the moving of Weber to the top powerplay unit alongside P.K. Subban which would give the team 2 point shots like with Subban and James Wisniewski last year, but as per practice, the Tomas Plekanec experiment is not yet over. He'll man the blueline with Subban on the top unit, while Raphael Diaz and Weber play on the 2nd wave.

- Carey Price's next win (hopefully tonight) will be the 100th of his career. He will become only the 13th goaltender in NHL history to reach that mark by age 24.

- Per awesome French site Dans Les Coulisses, P.K. Subban was out at Santos supper club last night, along with Yannick Weber and Chris Campoli. The article questions whether this is appropriate behaviour on the eve of the home opener, though in the players' defense, they've had quite a few days off to rest and thus should be well prepared for tonight regardless of having a few drinks. It is perhaps concerning since Subban is not off to a great start to the season and Weber had just a few days ago all but lost his spot in the line-up, meaning the team needs more from these guys with no distractions, but they are human and should have their privacy respected on occasion so long as it doesn't translate to on-ice mishaps.

- As we had posted to Twitter yesterday, prospect defenseman Darren Dietz's Saskatoon Blades will be hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup. Since Dietz has one more year in juniors before he can be signed to play in the AHL, this should be a great experience for him.

- Expected Calgary Flames line-up:

Alex Tanguay - David Moss - Jarome Iginla

Curtis Glencross - Olli Jokinen - Lee Stempniak

Niklas Hagman - Roman Horak - Rene Bourque

Toms Kostopoulos - Matt Stajan - Tim Jackman

Chris Butler - Jay Bouwmeester

Mark Giordano - Scott Hannan

Derek Smith - Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

Hockey Day in Winnipeg! (Reminder: 5:00 PM EST Start!)

Today marks a historic moment that many old Winnipeg Jets fans have been dreaming about for years. Yes, Winnipeg, NHL hockey returns to your city this afternoon as the Montreal Canadiens visit your Jets for their season and home opener.

To properly set this up, here's a look at the last meaningful NHL game played in the city, some 15 years ago:

Expect a rocking building this evening and a Jets team that will come out all fired up. From a Habs' fan perspective, we can at least hope for a better effort/performance than we saw in the season opener in Toronto.

- Habs' expected lines:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Erik Cole

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta

Mathieu Darche - David Desharnais - Andrei Kostitsyn

Travis Moen - Andreas Engqvist - Yannick Weber

Hal Gill - P.K. Subban

Alexei Emelin - Josh Gorges

Jaroslav Spacek - Raphael Diaz

Carey Price

Peter Budaj

- Lines this afternoon for the Winnipeg Jets:

Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler

Evander Kane - Mark Scheifele - Kyle Wellwood

Brett MacLean - Alexander Burmistrov - Nik Antropov

Tanner Glass - Jim Slater - Chris Thorburn

Ron Hainsey - Tobias Enstrom

Dustin Byfuglien - Johnny Oduya

Mark Stuart - Zach Bogosian

Ondrej Pavelec

Chris Mason

- As per Amanda Stein of TSN Radio 990, there is a rumour out there that Blair Betts will officially be returned to the Philadelphia Flyers due to his undisclosed injury at the time he was waived and his failing to pass a physical as a result. A number of sources have since reported the same, so it seems official, but stay tuned for confirmation from the league or either team.

- Jacques Martin has said that the injury to defenseman Chris Campoli may take months to fully heal from a torn hamstring. This is certainly not good news for Montreal's blueline, and it will be interesting if Pierre Gauthier decides to be active now to replace both him and Betts.

- Alexei Emelin will make his NHL regular season debut tonight. It will be interesting to see if he plays as the physical player Habs fans expected or the toned-down version of himself we saw in preseason.

- Some prospect news of last night:

Michael Bournival did not score for once, but still had an assist in Shawinigan's 4-2 victory. He now has 10 goals and 13 points in 6 games.

Nathan Beaulieu had 2 assists in Saint John's 8-2 victory, giving him a goal and 3 assists in 6 games.

In the WHL, defenseman Darren Dietz scored his second of the season in a 5-1 win. He has 6 points in 6 games.

Brendan Gallagher added 2 goals for the Vancouver Giants but was stopped both on a penalty shot and in the shootout in his team's shootout loss. Since being cut from Habs' camp, Gallagher has 4 goals in 3 games played.

The Hamilton Bulldogs opened their regular season last night with a big 5-2 win. Nathan Lawson allowed 2 goals on 32 shots, while Brock Trotter led the way offensively with 2 goals and 2 assists. Frederic St. Denis also had 2 goals, while Ian Schultz had the 5th from the fourth line. Aaron Palushaj, completing the top line with Trotter and Brian Willsie, had 2 assists.

Over in the NCAA, North Dakota lost 6-2, but both Canadiens prospects, Danny Kristo and Mark MacMillan, finished with an assist (and Kristo was even a +1 on the night).

Here's some video from that game thanks to HFBoards prospect expert Whitesnake:

Yesterday, 09:39 PM	#579
Whitesnake The perfect match Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Montreal Country: Posts: 29,058 vCash: 500	North Dakota Highlights: 1- Big hit by Kristo at 0:06 2 -Great feed by Kristo shorthanded at 0:32 3- MacMilan wins a faceoff that results in a goal at 1:08 http://www.fightingsioux.com/mediaPo...b_oem_id=13500

Let the 2011-12 Drive for 25 Begin!

At long last, we've made it! After an off-season that just couldn't end soon enough, filled with heartbreaking tragic losses and the constant reminder that the dreaded Boston Bruins are the current Stanley Cup Champions, this evening we have the opportunity to put the summer behind us and focus on the ultimate goal: bringing a 25th Stanley Cup to Montreal.

A little after 7:00 PM tonight, the long haul that is the NHL's regular season will get underway with a match between Original 6 rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs and your Montreal Canadiens. In preparation for that, here are you gameday notes:

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta

Mathieu Darche - David Desharnais - Erik Cole

Travis Moen - Andreas Engqvist - Yannick Weber

Hal Gill - P.K. Subban

Chris Campoli - Josh Gorges

Jaroslav Spacek - Raphael Diaz

Carey Price

Peter Budaj

Press Box: Alexei Emelin, Lars Eller (injured), Blair Betts (injured)

Injured Reserve: Andrei Markov, Ryan White

- Newly acquired Blair Betts was absent from practice today as he rehabs a minor shoulder injury. He will not play tonight, but is day-to-day.

