tomh009

Five weeks and a bit still left ... as long as it's not serious, as you said.

Any wins (or loser points) for Anaheim, Arizona or Chicago would also be most welcome.

I'm anticipating plenty of scoring in this one.

5’9.75”! 😂

Ullmark and Gustavsson are not, for example. And Lankinen, Francouz and Georgiev were not drafted at all.

Why is 6’1 t he e magical minimum height for an NHL goalie? Why is it not 6’0, 6’2 or 6’3? I should think this should be a continuum, height is an asset but so are other skills. Add up all the aspects of the goalie prospect and choose the best, but don’t rule him out for one inch of (lacking) height.

The Athletic actually mentioned this in mid-December:

And many a team has regretted signing a goalie to an expensive long-term contract based on a single season. The good thing is that Montembeault is signed for another season yet before they need to make a decision on a new contract.

I should note that the hockey-reference.com model has a substantially lower GSAA for Montembeault (these are calculated based on models so there is no single absolute truth) but even there he is in the low 20s based on GSAA.

It's only 21 games but Montembeault has really upped his play this year. Between some specific aspects of his play and increased confidence, his GSAA/GSAE numbers this year are very much in the starting goalie territory. Whether he can maintain that level of play remains to be seen, but it's definitely encouraging.

As much as I think the situation stinks, I still want to see that bounce and have the Canucks pull well ahead of the Habs.

It's a risk as PLD will have only one year left under team control until he becomes a UFA. Unless they can do a sign and trade -- but as the Jets have not been able to sign him for the long term, they surely get less value for the trade.

He’s a respectable 20th in the league in terms of save percentage — but eighth in goals saved above expected, as the Habs give up more high-danger shots. As you said, it looks good right now, but let’s see whether he can sustain this for the rest of the season and into the next.

Total salary for the three: $2.95M Total acquisition cost: one 7th-round pick

Allowed two goals vs five expected. And that stat confirms the eye test. The most positive thing (for him) is that he was back with his “A” game just a few days after being shelled by Florida. Speaks well for his mental strength.

I have to say that after that first period I really didn't see them coming back to tie this. In the next period, yet.

Would they put him on LTIR to free up some cap space?

11 players -- that's half the roster. Admittedly Price and Byron have been on LTIR all season, but even excluding them, we have six (!) forwards injured.

7th and 10th by percentage; Panthers have played 2-3 more games than the three teams just behind them.

5-on-5 shots are 15-5 and high-danger chances 10-3. And, yeah, Panthers have another 10 high-danger chances on the power play, but it's not only the refs. (Too many men on the ice, twice, was unquestionable anyway. I don't know who's managing the shift changes (apparently not St-Louis) but that's a coaching issue.

This game is just a dumpster fire. Too many men on the ice twice within two minutes. Four PPG allowed. 33 shots on goal. Five goals allowed by Motembeault ... and yet that's still better than the 5.55 xGA. What a disaster.

FLA now has two injured goalies … I still remember Habs’ last season.

Arpon Basu reports that it’s a left-knee injury.

It may be the PIT will slip. But if they want to grab that spot, they'll also have to beat out NYI, BUF, PHI and DET, all of whom are just as much in the mix as the Panthers are. FLA won't be able to rely on one or two teams faltering to slip into the playoffs, they'll need to outplay five other teams.

He's still a prospect, not a complete player, and he still plays that way (I think). But the Habs' scouting team clearly saw high potential in him, one hopes that they are more skilled at identifying player potential than I am.