Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs Game 1

Montreal Canadiens heading into tonight…

This best of seven series between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs will be different in every way. Fans early on will not be allowed into either arena. There will be about a week of wait for that.

While the raging over who is and isn’t in the lineup goes on, there is one clear thing.

Marc Bergevin has a vision and Dominique Ducharme is in sync with it. For better or for worse, the Montreal Canadiens are opting for experience tonight for Game 1.

Carey Price will start in goal and Brendan Gallagher will return.

One good infographic thanks to Jason to start us off…

pessimist ▶️ OMG! the #habs fell ass-backwards into the playoffs, the worst team to make the playoffs, on a bad run.

optimist ▶️ what doesn't kill you makes you stronger; the regular season ain't the playoffs.

Realist ▶️ _________________ .#MTLvsTOR pic.twitter.com/jhfioKdJbR

— Jason Paul 🥥 (@WaveIntel) May 18, 2021

Again, this team rises or falls depending on Brendan Gallagher and how he works in the Montreal lineup. So much went right in that first ten-game window. With the huge period of rest, Montreal might come out that way again. No one truly knows.

Every pundit talks about how this series is 42 years in the making. Honestly, funk that! This series may just determine the fate of the vision of Marc Bergevin.

It may not happen right away but this may be a crossroads.

All it takes is a little bit of patience. For once, the logic of not putting Cole Caufield and others into the “fire”, makes sense. Now, what other decisions this duo makes are of greater uncertainty.

If anyone believes they know exactly what will happen in Game 1 then I want the lottery numbers for Friday’s Mega Millions. Kindly, also take a listen to this — a great RapidHabs podcast.

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Some other Montreal Canadiens news and notes…

It has been a fun challenge listening to zoom meetings in two languages the past couple of months. This will be something much cherished. There are certain nuances to the way different media ask different questions about the same team.

Also, the Laval Rocket finished their AHL season 23-9-4. That is some mark over 36 games. It is all the more impressive considering the circumstances. The fact that Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher got to play in that last game made it even more fun and fascinating. It was like a bridge to the future. Give full credit to a guy like Joel Bouchard.

The words “program” and “academy” are tossed around more and more when it comes to hockey teams and organizations these days. To Bouchard, he just does not casually throw the word program out there.

“Why is it a program? Because it’s not a team. The (Canadiens) are a team. We have too much movement in personnel, too much stuff we don’t control that you have to call it a program,” Bouchard said. “Because you can be playing really well, and you can lose seven or eight guys just like that. You’re hit from everywhere with your own injuries, the NHL club’s, and you don’t make all the decisions. As a coach, I’m not making all the decisions, I get handcuffed by the reality of the AHL.”

The quote speaks volumes upon volumes. We heard this on a previous Zoom interview as well. Coaching in the AHL, especially this year, is exceedingly fluid. One day everything is going well and the next day nothing is. That is part of the reason why Bouchard has been so successful in his tenure.