Neech

The Habs look to continue their pointless streak but in a more dignified manner. Keep it within a goal or two boys. Savard and Richard return to the lineup, replacing Kovacevic and deadweight Armia. Elsewhere in the league, Arizona plays Florida in a big match for our draft positioning.

Sad I missed this game, looked like a classic! Won't be making the same mistake for the game on Wednesday against the Yanks. It's pretty disappointing we don't get to see the Russian team out there with Michkov showing how he stacks up against Bedard.

What are the odds for that?

I love the idea of Dubois at second line C going forward, provided he takes a bit of a hometown discount coming off a strong UFA year. If Dach is a top six winger and not a centre, we still won that trade big time.

Bedard was certainly noticeable out there with 11 shots. Canada was unlucky and sloppy but they should be able to bounce back if they get some decent goaltending.

He's not at peak value this season, at least let his numbers rebound before trading him. But no rush because he's one of our few good defensive forwards.

I have a feeling that we'll be looking for our replacements for Lekhonen and Danault as long as we've been looking for our replacement for Markov.

Evans is the rare player who excelled under Ducharme but less so under St-Louis. I'm still not ready to give up on him though, and he's signed at a reasonable number for a good fourth line centre. Hopefully he can do better next year with fewer passengers on his wing.

The Leafs lose a key player every season because they're cap-strapped, and they don't even have any egregiously bad contracts. In a few years if our prospects pan out, we'll be in the same position (and blaming Gallagher for it). Signing good players for bargains is a key component of building a contender - look at Tampa these last years, and what happened to Chicago when they had to pony up for Toews and Kane.

How much is Cole gonna fetch? If he keeps this up we'll be lucky with 8.5M

Drouin is the terminator sent back in time to help the tank.

Nothing like a Golden Cole one timer to warm the cockles of my heart.

Team Canada finalized their roster today, and unfortunately Beck and Kidney didn't make the cut while Roy returns. Most of us are hoping for Slaf to make an appearance, but even without him there should be 3-4 other teams with at least one Habs prospect. Watching Hutson would be a treat, while Kapanen, Mesar and Engstrom are set to feature as well. Hopefully we get some exciting hockey over the yuletide season!

I think Slaf is such a raw prospect that we can't expect too much out of him this year and the next, so we might as well give him as much experience as possible. That would mean sending him to the juniors and giving him an extended AHL stint. Maybe the coaching staff thinks this is a key teaching period for him and don't want him out of their control. I just think we have to look at him in the longterm, and that there are more benefits than downsides to letting him join the national team for a few weeks.

It would be so much fun to have Slaf at the World Juniors, I'd have a second team to cheer for along with Canada. Getting three Habs prospects on Team Canada would be great as well, but that might be a lot to ask.

Anderson was beastly this game. He's worth a top prospect to a Cup contender who miraculously has the cap space.

I love Suzy and he's certainly showing signs that he could be our best forward of my fandom. I thought this year was crucial for adding another elite talent up front in the draft, but those chances appear to be dwindling.

I was about to admonish Arby for fighting too much but Deslauriers didn't give him much of a choice there.

Don't mind giving Harris a break after all his gaffes last game. A three man platoon with Arby and Kovy makes sense. Hoping for another high scoring 0-point result!

Anecdotally, I have plenty of memories of us just never getting possession let alone near the net without the extra attacker. At least we're giving ourselves the best chance of scoring. I'd like to believe Marty's decision here is backed by analytics.

I disagree, the extra attacker helps win possession. Maybe not with over two minutes left, but in the final minute you need the extra attacker out there. Yep, Slaf is showing more and more. First career assist tonight, some slick passing and shooting, and strong battles along the boards.

Score four goals and lose in regulation, the perfect result!

We should wear the whites at home for 8 games if we want to switch things up.

Hopefully we lose every game in these ugly jerseys and never wear them again.

Future considerations is NHL speak for nothing. It's what we gave to Calgary for Monahan and a 1st.