NHL Previews - 3 "Original 6" Teams in Action Saturday
by Charles Jay
The NHL stretch drive is finally on and three of the original six teams are in precarious playoff positions at the moment. It is time for Boston, Montreal and Detroit to put up or shut up right now, or their playoff lives will slip away.
Boston Bruins (30-24-12) @ Montreal Canadiens (34-29-6)
7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 13, 2010
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
On: XM Satellite Radio Channel 205 and CBC Television
The Boston Bruins unexpectedly had Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron in the lineup Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers and it helped them to a lopsided win. Both players were questionable with injury but played despite injury. The Bruins are a tough team to figure out.
They have a decent record but also own the worst offense in the NHL. If Bergeron, Marc Recci and David Krejci can get it going down the stretch, they should sail into the playoffs. With Tukka Rask and Tim Thomas playing terrifically in the Boston nets, they should be OK to keep be competitive at very least.
The Montreal Canadiens have finally broken free from the .500 hockey that they have been playing all season. Now five games over, the Habs’ goal is to sustain their hot play and weather the storm until their best player, Mike Cammalleri returns from injury in the next couple of weeks. A four game win streak has the Canadiens in a virtual tie with the Flyers for sixth place in the Eastern Conference and threatening to challenge in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Boston is 6-2 in its last 8 road games while the Canadiens are 6-2 in their last 8 home games. I’ll take the Canadiens who are playing the best hockey of the season to handle their “Savardless” arch rivals from Boston on Saturday night.
Pick: Montreal Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres (36-20-9) @ Detroit Red Wings (32-23-12)
7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 13, 2010
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
On: XM Satellite Radio Channel 208
The Buffalo Sabres have overcome a brief hiccup and have been playing much better as of late, as demonstrated by their current three game winning streak. The Detroit Red Wings have yet to find their groove since returning from the Olympic break. Both teams could use the two points in the standings and could use the confidence boost that a victory would produce.
Buffalo came out of the Olympic break with two straight losses, granted they were against the Penguins and the Capitals. They have been playing much better lately with wins over Philadelphia, the Rangers and Dallas. They play tonight against a struggling and depleted Minnesota squad and should be able to stretch their winning streak to four.
Tim Connolly has led the team in points all season and has been a big reason for the Sabres recent run of success. He and Derek Roy have a good chemistry and have carried the offense in Buffalo. The story in Buffalo however is goaltender Ryan Miller who has single handedly propelled the Sabres to their third place standing in the Eastern Conference. He is a true stud whose play always determines whether or not the sabres win or lose.
The Detroit Red Wings are a team that might have finally turned a corner but are still on the outside looking in on the playoff teams in the Western Conference. They are 4-2 since the Olympic break and are coming off a convincing win against Minnesota on Thursday night. The Wings are finally healthy and their offensive output in the last week and a half is proof that they need their full lineup to be successful. Detroit has been very good at home and should be motivated in front of their crowd to continue their ascent toward a playoff spot.
A couple of trends to consider here. Buffalo is 1-8 in their last 9 road games; are 1-7 in their last 8 meetings in Detroit and are 3-12-1 in their last 16 meetings overall with the Red Wings. The numbers don’t lie.
