A NO BRAINER

At This point in the season, with ten games left, playoff mode is showing it’s aggressive, intense and focused face across the league. The Montreal Canadiens are no exception. In recent weeks, we won against team we should be winning agains, and gave a good run against teams who, on paper, out muscle us. Tonight should be no exception to this trend given that the team has proven to be more consistent than many would like to believe.

Wanting to bounce back from a sloppy game on Thursday, wanting to give Ottawa a run for their money for first place in the Division, the fact that the Islanders have gone the way Tampa and Florida are all reasons why I would call tonight’s game a lock. No more ifs, maybes, caution, blah blah blah. We’re a team that’s been fighting for first since about two months now, spent our fair share up there, and are focusing on making a solid run in the post season. As such we should, and will be winning games against “low grade” opponents.

So tonight, DiPietro could go on a hot streak and the Islanders are a team with nothing to loose, and players will be trying to earn a roster spot for next year. But a team like ours, at this point in the season, should be able to simple steam roll over an opponent of the like. And if say DiPietro is in a trance, stopping everything coming his way, we should be able to adjust between periods and come up with new strategies to get the puck past him for the win.

I wanted to close up with something worrisome as of late that has grabbed my attention. I have stated over the past weeks that, IMO, being first or second in the Conference won’t make a difference with respect to our odds of being matched up with a “softer” opponent for the off season. Winning the Division should be a priority, because it ensures us first or second in the Conference, which gives us a 3/4 chance of facing a favourable opponent, mainly Buffalo, Boston or Philly, with the Rangers being the team to avoid. Now, we must add Washington to that list, and unfortunately we may have to remove Buffalo by the weeks end if the trend continues. Washington is 0.5 NL behind the Sabres and has been charging as of late. I believe by next weekend, Washington will be the team in ninth, winning on a regular basis, thus slowing down bonus points for us unfortunately.

Then again things can change so quickly. There is only 1 NL that separates 2nd place from sixth, so any combination is possible. Washington is now entering the equation however, and they are definitely a team I would not want to face in the off season (although if I had my chance between them and Ottawa…well…another no brainer)

So off we go tonight, two points should be in the bag and we can look forward to St Patrick’s Day on Sunday. If we win tonight, it’ll be a good excuse to get drunk and celebrate. If we loose, it’ll be a good reason to drown our sorrows away with a pint of Guiness…or two…or twelve. Either way me want Guiness!