NHL Eastern Conference Final Game 2

Can Flyers Protect Home Ice?

The Montreal Canadiens are no stranger to being beaten bad in a playoff opener. It happened against Washington, and it happened against Pittsburgh, and look what happened with those series. So if you think the Habs dressing room is stressing much about their 6-0 loss to Philly on Sunday, think again. That’s not to say they don’t know they have to play better; they just aren’t the team that’s going to dwell much on failures, and instead work towards the future. That’s a very strong trait for a playoff team. But if you’re a Philly fan, you have every reason to be confident in your team’s chances. The Flyers outplayed Montreal in every facet of the game, and proved that they’re not going to be intimidated by the team that eliminated both the Presidents Trophy-winning Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins. Michael Leighton was brilliant en route to his first career playoff shutout, and looks more than capable of picking up exactly where Brian Boucher left off before he got injured.  

Montreal Canadiens @ Philadelphia Flyers

Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 (Flyers lead 1-0)

Tuesday, May 18^th – 7:00 PM EST

Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Broadcast: VS., CBC 

NHL Playoff Betting Line: Flyers -150

Puck Line: Flyers -1.5 +190, Canadiens +1.5 -230

What The Canadiens Have To Do To Win:

First of all, Montreal needs to score; that’s where Mike Cammalleri comes in. The diminutive forward has been a beast for the Habs all postseason; he has 12 goals and is quickly creating a name for himself in Canadiens folklore (and that’s a long folklore). If Cammalleri is shut down, the Habs may be hard pressed to replace his scoring. However, more key than Cammy, will be the ability of Jaroslav Halak to bounce back. That shouldn’t be a problem, as Halak has been knocked around a couple times in this postseason before; he always comes back better than ever. The combination of Cammalleri and Halak returning to form will put Montreal right back into this series.  

What The Flyers Have To Do To Win:

Philadelphia cannot get cocky with their game one win. Montreal is a team that was behind in both of their previous series, and was able to comeback in both of them. The Flyers just won a series where they were down 0-3; if they can do it, why can’t Montreal. Philadelphia’s biggest advantage over the Canadiens is physicality, and that was evident in game one. Montreal really has no answer for the Dan Carcillo’s, Scott Hartnell’s and Chris Pronger’s that Philadelphia possesses (Hal Gill is big and strong, but not nearly as physical like those guys). This is especially evident with the Canadiens forwards. Their top offensive guys (Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez) are all under six-feet tall and can be pushed around by bigger guys. Philadelphia has four very strong lines, creating a continuing wave of physicality that can really slow down the Montreal forwards. That continued physical play will be key to Philly’s success.  

Outlook & Pick

Although Montreal proved me wrong twice before, I think this may be the series where they finally break down. Neither Washington nor Pittsburgh is built as strong and physical as the Flyers, and the Canadiens aren’t built to withstand that pressure. Their defensive strategies may work against skill players trying to skate around them, but not physical forwards trying to skate through them. The Flyers are built to beat up on a small team like Montreal, and they’ll be able to do that all series.  

NHL Playoff Betting Pick: Flyers