xXx..CK..xXx

The only thing is that say Sergachev were to become a top 3 in Tampa, that may have been good enough to be a top pairing guy in Montreal. We really have to see how it plays out because there's nothing to really back up those claims. I personally think both will become alll stars in this league. No one, including myself is complaining about the return but one of the grievances I have is that Sergachev plays a position where we have a void and we traded him for a player who we hope fills another positional void. I think that's the reason that a lot will depend on what position he ends up playing for us. One could argue Sergachev wouldn't have been able to play top pair this season but if I use my own crystal ball, I see him being there skill wise by next season at the latest. The only reason you won't see it in Tampa is because Hedman has years of elite left as well. The habs don't have a Hedman. If Drouin does pan out at center, no complaints here.

I agree. I've had McCaron on pretty much all of my starting lineup proposals but Mitchell would probably make my lineup as of right now.... and Mitchell was my whipping boy last year so I don't really feel like that's a good thing. His speed is an asset though. I also have liked what I've seen from Audette. He look like someone who has taken showing something unexpected in camp to heart. I don't know much about him but he has offensive potential.

I have my apprehensions about Drouin being a bonafide #1 center but only time will tell. He quite simply might have to be. There are ample teams in the league where he would be a winger right now though. I'm 100% willing to be wrong but I always post what my gut tells me and in this case that's what it is saying. Considering people are saying we lose the trade if Drouin becomes a #1 wing and Sergachev pans out to his potential, one has to take the risk factor into consideration when assessing the trade. Droning is a C or W and Sergachev is definitely a D. Of course, on a team with Hedman, it's hard to envision Sergachev actually becoming a #1 defenseman any time soon either.

I guess it's true that they don't seem to care as Drouin has been terrible at the dot throughout his career and yet the coaches still want to play him at center. I didn't know that was the case until this minute. I only noticed with my own eyes how weak he looked on the draw. So everything you mentioned about Drouin and what would make him an effective center man are still question marks? That's reassuring. Furthermore, if winning battles down low is just as important and similar as a faceoff, then I don't see why he would be any better in that area than he is on the draw. I'm excited to have Drouin and wish him the best but while everything else is still a question mark, apparently him being weak on the draw is a known fact and doesn't matter. To me it does and if he were 55% on the draw it would be a lot easier to comprehend why anyone views him as a center rather than just throwing someone into the fire. Malkin is a great player but if the Pens need a face off win, they'll go with Crosby. This is further exemplified by the fact that Malkin plays wing the rare times he plays on the same line with Crosby. We may have some good defensive zone face off men, but when we need an offensive zone face off win, I won't be holding my breath for a Drouin win. If it's so wrong to criticize that, then fine. If we had other elite centermen on he team as the Pens do, only then would it become a non issue.

The difference is that Scheifele had decent personal stats however his team as a whole suffered and didn't make the playoffs. Face offs are just as important for the team as they are for the individual. Malkin is on a team with Crosby whereas we are starving for a proficient first line center. Our situation is different in that we have claimed that Drouin is, for some reason, the answer to a hole that has needed to be filled for quite some time. If you yourself are concerned that his defensive play may be something to worry about, then one would hope he is at least competent at face offs which is one of the other main differences between a winger and a centerman. I'd personally rather hope that Drouin improves in the area, or hope that last game was an outlier, than state that it doesn't matter if centers are good at face offs or not. What makes him a center man then, if he's spent most of his time as a winger? Just because we need him to be?

They're both good players and will be for years to come. My main disappointment comes from the fact that we traded Sergachev without really using him in our system. It is what it is but it would have been nice to be a fan of his for awhile.

Such a weird argument. 1-0 New Jersey right now and their goal came right off a draw. Meanwhile I have the Devils commentators commenting on how important it is to win a draw on the PP/PK. Who are we going to want out there to take the draw on the PP? Our first line center. Doesn't matter that Julien has apparently said (I'm hearing this live) that one of our main issues last season on the power play was losing the draw and that he feels that that's an important thing that needs to be changed this year. Why not excel at every aspect of the game? You can Corsi this and Fenwick that but face off wins do lead to scoring chances or lack thereof.

I agree and I'm still hopeful that Drouin will pan out at center. I keep relating him to Crosby and he's found a way to be a career 52% despite his size and so hopefully Drouin can keep working on it and keep getting better. Hopefully the refs haven't treated Crosby any differently over the years when it comes to allowing him to cheat, etc.