- Defenseman Jeff Woywitka was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers. As such, his stay in the organization was a short one.

- RDS reported yesterday that though Lars Eller is expected to get medical clearance from doctors today, it should still be at least a week or two before he is ready for game action.

- Carey Price will wear pink-accented pads throughout the month of October for breast cancer awareness, but due to a holdup waiting for league approval, they will not be ready for tonight's game.

A couple of video previews of the coming season for the Habs found on YouTube:

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Joffrey Lupul - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel

Matt Frattin - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin

Philippe Dupuis - Dave Steckel - Colby Armstrong

Jay Rosehill - Matthew Lomobardi - Mike Brown

Carl Gunnarsson - Dion Phaneuf

John-Michael Liles - Luke Schenn

Jake Gardiner - Mike Komisarek

James Reimer

Jonas Gustavsson

Press Box: Cody Franson, Colton Orr, Clarke MacArthur (suspended)

Injured Reserve: Tim Connolly, Nazem Kadri

Here's the enemy's perspective. A Leafs preview video:

And finally, a non-Habs, non-Leafs focused video to get you pumped for the NHL season to come:

Preseason Game 8: 01/10/11 Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in Quebec City

Finally, we've arrived at the end of the torture. Just one more game, and then we can get to some "meaningful" hockey. There is no doubt the preseason has been a bit of a disaster for the Canadiens, but a big win tonight could reverse the flow and allow the team to enter the regular season on a positive note with a bit of momentum.

The lines tasked with this challenge should be the same as we saw in practice yesterday:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta

Mathieu Darche - David Desharnais - Erik Cole

Aaron Palushaj - Andreas Engqvist - Yannick Weber

Hal Gill - P.K. Subban

Josh Gorges - Chris Campoli

Jaroslav Spacek - Raphael Diaz

Carey Price

Jeff Woywitka, Alexei Yemelin, and Mike Blunden are the healthy scratches. As we've mentioned, it seems Raphael Diaz has for now won a starting role over Yemelin. Many Habs fans will (perhaps rightfully) not like the lack of truculence in the line-up, with no toughness on the fourth line and a relatively soft group of d-men.

The expected Tampa Bay Lightning line-up:

Brett Connolly - Steven Stamkos - Martin St. Louis
Ryan Malone - Vincent Lecavalier - Teddy Purcell

Mattias Ritola - Dominic Moore - Steve Downie
Dana Tyrell - Tom Pyatt - Adam Hall

Victor Hedman - Eric Brewer
Brett Clark - Matt Gilroy
Marc-Andre Bergeron - Pavel Kubina

Mathieu Garon

Other updates for today:

- Lars Eller practiced without a blue "no contact" jersey today, which should indicate he is nearing a return. For Habs fans who have been underwhelmed by the preseason performances of Andreas Engqvist (in other words, pretty much all Habs fans), this should come as a sign of relief, as it appears Eller could dress in the first game or two of the season.

- Travis Moen, Andrei Markov, and Ryan White are accompanying the team on the road, as they leave for their annual team building retreat (to Collingwood, Ontario) following tonight's game in Quebec City. Moen skated alone again this morning, while White remains sidelined and unable to take to the ice.

Jacques Martin was quoted as saying "it will be a long while before White can return." Officially, he is sidelined with a "lower body" injury.

- The Hamilton Bulldogs opened their preseason last night with a 4-1 win over the Binghamton Senators. The top line of Alexander Avtsin, Brock Trotter, and Brian Willsie led the charge, with Avtsin scoring 2 goals, Trotter having 3 assists, and Willsie 1 goal and 1 assist. Robert Mayer got the win for the 'Dogs in goal. This is a good start for Avtsin who faces a crucial year for his development in North America. He should see greatly increased ice time over last season where he was a healthy scratch, and will have to prove he can be more involved physically and more responsible without the puck. The team has a rematch against the Senators tonight.

- Goaltender Nicola Riopel, who was invited to a Canadiens development camp as a try-out several years ago, has been invited to try-out with the Bulldogs at camp. Since Peter Delmas is expected back shortly from his concussion, this will mean four goaltenders in the mix.

- In the junior ranks, it was a big night for a lot of Habs prospects. Despite just barely getting to the arena on time after being cut by the Canadiens in the morning, Michael Bournival scored 2 goals in a 7-2 Shawinigan win. Bournival now has 7 goals and 1 assist in just 3 games.

Jarred Tinordi, who we told you yesterday was named captain of the London Knights, finished a +1 with no points in an 8-2 London win. Tinordi made his mark with a huge hit and a very lopsided fight win. Here's a video of that:

Morgan Ellis, also captain of his Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, helped the team mount a third period comeback with 2 assists in a 4-3 win.

Olivier Archambault had a goal but finished -2 in Drummondville's 4-2 loss to Nathan Beaulieu's Saint John Sea Dogs. Beaulieu had no points but finished a +1.

Lastly, in the WHL, Darren Dietz had an assist and led all his Saskatoon Blades teammates with a +3 in a 4-2 win. Montreal's other WHL prospect, Brendan Gallagher, will join his Vancouver Giants teammates in time for tonight's game after being cut from Canadiens camp yesterday.

- IT IS OFFICIAL! Likely the funniest member of the Montreal Canadiens, Hal Gill, has joined Twitter. You can follow him at: @skillsy75

- The Toronto Maple Leafs' forward Clarke MacArthur was suspended 2 games by Brendan Shanahan today for a hit on Detroit Red Wings' forward Justin Abdelkader. As such, he will miss the season opener against the Habs on Thursday. Canadiens fans will remember the shoe was on the other foot a year ago, with Mike Cammalleri missing the season opener against the Leafs due to a preseason suspension resulting from an altercation with Nino Niederreiter of the New York Islanders.

