xXx..CK..xXx

Patches may be a bigger loss than Stastny if he is indeed out but I think our team's depth takes theirs. I'm hopeful for a decent showing tonight.

Let's get Patches with the hat trick

Saw the offside as well

I have a good feeling about this one. I'm putting my intuition on the line here...

I actually get the impression that Beaulieu is not with Weber on the top pairing due to the impact it would have on the other pairings, rather than it being a result of the coach not being able to trust Beaulieu on the top pairing. What do we prefer: Beaulieu-Petry OR Emelin-Petry ? I definitely agree that it's obvious that Weber's partner should be Beaulieu; I had even intended to say so myself. But, that does not mean that doing so might not have a negative impact on our d corps as a whole.

I predict that the Avalanche care a lot less about this than you do. Emelin has layed out very similar hits in games since, many of which came in games that were already out of reach. I expect another win from the boys tonight, but I don't expect a shutout.

I completely agree. I used to get relatively excited at the opportunity we'd have to tie the game up with our goalie pulled but it feels like we literally never have any success with the extra man anymore. I don't know if defending teams relax a little bit more nowadays with goalies getting pulled earlier than they used to or if it's something else but if I were Therrien/Muller, I'd spend a lot of time working on the situation. Hopefully that would help.

It's a crap shoot for me when it comes to this but I'm actually going to predict he clears.

Just adding to the discussion At least I didn't post it in the Subban/Weber trade thread...

Thanks for getting me somewhat excited. I won't be at the game this weekend but I'll be attending the Skills Competition tomorrow.

I had the worst feeling near the end about Price not getting a shutout but couldn't believe it when it actually happened. That aside, it was a great game by the Habs.

I wouldn't cry if Pleks were dealt but I'd want another player who could help us in the playoffs this season. If after all the praise he's received throughout his career we only got a draft pick or marginal prospect back, I'd personally be disappointed. Regardless of value and contract, if we deal Plekanec away, we're one injury away from Therrien being forced to use Desharnais as a top 2 center. I'm even more done with that script than the one being written about Plekanec. I agree with with the general tone and sentiments in this thread but I do think Plekanec can still have a positive impact on this team. We've also become more talented up front, so Plekanec's deficiencies have been magnified and he also doesn't have to be a go to guy.

The powerplay looked really good today in my opinion.

My new favorite player

That's wonderful and all but the difference between Price and Weber is that people were complaining about Weber's individual game whereas Price has been, once again, "sub-Pricean" for some time now. He has an .881 save percentage over his past 5 games and one can talk about the team as much as they want but he has faced 18, 21, 13, 26 and 30 shots (including ot) respectively. This issue has nothing to do with the next 10 years as we all know he's going to be a great goalie for the rest of his career. I watch him closely due to him being my fantasy goalie though and he definitely has not been playing well. If one really looks at it, since our trip on the west coast, he's been outplayed by the other goalie more than half of the games we've played. I've come to the conclusion that every goalie wants to have their best performance when up against Price but Price needs to be, and will be, better himself.

I'm not trying to get into a debate here but I don't think there's any evidence that shows that Tampa is any quicker than some of the teams we've handled well this season. Pittsburgh was another team who we were supposed to struggle against and we had no issue with them. Not to mention we beat Tampa in our only other meeting with them so far this season. If it takes over 30 games to bring it up, I see it as a non issue for now. If I agree with anything, it's that Price has looked sub-Pricean. I joked about it during the Avalanche game that if he could not get a shutout there, I'm not sure when he will. I do feel as though we have had a relatively tough schedule as of late though and hopefully soon enough we'll be talking about how Prive has not let a goal past him in over 1XX+ minutes.

I agree with you guys and you both (illWill) make great points but one would think giving up a player like Tavares or Duchene would indeed leave a hole in their respective forward corps. Sergachev and a 1st rounder are both enticing pieces but our 1st round pick probably doesn't end up being high and Scherbak is the lone foward going the other way that these teams apparently give a crap about? I think they might prefer to receive a player they care about when shipping out a franchise player. I'm still not convinced I do the trade if I'm either the Avalanche or Islanders.

I don't see why any team out there would take Desharnais back in any package for an elite center. I think Desharnais in a trade would involve either draft picks or a defender coming back the other way. I don't think the Islanders do that trade with Desharnais involved. Substitute Desharnais for Plekanec and you may have a deal. I literally don't even think Colorado does the deal with Desharnais being the only forward involved but Sergachev and a 1st are certainly enticing pieces.

I think you guys are trying to over analyze what Machine was trying to say. Personally, I find myself to be one of the more overly optimistic posters on here but I still had a bad feeling about this game, in particular due to our depleted lineup. The Caps are supposed to be a team who feast on injured teams and failed to do so. The caps should be "embarassed" and our team should pat themselves on the back for a nice road game. Artem Anisimov is also on pace for 70 points prior to being injured and I'm not sure Danault would ever do the same even when playing with Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin. I agree that the game was an exciting one. You can really hear everyone skating against a team like that. Ever since the playoff series where Halak was literally a brick wall/stop sign in net, I've found them (Washington) to be one of the teams that make me the most nervous to watch the Habs play against.

Hope to do well today. It's one of those games where I don't have the greatest feeling but I hope my intuition is wrong. My main hope is that Price wants to shut the door after last night but even that is not enough sometimes.

Gaborik, Karlsson... Apparently most current players would pick Mackinnon as the fastest. Edit: There's a difference with or without the puck as well though because that's where skill comes into play. I could see Byron (maybe) being quicker than McDavid goal line to goal line but put a puck on their stick and include some east to west movement and McDavid would win hands down.

You seemed to have completely skimmed over the metal plate in his face part. Everyone knows about it, including his opponents. There's no shame in not wanting to fight as a result, and if you think Emelin is using it as an excuse to be able to lay out bone crushing checks without having to deal with any consequences, then that's just hypothetical. Ask any of his teammates if they mind risking having to drop the gloves as a result of his actions and I'm sure they'll tell you that they wouldn't want Emelin to change a thing Let Colorado be frustrated. Why can't we use them being frustrated to our advantage? We're talking about one more game in a season for crying out loud. Big deal either way. If Colorado wants to have a good performance against us next time, it will because we beat them 10-1, not because of Emelin's hit near the end of the game. One could argue that it's like pouring gasoline on a fire, but the fire was already there.

I did not realize we were 14-1-2 at home to be honest. I'd say McCarron will play more than 8 minutes but I'm not sure it will be as high as 15 on the 4th line. 12 mins would be my guess, give or take 1.

I agree. Saying that a shoulder to shoulder hit was the right play could be argued if it's certain that it was even possible for Emelin to do that himself in the moment. Emelin could have been off balance, have been anticipating something else, have a shoulder injury, or simply feel more comfortable hitting that way. Furthermore, if Emelin nails Colbourne with a shoulder check that lands him on his a$$, Iginla would have had the same reaction anyway. It's more the outcome of the hit than the fact it was a hip check in and of itself. Those same scuffles happen in 3-1 games as well. I can assure you that if Colorado is embarrassed about anything, it's the score of the game, not the hit. I don't expect any retribution for the hit at all come February, actually.

I think it's fair to make a statement based on observation though. Redmond has looked really good and the things that he looks good at such as his skating mobility, strong outlet passes and patience with the puck don't really go away with time. In my opinion, it's rather the opposite type of player who fades away as time progresses. I'm not trying to be irrational, but I like Pateryn quite a bit and would not want him back in over Redmond at this point. There's also a case to be made that it's about time Beaulieu is able to hold his own. I know it's something I've been defending for a few months now. Our defense is the least of my concerns unlike some others on here.