Habsaholic

Welcome to the era of oligarchy and kleptocracy. Bezos is one chief oligarch, one of our owners. “They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying…lobbying to get what they want… well we know what they want, they want more for themselves and less for everybody else.” - Carlin, 2005

"You can't quit, because you're fired" vibes.

You made us proud yesterday, Mark. And it feels even better after the hardly-veiled threat from mobster-in-chief down south today. Elbows up.

Sammy Blais was beginning to fill precisely this role. Never seemed like the game to bench him to me.

Checking in to social media for first time this game and glad this is the first thing I’m seeing. Habs are being heavily outplayed.

He starts every season hot. Then inevitably also has a cold patch somewhere in the season. And then when he snaps out of it he'll score 12 goals in 5 games

I didn't think there was any rush to get this deal done, but for that price x term, I can't find a reason to complain about it.

I don't think there's a major rush on extending Texier, let the season continue to play out and see how he fits as he continues to settle in and as the team gets healthy around him (hopefully).

It's definitely getting crowded, a great problem to have. No need to rush into trades either, imo.

ugh, I hadn't noticed, 7:30 starts suck! Especially the Amazon Prime 7:30 starts, because that really means closer to 8:00 start.

Gallagher I believe

Selfishly I really want him to get a two-three week break. But you're right, it clearly means a lot to him, and it will provide a boat load of experience for the young captain to bring back to the team.

In a week of tough games, this is arguably the biggest, which ought to be a vote of confidence for Monty (vs former team too). I hope he succeeds. If he drops the ball, this has to be the end of the "get Monty going" experiments. In this year's East, they simply can't afford to keep doing this.

I think they’re just treading water on the first line until Kirby comes back and then they’re going to throw him on Suzuki’s wing and see if they find their old chemistry from when Dach first joined. Personally, I would put Slaf back on line 1, but I understand why it’s not happening.

He’s really been buttering the Habs biscuits the past few match ups. Guess it’s easier since his Lightning absolutely own us. 16-4-1 against us in regular season match ups since 2020.

Exactly this. “Bad goal” may not be the words to use, but a good goalie, in the right position, can make the save. One a goalie of his (potential) pedigree should always want to have.

Maybe the first power play too but I dunno if he can pass.

I remember conversations over the summer with my Leafs’ fan family members and having this same opinion. They did nothing to properly replace a 100-point player, the players they had were a year older. The response I got was they’d more than make up for it “with snot and effort”… hasn’t worked out.

I know I’m supposed to appreciate Demi/Kap from this look, and I do, but my god. Also confirms to me Schaefer is a monster.

Yeah this scenario worries me a bit too. Too much, too soon for Fowler. Problem is I think Monty gets grabbed if he goes on waivers. He’s a capable NHL goalie, even if he’s not a bonafide or consistent #1 like he was last year, and someone (Oilers, if cap magic is possible) would take the chance.

Another great read and agree with your assessment of the situation in net. Fowler 1 of 3 newbies that are going to upset the established roster when/if the vets get back to full availability (Beck, Engstrom).

Demidov snipes Slafkovský’s cross-zone pass home. Slaf’s vision and playmaking abilities have been ever more noticeable as this season’s gone on, and it was already a good aspect of his game.

It should never be overlooked that Lemieux had 1723 points in 915 games. A mind-boggling production level, topped only by 99. It took Crosby 1387 games to reach that number.

Crosby now stands alone at 8th for all-time NHL points. Next up for passing is Yzerman whom, with two points (so far) tonight, he is 31 points back from.

Crosby ties Lemieux’s points record with a goal, Pens tie the game up at 1 a minute after #Habs grab the lead.

Quick passing play by the Slafkovský line, hard finish by rookie phenom Kapanen #habs

I know it’s not feasible to implement in the NHL schedule on a consistent basis, but I quite enjoy the Baseball-style series play that we’ve gotten to enjoy vs the Pens this weekend. Home-n-homes with division rivals or close-proximity teams would be cool to see more frequently.

Great stuff Brian as usual. Rather than a change in direction for LA, the Danault return, plus the D’Amico leak, has me think Phil not only wanted out of LA, but specifically requested a return to Montreal. Is it unrealistic to think in the current market they could’ve gotten a 1st for him come TDL?

So Evans out for a spell. Damn. Danault fills a new hole rather than adding to the whole.

He’s been terrific this season. The stats don’t do his improvement justice.

I think I love it. Danault was my favourite player in his era and he’s a defensive stalwart. Having said that, questions over his 5.5 /year for diminishing production, and where he fits when everyone is healthy? Does a good level of handcuffing for the trade deadline but should help them right now