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Saturday, 09 October 2010 08:57

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Canadiens.

When and where: Consol Energy Center, 7 p.m.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, CBC, RDS.

Record: 0-1-0, 0 points.

Leading Scorers: Dustin Boyd and Jeff Halpern, one point (one goal).

Last Game: 3-2 road loss to the Maple Leafs, Thursday. Carey Price made 21 saves in the defeat.

Last Game against the Penguins: 5-2 road win, May 12. Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal had goals in the final game ever at the Civic Arena.

Canadiens Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Michael Cammalleri (right). It's hard to argue against him after he ripped the Penguins apart for seven goals in seven playoff games last season.

Ex-Penguins on the Canadiens: Hal Gill, D.

Ex-Canadiens on the Penguins: Arron Asham, RW; Andre Savard, professional scout.

Useless Canadiens Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Canadiens goaltender Carey Price's first career NHL win came in a 3-2 road victory against the Penguins, Oct. 10, 2007. He made 26 saves.

Best Canadiens Video We Could Find: The standing ovation for Maurice "Rocket" Richard before the final game at the Montreal Forum, March 11, 1996:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (0-1-0, 3.06 GAA .889 SV%) and Carey Price (0-1-0, 3.05 GAA .875 SV%)

Injuries: Centers Casey Pierro-Zabotel (finger), Jordan Staal (foot), right winger Arron Asham ("upper body") and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Canadiens, defenseman Roman Hamrlik (knee) is questioinable. Left winger Hunter Bishop ("upper body"), defenseman Andrei Markov (knee) and center Ryan Russell ("lower body") are on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings:

-The Penguins' lines and defensive pairings at practice yesterday were:

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Eric Tangradi - Mike Comrie -Evgeni Malkin
Tyler Kennedy - Mark Letestu - Matt Cooke
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams/Maxime Talbot - Eric Godard

Zbynek Michalek - Brooks Orpik
Kris Letang - Paul Martin
Ben Lovejoy/Deryk Engelland - Alex Goligoski

-The Canadiens' lines in practice yesterday were:

Michael Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn
Benoit Pouliot - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta
Lars Eller - Jeff Hapern - Maxim Lapierre
Travis Moen - Dustin Boyd - Tom Pyatt

-Their defensive pairings against Toronto were:

Hal Gill - Josh Gorges
Alexandre Picard - Ryan O'Byrne
Jaroslav Spacek - P.K. Subban

-"All summer I thought about it." - Malkin on losing ot the Canadiens in last season's playoffs.

-"It was kind of embarrassing because it wasn't even a competitive game." - Orpik on the last meeting between the two teams.

-The ice at Consol Energy Center still appears to be an issue (PG+).

-Mike Rupp is getting some time on both special teams units.

-Cammalleri called the visiting locker room at Consol Energy Center the best in the league.

-"I remember finding a cockroach in my sock this one time, but I never saw any rats." - Hal Gill (right) on his time at the Civic Arena.

-"The one thing I won't miss is the smell. I was afraid they were going to move it here." - Spacek on the move from the Civic Arena to Consol Energy Center.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photos: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Comments (3)

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written by Strohs58, October 09, 2010 - 12:09 PM

Really surprised the ice is an issue in the new Arena, you'd have thought they'd have made that the top priority, but I guess luxury was more important. Also looking at the pictures it doesn't look like the seats in the areas I'll be sitting look any bigger than the ones at the Civic Arena. At 6'2" and 230lbs it would have gone a long way towards my enjoyment of the game. Can anyone say for sure?

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written by Stella, October 09, 2010 - 12:32 PM

The seats are wider for sure and there is more leg room. My brother-in-law is about your size and he had no issue sitting in the seats.
These was an article in the paper the other day talking about the ice. Yes, they have new equipment/technology but it just comes down to the crew figuring out the right mix. That comes from experience which they will be getting more of now that the regular season has started. Keeping the ice in good condition in an empty arena is different than when 18,000+ people are in it.
GO PENS!

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written by Strohs58, October 09, 2010 - 12:41 PM

That's good news Stella. Thanks and good point about the ice.

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