Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- With one of the more accomplished coaches in the NHL, Carey Price playing at his top level, and scoring beginning to come from all units (last night notwithstanding), the Canadiens will be a realistic threat in the playoffs. [TSN690]
- Some thought it strange, others felt it bordering on madness, when Price played both games of a back-to-back set this weekend. Looking at the numbers, however, shows that the Habs’ starter fares very well on just 24 hours’ rest. [La Presse]
- There’s a bit of conversation about whether a team really wants to finish first in the Atlantic and play a strong Metropolitan team or try to matchup against another division foe. Looking at the data shows that the seeding structure doesn’t have much bearing on the outcome of the first round; it’s more about how the teams fared in the season series. In other words, the Canadiens shouldn’t be afraid of facing the Rangers. [TSN]
- Julien is hoping to ease Brendan Gallagher back into the power play. [John Lu]
- He does have a punchable face…/
Have you ever punched Steve Ott in the face, Shea? “Probably. He was one of several annoying guys I played against all the time.”–Weber
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 21, 2017
- After a short leave of absence, Daniel Carr was back with the St. John’s IceCaps last night. Stay tuned for our recap of the game later today. [St. John’s IceCaps]
- Josiah Didier hasn’t seen a lot of time on the ice this year, but he’s able to stay positive and perform well when he does. [The Telegram]
- The NCAA Hockey Tournament will feature two promising Habs prospects this year. [Montreal Gazette]
- Les Canadiennes’ Lauriane Rougeau is putting her sports management degree to good use, helping in the CWHL salary negotiations that will hopefully see the league’s players paid in a year’s time. She’s hoping that work will be a stepping stone to a position in the Canadiens organization. [Radio-Canada]/
Around the league and elsewhere
- Dominik Zrim takes us behind the scenes of CapFriendly.com, explaining how it came about, and what it’s like to run the site around the trade deadline. [La Presse]
- The Ottawa Senators are close to signing NCAA standout Colin White to an entry-level contract. [Jeff Cox]
- Some bad news for best-on-best international tournament fans:/
BREAKING: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on 2018 Olympics: “Assume we’re not going.”
— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) March 21, 2017
- But some potentially good news for eSports fans. [Sport Techie]
- The golden age of the sports bar may be coming to an end, thanks to a new money-grubbing scheme from the nation’s top telecoms. [National Post]
- Breaking down the Men’s NCAA Hockey Tournament. [SB Nation College Hockey]
- The Flyers blog has decided a run a tournament of a different sort: best goalie mask. [Broad Street Hockey]
- You can get your new Vegas Golden Knights jersey (if you’re so inclined) just ahead of the new team’s expansion draft in June. [NHL.com]
- With all eyes on the Boston Pride, the Buffalo Beauts pulled off an incredible upset in the NWHL Final. [The Ice Garden]/
