by Coach K, AllHabs.net

SAINT-LAZARE, QC.– The Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers have been bitter rivals since the 1970s. Whether it be Clarke and Barber, Lindros and LeClair, Carter and Richards, the animosity between these team has been on display for decades.

Tomorrow night, the Broad Street Bullies will be in town to take on Les Glorieux once again. While the Canadiens are no longer the perennial contenders they were in previous eras, the Eastern Conference finals of last season has re-energized both fans and players alike.

While the Canadiens surely cannot measure up physically to the Flyers, there are always ways to get the best of your opponent, regardless of who they are. On Monday Night, the Flyers facing the Ottawa Senators at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia. While the trip between Philly and Montreal isn’t exactly the longest flight, fatigue may certainly be a factor, depending on the effort the Senators put up against them.

Coach Jacques Martin will have last change on Tuesday night, so he should be glued to the television tonight to look at some of the tendencies of Flyers’ coach Peter Laviolette. Having met Mr. Laviolette at the NHL Coaches Conference in Montreal in 2009, I can tell you he has a brilliant hockey mind, and is always aware of what his opposition brings to the rink.

The Flyers’ two three trios are amongst the best in the NHL. All three lines have a diversity of players, each with grit, finesse and scoring abilities amongst their respective players. From the physical perspective, Scott Hartnell, Darroll Powe and Mike Richards bring it on every shift. They all have scoring ability, but their primary role is to abuse their opponents along the half-wall. Jeff Carter, Daniel Briere and Nikolas Zherdev are among the league’s best finishers. Ville Leino, James Van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux are good playmakers. With the distribution of talent on all of the three top lines, the Flyers are a force to be reconned with. The fourth line, while formidable physically, is the Flyers’ Achilles Heel.

They seem to have stabilized their goaltending situation with the emergence of Sergei Bobrovsky. He has allowed two goals in eight of his last ten games, and three in the other two starts. Impressive numbers to say the least for a rookie goaltender. However, he is insulated by a defensive that has the likes of Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timanen and Sean O’Donnell.

What are the Canadiens to do to counteract the Flyers?

Part of the solution is the Canadiens’ ability to attack with speed off the rush. With their speed in transition from defense to offense, the slow footed defense of the Flyers would be hard pressed to keep tabs on them. Although they find ways to slow down the competition, attacking the defense core of the Flyers will force them to take chances, and in most cases, penalties.

That’s the second part of the solution, albeit a daunting task. With Andrei Markov out of the lineup, the Canadiens may be hard pressed on their specialty teams. It will be paramount for the Habs to establish a good net-front presence, and pepper Bobrovsky with shot at every angle. While he is a big goalie in stature, Bobrovsky has a tendency of going down early, opening up to top portion of the net. If we look back at last year’s playoff series between the two clubs, the Canadiens were finding it difficult to score on the man advantage, even though they boasted the best power-play in the NHL during the regular season.

The third, and most important part, of the solution, is a little bit more goaltending magic from the NHL’s first start of the week, Carey Price.

Coach Jacques Martin must pay very close attention to his line matchups. Coach Laviolette has a multitude of ways to confuse opposing coaches. He has the luxury of mixing his forwards up from time to time, since the constitution of his lines is so similar. He will attempt to confuse Coach Martin in his line matchups, and in doing so, take away the last change from the Canadiens.

It is not an impossible task, but it will be a difficult one. The Canadiens once again find themselves face to face with their playoff nemesis. Can the tide be turned? I think so, but all the cards have to fall into place for the Habs to pull it off.

(Featured image by Mike Stobe / Getty Images)