Confession time.
When I cut, I bleed bleu, blanc et rouge, in both official languages.
The Montreal Canadiens are my team and have been THE team as far back as I can remember, and then some.
But my fabled eighth-seeded Habs won't get past the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup playoffs, at least not this year.
The Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals led the NHL with 318 goals and a +85 goal differential.
Needless to say, this team boasts way too much firepower with the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green.
And to top it all off, this squad has something to prove as they try to make amends for their baffling Game 7 collapse against the Pittsburgh Penguins last year.
Washington's one major weakness is in net. The Capitals are putting their bets on veteran goalie Jose Theodore - the same guy who was benched after one game in last year's playoffs and replaced by rookie Semyon Varlamov.
However, Theodore is an unrestricted free agent in July and he'll be playing for a contract next season almost as much as he will be vying for the Stanley Cup.
As for Montreal? The Habs are in the playoffs for an NHL-record 78th time but squeaked into the post-season in their last regular season game.
Once upon a time, that would be akin to a front-page scandal in Montreal but mediocrity seems to be the norm these days and making it in by the slimmest of margins has become acceptable.
The Canadiens have a few things to overcome.
Goaltender Jaroslav Halak was superb down the stretch but he has only three career playoff games under his belt. If he falters, Carey Price will be in on relief.
But more pressing is the lack of goal production. Several of Montreal's top players have gone south at the wrong time of the year: Michael Cammalleri hasn't scored in 12 games, while Andrei Kostitsyn has three goals in the last 21 games, and Scott Gomez has no goals in his last 14 games.
As far as predictions go, this series will be over in five games, and not in favor of the team closest to my heart.
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