The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Just a lunatic penalty by Buffalo. Hopefully the Habs can cash in. Buffalo has been the better team this period IMHO

Suzuki, meanwhile, has gone from being a good player to a frigging amazing player. Just fantastic plays from him. That defensive play on the breakaway was just masterful. *chef's kiss*

CC looked completely confused on that PP. Yeeeeesh

Interesting how much chippier and more intense this game is than the lacklustre Washington contest. WiFi is wreaking havoc - classic game by him.

I agree with both of you. Just say: Josh, we need you to play that bulldozer game, just go out and wreak havoc, don't worry about offence. There is a future where he is an effective grinder in the bottom-6. Maybe that should become our new objective with him.

Some players do age out early, and I always said that when Anderson lost a step, it would be bad news, since his one play has been to drive the net by bullying past the D on the outside. But to lose that step at 29? Maybe. I tend to think it has more to do with MSL’s attempt to reconstruct his game, followed by a loss of confidence and, perhaps, general disenchantment on his part (?). But yeah. 4th line minutes makes sense. I dunno about sending him down - if memory serves, the cap savings would not be all that great, we still have a death of talent at FW, and, unlike Armia, he’s a widely respected veteran. Just doesn’t seem like the type of guy HuGo would do that to, especially if the root cause is MSL’s experimenting on him. 🤷‍♂️ How do you solve a problem like Josh Anderson? It beats me.

Canucks fans had previously regarded DeSmith as a steal -a quality backup G for a broken-down Pearson - but yikes. Dat’s gotta hoit. Interesting decision from Tocchet to leave him in there rather than compromise the plan to rest Demko. I like that, it shows an “eyes on the prize” focus that you can afford to engage in when you’ve locked down the playoffs and are looking to bigger things. Vancouver’s been .500 since the All Star Break and the big Lindholm trade. 🤷‍♂️ I wouldn’t panic if I were them, but it seems as though they need to buckle down, refocus, and recommit to Tocchet’s system.

I can see trying to become a bubble team next season - but the path toward that likely lies in a trade for a talented young FW, in return for some combinations of picks/young D/prospects. Not Crosby.

It’s a natural question, and MSL’s approach of bringing him into the coaches’ pre-scout meetings is absolutely brilliant. It exemplifies how he is different from the normal NHL coach (always concerned with maintaining their authority and position, more boss than mentor) - and how well-suited he is to the Gen Z culture. It also shows how willing he is to think outside the box. That being said, I fret a bit about the way Habs fans (and even those affiliated with the team) tend to act as though Dach is a proven key contributor. While he is, without question, structurally important to the rebuild, it remains an open question whether he can establish himself as a consistent top-6 C in the NHL. And also whether he can stay healthy. He has not definitively answered either question yet.

I almost hesitate to jinx it, but it looks more and more like HuGo really made the right call with pick #1. The 2nd line - either a UFA signing, or shenanigans around the draft involving picks/prospects to get back another Newhook type, or better. At the very least, we’re in a position where we have options, due to deft asset hoarding.

Yeah, even Toronto Night in Canada were singing his praises.

Bah. Slaf almost won it at the end there, but no dice. The players were pros, but this was a nothing game from two teams that know they’re playing out the string. I hear you.

Suzuki is the man. We got a goal on a phantom penalty, so it is 100% guaranteed the Caps will get a PP before long.

wow...Strome has about a half an hour alone with the puck in the slot. Allen made the save, but Lord amighty...

I guess everyone wants to see him hang around long enough to beat Gretzky's record. But if you ask me, there is something anticlimactic about the idea of this great player floating around as a shadow of himself just until he can do that. Gretzky had 90 points in his second last season and took his leave the minute he knew he could no longer produce at an elite level. Ovie's production this season brings to mind 99's final season: good by normal standards, but not up to the bar of his own greatness. Two highlights for this period so far...Wifi destroying that guy, and Newhook potting one. Some good chances, but IMHO not a lot of intensity or stakes out there; a lacklustre game in that sense. EDIT: the red on Allen's mask is not quite a match for the jersey and it bugs me. There, I said it.

