The Ottawa Senators may have come into the NHL Playoffs as the 7th seed, but they do so as fiery team in the league, and some even view the 2nd seed Montreal Canadiens as the underdog going into the first round matchup.

Two years ago, the Senators utterly dominated the Habs in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and they've won three straight against Montreal during this year's regular season. Some of the names on the back of the jerseys may be different, but there is no mistaking that despite his being only the second playoff meeting between the two, there is a real rivalry brewing.

Balance will continue to be key if the Sens are going to have a repeat of their 2013 series win as they are the only team in the league with five 20-goal scorers in Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Mika Zibanejad, and Erik Karlsson.

"Ottawa really has become a one line team and that could create a huge problem for them," TSN analyst Ray Ferraro said. He points out that Jean-Gabriel Pageau could prove to be the wildcard for the Senators, joking that his numbers against Montreal would put him in the Hall of Fame.

Another thing that could lead to a Senators series win is the head injury to top-scorer Max Pacioretty. "No Pacioretty is a game changer," opines Ferraro, "Montreal doesn't score easily and then you take away their top-scorer and non one could ever replace that."

But what the Habs do have that no one else in the league has is goalkeeper Carey Price. He stands as the favorite to nab the Hart Trophy along with the league MVP. "There's three guys in the league I'd put in the same class as Carey Price. Yes, I know it's astounding that Andrew [Hammond] is 20-1-2, but he's not Carey Price. That's just the way it is," Ferraro said.

This should be as exciting a first round matchup as it can get.

Game one of the series airs on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, be sure to watch it online via live stream here.