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About last night ...
posted by Mike Boone at 22h16 EST on Oct 28
The wise course for fans would be to file the mess away and focus on the next game.
The challenge is the next two games: a Friday night date with the powerful 'Hawks in Chicago, then flying back and gaining a time zone for a Halloween date with the suddenly-not-so-terrible Leafs.
Carey Price probably will get the start in Chicago. I thought the third period in Pittsburgh would be a springboard, but Price was beaten twice on 14 shots ... and yes, one was high glove side.
He didn't get much help, as had been the case through two periods with Jaro Halak.
The Canadiens lost battles along the boards, turned the puck over at the blueline and blew D-zone coverages. You can't do that with the Stanley Cup champs .... certainly not on a night when Crosby is staking his claim to be Captain of the Olympic team.
Jaroslav Spacek was on for two of Crosby's goals and also power-play scores in the third period by Alex Goligoski (a long shot woefully similar to others we've seen blow past Price this season) and Kunitz, on a breakaway.
Roman Hamrlik was minus-2 as well. The Canadiens top D pair were simply overmatched against the Crosby line.
They might play shutdown against the Islanders, but this was a challenge of far greater magnitude. Give Crosby an opening and it's in the back of the net.
Give Guillaume Latendresse an opening and ...
Or Andrei Kostitsyn, who – to be fair – looked interested early, as did his teammates.
The Canadiens played a strong first period. They had a 9-8 shot edge and better chances to score. But that All-Star team of high draft choices includes a goaltender who's playing like he'll be joining his Captain in Vancouver.
Pittsburgh is dominant down the middle: Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, Staal ... you need something approaching a perfect game to beat them, and the Canadiens effort – certainly over the final 40 minutes – fell well short of perfection.
In addition to their wide advantage in skill, the Penguins played tougher: 16 hits to eight for the Canadiens.
Here's a mind-blowing stat that says it all: Hamrlik, Spacek, Paul Mara, Hal Gill and Marc-André Bergeron had a grand total of ... wait for it ... ZERO HITS!
That's brutal. Josh Gorges had one.
How can you beat the Cup champs – or the McGill women's team, for that matter – if your six Dmen total one bodycheck among them?
Another telling stat: For the first time this season, Mike Cammalleri didn't have a single SoG ... even with 2:15 of ice time on the Canadiens three power plays.
Bright spots?
Well, you have to reach, but ...
• Kyle Chipchura went 9-3 on faceoffs and continues to play like he belongs in the NHL
• Max Lapierre worked hard and had five shots on goal to lead the team. He continues to play ike he belongs with Tomas Plekanec, who scored on a 5-on-3 PP to deprive Fleury of a shutout and showed enough spunk to throw a couple harmless punches at Bill Guerin, who looked distinctly unintimidated.
• Early on, Scott Gomez didn't look like a guy suffering from flu-like symptoms
• Brian Gionta had some chances ... but managed to shoot off-target four times.
Again, like the Vancouver game, this was one to forget.
When the Penguins play to their potential – even without Sergei Gonchar – they're tough to beat.
Several camera shots of Jacques Martin showed a mightily pissed-off hockey coach (with a naughtily decollété Pittsburgh babe seated behind him). Practice should be intense today.
The Canadiens, as noted with numbing frequency during these early days of a long season, are a work in progress.
Being schooled by the Penguins was a learning experience – although the grim lesson might have been that this team does not match up against Crosby, Malkin, Staal or Fleury.
And it doesn't get any easier.
On to Chicago.
The good news: Patrick V. Hickey was getting REALLY sick of wearing that sweater.
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the habs are still gelling and trying to find an identity. but the fact is, we've got mediocre talent up front.
after the top line, and plekanec, the rest of the teams forwards are 3rd and 4th liners. big tits is playing like crap. lapierre can hold his own on the second line, but he's not a scoring threat.
chipchura is finally proving he can be a 4th line center in the NHL. in a couple years he'll probably improve to become a good 3rd line, shut down centre.
hopefully max-pac can eventually develop into a legit top 6 forward. maybe in 2-3 years.
d'aggostini never will.
i had high hopes that Latts would develop into a top-6 threat this year, but it hasn't happened yet and is looking doubtful
we've got enough talent to beat the bad teams and to compete with the average teams. but we're not going to win many games against the elite teams.
things will improve marginally when Markov is back. but let's face reality. this team is going to have work it's *** off to finish 7th or 8th in the conference. and if Price and/or Halak falter, even that modest goal is a stretch.
Bang on all all points. I suspect we will steal a few games against elite teams but where we need to win is the other games. CHI can be taken and the 2 points against the Lafs are a must. If we win both, it would make for a good week with only 1 accepatable loss. So CHI should be a much better performance.
The forwards that were supposed to continue developing didnt. Latendresse is slow and ineffective. What makes it worse is that he isnt naturally agressive. If he hit more and played tougher there would be a spot for him. Gui lacks agressiveness and shows no inclination of finding any.
