Who Should We Be Cheering For? Pt. 2

Tonight's Habs/Sabres matchup will go a long way toward resolving this issue...

Canadiens

Matchup: The Bruins are a sort of doppelganger for the Habs, which always makes their matchups intriguing. Montreal will want to play an up-tempo game, and Boston will slow it down. The result will likely come down to which team plays with more focus.
Record vs. Bruins: Split a pair of shootouts, but are 0-3 in regulation games against Boston.
Notable Performances: It's mostly bad news. Carey Price (3.13 and .886) doesn't seem to play the Bruins with confidence, and neither do Kovalev (1-0-1, -4) or Komisarek (0-0-0, -2, broken face).
Recent play: Total meltdown in all facets of the organization, with only slight recovery this week.

Clutch players: Kovalev, Schneider, and Tanguay (Cup-winning goal) bring experience, but calling them "clutch" might be a stretch.
Coaching: Gainey hasn't shown that he can do more with this team than Carbo did.
Injury Situation: Lang and Bouillon are out. Don't be shocked if Kovalev comes up "hurt".

Playoff history: Lots. Montreal has won the past 3 series ('02, '04, '08) and has a 24-7 overall lead. 152 games in 31 series are both league records.
Tough barn: Extremely. The only upside is the likelihood that the crowd will turn against the home team.

Overall: B-minus. Negatives: This series reeks of "upset" and would undoubtedly take a physical toll on the Bruins if they were to make it past. Positives: Regardless of all else, the entire season would be declared a success if Boston ended the Habs' centennial by chasing them off the ice to a chorus of boos in the BellForum. This is a high-risk, high-reward matchup.

Rangers

Matchup: New York is the most talented of the potential opponents, and plays a conservative game not unlike Boston's. This would very likely be a long, low-scoring series.
Record vs. Bruins: Split 2 regulation games, Rangers won a shootout.
Notable performances: Um... Korpiskoski (0-2-2) is the only Ranger with more than 1 point vs. the Bruins, other than Antropov (1-1-2) who played mostly for the Leafs. Lundqvist put up a stirling 1.96, .934. And let's not forget Avery's shenanigans with the Stars...
Recent play: Warming up after a terrible February; the trade deadline was a turning point.

Clutch players: Drury is not a man you want to encounter in the playoffs. Lundqvist is waiting patiently for his diva moment.
Coaching: Tortorella has a way of motivating teams to overachieve.
Injuries: Nothing major.

Playoff history: For the past two years, the Rangers have pulled off a first-round upset. They are 3-6 in playoff series against Boston.
Tough barn: MSG itself isn't tough, but the media pressure around this series would be intense.

Overall: D-minus. Go through the checklist -- hot team, good goalie, good coach, lots of clutch veterans, intense media pressure on a matchup between a young, fragile #1 seed and a team that's pulled first-round upsets for two years running. I'll pass, thanks.