Red Fisher Conference Semi Finals - Montreal Canadiens (1) vs Portland Penguins (4)

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BEST OF SEVEN FORMAT:


Montreal Canadiens (1 Seed)

Captain: Ted Kennedy
Assistant: Dit Clapper
Assistant: Fern Flaman


HEAD COACH

Anatoli Tarasov
Arkady Chernyshev

ROSTER

Bobby Hull - Ted Kennedy (C) - Alex Maltsev
Busher Jackson - Mike Modano - Sergei Makarov
George Hay - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Dave Andreychuk - Ken Mosdell - Bob Nevin

Sprague Cleghorn - Dit Clapper (A)
Hod Stuart - Fern Flaman (A)
Doug Mohns - Bob Goldham

Georges Vézina
Gump Worsley

Spares: Patrick Sharp, Moose Vasko

PP1: Andreychuk-Maltsev-Makarov-Hull-Cleghorn
PP2: Jackson-Modano-Getzlaf-Clapper-Stuart

PK1: Kennedy-Mosdell-Cleghorn-Clapper
PK2: Modano-Makarov-Stuart-Flaman
Goldham, Hay, Nevin


VS


Portland Penguins (4 Seed)

Home: Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Portland, OR

Coach: Tommy Ivan
Captain: Mario Lemieux
Alternates: Chris Pronger, Lionel Hitchman

John LeClair - Mario Lemieux - Jarome Iginla
Anatoli Firsov - Vladimir Petrov - Bryan Hextall
Jiri Holik - Jacques Lemaire - Didier Pitre
Vincent Damphousse - Darryl Sittler - Ace Bailey

Buck Boucher - King Clancy
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake
Lionel Hitchman - Terry Harper

Bernie Parent
Hugh Lehman

Extra Skaters: Dave Burrows, Pete Mahovlich, Jean Pronovost

PP1:
John LeClair - Mario Lemieux - Jarome Iginla
Rob Blake - Chris Pronger

PP2:
Didier Pitre - Darryl Sittler - Bryan Hextall
Anatoli Firsov - King Clancy

PK1:
Vladimir Petrov - Ace Bailey
Lionel Hitchman - Chris Pronger

PK2:
Jiri Holik - Anatoli Firsov
Rob Blake - Terry Harper

Click to read more...

 

[Sturminator]

My thoughts on this series in a nutshell is that Portland won't win unless Mario goes off, and Montreal is well-suited to checking both Mario and his linemates. The Montreal blueline is very physical, and the centers are tough two-way players who spent their careers checking top liners. Dealing with Lemieux is not the task of any one player, and we won't seek any particular matchup against him because we don't need to.

Particularly relevant when Mario is on the power play is the fact that Montreal has a lot of defensive players with great reach. Dit Clapper was 6'3" in the 1930s - 40s. Hod Stuart (6'0" tall in the 1910s) was also one of the biggest players of his era, as was Bob Goldham (6'2" in the 1940s - 50s). One of Mario's biggest advantages was always the fact that many players were too small to reach the puck once they got to his body. Tall, strong checkers are the best counter to this, and Montreal has plenty of those (Modano, Mosdell and Getzlaf also fall into this category).

 

[nabby12]

Great series guys.

 

[Sturminator]

Good series, Rusty.