That's very well put but when you have an individual who plays center, they are placed into more puck battling situations than your conventional player and so it seems only logical that someone who plays center should be good at battling for the puck off of a face off. While it's true that 51% vs 49% won't make much of a difference in a short sample when a player is your #1 center, they should be the player you have confidence throwing out there to win that controlled puck battle, especially when it is in the offensive zone. There's nothing worse than having 5.4 seconds left on the clock with an offensive zone draw, or 10 seconds left on a 5 on 3 with an offensive zone draw, or the list could go on, and having that feeling that your team is at the disadvantage when it come to winning the draw. After some time a pattern develops and it can become almost predicatable. If I had the choice, that's not who I want my first line center to be because he's going to be out there in the key situations. As much as I said all puck battles are relevant, who cares if McCaron wins a puck battle and then flip it out into the other team's glove because of the lack of skill he has to do anything with it. If Drouin were to be good at face offs, it would be a huge benefit to our team because he and his line mates have skill to be dangerous with possession and they won't have to play as much defense simply because they didn't lose the draw. The best defense is offense and you can't score without the puck.

It's not a right perspective. These are controlled 1 on 1 battles unlike other ones. I guess the NHL is completely oblivious when they try to increase offense by changing rules related to where faceoffs are, who puts their stick down first, etc. You'll not change your perspective on this but faceoff wins lead to possession. Any smart team will use a faceoff win to their advantage. If you win the face off and then dump the puck in, sure the faceoff meant nothing. If you win a face off in the offensive zone on a powerplay, it makes a difference when compared to losing the faceoff and having the other team send the puck down the ice. If you win the face off in 3 on 3 overtime and play keep away from the opposing team, the faceoff mattered. Dozens of puck battles don't neceseccarily happen every shift. Teams like Anaheim who thrive on cycling and winning puck battles want to play that way but smaller teams who rely on puck movement, speed and posssession shouldn't play that way. And so what, those other 1 on 1 puck battles along the boards are also critical and players who are soft on the puck often get criticized for it as well.

Good point. Scheifele is 6"3 and it obviously didn't help him at the dot. Who knows how his size helps the rest of his game as a center though. I want Drouin to thrive. I've repeated that I've seen him outplay Crosby in specific games. At the same time, people need to temper their expectations. He's maxed out at 53 points so far and all of a sudden we expect him to be a PPG player. Even Scheifele had points in the 60s before he reached 80. It's 100% possible but the expectations need to be temperered. I live in Southern California now so I'm not around it as much but all I had to see was Mario Tremblay's expectations prior to game 1 and the only reason he thought we would be a better team this year was "Jonathan Drouin". Nothing else mattered when it came to assessing why we were an improved team. It's true that he's capable of being more elite than anything we've had up front in a long time but it's the manner in which it was said. Finally, no one gave a damn about Scheifele's face off percentage nor his 82 points because the Jets didn't make the playoffs. I emphasized Drouin's completely hypothetical issues coming to fruition when the going gets tough. By that, I was imagining the playoffs.

I don't know what it is about Galchenyuk that makes me see him as a capable center. It's not because I want him to be for any stubborn reason and it's also to the extent that I think he can be a good center. He does turnover the puck too much I admit but the center of the ice gives him a little more room to be shifty. Correct me if I'm wrong but I see Galchenyuk as a decent East-West player and the middle of the ice would allow him to go left or right 1 on 1 against the D. On the other hand, people have often criticized his shifty play and have accused him of being selfish for not finding his teammates so the exact thing I'm mentioning could be used as an argument against him. It depends what you're looking for. Coincidentally, Drouin did not impress me at the face off dot. I was surprised to see he was 46%, which may indicate some expectation bias. I want him to thrive in the position and it's just one game. There's no doubt in my mind he'll get better. It's just my personal opinion that I can already see how winning face offs may be difficult for him against some larger players once the going gets tough.

