Pros & Cons: Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Our newest feature, Pros and Cons, holds a debate between two of our featured writers as they make an argument for each team in the series. We will continue this series throughout the playoffs as we delve deeper into how these two teams will fare against each other.
Montreal Canadiens by Anthony Curatolo
What can be said about the Montreal Canadiens. They have the hottest goaltender in hockey playing on a team with one of the most dynamic goal scorers the playoffs have witnessed in a very long time.
Jaroslav Halak, along with Michael Cammalleri have helped propel the Montreal Canadiens into the Eastern Conference Finals.
The season series between both clubs was split. Four games played, two wins a piece. Both teams took victory in the other teams building during the regular season as well. And if these playoffs have said anything about home ice advantage, it has become more of a disadvantage.
P.K. Subban has seen his name come up a lot more than originally expected in these 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and rightfully so. When Andrei Markov went down to a knee injury, the Habs needed someone that they could rely on to step up and fill in as a big time impact player. Subban has done just that, and more for that matter.
With the experience factor somewhat balanced on both clubs, it is no secret that players like Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Hal Gill and Travis Moen have a lot more to offer for this Habs club. They all have Stanley Cup rings and have been to the big dance on numerous occasions.
If the Habs are able to use their smaller stature and speedy forwards to their advantage over the bigger, grittier Flyers, the Cinderella story will have one more chapter to write and complete.
Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC
Philadelphia Flyers by David Strehle
Having become just the third team in NHL history to come back from an 0-3 deficit to the Boston Bruins and win their second round series, the Philadelphia Flyers have a tremendous amount of momentum heading into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Montreal Canadiens.
It seems with each passing week, the Orange-and-Black have a new cast of players at the ready to step up and be the difference-makers.
Simon Gagne, two weeks removed from being on crutches after fracturing his right foot after blocking an Ilya Kovalchuk slap shot, came back to score a crucial game four overtime-winning goal to save the Flyers. He would go on to score two more goals in game five, and notched the series-winning goal in the third period of game seven.
Goaltender Michael Leighton came back early from a high ankle sprain he suffered in mid-March to serve as back up in game five. It appeared destiny had a hand in things, as starter Brian Boucher would go out with injuries to both knees. Leighton picked up right where he left off when he left the lineup, leading the Flyers through the last two games and nearly two periods to complete the improbable comeback.
Flyers forwards Mike Richards (5 goals, 17 points), Danny Briere (7 goals, 15 points), Claude Giroux (5 goals, 11 points) and Gagne have led the way offensively thus far in the playoffs. Also contributing to the effort was Ville Leino (2 goals, 7 points in 8 games), who did not begin the playoffs in the lineup, but has become a godsend to have been available when a rash of injuries hit the team.
Philadelphia and Montreal split their four game series during the regular season. Leighton went 2-0 against the Habs as he won both ends of a home-and-home set just prior to the Olympic break, while Montreal beat Boucher both times he faced them. Canadiens netminder Jaroslav Halak, one of the biggest stories of the 2010 postseason and leading Conn Smythe Trophy candidate at this point in the tournament, went 1-1 against Philly. Included in that was a spectacular 1-0 shutout at the beginning of April in Philadelphia.
In the four regular season meetings, Briere (4 goals, 5 points), Scott Hartnell (4 assists), and Jeff Carter (3 goals) led the way offensively for Philadelphia.
Defenseman Chris Pronger will most likely draw the assignment of stopping Habs super-scorer Mike Cammalleri, who leads the postseason with 12 goals, including seven against the Pittsburgh Penguins in round two.
6′ 7″ Montreal defenseman Hal Gill, who helped dispatch Philly from the playoffs the last two seasons while a member of the Penguins, added a little fuel to the fire when he said “It’s easy to hate the Flyers. They’ve been the Broad Street Bullies, their fans are loud and obnoxious.”
It will be interesting to see how these teams carry the energy they have each developed over the first two rounds. If Philly can stay patient and not get frustrated by Halak, they may be headed to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1997.
David Strehle
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Contributor / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia
