D-Day

My favourite Leafs/Habs moment.


Well, opening day is upon us. The NHL season will open with the best rivalry in hockey; Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs.

The season series last year was split down the middle, with each team winning three games. Every game is a toss up with these two teams. It does not matter if one team is a playoff contender, while the other one is a cellar dweller; the rivalry is always close.

The Leafs will be missing Tim Connolly and Nazem Kadri due to injury. Clarke MacArthur will also be sitting out game one of his two game suspension. Expect Tyler Bozak to be reunited with Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel on the first line.

The Montreal Canadiens will be welcoming new comer, Eric Cole. He signed with Montreal in the offseason, and will give them an added scoring dimension. Often injured defenceman, Andrei Markov will also be healthy for the season opener.

What to expect today? Well the Leafs should come out strong as it is their home opener. If the Canadiens can find a way to weather the storm in the first period, they could be in good shape. Last year, they got down 2-0 early on and couldn't recover.

The Grabovski line must pick up where they left off last year. Although there will be no Clarke MacArthur on that line, Matt Frattin is a suitable replacement. I expect big things from them tonight.

A big part of this game will be determined on special teams. Montreal is known for their above average power play and the Leafs have truthfully been horrendous on the penalty kill the entire time Ron Wilson has been coach. If Montreal wins the specialty team portion of the game, that could give them the edge tonight.

It will also be interesting to see James Reimer in action. He had a decent preseason, but one trend was giving up early goals. We'll see if that changes tonight.

My prediction is going to be a Leafs win. I think they come out strong, and use the crowd to their advantage. I got Grabovski (2), Kessel and Phaneuf all scoring for the Leafs and I think Cole will score the only goal for Montreal. 4-1 Leafs win.

Now bring on tonight!