Canajun

where the heck do we fit Jagr in now??

there was no need for P.K. to go for a monster hit in 4-on-4 overtime... just a dumb decision.

I like our team this year... quite a lot. Good balance, good skill, good speed.. from top to bottom. The last tweak I'd like to see is on the 4th line : Armstrong brings nothing - no toughness, little skill, pas de fierte, manque de chien, rien. I'd like to see Gabriel Dumont in that spot. Dumont would bring more tenacity and offensive upside... someone for Eller to make plays to. Then our lineup would be cemented.

I tend to agree with you CC, I also am becoming disillusioned and sickened by all the senseless violence and injuries. It's hockey - not @%$#@^* ROLLER DERBY.

you got a point Bar

Regardless of Eller, still wish we would've kept Moore - he was damn good and really solidified the team. I would have found room for him somewhere on the 3rd line - maybe move Eller over to wing.

I dunno Niko... did you see that commercial of all the speechless reactions of Stanley Cup winning players over the years? Seemed to me like Teemu Selanne was showing some emotion and passion there....

Despite the goal by Bergeron, I'd like to see him in the press box. SO, SO many turnovers and bonehead plays tonight. Please get him out of there. I have no idea what JM has against poor O'Byrne, only playing him 2 minutes tonight - so he made a mistake with the clearing shot over the glass, big deal... why does Bergeron get so many free passes.

I agree, I'd rather face the Bruins...the Flyers are way too dirty and goony. Plus looking at their rosters, it seems the Bruins have a few more exploitable holes in their lineup. Yet, they have an excellent goalie in Rask. Still, I'd prefer the Bruins.

;-)

Speed is such a big part of Gill's game... how do you think this injury will affect him if he plays tonight?

Go Habs Go! Best 2 of 3, we can absolutely beat these guys. They have an unbalanced team - 3 excellent centres, virtually no wingers (Kunitz is decent).

I can't stand that little puke. Please no.

...and "Zed" doesn't play for anybody now.

I was just going to say exactly what you said Chris. I thought Trotter looked very dangerous against Pittsburgh - the kid has talent. Then his line doesn't get a sniff against the Bruins and he gets sent back down. I don't understand what Martin and management are thinking sending him down and bringing up Pyatt. Makes me scratch my head.

I don't care how many goals Latendresse is currently scoring now, anyone with eyeballs can see that Pouliot is the all-around better and more talented player by quite a margin. In the long run, we win this deal.

Yep, I think so too. A bit of an elitist attitude.

Someone mentioned something about Price's behaviour, and they may just be on to something. A couple of times tonight after Washington goals, Price sort of threw up his hands and shrugged as if to say "what the f***?? Not my fault!!", after his teammates partially screened or accidentally tipped some shots. They may not be the most skilled bunch of defencemen in the world, but they're trying and they aren't doing those things on purpose to make Price's job harder. They can't be too thrilled with Price constantly demeaning them like that (...he always does these gestures - at least one per game, I've seen). It's possible the reason that not many goals are scored while Price is in nets could simply be that Price's teammates don't really like him that much and don't play with much enthusiasm in front of him. I've never seen Halak making such gestures to his defence corps. Just an observation... I could be way off.

Gorges is great offensively??

Well, assuming we do make a trade (Halak, etc) to get this other top-6 forward... where do we put him? Who gets bumped off the top 2 lines? I frankly don't see any room for another top-6 guy... I want Pouliot to stay on the 2nd line - I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. I would think we need one more quality defenseman - a top 4 guy. That means someone the likes of Mara/Gorges/Gill/O'Byrne would have to go. Not sure if O'Byrne can be sent back to Hamilton without being subject to waivers, but that would be my first choice. Gill is very good on the PK, we might want to hang on to him as a "specialist" (like we've done with MAB). Mara hasn't impressed me, but dare we unload a free agent that we just signed? Does that send a positive message to future free agents we want to sign? (same applies with Gill). That leaves Gorges - I like the guy and he plays his heart out, but he's just a little short on talent and size. Maybe he's the expendable one...

I was thinking about creating just such a thread Gman, you read my mind. Lately I've been thinking about what the forward lines would be once everybody is healthy... I'd like to see: Cammalleri - Pleks - AKost Gionta - Gomez - Pouliot Pacioretty - Metro - Moen SKost - Lapierre - D'Agostini That's 4 solid lines with the 3rd and 4th also being able to chip in fairly well offensively. I like that lineup a lot. Pyatt and White can be sent back down, as can Chipchura (or traded, in his case). Laraque can be the healthy scratch and inserted whenever we play a goony team. An interesting option would be to slide Bergeron in somewhere on the 3rd or 4th line at times, if there's no room for him when all our D become healthy. We need to keep that big power play shot in the lineup somewhere - despite his defensive shortcomings.

A possibility could be dressing 7 defencemen when Markov returns... using Gill (penalty kill) and Bergeron (power play) as special teams d-men with some extra additional minutes.

After the Habs, they were always my next-favourite team (back in the old days).

Love that old Minnesota North Stars logo Seb. Nice one.

Getting Metropolit back in the lineup was quite important. He is a much better player than I thought he was... quite a good stickhandler. Hopefully he stays on the 3rd line to provide some playmaking... Lapierre is not really a playmaker.