dlbalr

I don't know our record but if you think an afternoon game is bad for the Habs, consider the fact that it's technically a morning game for the Sharks. Of all the teams to schedule an afternoon game against, this is one of the last teams you'd think of.

The Bulldogs (14-5-4) cap off their homestand today by welcoming back their old coaching staff from their 2007 championship, Don Lever and Ron Wilson, as they bring the Chicago Wolves (11-13-1) to town. Scoring leaders: Goals: Darren Haydar (11) Assists: Jason Krog (20) Points: Jason Krog (25) PIMS: Andre Deveaux (56) +/-: Jared Ross (+5) Scoring leaders: Goals: Max Pacioretty (13) Assists: David Desharnais (20) Points: Desharnais/Pacioretty (27) PIMS: Jimmy Bonneau (60) +/-: David Desharnais (+10) Puck drop is at 4:00 PM EST and can be listened to by clicking this link: http://cham.player.amri.ca/

I guess that they, like the Habs, felt more comfortable carrying 7 D instead of 6. Petruic's been the 7th D all year so Urquhart got a game. I imagine Petruic will be back today...which reminds me, I've gotta do the GDT...

Sometimes he gets it right but other times not so much. The fact he had to debunk his own original report (4 months) to get it right says something. I've always been a proponent of 'get it right, not get it first,' that's why you rarely see me or anyone else attempt to break a story on the site. On the rare occasions we have broken stories before, we take extra care to make sure it's right without having to retract or modify what we've posted as everyone else did in this instance.

A late PPG sinks Hamilton as the Bulldogs fell 2-1. Engqvist had his first goal in 12 games in the loss. Russell was healthy for this one and David Urquhart played as well...I didn't even know he was up. Petruic sat for him. http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1007665

Scoreless after 1, shots are 7-6 Peoria.

Done for the year, finally something definitive. http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=545332 Updated notes on LTIR: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2291

Avtsin wasn't named to Russia's camp so it appears highly unlikely he'll make the team. Even if players won't be in the camp, they're typically named to the camp roster at least (such as Landeskog in Sweden).

The Bulldogs (14-4-4) continue their week long homestand (hopefully without monster truck dust/mud in the seats this time) as they host the Peoria Rivermen (14-7-2), affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen is expected to start for Peoria, Ryan Russell may be healthy enough tonight to play for Hamilton. Scoring leaders: Goals: 3 tied with (7) Assists: Graham Mink (11) Points: Graham Mink (18) PIMS: Graham Mink (46) (A leading scorer who leads the team in PIMS, an odd combination.) +/-: Mark Cundari (+10) Scoring leaders: Goals: Max Pacioretty (13) Assists: David Desharnais (20) Points: Desharnais/Pacioretty (27) PIMS: Jimmy Bonneau (60) +/-: David Desharnais (+10) Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST and can be listened to by clicking this link: http://cham.player.amri.ca/

We can't say that such a meeting didn't take place before though (part of that "we don't have all the facts" Wamsley has noted). When asked to comment, Martin said the decision was based "on a combination of things." Benching as you noted is a last resort, I would imagine they had a sit down in the days and weeks prior based on some of the other things that happened (including but not limited to the yapping and practice skirmishes) and this was the next step, the timing fit with him making two key mistakes the night before. It was a gutsy call and one that I'm sure got the players' attention. That in itself makes it a decent call, winning only helped the cause.

It'd be an intriguing combination and no it hasn't been done. However, I'm not sure it's worthwhile taking Darche away from Eller/Pouliot, that line is great for secondary scoring. Also, coming off a 5-goal game, I'd be surprised to see any changes to the forwards. I've added the starting goalies into the first post as well as a couple of SJ notes (injuries/scratches).

Of course he had to take fault for his actions, they were kind of obvious. By that logic, anyone who claims, "Yeah, I screwed up, it's my fault, I know what I did wrong" shouldn't be scratched. (I know I'm stretching it a bit here but that was my first instinct reading that first sentence.) Subban will be fine, it's not the first time he's ever been sat down and it may not be the last. Everyone goes through it; it's nice to see he's saying the right things at the very least. That in itself will score him some points with the coaches. I thought I saw it somewhere. No one was answering so I'm just echoing your question...yeah, I'll go with that.

I agree with all those but I'll throw this out for discussion - who sits for Subban? Weber? Picard? Lapierre? (Play 7 D again) He wasn't in the hardest shot contest last year at the AHL All-Star game (a stunner), can't find any numbers more recent than that.

My 3 Stars for the night: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2288 I also added the scoring summary as the assists on quite a few goals changed.

5-1 final, nice bounce back effort. HW 3 Stars to follow.

I agree, though Gomez has scored in two straight now...just sayin'.

Scrap the stalling, the deal is dead...for now at least.

This is terrific for Weber and Picard, both can now take regular (even extra) shifts in the 3rd to give the others a bit of a breather. For Weber's 1st game on D, this is exactly what they needed.

Well, if there was a better way to get things started in NJ, I'd love to hear it. 2 goals in 2 minutes, chase the starter and force a career minor leaguer in there. Wasn't too good after that though and that Plekanec penalty shot couldn't have been much worse. No speed = no goal, we've seen that enough in the shootout before to know that. Still, a 2-0 lead is better than I surely expected.

Maybe the deal's not done after all, concerns over Sturm's health are stalling things.

Under no circumstances will Markov's cap hit come off the books when he hits LTIR. His cap hit is there no matter what. Rather than get into the whole thing on here, have a look at the note on LTIR I wrote a few weeks ago - the numbers are a lot different now but the basic premise of how the system works is still there. http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2266 (Up to date LTIR numbers are available in the capsheet link on the main page.)

He'll be back soon, which is why Boston had to move him. Return is a conditional pick, starting out at a 5th rounder.

It's not exactly the most reputable site but that's the gist of it. The Habs and NJ may be talking and Pacioretty might be of some interest to them. Mostly speculation on their part. I find it funny they claim several sources suggest Pacioretty's on the market...no reputable source (that I know of) has made such a claim. Heck, even non-reputable sites aren't suggesting it. Probably not worth worrying about too much.

In my (and some others') views, he was directly responsible for the final 2 goals yesterday which makes him largely responsible for yesterday's loss. It is a 1-game sitting, this is not sending him down, trading him, nothing like that. 1 game for him to take a little break. This isn't worth a tenth of the hype it's getting. Some of the reactions (not here, we're discussing it well compared to other places) are simply comical. He'll be back in the lineup Saturday; if they classified him as DTD with "general body soreness" as a way to say they're sitting him, this wouldn't even be an issue. Maybe that's what they should do actually.

If you send Boyd down now (an outright assignment), he's basically stuck for the year, injuries or not. I find that in itself is a drawback as he's basically useless to the Habs for the rest of the season. On a conditioning stint, you don't have to worry about re-entry waivers, though you don't get cap savings.