February 7 - Toronto Maple Leafs

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The NHL’s oldest rivalry will renew itself at the Bell Centre tomorrow as the Habs take on the Leafs for the fourth time this season; Montreal stands at 3-2 against their foe this season.

Carey Price will get his first start for the Habs since early January when he was sent down to Hamilton for conditioning. Price has played and won three games against Toronto this year and Carbo and company hope the streak continues.

Toronto is coming off of a terrible 8-0 pounding at the hands of the Florida Panthers and Les Habitants are sporting a big win over Ottawa; a loss by Ottawa against the Panthers on Wednesday night in conjunction with a Montreal win over Toronto will see the Habs take first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time this season. If both teams win, Montreal gets another shot at Ottawa at Scotia Bank Place on Saturday night.

February 5 - Ottawa Senators

The Habs will host Ottawa tomorrow night at the Bell Centre in a big game that may very well set the tone in the upper echelons of the Eastern Conference for the rest of the season. Montreal sits just 3 points behind Ottawa with 53 games played apiece - the two teams meet several more times over the remainder of the season so this game, at this point in the season, is huge.

The Senators will still be without Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson and Martin Gerber is likely to get the start after Ray Emery’s rough 4-2 loss to Toronto. Christobal Huet didn’t play up to his usual standard in the Canadiens’ 5-3 loss to the Rangers on Sunday so I’m guessing Halak may finally get a chance to play - considering the import of this game, that may not happen. The call will likely be left to Huet as to whether he is too fatigued after playing two games over the weekend.

February 2 - New York Islanders

Montreal will play host to the New York Islanders as it opens a four-game home stand where they will attempt to continue their winning ways and surpass Ottawa in the Eastern Conference. Oh yeah: it’s going to happen!

Better play at home is key and the Habs will be facing the Senators twice next week; a strong couple of games beforehand will not only add points, but also confidence. The Habs are 2-0 against the Islanders this season, winning 4-1 and 3-1 respectively.

While Huet may have been a little soft against the Caps on Thursday (well, Ovechkin, anyway), he is 10-2-2 in his last 14 starts, posting a 2.38 GAA in that time.

I’m going to predict a big win in this one, somewhere in the realm of 5-1. Bring on the Senators!

January 31 - Washington Capitals

The Habs stroll into DC this afternoon to play the second game of a home-and-home with the Washington Capitals after taking the Caps down 4-0 this past Tuesday. With all four Canadiens lines functioning well and Christobal Huet looking very sharp in goal, Montreal will look to capture a season-high fourth straight win.

January 29 - Washington Capitals

The Canadiens begin the post-All-Star portion of the season in a dead heat in the very crowded Eastern Conference and only six points behind Ottawa - with a game in hand. Every game counts, especially those played against teams with far lower rankings.

The Washington Capitals have other ideas though, and they will be trying mightily to take at least 2 points from this home-and-home series with the Habs. These two games will be the last time the teams meet in the regular season.

January 22 - Boston Bruins

The Habs may be playing below-par at home in Montreal this season but that doesn’t seem to matter against the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens followed up a successful 3-1 road trip with yet another loss at home on Saturday as they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0, dropping them to .500 at the Bell Centre with an 8-8-5 home record – the lowest amount of home wins in the National Hockey League.

The Bruins, on the other hand, have been on quite a streak, going 3-0-1 in their last four games. They’ve been beaten by Montreal in their last 8 meetings though, including 5 games this season, 2 of them in Montreal. There is no telling where this lopsided dominance comes from but it is very apparent as Montreal has outscored Boston 24-8 in their 5 clashes this season, including 8-1 in first period goals.

The Eastern Conference is a tight race and the Canadiens have dropped to 6^th place, 3 points ahead of 7^th place Boston. A win for Montreal and a few necessary losses for Philly, Pittsburgh and New Jersey could put us back in fourth – a loss sets a dangerous tone in this second half of the season.

January 19 - Pittsburgh Penguins

The Canadiens will host the red hot Penguins tomorrow night at the Bell Centre but Pittsburgh will be missing one key element: Sidney Crosby. The young superstar suffered a high ankle sprain and will not be playing in Montreal.  The Habs will look to take advantage of that loss and the Pens’ Friday night shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Pittsburgh is still on a very impressive 8-1-1 run but the Habs have also lost only one game in regulation in their last ten and they defeated the Penguins 4-3 in a shootout the last time they met. I would expect that Huet will get the start for Montreal but, with Crosby out, there may be a chance that Halak will make an appearance.

January 17 - Atlanta Thrashers

After spending much of the first half of the season in the basement of the Southeast Division, the Atlanta Thrashers suddenly find themselves on top with a tenuous hold over Carolina. They’ve got renewed energy and have won their last two games.

The Canadiens took two points over the Islanders on Tuesday to cut Ottawa’s lead in the Northeast Division to eight points with their loss to Washington. Tuesday’s game, while officially a win, saw the Habs playing below their ability save for Christobal Huet who stopped all but one shot and made a few beauty saves to keep Montreal in the lead.

Atlanta has won its last two meetings with Montreal and the Canadiens will be looking to continue their point-getting ways (6-2-2 in the last 10 games) by breaking that streak. The Habs are hot on the road - let’s hope that works to their advantage!

It hasn’t been 100% confirmed as far as I can tell but I expect Huet to get the start tonight; Halak’s shot at starting will likely have to wait. This game sets us up for a very hot Pittsburgh team on Saturday; the Pens are 9-0-1 in their last ten.

January 15 - New York Islanders

The Habs continue their four game road trip as they head to Long Island to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Montreal took a tough loss in Manhattan on Saturday, losing for the first time in regulation in seven games. The Islanders, on the other hand, are coming off of a big win over Ottawa on Sunday, beating the Sens 3-1. The Canadiens defeated the Islanders 4-1 the last time they met.

Paul DiPietro will be starting against Christobal Huet and Montreal will look to secure at least one point in eight of its last nine games.

January 12 - New York Rangers

The Habs roll into Madison Square Garden in New York City to face the Rangers on the second game of this current four game road trip. The two teams met just before the New Year with the Rangers defeating Montreal in overtime 4-3.

The Rangers are in a hard spot at the moment, sporting a five game losing streak and not showing much improvement. The Canadiens, on the other hand, are flying high; 5-0-2 in their last seven games, on a two game winning streak and very hot on the road.

I’m predicting a 4-1 win for the Habs in this one.

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