The Habs play the Florida Panthers in what has become a broken record cliche – another incredibly important inter-conference matchup. With half of the conference locked within 3 points and the NHL season set up the way it is, the odds of playing a direct competitor for a playoff spot is about 1 in 1. The Panthers are without leading scorer Nathan Horton which is a tough break for a team that generally struggles to score goals. The Habs will be hoping for a lift from new call up Ben Maxwell, although where he will play remains somewhat unclear given the return of Sergei.

I want to pose another question to the group. Sheldon Souray has reportedly given his GM a list of teams that he would consider a trade to. Clearly whether or not Montreal is on that list would be an important factor in determining whether or not the Habs could land Sheldon. That fact aside, would you trade for a guy who has all kinds of physical presence and a blast of a shot from the point? What would you give up?

A pretty solid game last night against the 2nd place Devils has left many in the Habs universe scratching their heads. Who is this team? Are we the blowout suffering push-overs from last week, or are they a team that can play responsible team defense and use speed to create prolongued offensive pressure? Maybe both? I guess that is life when you’re 2 points out of 6th place, as well as 2 points out of 12th.

Pride should be a motivator tonight given how terribly the Canadiens played the last game against the Rangers. If they can pressure the Rangers defense and try to force turnovers the way they did against the Devils we may see them re-coup the two points they gave away.

O’B is in the lineup tonight. Sergei is a game time descision. I imagine Jaro will see action again tonight.

Go Habs Go!!!!