Tuesday Game Previews

Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens

Montreal have let this series slip out of their grasp. After taking the game 1 & 2 in Boston they have lost the 2 home games and now an overtime game which has put the 3-2 down. They will need a big peformance on home ice to take this series to a game 7. They have been outworked by the Bruins in the last few games. Boston have been playing the puck in deep, forechecking hard and winning the battles in deep. They have also had some great netminding off Thomas, even if he has been fortunate at times as well. Boston have the momentum going their way and that might be the crucial factor for them.
The Canadiens will have to raise their game and try and turn this series on it's head. Price has kept them in this at times and they will need another outstanding effort from him. Cammalleri failed to score in game 5 for the first time of the series and Montreal will be hoping he can get back on the scoresheet.
Boston's powerplay has been attrocious through 5 games, not finding the net once up to now and if the Canadiens can stop them again they could take this to game 7. Expect another low scoring affair, possibly another overtime game and another fantastic atmosphere inside the Bell Centre.

Buffalo Sabres v Philadelphia Flyers

The first game 7 of the playoffs so far and there will be one team celebrating and one team playing golf come Wednesday. That team celebrating could be the Flyers if they get the situation in between the pipes correct. They have now used 3 netminders again this series and it will be interesting to see who gets the start. Statistically, Boucher hasn't had a bad record so far. A GAA of 2.11 and an SP of 0.935% is quite impressive. Where he wasn't impressive is game 4 where he conceeded 3 1st period goals and was chased after 16 minutes. The thing is, Buffalo have really only managed to get goals in the 1st period. They have 11 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd and the game winning goal in OT from Ennis. If Buffalo have jumped out to early leads, they certainly haven't held on to them every game. If they get infront again tonight they will have to try and give Miller the back up to pull off another shut out.
This has been an enthralling series and i wouldn't expect another other than a close game that will swing in momentum a couple of times before the end of 60 minutes. If Miller can stand tall, the Flyers might steal another away win and get into the next round. Roy will be back in for the Sabres but they will be missing Connolly, who is out after taking a hit from Richards in the last game. Philadelphia have the mometum after that overtime win and they have the home ice. Philadelphia must be favourites to take this one out.

Vancouver Canucks v Chicago Blackhawks

I don't think anyone would have predicted the path that this series was going to take when previewing the playoffs. The Blackhaws, despite being reigning Stanley Cup champions had struggled to make the top 8, sneaking in at the last minute and the Canucks had comfortably won the Presidents Trophy. Many predicted that the Canucks would come through this series victorious. That's the way this series was going. 3 games in and the Canucks had won them all. They were on the verge of sweeping the Blackhawks and having a rest before heading into round 2. Just what happened next, no one knows and no one expected it. The Canucks crumbled. They forgot how to play hockey, their netminder decided he wasn't going to make the kind of saves he had been making all season and all the momentum the team had was lost. The Blackhawks suddenly became demons. They blasted the Canucks off the ice in 2 consecutive games, beating them 7-2 and 5-0, the heaviest scores of any playoff series this round. Although the Canucks showed back up in Chicago for game 6 they were still unable to kill off the Blackhawks and that overtime winner from Smith means we are now at game 7 and back in Vancouver.

Am i going to call this game? I'm not sure. My heart is telling me Chicago as i love a good underdog story and boy this was one. To complete a 4 games comeback will be nothing short of a miracle. It will also mean Detroit will face Nashville in the next round and i would prefer to play them than the plucky San Jose Sharks. My head is telling me Vancouver haven't lost 4 in a row all year and they won't want to start doing it now.

Bickell will be a loss for Chicago as he is set to miss out due to injury but there is no news from Vancouver whether Salo will be able to take part. He took knock in the 1st period of game 6 and didn't return by the end of it.

This is going to be one big game that i will be watching tonight. A Can't miss game for any big hockey fan!