dlbalr

Depends on which line PIT starts with tomorrow as to whether we'll see Gill or Spacek first, there's my fence-sitting prediction...

It's encouraging to see Mara skating, though he's still a while away. No quit in these boys, getting prepped until the very end, which hopefully is a lot further away than just 24 hours or so. It'll be interesting to see if Gill can go or not, some of the media (ie: SNET) has proclaimed him out but I've yet to find any distinct evidence that he's a no go. He's back in Montreal and was walking around okay yesterday. Perhaps he'd be confined to a lesser role (16-18 instead of 22-24 mins) but something tells me he'll be in too.

I've updated Abbotsford's info with a breakdown of who's a healthy scratch and who's actually injured - they're missing even more guys due to injury than I originally thought. A small AHL note unrelated to this game but I'll mention it here anyways, some of you might remember the AHL "trade" at the deadline that saw Mike Vernace join the Dogs and Greg Stewart head to Chicago. The Wolves face elimination tomorrow; if they lose, Stewart couldn't be returned to Hamilton but could be recalled to Montreal without being subjected to the 4 Recall/Emergency conditions.

Kelly Sutherland and Stephen Walkom are the refs, unsure on the linesmen. I've also updated the Pittsburgh lines, Fedotenko and Ponikarovsky expected to be scratched tonight.

Projected lines for Hamilton: Forward Lines Defence/Goalies Trotter - Desharnais - Palushaj Benoit Vernace Russell - Stevenson - Glumac Henry St. Denis Conboy - White - Wyman Belle Anderson Masse* - Fortier - Dumont Desjardins Sanford Other Notes: Injuries: Carle, Neilson, Pacioretty, Weber Scratches: Bishop* Projected lines for Abbotsford: Forward Lines Defence/Goalies Van der Gulik - Backlund - Cunning Mitera Pelech Lammers - Sutter - Rheault Seabrook Baldwin Murray - Jaffray - Patterson Delmore Meyers Banks - Bouma - Wahl Shantz Irving Other Notes: Injuries: Armstrong, Chucko, Germyn, Kronwall, Negrin, Spurgeon, Stuart, Weller Scratches: Breen, Cameron, Cole, Grantham, Keetley, Latendresse, MacMillan, Palin, Watt Game time: 10:00 PM EST TV: None Radio: CHAM

Projected lines for Montreal: Forward Lines Defence/Goalies Cammalleri - Plekanec - A. Kostitsyn Hamrlik Subban Pouliot - Gomez - Gionta Gill Gorges Darche - Moore - Lapierre Bergeron O'Byrne Moen - Metropolit - Pyatt Halak Price Other Notes: Injuries: Mara, Markov, Spacek* Scratches: S. Kostitsyn, Laraque, Maxwell Projected lines for Pittsburgh: Forward Lines Defence/Goalies Kunitz - Crosby - Guerin Orpik Gonchar Talbot - Malkin - Dupuis Eaton Letang Cooke - Staal - Kennedy Goligoski Leopold Rupp - Letestu - Adams Fleury Johnson Other Notes: Injuries: None Scratches: Conner, Curry, Engelland, Fedotenko, Godard, Jeffrey, Johnson, Lovejoy, McKee, Pechurski, Ponikarovsky, Tangradi, Thiessen, Wagner, Wallace Game time: 7:00 PM EST TV: CBC, RDS, Versus Radio: CJAD,CKAC dlbalr's 3 Keys to Success: 1) Shots early, often - Get on Fleury before he has a chance to get settled. 2) Special teams - PP is too predictable, stop playing it to the point all the time. 3) Pouliot/Kostitsyn - At least one needs to step up and help their lines get going.

BOS/PHI (Game 4): BOS - Bergeron PHI - Richards

An update from CBC: Here's hoping his condition improves overnight, we could surely use him, though we'd obviously have to keep our expectations tempered quite a bit. If nothing else, Darche's performance last night means that we should be comfortable with the forwards, even if Bergeron can't be moved into his spot. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup...ing-return.html

Carrying over a discussion from one of the other series GDT's, Abbotsford's roster increased by two the other day as Bryan Cameron (leading goal getter in the OHL) and TJ Brodie (a good offensive d-man) both signed with the Heat. That brings their number of healthy scratches almost equal to the number of players dressed for each game. That just stings even more given the team's health.

