The Ditch part deux

Penz in OT

 

Mackinnon, Scheifele and Werenski voted the 3 stars of the week.

 

Bruins, not as good as their early season record.
Tampa will win the Atlantic. Said this all season long.

 

I still like Boston. Their start was so good they are still in control and I think this loosing pattern will get righted. Maybe playing with a little complacency right now, but when the heat gets turned up, I like them to prevail.

 

At the end of the day it's only a 15 game stretch in the middle of an 82 game season.

Bruins are typically supposed to be a tough team to play with good goatending, good D and one of the best first lines in the league, (which bodes well for their PP).

The question has always been what the other 3 lines are going to bring to the table on any given night.
They've never really been a big powerhouse regular season team, but usually a top#4 in the EC. The playoffs are all that matters once you've officially qualified.

Shannons a bruins fan and that's why he's micro analyzing, every good team has their stretches, playoffs are the main goal.

 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=28379

 

Broonz will be ok but they dot have the horses to matchup with TB. its only a 7 point lead as of now and TB has 2 games in hand. the difference is dwindling and the theres still half a season to go with TB having the stronger roster. playoffs are where it really counts but matching up w/ them would be a nightmare once again for Boston. I'll bet its Boston/Toronto round 1 again.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/pl...tampa-bay-lightning-eastern-second-round.html

 

Justin Williams comes out of retirement and back with the Canes for $700K.

Potential incentive bonuses of up to $1.3M as well.

Rumors had him also going to the Leafs and Bs.

 

Habs are done

 

I don't see the Sabres being in the mix, not with Skinner on the shelf, another loss tonight.

 

Goal Scoring Race

Pastrnak 35

Matthews 31

Eichel 27

 

Agreed, not enough high end skill up front, on the blue line or in the net.

 

I really liked the Sabres chances at a playoff spot before the season started. Coming into found money with V Oloffson, along with new HC Krueger, had me thinking it sealed the deal.

Problems

They still have a young core that's still learning the game. Although Reinhart looks like he's developing into a decent player, Mittlestadt continues having problems in the bigs, as they sent him down to the Amerks to work on his two way game.

Dhalin took a step back offensively and keeps getting beat, also the steady giveaways with the puck. Still, he us an elite player and should put it together.

Okposo continues to be a drag, he has nights where he looks like he might be coming around, when it's all said and done, slow with (4) goals.
Montour and Jokiharu have been steady, but the same can't be said for the rest.
Goalies are weak and most likely waiting on UPL.
Euchel is far and away the best playet on the team, and they're fortunate to have him. Skinner has underperformed, he needs at least 30 goals a year to make his $9M deal hold any value for the club.

Ownership is very stable, with fans loyal and hoping for a playoff hockey asap.
It's just so difficult when other teams just keep on improving, big struggle to finish top#8 in the EC.

 

Its night and day with the Sabres… they are horrible on the road. If they were a tad better road team, they would be in great position right now.

 

The Sabres have been a horrible road team so far this season, as bad as it could get.

 

Speaking of horrible... the Habs have went 8 straight games without a win now.

 

Habs are in a downward spiral, Price has been below average. An incoherent plan going forward. Two of their most important players are vets, while at the same time rebuilding a young core.

Bergevin has done well on some of his trades, but that's only winning the battle but not the war. He's desperately trying to trade into contention, the same way Brian Burke did here.
It's high risk to put all your eggs into a goalie long-term. I think you need a little luck on your side like the Pens with MAF, Murray and now Jarry. They don't kill their cap space on a goalie, the Leafs will be facing a big dilemma with Freddie when he's due.

Best bet for the habs would be to rebuild, try to get rid of Price, and maybe Weber, see if you can build from there with quality ELC players along with short-term free agents.

It's a really tough market if you want to do a rebuild there, as many fans just won't accept it. It could be done, Leaf fans went through it, and now Wings fans.
Biggest problem convincing fans is that many believe if they make the playoffs, Price could single-handedly win them a cup, (the same way Roy did in '93).

The habs have traditionally had great goalies, from Plante to Dryden to Roy and now Price.
Hard to fight tradition, I guess Weber is supposed to be Larry Robinson now or Doug Harvey.