Friday Habs Headlines: Ryan Poehling seeks the national title

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Ryan Poehling, whose St. Cloud State Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament as the top seed, is setting his sights on the national title. [Montreal Canadiens]
• Poehling isn’t the only Canadiens prospect taking centre stage at the tournament. [Montreal Gazette]
• Doomed by the performances of their top players and their defensive problems, the Canadiens have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. [NHL.com]
• Are the Habs taking a risk by playing Carey Price with the season lost and fans tuning out? [Hockey I/O (Video)]
• Evaluating Mike Reilly’s strengths and weaknesses. [The Athletic]
• Lukas Vejdemo recorded an assist in his first playoff game as Djurgården defeated Linköping 4-3 to take a 2-1 series lead. He should probably abandon any hopes of a soccer career, though. [Patrik Bexell]/

#Habs prospect Lukas Vejdemo should probably stick to hockey, and not sign with Montreal Impact after having showed his football skills this way. #GoHabsGo (from CMore) pic.twitter.com/JmqlHOInRb

— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) March 22, 2018

• A bizarre goalie interference non-call played a role in a wild loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. [Sportsnet]
• Nikita Scherbak features on THN’s list of the top 10 rising prospects this year. [The Hockey News]
• The Canadiens are giving a chance to Anthony Beauregard, signed to a tryout contract by the Laval Rocket. [La Presse]/

Around the league and elsewhere

• Pegged by some as pre-season Stanley Cup champions, what happened to the Edmonton Oilers? [TSN]
• Patrik Laine could miss up to two weeks with a foot injury. [Sportsnet]
• Darren Dreger thinks the Nashville Predators have the NHL’s gold standard blue-line corps. [TSN (Video)]
• Hayley Wickenheiser is fighting concussions in hockey. [The Athletic]
• Is there an objective way to determine the “best defenceman” in the NHL? [The Athletic]
• For the 17: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s journey to the state hockey championship. [TSN (Video)]
• Julien Gauthier headlines THN’s list of top 10 falling prospects this year. [The Hockey News]
• The burdens of an NHL goaltender are unlike those of position players, and are rarely matched in the sporting world. [Toronto Star]/