THREE POINTS FROM THE TOP

No matter how hard I try to focus on the here and now, and remain in the “one game at a time” process of thought, it’s difficult not to think about the Ottawa Senators. We’re within three points with a game in hand from the Ottawa Senators and first placed in the Division. We play our game in hand today against the Rangers, and we play the Sens on Tuesday. With the right outcomes, the Montreal Canadiens could be top dog in the Eastern Conference. I would love to see hockey analysts try and back track on their predictions and justify the discrepancy in their analysis.

However as reasonable and rational hockey fans, we know that nothing is more important than today’s game. After another well played and well executed match yesterday, the HABS are up against a team they are yet to beat this year. Furthermore, history shows that after having played a strategically flawless game, the Montreal Canadiens have been known to start the next one over confident and lazy. This is a trend we have been slowly eliminating as of late, however the home and home series against the Washington Ovechkin’s was a bleak reminder that no matter how hard one tries, playing two solid games in a row in a short period of time is no easy feat.

I sure hope our boys come out focused, and execute properly. Keep things simple, don’t try to get fancy, and win the battles along the boards. Contain Jager, and be disciplined (don’t get pulled into Avery’s shenanigans). This is going to be the key to our victory tonight.

If and when we win, then we can start talking about first place.