ComcastSportsNet.com (John Boruk):
Flyers-Canadiens Forget the regular season record of 0-4: The Bruins lost all eight to Montreal in the regular season and then proceeded to force a Game 7. The playoffs are a different beast, and know you focus on team and spend much more time scouting and finding their flaws.
Goaltending:
The Flyers may have an edge here. Carey Price looked shaky at times during their series with Boston. He’s a rookie and he will be prone to mistakes.
Get a lead early:
What Montreal does so well, especially against the Flyers, is play well with a lead. The Canadiens have a great defensive system and they completely shut down the middle of the ice when they’re protecting that lead. The Flyers have grown extremely frustrated playing this team and that’s why it’s imperative to take them out of their comfort zone by getting an early lead.
They’re not the Capitals: Sure, they also have a guy named Alex who was their leading scorer, but Kovalev is nothing like Ovechkin, and the Canadiens team from top to bottom is nothing like the Capitals. Their defense is better. Look out for Mike Komisarek, who’s an animal on the blue line. This guy was molded for playoff hockey. They may not have the pure skill of Washington’s players, but combined with their tenacity and grit, they’re more dangerous.
Power Play: 1 vs. 2 Montreal’s PP is very fluid. Players who have great vision. Andrei Markov and Kovalev are the ones to watch here. There’s a gracefulness to the way they work their power play, whereas the Flyers are very methodical. Shoot hard, crash the net. They may not have the skill on their PP unit, but when it gets rolling, I think the Flyers’ PP is tougher to stop. I think Philly can throw out two solid lines.