Boston Bruins gear up to eliminate Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 – NHL Play-offs Preview
Canada is ready to lose one of their two teams, who are playing for the much awaited Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens stand at the edge of being eliminated in Game 6 as the Boston Bruins lead the Eastern Conference quarter-final series by 3-2. Game 6
will take place on Tuesday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.
It is surprising to see that the Canadiens and Bruins have gone so far into the series without having a single injured player. It might be that the two 'original six' teams are not willing to give each other any chance at a power-play opportunity, thus,
limiting the scoring chances, otherwise it would have been a brutal series for sure during the regulation series. Since winning the first-round is far more important, we should not expect any physical recklessness between them in the remaining games.
"Its playoff hockey," Canadiens forward Travis Moen said after team practice. "No team wants to put their team down, you know, spend a lot of time in the penalty box, so it's physical but it's clean."
Fans, nevertheless, are still very excited and are hoping for a physical confrontation. It was after Boston’s Captain Zdeno Chara, who was severely injured as the Canadiens' forward, Max Pacioretty, left him with a harsh concussion and broken neck vertebrae.
Since then, it has shown the bitter rivalry between the two team’s fans.
In the first five games, someone was bound to take the lead, but Game 6 can create a likely tie, which would force the series into a deciding Game 7.
Boston Bruins
After a straight two-game loss at home during the start of the series, Boston looked as if it would cleanly swept away by the Canadiens, but fortunately they made a comeback. It was a huge comeback indeed as they went to Montreal to win the next three games
in a row. Saturday’s Game 5 went into a double overtime, as both the teams were unable to strike a tie-breaker for nearly 40 minutes.
No doubt, Montreal will prove to be tough and has been throughout the series. If Boston can continue to keep the puck in Montreal’s area and create turnovers in the neutral zones, they might see themselves finishing it off in Game 6. That extra rest might
prove to be what they need to continue their push into the playoffs.
The one thing that the Bruins are lacking is the ability to take advantage of the power-play opportunities offered to them by the Canadiens. While Montreal has converted two of 16 power-plays into goals, Boston has not been able to benefit from over 15 added
man advantages.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal might be facing their third elimination in Game 5 just like the previous two post-season series they have competed in. Countering Boston’s strategy, they need to move the puck around and penetrate the Bruins defensive mechanisms. Staying in their
own end will not provide them with any sort of opportunities so setting up proper plays will be a key factor to winning.
"We can't sit there and feel sorry for ourselves," defenseman Hal Gill said talking about losing game five. "We played a hard game and it didn’t work our way. We have to come back and get a win the next one."
With a few adjustments in their offensive end, they will be able to take an early lead which will benefit them immensely against a team like Boston.
The two teams meet up for Game 6 in Montreal on Tuesday.
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