Home ice is proving to be a boon for the Habs as they picked up a couple more wins at the Bell Centre. Home ice wasn’t so kind to the IceCaps as they split their four games, hurting their playoff push in the process. Speaking of that push, my Final Thought discusses a squandered opportunity to improve their postseason chances.
The Habs recently passed the three quarter mark of the season which means it’s time for our next round of report cards. We start with the forwards where there weren’t many high marks.
California is not a fun place for the Habs and this past week was no exception for Montreal as they failed to pick up a win. Things were a bit better for the IceCaps split a pair of games against one of the better teams in their conference. Plus, the World Cup preliminary rosters are out; my Final Thought discusses the most notable omission from the Canadiens.
The trade deadline came and went this past Monday. Technically the Habs were one of the more active teams making two moves but neither was of particular significance. Our writers offer up their thoughts on what Montreal did plus their lack of notable moves.
With a 5-7-1 record in February, the Montreal Canadiens didn’t do much to improve their chances of making the Stanley Cup playoffs. Granted, the 5 wins were a marked improvement over the past few months, but at a time when fans have begun hoping for a high draft pick, those wins may have seemingly hurt the Habs more than they helped.
The Habs surprised many by packaging their two rental forwards in the same deal, sending them to Chicago for Phillip Danault and a 2018 2nd round pick. Having had some time to evaluate the trade, our writers offer up their comments on the move.
Our March desktop calendar features one of the more pleasant surprises of an otherwise frustrating year, rookie goalie Mike Condon.
It was a quiet deadline day for the Habs but they did get a deal in before the closing bell, shipping winger Devante Smith-Pelly to New Jersey in exchange for winger Stefan Matteau.
In a bit of a surprising move, the Habs picked up some veteran depth on trade deadline day, claiming rugged right winger Mike Brown off waivers from the San Jose Sharks.
The Habs saved their best week of the month for last, picking up five of six points and played much better overall. Things weren’t as good for St. John’s as their swoon continues. Things were even better for Paul Byron though; his new contract is the subject of my Final Thought.