I predicted 4-2 for wrong team. I have a bad habit of either being right on the mark or having the exact opposite happen. For instance, predicting a PP goal and then getting scored on short handed. Mete looked good. Hudon will be on the team. He does have a tough time standing on his feet but he had a great second period. I think some fans will eventually turn on him like they did Desharnais. It might take years, but it's going to happen. The main difference is that he is more of a scorer so that bodes well for him. Scherbak didn't look great. I don't agree Davidson is better than Streit but my opinion probably won't change no matter what happens. I already like Hemsky. I predict that he's going to be very good for us but even if he remains healthy, he's going to slow down, down the stretch. Plekanec is going to be better this year. He's ommitted from everyone's comments when it comes to talking about how our offense can improve but in reality, it's not a hard thing to predict that he'll be better than last season considering what his stats were last year. Jerabek was alright but I don't think he should be a top pair defenseman. It would be hard to convince me that he would be more deserving of the spot than Beaulieu and Beaulieu didn't deserve it either. As for the face offs, I think it's something that any talk show on TV would be laughing at and criticizing: "look at this ridiculous sport hockey and their face offs" and everyone would agree. But when I think about it, it could be accurate in the sense that the refs are demonstrating that this is exactly the point. It's not a rule that's creating a dumb issue, it's a rule that's being enforced because people have not been following it. It's more to make the players aware and perhaps part of the reasons that there will be less penalties and players getting kicked out in important moments is because the players have used this time to adjust and have therefore been conditioned.

Looks like we're going to need a shutout the rest of the way.

Looks like it should end 4-2 Montreal What has my free time come to when I start predicting preseason games?

John Tavares scored 2 goals in his first game going half speed. I think it's more likely that even the veterans are adjusting to new systems, rather than purposely dogging it. I agree that young players are trying to prove themselves and should be giving the most effort they can when compared to someone who is guaranteed a spot. Don does make a good point though that Galchenyuk finished the season in Julien's doghouse. He ended on the 4th line and preseason or not, he has a little something to prove as well. My opinion on that has nothing to do with yesterday's game. It's just a fact of where he stands in general.

My one real wildcard up front this season is Hemsky. I have him on the 3rd line and have argued that anyone who has him in their top 6 is likely going to be disappointed but if he could manage to play in the top 6 and be productive in the role, that would go a long way in making our offense a little more dangerous. On the other hand, if he is slotted in the top 6 but isn't producing like a top 6 player then it just goes to show we have holes in the lineup. Streit on the right side is interesting to say the least. Even though it's preseason, it could mean a variety of things. I'm more interested in watching this lineup than yesterday's.

There's nothing to be drawn here, I agree and I was actually mostly joking. Paul Byron looked slow as well which says something of its own. This isn't meant as an attack, nor am I really trying to make a point. I'm Galchenyuk's biggest defender if I hadn't made that clear in other posts. I've also said that I don't think he costs us defensively when it matters and I stand by it. All I know is that I played hockey my whole life and for me, pre season or not, it was difficult for me to ever play a game at half speed. I could understand floating throughout almost the entire game since he's a professional NHL veteran but truthfully, the ONE time you would see me hustle even if the game was meaningless would be to backcheck if I coughed the puck up as the last man back or if it created an odd man rush back. It only takes 5 seconds out of the game to do that. That type of thing is created in the head and not by any physical disability from time off. It really doesn't matter at all, I agree, but it's also not something that should be defended. Galchenyuk had a bad game, period. It wasn't because of that moment. I still think he's going to have an awesome year as long as he's not strangled by the staff.

It wasn't pretty. I was wondering, what happens if Galchenyuk is worse defensively as a winger than as a center? Where does he belong then? And don't say the press box!

I'm on your side here but it's being said because the game is in Quebec City. Is that a good enough justification for thinking about that? To me, probably not as it should not be a priority. I just feel like half the people who read your comment won't think about that. That's not a justification whatsoever but it does change things a little bit only if the reader didn't know that at all. Point is, if the game was in Florida and he said that there would be a difference. Just as as much as it shouldn't be a thought, since we don't see any Bergerons or Marchands in the Boston lineup, he's likely doing it for the kids and the comment really depends on context. Julien may just being a nice guy here and I say that despite him being on a leash with me after the Galchenyuk treatment last season.

I purchased NHL 18 today, won my first and only game against the Leafs and am now optimistic about the season. I'm always interested in how the lineups are configured in the game even though they are sure to be off the mark. Pacioretty-Drouin-Gallagher Galchenyuk-Danault-Hemsky Byron-Plekanec-Shaw Lehkonen-Martinsen-Mitchell Alzner-Weber Benn-Petry Davidson-Schlemko Price ...is how they have it setup. Lehkonen is always the one placed further down the lineup because his rating isn't very high. Although it's not the lineup I'd use myself, the only thing I switched was replacing Davidson with a scratched Streit. Hudon, McCaron, DeLarose were all MIA as possibilities at this early juncture in the year.

