May 7, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) hunches over in discomfort in the third period in game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place. The Senators defeated the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

It seems the the Montreal Canadiens have been plagued with injuries this post-season. The first piece of disappointing news for the Canadiens is that they will have to go the rest of the season without their captain Brian Gionta. Gionta will be undergoing surgery on Friday for a torn left bicep that will keep him off the ice for the little time that is left in the Canadiens season.

On top of Gionta being out two players left Tuesday night’s game due to injury. One of these players was the Canadiens number 1 goaltender Carey Price. Price is said to be day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It is still unclear at this point as to whether or not he will be playing in Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators.

The other player that left Tuesday’s game was Brandon Prust. He will definitely be out of Thursday’s game due to an aggravated shoulder injury. Also missing from Thursday’s game will be Ryan White who also sat out of Tuesday’s game because of an upper-body injury caused in the second period of Sunday’s game. It is still unclear as to whether Prust or White will be missing more than just Thursday’s game.

Montreal Canadiens – regular season record 29-14-5. Good for 63 points and the second seed in the east.

The Habs finished dead last in the eastern conference last season and as a result the expectations for this season were to improve and possibly compete for a playoff spot.  No one outside the organization saw the Canadiens winning the Northeast division and now they have home ice advantage for at least the first two rounds.

They’ve played consistent hockey all season long and are scoring by committee.  Their goaltending that was at one point a year ago a cause for concern has been the best it’s been in recent memory.  Carey Price is the clear number one goalie in Montreal despite not convincing all the critics given his year where he posted a 21-13-4 record with a 2.59 GAA and a .905 save percentage.  Decent numbers but not great and he’ll need to be great to help this team make a deep playoff run.

Keys to the Habs success:

Some might say that Price is the key to the Canadiens success in the first round against Ottawa and while he certainly will be an integral part, the more important key is defenseman P.K. Subban.

Subban is playing the best hockey of his young career and he must carry that over into the playoffs. Considered to be a favorite to win the Norris Trophy for top defenseman in the league, Subban excelled after a lengthy contract hold out to score 11 goals and add 27 assists for 38 points in 42 games.  He is the spoke to the Habs wheel and whether it be on the power play or five-on-five, Subban’s play will be critical in defining the Canadiens success in this series.

Ottawa Senators – regular season record 25-17-6. Good for 56 points and seventh place in the east.

Anybody that truly follows the game of hockey knows what type of season the Senators had this year; an injury plagued one.  Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson are three of the team’s most valuable players and all missed an extended period of time this year to serious injury.  Other role players like Milan Michalek also battled to stay healthy and as a result it left a depleted Senators lineup that many thought would crumble from their early season success and miss the playoffs.

But this team defied the odds and here they are playing in the second season.  They are the most dangerous team to pull off an upset this year and here’s the key to their success:

Keys to the Senators success:

Simply put, it falls on one player – Craig Anderson.  He will have to steal a game or two in Montreal in front a rowdy french Canadian crowd that feeds off the success of their hockey team. Anderson and the Sens will have to weather the storm in game one for the first ten minutes and if he can keep it close than I like Ottawa in the opener.

Series Prediction:

I’m taking the Ottawa Senators to upset the Montreal Canadiens in six games in this series.  A healthy Sens group that plays “pesky” hockey is a dangerous bunch already an now throw on the underdog role and this team is a great pick as a sleeper.

Apr 15, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) on the bench during the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre. Price did not start the 3rd period after allowing 6 goals in the first two periods. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

It seems as though the Montreal Canadiens rock of a goalie has fallen apart in the last couple of games (as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan this brings me joy). In his last 2 games Carey Price has been pulled and Peter Budaj has taken his place. In Saturday’s game against Toronto he was pulled in the first period after allowing 3 goals on 4 shots. In last night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers he did somewhat better, he wasn’t pulled until the third period after allowing 6 goals on 29 shots. Before these two games people were saying he would be nominated for the Vezina Trophy. He was also on EA sports Hockey Ultimate Team of the Year. His performance over his past two games have not been reflective of that at all.

It is possible to chalk this up to a bad couple nights for Price but the look on his face as he sat on the bench during the Leafs game has me thinking otherwise. Price looked like a broken man. His confidence has been shaken and there is no telling when or if he will snap back to normal.

The other question in all of this is what prompted the lapse that allowed 3 goals on 4 shots? Could it be that the pressure of the word Vezina is weighing down on him? Was it just an off night that caused a loss in confidence? No matter which way you look at it the timing couldn’t be worse. The season is nearing an end and even though the Canadiens have clinched a playoff spot losing momentum before you even get there does not bode well for the Canadiens cup run. They are back in action tomorrow night so we will see if Price gets the start and if he does, what he will do with it.

What do you think? Will Price bounce back from this in time for the playoffs? Share your thoughts in the comment box below, on facebook, twitter (@kcapp22 or @TMMotS), or by email (tmmots@yahoo.ca).