GDT: Canucks @ Montreal - 4:30pm - Snet-P

[Cornuck]

Ok, we're starting a game road trip - the longest of our season (we have a couple of other 5 game trips)

Montreal is up first, followed by Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Not much travel on this trip - they can get a taste of what it's like to be in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight 'should' see the return of Dan Hamhuis. Remember him? So who sits? (Edit: Ballard sits tonight for the first time in his career.). Penalties should be important tonight as the Canucks have the #1 power play, while Montreal ranks #30 (6.4%).

NHL.com Preview

THN.com Tale of the Tape

Canucks.com Game Notes

GO CANUCKS GO!

[nucklehead_88]

Ballard sits? of course he does, leave it to AV to make the dumbest decision and play your obvious 7th man over the guy you invested a big trade in.....ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I hate our coach

[Arachnid]

Wow, I don't have any classes today and can actually relax, have a microbrew and enjoy watching the game.
Going to the one Saturday o'course, going to be fun seeing those Laughers suffer in person

[Linden Is God]

I hate this game. My bro and dad are Habs fans and I actually have a huge soft spot for them. While I'll be cheering for the Canucks, I'll never hear the end of it if they lose.

The way Montreal has been playing, the Canucks should take this one. Quite frankly it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect the Canucks to take 4 out of 5 on this trip, with a 5th win being quite possible. I get so nervous on these eastern trips. I hate it when the Canucks lose to any other Canadian team.

[Arachnid]

I hate this game. My bro and dad are Habs fans and I actually have a huge soft spot for them. While I'll be cheering for the Canucks, I'll never hear the end of it if they lose.

The way Montreal has been playing, the Canucks should take this one. Quite frankly it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect the Canucks to take 4 out of 5 on this trip, with a 5th win being quite possible. I get so nervous on these eastern trips. I hate it when the Canucks lose to any other Canadian team.

As long as they don't lose to the leaves or Flames I'm good
Why didn't you go to the game? Timmies is close to Mo'Real or are you going to the Otava game

[Island Nucklehead]

Ballard sits? of course he does, leave it to AV to make the dumbest decision and play your obvious 7th man over the guy you invested a big trade in.....ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I hate our coach

Ballard may be our worst d-man right now (worst +/- on the team, tied with Parent). -2 since coming back from his concussion, and three straight games in the red. Since Ballard came back Bieksa is +4, Rome is -2 like Ballard but has put up some points. Alberts is +3. All those guys have been playing more than Ballard.

Just because we invested some assets in the guy, doesn't mean we should throw him under the bus. He is coming off hip surgery in the offseason, and an early season concussion. He's got a long time left on that contract and we should let him find his legs and timing before we expect too much out of him.

AV is going to let the best players play. Hamhuis is back from injury, and it's possible that our worst d-man lately has been Ballard.

[Cornuck]

Gotta agree with Island, and it looks like Ballard does as well:

"I haven't played well enough and on a team like this you have to earn your minutes," Ballard said today. "I've probably played games when I should have been scratched but I wasn't on a very good team. It's not fun; everyone has a competitive side and wants to be out there. But there are bigger things than how I feel about it. We're on a six-game winning streak right now. The guys who are playing tonight deserve to play.”

[the toucan kid]

I don't know about you but that Ballard quote is pretty refreshing and hints to me that the best of him is yet in store...

By the way Luongo is, in fact, never going to be great again

Okay I'm sort of serious though, his reaction time is abysmal and has been for over a season now. I frankly think he'll be positionally sound, but there's no evidence he can keep up at an NHL level with pucks in close. And therefore we do have one of the worst contracts in the NHL on the book. So, really, we need to win NOWish please...

[Cannie]

Our goaltending is fine, Toucan. Maybe Luongo is overpaid, but goalies are worth less on the market than they were 2 years ago. I'd put our goaltending combo equal to anyone in the league, along with Boston and maybe Los Angeles.

The Habs have lots of jump tonight, and it always amazes me how much the crowd at the Bell Centre gets behind and picks up their team right from the opening faceoff. A smattering of Canucks fans only adds to the impressive atmosphere. This might be our toughest game on the trip.

Cannie

[the toucan kid]

Our goaltending is fine, Toucan. Maybe Luongo is overpaid, but goalies are worth less on the market than they were 2 years ago. I'd put our goaltending combo equal to anyone in the league, along with Boston and maybe Los Angeles.

Right, but that's only if Luongo isn't the last year Luongo, and I'm not sure we can say that when he fumbles around like a drunk trying to find the puck when it's in his crease. That happened so much last year, and again this year, that I'm starting to wonder if a combination of equipment girth and age have made him a substandard second chance goalie. You can't be a great tender if that's the case.

I say a bad contract because essentially we're stuck with him for an eternity, so if he's already pretty much remanded by skill to decent NHL starter status, then that's an leak to sink us with over and over. Hell, we could still win with just good goaltending, but Luongo's got too many warts to believe he'll ever keep up with the best around any more.

[Island Nucklehead]

Well I wouldn't be too shocked if Ballard is in next game. Alberts has been pretty brutal tonight. Two awful penalties totaling 6 minutes...

[the toucan kid]

Too slow on the second goal, couldn't get across. Nice shot, but he wasn't set and had to make a flail with his arm. It's tough because there was a time when he WOULD have been ready and set. I've seen enough of him now to see a visible decline. Well, this might get annoying over the year (both the goals and me commenting like this).

[the toucan kid]

Well I wouldn't be too shocked if Ballard is in next game. Alberts has been pretty brutal tonight. Two awful penalties totaling 6 minutes...

The Ballard benching is clearly just a wake up call, they weren't going to leave him out for long anyway. And Alberts is no alternative nor is there one to press him seriously.

[Island Nucklehead]

It's pretty tough to win hockey games when you don't score any goals. I don't see how you can really blame Lou for that bomb on the PP for their second goal. He did bobble the rebound on the first one, but the second one would've been a fantastic save had he made it... so you can't really EXPECT him to.

Price has been on his game tonight, made some big saves on a couple odd man rushes, but the Canucks really haven't had too many grade A chances close to the goal.

[Cornuck]

You can't win them all. We were outplayed by a hard working Habs team, and met a goalie who wasn't giving up anything.

We really didn't have any good chances, and to some degree made Price look good - but he earned his shutout in the last 5 minutes.