In what hopefully will be a quieter evening for Montreal’s Police and Fire Department, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens will begin their Best-Of-7 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series tonight at 7PM EST at the Bell Centre.

 

This is the first playoff match-up between these two storied franchises since the 1989 Wales Conference Final, where the Habs defeated the Flyers in 6 games.

 

These teams bring the Top 2 Powerplay units in the NHL this season: Montreal ranked 1^st overall at 24.2%, and the Flyers ranked #2 with a 21.8% percentage.  Having said that, here are my quick keys to this series for each team:

 Montreal: 

1. The Price Needs To Be Right- Habs goalie Cary Price needs to carry the momentum he gained from his solid play in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.  The Habs have put a lot of stock into the young phenom, and couple that with the pressure of playing in a city that usually has unrealistic expectations, Price needs to stay the course and be consistent.

 

2. Keep the hits coming- Defenceman Mike Komisarek (266 hits, plus 26 hits in the playoffs which leads all players) and Francis Bouillon (168) need to play smart and physical against the Flyers, and attempt to wear down the Flyers.

 

3. Keep up the intensity:  Perhaps the Habs got too comfortable in Game 5 at home against Boston, and this young, inexperienced team took the 3-1 series lead for granted.  The Habs cannot afford to make that same mistake against a more skilled Flyers team.

 Philadelphia: 

1. $10 million dollar man- Daniel Briere’s contract received a lot of attention this year, and Briere was booed even in Philadelphia (but are we surprised, Philly fans have booed Santa Claus for crying out loud!), but Briere showed why the Flyers overpaid for him in the 1^st round, and needs to continue that trend against the Habs.

  

2. Special Teams- VERY important for the Flyers to win the overall special teams battle in this series if they want to win.  Mike Richards is ultra dangerous short handed, and I believe this should-be captain is due for a big series and must be a force shorthanded to neutralize the potent Habs Powerplay.

 

3. Biron The Burglar- Flyers goalie Martin Biron needs to be a thief once in this series and steal a game against the Habs, especially when playing at the Bell Centre.  I expect the nutty Habs fans to take it up a notch in this series, and Biron needs to be sharp for the Flyers to win.

   Schedule: 

Here is the schedule for the series:

 

Game 1 @ Montreal- Thursday April 24^th 7PM EST

Game 2 @ Montreal- Saturday April 26^th 7PM EST

Game 3 @ Philadelphia- Monday April 28^th 7PM EST

Game 4 @ Philadelphia- Wednesday April 30^th 7PM EST

Game 5 @Montreal (If Necessary)- Saturday May 3^rd 7PM EST

Game 6 @Philadelphia (If Necessary)- Sunday May 4^th 7PM EST

Game 7 @Montreal (If Necessary)- Tuesday May 6^th 7PM EST

 

Comment:  So 3 games in 4 nights for Games 5-7?  Personally, I feel that is a disgrace. We all know how games can be on the 3^rd game in 4 nights, is Dora the Explorer messing things up again?

  

Prediction:  This will be a great series. Montreal seems to have it all going this year, it has been a magical ride indeed.  When analyzing these teams, there are so many similarities: Top power play units, solid Penalty killing, good goaltending, solid defense units.

 

I will go out on a limb here and pick the Flyers in 6.  I do not feel the Flyers will be intimidated by playing at the Bell Centre, and I fully expect Briere, Richards, and underrated Jeff Carter to play a key role in the upset.

 

Please check us out on The Battle of New York for further recaps of this series and other great series throughout the playoffs!