Maybe after 19 years, the Flyers will finally shake hands with the Canadiens?
In 1989, the last time these two teams met, the six game series that the Canadiens won ended without handshakes due to a game ending melee brought on by by Ron Hextall's mugging of Chris Chelios.
I'm not expecting anything different this time from the Flyers, whose game plans rarely include beating opponents by simply playing hockey.
Philadelphia can throw all the heat and physical beating they wish to at Montreal, it won't work.
It never has. It never will. It won't this time.
While the Flyers do have a decent offense, they have a slow footed defense, and a goalie who can only rise to it every second game.
What I'm saying here is, Habs in five, without a shred of overconfidence.
I don't even think I'm going out on a limb.
I've been wrong before, but I'm less worried by the Flyers than I was of a Bruins team the Habs ate all year long.
Canadiens Vow They Won't Repeat Mistake By Taking Flyers Lightly - CP
"It was only four games and they were so spread out," Higgins said Wednesday as the Canadiens returned to practice after a day off. "We might have just caught them at difficult stages of the season. They're a good team and they have good forwards. And with what happened the last series, I don't think we'll take anyone lightly from now on."
Habs Dominated Flyers During Regular Season - Globe Sports
"The Flyers not only lost all four regular-season meetings to the Canadiens, by a combined score of 15-6, but also Brière was abused by the Montreal faithful at the Bell Centre because he spurned a lucrative free-agent deal to sign with the Habs last summer. Brière had one measly assist in his two games in Montreal and only one more helper in the two defeats to the Canadiens in Philadelphia." - Tim Wharnsby
Price Ready For Traffic - Sun Media
"The traffic is just a logjam in front of the net. That's the way goals are going to be scored in the later rounds. There's going to be a lot of pushing and shoving and garbage around the net. It's not my job to be pushing guys around in front of the net. I don't concern myself at all. It doesn't bother me one bit." - Chris Stevenson
Demers: "Great Playoff Goalies Make Coaches Look Great" - USA Today
"Just look at Monday's Game 7 of the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins series. The Bruins came out and bombarded 20-year-old Carey Price left, right and center and he just made the big saves and shut the door. Then the Canadiens got a break and boom, they're on their way to a win." - Jacques Demers
Flyer's Briere Replaces Chara As Public Enemy Number 1 - Gazette
"There's a very good reason for Canadiens fans to loathe Daniel Brière - and it's not because he spurned Montreal's courtship last July and signed an eight-year, $52-million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. It's because Brière blithely flipped the final puck used during Carey Price's first NHL shutout into the Bell Centre stands on Feb. 16. Even for a non-collector like Price, the vulcanized souvenir from this milestone is a keeper. And even if Brière didn't realize the significance of the Canadien rookie's 34-save effort that night, he did a very bad thing." - ave Stubbs
Being Only Canadian Team Left In Playoffs Great Motivation For Habs - Gazette
"What the Canadiens also have going for them is that following the elimination of the Calgary Flames, they're the only Canadian team still alive chasing the Stanley Cup. Know something? It's easy to imagine Carbo (when does this guy get his contract extension?) using that fact as a rallying cry for his team." - Red Fisher
Pulling Your Leg - Gazette
"Carey Price was the last player to face the media after practice Wednesday, but the rookie goaltender had a good excuse. "I was getting treatment on my broken leg," Price explained with a smile. "But it's okay, it's just a hairline (fracture)." - Pat Hickey
Get Your Hate On - The H Does Not Stand For Habs
"I'm not a Daniel Briere fan, and I didn't want Gainey to sign him in Montreal for outrageous sums of money. In fact, I was very worried that the offer was on the table and very relieved when he went to Philly instead. I think that worked out just fine for Montreal, which finished in a better position than the Flyers and still has that money in the bank as well. However, I hate that Briere said he chose Philly because he had a better chance of winning with them. Come on...there is such a thing as diplomacy." - J.T.
