Montreal Canadiens (-110) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (-110)
It’s fitting the that Eastern Conference ended up this way, with the bottom two playoff seeds squaring off for the chance to fight for Lord Stanley’s mug. Sure, the Capitals and Penguins had their moments along the way, but the Eastern Conference has been wide open all year long.
On any given night, one of the middle-of-the pack teams could give any of the conference’s “elite” squads a run for its money. Case in point: the New York Rangers and these Montreal Canadiens both finished among the league’s top five teams ATS during the regular season. So maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised about this matchup after all.
Still, it doesn’t make it any easier to handicap and oddsmakers are admitting as much with the initial series odds they released. When you’re dealing with two teams stapled with the “destiny” tag, it just complicates everything.
There’s no secret to Montreal’s success so far – Jaroslav Halak, the goaltender who’s drawing comparisons to the great Patrick Roy, has kept the Habs in a handful of games they had no business being in already.
He slammed the door shut against Washington, then did the same against the Pens, and he’ll need to be just as sharp to keep this run going. Luckily for him, the team in front of him is blocking nearly as many shots as he is, while Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta have taken care of the offense – so far, anyway.
One major concern for Habs supporters is a lack of secondary scoring, that and the club’s lack of size up front. Neither has slowed Montreal down yet, but the Philadelphia Flyers are a whole different animal.
The Flyers scratched and clawed their way back into the Boston series. They broke the Bruins down shift by shift, minute by minute with a relentless forecheck, strong play in the neutral zone and gritty play in the corners.
The Flyers are just a nasty team to play against. They have the experience and leadership to get them out of tight spots and a balanced scoring attack.
And even though Mike Leighton has stepped in for the injured Brian Boucher admirably so far, putting up a .943 save percentage against the Bruins, he is unproven as a starting goalie and can give up some bad goals.
He doesn’t have to steal games against Montreal, but he can’t put his team behind the eight-ball either. If he can be a calming presence and at least hold Cammalleri and Gionta in check to a point, the Flyers will be happy with that. He’s the big question mark for the Flyers, though then again, that’s nothing new for them and they’re used to playing with that in the back of their minds at all times.
Both of these teams are hungry. Both are riding a wave of good vibes. Philadelphia gets the slight edge because of its depth and all-around nastiness, but this could turn into another nail-biter. Buckle up, folks.
Pick: Philadelphia in seven games.