Preseason Game 7: 29/09/11 Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens

Updates from this morning in preparation for tonight's penultimate preseason game for your Montreal Canadiens:

UPDATE: - Lines for this evening from practice:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Erik Cole

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brendan Gallagher

Andrei Kostitsyn - David Desharnais - Brian Gionta

Michael Bournival - Andreas Engqvist - Mike Blunden

Chris Campoli - Josh Gorges

Alexei Yemelin - P.K. Subban

Hal Gill - Raphael Diaz

Peter Budaj (full game)

Strange that Brendan Gallagher and Brian Gionta are swapped from what we saw in practice yesterday HERE. I wouldn't take that as the best sign for Gallagher, given that it's unlikely this will be held over to the regular season. However, it's also possible the team is giving him another opportunity to really show his stuff, as it would go a long way to ensure him a look if he could bury one of his scoring chances tonight

It's also a great opportunity for David Desharnais who gets a chance to play with 2 "top 6" forwards in Andrei Kostitsyn and Gionta.

Also interesting is that Gallagher, Andreas Engqvist, and Mike Blunden will be in the line-up, while Yannick Weber and Aaron Palushaj will sit. It gives us a possible indication of the direction the team is leaning.

Nice to see Alexei Yemelin getting in the line-up ahead of veteran Jaroslav Spacek. With so many pro d-men with the club, Habs fans will be paying close attention to how Jacques Martin manages his group. All of the latest pairings seem to indicate Yemelin prefers playing LD over RD (he has been tried on both sides), which means to earn a permanent spot, he will be in competition with Andrei Markov, Hal Gill, and Spacek. Of course, once healthy, Markov's spot is assured, with Spacek being most likely the easiest to dislodge.

- As first reported by website Dans Les Coulisses this morning, a source has indicated that Pierre Gauthier had preliminary discussions with the agent of Brendan Gallagher last night. If true, it shouldn't be long before a contract is announced as there is little to discuss on a rookie deal, but it has yet to be confirmed. In order to stay with the team for even just a few games of the regular season, Gallagher must be signed to an entry level deal by no later than 5 PM Saturday. Keep in mind, however, that even if Gallagher is signed, there is no guarantee he sees regular season action depending on the status of injured players.

- The Tampa Bay Lightning line-up for this evening:

Brett Connolly - Steven Stamkos - Martin St. Louis

Ryan Shannon - Vincent Lecavalier - Teddy Purcell

Ryan Malone - Nate Thompson - Steve Downie

Dana Tyrell - Tom Pyatt - Blair Jones

Mattias Ohlund - Eric Brewer

Marc-Andre Bergeron - Pavel Kubina

Matt Gilroy - Bruno Gervais

Dwayne Roloson

Mathieu Garon

Which means some notable scratches include Victor Hedman, Dominic Moore, and Brett Clark, but a pretty full line-up for the most part.

A player to watch for the Lightning is Brett Connolly, the team's first rounder from 2010, who appears poised to make the club after spending the preseason with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. It will be interesting to compare him to fellow 19-year old 2010 draftee Brendan Gallagher this evening.

UPDATE: - Habs Alex Henry has cleared waivers and officially been sent to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

- In their first games back with their junior clubs last night, both Morgan Ellis and Nathan Beaulieu played starring roles in wins for their teams. Ellis, captain of his team, had 2 goals and an assist en route to being named first star in a 5-2 Cape Breton win, plus must have lost a few chicklets along the way given a post-game Tweet about going to the dentist. Beaulieu, meanwhile, picked up a goal and an assist in a 3-1 Saint John win. Beaulieu's team was recently ranked #1 overall in the CHL and will look especially stacked if Jonathan Huberdeau is returned from the Florida Panthers.

Video of the three goals:

- A new possible member of the Montreal Canadiens (but certain member of the organization) has a little known Twitter account. Though many of his Tweets are in Swedish, Habs fans can follow Andreas Engqvist at: @aengqvist

He only has 300 followers so far! Come on #Habs fans, we can do better than that!

Another organization member with far too few followers is Brendon Nash. Follow him at: @bnash4

Wish him well in his recovery from surgery!

UPDATE: - The Canadiens made "official" this morning the fact that the Hamilton Bulldogs will play at the Bell Centre in November:

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=590343

What is funny about this is that the press release lists four french players as "young prospects who will be present," two of which are Danny Masse and Philippe Lefebvre. Neither of those two is sure to make the Bulldogs roster, possibly spending time in the ECHL, and thus may not be around when the 'Dogs make their trip to Montreal.

UPDATE: - Some oddball legal news concerning the Habs as well.

First, a study into the illegal downloading of movies in Canada found the Montreal Canadiens hockey club's IP address to have pirated the film The Hurt Locker.

http://torrentfreak.com/nhls-montreal-canadiens-accused-of-pirating-the-hurt-locker-110928/

It is unclear at this point whether formal charges will be laid or not.

A second legal challenge has to do with the Montreal Canadiens boutiques which were taken over by a third party private firm in early September. One of the major shareholders of the firm that now runs the boutiques, Frank Bertucci, is being investigated for corruption.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/regional/montreal/201109/28/01-4452346-boutiques-du-canadien-un-actionnaire-soupconne-de-corruption.php

- Peeking over at Hamilton Bulldogs practice (also in Brossard), thanks to Derek Wills, we see a powerplay unit of Alexander Avtsin, Brian Willsie, Brock Trotter, and Mark Mitera and Joe Stejskal on the points. While the 'Dogs don't have their full team together yet, Avtsin getting a look with those guys is encouraging news for him being given more ice time and a real chance to develop this season. The pointmen, however, are a little depressing, as one would hope for more out of a first powerplay group. The 'Dogs will miss the traded Mathieu Carle and injured Brendan Nash on the PP, but perhaps that creates a spot for recently signed Olivier Dame-Malka.

Preseason Game 6: 26/09/11 Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens

Tonight, the Boston Bruins (well, some of them...) make their first trip back to the Bell Centre since eliminating the Habs from the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring. After blowing out the Canadiens 7-3 in a game in Halifax last night, the Habs will ice a very different team for this one.

