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Who is reffing this game? It's not McEough, is it?

Who's the ref?

Can't actually see the game, just wondering!

Sounds like Emery is standing on his head.

Is Plekanec in the lineup tonight? Hope so... haven't heard his name so far.

Patrick Eaves was the Sens' first rounder in 03. Out of Boston College. Lots of speed. Crap, Higgins just got a penalty.

I think the Sharks are in decent shape. Remember, this is a team that finished with 104 points in 03-04 and made the Western Conference finals. They return their top 5 scorers, their goalies and every D man except for Rathje. Best of all, it's the youngest team in the NHL, so just about everyone can reasonably be expected to improve. I don't think they're going to win the Stanley Cup... but I doubt they'll finish last in the West either. I say they finish somewhere from 4th to 8th in the West.

Only 21 players have scored at least 50 points in the past 5 NHL years. Iginla and Langkow are 2 of them (Amonte is a third, but I agree with you that he is in decline). This is a pretty good indication that Langkow is a good player to begin with. AND... playing with Iginla is worth at least 20 points. Look at Craig Conroy: he went from being a third liner in St. Louis to seasons of 75 and 59 points in Calgary. No offense to Conroy (who is a nice player), but Langkow is at least twice as good an offensive player. I'm not sure how the Flames will end up, but I'm fairly sure that Langkow will have a big year if he plays on the top line with Iginla.

I agree with almost everything you say... except I think Langkow was a fantastic signing. He's put up 50+ points a year for the last five years, usually playing on crummy teams. He's never played with a winger as good as Iginla; Iginla hasn't played with a centerman as good as Langkow. I expect 80+ points from Langkow.

Nabokov has been atrocious so far this year. Haven't seen any of their games, so I'm not sure if it's him or a dodgy D.

Must be based on reg. season point totals from last year, but that doesn't explain why Perezoghin is #2 at RW, does it? Vandermeer over Kostitsyn? At this point, Vandermeer only gets a game if Ivanans breaks his leg.

St. Louis is in BIG trouble. They're the worst team in the league, as well as the 4th oldest. It will take them 4-5 years to reshape that team. I think le :hlogo: is in good shape, no?

I fail to see how this helps that team at all. Remind me again - why did the Flames trade Lydman?

Is anybody really surprised? Oh, I'd like to point out that Healy's beloved Leafs have won just as many playoff series in the past two years as the Habs have. I'd say more, but I figure that having to watch a team where Antropov and Ponikarovsky are 1st liners is punishment enough for Cherry, Healy etc.

Perez-koivu-kovalev zednik-higgins-ryder bulis-bonk-sundstrom plek-ribeiro-begin and make up time with ribeiro centering the 2nd PP unit. You know, that's not such a bad idea. Zednik-Higgins-Ryder would be a very productive line, IMO. How about Zednik-Begin-Plekanec? I think Begin has more offensive ability than he has shown so far (or has had the oportunity to show), remember he put up a lot of points in the AHL playoffs a few years back (he was Calder Cup MVP, no?). Perez. should get a chance to play on the top line for a while. I've always maintained that he was going to be a 30-40 goal scorer, I just didn't think it would be this year! Ribeiro needs to have a good defensive player on his line, whether it's Higgins or Plekanec. Habs 5, Sens 2. My prediction. :hlogo: