Montreal Canadiens hope to win big in home opener against Tampa Bay Lightning
There is nothing quite like the electric atmosphere of the Bell Centre in Montreal. The arena is the home of the Montreal Canadiens, who sell out every game they play. No matter what the
situation, the building will be packed with 21,273 fans who will watch as their team takes on all comers. The atmosphere of the building affectionately known as 'The Phone Booth' is always electric, as Habs fans are among the most passionate in the National
Hockey League.
On Wednesday night, October 13, the Habs will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 2010-11 home opener. During the offseason, both teams re-tooled their rosters a bit, with Tampa Bay
adding left-winger Simon Gagné in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on July 19. It was the Lightning’s second offseason deal with the Flyers, as they had previously traded defenceman Andrej Meszaros to Philadelphia on 18 days earlier.
Other offseason acquisitions made by Tampa included forwards Sean Bergenheim, Dominic Moore, and Marc-Antoine Pouliot and defencemen Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark, and Randy Jones. Dan Ellis
was also brought in to give the team more strength in goal.
Tampa Bay also saw changes made in the front office. Former Detroit Red Wings great Steve Yzerman traded in his red and white for black and white as he became the team’s new general manager
in May 2010. The Yzerman era got off to a big start as Yzerman selected forward Brett Connolly with the sixth overall pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Yzerman also re-signed two key players in sniper Martin St. Louis and agitator Steve Downie.
Like their southern Florida counterparts, the Canadiens were also busy during the offseason. They made sports headlines across Canada when they traded starting goaltender and playoff hero
Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues. In return, the Habs received forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Schultz will prove to be useful, as he could be the Habs’ future enforcer. Eller, a native of Denmark, is described as a talented player who can create
and capitalize on scoring opportunities.
With Halak now out of the picture, the starting goaltender duties have been handed back to Carey Price. Price was originally pencilled in as the Habs’ starter at the beginning of last
season, but eventually lost his job to Halak. The Canadiens rode Halak and his ability to steal games right into the playoffs, where they defeated the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.
One of the other highlights of Montreal’s offseason activities was the naming of right-winger Brian Gionta as the team’s 28th captain in late September. The Habs did not have a captain
last season, and general manager Pierre Gauthier promised that a new captain would be named before the 2010-11 season began. Gauthier also signed veteran forward Jeff Halpern and journeyman goaltender Alex Auld to one-year contracts.
The Lightning have a legitimate offensive threat in centre Steven Stamkos, who is coming off of a highly productive 2009-10 season that saw him score 51 goals. The Habs have many snipers
on their roster, the most prominent of which is left-winger Mike Cammalleri. Cammalleri played a starring role for the Canadiens during the playoffs last season, scoring 19 points (13 goals, 6 assists) in 19 games.
The Habs-Lightning game will certainly be an exciting one, with the Canadiens looking to win their first home game of the season. With a roster full of crafty, talented players to their
name, it might be possible. But the visiting Bolts should not be taken lightly, as they can be an offensive threat. Either way, fans will definitely get their money’s worth in this game.
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