Here's a look:

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Brendan Gallagher

Michael Bournival - Brian Willsie - Brian Gionta

Brock Trotter - Gabriel Dumont - Mike Blunden

Phillippe Lefebvre - Philip DeSimone - Alain Berger

Defensemen

Jeff Woywitka - Josh Gorges

Jaroslav Spacek - Raphael Diaz

Jarred Tinordi - Frederic St-Denis

Goaltenders

Carey Price (full game)
Nathan Lawson

Expect a significant round of cuts to be announced either after the game this evening, or else tomorrow morning. The Hamilton Bulldogs will open their training camp this week with their first preseason game scheduled for Friday, September 30th, in Victoriaville against the Binghamton Senators.

Habs forward Max Pacioretty will not play tonight as he is sidelined with a flu.

The Bruins, meanwhile, will play many of the same players in the second half of the back-to-back, with notable absences tonight including Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, and Benoit Pouliot.

BOSTON BRUINS

Forwards

Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Tyler Seguin
Max Sauve - Rich Peverley - Chris Clark
Jordan Caron - Chris Kelly - Jamie Arniel
Lane MacDermid - Greg Campbell - Shawn Thornton

Defensemen

Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ference, Steven Kampfer, Matt Bartkowski, Colby Cohen

Goaltenders

Tuukka Rask

Anton Khudobin

Preseason Game 5: 25/09/11 Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins, in Halifax

Line-up for tonight's game as your 1-3-0 Montreal Canadiens face an iteration of the Boston Bruins for the first time since the B's eliminated the Habs in the first round of the playoffs en route to winning the Stanley Cup.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Forwards

Brendan Gallagher - Scott Gomez - Erik Cole

Andrei Kostitsyn - Brian Willsie - Aaron Palushaj

Mike Blunden - Andreas Engqvist - Mathieu Darche

Alexander Avtsin - Dany Masse - Olivier Archambault

Defensemen

Nathan Beaulieu, Hal Gill, Alexei Yemelin, Yannick Weber, Alex Henry, Morgan Ellis

Goaltenders

Peter Budaj (full game)

Robert Mayer

BOSTON BRUINS

Forwards

Brad Marchand, Nathan Horton, Tyler Seguin, Benoit Pouliot, Greg Campbell, Jordan Caron, Zack Hamill, Daniel Paille, Shawn Thornton, Trent Whitfield, Max Sauve, Chris Clark

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara, Joe Corvo, Adam McQuaid, Stephen Kampfer, Zach McKelvie, David Warsofsky

Goaltenders

Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin

Interesting to note that Zdeno Chara and Benoit Pouliot are in the line-up tonight, meaning they're unlikely to play at the Bell Centre in Montreal tomorrow. Max Pacioretty, meanwhile, will skip his turn this evening in favour of playing at home tomorrow, so any Chara-Pacioretty hostilities will have to wait (though they are rather unlikely anyway).

Brendan Gallagher will have another golden opportunity to strut his stuff with two talented offensive players, while Aaron Palushaj NEEDS to string a second solid game in a row together here if he has any shot at sticking with the big club. In Gallagher's case, if there are a number of players on the IR when the year begins, it's possible he stays in Montreal for a few games to see how he fares vs. NHL competition. There is no doubt he'll end up back in Vancouver before the 10 game mark to prevent his contract from kicking in, but if the team needs more health bodies, he has been one of the better players.

NOTE that the game begins at 6:00 PM EST tonight!

23/09/11: Montreal 4, Ottawa 3 (SO); vets lead way

While we've stated that losing in preseason isn't a real concern, repeated losses may eventually have the effect of weighing down team morale. Thus, it was a nice sign to see the Montreal Canadiens bounce back from a 3-o deficit last night to top the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in a shootout and improve their exhibition game record to 1-2-0.

P.K. Subban had been the Habs' top player against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday but he was held out last night with a minor upper body injury. The slack was picked up by another young veteran, Max Pacioretty, who followed up on a "decent" first outing against Buffalo to lead the way with 2 goals, a boatload of shots and chances, plus a nice shootout marker against the Sens. Pacioretty looks ready to start the year, every bit as fast as his pre-injury self and playing the same game.

A player that DOESN'T want to repeat last year, Scott Gomez, made his preseason debut and looked far better than he did for most of last year. Gomez skated the puck well and set up some chances, all the while showing off his trademark carrying of the puck through the neutral zone - a skill at which there might be no better forward in the league. While it wasn't pretty, he was credited with the game-tying goal in the last 35 seconds by positioning himself in front of the net and whacking away at a rebound.

In addition to scoring the shootout winner, Erik Cole picked up 2 assists to now give him 3 points in 2 games. He was most noticeable in creating turnovers throughout the game, picking the pockets of opposing defenders. Looks like he'll be a nice fit.

If his first game against Buffalo was disappointing, it may have been just nerves, as Brendan Gallagher turned his play up many notches last night. His quick hands were evident as he took advantage of playing with Pacioretty and Gomez in coming up with several near-miss scoring opportunities.

In goal, Carey Price made a few nice saves, a small improvement from his first outing. But he still doesn't seem to be in season shape, with 3 pucks getting by him on 18 shots in the game's first half. Nathan Lawson looked quite good playing the second half, as while he didn't have to make many tough saves, he supported the rush well, most evidently with a long bomb breakaway pass he fed to Pacioretty for his second goal on the powerplay.

In what may be training camp's biggest surprise, Gabriel Dumont is meddling with a lot of prognosticators line-ups and depth charts. The short but feisty center has been far more remarkable than the likes of Aaron Palushaj, Brock Trotter, or even Andreas Engqvist. It will be interesting to see how the Habs handle the situation, as Engqvist fits the team's need better due to his size, and is a very responsible defensive player, but Dumont has shown greater upside in playing more physically and having a better rounded game.

Preaseason Game 3: 23/09/11 Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators

The Habs try to put their first win of the preseason up on the board tonight as they take the bus trip out to Ottawa.

For Scott Gomez, who was nursing a minor injury at the start of training camp, this will be the first step towards forgetting what was an awful 2010-11 campaign. He will be paired with usual linemate Max Pacioretty and youngster Brendan Gallagher. A funny link between Gomez and Gallagher is that during Scott's junior days, he was once treated medically by Gallagher's father, a trainer, and even visited the family's home. Brendan was 6 years old at the time, and tonight they will be linemates!