Universal Inspiration - The H Does Not Stand For Habs
"Remember when you were a kid, and you thought you could really influence whether the Habs won or not? If you wore your special sweater for every game without exception or wished on your birthday candles, the Habs would do well. And everything reminded you of them." - J.T.
Bring On The Broad Street Broads - Dennis Kane's Excellent Montreal Canadiens Blog
"Daniel Briere didn’t want the pressure that goes with being a Montreal Canadien, so he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers instead. This young French Canadian star would have been a huge hero in Quebec. He would have been a star in the kingdome of hockey, Montreal. If he had a great seven years or so with the Habs, he’d be treated as royalty there for the rest of his life." - Dennis Kane
Le CH prêt à jouer robuste - RDS
"La saison régulière ne veut plus rien dire, a rappelé Saku Koivu. Les équipes sont bien différentes en séries. Le niveau d'intensité est plus élevé. On l'a bien vu dans la série Washington-Philadelphie." Le capitaine est convaincu que les Flyers aborderont la série dans le même état d'esprit. "On connait tous leur style. Ils sont robustes et ils terminent leurs mises en échec. On sait très bien à quoi s'attendre. Mais on sera prêts", a-t-il promis."
Gros Défi Pour Les Flyers - RDS
"J'ai joué quelques fois contre les frères Kostitsyn et ils sont très habiles, a dit Carter. Ils contrôlent très bien la rondelle et ils savent quoi faire avec. Ils tournent, tournent et essaient de fabriquer des jeux. Nous devrons les suivre de près et leur enlever le plus d'espace possible. La série contre les Capitals a été un grand défi pour moi et ça va m'aider pour les prochaines séries."
Biron: "J'ai vraiment hâte!" - La Presse
"Hier soir, en revenant de Washington, des partisans nous attendaient à la gare. Ils fêtaient notre victoire comme j'allais fêter les retours des Nordiques à l'aéroport après les victoires contre le Canadien." - François Gagnon
Brière: "J'espère qu'ils me hueront" - La Presse
"Ça n'a rien à voir. J'ai croisé le Canadien alors que je me trouvais au milieu d'un gros creux de vague. Un creux de deux mois au cours duquel je jouais du mauvais hockey. Je suis le premier à l'admettre quand je ne joue pas bien. Cette période particulièrement difficile a coïncidé avec deux ou trois matchs contre Montréal." - François Gagnon
Brière: la vraie histoire - La Presse
"Que s'est-il passé pendant cette demi-heure où tout a basculé? Mon confrère Mathias Brunet a soutenu que c'était une ultime demande de Brière de jouer comme premier centre de l'équipe qui avait fait changer sa décision en faveur de Philadelphie. Affirmation qui a fait bondir Pierre Boivin à l'époque et provoqué une véritable tempête dans l'organisation et dans les médias." - Réjean Tremblay
"Plus dur que contre les Capitals" - Le Journal
"Ce ne sera pas facile, a concédé Brière. Par contre, nous sommes sur une lancée et en confiance. Quand on gagne un septième match (3 à 2, lundi) en prolongation, tout le monde est excité. On espère que cette poussée d'adrénaline va nous permettre de passer au travers de ce premier match." - François Foisy
"Le jeu sera encore plus rude": Komisarek - Le Journal
"Il sera important d'être bien positionnés en zone défensive pour contrer les efforts de leurs attaquants, a-t-il ajouté. Il faudra leur compliquer la tâche, tout en évitant de se retrouver au banc des pénalités. Il sera important aussi de s'assurer que Carey (Price) puisse bien voir bien les rondelles." - Pierre Durocher
Retrouvailles 19 ans plus tard - Le Journal
"Ça fait 19 ans que le Canadien et les Flyers ne se sont pas retrouvés dans les séries éliminatoires. En 1989, Guy Carbonneau avait aidé le Tricolore à battre les Flyers en six matchs. Le jeu avait été très rude et la série s'était terminée par une mêlée générale." - Pierre Durocher
More from Habs Inside Out, RDS, La Presse, and Le Journal.
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