Caps Visit; The Rookie Scores Twice

Yes, Chris Higgins provided all the offense (two goals) for the Habs in regulation time. What, were you expecting goals from some other rookie? Not seen on the highlight reels: Higgins' Selke-worthy takeaway from that other rookie a mere 10 seconds prior to Koivu's OT winner. Final score: 3-2.

All three teams that were tied for 6th in the East anted up as Tampa took out the Thrash and the Devils downed Buffalo. Unfortunately, the tiebreakers do not favour the Habs. Tampa has the edge in wins, and NJ has a 2-0 lead in the season series. Montreal's goal differential is also the worst of the three. A series versus Carolina or Ottawa looks probable, but 6th place and a date with the Rangers/Flyers would be oh so niiiiiiiiice.

From Gibson's Weekend Hockey Report:

"...we could see Montreal play Ottawa and Jersey take on the Rangers in round one. If that were to happen, those series would be wars and there might not be anything left of the winner when all was said and done."

I'm not sure whether Gibson is dishing out respect for the Habs, or disrespect for the Sens. Since he's based in T-dot, I would tend to think the latter. Personally, I don't see a Habs-Sens series turning into a 'war.' Les boys would do well to stretch it to six games. With a couple of games versus Ottawa remaining, we might get a playoff preview.

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Pet peeve/Grammar Nazi rant OTD: In interviews, NHL coaches/GMs have taken to asking themselves questions then answering them immediately. Do I hate self questioning? You bet I do! Does it piss me off? It sure does! Is there anything I can do about it? Bitch about it here, I suppose.