Storylines to follow in mouthwatering Original Six matchups on Wednesday
We have not one but two Original Six rivalries to feast on tonight.
Yes, while there are only two games on the NHL slate tonight, they are two great ones with the Boston Bruins taking on the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens doing battle in a compelling North Division showdown.
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It promises to be a blockbuster night of hockey in the National Hockey League, and it starts with the Bruins going up against the Rangers. The B’s have won three straight and have staged comebacks in the third period in all three games, sitting atop the stacked and ultra-competitive East Division with a 8-1-2 record. Meanwhile, the Blueshirts are 4-5-2 on the year and are bottom of the East, so tonight will be a big opportunity to try to make up some ground in a division that is wide open.
Then we have the small matter of the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre (7:30 p.m. ET) in what is a tantalizing battle between the top two teams in the North Division. The Maple Leafs are the best team in the NHL right now with a stellar 10-2-1 record, spearheaded by the elite play of Auston Matthews who leads the entire league in goals with 11.
However, the Canadiens have also been pretty damn good and are 8-2-2 on the year, combining strength, speed and size and a boatload of roster depth to put them second in the North Division, and tonight could well prove to be a real measuring stick when it comes to the ultimate battle for this division. So, without further ado, let’s delve into some storylines to keep an eye on across two very compelling games tonight…
Storylines to follow in mouthwatering Original Six matchups
Can the Rangers stop the Bruins?
So the New York Rangers will be going with Alexandar Georgiev tonight who hasn’t played since being beat 5-4 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in Overtime on Jan. 30, after which he got in an altercation with defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who is now in exile.
Georgiev has struggled so far this season having allowed 12 goals in three starts with a 4.50 Goals Against Average and a .854 Save Percentage, although he has kept one shutout against the New York Islanders this year. However, Georgiev will be up against it tonight given that he will be going up against a loaded Boston Bruins offense who boast enough firepower to sink a small fleet of battleships.
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand both have 15 points on the year, while David Pastrnak has been outstanding in his return from hip surgery, putting up eight points (5 G, 3 A) in four games including a hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers. That top line alone can sink teams at will and Georgiev and the Rangers will need to play a solid game in their own zone if they are to win the first meeting of the year against the B’s.
Don’t sleep on the Rangers, though, given that Artemi Panarin has picked up from where he left off last year with 15 points (5 G, 10 A) in 11 games, while it should be only a matter of time until the likes of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere hit their stride and start to contribute some big time offense for a team that needs a real spark right now, but this one should be a real fascinating battle between the top and the bottom team in an ultra-competitive East Division.
Auston Matthews’ hot streak
Auston Matthews has been playing at a whole different level this year and his brilliance has been a big factor behind the Toronto Maple Leafs’ red-hot start to the 2020-21 season. The uber-talented star leads the entire NHL in goals with 11, he’s scored in his last eight consecutive outings and he also has a league-leading five game-winning goals to his name.
Matthews has also elevated his defensive play to a whole new level, winning 53.5 percent of his draws, racking up 19 hits and 11 blocked shots and he’s hitting hard on the forecheck, playing down low and helping his defense to retrieve the puck, picking off passes and stripping pucks while he has also added a new layer of consistency to his game.
Basically, Matthews has been playing at the peak of his powers right now and 58 goals in his last 82 games should tell you all you need to know when it comes to just how dominant and lethal he has been. So, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the center were to make it nine straight games with a goal tonight.
However, the Montreal Canadiens have also been one of the best teams in the NHL this year, and a lot of their success is down to a defense that is ranked 7th in Goals Against Per Game (2.50). They’ve been getting solid goaltending from Carey Price and particularly Jake Allen, while they boast one of the most formidable and powerful top four defensive pairings in the entire National Hockey League.
Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson are one of the best shutdown pairs out there, not to mention incredibly physical, while Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry have developed good chemistry and the latter is attracting early Norris Trophy buzz with 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in 12 games, so Auston Matthews may well have his work cut out for him tonight when it comes to lighting the lamp with the same ease as he has done over this recent stretch of dominance.
Hockey at its best
There is nothing quite like Original Six hockey, and the fact that we get two Original Six matchups in one night is pretty special, especially given that this will be the first of two meetings between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs this week. That should only add more spice to what is going to be a fierce battle between the top two teams in the North Division, with every single one of the 10 contests between the two oldest rivals in hockey crucial when it comes to seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Toronto is on a three-game win streak and is looking to remain the best team in the National Hockey League, while Auston Matthews will hope to extend his scoring streak to nine straight games as he continues his red hot start to the 2020-21 season.
The Canadiens, on the other hand, have been the second best team in the North Division and boasting good goaltending, plenty of firepower, some young talent and plenty of depth up and down the lineup, should mean that they will push the Maple Leafs for the North Division crown all the way to the bitter end.
It should also be a compelling matchup between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers, with the B’s on a three-game winning streak and 8-1-2 on the year and sitting atop the East Division. With forward Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk back in the lineup tonight, that will give Boston even more depth and they will be relying on the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak to get the job done at Madison Square Garden.
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It hasn’t been a great start to the season for the Rangers who are 4-5-2 on the year, and some key players in the ilk of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and rookie phenom Alexis Lafreniere have yet to get hot, while they’ve also suffered from some inconsistent play between the pipes. However, having gone 15-for-15 on the penalty kill in their last four games, there is some hope that things are turning around for the New York Rangers and getting a win over their Original Six rival could be the spark they need to turn this around and start to make up some ground in what is an incredibly open East Division. Let the games begin!