Peter Puck

Congratulations on hitting 100. Thanks for the article. I loved the Kovalev quote at the end. My impression of him as a team player has been going up and up. The more quotes I hear from him the better I like him.

The only way we could end up playing New Jersey is in the eastern final. I expect they will be there. I hope we are.

Thanks for noticing that I reached 500 posts. 500 seems like a small number compared to some of the big hitters but I keep plugging away.

I just got through reading the complete game thread for game 2 versus Carolina. (I was too busy watching last night to post more than once during the game). Well having read the entire thread it is clearly the best thread ever. We begin with the pregame previews and the predictions. Once the game begins we have the elation of the quick 3 goal lead and the predictions of a 4 game sweep followed quickly by the superstitious complaints about jinxing the outcome. Then comes the slow slide followed by the sudden plunge into trailing and dire predictions that we'll never win another game. Kovalev and Zednik bring more elation and only to be plunged into depression by Stillman. After the OT worrying we have the eventual overtime joy and finally the post mortems. We even have TheBigRedC posting his 1000th post. This is also the longest HW thread ever (I believe). The previous longest thread was 541 posts long and concerned a Habs/Bruins pre-season game this past October. Take my advice, and read the entire thread. Enjoy! [please ignore the following superfluous html colour instruction]

Yes, I agree the Habs need to stay concentrated on beating Carolina. However, those here at HabsWorld who are not Canadiens players should feel free to speculate on who will win the other series and which team whould be the best for the Habs to play if they get to the next round. Especially on a night when the Habs aren't playing.

Nope. There is no senario where we end up playing New Jersey in the 2nd round, which makes me very happy. If Ottawa wins we play them. If Ottawa loses to TB then TB plays NJ unless NJ is eliminated by the Rangers (which won't happen). If it did we would play the Rangers (which would be great). It is looking pretty certain that if we beat the Canes we will play either Ottawa or Buffalo. I think we should cheer for Ottawa cause I think Buffalo's a tougher opponent. Also I don't think TB can beat NJ but Buffalo might do it. I don't want to play NJ if we can help it.

Boy that brings back fabulous memories. I remember that great upset of Boston (one in a long sequence over the Bruins) of course. But what I really remember was watching game 7 of the cup final with my dad. Chicago was up 2-0 halfway throught the game and Esposito had been great. Then Jacques Lemaire scored on a slapshot (he had a cannon) from just over center, Then in the 3rd, Henri Richard scored two and we won 3-2. Boy was that great.

Great period!!!! woo-hoo. But we can't let them back in it. The Canes will come out on fire to begin the 2nd.

ROFL Go-Habs-Go!!!

edit: Whoops, I meant to say: Down 2-1 time to shake things up. Anyone know how to edit a poll? Gerber looked pretty bad last night. Possibly not as bad as Theo's last few games in Montreal but definitely not good. Their backup is 22 year old Cam Ward who has played 28 career NHL games with a goals against average of 3.68 and a save percentage of 88.2% (0.882) Gerber had a great season but has been a little shakey of late. Still one bad game is only one bad game. Will Carolina bench Gerber and start Ward?

I'm not so sure. If Philly tries to turn this series into a brawl I think the refs will punish them and Buffalo's powerplay, although it was impotent tonight, would bury the Flyers.

Detroit & New Jersey

I meant we finished 15th overall (from the top) with Detroit finishing 1st. But you are correct this means we will probably picking 16th and could pick 15th or 30th.

The TSN article contains the following paragraph: Quinn is comfortable in his own skin, respected by most for his experience and understanding. While he can grind a piece of gum into submission behind the bench during a loss, he is almost always calm and insightful during interviews. I am dumbfounded that anyone could use the words calm and insightful to describe what is after every loss always a whining self-pitying rant, almost always about how the refs robbed the leafs of any real chance to win the game.

