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East on the Line, As Sens visit Canadiens Sans Alfredsson |
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If last game was supposed to be the toughest of the year, this one is certainly the most important. With just eleven games remaining, the Canadiens face the Senators for the 6th time, with just one win to show for in their last five meetings.
Despite losing Daniel Alfredsson, and missing the eleven points he’s already scored against the Canadiens this year, the Sens have won their last two games, on the laurels of solid play from Martin Gerber.
There’s no doubt this will be a very intense game. The Canadiens can’t be happy with the way they’ve performed against the Senators this year. After Tuesday’s convincing win against the Devils, this team regained a certain confidence they were lacking on the West Coast. With the way things have gone against Ottawa, the Canadiens will need to draw on that confidence in order to pass this all-important test. After all, the Eastern Conference title would be a tremendous bonus, but what’s most important is locking down the Northeast division. With 2 games remaining between these teams after tonight’s tilt, the results of this mini-series will determine where they finish in the division.
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There wasn’t a single player in the Montreal dressing room that wasn’t in awe of the crowd on Tuesday night. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any louder at the Bell Centre…ten minutes left on the clock in the third period marks the loudest CAREY chant you’ve ever heard. Three minutes left in the game, and the crowd was on their feet, screaming their voices out through the three star awards. The ovation in the final minute, caught on camera thanks to the class of the RDS broadcast team…no words—just the insane roar of the crowd. If you think that was special, imagine how it’ll be if the Canadiens can close out a victory tonight?
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Quick facts for you:
-Tied for 1st in the league for goals for
-Eleventh in the league for goals 5 on 5
-3-1 against the New Jersey Devils
-11-5-1 at home since January 5th
-As Mr. ‘Marzialli’ stated, Saku Koivu has 13 points in his last 14 games, including 3 goals in his last 4 games.
-The last time the Canadiens finished first in the conference, captained by Bob Gainey, the 88-89 edition put up 53 wins, 30 of which came at home. Ten players recorded more than 40 points, and Mats Naslund led the team in scoring with 33 goals, and 84 points.
-This year’s edition has 39 wins so far, and will have 7 players over the 50-point plateau if Chris Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn score 6 and 5 points respectively, from here to the end of the regular season. Alex Kovalev leads the team with 30 goals, and 73 points.
-Carey Price is 5-2 since Cristobal Huet’s departure, 2.14 GAA, .938 SA. For the season he’s 17-11-3, 2.68 GAA, .916 SA, and has recorded 2 shutouts.
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The lineup should be the same as last game’s. Enjoy the show!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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