Game Day, Hamilton VS. Providence

Sturm. Bergeron. Lucic. Kessel. Fernandez. Koivu. Tanguay. Higgins. Laraque. Price. All out for tonight's game. Well, if these two long time rivals were looking to end the debate on who has better depth, I guess tonight will go a long way towards answering that question. Make sure to pick up a roster on your way in, there's sure to be plenty of strange faces on both benches. As much as I've been looking forward to tonight's game, no matter what happens, it will be a bit of a let down. If the B's win, obviously I'll be thrilled. And if they lose, I'll be pissed. But really, neither result will prove anything. If the B's win, does it really declare their dominance? Probably not, although it would "prove" (for lack of a better word), that they are a deeper team. But if Montreal wins, does it mean they're "better"? Of course not. So in the grand scheme of things, this really is just another game. Which is very rarely the case when these teams hook up. With the makeshift line-up tonight, there will be added pressure on the Krejci/Wheeler/Ryder line. Not sure who will be riding with Savard, but I assume Axe and Kobasew are the likely candidates. That pretty much makes Boston a one line team. Savard does make everyone better, and Chucky crashing the net will be a huge help. I honestly expect the Krejci line to step up, especially Ryder. He's playing very well right now, and I'm sure he'd love to be the guy to bail out the B's against his old team. I'm calling for at least one goal from Ryder, possibly two. Krejci has at least two helpers on the night. And what the hell, Wheeler scores as well. As far as the extra curricular stuff goes, I'm not sure what to think. No Lucic, no Laraque (apparently). Doesn't leave a lot of candidates for much "hate". I suppose someone like a Kostopoulos could decide to give it a go....but he hasn't won a fight, well...ever. Then again, in a game where the overall skill level will be less because of so many top players being out, things could get ugly. If you have AHL'ers and third and fourth liners getting tons of ice time, I'd expect a pretty physical game. Not sure if the crashing and banging will lead to anything more, but it wouldn't surprise me. PREDICTIONS: When all is said and done, despite how well Montreal is playing, I still think Boston's depth will prevail. Especially in net. Thomas over Halak any day of the week. So, I'm going with Boston 4, Montreal 2. Ryder (2) Wheeler and Wideman are your goal scorers. Chara hits anything that moves and has a big game. Thornton goes with Max Lappierre and there is at least one other bout, probably involving kostopoulos and maybe a Byron Bitz (who Habs fans are already calling "Boston's new goon"....way to know nothing about the kid, morons). Go B's- Kynch