Habs can now only face 4 teams in the first round

[G0bias]

Pittsburgh.

because Fleury.


followed by TO,BOS,TB

 

[Dagistitsyn]

Boston for sure. Tampa is last for me.. it would be the least exciting and Bishop would shut us out..

 

[Price is Wright]

Fleury would fall apart against the Habs. More likely we play Tampa, who would be missing a Hab killer in St. Louis. Tough but winnable series. Boston in the second round is almost inevitable.

 

[Blind Gardien]

As a moderator, it is no contest. TAMPA!!!!

As a fan... well, I think it is actually still Tampa... just because of the "loser mentality" that if we're going to lose, I'd rather lose to Tampa than any of the others. :S

 

[Agnostic]

People choosing Boston must be golfers .

Boston is by far the cream of the East . They aren't losing in the first round .

 

[pine*]

If we're gonna win the cup, we're gonna have to go through Boston. So lets get it over with.

 

[Gally11]

Great thing about beating the leafs is in a 7 game series it's hard to come up with a lot of excuses

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

Wanna smack Toronto and then Boston,**** those haters

 

[Gally11]

Season ends the 13th, ideal scenario for me is it's against the Leafs and the opener starts the 16th on Wednesday with Habs finishing 2nd.


I'm in Montreal one night on the 16th on my way to DR with Leafs fans. I'd like to see their spirit pummeled before down south

 

[Gally11]

People choosing Boston must be golfers .

Boston is by far the cream of the East . They aren't losing in the first round .

Not to mention that would be definitely a 6-7 game physical series. IF we came out of it, we'd be limping into second round

 

[optimus2861]

People choosing Boston must be golfers .

Boston is by far the cream of the East . They aren't losing in the first round .

I keep saying it so people will understand: Boston is playing scary good hockey right now. Arguably the best performing team in the league, and I'm not sure any other teams can put up much of an argument. They're pretty healthy, they're confident, they're producing; they are just rolling over anyone in their path right now.

All that the eastern clubs can do right now about them is hope that they are peaking too soon. If Boston can sustain this level of play, they'll roll right into the final.

 

[Milhouse40]

According to sportsclubstats, the odds for our first round opponent:

Tampa Bay: 81,9%
Pittsburgh: 8,5%
Boston: 4,2%
Toronto: 2,0%
Detroit 0,9%

Would be a good idea to start watching TB games and Bishop in particular.

Tampa and Bishop are very scary...
They lost Stamkos....kept winning games
They lost St-Louis....kept winning games.

I think we can match them on the ice.......but not behind the bench

 

[BLNY]

I don't know if I could pick I team I'd prefer to face, but playing Boston or Pittsburgh in the first round doesn't scare me. More importantly, I don't think it bothers the players.

Facing Toronto worries me in that I'm afraid the Toronto bias wouldn't be limited to just the broadcasting. That is of course if they make it.

The Lightning have Stamkos and Bishop. Bishop is a wall most nights.

 

[Milhouse40]

I just looked up our 3 games against Tampa this year:
2-1 OTL
2-1 W (Wins in thootout)
2-1 OTL

And there's one game left against them
That would be a very, tight series...

 

[Saundies]

I just looked up our 3 games against Tampa this year:
2-1 OTL
2-1 W (Wins in thootout)
2-1 OTL

And there's one game left against them
That would be a very, tight series...

And if I recall at least 1 or 2 of those games, Stamkos was injured.
AND Bishop....

Bleh.

 

[hototogisu]

Probably Toronto, although if we lost I would go on suicide watch.

 

[bsl]

Would love to play Boston, but it will probably be Tampa.

As Spock would say: Highly illogical. The PO are now division based, meaning if Habs make it through round 1, it is extremely likely they play Boston in round 2.

Our only chance to beat Boston in round 2 is if they have a significant top 6 injury, or Chara/Rask is injured.

BTW, I wish no long term injuries on any of our opponents. Just injuries that eliminate the from these PO.

