xXx..CK..xXx

I'll be interested to see if Carolina does anything more than we do at the deadline. Pittsburgh has picked up Bjugstad, although they had to give up on an underperforming Brassard in return. Columbus has acquired Dzingel and Duchene, and may not be finished wheeling and dealing. So far Montreal has added only 4th line and fringe players in Thompson and Weise. Carolina has remained fairly quiet so far as well. Although there are 4 teams in similar position I think the battle may turn out to be between Carolina and Montreal when it comes to making the playoffs. I think we can finish as the higher wildcard but one of Pittsburgh or Columbus will definitely make the playoffs. Perhaps both teams' (Carolina and Montreal) activity, or lackthereof in the next coming day or so will have a determining impact on their respective places in the final standings. I'm hoping yet not hopeful for a move.

The Mete penalty...

You know they're a good team on the other side. We gotta get pucks deep and play a full 60.

Of course there will be. And if not, there already has been some adjustments made with the acquisitions of Nate Thompson and Dale Weise. With that being said, I'm asking opinions on whether or not there will be any deals that significantly improve our team either in the short term or long term. In the short term, I'm thinking that something would have to be done to improve our chances this year. Someone like Cam Fowler in Anaheim, or Mark Stone or Wayne Simmonds would be additions that would at least change the dynamic of the team. There are certainly a few more options. Taking on bad contracts is another thing I've heard suggested. This could perhaps be something that helps us not only in the short term but as well as in the future if we can get someone young like Puljujarvi in return in addition to a bad contract, as an example. In the end, my opinion is that we won't see anything out of the ordinary completed within the next 72 hours. I'm always as a fan going to remain one of those who thinks 55% about "this season" and 45% about the future. Columbus has added a player of skill and I do think the Habs would have to complete something more in order to have a shot at playing a few rounds this spring. Teams don't explicitly have to make moves at the deadline in order to have a chance. Sometimes moves can actually have a negative impact on certain chemistry. It's just that the Habs have to. They are a wildcard playoff team, similar to Columbus and a key acquisition would only aid their chances. I'm simply not expecting it this year. Ironically, the last year I can remember believing we had a chance was a year Bergevin acquired Vanek at the deadline. Since then, we've mostly opted for depth moves and future aspirations and expectations have rightly so remained low. Let's see what happens.

I think with Kotkaniemi it can be looked at in a positive way in that he's had such a successful season even without being able to produce as efficiently on the road. Something to note is that whereas Jesperi Kotkaniemi has 11 goals on 48 shots in 33 games at home, he has 0 goals on 56 shots in 28 games on the road. He shoots more on the road than at home. The most notable difference is his shot percentage between home and away games. 22.9% at home versus 0% on the road. Shift lengths are pretty similar home and away with an average of 14 minutes per game either way. It seems it may just be a fluky thing. What's interesting is that Kotkaniemi seems to be an importantly integral part to the team's success. He's scored 10 goals in our wins (33 games) and doesn't have a single goal in any of our regulation losses (21 games). 1 of his goals came in one of our 7 overtime/shootout losses. Again, this doesn't seem to necessarily tie into the home versus away thing as the Habs have done fairly well on the road. One thing is for sure however, if KK can start to produce on the road, the Habs will have a much better chance of success in any given year.

After extensive research, I've come up with a list. Skaters Alex Galchenyuk Jesperi Kotkaniemi Claude Lemieux Sergio Momesso (1 game) Pete Palangio Stephane Richer (1 game) Mathieu Schneider (4 games) Mikhail Sergachev (4 games) Petr Svoboda Mario Tremblay Alfie Turcotte Goalies Olivier Michaud (1 period in relief of Garon)

With Kotkaniemi notching his 18th and 19th assist last night, he took hold of the record for most ever assists by an 18 year old Habs player in a given season. Previously held by Mario Tremblay in the mid 70s as well as Petr Svoboda in the mid 80s with 18 assists each. With Carolina and Montreal being in the playoff mix, and somewhat battling each other for a spot, it should be interesting to note whether or not Svechnikov (CAR) and Kotkaniemi (MTL) have any type of impact during their respective playoff birth runs. It seems as though Kotkaniemi is being trusted to help, especially in offensive situations.

September 30th, 2017 during a 9-2 win against Ottawa in the preseason.

Price has been playing well lately. The team needs to match his intensity.

Niemi plays well against his former teams. Wouldn't mind seeing him play against the Panthers. Our record is just a little better than the one listed. ?

Peca is at 47.1% and Chairs is at 50%. Danault takes a substantial amount of the team's draw and is at 53% as well.

If things progress from here, Agostino may be able to thank the Habs for giving him his first real sustained shot at the NHL level.

Weber jersey on.

I can't lie. I wouldn't want to be prophetic in this case, but these are the type of matches where not converting on our chances often comes back to give our bottoms a bite. Solid first period. Let's hope it's one of the more rare times that we continue to dominate after having missed a bunch of opportunities, including on the scoreboard.

We could use Sergachev's support on these amazing plays Drouin is creating.

Byfuglien would return after 15 missed games just in time to face the Habs.

Quietly pulling away in points from the consensus best forward available and 2nd overall pick in this past year's draft Andrei Svechnikov. Currently, Kotkaniemi has 26 points whereas Svechnikov has 22 points. Brady Tkachuk is stuck between them with 23 points, albeit in a few less games. While Elias Petterson is in a class of his own when it comes to rookies, if Kotkaniemi checks the statistics page as much as I hope he does, he may be inspired to have a solid "Finnish" to the end of this year and beat out all players from his draft class in points. First overall draft pick Rasmus Dahlin has 28 points, or 2 more than Kotkaniemi at this juncture in the season.

February 17th against the Florida Panthers

I enjoyed Super Bowl weekend, because the Habs played twice.

Jacques Lemaire Bill Durnan George Vezina Toe Blake

Both teams he has played for previously. In versus Pittsburgh next! Maybe he could end our 1999 losing streak in San Jose on March 7th.

The Blues had a penalty play.

Niemi > Howard

Price was also playing his native Vancouver team. He likes to play against them. Reminds me of Brodeur or to a lesser extent Luongo against us.

Nice to have Crawford in the HW fantasy league.