Ovechkin has scored 6 games in a row. That gives him a grand total of 14 on the season. This ain't the Ovie of legend.

HNIC ding-a-lings debating whether kids today have enough "respect" for their elders 🙄 And oh yeah, Jack Hughes think he's a good player. News you need to know. That is two pretty wobbly defences going at it tonight, that's clear. On the first goal, the D left the Cap alone there, so I don't really blame Allen. Great cannon from Wifi. That's the thing about the kid, he has more tools in the box than just his fists. It's just wonderful to watch Slaf out there. He is playing with such confidence.

It sounds like he is better thought of as an Erik Johnson *type*, in terms of offensive output. Maybe Tanev or even Boumeester (minus the super elegant skating) are other comparables. That does reframe him a bit in my mind, since I was thinking he’d grow into a 40+ point type. This conception puts more pressure on Hutson, Mailloux, and perhaps Reinbacher to evolve into a bona-ride PP QB and offensive driver from the back end - and seems to me to push our window back a bit, potentially. After all, none of those three have played a single game in the bigs. (The other idea is that we end up with a blueline that has a bunch of quality D who can move the puck and eat minutes, but no traditional “#1 stud” defenceman. Not sure what the precedent is for winning the Cup with that model).

Y’know, I was looking at Guhle’s totals this season - something I haven’t done in a while - I was a bit surprised. 14 points in 50 games. That’s much lower than I would have thought, based on ‘eye test,’ and actually a slight drop in PPG compared to his rookie season. He’s 22. Still quite young, obviously. But - just to make conversation - is it possible that we’ve been overrating him? Most of us seem to think he is a potential top-pairing guy, but he’s on a 23-point pace in his second season and drawing, I assume, significant minutes. 🤔 Don’t come at me, I’m just asking.

I don’t blame KK for taking the money either. I’m happy to see him bomb out mostly because: first, ّI don’t want yet another former Habs prospect flourishing elsewhere while we’re left standing there with our collective dick in our hands; second, Carolina acted like a-holes for the offer sheet and subsequent taunting, so I am delighted it has blown up in their faces; and third, like I said before, KK never earned a thing (which bugs me, on principle). As for fit, I assume he’s an upgrade on some of the garbage we have in the bottom six, although it’s not, I admit, clear that he is better than our existing C options.

I'd welcome him back as a bottom-6 option. The problem is, KK is a kid who has always had things handed to him underserved: fat contract from Carolina, brought into the NHL at 19 without having earned it, etc. And I suspect this will continue...some team will give him a higher salary point than he deserves, based on "potential" and draft pedigree. And I assume that team won't be us.

27!! Damn, and I still think of him as a kid, LOL

I don't throw the word "genius" around lightly. Hardly anyone is. Maybe Bob Dylan, in his realm. Maybe Steven Hawking, in his. And so on. I truly believe Wayne Gretzky was a hockey genius. His mind just processed the game differently from anyone else, at a higher level no one else has ever attained. He did not have ANY of the attributes - speed, devastating shot, physical power - other great players have. He just had a hockey IQ that was off the chart. Genius is the only word for it.

Fair points. I guess we'll see, in the end - assuming he manages to land a tryout with a better team.

I agree that comparing players from different eras is futile. What I will say is that Mario Lemieux is the most talented player I have ever seen. He had everything. I don’t think he was a “greater player” than Gretzky, who was simply an offensive genius, or Orr, who transformed the game, but he was as complete a package as any player who has ever lived. To my mind, the real compliment to McDavid is that his talent is in the same category as those guys. If he wants to be remembered alongside them, though, he needs a Cup. Maybe unfair, but it’s a fact. Absolutely correct, but I’m talking about this season. Instead of being ecstatic that they have a team that can go all the way, a critical mass of Canucks fans are hesitant to buy in - sure that a disastrous injury or a first-round collapse lies in wait. It’s the exact opposite of what would happen in Toronto, where they would be anointing this The Greatest Team of All Time. In February.