Here’s an excerpt from the NHL.com game preview of the Canadiens vs Flyers matchup for tonight’s game:

The Montreal Canadiens were the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed in last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs, making them heavy favorites when they faced off with the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round.

Instead, it was the Flyers who made quick work of the Canadiens.

The teams will meet Monday for the first time since Philadelphia took four straight from Montreal last spring, prematurely ending the Stanley Cup hopes of the East’s top seed.

The Canadiens (1-0-1) beat the Flyers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, but Philadelphia won the next four to eliminate Montreal and reach its first conference final since 2004.

“It’s OK to be disappointed about how our season ended, but we can’t forget how much we improved (in 2007-08) as a team,” right wing Alex Kovalev told the Canadiens’ official Web site, citing the team’s jump from fourth place in 2006-07 to the top of the East.

Montreal didn’t look much like an improved team in its season opener, a 2-1 shootout loss at Buffalo on Friday, but it looked more like the team that won the Northeast Division the next night against the rival Maple Leafs. The Canadiens scored the first five goals at Air Canada Centre on Saturday – including two power-play goals from Sergei Kostitsyn – on their way to a 6-1 rout of Toronto.

Habster:
Look for the Canadiens to come out flying against the Flyers, a team that will challenge them for the top three spots in the Eastern conference.

If the Habs can limit the Flyers scoring chances in the first 5-10 minutes when they’ll be pumped in their own barn, then look for the much quicker Canadiens to take advantage of their speed and overall scoring depth.

Look for Carey Price to have a chip on his shoulder and after a long summer thinking about how the Flyers picked him apart in the second round of the playoffs……he’ll be extremely motivated in this game.