dlbalr

Price has been terrific this game, he made a few big time saves that period.

Pretty balanced attack in terms of ice time so far. Every forward has played at least 4 minutes (Eller the least with 4:01). Gill is the lowest D with 4:36 which isn't bad for a #7's TOI. The Pacioretty line has 6/10 shots for the Habs.

Nokelainen has been DTD with a rib injury for what, 3 weeks now? DTD means nothing it seems this year...

It was a busy day at work...I'll fix it. Tough penalty to take late in the period especially in the offensive zone, a place where the Habs didn't spend much time in the period.

A stat I just found - Price's 3.13 GAA lifetime vs NYI is his worst against any Eastern team.

It took them a while to announce that Conboy was out for the year. Before that, it was just long-term. I suspect his recovery period from the surgery puts him in the iffy range...he could possibly be back late season if all heals according to plan. Until that time gets closer, it may not be known.

I haven't heard his name mentioned at all lately in the broadcasts with the injury report. At this point, I'd have to guess he's out for the year.

Since Moen was ready to return, they felt he'd be better off playing in Hamilton who still is trying to make a late playoff run. That would be my guess.

Campoli was signed solely because of Markov's situation which was known in September, well after the defencemen you listed were plucked. If there's blame to lay here, some of it has to go to the doctors who in July were touting Markov was on schedule for an early season return. Not all of it, but some. We'll disagree on Kaberle who to me without question has been better than Spacek. I will grant you that the cap hit beyond this year could be problematic, we'll have to see what happens there. Diaz isn't the most physical but he's a decent skater and is willing to block shots. For the cost of nothing, that simply can't be a bad acquisition. At 25, there is still room to improve too.

What exactly was wrong with the Diaz signing? It cost them nothing, they get a controllable player for 3 years (this year + 2 RFA) and he's been a decent regular for a rookie. He may amount to something more, he may just be a depth guy. The fact he's an NHL'er makes it at worst a decent move. Campoli was a last second signing - he isn't the greatest but after learning that Markov was out longer than intended from the doctors, he was the best D left on the market (McCabe didn't want to leave the Florida area while Stralman/Lebda are below average depth guys). Kaberle, he has been better than Spacek. It remains to be seen how detrimental his contract could be over the next couple of years but it's too early to call that a loss I'd say. As I noted in my article on the site, I think he has helped his value a bit compared to the negative value he had with the 'Canes. Back on topic, Diaz hasn't been a healthy scratch as we suspected but rather he has been out with the flu.

Montreal: Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole Bourque-Eller-Leblanc Darche-Plekanec-Moen Gomez-Kostitsyn Gorges-Subban Kaberle-Emelin Gill-Diaz Campoli Price (Palushaj is also available, this is just last game's lineup with Diaz (flu) now able to play, replacing Weber.) NY Islanders: Moulson-Tavares-Okposo Grabner-Nielsen-Parenteau Rakhshani-Bailey-Martin Wallace-Pandolfo-Niederreiter Streit-Staios MacDonald-Reese Eaton-Ness Nabokov Puck drop is at 7:00 on RDS.

Just pointing this out, the article for this will probably be late Thursday or sometime Friday so if you haven't already, add your 2 or more cents to the discussion.

I had noted this in another thread but I wouldn't expect White until next week. For him to play in Toronto, he'd only have yesterday morning's game and Friday night's under his belt. If they wait until after the weekend (they play 3 in 3), he'll be more game ready. The Bulldogs had one forward scratched yesterday so they'll barely have enough to ice a full roster.

Him getting released surprised me a bit. The others (Desriveaux and Robertshaw) didn't. Money was a big factor here and I suspect they've got enough saved up to go after a big name or two when free agency opens next week.

Palushaj was just recalled and will be available for tomorrow's game.

I think their plan for White is to play the 3-in-3 that the Bulldogs will kick off on Friday (at least 2/3 games). If they have to pull someone up (they should have 11 and 7 still available), Engqvist or Palushaj would get the nod I would think.

The 50-man roster is always in play. Heck, the Mike Richards to LA deal had a pure nobody as a throw-in to keep both teams in compliance. The NCAA guys like Pateryn almost always sign future year deals with an PTO tacked on this year. For example, Joe Stejskal signed after his NCAA season ended. He played in Hamilton on a tryout for the rest of the season while his contract started this year. That allows teams to sign their youngsters without hurting their limit. If you want to sign a college free agent, you'll likely have to do something that would knock a year off their entry level deal (much like Bozak and Da Costa before) which would count them against the 50.

Tyler Kennedy is doubtful for the Pens meaning that Colin McDonald will likely draw in.

Moen will play and it appears Campoli will sit meaning Diaz is in.

Washington had that a few years ago for a few games when injuries struck. They were even throwing 3 D on the PP at times.

I'd call the league leading PK (with a shot at breaking the NHL record for success %) a pretty big positive as well.

4-2 is the final. Another opportunity squandered for Hamilton as the Rampage were another non-playoff team. These last two losses really have hurt their playoff odds.

Pittsburgh: Kunitz-Malkin-Neal Cooke-Jeffrey-Dupuis Sullivan-O'Reilly-Kennedy Adams-Vitale-Park Orpik-Letang Martin-Michalek Niskanen-Engelland Fleury Montreal: Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole Bourque-Plekanec-Kostitsyn Darche-Gomez-Eller Moen*-Leblanc Gorges-Subban Kaberle-Emelin Gill-Weber Campoli Price (Moen is a game time decision, no word on which D would sit if he does play so I'm using the same lineup as last game.) Puck drop is at 7:30 on RDS and TSN-Habs.

Moen's a game time decision. If he can't go, then we'll see 8 D.

4-2 now. Ugh.