dlbalr

Actually, I feel they've been the most consistent line tonight, they've had several of the few scoring chances Montreal has had. Heck, they have nearly half the shots on goal for the entire team (5/12). Looking at the TOI situation, Kaberle seems to be the #7 tonight as he has just 8 minutes of ice time. Gill is near 9, Campoli 10.

Read his post again carefully, he's saying Gomez is better than the other C's at bringing the puck in the offensive zone, not in terms of overall play. That's something I'm inclined to agree with, skating and stickhandling are two of his best assets. Gaining the zone is an area the Habs have struggled with at times (look no further than tonight as an example), their struggles tend to coincide with games where Gomez isn't there. That's not a coincidence. In terms of making things happen in the offensive end, Gomez has been lacking, I don't think anyone would disagree. But he most certainly is one of, if not the best in terms of centres with regards to getting the puck into the opposition's zone which is what JCPetit is stating.

I think the coaching staff needs to make an adjustment to the breakout plan, St. Louis' forecheck is more aggressive than a typical trap-formation that Hitchcock generally uses with his teams. Short passes should be the key rather than the long breakout ones we've seen a lot more of lately. The Habs had 9 giveaways in the period...there are games where they don't have that many.

Boy that deal didn't pan out. They got Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto for him...both walked at the end of the season.

As far as I know, the club hasn't announced it yet (they didn't with Pearn either) but this is done.

Tyutin wasn't a Columbus pick. He was acquired for Nikolai Zherdev (there were other lesser pieces involved too) who interestingly enough, was one of their bust picks at #4. So that basically leaves one good pick and one could be good pick to show for their efforts.

Since joining the Habs, Gomez has only played under Jacques Martin. We've seen so far that a few players have had a resurgence of sorts with Cunneyworth at the helm. It's only logical that Gomez should be given a shot when he's healthy again; if he can be even somewhat productive, it would go a long way toward helping this team. Maybe he starts on the 4th line which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world but he should get a shot to reprove himself with a new coach at the helm.

We'll use this as the GDT. I've been in bed all day sick so I haven't the time or the energy to put a GDT together. I'll get the next one hopefully.

A succinct explanation of the main change made on the forecheck so far: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2012/01/realignment-woes-potential-cba-circus-30-thoughts.html

I don't know about Leblanc's injury but here is what I do know on some of the other stuff: - Bishop and Nash, both are out long, long term. I've heard both could miss the entire year. - Conboy (and Berger), long-term but not season ending injuries. - White - highly doubtful he'll go for a conditioning stint, the Habs seem dead set against those for some reason. - Delmas - played and won again today; with lots of time off now I would expect he'll be up for Friday's game (but may not come right away) if Lawson has more of a serious concussion.

Who said the NFL playoff OT rules weren't sudden death? That's an ending...

Another day, another banana as Hamilton wins 3-1. This gives them a 3 game win streak (5 game point streak), their longest of the season. http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1009169

Barons pull LeNeveu early (with +2:30 left) but it works as Petrell scores to make it 2-1. Dumont scores into the empty net to make it 3-1! Still 1:32 left.

Terrific news, FitzGerald gets 2 and 10 effectively ending his game.

Engqvist scores again to make it 2-0! Banked one off a Baron from behind the net.

Yep, Dipronio is the backup while Mayer is in once again. It looks like the same lineup as last game as well which bugs me as I'd much rather see Nattinen in over Lefebvre. 1-0 Bulldogs at the halfway point as Engqvist scored to extend his point streak to 8 straight. Avtsin and Palushaj (also on a hot streak with 9 points in his last 4.5 games) had the assists.

The Bulldogs end their 3-in-3 series looking for a sweep as they host former Hamilton goalie Yann Danis and the league leading Barons in another afternoon affair. Active scoring leaders: Goals: Phillipe Cornet (17) Assists: Keller/Helmer (15) Points: Ryan Keller (28) +/-: Ryan Keller (+13) PIMS: Triston Grant (74) Active scoring leaders: Goals: Andreas Engqvist (10) Assists: Brian Willsie (14) Points: Aaron Palushaj (21) +/-: Andreas Engqvist (+10) PIMS: Zack FitzGerald (122) Puck drop is at 3:00 PM EST and can be listened to by clicking this link: http://cham.player.amri.ca/

I don't know why, but I have a feeling Denver's backup QB will be finishing the game today. I think the other game today is the one to watch, arguably the most balanced of all the weekend's matchups.

Gallagher's making up for lost time after being at the WJHC's it seems. Despite still feeling ill, I made the trek up to Barrie last night to see London (particularly Tinordi). Here are my thoughts on his game: - First, he's wiry thin for his size. As I wanted to get there before tickets sold out, I wound up being first in line to get in and I wound up seeing the London squad running the concourse to loosen up. It wasn't hard to spot Tinordi due to his size but he could stand to bulk up a lot. - On the flip side, he's a pretty good skater out there, looked even better than he did in the preseason in that regard. - Defensively, the best way I could sum it up is this. Almost every time Barrie attacked down his side of the ice, it wasn't long before the puck went the other way. There were a few times the Colts managed to get it through him and get a forecheck going but a lot less often that I'd have liked (as a Barrie fan). - Physically, he wasn't particularly dominant. However, Barrie's not exactly a physical team so there weren't a whole lot of checks in the game. Tinordi more or less just pinned his guy to the boards and poked at the puck. - In terms of offence, he led the rush a couple of times and didn't look too bad but it's easy to understand why he normally was content to make the quick pass ahead or put it to his D partner (not Harrington as he didn't make the trip). In the offensive zone, I'd have to think long and hard as to whether he actually touched the puck. Once the zone is gained, London rarely puts it back to the point which I think contributes to his really low offensive numbers. All in all, I'd give him a solid B for the night. The game itself resembled more of an NHL game than a junior one, not a lot of wide open looks (aside from a couple of London breakaways in 20 seconds in the second). Barrie honoured all the players who suited up in the various Worlds tournaments (U-17, WJHC, and U-20 D1); between the teams, there were 11 players who played internationally last month. I will say this for anyone who wants to go to a Barrie game, the BMC lives up to its nickname ("library"). Despite there being a full house (even the lawnchair seats in the one section of the concourse were full), you could hear casual quiet conversations several sections over. Here's a report on the game with a blurb about Tinordi: http://thehockeyguys.net/ohl-prospect-report-london-knights-vs-barrie-colts/

One of these days I'm going to see an actual rumour in here. To answer the above question, Getzlaf plays less than a minute per game (0:51) shorthanded which is better than last year's 0:28. That suggests he's not the most reliable in that area.

Yeah, he plays regularly in a beer league according to the pregame. So he at least should have his own pads.

Willsie scores to make it 2-1! Lefebvre and DeSimone with the helpers.

The easy solution to help fix the playoff odd issue would require the league to drop the notion of 4 'conferences' and call those divisions, 2 within each 'conference' (East/West as there are now). The division with 8 teams can have the 5th team cross over come playoff time if that team has more points than the 4th place squad in the 7-team one. This has been a common practice in the AHL until this year. It doesn't solve everything, but that's the best solution short of contracting (won't happen) or expansion (better not happen). Of course, doing this opens up a new can of worms with regards to the more balanced schedule which could become more difficult.

Considering Cammalleri missed the last game day skate and is still on the team, I don't think it's happening.

It doesn't seem as if Hamilton called Delmas up so I'm assuming Lawson can't be injured too badly. I'd guess Mayer will start though.