Game #71 | Montreal Vs Columbus | 20 March 2014 | 7:30pm EST

[BeanCountingHab]

vs Columbus Blue Jackets.

Sorry, for some reason I couldn't find any type of championship banner for Columbus.

The Bluejackets Story so far....

I don't think too many people would have expected the Blue Jacket's to be sitting in a playoff position this late in the year. Especially if you told them both Nathan Horton and Marian Gaborik would be injured for most of the year, and the latter would be traded on deadline day. So how have they done it? Huge contributions from young guys like Ryan Johansen, some solid goal-tending, and most importantly playing a strong team possession game. The Blue Jacket's sit an impressive 12th in the league with a Fenwick close of 51.1%. Their last 10 games have been even better so this is not a team to take lightly.

The Canadiens Story so far....

Montreal has beaten Columbus twice already this year and will looking to complete the sweep while taking back second place in our division from the Lighting. Montreal possession game took a hit compared to last year, but Carey Price has often decided to simply not allow other teams to score. With a little help from Patches and Subban, the Habs have found themselves in the top 4-5 of our Conference for most of the year. And lately our team has given us a few reasons to feel good. A switch was flipped sometime during the Olympic break and the Habs have played like possession beasts, sporting a 57% Fenwick in their last 10 games. Also, this Vanek character seems pretty good.

Well I've rambled enough, but before we drop the puck, the stats coming in to tonight:

GP RECORD HOME ROAD L10 G/G GA/G PP% PK%

COL 68 35-27-6 19-12-3 16-15-3 6-3-1 2.81 2.72 18.1 81.9

MTL 70 38-25-7 20-11-5 18-14-2 6-4-0 2.50 2.49 18.8 85.3

Go Habs!!!

[HabsRuleForever]

Love it BCH, great job on your first GDT. It's a winner.

[southernhabfan]

Great! Thanks. Go Habs!

[BeanCountingHab]

Love it BCH, great job on your first GDT. It's a winner.

Thanks! Although signing up for this game and having to follow beaubie's GDT was a rookie mistake on my part

[Guest]

Big game tonight. A chance to put some distance between us and those wild card spots.

Well done on the GDT BCH. Let's see if we can get you a nice streak going.

[kinot-1]

Love the GDT, BCH

“Prust will not play tonight,” Therrien told reporters. “Upper-body injury. Ryan White is in.”

Here’s how the lines and defence pairings are expected to look against Columbus:

Briere-Plekanec-Gallagher
Pacioretty-Desharnais-Vanek
Galchenyuk-Eller-Gionta
Weise-White-Moen

Bouillon-Subban
Emelin-Markov
Tinordi-Weaver

[jedimaas]

ugg. Prust...again? Thankfully this year that means we're missing a 4th liner not a 2nd or 3rd.

Columbus should not be underestimated, they are pushing hard right now. I think we'll be ok though. 3-1 habs.

[ColRouleBleu]

Dougless again

[southernhabfan]

I hope to watch the game tonight...my middle aged son wants to watch March Madness tonight...I might have to come on and rely on y'all....just saying'

[kinot-1]

I hope to watch the game tonight...my middle aged son wants to watch March Madness tonight...I might have to come on and rely on y'all....just saying'

You could pull up TSN 690, and listen to it with ear phones, as well as being on here.

[jennifer_rocket]

ugg. Prust...again? Thankfully this year that means we're missing a 4th liner not a 2nd or 3rd.

Columbus should not be underestimated, they are pushing hard right now. I think we'll be ok though. 3-1 habs.

When it comes to Montreal, NO team can be underestimated.

Don't mind that Prust is out. We'll be fine with White in the lineup. Like you said, it's not like Pacioretty, or Vanek, or Subban, or Price.

[Guest mrsmarkov]

Dougless again

We're on a record. Keep it up Therrien.

[Guest mrsmarkov]

Prust being injured again...not surprised. Luckily Whitey is a great replacement. I'm not worried about that at all, also Weise and Whitey have great chemistry. I love watching them play together. I wish we were playing some other team though . I watch every game the Jackets play and now I have to root for them to lose. Sorry Bobrovsky, Habs will forever be my team, you're just my second favourite goalie...back to rooting you on tomorrow when you host the Rangers...dethrone that King man.

Don't be surprised if we only win by 1-0. Bob is pretty damn flawless and watch out for Nick Foligno...if you see him on his knees, don't be fooled and think he's hurt, he's most likely taking a shot from there .

[jedimaas]

The concern I have with Murray out is this: Will MT actually keep him out from now on?

Because if not, at some point we're not just going to have Douglas Murray back, we're going to have a Rusty Douglas Murray back.

[BeanCountingHab]

The concern I have with Murray out is this: Will MT actually keep him out from now on?

Because if not, at some point we're not just going to have Douglas Murray back, we're going to have a Rusty Douglas Murray back.

You would think if he's fallen to 7th on the depth chart with Gorges still out than surely Josh's return should cement any chance of him coming back. Then again, Bouillon's been a healthy scratch for months and is now on our top pairing.

[Guest mrsmarkov]

Umberger out and Atkinson back in for the the Jackets.

Expect to find these line combinations for the Jackets tonight:

Jenner - Johansen - Horton
Calvert - Dubinsky - Atkinson
Foligno - Anisimov - Tropp
MacKenzie - Letestu - Comeau

Defense pairs:

Johnson - Prout
Tyutin - Wisniewski
Niktin - Savard

[THEBIGGESTHABSFAN123]

Great GDT BCH!

This should be a good one.

[Guest mrsmarkov]

Oh and I forget to mention..great GDT! I love the "Bobrovsky, you're off the case." Nice touch!

I must say I believe this is going to be an extremely close game.

[Noob616]

You would think if he's fallen to 7th on the depth chart with Gorges still out than surely Josh's return should cement any chance of him coming back. Then again, Bouillon's been a healthy scratch for months and is now on our top pairing.

I'm really hoping that they just think that Tinordi can handle the rah rah stuff from now on. Tinordi's a big mean guy with a physical game well beyond his years and he seems more than willing to fight.

[southernhabfan]

You could pull up TSN 690, and listen to it with ear phones, as well as being on here.

Yes..I just might have to do that....it beats listening to and/or watching...silence..nothing Thanks for the idea

[Guest mrsmarkov]

The concern I have with Murray out is this: Will MT actually keep him out from now on?

Because if not, at some point we're not just going to have Douglas Murray back, we're going to have a Rusty Douglas Murray back.

A rusty Murray? Isn't that how he originally is healthy? I'd hate to see him actually rusty? How much worse can it get?

[Flying_Lion]

Well done on your inaugural GDT, BCH! See? It's pretty easy. I hope the Team gets you a win for it.

I might actually stay up to watch this one so hopefully it's not a let down. Or a snoozer.

A win, s'il vous plait.

GO HABS GO!

[Guest mrsmarkov]

Well done on your inaugural GDT, BCH! See? It's pretty easy. I hope the Team gets you a win for it.

I might actually stay up to watch this one so hopefully it's not a let down. Or a snoozer.

A win, s'il vous plait.

GO HABS GO!

Stay up to watch it? Wow what time do you usually go to bed? I can't fall asleep until it's at least 4 am, even then I still find it difficult .

[southernhabfan]

Time for another win!!!

[Forza-Montreal]

Time for another win!!!

I second that!