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I think if we had a Markov type of QB in the defence, we would do fine with our centres. Petry is good, but he isn’t Markov. Weber is too old and slow. That’s why last summer, I thought our biggest need is a smart puck moving offensive dman, and I think that is still the biggest hole in the lineup. Unless we have a superstar, McDavid, Matthews, type of elite centre, of Kane type of winger, we can’t get by with our current dmen. We’ve got some good wingers and that’s why I wanted to move a Tatar or Danault if we had to, because we need that Hughes, Makar type of skill in the backend. Hell, a Theodore type would go along ways. Sergechev instead of Drouin would have looked really good right now.

Tatar - Danault - Anderson Toffoli - Suzuki - Armia Lehkonen - Kotkaniemi - Byron Staal - Perry Chiarot - Weber Edmundson - Petry Romanov - Merrill Gustafsson Allen Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk Mangiapane - Monahan - Ritchie Lucic - Backlund - Nordstrom Dube - Ryan Giordano - Tanev Hanifin - Andersson Valimaki - Stone Nesterov Markstrom

It's Laval's last game for more than a week as the Rocket finish off their three-game set in Belleville while looking to pull off the sweep. Blandisi - Poehling - Lucchini Harvey-Pinard - Weal - Ylonen Baddock - Hillis - Mysak Veilleux - Vejdemo - Belzile Schueneman - Brook Paquette-Bisson - Leskinen Amorosa - Olofsson Demchenko Crookshank - Peca - Kelly Hoelscher - Brown - Kopacka Reinhardt - Kastelic - Sokolov Labate - Beaudin - Cassels Aspirot - Williams Labrie - Thomson Fortunado - Dougherty Mandolese Puck drop is at 3 PM.

If you go back to the start of the season when we were averaging 4 goals a game it was our D that was generating the offense. They were moving the puck up ice finding the open guys playing really aggressive and creating turn overs. For some reason that all stopped and we hit this losing wall again that seems to come with this core group of players every year. Not sure what changed and not sure why they haven't gone back to that aggressiveness with the D. But it seems to me that this team's offense goes through the play of the D.

Perry played more than Anderson and will be interesting to see how Perry does in back to back if used that much again. I might go with Evans and stuff Staal in pressbox till injuries. Not that the difference in 4th line centre is that important, but I like the speed, hustle and bit more of a future with the Habs than Staal bit.

Ya got yer relentless and ya got yer lentless.

Damn it, Armia dumps the puck in to change vs carry puck into Flames end, and Staal was a second away from joining him and would have had a great scoring chance.

Hmmm, how about “the same number of skates on the ice?”

We aren't even strength at even strength.

I forgot about that stupid rule. I’d say we are fortunate to be tied. Allen is a beast.

Have the canadiens ad the puck for more than 5 seconds at a tie this period?

A second game in Belleville, a chance for the Rocket to cement their top record in the AHL. Lines are from last game. But Amorosa will be in the Rocket lineup, I have no idea where! Blandisi - Poehling - Teasdale Veilleux - Weal - Ylonen Pezzetta - Mysak - Harvey-Pinard Dauphin - Vejdemo - Belzile Schueneman - Brook Paquette-Bisson - Leskinen LeGuerrier - Olofsson McNiven LaBate - Peca - Sokolov Crookshank - Brown - Abramov Reinhardt - Kastelic - Kelly Douglas - Beaudin - Cassels Aspirot - Williams Goloubef - Dougherty Labrie - Thomson Gustavsson

Well, some (many) folks likely just pleased to hear he isnt playing.

I’m pulling for the Canucks - even though I don’t reside in BC and actually disliking the Canucks. I think no sports team AND the team’s families has gone through what they have this year. I would also add that our GM is notorious for his excuses of how hard it is to make a deal, how hard it is to get a centre, and fir pretty much folding the year Price went down by not even getting a viable backup and than used the loss of Price as an excuse. So I do think the criticism is warranted. Did anyone really think the Canucks could make the playoffs - no. I said about three weeks ago, that there is no way the habs should miss the playoffs given how bad the flames and Canucks have been. The only reason there is still even a mathematical chance for either of those teams, is because of how bad the habs have been for the majority of the first 5 or 6 games after the coaching change. As it stands, I think their record is still better under Julien - not because they were a better team under him, but because they just had their usual hot start and than flames out like most seasons. We were lucky for the play-on last year and for the creation of the North division this year. I think we can still take advantage of the current setup, but we need to get our shit together.

Growing up in Calgary, with a bunch of habs fans switching alliances, once the flames came to town, and being in high school for the cup finals vs the Flames, prevents me from ever cheering for the flames I did root for the Canucks (but than they were playing the hated Bruins), Oilers, and Sens when they made the finals. Could never get behind the flames or Leafs though. Not even sure if I would even cheer for them over Boston.

Yeah, I didn’t get the guarantee vibe from your original post and felt pretty much the same as you and I can’t stand the Canucks, almost as much as I hate the Bruins, leafs and flames.