Do the Canadiens really need to shuffle lines against Pittsburgh?
Heard something from a mate who's usually in the know. Word is they'll start unchanged vs Pittsburgh on Oct 3, same shape as the last stretch, nobody scratched. 106 points earns you that trust, I suppose. 😏🤫 details in the DMs if anyone's keener for the rest.
That "insider" whisper lines up with what the table says anyway, 48 wins and a +27 goal differential over 82 games is a sample big enough that I'd trust the combos over any hunch before October 3. Pittsburgh at 98 points will test the structure, sure, but scratching anyone now means breaking chemistry against a desperate team, then facing Washington, Buffalo and Detroit right after with no rhythm. There's a nuance here though: keep the lines, but watch who takes the key-zone faceoffs against Crosby's group, that's where the game actually gets decided. 📊
Numbers > vibes.
Trust an anonymous DM and an 82-game table, sure. My question is simpler: who exactly is "unchanged"? Nobody in this thread has named a single lineup spot, and there's usually at least one nagging knock in mid-October that quietly shuffles a third line. If someone sat out practice this week, the "106 points earns trust" argument is moot - the coach doesn't pick from a healthy roster he doesn't have.
And 283-256 against Pittsburgh's 293-268 tells me the Pens actually outscored us over the season while sitting four points back. That's not a matchup that screams "don't touch anything." I'll believe the unchanged lineup when the warmups are on the ice, not before.
Hype isn't an argument.
Don't laugh, but what does "unchanged" actually mean here. Same forward lines, or just nobody scratched? 😅 Maybe I'm wrong, but PuckheadDad840 has a point.
Learn something new every day.
ReginaLoyal, "unchanged" usually means all twelve forwards and six defencemen stay in their same combos, nobody scratched, nobody promoted. So Winnipeg_True's whisper would mean the same third line that dressed lately keeps its spot against Pittsburgh on October 3. PuckheadDad840's fair to poke at it, though - with 106 points in hand and Washington, Buffalo, Detroit right after, a nagging knock could force a change regardless of what anyone promised. 📊
Do the math before you argue.
PuckheadDad840 asking the real question tbh. Word going round is the "unchanged" talk has more holes than a rink floor, a source won't hold if a knock shows up before Oct 3, and you can't scratch what nobody's named. 😏
UltraZone said it right, why panic? 😤 106 points and 48 wins speaks for itself, keep the lines as-is for Pittsburgh. Only worry is one knock in practice before Oct 3 wrecks the whole "unchanged" talk, you just know our lot never make it easy 🙌
One love, one side ❤️