Gameday: Bruins @ Habs 7:30pm

Big game tonight habs fans, here are a few things to look for....

Look for Roman 'the hammer' Hamrlik to continue his strong play and log lots of ice time. He may not have the howitzer that Sheldon Souray used to wow us with on the power-play, but he does know how to play the defensive game properly. Hamrlik doesn't seem to get rattled, he makes good decisions and plays tough in our own zone. Hamrlik was a great addition to our blue line and look for him to continue his solid play as he continues to get more comfortable wearing the CH.

Bottom Line: We should be thanking our lucky stars that we went out and got a new #44. The old one is sidelined with a separated shoulder, not scoring goals, and sporting a -3 in the plus/minus category.

Look for Brian Smolinski to play an inspired game as he celebrates his 1000th career NHL game. I was certainly skeptical when I heard the habs had signed Smolinski in the offseason, thinking it was just a cover up for not being able to land a big name free agent. Truth is it might have been, but through the first bunch of games I am becoming more and more of a Smolinski fan. He seems to be a responsible veteran player that kills penalties, wins key face-offs, checks against top lines, and overall a good guy to have around our up and comming young players. Congrats to Brian for reaching this milestone in his career, it is no small feat.

Bottom Line: Smolinski was brought in to replace Radek Bonk, but he is certainly an upgrade from the slow skating Bonkers. Smolinski has been around the block and back, and is certainly the kind of guy the Habs need both in the locker room and on the ice.

Look for Latendresse and Begin to build on Saturday nights performance and continue to prove that they belong in the starting lineup. 'His Tendreness' and 'Stevie-B' both started this season playing like ****, though as I mentioned in my last post they both look like they've benefited greatly from being healthy scratches for one game early in the season. Let's keep a close eye on them and make sure they are working hard and hitting everything in sight because that's what we need them to do.

Bottom Line: These two guys have to give 100% every single game to effective. Let's hope they do.