tomh009

Xhekaj for Zegras? OK, maybe… 😂

Not yet. But that said, the goaltender is part of the team, too.

Yeah, it's still the same team. Our young defence has been struggling recently, though, and the Bruins pounced on those defensive issues. Montembeault didn't have a great game but he was really hung out to dry. The sky has not fallen, but some work is clearly needed.

Ha! That's the headline for tonight's 10 Thoughts!

Another solid performance by Kaskisuo, though. An astute signing by Rocket, whoever it was (Habs' scouts?) that suggested him

I'm very, very happy we have St-Louis instead of Roy.

Four of the five goals tipped in ...

.943 in his first three games. Let's see if he can keep it up against Belleville.

I'd take Zegras if the price is reasonable. So we might have seven or eight top-six forwards? Injuries happen, so that would not be a bad thing.

Montembeault looks pretty good this season, his GSAx/60 is tenth-best in the league. And if we take our sad-sack PK out of the picture, he looks even stronger (no, he's not a Vezina candidate, at least not yet). Very happy that the Habs stuck with him and gave him the opportunity to improve his game. On the downside, it's not helping the Habs to get a better draft pick this summer.

Late first (and late second), though, not early. Nevertheless, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So, to me, the particularly encouraging thing is how well our young D have played in the NHL in spite of their young age and lack of experience. Not to mention Caufield and Slafkovsky ...

I took the point of PMK’s post more as a reminder that we tend to get excited about prospects but the reality is that many of them do not make it to NHL regulars, let alone impact players. Not so much about whether the picks were good or not.

I know, I'm with you on that decision. He was consistently a sub-.900 goalie in the AHL, and at 27 it made no sense to keep him any longer. But somehow he put his game together after that, and hasn't had an NHL or AHL season worse than .899 since then. No way I would have predicted that! (Should I add that goalies are voodoo?)

Is that Matheson or Guhle?

Well, ultimately Lindgren really did work out ... after the Habs gave up on him!

Inconsistent indeed, beating the Avs and losing to the Sens. Some of that is more likely than in the past decades given the level of parity, but, still ... So what is it, I was thinking. It wasn't two or three players having a bad night, it really seemed more like a team (lack of) effort. Back to back, yes, and that probably matters more for the top line than for others, with Suzuki et al playing 20 minutes on two consecutive nights. That line was down to the 25% range for xGF, which is pretty grim. Does St-Louis need to do some load management on this line? Armia-Monahan-Roy were around 70% (yes, weaker opposition) but they play significantly fewer minutes. Overall, though, as ugly as the score was, the Habs actually had chances. The xG for the game was 3.87 (Ottawa) to 2.62, not a blowout by any means. Shots were 37-23, so a simil;ar ratio. But a few unlucky bounces for the Habs, and not so stellar goaltending (.861, -1.39 GSAx) did not help, and we ended up at 6-2. And the night before ... xG was again for the opposition, with NJ expected to score 3.87 (identical to last night!) and the Habs 2.99--but on that night Montembeault saved all but two. So, goaltending definitely a factor. So, apart from the Habs maybe being tired and playing their third-string goalie, what else explains this? The Senators very much looked like they were psyched up for this game and raring to go, and the Habs were not. How much of this is this mental preparation? I have many questions, no real answers. Yes, we need consistency, but what is key to that? How can they become consistent? Is this a coaching issue more than anything?

After a hard-fought victory in New Jersey, the Habs head to Ottawa for a second game of a back-to-back. Will they take the Senators seriously enough or will it be a San Jose-style letdown? We'll be looking forward to the new 14 to pot a goal or two tonight. Habs' lines: Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsku RHP - Evans - Gallagher Roy - Monahan - Armia Pezzetta - Stephens - Ylonen Guhle - Matheson Struble - Savard Harris - Barron Primeau Allen

They might lose some of those games, they might win some in regulation and yet others might still go to OT. So, sure, the total points would likely be somewhat less, but it wouldn't be zero, either.

For the big jump to contender, they certainly need to add some talent up front. But I could see a smaller step to making the playoffs based on the talent currently in the organization and trades this TDL and summer.

I really like how Caufield is becoming more versatile: not just the one-timer from the circle, but back-checking, passing and playing Gallagher in front of the goal. That makes him much more difficult to play against.

Today's lines added to OP.

That does work! But the loss number does not include OTL. Very very very strange.

It appears that the PWHL is confused about whether to give two or three points for a regulation win.

Did you know that the Habs have only met Devils once in the playoffs (and it did not end well)? I had not realized that ... Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky RHP - Evans - Gallagher Roy - Monahan - Armia Pezzetta -Stephens - Ylonen Matheson - Guhle Struble - Savard Harris - Kovacevic Montembeault Primeau

While I would have preferred to keep Lehkonen, you also have to remember that we would not have Barron (or the 2024 second) had we done that.