It certainly will be a tough test facing Tampa. Although Tampa needs a goalie BIGTIME in my opinion, they still have a great mix of players...lots of talent...a few stars...speed to burn...size and grit!!!
Don't discount the Pittsburgh game either though...And-o hates the games before-and-after ones versus the Leafs. I find that the Habs are often guilty of looking ahead to the Leafs too much! Then, if the Habs beat the Leafs...they let down afterwards! Yet, if they lose to the Leafs, they suffer some type of anxiety attack and self-doubt sets in on the PP...and scoring hands turn to stone for about a week! (See??? Even Hab fans look ahead to the Leafs too much!!!)
I believe this game will be a real test. They can be tough and have a great PP. We need to come out strong, and lite the lamp first to get the guys going. As long aw we can stay penalty free (ya right) and get the d men to headman the puck out of the zone , and get the forwards to back check, and get a strong game from Theo/Danis we could be in good shape.
I think most important thing against Tampa will be our defence. Against Buffalo, they were responsible for the goals. If Theodore can play the way he did Saturday night, then as long as our defence plays well, we should be able to win. Tampa's a fast team with a ton of talent, and so we can't afford to have any mistakes in our zone. The key to beating them, I think is playing 60 minutes of quality hockey and taking them out of it early.
not to say tampa won't be a tough test because i agree on that, but don't you think the habs will be up to the challenge
they certainly should be, facing the team that swept them out of the playoffs for the first time in the regular season should be plenty of motivation.
if they can't come to the rink and compete against tampa under those circumstances than i'll be very surprised. it should be an entertaining game to say the least and IMO we will come out on top. we got so much momentum coming in to the game and i hope dwe keep it goin