Montreal has added some offense and has Cristobal Huet in net, so the Habs could be dangerous.
2005 record: 42-31-9 (93 points)
2005 offense rank: 20th (2.94 goals per game)
2005 defense rank: 13th (2.98 goals allowed per game)
Key Additions: RW Mike Johnson, LW Sergei Samsonov, D Janne Niinimaa
Key Losses: RW Richard Zednik, RW Niklas Sundstrom, D Todd Simpson, C Jan Bulis, C Mike Ribiero
Overview: The Montreal Canadiens ended the 2005 season with only one thought on their minds – what could have been. The Habs had the Carolina Hurricanes on the ropes in their playoff series, winning the first two games in Carolina to take a 2-0 series lead. However, the Hurricanes turned the tables on the Canadiens and won the next four games to end Montreal’s disappointing season. Not much has changed from last year’s Montreal squad, which could be good or bad depending on your point of view. The Canadiens' offense got a little better in the offseason with the acquisition of LW Sergei Samsonov, who should fit in nicely on the Canadiens' first line with Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev. However, beyond the first line, the Canadiens have no legitimate goal-scoring threats. As a first-line winger, Kovalev needs to score more than 23 goals this season, and Montreal hopes that rookie Chris Higgins can repeat his rookie season output of 23 goals as well. Montreal’s defense begins and ends with G Cristobal Huet, who led the league with a .929 save percentage and logged a stellar 2.20 goals against average. Huet registered seven shutouts in only 36 games, and was one of the main reasons behind Montreal’s surprising run in the playoffs. D Sheldon Souray is a physically imposing defender at 6-foot-4, and the Canadiens are counting on him to fulfill his potential.
WagerWeb.com odds: +2200 to win the Stanley Cup
Players to Watch: RW Michael Ryder’s goal-scoring totals in his first two seasons have increased from 25 to 30, and the Habs hope he can take it a notch higher. Higgins needs to prove that the 23 goals he scored in his rookie season was not a fluke. Huet needs to continue his stellar play between the pipes if the Habs are to make the playoffs again.
Outlook: Adding Samsonov to their first line will help the Canadiens' offensive attack, but the other lines need to step up their scoring output. If the Canadiens' defenders can give some decent support to Huet, there is no reason why they can’t make the playoffs again this year. There is no way that Montreal can catch Ottawa and Buffalo in the Northeast Division, but many sportsbooks are projecting a third-place finish in the division and another chance at the playoffs in 2006.