For Carey Price, it will be another chance to continue rounding into game shape in preparation for the start of the season. He had a shaky opener before which he declared himself as unprepared, but it is no reason to panic. Slow and steady improvement is all that is needed until early October.

Up front, Andreas Engqvist is in the line-up again, meaning he's played all 3 preseason contests. Given that he's also playing with veterans in Andrei Kostitsyn and Erik Cole, it seems like the 4th line center job is his to lose. Interestingly, in practice, Kostitsyn took turns playing the point on the powerplay. With only P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov as locked pointment on the PP to start the season, there may be an opportunity to play a forward back there along with Alexei Yemelin or Yannick Weber, both of whom will continue to try to prove superiority in the depth chart this evening.

With Lars Eller, David Desharnais, and Ryan White all currently out rehabbing small injuries, there may be additional spots open for a player like Mike Blunden to start with the team as well. He showed poor skating ability in his first start, but certainly was amongst the team's most physical players.

Your lines for this evening:

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Forwards

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brendan Gallagher

Andrei Kostitsyn - Andreas Engqvist - Erik Cole

Mathieu Darche - Gabriel Dumont - Alexander Avtsin

Brock Trotter - Philip DeSimone - Mike Blunden

Defensemen

Alex Henry - Jarred Tinordi

Hal Gill - Raphael Diaz

Alexei Yemelin - Yannick Weber

Goaltenders

Carey Price

Nathan Lawson

OTTAWA SENATORS

Forwards

Nikita Filatov - Jason Spezza - Bobby Butler

Milan Michalek - Stephane Da Costa - Daniel Alfredsson

Mike Hoffman - Zack Smith - Erik Condra

Derek Grant - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Andre Petersson

Defensemen

Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson

Chris Phillips - Brian Lee

Patrick Wiercioch - Mark Borowiecki

Goaltenders

Craig Anderson (full game)

Alex Auld

Preaseason Game 2: 21/09/11 Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens

Following last night's 6-3 loss to Dallas, the Habs are right back in action with a (most) different group of players.

Here is your line-up / roster for tonight (with lines to come):

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Goaltenders: Peter Budaj, Robert Mayer

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Brian Gionta

Mathieu Darche - Gabriel Dumont - Alexander Avtsin

Travis Moen - Andreas Engqvist - Brendan Gallagher

Aaron Palushaj - Hunter Bishop - Philip DeSimone

Alex Henry - P.K. Subban

Nathan Beaulieu - Josh Gorges

Jaroslav Spacek - Frederic St. Denis

As expected, David Desharnais moves up into the injured Scott Gomez's spot between Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta. Gomez is expected to return to action this weekend.

For Aaron Palushaj and Andreas Engqvist, this represents a second game in as many nights. The two were considered potential favourites to battle for a roster spot, but neither ran away with it yesterday (though Engqvist was the better of the two). For a guy who is slowly moving out of young prospect territory, I'd have expected more intensity out of Palushaj who has coasted through rookie and training camps thus far. The fact that Palushaj was slotted on to a "fourth line" with a borderline AHL/ECHL'er and a try-out may be indicative that management is unhappy with his play.

The Canadiens are dealing with a large number of (minor) injuries at center right now (Gomez, Eller, Leblanc, Nattinen, Fortier...), so tonight is a big opportunity for try-out Philip DeSimone to show he's worth a contract.

Habs fans should be excited to see Brendan Gallagher and Alexander Avtsin in the line-up this evening, both having strong camps (particularly the former). Neither is in the equation to be battling for a job out of camp, but both have shown positive signs for their longer-term future in the organization.

BUFFALO SABRES

Goaltenders: Ryan Miller, Jhonas Enroth

Defensemen: Tyler Myers, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Robyn Regehr, Dennis Persson, Drew Schiestel, Christian Ehrhoff

Forwards:

Thomas Vanek - Derek Roy - Jason Pominville

Tyler Ennis - Ville Leino - Drew Stafford

Nathan Gerbe - Luke Adam - Brad Boyes

Marucs Foligno - Matt Ellis - Zack Kassian

So for a second night in a row, the Habs will face a relatively complete team - even more complete, in fact, than the roster the Stars put on ice.

2011/12 NHL Preview - Hab Stat Projections

Continuing along with our two weeks of NHL previews, today we look a little closer at the Montreal Canadiens. Those who read our prediction post yesterday saw that we have the Habs taking the division in a tight race ahead of both the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. For this to happen, the team will have to remain relatively healthy and the key players will have to avoid slumps.

With that in mind, here's what we expect this season. The PTS CHANGE column represents the difference in our projected point total from how many the player produced last season.

Our guesses would have the Canadiens finish 244 goals, a 28-goal improvement from last season, which would have ranked 5th in the East, 15 behind leaders Philadelphia. Of course, our numbers don't account for any trades and assume that all players below spend the entire year in the Montreal organization, with no outside players being brought in either.

PLAYER	GP	G	A	PTS	PTS CHANGE
Tomas Plekanec	80	21	58	79	+22
Andrei Markov	74	9	44	53	+50
Mike Cammalleri	73	31	20	51	+4
Brian Gionta	81	30	20	50	+4
Scott Gomez	80	11	39	50	+12
Erik Cole	72	23	25	48	-4
P.K. Subban	77	15	28	43	+5
Max Pacioretty	80	23	17	40	+16
Andrei Kostitsyn	79	19	20	39	-6
Lars Eller	78	12	24	36	+19
David Desharnais	68	9	26	35	+13
Alexei Yemelin	74	6	21	27	(Rookie)
Mathieu Darche	55	10	10	20	-6
Yannick Weber	59	6	14	20	+9
Josh Gorges	80	3	15	18	+11
Travis Moen	79	6	7	13	-3
Jaroslav Spacek	50	1	12	13	-3
Ryan White	69	3	6	9	+5
Aaron Palushaj	21	4	5	9	+9
Hal Gill	75	0	8	8	-1
Andreas Engqvist	25	1	5	6	+6
Rafael Diaz	10	0	2	2	(Rookie)
Brock Trotter	8	1	1	2	(Rookie)
Michael Blunden	15	0	1	1	+1
Brendon Nash	7	0	1	1	+1
Mark Mitera	2	0	0	0	(Rookie)
Andrew Conboy	1	0	0	0	(Rookie)
Alexander Avtsin	4	0	0	0	(Rookie)

As per my final standings prediction, I have the Habs' key players staying relatively healthy this season (knock on wood). Some injuries in the bottom 6 will allow for some young players to make impressions as both Andreas Engqvist and Aaron Palushaj should be considered favourites to get lengthy auditions at some point during the season, with the club needing to figure out how and if at all they fit into the longer-term bigger picture.

