NHL Preview: Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings try to bounce back
The Montreal Canadiens will play host to one of the best young teams in the league on Wednesday when they face the Los Angeles Kings in a rare cross conference match-up. The Canadiens and the Kings boast
nearly identical records (13-7-1 and 13-7-0 respectively) and both sit atop their respective divisions. Unfortunately, neither team looked like division leaders on Monday night. The Canadiens will be looking to redeem themselves after letting an early 2-0
lead dissolve into a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, while the Kings try to improve on a disappointing tour of the North East division.
After outshooting the Flyers 15-9 and scoring two goals in the first period, the Canadiens let the Flyers walk all over them in the second and third. By the end of the game, the Flyers had outshot the
Habs 45-31 and netted three more goals.
“We had one good period,” said Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin “there are lots of things we can learn from this game, starting with it’s a 60-minute game.” Martin will reportedly be using footage of
the Flyers game as part of the team’s preparation for the Wednesday.
Additionally, the Habs will have to be better on the man advantage.
“I didn’t like our power play at all” said Canadiens winger Mike Cammalleri of his team’s 0-for-4 power play. “They pressure pretty hard and it’s a challenge. I thought we were able to work through that
challenge, but then we made poor decisions out there.”
Missed opportunities
The Kings have been largely dominant against Eastern teams this year but have fallen short twice so far in this North East road trip. First they lost to the Buffalo Sabres before beating out the Boston
Bruins in the shootout. They lost again on Monday to the Ottawa Senators, as a potential game tying goal by Kings’ forward Ryan Smyth was called off after he tipped a shot from Kings defencemen Jack Johnson past Ottawa net-minder Pascale Leclair. The referee
immediately signaled no goal and the video review showed nothing to suggest otherwise.
“Obviously it’s a tough call for him to make from the corner” said Smyth, a fourteen-year veteran. “It was pretty tough, but I think it was probably a good goal.” Smyth was not going to blame the loss
on the officials however, “we had some chances early on and it shouldn’t have come down to that.”
What it means
While the Canadiens and Kings have had little in the way of animosity towards each other since the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993, Wednesday’s game does have important implications for each club. While they
lead their divisions, both teams have another competitor right behind them. The Phoenix Coyotes sit one point behind the Kings in the Pacific division. Meanwhile three points separate the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. Boston has the upper hand however,
as they have two games in hand over the Habs. A win for either team would help in their respective division battles.
Montreal have generally been one of the stronger home teams in the East (7-4-1) while the Kings away game is average at best (5-6-0). Kings fans can take solace in the fact that the Kings have dominated
the East (6-2-0) most of the season, while the Habs struggled against Western teams (2-2-0)
Preview:
Montreal wins 3-1
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