HabsCast Hockey Blog

The time has come, the moment that all Habs fans have been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen, Carey Price is set to make his NHL debut and it couldn’t be a more fitting team than Sidney Crosby’s. This doesn’t come to a shock to me that Guy Carbonneau would put Carey Price against the Penguins. For starters, Carey Price hasn’t played a game in October yet and I don’t think it’s the best thing to keep him off the ice for such a long period of time. Secondly, Cristobal Huet sure didn’t play his best hockey on Saturday night, which let the floodgates open for a Carey Price-Sidney Crosby showdown. All eyes will be on Carey in Pittsburgh to see how he handles himself under such pressure created mostly by the media. Tonight’s game won’t be an easy task for Carey Price considering he never has been on the same ice as Sidney Crosby (SCARY!).

Another rookie gets his long awaited NHL debut tonight and that is Kyle Chipchura. Unlike Price, Chipchura has been on the same ice as Crosby on a numerous of occasions. They played against one another when they were younger and practiced with each other during the world junior camp of 2005. Kyle would have made that team, however, he suffered a major ankle injury that caused him to miss the tournament. Chipchura, like Price, faces a daunting task in his first NHL game and that is keeping Sidney Crosby in check. When asked about it he said “I know him fairly well, I watch him on TV a lot, so I know quite a bit about him.” Chipchura will be on the fourth checking line centering Steve Begin and Mathieu Dandenault, which should be a very energetic trio.

So here are tonight’s official lines:

Forwards
Higgins – Koivu – Ryder
Kotsitsyn – Plekanec – Kovalev
Latendresse – Smolinski – Kostopolous
Begin – Chipchura – Dandenault

Defense
Markov – Komisarek
Gorges – Hamrlik
Bouillon – Streit

Goalie
Price

After Saturday’s disappointing loss to the Maple Leafs, Carbonneau tried to keep the shuffling of lines to a minimum by scratching Grabovski and bumping the centers up a line. I don’t think the Grabovski scratch was justified but it was required if Chipchura was going to play. The Canadiens cannot sit back on a lead like they did with Toronto. The Penguins are a team that will capitalize on mistakes with weapons like Crosby, Malkin, and Staal. Another key to tonight’s game for the Habs is staying out of the penalty box. The Canadiens will need to be disciplined if they want to come out of this one alive.

This game will be very popular in Canada for the reason that Carey Price will be playing his first Career NHL game. I’m sure that there will be plenty of butterflies in his stomach, however, I’m sure he can pull through it considering he’s already played and won both a world junior and Calder Cup championship. This game is a prospect in being a classic for this could be a start of a new era in Montreal and the NHL as well. It may very well prompt a rivalry between the two teams and one between Price and Crosby as well. Fasten your seatbelts folks, we may be in for a long ride!

Prediction:
The Penguins are off to a slow start by their standards and are hungry for a win, while Montreal had a disappointing OT loss in Toronto on Saturday.

Pittsburgh, 4 Montreal 3 (SO)

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