CANADIENS vs LIGHTNING Round 2, Game 1 Preview

Friday night the Montreal Canadiens open up their second round series against their most difficult regular season opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The game starts at 7:00 at the Bell Centre and can be seen on CBC and TVA.

Match Up

The Habs didn’t fare well against the Lightning this season, Carey Price in particular. Price’s four losses and 3.47 GAA versus the Lightning were his worst against any team this season.

In five games against the Habs this season, Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, and Vladislav Namestnikov each had multi-goal performances, with Stamkos netting a hat trick in Tampa’s 7-1 win near the start of the season.

What to Watch

Canadiens: Among teams still playing, the Canadiens had the worst offense and worst power play in the first round, averaging 2.00 goals per game and a power play that went 1 for 20. But with game winning goals from Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Dale Weise and Brian Flynn in the first round, and goals from 10 different players in six games, the Habs did manage to find some scoring throughout their lineup.

Lightning: While Tyler Johnson was providing the bulk of the scoring for Tampa Bay in round one – six goals in seven games – three of the Lightning’s other top four goal scorers this season, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Ryan Callahan, were all held without a goal.

Find the full series preview here.

What’s at Stake

Game 1, a chance to set the tone, take the initiative, grab the early lead, insert additional cliche. The truth is, the Canadiens have an opportunity, after a full five days of rest, to take advantage of a team that has survived a Game 7 just two nights earlier.

Who’s Out

Nathan Beaulieu is expected to miss at least the first four games of the second round with what is still being described as an upper body injury that is not a concussion. Aside from that the Habs are healthy heading into Game 1.

The Lightning are healthy heading into the second round.

What Else

With their win over the Senators in the first round, the Canadiens have now advanced to the second round for two straight years for the first time since 1993. In fact, since they won their last Stanley Cup, the Habs have won just six playoff series in 19 seasons prior to last year. They’ve now won three series and counting in the past two seasons.