[Can Montreal Pass Boston for 3rd?]

Two comments. First, Montreal will finish sixth. It's pretty set at this point. The other teams in front have a fair edge and, save for Pittsburgh, far healthier teams. The team behind Montreal are in a dogfight for the final two spots and, save for a major meltdown, are of no concern.

Second, should the Devils storm to a playoff position and face Philly in the first round, I predict Philly goes down. The matchup does not favour the Flyers at all, in my opinion.

I agree with both statements,

If the Devils make it in they will be ridding such a wave it will take them to at leased the conference final, I dunno if they will have enough in the tank, they have been playing playoff hockey for a while now and could run outta steam.

[Can Montreal Pass Boston for 3rd?]

TSN is clueless. This isn't 1986, the 7 and 8 seed wins with regularity in the salary cap world.

Therefore it isn't a miracle for any low seed to win.

We were barely in the playoffs last year, made it on the last day. This year we are a sure bet with ten games left and the lowest we really can get is 6th unless we self destruct. It is completely different circumstances then last year!

05-06 Edmonton was 8th seed and made the final, Last year Philly was 7th and made the final, 03-04 Calgary were in 6th (i know before lockout but still)

Since the lockout its a 40% chance one of the teams in the final is from the bottom two seeds! Silly TSN.

Lots of low seeded teams have made it to the finals in resent years!

[Can Montreal Pass Boston for 3rd?]

I think people really overrate the value of the standings to determine who will or "should" win a game. Upsets happen every night in the NHL.

Like Montreal Philly perhaps

[Nothing To Do With Anything]

Found it :

http://forums.habswo...ndpost&p=252489

I realised how idiot I was when I thought about searching for the word "moderator". So easy...

That was hilarious hahahahahha

[Can Montreal Pass Boston for 3rd?]

With a healthy roster, Montreal has a contending team. With 4 useful d-men and a top six forward (and a grinder) injured, I don't think their depth matches that of the Bruins at any position.

If they go head to head in the playoffs, I'll like Montreal's odds, partly because they usually do well against Boston. But on paper, I've gotta give it to Boston. Their moves at the deadline make them deeper than us.

I agree that it feels like Montreal is on the verge of moving up a spot or two though.

When you say Montreal's as good as any team in the East, do you include Philly?

Philly hasnt exactly been playing like they have been hyped up to be in the last little while, 7-0 loss to rangers, and it is true that they have won the last to matches against us but we did shut them out 3-0.

I do not think that Montreal is as far behind Philly as people keep implying.

Now Pronger is out for 3-4 weeks with a broken hand.

[Can Montreal Pass Boston for 3rd?]

I disagree completely with that second statement. I don't see any massive difference between our teams... they do have Chara, which is a huge advantage, but our team has excellent depth and proven results. Our puck possession at even strength is near the top of the league, right up there with Detroit, and we boast great special teams. In tie games, we control the play more often than not.

We've had a key player underperform in his offensive stats this year in Gomez in such a way that can only be explained by bad luck, and he's starting to produce now. We've had a lot of injuries but our system has proven incredibly resiliant.

We're as good as any team in the Eastern Conference. It's about time we started believing that fact. Our biggest issue is our inability to draw penalties to allow a great powerplay the chance to pad our leads a bit more. When penalties get called less in general in the playoffs, I think this disadvantage will even out for us, but I could be wrong.

In spite of all that has happened, we have rookies producing and veterans leading. We have strong goaltending and excellent team defense. We have all the elements of a winning team, and the results to back it up.

I agree that Montreal is a top caliber team, especially if AK, Gomez and Eller keep it up. We have proven that Boston is not a problem only losing one game in regulation to them this year. I also think that Montreal will be fired up to beat them in that game and pass them in the standings as some kinda revenge thing for Pac.

[Do you find yourself not caring?]

I believe that the product in the league is excellent and therefore trumps the mishaps and the horrid leadership by ex-NBA Bettman and others at the top. I still love watching every game that I can see on my two lovely channels and online and will go well out of my way searching for news on our team.

I love the habs, I love the men on this team, the way we play and where we are going. I want to see what happens next.

Therefore, I have no problem becoming emotionally attached to this team that has to face adversity from every direction and still win!

The NHL will never be run affectively until they get a hockey guy on top. Someone who knows the fans and the players as people not just numbers or merchandise. Until that day, I will always be here for my habs.

[Can Montreal Pass Boston for 3rd?]

Hello, I personally believe it is completely possible, but given Boston's somewhat easier schedule is it possible that we could see our habs in the top three seeds?