So It Begins (and other links)
Your collection of fine links for the afternoon.
I'll defer to Josh Gorges for the introduction:
"We want to play. It's been a long couple of days, we've talked about everything there is to talk about, you guys have got all your stories that you need to get, now it's about the battle on the ice and playing in the fun time of year,"
Perhaps my excitement is having an adverse effect on my attention span, but I'm tired of waiting for and linking to game one-related content. Today's links will reflect these feelings of anxiousness in their brevity, but there's still some great stuff to check out. I hope you enjoy them. I also hope you come by later today and hang out with our zany cast of characters in the game thread. The thread will open at 6:00 ET, CBC's pregame coverage (which is pretty awful, but there should be a Habs-Sens montage) starts at 6:30 ET, and puck drop is set for 7:00 ET. Come cheer, curse, and lament P.K.'s 4 v 5 ice time!
Habs News and Analysis
- There's not much roster news to report that hasn't already been reported. Carey Price will start (duh), and Jeff Halpern and Colby Armstrong should sit for the Travis Moen-Ryan White-Brandon Prust fourth line.
- Here's Laura answering Radek Bonk's Mullet's Habs-Sens questions.
- Ryan Dadoun over at Pro Hockey Talk also asks and answers Habs-Sens related questions in his preview of the Eastern quarterfinal matchup. Questions include: Will the Sens actually get an advantage at home? Will Ottawa need Craig Anderson to be brilliant?
Know Your Enemy: Ottawa Senators Edition
- Ottawa's roster has three changes of note. First, look for defenceman Patrick Wiercioch to be scratched in favour of Eric Gryba. Second, look for Chris Phillips to join Sergei Gonchar on a pairing with Gryba and Jared Cowen forming their own pairing. Finally, look for Milan Michalek to join Daniel Alfredsson and Kyle Turris on Ottawa's top line.
- Here's a collection of random Habs-Sens predictions from the fine folks over at Silver Seven. Topics include: Who will score more between Erik Karlsson and P.K. Subban? Who will win the battle of the crease? Can Ottawa's penalty kill contain Montreal's powerplay? Which players will animate the rivalry?
- I'll let the title of this bad boy speak for itself: "Erik Karlsson is better than P.K. Subban - and it isn't close." Adnan over at Silver Seven has the scoop.
General News and Analysis
- Here's CBC's playoff montage from last night featuring the Who's "Baba O'Riley. Mother Corp did a great job as per usual.
- Would you like to watch the Leafs get the shit kicked out of them via a 20-minute-long HD highlight package? If so, the folks over at Stanley Cup of Chowder have you covered.
- Andrew Ference will have a phone hearing with the NHL after he hit Mikhail Grabovski in the head during yesterday's Boston-Toronto playoff match.
- Huw Wales over at Defending Big D has a posted a 2013 mock draft, breaking down who he thinks will go where among the 14 non-playoff teams. His top five in order are: Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin, and Valeri Nichushkin.