dlbalr

1-0 after 2, TJ Fast (who took St-Denis' spot in the lineup) has the goal. PP's are 6-0 Wolves. Storyline of this game is Lawson starting and then leaving after the 1st, Mayer is now in.

Stejskal is signed and he's the only one. Nash is an RFA, his entry level deal was only for 2 years. At this point, it may be a toss up as to whether he's qualified depending on the severity of the injury. I haven't brushed up on my UFA-VI stuff but generally at 25, most minor leaguers can become UFA's though his limited pro experience may delay that; I'll have to take a closer look at some point.

A Hab victory would be huge for me tonight...I'm against Bryzgalov in the pool and it's Round 1 of the playoffs. Hoping for another high scoring affair like last night though that first period wasn't too encouraging.

Down yet another defenceman, the remnants of the Bulldogs travel to Chicago to take on the Wolves in the middle match of their 3-in-3 trip. Active scoring leaders: Goals: Andreas Engqvist (19) Assists: Brian Willsie (23) Points: Andreas Engqvist (35) +/-: Robert Slaney (+2) PIMS: Zack FitzGerald (229) Active scoring leaders: Goals: Mark Mancari (26) Assists: Darren Haydar (30) Points: Mark Mancari (51) +/-: Tim Miller (+16) PIMS: Matt Clackson (167) Puck drop is at 8:00 PM EST and can be listened to by clicking this link: http://cham.player.amri.ca/

That's right, Sutter bolted, my bad. He'll be axed in Calgary soon enough. Bylsma didn't have any junior experience coaching, but he's a good case of AHL to NHL success. Boucher did it but had that little bit of pro seasoning, so too has Kevin Dineen who is have a strong year after some time in the AHL. There are a lot more of those success stories than junior to NHL. With Roy, he hasn't been in a spot where he hasn't had full control yet; as coach and GM, he could trade anyone he had issues with (not saying he did, but the option was there). In the NHL (or AHL), he won't have that. There will undoubtedly be an adjustment period for him, I personally am tired of the Habs allowing coaches to get that period with them then learn from their mistakes as they move on elsewhere. If he's to be the coach of the Habs down the road, he can start by working in Hamilton. If he insists on NHL or bust, he can stay right where he is.

He's on emergency recall, as soon as someone (Kaberle, Weber, or Diaz) is ready to go, he has to go back down or the Habs lose their final non-emergency callup.

Weber is a no-go. Geoffrion will take the skate, there are rumblings one of the forwards can't go...or if St-Denis doesn't make it on time, they'd dress 13 forwards.

Of those, how many were immediate success stories? Burns I'd say had a good run, Tippett went from the IHL to NHL assistant to head coach so he doesn't qualify, Vigneault had 4 years of NHL assistant experience with Ottawa before joining the Habs so he too doesn't qualify, Sutter got axed after 2 years in NJ (despite a decent record so I'll give him some credit), and DeBoer was a washout in Florida (3 straight playoff misses) before getting canned. Not a ton of success stories in there.

Yep, Pateryn could be signed and play immediately...and with the beyond ugly status of their blueline right now (Henry, Mitera, Stejskal, Dame-Malka, FitzGerald, Fast, Hendrixx) they could really use him. As for Trunev, he already has spurned North America once; he was a high draft pick in the CHL Import Draft and opted to stay at home. Considering he already is in the KHL, I'd have to think he'd be getting a lot more money than the standard ~$65,000 an entry-level AHL'er gets. I'm sure the Habs will make their overtures to try to sign him but I'd guess the odds are low.

This is the one thing I really ponder with regards to Roy or any junior coach. Who was the last NHL coach to thrive coming straight out of junior? There are some good AHL to NHL success stories but junior to NHL is a rarer case I do believe. The Habs have gone that route a fair bit over the last couple of decades with very limited success.

Over/under on when he's sent back down? Wednesday?

The 2nd period was a 1-1 tie (Schultz scored for the Bulldogs), it's 3-1 Ads after 2.

Well, the Saint John-Cape Breton game is a bit of a snoozer at this point, it's 12-4 Sea Dogs in the 3rd. Beaulieu scored the 12th goal, has a couple assists, and a game high +5 rating. Shawinigan is up 6-1 in the 3rd, Ellis has 2 goals, Bournival a pair of assists.

Weber (lower body) out for the game, I think we'll see St-Denis up for tomorrow.

Up to 6 shots 16 minutes in...and it's 2-0 Milwaukee, not a good night for Mayer so far.

Nope, it just gives them the ability to suspend beyond 5.

Wow, I left the room just as the buzzer expired, missed 42 minutes in penalties. White with 5, Subban 10, Foligno 10, and Neil 17. PP for the Habs coming up.

So we now have a 4th shot...and it went in, 1-0 Admirals. Engqvist is back which is good news, he takes the place of Hendrixx in the lineup. Jesse Todd is in for Ryan Flanigan as well.

It'll be interesting to see how the Habs respond from Spezza's goal (could be huge for my pool by the way); after a period of huge momentum, that was quite a let down.

11 minutes in, it's 2-1 Milwaukee...in shots on goal, 0-0 the score. 3 combined shots in 11 minutes? Yeesh.

In NHL history? 21 seconds I believe.

The Bulldogs kick off a 3-in-3 stretch (since a 12 game road trip isn't bad enough) as they take on the Admirals...from Milwaukee thankfully and not Norfolk. With a win, Hamilton would be 1 point behind Milwaukee and could move into a tie for...14th in the West. Active scoring leaders: Goals: Andreas Engqvist (19) Assists: Frederic St-Denis (25) Points: Andreas Engqvist (35) +/-: Henry/Slaney (+2) PIMS: Zack FitzGerald (229) Active scoring leaders: Goals: Chris Mueller (26) Assists: Kyle Wilson (26) Points: Chris Mueller (49) +/-: Scott Ford (+17) PIMS: Zack Stortini (120) Puck drop is at 8:00 PM EST and can be listened to by clicking this link: http://cham.player.amri.ca/

Price.

Meh, the run had to come to an end some time, fun while it lasted. That should be a decent matchup too, get a chance to see one of the higher rated goalies in the draft in Subban.

Just a note that as the Habs lost this game, I can't do tonight's GDT per board tradition; someone else, please feel free to step up.