Game #24 - at Montreal Canadiens

2011-12 Game 24

Pittsburgh Penguins (13-6-4, 30 points) at Montreal Canadiens (10-10-3, 23 points)

Raphael is struggling a bit in his rookie season.  He's a team-worst -6 on the season.

Why does it matter?

A trip to Montreal is always special, especially if the Pens win and shut up all of those fans that live and die with every rush.

Yes, it is Sid's first road game / road trip.  I don't think that matters one bit.  He's back to playing hockey, and while playing at home is nice, playing on the road is something he's used to.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - An offensive outburst in the first led to a 6-3 win over the Sens yesterday.
• Canadiens - Their power play let them down and led to a 3-1 loss to the Flyers yesterday.

Questions to be answered

• Can the Pens solve Carey Price in Montreal?  The Habs' goalie has allowed just one goal in his last three home games.
• Can the Pens score on the power play?  The PK for the Habs has allowed just one goal in the month of November (and that was back on November 5th).
• Is this a Brent Johnson game?  I think given the caliber of the competition in net, if there was ever a game to start Fleury on both ends of a back-to-back, this might be it.  Having said that, I'd be surprised if we saw Flower.

Keys to the game

• Keep them bottled up.  The Habs have had trouble scoring, especially on the power play.  Let's keep it that way.
• Get traffic in front of the goalie, and crash the net.  When someone is playing as well as Price is at home, you need to make an extra effort.
• Stop the Penguin Killers.  Cammalleri and Gionta both seem to play well against the Pens.