Oct 05 Habs Game 1 Preview - why the Habs can be better this year

The Montreal Canadiens will open up their 2010-2011 NHL season by going down the 401 to face the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Thursday, October 7th. Both teams will have new captains in place, after going the entire 2009-2010 season without one. Dion Phaneuf leads a Toronto team that is more "truculant" than it was last season, but with some improvement offensively, while Brian Gionta gets to show off his new C in what could be many head to head on ice match ups in game 1. Missing in action will be local Ontario boy Michael Cammalleri, who will have to sit out 1 game due him losing his cool after Nino Niederreiter of the New York Islanders. Lars Eller was on the bubble up to and including the last preseason game, but with his goal in that game, combined with the suspension to Cammalleri, means that the young Dane keeps his spot on the roster as a top 6 forward. Eller will be given all the chances in the world to succeed, as he will find himself paired up with Tomas Plekanec who led the NHL during the pre-season with 9 points, something which the Habs brass hope continues into the regular season to justify their signing him to a 6 year contract. (update #1) I had initially predicted that Price would have done "just about anything to play against" the Toronto Maple Leafs. Apparently I hit the nail on the head, and Price has been named as the starter for tonight's game despite battling a flu. Toronto may have improved during the offseason, but they are still a bottom tier NHL team, and you would have to think that Price would rather face them at 80% than the Stanley Cup contending Pittsburgh Penguins at 100%.

Price did have an amazing start to last season, begining with the Maple Leafs, but could be facing a much tougher task against Pittsburgh Saturday night. Lastly, the Canadiens made the last of their roster cuts today, with Ryan White being one of the casualties.

I put very little stock in the preseason, so I thought I would make this post mostly about how I feel the Canadiens have improved as a team during the off-season.

1 - A Man and His System

While I am not a fan of Jacques Martin or his counter-attacking style of hockey he tries to employ, I do respect the fact that implementing a new system into a team which went through a massive overhaul is not an easy task. However, 82 games and a deep run into the playoffs later, Martin has had more than enough time to acclimate to his expectations. Moreover, Martin and Gauthier have been able to tweak this team in the off season and acquired players who can better fit into the system than the ones that he either inherited, or who simply did not work out.

2 - Familiarity Breeds Consistency

It was not clear to anyone how the Canadiens should best deploy their roster at the start of last season. Coach Martin had to try and find balance in his scoring lines, with very few players outside of Cammalleri and Gionta being hot at any given time. With the acquisition of Lars Eller, a healthy Maxime Lapierre, PK Subban taking the offensive responsibility away from Spacek, this year's team should see some improvement offensively. The Canadiens were tied for 12th (with Tampa Bay) for goals scored (217), with only Boston (206) and Florida (208) having scored less

3 - Sibling Rivalry

Whatever the cause, whatever the reason, whatever the excuse, having Sergei Kostitsyn sharing the same bench as his older brother Andrei was a hindrance, not a help. With his goal production in decline (15 in 59 games down from 28 2 years before), and this being the last year before he becomes an RFA, the time for the lone remaining Kostitsyn is now to put up or get out. Andrei should be the benefactor of a drama free season where the only focus for him will be his preparation off the ice for his production on the ice.

4 - Year 2 Upgrades

Sure, a great car needs a great engine, tires, transmission that guys like Gionta, Cammalleri and even Gomez brings, but it also needs the not so high profile elements like spark plugs, headlights of the Halpern, Pouliots and Boyd's to work well and in tune with the rest of the car. The acquisition of Boyd and Halpern give Martin the tools he needs to make his system work. Halpern has a great faceoff  winning percentage, which gives Martin that extra advantage that his puck control system needs in crucial situations, and Boyd provides some defensive capabilities and speed for the counterattack that Martin is looking for out of his 3rd and 4th lines. Metropolit simply could not keep up at times, and while he was effective on the power play, Halpern and Boyd will help during when the Habs are at even strength.

5 - Full Year wtih Pouliot

You may not like the fact that it took Latendresse being sent to the Wild before he found his scoring touch, but the fact of the matter is his career was over in Montreal. Coach Martin wanted a player who did not play from the perimeter, and would add some size, toughness and presence in front of the net. Benoit Pouliot can deliver all of these things in Montreal, and as long as his numbers are not compared on a game by game basis with Guillaume Latendresse, he should be able to do just fine in that year.

6 - Don't Call it a Comeback!

My pick for breakout player of the year is Maxime Lapierre. He already has the mouth to get under the skin of the opposition, but after 2 years of boxing training, he is willing to let his fists back him up instead of his teammates. Maxime also showed an ability to both create scoring opportunites as well as finish the job during the high pressure playoffs when teams are at their best. Barring injury, I believe Lapierre will make the most of any time he is given on the powerplay, or on the top 2 lines should any of the players not perform up to coach Martin's expectations, or go down to injury/suspension themselves.

7 - Last, but Certainly Not Least

Carey Price. Obviously, the Canadiens will do or die based on their performance in front of Carey Price. This team, for some reason, just scored an average of 1 less goal per game with Price in nets versus Halak. Combine that with the fact that Price will almost always give up at least 1 bad goal a game, he only had 13 wins and of course ZERO shut outs last season. While I don't think Price will have a Vezina worthy season, I do feel that he will step up and keep the Canadiens in most games. He will need to be sharp. The Eastern Conference looks to be an even tighter race this season than it was last season between 5th and 8th spot. However, unlike last season, the puck stops with Price, and everyone knows it. Everyone's full attention will be on getting him back on track from day 1, and I believe this focus will make him a much better player this season.

(Update #2) HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN FOR TONIGHT'S GAME

According to a tweet from La Presse Habs reporter Francois Gagnon, here are the projected lines for the Montreal Canadiens

Line 1:Pouliot-Gomez-Gionta

Line 2:Eller-Plekanec-Kostitsyn

Line 3:Moen-Boyd-Pyatt

Line 4:Darche-Halpern-Lapierre

Here is the Tale of the Tape from Faceoff.com

Magalie Lafreniere of NHL.com breaks down the season opener between the Habs and the Leafs

Montreal leads the overall series between these two clubs. Check out the breakdown and the history of the Leafs-Habs rivalry

Make sure to follow Nick Murdocco as he live tweets Game 1. Gary Whittaker will be doing a live blog on thefranchise.ca

Tags: Boyd \ Cammalleri \ game 1 \ Gionta \ Gomez \ Halpern \ hockey \ Jacques Martin \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ PK Subban \ Price \ Toronto Maple Leafs

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