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tomh009

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Everything posted by tomh009

  1. Finding space. Playing without the puck. Anticipating the next move. This is prototypical hockey IQ, and Gretzky was indeed the master at this. And the goals followed.
  2. Exactly. He's not the right fit for the fourth line, but that's where St-Louis has him. Another team might give him a middle-six opportunity and succeed in a reclamation project. Maybe.
  3. "Best ever" or "GOAT" are such difficult comparisons to make, in any sport, as the nature of sport--and the science that goes into training and preparation--has changed so much over the years. McDavid is likely the best player in this century, but is it realistic to compare him with Gretzky? Orr? Beliveau? Howe? Harvey? Richard? Shore? Morenz? Impossible, I think. Best player in the salary cap era, though? Definitely. 😊
  4. Not arguing that it wasn't the correct call. But he did get the puck in the net this time. Not much production indeed, but he also hasn't had linemates with much skill or much ice time, let alone a PP opportunity. I don't think he's really a good fit for a fourth line but that appears to be the only option on the Habs. He may end up not getting a qualifying offer; if that happens, he may end up being picked up by another team. Or back to Europe.
  5. Ylonen did score a goal against St Louis, but was denied because the refs judged that the Kovacevic fight had started before the puck entered the net.
  6. Greig may have rubbed it in. And then Rielly decided that the Leafs don't really need to be in the playoffs at all.
  7. I really enjoyed the final PK (I missed the first two periods). Armia maintaining puck possession in spite of four Ducks harassing him, and then Evans all alone in front of the goal. Too bad he couldn't tuck it in for a sixth goal on the evening.
  8. Dinosaurs are not completely extinct, though.
  9. And Gallagher on the fourth line. 😊 More seriously, this assumes that none of the other young(ish) players or prospects are really top-nine material: Evans, Ylonen, RHP, Gignac, Mesar, Farrell, Kidney, Beck. Or some of those might yet turn out be good enough to fill in on the top nine in case of injuries? (I don't see a top-line ceiling for those, but that's not really the gap, it's the top nine.)
  10. He's an interesting possibility. Whether the Sabres are really going to be trading him is the big question.
  11. Look at Dom L's atlantic division player stat cards on the Athletic, I am reminded why I don't like composite stats so much even if advanced stats can be informative in themselves. Habs players (and some ex-Habs) only, as we are all familiar with them: 19. Nick Suzuki +8 (projected rating) 22. Cole Caufield +7 35. Mike Matheson +5 73. David Savard +0 77. Kirby Dach -1 (80. Jeff Petry -1) 85. Rafael Harvey-Pinard -2 87. Arber Xhekaj -2 93. Justin Barron -2 (95. Sean Monahan -3) 97. Alex Newhook -3 100. Juraj Slafkovsky -3 106. Kaiden Guhle -3 107. Brendan Gallagher -4 112. Johnathan Kovacevic -4 113. Jake Evans -5 121. Jordan Harris -5 (123. Ben Chiarot -5) 132. Christian Dvorak -7 137. Josh Anderson -8 138. Tanner Pearson -8 139. Michael Pezzetta -8 Gallagher as good as Guhle? Riiiight. Harvey-Pinard better than Slafkovsky? And Xhekaj best of the young D? Meh, I'll just ignore these!
  12. The xG was actually pretty much even for the game; the Habs lost this on goaltending and some defensive mistakes. Four more goals allowed than expected, STL allowed about what was expectec, once Ylonen's late (incorrectly disallowed) goal is included. The injury curse persists. RHP yesterday, in a freak collision; Harris stumbles and is slammed into the boards; and ex-Hab Scandella slammed Guhle into the boards. Roy already in for RHP, Xhekaj will fill for Harris ... but if Guhle doesn't recover by next time, the Habs will need another D call-up. Anderson on the ice for four of the five even-strength goals against. How is he still getting 15 minutes of ice time?
  13. Some kind of wake-up, for sure. This is what Arpon Basu wrote in a recent article on The Athletic:
  14. A big guy who can hit and skate OK ... if that's all he is, is he really more than just Anderson 2.0? I have never seen him play, but surely we need something more than just size, hitting and OK skating.
  15. They would be able to easily move him in the summer if they retain 50%, I think. They are not using any of their retention slots at the moment.
  16. It was brutal, but absolutely not a dirty play by Lafreniere. Sergachev was skating hard to drive him into the boards, and he moved a bit away from the boards to avoid being bashed. And by that time it was too late for Sergachev to stop or change direction. In any case, the injury had little to do with the actual check, it was the way he fell down after it.
  17. The Athletic ranked the top NHL waiver claims since the start of the 2021 season. Montembeault ranked second (behind only Connor Ingram), and Kovacevic sixth. Three goalies in the eleven selections (Wedgewood was the third, at eighth) showing that goalies are hard to figure out even after they have played some NHL games.
  18. Better yet, Carolina is paying him almost $5M/year on a long-term contract for that role.
  19. Montembeault was great, but a very solid game by Xhekaj, too. And he wasn't the one taking two minors on the night, either.
  20. Ovechkin is clearly the all-time best scorer ever, as the announcers said. He can even hit an open net from a stick's length away!
  21. Xhekaj is significantly more than just a goon IMHO ...
  22. Hughes hasn't been willing to risk Allen up to now (by putting him on waivers) so I don't see him doing that now, either.
  23. Gallagher is suspended, so maybe they are counting Newhook, then?
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