tomh009

Kotka is not so difficult ... his name basically means "eagles' cape" so "eagle" would work. And we already have Niemi for the second part.

Faceoffs need to improve. But I'm optimistic that we this is not a major issue.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I still remember watching Tremblay and Lambert rush up the ice, with Tremblay tossing the puck across to Lambert, who tapped it in past Gilbert. Not the most beautiful of goals, but it was speed and hard work that won that game and series for us. Not so much different from how Lehkonen and Domi scored the winning goal the other night, really. We are not there yet in terms of talent, to win the cup, but this team plays like the Canadiens should play,

Agreed. That said, it was about time we got an outstanding trade!

I continue to be pleased by Domi's play. Not a pretty goal by any stretch, but a great team effort to get to the puck -- and eventually get it into the net. Through 10 games he's ahead of MaxPac's pace in his best years (yes, it's only 10 games) and Lehkonen is racking up points faster than he ever has. And we still have Suzuki coming up.

Yes. But neither Plante nor Roy had the benefit of shootout victories. And in Plante's day, regular season was only 70 games long, and the playoffs only two rounds. So while it's an awesome milestone for Price, it's not 100% comparable.

A strong finish to the second period—Bruins getting tired already? I like our chances much better after the final 5-10 minutes.

But ... but ... we have a two-goal lead again. Which team will show up for the second?

Drouin has three goals and three assists in the last five games. Maybe there is hope for him yet. But five games is too short a time to make that conclusion.

Definitely good for ice time. Maybe not so good for morale. Which one is more important at this point ... I don't know.

I agree that he's probably not going to the world juniors. That said, I do think it might be good for him.

The world juniors might be good for him. Going back to Finland less clearly good for his development: big ice surface, and his Finnish team (Assat) is struggling badly, mired in last place in the Liiga.

PHR? $36/year is not so bad, if the content is good. I saw the trial, but wanted some feedback before entering my credit card info there!

How many people are subscribing to The Athletic? Is their Habs content good enough to make the subscription worthwhile? The Gazette's stories really aren't that great any more, in my opinion. Too many live blogs and not much in-depth content.

This will be NHL game #10 for Kotkaniemi, so we can officially look forward to him staying with the club for the full season.

First period more even, but third was an unmitigated disaster. Yes, Domi scored but getting outshot 15-4 in a period is not going to win us a lot of games.

First period was more even -- the Habs held the edge at times, the Sabres at others.

But knowing that the opposing forward will likely do that, pushing or cross-checking them in the direction of the goalie is just a dumb thing to do.

We're still in the game, but being outshot 38-20 ...

That's it. A penalty kill, yes, but it's still a self-inflicted goal.

Good eye to spot the loose puck next to the net, and great control to quickly wrap around and tuck it in. And that was made possible by Kotkaniemi's hustle to get to the puck behind the net.

Ouch. Not much support for Niemi on that one.

Shots 13:9 for Buffalo after the first, but I was pretty happy with the team's play: I don't think the shot totals reflect the scoring chances. And Domi and Lehkonen combined for another goal to give us the 1-0 advantage. Niemi made some solid saves. A good start, and at least it's not the dreaded two-goal lead.

Doing a member search, he hasn't posted since 26 September, but apparently he was reading the site just two hours ago. So maybe he's doing well, just like the Habs ...

Other than being stressed about the team's record so far!