Conference Semifinals Preview 2008

Montreal Canadiens (1) vs Philadelphia Flyers (6)

Records

Montreal: 47-25-10 (104 pts) Home: 22-13-6 Away: 25-12-4
Philadelphia: 42-29-11 (95 pts) Home: 20-14-6 Away: 21-15-5
Both teams needed 7 games to knock off their first round opponent.

Head-to-Head

Nov 1, 2007 – MON 5 PHI 2
Dec 13, 2007 – MON 4 PHI 1
Feb 16, 2008 – MON 1 PHI 0
Feb 17, 2008 – MON 5 PHI 3
Montreal swept the season series 4-0.

Fighting

Nov 1, 2007 – Michael Komisarek vs Scott Hartnell
Nov 1, 2007 – Tom Kostopoulos vs Ben Eager
Feb 17, 2008 – Steve Begin vs Jason Smith

Lineup

Goaltending: DRAW
Scoring: EDGE Montreal
Defense: EDGE Montreal
Coaching: EDGE Montreal
Grit: EDGE Philadelphia

Schedule

Thu, April 24, 2008
Sat, April 26, 2008
Mon, April 28, 2008
Wed, April 30, 2008
Sat, May 3, 2008
Sun, May 4, 2008
Tue, May 6, 2008

Key for Montreal

Time to wake the power play up. After having the league’s best during the regular season, they’re operating at under 10%.

Key for Philadelphia

Get to the kids. The Flyers did just about everything they could to get Alex Ovechkin off his game but he’s got ice in his veins. Hit them every time they touch the puck and get traffic in front of Carey Price.

My Prediction

As much as it pains me, I’m taking the upset. If Mike Richards & co. can repeat their performance against Ovechkin, they’ll cause fits for the Montreal forwards. Philly is getting solid goaltending from Martin Biron and Montreal didn’t look very good against 8th place Boston.

David’s Pick

Both teams looked very human in the first round, and potentially slower bodies benefits the Flyers. Speed, power play and hitting are all out the window if Carey Price plays well. He had a few lapses in the first round, but prevailed in the end. The Flyers aren’t going to let up. Habs in a shaky 7.