With Wednesday's game against Cindy Crybaby well behind us, and having peculated and vented about the continuous failure of the Zebras on skates to provide consistent reffing, we can look forward to playing the Wolverine on skates they call Brin d'Amour.
Carolina is on a two game winning streak, following a whopping 7-1 win against the Leafs in Toronto, and a win against arguably the NHL's top team effectively ending their winning streak. Now I know Ottawa had played the night before, but they were in their home arena and a tired Heatly, Alfredson, Spezza line is still the most potent 1st line in the league. Carolina is on an impressive run and now they come to Montreal's home opener. After ruining their home opener in Raleigh, one can easily assume they will be more than eager to return the favour. Furthermore we will have some jitters and pressure for our home coming. So really we've got everything working against us. Now (in true HLD fashion) let me share with you why I think we're winning this game.
First off let us talk about the goalie. Price's performance on Wednesday surely did not pass Huet by without effect. A quiet competitor like Cristobal, who likes his pads and glove do the talking, will surely go the extra mile to be 110% ready for the game. With Price's stardom hype, Huet knows he's one home opener loss away from a full media onslaught of criticism. He will undoubtedly look to mitigate this.
Next let us compare some team strategy. Toronto and Ottawa are offensive teams. They win games by trying to score more goals than the opposition (until a goalie like Emery goes on a hot streak, then they just win everything). Montreal on the other hand is a more defensive team, and this strategy has worked well against 3 offensive minded teams (win in Carolina, OT loss in TO - loss was due to individual failure, not team strategy, and a win in Pittsburgh). All this to say Carolina may be on a goal scoring parade, but odds are it ends in Montreal.
Last but not least let us talk about motivation and momentum. As far as motivation is concerned, Carolina played a full out game during their opener. They cam out flying and kept up the tempo all the way. We shut them down...simply put. And as for the momentum...they may be on a streak, but we're on a bigger streak coming off a three game road trip with five points. If that's not a momentum builder, I don't know what is.
And last but not least, let's not forget about the fact that this game is being held at the Bell Center...arguably the loudest arena in the league. Our boys may feel some pressure playing in such an overwhelming venue, but the opposing team feels this pressure ten fold. When a team comes to the Bell Center, their goal is clear. Score fast, score early and take the crowd out of the game. Until that time if/when that happens, advantage HABS.
In summary Carolina is a potent team, with a great leader and solid goaltending. The team is almost identical to the cup winning team from two years ago, and they are coming to Montreal tonight with a monkey on their back. However let's give credit where it's due. Montreal currently is the hotter team, just beat them last week, and we're playing at home. This is one believer who thinks Carolina is the underdog coming to HAB town.
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