That air of playoff magic that permeates a day like today can sometimes descend into madness as we all await the drop of the puck. Winter is over, the long grind and gruel a rapidly fading memory. The atmosphere of spring and playoffs bound together lifts hope in every Canadian hockey fan that gets to see their team compete for the Stanley Cup. In Montreal, it is especially unique, a party that when it begins you savour, and hope for it not to end too soon, and can’t wait to begin.
Without Max Pacioretty to provide his scoring tonight, the Habs will look to distribute the missing weight of his team goal production. Players with the ability to step it up include Lars Eller who has scored in 4 of the last 7 games, and Tomas Plekanec who is on a 4 game goal-scoring streak and has 7 points in the last 4. The void may open up an opportunity for the Senators to frustrate the Canadiens early in this series, and this will mean more pressure for Carey Price to keep his team and prevent the Senators from jumping to any big leads.
The Senators are a team that cannot be discounted. Their burst into the playoffs is historic, and their momentum will be a lot for the Habs to handle in this series. Mark Stone has scored 7 goals in his last 6 games, alongside linemates Kyle Turris who picked up 9 points (2G, 7A), and Clarke MacArthur who had 8 (2G, 6A). Andrew Hammond is coming into this series hotter than a scorching steamed ham with a 1.80 GAA and .943 SV% over the last 5 games, and a 2.00 GAA and .945 SV% against the Habs over 2 games.
The puck drops at 7:00PM EST.
In the Canadiens Region (English): CBC
In Canada Canadiens (French): TVA Sports
Elsewhere: NHL Center Ice or NHL Gamecenter Live
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Devante Smith-Pelly | David Desharnais | P.A. Parenteau |
| Jacob de la Rose | Lars Eller | Dale Weise |
| Brandon Prust | Torrey Mitchell | Brian Flynn |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Andrei Markov | P.K. Subban |
| Alexei Emelin | Jeff Petry |
| Nathan Beaulieu | Tom Gilbert |
| Goaltenders |
| Carey Price |
| Dustin Tokarski |
Scratched: Mike Weaver, Manny Malholtra, Sergei Gonchar, Greg Pateryn
Injuries: Max Pacioretty (upper body)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Clarke MacArthur | Kyle Turris | Mark Stone |
| Milan Michalek | Mika Zibanejad | Bobby Ryan |
| Erik Condra | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | Curtis Lazar |
| Mike Hoffman | David Legwand | Alex Chiasson |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Marc Methot | Erik Karlsson |
| Patrick Wiercioch | Cody Ceci |
| Mark Borowiecki | Eric Gryba |
| Goaltenders |
| Andrew Hammond |
| Craig Anderson |
Scratched: Zach Smith, Colin Greening, Jared Cowen
Injuries: Robin Lehner (concussion), Chris Neil (broken thumb), Chris Phillips (undisclosed), Matt Puempel (lower-body)
Check out the enemy over at Silver Seven.
