huzer

Columbus gets a bit of a boost with Monahan returning. He was PPG prior to his injury. Habs should get a boost with Guhle returning. It's going to be interesting to watch.

Looking at SOS, Wings and Isles are 1 and 3, in terms of hardest remaining schedule. Rangers and CBJ also in the top 10. The Bs and Sens both have weaker remaining schedules. The Habs also have 2 games remaining against the Sens, and sport a 2-0 record against them this season, outscoring them 9-3. Losing 8 of 9 before the 4 Nations break was really a killer, and is keeping my optimism in check for the remainder of this season.

To be moderately fair, from a different angle you can see the low ref is actually watching the play with the puck, and not in front of the net. He glances over when he notices Caufield down, but he wasn't watching when it occurred. He did see the second softer one, but that's something players get away with 99% of the time. Button kind of lost his marbles over it during the game.

Deadline is what I expected from the Habs. First time in a while that there hasn't been a trade of some sort, it seems, though.

Pretty awesome to see a 7th rounder push through and succeed. Glad Evans is resigned, and at a reasonable term. I know plenty of folks wanted to purge and go full youth, but the team needs vets to help get them through.

To me, this is what the game was about last night. A bunch of kids coming off the practice ice to watch OT. As beer league guys came in, they also filtered into the lobby to watch the game. Two Canadians in the mix (including the coach). He went nutso when McDavid scored. A couple of the kids in the picture (including my son) made it to the USA Hockey Nationals for 14u AA last year (they lost to the ultimate winner in the quarterfinals). With three Avs players on the team, it stung a little less for the local kids when Canada won.

This feels like Rocky IV, except now, the US is USSR and Canada is the US. The game broadcast should play Burning Heart before the game.

Funny, they commented on this during the ARCA Daytona race. The radio is actually from Andy Jankowiak at Daytona in 2024.

With 12 picks in the 2025 draft already, and 7 in the first three rounds, I don't see '25 draft capital being a priority. There isn't a burning need to add a handful of mid-round picks to the cupboard. I guess assets for something you'd lose for free is good, I don't have much for predictions, but I am curious to see how it plays out.

Don't look now, but Wright is quietly having a decent season, and has woken up after an abysmal Oct/Nov. 29pts in his last 36 games. Slaf didn't really produce a ton even during the Habs hot streak.

I'd expect similar to Erik Johnson last year, maybe a 4th rounder.

Ok. Sorry I ruffled your feathers. I didn't realize my initial post was that inflammatory. (and since tone can't be inferred in text, I don't mean it sarcastically.) When you said: That doesn't read as terribly flattering.

I mean, if that's what you're going to take away from my post, probably not the best word choice, but the implication was that Monty's glove just happened to be where Celebrini shot. That the shooter hit a presented target, and not that Monty read the play and positioned himself/glove accordingly. Again, I'm not saying he's next in line for the Vezina, but that was a great save, you can see him read the entire play and his reaction time was impressive. There are definitely other times when a supposed "big/huge/great/awesome save" is definitely just dumb luck, but to me, this isn't one of those times.

Wow, that's pretty harsh. It's not like Monty was there waiting for the shot. He made the initial save on the wide open back door pass. Then, he had to read the rebound, track the puck, follow Celebrini's toe drag, move his body to follow that, and get his glove in position. It definitely isn't what I'd call a stagnant save. Really, roles reversed, I'd say great save. For the 1st goal, he got fooled by the shot-pass in the slot, left his edges, and was swimming from that point on. (Xhekaj looked bad in that sequence, too.) Anyway, Monty is doing fine. Nobody is pretending he's in the Vezina conversation. We're so spoiled by having our franchise player be a goalie for so many years, that anyone that follows will have a difficult time living up to that standard. Monty ain't Price, or Helleybuyck, nor is he paid like them. And for those clamoring for Dobes to get more starts, it seems a 12 games (for Monty) to 7 games (for Dobes) is a pretty good split. Tonight's start will make it an even 60/40 split, which is what I would consider right on target. A few quick hits from last night. Oof, they were lucky to be playing the Sharks. I thought Beck looked solid and not out of place (huge step up from Pez and RHP). The speed of Newhook and Anderson together is interesting. It's gonna be a tough road without Guhle. Laine has a great shot, and that's literally it. It's almost comical that if he isn't somewhere in the left face-off circle waiting for a pass, he's pretty much useless. He's somehow an even more one-dimensional version of Souray. Team needs training on how to bury empty net goals. I wonder what the deal is with Toffoli? He's a good player, seems quite likable, and yet he gets traded out of everyplace. Celebrini looks like the real deal. Will Smith looked pretty good too. Sharks appear to be building a decent foundation. One thing I like about these west coast games (from a mountain time zone person) is my family is early to bed. I can pay a little more attention to games. I usually have the early games on more as background noise while heading to practice, making dinner, and all of the other normal household activities.

What an odd question. Ideally, nobody goes on LTIR. Ever. I wish for health for the players, so my brain can't even contemplate which player I hope is injured enough to be out for at least a season.