We finished 15th overall. The only playoff team behind us is Tampa Bay. This means we will probably pick 15th. The only other possibilities are we pick 16th (if Tampa Bay repeats) or we pick 30th (Oh happy day). Thus I see no reason to think that Sanguinetti and others ranked around 12-13 among North American skaters will all be gone when we make our choice. (edit: I can't spell Sanguinetti)

Of course you can check out the rds site but if you want the real expert predictions check this site out.

Here it is. You may want to take notes. EAST (1)Ottawa vs. (8)Tampa Bay: Ottawa in 5 (2)Carolina vs. (7)Montreal: Montreal in 6 (3)New Jersey vs. (6)NY Rangers: New Jersey in 6 (4)Buffalo vs. (5)Philadelphia: Buffalo in 5 WEST (1)Detroit vs. (8)Edmonton: Detroit in 4 (2)Dallas vs. (7)Colorado: Dallas in 6 (3)Calgary vs. (6)Anaheim: Anaheim in 7 (4)Nashville vs. (5)San Jose: San Jose in 6

You gave Komisarek a C+ and Streit a C- which I think are quite accurate grades. But then you say we shoud be using Komisarek on the powerplay next year but we should let Streit go back to Switzerland. I don't think this makes much sense. Although Streit is older they were both rookies this year and both showed a lot of improvement after the Olympic break. One thing that has been worrying me about Komisarek is that he is taking a lot of penalties. In the final 16 games you cite for his improved play he took 18 PIM (not including the 27 minutes he got for defending Huet).

And we have a winner: .... Brett38 I never thought the Habs would fade the way they did in the 3rd period of the final game. I suspect Simonus made the same mistake. Oh well. Congratulations to Brett38. 90 Dutch Habs Fan 92 kaos 93 Brett38 95 Peter Puck 95+ Simonus 96 les glorieux 96 ndmartinxyz 96 shortcat1 97 Rooster 97 VaughHabFan 98 JeanLucPilon 98 xXx..CK..xXx 99 Bullis the Habbie 100 redondo 101 Macaskill 102 DANFALCAO 104 bookworm (and the stanley cup and theodore gets his first conn smythe) 110 ch nl 164 Shortcat1 (well, actually Fozzy) Tommy9 made 2 predictions: 101 and 94 Bullis the Habbie made a 2nd prediction of 103 Pierre the Great predicted 90-100

It looks to me like Sergei is 2nd in CHL scoring. He has 8 goals + 17 assists = 25 points. Shremp has 3 goals and 24 assists for 27 points. Radulov has 7 goals + 18 assists for 25 points to lead the QMJHL. The top WHL scorer has 15 points.

Woo-hoo. Just saw the result. :) :) :)

Well Bolland's been gone for the last 4 games (suspension) but I agree he's helped by being on a great line. On the other hand, Shremp and Bolland are helped by having Sergei on his line. Furthermore, it shows he can play at a high level if he has great teammates. He's playing great but it is still only OHL level. 500th post. wo-hoo!!!

I don't think so. Here is the rule: Performance bonuses will only be permissible for the following types of players: (1) players on entry-level contracts; (2) players signing one-year contracts after returning from long-term injuries (players with 400 or more games who spent 100 or more days on injured reserve in the last year of their most recent contract); and senior veteran players who sign a one-year contract after the age of 35.

I've mentioned this before but I'll repet myself. We can't offer Huet any bonuses under thew new CBA. Only rookies and players who missed most of the previous season due to injuries are eligible for bonuses. We have to decide what we're willing to pay him based upon this year's performance.

To me it is clear why Gainey used Aebisher on Saturday even though Huet probably would have given us a better chance to win. The way things are now we are going with Huet in our most improtant game of the season. I am sure Huet will start Tuesday. If Huet had started Saturday and we had lost then we would be in real difficulty on Tuesday. We would have either had to go with Aebisher or come back with Huet after a loss. Neither is a good situation. Now we will start Huet and his confidence is still high (as is the team's confidence in him). I think this was the right way to go although I agree we would have had a better chance Saturday with Huet than with Aebisher. If we make it Huet will be our starting goalie until he shows he can't handle it.