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Posted at 12:00 PM EST.

7:05 PM EST. OT included. What we have learned from the first few days of the NHL season is nothing new. Hockey is the only sport of the major four that rewards teams that get outplayed so badly so often. We have seen a slew of teams already that have played so much better than their opponent and lose and it’s all because goaltending is the number one factor that determines the outcome of games.

As it turns out, the Penguins defeated the Capitals in their home opener on Thursday. 7-6 but Matt Murray was torched for six goals on 36 shots for a save percentage of .833. While one game means nothing, shaky goaltending from a player that missed a ton of time last year and was shaky many other times is a concern. Pittsburgh has not confirmed its starter today but its backup is Casey DeSmith so we’re not going to wait until a starter is announced to take back this price with the Canadiens. The Pens are still the Pens and they’re loaded but that’s a story for another time.

Carey Price had an off year last season, as he missed lots of time because of injuries and ended up playing in just 49 games. The entire organization was under scrutiny and it was most certainly a season that the Habs want to put in the rearview mirror completely forget about it. Price started the Canadiens opener in Toronto and looked something like his old self. He also looked a lot more confident than he did last season, as he made several key saves to frustrate the Leafs and that game was an important one to observe to see how Price looked and how the team looked as well.

Again, we’re not going to put emphasis on one game but Montreal clearly outplayed Toronto. What’s not a fluke is that the Habs were quick and very aggressive and when you have speed and goaltending, you can win in this league. Claude Julien had his team well-prepared and very ready to pull off the upset in Toronto and a similar effort here very likely does the trick providing Montreal gets better goaltending than Pittsburgh, this making this risk very much worth the reward.

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