Faceoff Factor

Canadiens v Bruins Game 7 Preview

Andrew Chiappazzi | National Hockey League

Apr 20, 09:55 PM | Hype this story!

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Canadiens (1) vs. Bruins (8) Game 7
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Series Score: Canadiens 3 – Bruins 3
Game Time: 7:00 EST
Location: Bell Centre (Montreal)
Television: RDS, CBC

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Preview
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Sacre’ Bleu! Les Habitants are one game away from suffering the ultimate defeat of the postseason. Boston fans, however, should be crying out “Merci beaucoup” just yet. The Bruins will have to venture out of a raucous TD Banknorth Garden and into a volatile Bell Centre to try and compete the most unlikely of comebacks. However, for Montreal fans and players alike, getting out of suddenly violent Boston has to feel encouraging. Reports dominated the Northeastern Seaboard of hooliganism surrounding Game 6, including at least one Montreal fan ending up in the hospital with injuries resulting from beatings handed down by brawling Bruins fans.

The Boston Herald and The Montreal Gazette each have stories on the incident.

To the actual hockey. The Bruins are 0-20 in series in which they fall to a 3-1 deficit. However, while some pundits and followers may see this as a fait accompli, it should be noted that the Bruins have absolutely no pressure on them to win this final game. Pushing this series to seven games with all of their injuries and their rocky season already has earned them cult status in Boston. They were not expected to contend significantly in their first year under Claude Julien. Montreal, however, will need a litany of nom de guerres to get out of Quebec alive if they lose Game 7. Montreal was expected to be a favorite to at least make it to the Conference Finals after earning the #1 seed, but to show as little passion as they have against Boston has stunned Habs Nation.

How the Bell Centre reacts Monday night will be a good indicator of where Montreal stands in the eyes of their supporters. If it’s raucous and energetic like any other playoff night in Montreal, then the Bruins might be shuffling back to Boston while reserving tee times. However, if the Bell Centre is anything like Scotiabank Place was for Game 4 of the Ottawa-Pittsburgh series, than utterances of merde will be commonplace and comparisons to a certain series in 2004 will dominate the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Yes, in 2004, a rookie goaltender (Andrew Raycroft) watched his Bruins go up 3-1 over the Canadiens, just like Montreal’s Carey Price has seen the reverse come true in 2008. Yes, in 2004, Boston had the same number of regular season wins (41) as the 2008 Canadiens. Yes, in 2004, Montreal won Game 5 by a score of 5-1, just like the Bruins in 2008. Yes, the coach in 2004 for Montreal was Claude Julien, who now roams Boston’s bench in 2008. And yes, in 2004, Montreal won Game 7 on Patriots’ Day to win the series, the same date that Game 7 falls on in 2008…

Will Boston complete the sense of deja vu? Or will Boston remember that it is the 8 seed and allow Montreal to reestablish itself as the team to beat in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

Either way, it should be fascinating.

This game preview was brought to you by a fascinating list of French phrases used in English
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Injuries
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Boston: Bobby Allen (back spasms, day-to-day); Patrice Bergeron (concussion, day-to-day)
Montreal: None