tomh009

Trading a 24 yo forward signed at $2.4M instead of a 32 yo defenceman signed at $5.5M when you are rebuilding around youth ... if we buy into the statement that our top players are too old and will decline before we are ready to contend, then we should be considering trading Petry and Tatar, not Lehkonen and Armia.

“I enjoyed it,” said an upbeat Brook. “Not thinking, just playing. That’s what the coaches wanted me to do. I think it was a good thing for me, I really enjoyed it. They just wanted me to relax and have fun.” As for the concerns about his development, Brook was quick to dispel any criticism, crediting Bouchard’s actions with the change in his attitude, much like Jake Evans did earlier in the season. “I think it helped me. Sitting out a couple of games, then coming in, skating and having fun, enjoying the game, that was the goal. I don’t think it hurt. I think it helped my development if anything.”

Rocket continues to hang onto a playoff spot in spite of the revolving door for the lineup.

It sounds like the Habs have given TR some kind of assurances that they are on board with the ECHL project. But at the same time, UQTR is interested in using the project but their men's team only plays 14 home games per year. Both groups are due to present their business plans on the 7th. Let's hope for some good results here.

Armia is back! That’s a significant upgrade for the second line.

Puljujarvi may be a credible NHL player yet, but given that he has not set the Liiga on fire this year, I do wonder whether he has the potential for a first-line role. And given that, I agree that the Habs would be unlikely to pursue him.

I didn't see the game (vacation ...) but from the shot totals it looks like we were overwhelmed again in the third (shots 32-16 for us through second. 15-5 for the Flames in the third) but fortunately we were the ones to score the only goal. Or are the shot totals totally misleading here?

You're stuck with them now!

All true. But why are they playing so badly specifically in the third recently?

The third period is pretty grim once again.

Advanced stats don’t score any points. However, they can help explain why a team is winning or losing.

53 points in 37 games? I think we’re beyond salvation now. Let’s hope Bergevin can sell some (older) assets at the deadline, and then let’s enjoy the draft.

We were always a bubble team, to start with. After a decent start, we got some injuries combined with dodgy goaltending and went into a tailspin. And we still have not stabilized the team. The injuries are not the only factor, to be sure, but they definitely contributed.

You're right. Both Drouin and Byron were injured in the game against the Caps on 15 Nov, and the losing streak started right after that. (Chris said "The had an 8 game losing streak earlier in the year with no injuries")

In my post a bit earlier ... I wondered whether the injury replacements are impacting the team's ability to play the system.

Both Drouin and Byron were injured in the game against the Caps on 15 Nov, the second game of the losing streak.

I do have to assume that the injuries (and all the injury replacements, from Kovalchuk down to the AHL journeymen) do impact the team's ability to play with Julien's system. The newer players have no experience with it, so the system falls apart. And we give the opposition glorious scoring opportunities, which they are more than pleased to take advantage of.

The Corsi percentage is clear ... 1st period: 74% 2nd period: 54% 3rd period: 43% And, on top of that, they were able to finish their opportunities better than the Habs were.

If you're going to tank, might as well tank thoroughly.

True ... but the second one was off a skate, was it not?

Yeah, it's an unlucky deflection. But we can't blame the other two goals on bad luck.

To reduce glare? Or something else?

So many goalie masks are super busy and full of tiny details. This one has impact.

It would have been nice if Price had stopped that one.

Danault is not helping the lottery odds!