kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 HABS ARE IN THE WILD (BUSH?) TONIGHT. 8:00 PM ET Montreal @ Minnesota FS-N, FS-WI, TSN2, RDS TSN 690 Radio The Canadiens are coming off a 3-2 win in Chicago on Sunday and are riding a three-game winning streak. Tomas Tatar scored the winning goal with 1:17 to play and Montreal improved to 15-10-5. That’s good for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wild was on the wrong end of a 7-2 count Friday in Edmonton and is on a two-game losing streak. Minnesota is three points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 15-12-2 record. Minnesota is 7-3 against the Canadiens at home and has won the teams’ last five meetings in St. Paul. Canadiens head coach Claude Julien is still mulling his options, but said he is considering a start in goal for Antti Niemi. Carey Price has started the last seven games and, while he’s had a day of rest, it makes sense to use Niemi so he doesn’t get too rusty. Niemi, whose last game was Nov. 23 in Buffalo, has a 4-2-1 record this season with a 3.61 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage. One factor in the decision might be Price’s last game in Minnesota, a 6-3 loss last November. The Canadiens took eight penalties and killed off seven of the Blackhawks’ power plays. Weber also scored a goal — his third in six games — and has five points and a plus-5 rating. He has been averaging more than 25 minutes a game. Noah Juulsen is chomping at the bit, but he might have to wait until the team returns to Montreal to get back into the lineup. Julien had been targeting the Chicago game for Juulsen, but he decided to stick with the same lineup that swept Ottawa last week. Juulsen was a top-four defenceman before he suffered a facial fracture, but he’ll return to a third-pairing role, which means he’ll push out Jordie Benn or Mile Reilly. Reilly will probably in the lineup Tuesday because he’s from Minnesota and played for the Wild. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk has struggled of late and that’s the major reason the Wild has lost five of its last six games. Dubnyk has a 1-5 record in his last seven appearances. Mikael Granlund leads the scoring parade with 11 goals and 28 points. Zach Parise has 24 points, including a team-high 13 goals. Mikko Koivu has 21 points, but Saku’s kid brother has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Veteran Eric Staal and defenceman Matt Dumba each have 10 goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Tale of the Tape Canadiens Statistic Wild 15-10-5 Record 15-12-2 0-2-0 H2H Record (17-18) 2-0-0 53.7% (4th) Corsi-for pct. 50.3% (15th) 3.13 (12th) Goals per game 3.03 (16th) 3.13 (20th) Goals against per game 2.97 (16th) 13.6% (29th) PP% 22.1% (13th) 79.0% (18th) PK% 84.6% (2nd) W∙L∙W∙W∙W Form L∙L∙W∙L∙L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 "Looks" like Koivu will not play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 We will see our old friend Greg Pateryn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maas_art Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Keep up the momentum boys. With Price playing like MVP Price and the forwards looking better than we've seen for maybe what, 20+ years, we really only have two major concerns: 1) the PP ... which it seems like there's a glimmer of hope lately. Definitely seen some signs of life the last little while. 2) the LD, specifically the #1LD spot. Fix that & get Juulsen back from injury and this defense will look worlds better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HabsRuleForever Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 1 hour ago, kinot-2 said: "Looks" like Koivu will not play. He's been retired for awhile now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, HabsRuleForever said: He's been retired for awhile now. <face palm > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Niemi starts, and Juulsen is in for Reilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_T_L Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 16 minutes ago, kinot-2 said: Niemi starts, and Juulsen is in for Reilly. Not surprised they chose Reilly to sit. May not have looked great in his last starts but the same can be said of a couple others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_rocket Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 25 minutes ago, H_T_L said: Not surprised they chose Reilly to sit. May not have looked great in his last starts but the same can be said of a couple others. That defensive zone "spin-o-rama" probably cost him his spot in the lineup for a few games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maas_art Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 1 hour ago, kinot-2 said: Niemi starts, and Juulsen is in for Reilly. Glad Juulsen is in. Sucks Reilly is out against his old team... Our right side looks actually pretty darned good. Weber-Petry-Juulsen Now if only our left side wasnt a gong-show. 1 hour ago, H_T_L said: Not surprised they chose Reilly to sit. May not have looked great in his last starts but the same can be said of a couple others. Indeed. Schlemko probably played his best game in a habs uniform but Benn was brutal. I just dont get it - i mean Benn is never getting better than what you've got today. Reilly is still young-ish and has had stretches of games where he's looked like a legit top 4 guy. Why bench the guy with the better potential? 45 minutes ago, jennifer_rocket said: That defensive zone "spin-o-rama" probably cost him his spot in the lineup for a few games. Yah. I mean it was a dumb play but come on. Im sure he knows it was dumb. Im sure he's not doing it again any time soon regardless of whether you dress him or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HabsAlways Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 5 hours ago, kinot-2 said: "Looks" like Koivu will not play. For a moment I thought I'd found a really old thread ... then remembered Minnesota has his brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maas_art Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 17 minutes ago, HabsAlways said: For a moment I thought I'd found a really old thread ... then remembered Minnesota has his brother Haha. I remember when Mikko was Saku's "Kid Brother" and now he's 35. Man i feel old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 9 minutes ago, maas_art said: Haha. I remember when Mikko was Saku's "Kid Brother" and now he's 35. Man i feel old. Welcome to my world. I have a 14 year old great grandson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_T_L Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 I hate these late games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Just now, H_T_L said: I hate these late games. Still time for a nap, and BTW,,,, we will be on delay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_T_L Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Just now, kinot-2 said: Still time for a nap, and BTW,,,, we will be on delay. Yeah,,, i saw that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maas_art Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 1 hour ago, kinot-2 said: Welcome to my world. I have a 14 year old great grandson. great grandson? Ok you got me beat gramps!! 1 hour ago, kinot-2 said: Still time for a nap, and BTW,,,, we will be on delay. I'll be teaching a figure drawing class so Im gonna miss the whole thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 Just now, maas_art said: great grandson? Ok you got me beat gramps!! I'll be teaching a figure drawing class so Im gonna miss the whole thing Ya, kinda shocks me when I'm called grampa. Methinks you might "want" to miss this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maas_art Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 4 minutes ago, kinot-2 said: Ya, kinda shocks me when I'm called grampa. I bet! Its taken me 14 years to get used to being called dad! 5 minutes ago, kinot-2 said: Methinks you might "want" to miss this one. Depends on who our model is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HabsRuleForever Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 1 hour ago, H_T_L said: I hate these late games. Late? It’s the perfect time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_T_L Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 5 minutes ago, HabsRuleForever said: Late? It’s the perfect time. Perfect time for a nap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-2 Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 Just now, H_T_L said: Perfect time for a nap. Getting "old" are we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HabsRuleForever Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 1 minute ago, H_T_L said: Perfect time for a nap. A nap before bed. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_T_L Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 Just now, kinot-2 said: Getting "old" are we? You bet. Drop the puck. Or have they already??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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