Montreal Canadiens by Anthony Curatolo

The quest for number twenty five begins.

A lot of hard work went into the Canadiens to make the playoffs this season. Injuries as well as team struggles made it seem like a long shot but low and behold the Habs are in.

Capturing the eighth seed might not have been the best situation for Montreal. However, Halak-it a lot.

Tomas Plekanec seems to like him a lot as well.  Considering he publicly stated that his goaltender was better than the Caps goalie; oh the controversy.

Plekanec will need to continue his brilliant 70 point season by stepping up his offensive game in order for Montreal to really have any chance against the Caps this post-season.

The Canadiens went 2-1-1 in four meetings with the Washington Capitals this season. However, it was Carey Price who faced the Caps, not Jaroslav Halak.

With that being said, Halak is the Canadiens number one netminder this season.  Of course there is no playoff experience under his belt but Halak had a very good regular season. He posted a record of 26-13-5 with a 2.40 goals against average and a save percentage of .924. He was also the number one netminder to represent his country during the 2010 Winter Olympic games played in Vancouver.

When the Habs offense was invisible, Halak was there to bail the boys in Le Bleu, Blanc e’ Rouge out.

Carey Price finished the regular season with a record of 13-20-5, a 2.77 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.  Against the Caps, Price was 2-1-1 with a 3.39 goals against and a .899 save percentage.

The Habs have four players on their roster who have all captured Lord Stanley’s Cup and wear the ring to prove it. They are: Scott Gomez (2), Brian Gionta, Travis Moen and Hal Gill. The veterans will need to keep the youngsters and playoff first timers on par with the situations that come about during a playoff round.

Gomez has not lived up to expectations of offensive production, but he had a decent season in Montreal. Michael Cammellari and Gionta, who both missed close to 20 games with injuries, will rely on their speed to generate scoring chances.

Benoit Pouliot and Andrei Kostitsyn will also need to take their games to the next level. Offensively gifted players who will need to use all the tools they possess in order to attempt matching the offense that will come from the team they are facing.

The Caps are explosive and were the best team in the East for a reason. However, neither team should take the other lightly. This series is starting to become one of much excitement to follow.

Washington Capitals by Alexander Monaghan

To win this series in addition to every playoff series, the Caps will need to score and score in bunches.  Coach Bruce Boudreau made the bold decision of starting the inconsistent Jose Theodore, taking the safer but less talented netminder.

Nicklas Backstrom looked like he could miss a few games as he stayed out of practice due to illness but came back on the ice today ensuring an even match-up in terms of injuries.  In four games against the Habs this season he produced at a point-per-game clip en route to breaking the 100 point plateau for the first time in his career.

Alexander Ovechkin also produced at a point-per-game clip against the Canadiens with four points in as many games while Alexander Semin posted three points in two games.

Ironically all this scoring success came against now backup netminder Carey Price, while Slovakian superstar Jaroslav Halak will get the call between the pipes.  Price actually helped his team split the season series which means the Habs gave the Caps some problems during the regular season.  In fact, out of all the possible playoff scenarios the Canadiens will be the toughest opponent possible.

Interestingly enough, Theodore holds a 6.77 GAA this season against his former mates making him look all the shakier. He may even be hurt.

Certainly a ton of question marks for the league’s number one seed and President Trophy winner.  If the past shows any indication, this should be a strong series and incredibly interesting!