No one gives us a chance

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I think the two teams probably are more evenly-matched than some think, IF Markov is playing.

But you know something? Those Ws by the Bruins against us count. And they were achieved by consistently playing a harder-working, tougher-grinding, better-coached, and more cohesive team game than us. One reason people think of the Bs as being 'bigger' than us is that they PLAY bigger, they 'pack their guts' as Ferguson used to say; while we haven't done so with any consistency. (The other reason that people think they're bigger has to do with Lucic and Chara eating major minutes). That the Habs have shown few convincing signs of correcting any of these disparities except maybe the third one might be the biggest reason for pessimism going in. That and, of course, the absence of Markov.

Still, IF the Habs work as hard as the Bruins; AND prove willing to match their physical intensity; and IF they can play a cohesive team game with minimal breakdowns and defensive-zone gaps; THEN their superior speed and perhaps raw skill might actually have the Bs reeling. Unlikely but not impossible.

[Wamsley01]

Montreal averages slightly under 6'1 and 205 lbs.

Boston averages right at 6'1 and 203 lbs.

How much of that average is skewed by the monster known as Chara?

[Sir_Boagalott]

Good points.

The one thing I like to look at is, how many of those 6 Bs-Habs games could have gone the other way? The Habs only needed the shootout to win the first matchup because of a lucky bounce off the boards. The second matchup was a blowout in favour of the Bs, but the other 4 games were tight, within a goal in 2 of them I believe, and 2 goal games for the other two (once an empty net and once a late goal with a minute or two left.

I just don't think the gap between the two teams is nearly as big as everyone is saying it is.

And I'm tired of hearing about how the big Bruins are going to run the small Habs out of the rink. We are the bigger team by a narrow margin if you look at the stats. We have small centres? There's are even smaller.

Exactly. The majority of the talking heads dont even watch the Habs play.

All season except for the 1st 10 games the Habs have played way below their potential. If the Habs can play up to their potential Bos will have problems and if the Habs can play above their potential the Western Conference champs could have similar problems.

[habs rule]

there is a reason we play the games and that is because it is not a foregone conclusion. We got a new season and new start when i was a kid we always said if the habs are in the playoffs everybody else better look out.

[ForumGhost]

How much of that average is skewed by the monster known as Chara?

If you take that into account, they would be even smaller, surprisingly. Although Laraque does the same thing for our average.

[Cataclaw]

The only difference between the Habs of last year and the Habs of this year is their record vs. Boston. Last year, we had 16 points out of 104 vs. Boston. That's 88 vs. the rest of the NHL. This year, we had 4 points out of 93 vs. Boston. That's 89 vs. the rest of the NHL. There were two less games vs. Boston this year. 89 in 76 games vs. 88 in 74 games isn't much of a difference.

Boston is simply that much better this year. They improved their record not only against us, but against the rest of the NHL. Does that mean much for the next 7 games? Hard to say. But over 82 games, they definitely were the better team. No question about it.

When you pull out the Montreal-Boston season series, you'll notice that Boston actually had 5 more points than us last year vs. the rest of the NHL than we did (they had 93 points in those 74 games, against I believe the exact same opponents). This year, they increased that number to 105 points in 76 games, and 11 of 12 against us.

The 2007-08 season series disguised a lot of the differences between the two teams last year. And the season series dropoff this year for the Habs is the single biggest reason for the Habs being percieved as "worse" than last year.

Good post, raises a lot of interesting points.

I thing that in the new NHL, a lot (if not most) teams are actually fairly well matched, and games can be won by any team, any night. The reason some teams do well is confidence, momentum, and sometimes a certain sense of inevitability which plays tricks on players. Being "in the zone" in hockey is unlike anything in any other sport.

I think the Habs will prevail because the Bruins play style is one of confidence bordering on overconfidence and sometimes near cockiness. The Bruins bring a physical play that's designed to piss you off, to put it bluntly. My prediction is simple -- game 1.. the habs will get some early power plays, capitalize, and score up a 3-0 lead or something similar. It'll shake that mountain of Bruins confidence and suddenly the whole series will feel as if it's wide open. If the Habs can jump on that, they can win 4-0 like i'm predicting. Or it can be a total flop... nobody can tell the future, we can only speculate!

Still, i see reason to believe that like the economic housing bubble, the Bruins are living in a hockey bubble of their own that is about to burst. Likewise, the Canadiens currency has been devalued and is due for a rise.

[johnnyhasbeen]

Has Tim Thomas ever won a playoff series? Habs in 5 or 6. Over achieving teams never do well come playoffs.

In Bob I trust, saving the calls for when needed, I'd say round three vs Jersey.....

The drive for 25 is alive, no matter what the Toronto Sports Nutwarts have to say.

When did they ever get anything right, so called experts had us winning the east this year and not making the cut last year.

What an easy job that must be. Just grasp at straws and nobody cares if you are a mile off base.

Oh well. am drunk on rum and leaving Bonaire, bound for Aruba!

[saskhab]

Oh well. am drunk on rum and leaving Bonaire, bound for Aruba!

Awesome!

[kaos]

No one gave em a chance. And they were right