Boston might sustain injuries in round 1, thus making them weaker in round 2. Therefore it is extremely illogical to wish to face Boston in round 1.

It is looking like if Habs can play a little better than .500 the next 12 games, there is no chance Laffs can catch them. Below is predicated on this assumption.

Therefore, the best options in order for Habs in round 1 is in my opinion:

1. Tampa with Habs home advantage: Quite possible, but depends on Tampa schedule, and I am too lazy to look it up. I think Habs with Vanek take this.

2. Tampa with Tampa home advantage: If Tampa has an easy schedule, this is a probable case. This will be a tight series, but one that Habs can win.

3. Laffs with Habs home advantage: Tampa would have to fail big time for this to happen. Not likely. I don't like this series. Do not want to see Laffs at all, though it would be fun. I want Laffs to crash and play a destroyo series against Boston in round 1. That is very much in Habs interest.

4. Laffs with Laffs home advantage: Very unlikely. Again, Tamnpa would have to fail very badly, and Habs also. Again, do not like this series, but not very likely.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...I'm probably in the minority here, but I think Tampa would be our best option, especially if we can finish 2nd in the Atlantic and get home ice...Bishop looks to me like he's starting to fade a bit under the heavy workload, their team defence is almost as bad as Toronto's, and I still think they're emotionally on the edge with the whole St. Louis thing...


Boston: - Anyone wanting to face the B's right now is delusional, they are playing lights out...let them take some lumps in the 1st round before we have to face them in the 2nd...

Pittsburg: - Means we are a wild card, which I don't want to risk toying with...Fleury being hot garbage could negate it, but I wouldn't want to play with that fire...

Toronto: - As much as I think we are a better team than the Leafs, Therrien's propensity of trying to play physical against the physical teams & getting away from what makes our team successful (AKA his moronic coaching) worries me here, as he would stupidly try to outmuscle the Leafs and give up on outplaying them instead, which would cause me to go postal on my many Leaf fan friends, ruining relationships, plus the whole Jail thing, best to avoid for now...

 

[JuicyHam]

Definetily the the bruins.

 

[hototogisu]

I keep saying it so people will understand: Boston is playing scary good hockey right now. Arguably the best performing team in the league, and I'm not sure any other teams can put up much of an argument. They're pretty healthy, they're confident, they're producing; they are just rolling over anyone in their path right now.

All that the eastern clubs can do right now about them is hope that they are peaking too soon. If Boston can sustain this level of play, they'll roll right into the final.

Agreed, people picking Boston in round one have a death wish. They look unstoppable right now. While I agree that we'd likely have to go through them to get to the Cup, let someone else soften them up first, maybe shake their confidence a bit before they get to us.

 

[bsl]

Let's say we make the playoff:

The only teams we can face in the first round are:
Toronto, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Boston

The only surprise could come from Detroit, but it is highly doubtful.

Who would you like the Habs to face in the first round?

Upon reflection, would have loved to play the Wings this year in PO. That would have been so cool. I hope the Wings win their next 7 though, they could at least eliminate Laffs...

 

[Luigi Habs]

Wouldnt mind Pittsburgh, they have Fleury lol.

 

[JuicyHam]

People choosing Boston must be golfers .

Boston is by far the cream of the East . They aren't losing in the first round .

Unless they play montreal

 

[bsl]

]Goalies like Bishop should be nightmares for teams like ours. He's huge in net, leaves very little to shoot at, and even when he's out of position, he so damn big it doesn't ever matter. To beat him we'd have to crash the crease and deflect every shot...not our forte[/B].

Vanek.

 

[bsl]

Also, and I've said this before, I never want to play Toronto in the playoffs. Not because I think we'll lose, but because it's a close match-up and it could go either way, and because I would never ever want to have to hear the gloating from their fans if they were to win. That would be no less than torture.

Don't be such a scaredy cat. Jeez. You think the Rocket was scared of the Laffs? Why should you be? Bring them on.