If the Habs didn't play the same night, I'd make a point to catch the 1st period but the way these NHL playoffs have been, I'm either in a state of frustration or euphoria. That, coupled with the fact I have to get the 3 Stars up ASAP to the site, means I miss these games too. Selfishly, I'd like to see the series go to Game 7 for the sole reason that I could listen to the whole game...but if Hamilton has to win in 6, that's okay too.

I noted in my HW Recap (which I know you're an avid reader of, Colin ) that Spacek can't come off the cap for the reason noted below. Despite that, he can still qualify for LTIR - if he comes back next year and the virus hits again, they could put him on there. They'd still have to pay him though (or out of insurance at least).

If the team's still hit with it for tomorrow, we better root against Cincy so that Lacroix can re-join the team. (Cincy's down 3-0 in their conference finals.) I didn't catch any of the broadcast last night, if you did, did Derek mention who's playing through it?

If that's the case, may as well pull Mayer up and make him the backup if the coaching staff is concerned for the same reason you are. He's gotta play sometime, I'd have played him very early in this series myself to avoid having him so rusty (probably Game 2 to get him right back in the thick of things). Even if we lose tomorrow (say with Sanford), go back to Desjardins for Games 6 and 7 back at the Dog Pound, he'll benefit from the rest I'm sure. Hopefully the flu bug that took out 25% of the team yesterday has subsided, healthier bodies would go a long way to retaking the series lead tomorrow.

The Habs cannot afford his salary unless a player like Gomez or Gionta went the other way. Considering neither are likely to be dealt (and neither are Calgary-type players), there's 0% chance of it happening.

Reading on HIO, he's nowhere near ready to play yet so it's best we not get too far ahead of ourselves. I think he's out for the series still; if we were to move on, then perhaps he gives it a shot in practice. To be frank, I don't think I'd want Markov on the PP playing through this as starting, stopping, and pivoting are a major concern with a torn ACL, the PP in particular has a lot of that. As for Spacek, skated again today (3rd or 4th day now), made the trip to Pittsburgh, questionable for tomorrow.

If I hadn't switched to Crosby in the HW Playoff pool this round, there's a decent chance I'd have been 10th overall in the pool in terms of Round 2 points heading into yesterday's play. That being said, oh well, I'll live with it since it helps the Habs. As for those non-calls yesterday, a little video refresher:

You can play with a torn ACL (I've tried myself) but to say your effectiveness drops notably would be an understatement. I know he's holding off on surgery to try and play through it though (this extends how much time he'll miss next season unfortunately). If he were to come back, it'd have to be in a 3rd pairing, 12-14 minute role.

If only all broadcasters were so honest about the team's they're calling. I'd never heard of this guy before, but he's quite funny...as was the error that precipitated this rant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t9-DIKDGGA...layer_embedded#!

I just posted a link to on the main page that says Alexander Avtsyn will be coming to North America next season (likely to the Bulldogs). Also, D prospects Konstantin Korneev and Alexei Emelin have been named to Team Russia for the upcoming World Championships. Considering the odds of either player coming over are slim, it's kinda moot, but hey, now the Habs actually have multiple prospects going to the tournament. (Andreas Engqvist is on Team Sweden.)

The game was tied at 1 more than halfway through the 2nd but from there it all went downhill as the Heat cruised to a 4-1 victory to square the series at 2. Desjardins with the loss, wonder if Sanford's ready to get a start? (He was just as good as Ceddy during the year, might not hurt...) http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1007300

HIO definitively states that Spacek will not play tonight. As for PIT injuries, Guerin according to some skated after practice, suggesting he's doubtful, Bylsma says he's probable for Game 5. Mike Rupp (undisclosed) is questionable, as is Staal (game time decision). If Rupp/Staal/Guerin all can't go, my gut says Chris Conner will suit up for the Pens.

I couldn't say for sure but reading through the conditioning (13.8) and 4 Recall (13.12) parts of the CBA confirmed my gut feeling that it's highly unlikely. When a player is recalled from a conditioning stint, it's classified as a "recall;" this would probably count against the limit of 4 (which we've hit already). Again though, I'm not 100% sure on that one (though the fact that it hasn't happened yet suggests it may not be doable, I'm sure the organization would prefer to have him playing somewhere).

That's still a pretty telling sign though, he's essentially saying, "I don't want you on the ice with the team."

Spacek doubtful for tonight, practicing with Maxwell on the 4th defence pairing. No, that's not a typo either.

Just reading from a CP article, Sergei was one of the last ones off the ice yesterday, pretty quick change of heart if he is indeed bolting.