As per my top 10 Hab predictions piece, I have the club with two 30-goal scorers in Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, while predicting a bounce back 50-point season for Scott Gomez.

There will be a lot of pressure on Erik Cole to not disappoint, but I think fans need to have realistic expectations. If he can come close to reproducing his numbers of last year, as we predict he will, while playing a responsible and physical complete game, everyone should be content and satisfied.

I have high expectations for the debut of Alexei Yemelin, believing he can earn a regular spot from day 1 and eventually get second unit powerplay ice time, contributing in all zones. Similarly, based in part on their exclusion from the Canadiens rookie camp, I expect both Michael Blunden and Rafael Diaz to get stints with the team, particularly since both have experience playing at a professional level.

The biggest drop-offs I see will be from Andrei Kostitsyn and Mathieu Darche, as the former will see his even-strength ice time diminish with the addition of Erik Cole, which in turn is likely to reduce the powerplay time of the latter. I think Kostitsyn, if his head remains in the game and his attitude in line, will be a valuable contributor from the third line, helping in part for the breakout I foresee from Lars Eller.

Now that they will be regulars, it won't be surprising to see huge jumps in production from Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais, even if there are questions as to the former's return from a serious injury and where the latter slots into the line-up. I'm sure there will be plenty of combinations tried throughout the year, potentially including the two of them together given their amazing chemistry while playing in Hamilton.

Amongst other rookies, Brock Trotter is probably one of the more NHL-ready forwards with the Bulldogs, and didn't look out of place in his 2 game call-up to Montreal, although it was a year and a half ago. Andrew Conboy has shown nice progression with the Bulldogs and should be a call-up if two of Ryan White, Michael Blunden, and Travis Moen are unable to play versus a bigger team.

A name you might be surprised to see on my stats list is that of Alexander Avtsin, but I foresee a big year for him in the AHL. Now that he is better acclimatized to North American living and playing, he should be one of Hamilton's top scorers which may be enough to earn him a little taste of NHL action (like Palushaj last season).

Like we've said before, predictions are just predictions. But these are ours. And this is what we'll stick to as we anxiously await the first puck drop.

2011/12 NHL Preview - Predictions

With yesterday's tragic plane crash and resulting deaths of KHL club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in Russia, we felt it best not to publish a hockey story.

So today, we welcome you to our pre-season forecasts/predictions for the 2011-12 NHL season. With rookie and training camps about to get underway, we've completed our divisional previews around the league and can move on to to our best guess on how things will play out.

We'll begin, conference by conference, with our prediction of the final standings, and then discuss some rationale / expectations behind them.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. x-Washington Capitals

2. x-Philadelphia Flyers

3. x-Montreal Canadiens

4. Buffalo Sabres

5. Boston Bruins

6. Tampa Bay Lightning

7. Pittsburgh Penguins

8. New York Rangers

------------

9. Toronto Maple Leafs

10. New Jersey Devils

11. Carolina Hurricanes

12. New York Islanders

13. Florida Panthers

14. Winnipeg Jets

15. Ottawa Senators

I can hear the howls of homerism already, but I do think the Northeast will be a three dog race this year between the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, and Boston Bruins. When healthy, all three have deep rosters playing in front of one of the league's best goaltenders. The Sabres lead the group on defense, while I would argue the Habs have the better forward group, and the Bruins are likely the most balanced while also having an edge in toughness. Ultimately, the team that takes it is likely the one that best avoids injury and individual slumps, so here's hoping for some luck on Montreal's side! (for more on this, see my Northeast Division Preview)

Sure, they won the Conference last year as well, but the moves the Washington Capitals made this summer cement them as a top flight contender. They've added the kind of depth forwards you win with (Jeff Halpern, Joel Ward...) as well as help on the back end (Roman Hamrlik, Tomas Vokoun).

It will be interesting to see how the Philadelphia Flyers new team performs, but I expect that the addition of Ilya Bryzgalov will outweigh any dip in offensive production from the younger club, helping them take the division ahead of the (for now) Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins.

Looking at the playoff race, the 8th spot may come down to the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New Jersey Devils with Henrik Lundqvist being our key reason for selecting N.Y. (yes, ahead of the addition of Brad Richards). The Leafs have a good forward group, but there are questions around James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson, while the Devils will need Martin Brodeur to play like he's 10 years younger than he really is to crack the top 8.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. x-Los Angeles Kings

2. x-Vancouver Canucks

3. x-Detroit Red Wings

4. San Jose Sharks

5. St. Louis Blues

6. Chicago Blackhawks

7. Anaheim Ducks

8. Calgary Flames

------------

9. Columbus Blue Jackets

10. Edmonton Oilers

11. Minnesota Wild

12. Dallas Stars

13. Colorado Avalanche

14. Nashville Predators

15. Phoenix Coyotes

If the East seems like it's full of "safer" picks, the West is where we'll gamble a bit. The Los Angeles Kings were very active improving their club over the summer, and they enter the season with a young, exciting, skilled, and well-balanced team. Reuniting Mike Richards and Simon Gagne fills out perhaps the league's best top 6, and with a solid D and two strong netminders, they are a real threat to take the Conference title.

The Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, and Detroit Red Wings seem to find themselves near the top of the standings every year, so there isn't much to justify there, but the St. Louis Blues are amassing the depth needed to join the elite. Injuries derailed what could have been an emerging season for the team last year, so if they're healthier, look for them to climb the standings buoyed by an offense 4 lines strong and a Jaroslav Halak with much to prove in goal.

