Faceoff Factor

Canadiens vs Bruins: Game 1 Preview

Andrew Chiappazzi | National Hockey League

Apr 8, 08:00 AM | Hype this story!

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Penguins (1) vs. Capitals (8) Game 1
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Montreal will have to shake off a handful of injuries to key players before this one gets underway. The Canadiens have seen Mike Komisarek, Saku Koivu, Frances Bouillon, and Michael Ryder all go down with injuries. Komisarek and Koivu are both going to be longshots to make it back in time, although they may be okay within a few days. Both are skating but may not be ready for game action.

The true test will be whether Boston can come back and utilize what they were able to do in the recent 3-2 shootout loss that was the result of their last meeting with Les Habitants. They certainly don’t want a repeat of the 8-2 or 6-1 losses that happened earlier this year.

The big thing will be for Boston to avoid the slow start that plagues lower seeds in the playoffs. Playing well on the road to start a series can be very tough, but also very rewarding, and in turn give the lower seed that much of a jump when things swing back to their building. We’ll see if Boston can jump on that.

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Team Numbers
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Standings
Montreal: 47-25-10; 104 pts; 1st Atlantic; 1st Eastern; 3rd NHL
Calgary: 41-29-12; 94 pts; 3rd Northeast; 8th Eastern; 15th NHL

Records
Montreal: 22-13-6 at home; 25-12-4 on the road; 8-0-0 vs BOS; 8-1-1 in last 10
Boston: 21-16-4 at home; 20-13-8 on the road; 0-0-8 vs MON; 4-2-4 in last 10

Special Teams
Montreal: PP, 24.2% (1st); PK, 82.5% (15th)
Boston: PP, 17.6% (16th); PK, 78.6% (28th)

Scoring
Montreal: 262 GF (1st); 222 GA (12th)
Boston: 212 GF (24th); 222 GA (12th)

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Player Leaders
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Goals
Montreal: Kovalev (35); Plekanec (29); Higgins (27)
Boston: Sturm (27); Kobasew (22); Kessel (19)

Assists
Montreal: Kovalev (49); Streit (49); Markov (42)
Boston: Savard (63); Chara (34); Sturm (29)

Points
Montreal: Kovalev (84); Plekanec (69); Streot (62)
Boston: Savard (78); Sturm (56); Chara (51)

Penalty Minutes
Montreal: Kostopolous (113); Komisarek (101); Koivu (93)
Boston: Chara (114); Lucic (89); Stuart (81)

Wins
Montreal: Price (24); Halak (2)
Boston: Thomas (28); Auld (9)

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Injuries
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Montreal: Koivu (foot, doubtful); Bouillon (foot, day-to-day); Ryder (leg, day-to-day); Komisarek (hip, questionable)
Boston: Metropolit (foot, day-to-day); Ference (knee, day-to-day); Bergeron (concussion, out for at least Game 1); Savard (back, day-to-day); Fernandez (IR); Allen (IR)