I should have stayed at Hurley’s following the Irishman of the Year (Wayne Hogan) breakfast, to keep listening to Shane Murphy and catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in too long. Lesson learned for next weekend.
- A huge chunk of something was missing with P.K. Subban forced out because of an injury for the first time in his NHL career. And it wasn’t a giveaway or two.
- This was the Mike Condon we saw too much of during the Habs descent of December-January. There is not a whole lot riding on these games so it must be disturbing for Habs management this late in the season to see a goalie still so unsure of himself.
- The more Michael McCarron plays the more it seems he is not quite ready for the NHL.
- Of all the young players who have spent time with both St. John’s and the Canadiens this season the most impressive has been Daniel Carr. Least impressive – Jacob de la Rose.
- I don’t include Sven Andrighetto because he’ll end up with over 40 games played. He’s an NHL’er.
- With Subban out, Mark Barberio played a career high 25:22. He too has likely seen the last of the AHL. In fact, I think Barberio has already shown he’s a better offensive defenseman than Nathan Beaulieu. Beaulieu is two years younger and a little heavier but Barberio has taken advantage of the injuries on the blue line and flashed the kind of talent that won him the Eddie Shore award as the best defenseman in the American Hockey League.
- Darren Dietz looked solid in his NHL debut.
- The Wild extended their power play goal scoring streak on the road to 13 games (15 goals). How is it that a team without a clear #1 centre can be in the top half of the league in power play efficiency while the Canadiens still can’t figure it out? A more pertinent question about the Habs might be how a team with obvious offensive talent can be so impotent on the power play for three consecutive seasons – without a change on the coaching staff?