On the lower end of the playoff hunt, the 7th and 8th spots would be debated over by the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Edmonton Oilers. The Oil may need one more year before jumping into the competitive ranks out West, during which time they'd hopefully address the D and goaltending situations. The Blue Jackets were aggressive in adding to their roster, and while the offense looks impressive enough, the D still needs some more retooling and there are questions in goal. That leaves the Ducks and Flames, both with star netminders that need to bounce back this season in Jonas Hiller and Miikka Kiprusoff. Both teams have nice balances of offense and defense, however, and thus have good chances at making the post-season, potentially becoming contenders if they can add to their core by the trade deadline.

So that's it. This is how we expect the season to play out, barring the unexpected. And of course, with injuries, trades, and anything and everything else, the unexpected is likely what's expected. So take our predictions with a grain of salt. But if we're right, that doesn't mean we won't brag about it!

2011/12 NHL Preview - Northeast Division

And finally we arrive at the Northeast. If you missed the earlier division previews, check them out here:

- Atlantic Division

- Southeast Division

- Northwest Division

- Central Division

- Pacific Division

BOSTON BRUINS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Milan Lucic - Patrice Bergeron - Nathan Horton

Tyler Seguin - David Krejci - Brad Marchand

Benoit Pouliot - Rich Peverley - Chris Kelly

Daniel Paille - Greg Campbell - Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara - Dennis Seidenberg

Andrew Ference - Joe Corvo

Johnny Boychuk - Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

The defending Stanley Cup champions lost some depth over the summer, notably playoff hero Michael Ryder who signed in Dallas, and trade deadline acquisition Tomas Kaberle who joined the Carolina Hurricanes. Picking up some slack offensively will be a year-older Tyler Seguin who should now be a regular, and Benoit Pouliot who will be trying his luck with a third club in his short NHL career. Rookies Zach Hamill and Jordan Caron will battle for jobs in training camp but the forward group is deep enough that they are likely to start the year in the AHL. Brad Marchand was a hero (second only to the man in goal) in last year's playoffs and should improve on the 41 point he scored last season. With the possible exception of assist-man David Krejci, all of Boston's top 6 should be expected to top the 20 goal mark, and with quality two-way players in trade deadline acquisitions Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley on the third line, the team looks ready to compete again.

The Bruins defense isn't nearly as deep as their offense with a significant drop-off after captain Zdeno Chara. The addition of Joe Corvo should help the team's powerplay, but just as it did last year with the acquisition of Kaberle, much of the team's remaining cap space (over $7M with only Marchand left to sign) should go to patch a hole on the back end as this year's deadline nears.

Goaltending isn't something Boston has to worry about as Tim Thomas dominated the league through the regular and post- season last year. And even if, at age 37, he begins to slow down, Tuukka Rask, who stole the starting job from Thomas for one season in 2009-10, is capable of putting up equally as impressive numbers.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Conference contender.

BUFFALO SABRES

Projected depth chart / lines:

Thomas Vanek - Derek Roy - Jason Pominville

Drew Stafford - Brad Boyes - Ville Leino

Tyler Ennis - Paul Gaustad - Nathan Gerbe

Jochen Hecht - Cody McCormick - Patrick Kaleta

Tyler Myers - Christian Ehrhoff

Robyn Regehr - Jordan Leopold

Andrej Sekara - Mike Weber

Ryan Miller

Jhonas Enroth

Active on both the trades and free agency markets this summer, the Sabres enter the season with the best roster they've had since the Daniel Briere and Chris Drury days. At 5'5" and 5'9" respectively, Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis are Buffalo's answer to David Desharnais and Brian Gionta on the Habs, with both showing last season that they belong in the NHL despite their diminutive stature. They will provide added scoring depth to a top 6 that was completed with the signing of Ville Leino, a player whose best seasons many feel are still ahead of him. It seems like top forward Derek Roy will be fully recuperated from his leg injury of last season when training camp opens in a couple of weeks which means Thomas Vanek should continue to score at a 30-goal, 70-point clip on his wing. Drew Stafford exploded last season with 31 goals in 62 games but it remains to be seen if that will be an anomaly for a typical 20 goal man or if it was simply a leap ahead in his development as an NHL'er. The Sabres do still have a bit of work to do to get under the salary cap, but the most likely situation seems to be a trade or demotion of Ales Kotalik up front and Shaone Morissonn on the back end, leaving the above roster unaffected.

Speaking of the defense, adding Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regehr gives Buffalo arguably a top 5 defense in the league for the coming season. Anchored by Tyler Myers, the top 4 is as good as any, and to provide further depth, 25-year old Andrej Sekera unexpectedly set a career high last year with 29 points.

For my money, Ryan Miller is the top goaltender in the NHL, and though his numbers took a bit of a dive last season, expect him to rebound behind his newly upgraded D and be one of the top fantasy performers in the league. The Sabres should get at least one more full season out of Jhonas Enroth, now 23, as a back-up, but it is likely he has starter aspirations and that will have to be with a different club.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Solid playoff team.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Erik Cole

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta

Travis Moen - Lars Eller - Andrei Kostitsyn

Ryan White - David Desharnais - Mathieu Darche

Andrei Markov - Josh Gorges

Hal Gill - P.K. Subban

Jaroslav Spacek - Alexei Yemelin

Carey Price

Peter Budaj

Ah oui, les Canadiens. Pierre Gauthier managed to land his man on July 1st this year with the signing of Erik Cole to a 4-year deal. Cole seems like a great fit, bringing much-needed size and physicality to the Montreal forward core, but Habs fans need to hope that he'll fit in much better with Tomas Plekanec than he did with the Edmonton Oilers - his only other stint in the NHL outside of Carolina. Andrei Kostitsyn had some harsh words about head coach Jacques Martin printed in the Belarussian media this summer so it will be interesting to see how long he remains in Montreal, given that he's a pending UFA next summer and appears to be slated in for third line duty. He formed a nice duo with Lars Eller at times last year, though, so if the two stick together, it could mean a breakout year statistically for the young Dane. Max Pacioretty should be back at full strength after a vicious Zdeno Chara hit ended his season and what was a very hot breakout stretch for him. The team must hope that the hit and concussion won't cause Pacioretty to play timidly and to avoid the corners and front of the net - the areas where he was most successful.