What I don't fully understand is why it's up to Bergevin to decide these things. If you have a player like Pacioretty, you know he's a left wing. If you have a player like Getzlaf/Toews, you know they are centermen. Players like Drouin and Galchenyuk have played both positions throughout their careers and so it's not as clear cut a situation. I'll be the first to admit that the main reason I was willing to include Galchenyuk in a deal that sent a bonafide center back our way was simply because the narrative seemed to be changing from "Galchenyuk could be a versatile player who could play a variety of positions" to "this Galchenyuk position thing is becoming a distraction". Some have pointed out that they are happy with Bergevin putting it to rest and to an extent I can understand that perspective. What I would much rather, however, is hear Julien be the one with such a firm stance. He seems to have a similar opinion but has also still left the door open by stating that it's the coach's job to have options and if that involves playing Galchenyuk at center in the future, so be it. I'm all over the place on the topic because I would request that Bergevin and Julien communicate when it comes to their vision of where players fit in the lineup. That makes it a lot easier for Bergevin to assess what holes need to be filled throughout the lineup. On the other hand, there's nothing worse than someone breathing down your neck and telling you how to do your job. I'm saying it now that when injuries come up or even if they don't we might end up seeing Galchenyuk at center again this season. It is a lot more difficult to do that however, when your GM and boss has made such a firm claim that he doesn't belong there. I watch every game and while I'm not going to argue that Galchenyuk is the best defensive center in the league or even close to it, I don't think he absolutely destroys our team with his defensive play. Furthermore, as CC wrongly () theorized, Bergevin has constructed a team with solid defensive minded players and so if any team could cover for Galchenyuk, it would be us. Finally, I watched a half hour show on NHL Chanel and the topic went from Bergevin's comments about Galchenyuk to what Nico Herschier and Philly's new center prospect, Nolan Patrick, would have to do to excel with their respective teams at center at such a young age after Bergevin's comments about Galchenyuk. What does it take to be an effective center, was the question. Mike Rupp, who I don't exactly agree with on everything ignored the Galchenyuk topic but immediately claimed that Devil's prospect Hischier and Philly's prospect were in different boats. He said that the Devil's struggle with scoring and so if he was Hischier coach he would simply say "go play offense, kid". Philly on the other hand has a player like Giroux and so their young prospect may need to play a better 200 foot game in order to show his worth to the team. The Habs have not had a Giroux and have had trouble scoring and so I personally feel as though (in the past) Galchenyuk should have been given a longer leash. We're not a team that struggles defensively in general and so it seems to be the wrong way of treating an offensively gifted kid. I agree and to me it's actually the main reason that I would feel comfortable with having acquired another top 6 center. If Plekanec can return to form, which is such a massive if, then a team with Drouin, Plekanec and Danault up the middle is probably not the worst depth wise at center in the league, truth be told. I see Toews, Gezlaf, Thornton, Malkin, Kopitar and so many others out there though and wish we had a center like that on this team. Even Johanssen has some size. On the other hand, I've seen Drouin outplay Crosby in the past in some individual matchups. Crosby also doesn't have size on his side but is still the best all-round player in the league.

Honestly, I think Trizzak and Stogey are the closest to being on the mark. It's hard to imagine Drouin playing second line center and we don't have a first line center caliber player with high end skill outside of either him or Galchenyuk. So the combination of the two factors mean he should slot into the role unless the organization changes its perspective on Galchenyuk or we acquire a(nother) first line center in which case he might move to right wing. I don't exactly know what the line of thinking is but at this point in time we have to consider the reality that the thought from the organization based on the way things have played out is that he is the 1st line center we've been waiting for. What I'm not sure about is why Drouin and his -13 last season would be considered sound defensively when we've apparently seen enough of Galchenyuk to know he's not a center in this league. Team stat aside, is Drouin really good defensively? I love Galchenyuk and Drouin from what I've seen but it just seems like we're placing someone into a role he's no better qualified for simply because he's a new face. The fact this is even a thread points to that possibility. I wish him the best, and regardless, I think he does have to stick it out there if Galchenyuk is not the guy.

Looks like all the preseason games will be on RDS outside of September 23rd against Ottawa which will be on RDS 2.

Lehkonen on right wing and Galchenyuk on left wing seems interesting based on what we've heard. Carr also lower on he depth chart than Hudson and Martinsen based on these very early lineups so that probably doesn't bode well for his chances. I had the same thoughts about Taormina but Brian will tell you himself that he won't be making the NHL squad. If you want to have a chance at making this team on defense, it seems the best bet is to lower your jersey number.