We are in agreement that these are two teams who are close to being equal.
I'll sort of work backwards here. I think our defenses are pretty close, in fact the top 4 is actually quite stylistically close as well now that I'm seeing them together. One pure shutdown guy paired with the all-around beast, and then an old-timey rushing cover point next to more of a two-way guy. I think I have the best player here in Seibert, who has the size and speed to match up against anybody in Montreal's forward corps, and I say that as a really big Gerard fan who rates him higher than we voted him in the pre-merger project. But that advantage may be negated by Montreal having a stronger bottom pairing. I guess that would depend on utilization, and how much each pairing is going to play... point is, the bluelines look close.
Then there's goaltending... Worters is definitely better than Peerless Percy, right? I said in my assassination of the Wanderers that LeSueur was the worst of the starting netminders. So that's a solid advantage, but there's not much more to say about it than that. I'll let people decide how much they want to weigh goaltending. I won't focus there.
I think Halifax has a small edge in the forwards. Obviously Montreal's top line is excellent, and I'd say it's better than mine. But my Taylor line is balanced enough, and skates/backchecks enough that I'm comfortable going power on power with them versus Morenz. I also have a dedicated shutdown line at my disposal, the Glass line, with three big men renowned for their backchecking prowess, which will allow me to match them against Morenz and keep Taylor fresher as the game wears on. Montreal has the Weiland line for defense, but I'd take Berlinguette and Stanley over Trottier and Davidson purely as defensive wingers.
For the other lines, I like my chances. I think I have the two most dynamic offensive threats in McGee and Irvin, with possibly the third depending on how you see Thompson versus Foyston, and we trust Cecil Hart will be able to get the most out of them in this matchup. I also question how Montreal will be able to use their 4th line here. My own 4th line won't be out there against theirs, so Ernie Russell and Odie Cleghorn will be tasked with matching up against one of McGee/Irvin and Thompson/Gottselig respectively, all of whom were highly skilled as either goal scorers or puck carriers, and that's a good matchup for me.
Overall, this should be a close result... apples and oranges as my opponent said. I just think I've got a little more offensive juice in the tank - combine that with my edge at goaltender, and I feel like I've got a good shot.