Montreal lost two pillars on the blueline in James Wisniewski and Roman Hamrlik but will see the return of veteran Andrei Markov who, when healthy, can be one of the game's top defensemen. Markov will find his old spot quaterbacking the powerplay, meaning P.K. Subban should improve upon the 38 points he scored last year just from receiving passes from the guy at the opposite point. Alexei Yemelin will be an intriguing addition to the club, assuming he makes the big team out of camp, as he brings a physical toolkit the team has missed since the departure of Mike Komisarek. Jaroslav Spacek has (rightfully) fallen out of favour with much of the Canadiens' fanbase, but as a pending UFA, he will have the pressure of improving or seeing his NHL days come to an end following this season, which hopefully will inspire him to reach his pre-Habs levels of play.

Carey Price made Pierre Gauthier look smart for making the unpopular move of trading Jaroslav Halak by turning in the best performances of his career. After playing 72 games, Habs fans must believe that he is the real deal, but there will remain some trepidation that it could have been just a good season until he plays well consistently again in 11-12. No one will mistake Peter Budaj for a quality NHL starter, but given that he played 45 games for Colorado last year, he should be expected to get more action than the 16 games Alex Auld saw in Montreal (perhaps a 60-22 split).

Frankly, if things go right, this team could be as good as the Bruins and chase them and/or the Sabres for the division title. However, if Scott Gomez doesn't rebound from a horrid season, Carey Price is inconsistent, Erik Cole disappoints, the injury bug strikes, and Pierre Gauthier sits tight all year with this group of d-men, it could be a long season that sees the team finish outside the top 8.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Solid playoff team.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Daniel Alfredsson

Nikita Filatov - Nick Foligno - Bobby Butler

Chris Neil - Peter Regin - Stephane Da Costa

Zack Smith - Zenon Konopka - Jesse Winchester

Sergei Gonchar - Erik Karlsson

Chris Phillips - Jared Cowen

David Rundblad - Filip Kuba

Craig Anderson

Alex Auld

The Senators are rebuilding and the fact that they were rather quiet this off-season seems to indicate the process is on-going. Offensively, there are a number of young players who will try to establish themselves during training camp, including mid-season signee Stephane Da Costa, draft day acquisition Nikita Filatov, and 2011 first round pick Mika Zibanejad. The Sens will need some of these guys to elevate their play as the offense is quite thin beyond the top trio of Jason Spezza (slowed by injuries), Daniel Alfredsson (aging, injuries), and Milan Michalek (hasn't been productive since removed from the top lines of San Jose). College free agent signing Bobby Butler looks to have been a nice find for the Sens, putting up 21 points in 36 NHL games after getting a call-up from the AHL in his first pro season. If he can build on that, he should have the inside track for a top 6 job this year.

If you look at half of Ottawa's defense, you see declining veterans whose best days seem long behind them. Fortunately, the other half is comprised of top notch defensive prospects Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen, and David Rundblad, the first of which broke out last year with an all-star game nod worthy performance, and the latter two expected to play their NHL rookie seasons this year after putting up big numbers from the blueline in their respective leagues. Rundblad in particular comes over to North America turning 21 in October and coming off a season where he scored 50 points in 55 games in the Swedish Elite League; quite an impressive feat. The Sens hope they've found a balance of new and old, but it is more likely the veterans slowly fade out and give way as the youth takes on larger roles.

Craig Anderson will get another shot to prove he can be a quality starter over a full season after putting up studly numbers following a trade to Ottawa from Colorado (.939 save percentage and 2.05 GAA in 18 games). Sens fans should be cautious, though, as he only has one season of more than 55 games under his belt, meaning Alex Auld should expect to see more action than he did in Montreal.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Out of the playoffs.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Joffrey Lupul - Tim Connolly - Phil Kessel

Nikolai Kulemin - Mikhail Grabovski - Clarke MacArthur

Colby Armstrong - Matthew Lombardi - Nazem Kadri

Mike Brown - Tyler Bozak - Darryl Boyce

Dion Phaneuf - John-Michael Liles

Luke Schenn - Cody Franson

Keith Aulie - Mike Komisarek

James Reimer

Jonas Gustavsson

Brian Burke kept no secrets that he was looking to upgrade his center position this summer, and after missing out on Brad Richards, he did so by signing the highly skilled but oft-injured Tim Connolly. Having missed only 23 games in total over the last two years combined, the Leafs hope Connolly's biggest issues are in the past, and that he'll find chemistry with Phil Kessel on the team's top line. If that works out, the Leafs may have a potent offense this season, with the second line of Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhali Grabovski, and Clarke MacArthur coming off a big season. Further helping the club's depth is the fact that salary dump acquisition Matthew Lombardi looks to be healthy and may join the club as early as during training camp. Lombardi played only 2 games with Nashville last year due to a concussion, but topped the 50 point mark in Phoenix the year prior. A number of young players will be auditioning for roles, but only Nazem Kadri seems like a safe bet to make the team out of camp. Joe Colbourne, Matt Frattin, and Jerey D'Amigo will be amongst those looking for a call-up at some point.

The Leafs lost a lot of their depth on D but also got quite a bit younger. Picked up in trades, Cody Franson and Keith Aulie both look like they could be fixtures for many years, while another acquisition, John-Michael Liles, increases the group's mobility and puck-moving skills, eating minutes while the younger players develop. The pressure, then, will be on Mike Komisarek whose career has taken a disastrous turn, and captain Dion Phaneuf who seems to have left his offensive game in Calgary.

James Reimer had a hot start at the NHL level, emerging from obscurity to post a .921 save percentage and 2.60 GAA in 37 games. Toronto faithful have to hope for at least a repeat performance from the 23-year old, but it wouldn't be the first time a young goalie rose to stardom quickly only to fall right back down. Fortunately for the Leafs, there is still hope that Jonas Gustavsson develops into "The Monster" he was seen to be, with several great performances towards the end of the American League season after returning from injury.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Bubble playoff team.