tomh009

He doesn't get much ice time, though. Looking at points/60 (five on five) for our forwards: Pezzetta 2.03 (0.25 goals) Newhook 1.78 (1.19) Ylonen 1.38 (0.59) Evans 1.36 (0.25) Suzuki 1.34 (0.48) Pearson 1.29 (0.65) ... Anderson 0.88 (0.55) Armia 0.83 (0.83) Yes, Suzuki faces much stronger opposition, but Ylonen's output is very credible when you relate it to the amount of ice time.

Did the high one that he tried to swat in count as a shot? That was Gallagher-worthy.

Only for 1:04--at least in the first. Likely not planned that way.

Slafkovsky is playing another strong game. Roy is not particularly noticeable, and I think that's good for a first game.

That was a solid start for the Habs. Now to see how the Oilers respond in the second ...

This year's team hasn't really had long winning--or losing--streaks. I'm expecting them to play a decent game, whether that is enough for a win remains to be seen.

And only four points behind second place, with 8-1-1 record in the last 10 games. They might even be able to avoid the play-in (4th vs 5th in the North division).

There will be fewer passes to Caufield if the opposing team is putting more coverage on him.

I think the combination of the shoulder and this explain a lot of the drop in shooting percentage, from 16.5% to 7.5%. Still, I do expect that percentage will improve somewhat in the remainder of the season. In the advanced stats, Caufield's on-ice xGF/ is actually improved (from 2.36 to 2.48), meaning that the Habs should be scoring as many goals as before, maybe just not by Caufield himself. But his on-ice xGA is down from 3.06 to 2.38, meaning that the opposition should be scoring far less often against them than last year. But, yes, that shooting percentage impacts the difference between xGF and actual goals in a big way ...

Right. He still looks good and has not disappointed—which is encouraging in itself—but he’s only playing at the AHL level so far. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating!

St-Louis does like to shuffle things up after practice, though!

I know you said that, I was just elucidating! 🙂

I don't think they will pay to move Armia, at least this year, as he still has value to the team (primarily PK), albeit less than his contract. And his contract is not so onerous as to significantly impact the Habs' cap space next year.

I doubt they would trade their young forwards and we wouldn't want their old ones. Greig might be a nice addition for the Habs but surely not on the trading block.

It looks like it'll be a short-term relationship only:

Danault in the summer of 2021 and then Lehkonen at the 2022 TDL. 😢

I agree ... and disagree. The same number of total points makes sense. Now, change it to be five points for a win, four for OT win and three for SO win. Two for SO loss or one for OT loss. Each step gets you closer to a tie, really (even if we don't have ties any more).

It's worth noting, though, that three points for a regulation win will change many teams' tactics late in regulation, particularly when a game is tied, so the results won't be quite identical. 😊

They were shockingly bad in OT, considering how well they have usually played three-on-three.

They're on track for 14 total for this game. Savard is the only Hab with more than one shot.

I do like the Habs' shooting percentage in this first period! 😮

I don't think Hughes likes giving players away with nothing in return ...

... and I think we are now down to 45 contracts, right?

It may be, but he's very much a long shot. He was 43rd of 47 prospects in the 2022-23 Habs prospect rankings. https://www.habsworld.net/2023/02/2022-23-habsworld-prospect-rankings-41-47/

Stephens is likely staying up for the full season now.