Montreal Canadiens: Outlook for rest of 06/07 Season

The Canadiens are tied with us with an extra game played and have 9 games to go.
Tonight vs. Boston
March 22 @ Boston
March 24 vs. Washington
March 27 @ New York Rangers
March 30 vs. Ottawa
March 31 vs. Buffalo
April 3 vs. Boston
April 5 @ NYR
April 7 @ Toronto

Like I said, I think they will split between the two games at MSG. I think they will lose both games in the back to back with Ottawa and Buffalo, most teams don’t come away with much points after those teams. I think Washington and Boston are perfect spoilers depending on the goalie situation.

It’s clear that Halak (pictured as a Hamilton Bulldog) is a great goaltender. There is a reason why age makes a difference as he is still inconsistent. Generally, I’d expect their last 9 games to be two strings of streaks. I really believe they can win their next 4 games but run into a wall their next 5. That won’t be enough to get them into the playoffs.

The reason why I really believe is how the goalie situation is handled. It’s clear David Aebischer can not handle the number one job but he is still a competent back-up goalie. Why not due a platoon where a goalie plays every other game? Both goalies seem to have solid games after being green from eating some pine, so I think that would be the best solution. After a victory or solid play both goalies see a downward slope in their quality of performance in the following games. We’ll see how it plays out and what Carbonneau does. It’s really up to Halak in the end as it looks like they want to ride the young goalie’s shoulder.