Many years ago, in the 1980s, I read an article in The Hockey Digest that was a lot of fun...It predicted hockey in the 2000s. I have looked everywhere for this article for years. Even collecting Hockey Digests whenever some popped up on ebay. I remember the article was highly entertaining and one of the parts of the story I always remembered was that there would be a Stanley Cup Final between Montreal and Las Vegas. It felt absurd at the time that Vegas would even have a hockey team and the dichotomy of them facing the mighty Montreal Canandiens was a good laugh.. This was long before NHL hockey had reached into places like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee.
And now here we are...The two winningest teams in NHL history, the Montreal Canadiens are second (.587 winning percentage) and the Golden Knights sit remarkably on top with a .613. And tonight, they will meet....for only the 7th time in their history , with a trip to play for a Stanley Cup in the balance. So far....The Canadiens are only one of two teams in the NHL that the Knights have only manage to beat once. (The Bruins are the other). The Knights are a 1-2-3 against Montreal and have never won a game in Montreal.
In the six games the teams have each averaged around 4 goals per game..and the games have tended to be fast-paced, close affairs, which is really not that surprising because the one thing these teams really do have in common is they PLAY fast hockey. That's not saying they are fast skating, but rather they play very quickly and are capable of quick decisions...When they face each other it really can get fun.
This Canadiens team right now is much better defensively than the one that went 5-1 against Vegas. Carey Price is also at the top of his game right now...
The Knights are a much more experienced team when it comes to playing this late in the playoffs..but the Habs are...the Montreal Canadiens...
Looking at these two teams and who they played in their respected divisions. further enhances this matchup.
This Habs are playing great hockey, BUT they have yet to meet any team close to Vegas in depth, speed and goal. Montreal's defense will be facing a massive shift in style.
Mark Stone is playing the best two-way hockey in his career right now as well and he has ALWAYS been a Habs killer going back to his time in Ottawa. Stone has 10 goals and 10 assists (20 points) in 23 career games versus the Canadiens...His lifetime shooting percentage is just below 20%.
My pick..
This is a very tough series and feels like it's either a Vegas in 5 or Montreal in 7 type of series... which is what I said before the Habs and Leafs series, but when I made my selection it was Toronto in 5...which didn't happen, but to be fair was 1 goal from being exactly right.
This time I am feeling the Habs in 7...
On Hamilton...
I will be back to address the Hamilton rumors in my next piece...but as of now I am not hearing anything about a sign and trade...teams can talk and if they strike a deal they might have to pay the Canes and second-round pick....That is more of what I am hearing..
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