Lapierre may have reached the limits of his talent. 15 goals and 25 points. Not tough, not physical but annoying. He can eat up minutes without costing you but he wont score many game winners.
AK seems lost. I dont think the north american experience is working for him. His wife and child are thousands of miles away and he shows no interest in bringing them over or learning the language. He has to commit to a life in Montreal or tell Bob he's leaving so other plans can be made.
MaxPac is years away. D'Agostini seems to be stuck in a rut.
Moen is good at his job, Chipper has arrived and Metro is suprisingly good but none will win games or score many goals.
Until a legitimate secondary scoring threat appears shutting down the smurfs will shut down the habs.
I have to wonder out loud whether Gill and Bergeron are an upgrade on Subban and Weber. At least Subban can skate rings around Gill and Weber has the shot from the point (and right-handed too!) that we so covet in Bergeron. I can't figure out the heirarchy of the defensive pairings. Gill and Gorges seem to be on against the top lines. Gorges can't do it all by himself. Maybe it's more difficult on the road not having the last change but seeing Gill on against Crosby and Malkin is frightening to say the least.
Gill and Bergeron can handle life as a pro hockey player. Subban is learning on the fly. This is probably his first job and first time with disposable income and time on his hands. A year in the minors will help.
Weber doesnt have the maturity or experience to make up for his lack of size. More time in the minors is the only way around that.
Is it me or does the Habs not seem right unless Price is in net? The Habs just look naked without him back there....
"Truth! You can't handle the Truth"
I think it is you Dilly, Halak and Price will stay in net as long as the team is winning.
When one of them looses the other hangs onto the net until he looses. That will go on all year long. Best for both of them.
They know where they stand with the coach and they know what they have to do.
I don't know if it's just you, but it's not me. He looks like a nervous nellie whose lost his confidence to me. Not bashing; I wish him well.
He looks like our scared little boy out here, all by his lonesome with no D to protect him!
"Truth! You can't handle the Truth"
But Halak doesn't look scared to me. Maybe because he's had the better D?
VERY TRUE....
"Truth! You can't handle the Truth"
We had our chances to make this game close ..the turning point for me was when Gionta hit the pipe on that short-handed effort...would have been 2-1 at that point and a new game....after that it was all Crosby, he always plays well against the Habs....at least we now know where we stand against the elite teams...we have some work to do but, we will make the play-offs...no doubt in my mind ! These guys will put it together before this season is much older...mark my words....starting Friday night in Chi Town....without Markov we can't expect much right now. They just have to work harder and demote a few players like Gui....he is as useless as Laraque, although he skates better ...that 'aint saying much for this so-called Power forward some of you think he can be, you're dreaming if you see that in him, gimme a large break...he is nothing, just like George...wasted roster spot, Kostitsyn too...he is in outer space..I'd try to package the three of them while they still can...PaciorNOTretti either..send him to the dogs ..Jacques will not have much more patience with Max Pac, rightfully so,he looks very intimidated in my opinion..needs time in the semi- pro league or they will ruin him !
One thing I find ironic is that Price seems to go in as soon as the D stops providing support. If the tide has turned and they're about to have a negative run, I hope no one blames Price if he doesn't win all the games on his own. Halak won the games he should have won during the 4-game streak but I don't think he has stolen any games this season and when they were overmatched, he didn't set the world on fire last night.
Price should have played Monday and been the starter last night...
I keep hearing about this babe behing Martin. Unfortunately, I didn't get the game last night. Anyone got a still shot or a link to a clip?
_____________________________________ "Deserves" got nothin' to do with it.
How long has Pittsburgh been together and How long has our team been together.May make a difference.
AK46 has had too much Kovy training dont back check dont keep the skates moving etc
Difference? Talent!
The team is performing as I expected, we can play agianst middle on down teams but cup contenders are gonna beat us most times and badly. I have no problem with that and unlike a Toronto fan I have some grip on reality. I will say one thing, this team, on most nights, has been exciting to watch and we are 5 and 0 in OT. I would however suggest that after this season the Habs and Gainy part ways, he tried but failed on many levels....time to move on.
”You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” - Wayne Gretzky
It's difficult to take seriously someone who pictures himself as a little cartoon girl who would just love to have t*ts to play with. You should find some real ones.
don't judge a book by its covers.
- we need a MARKOV.
C'mon Dude, lighten up!!!
"Truth! You can't handle the Truth"
I for one sat up and took him VERY seriously.
beating middle on down teams is enough to get us into the playoffs...where it's a different game altogether.
i think last night's game was one bounce away from being a game. we had our chances, we just didn't capitalize off of them...but i guess that's the name of the game considering they have crosby + malkin...and we have..well we know what we have.
- we need a MARKOV.
One bounce away from being a game? C'mon Likehoy! You're making it look like if Gionta's post would have went in, the game would have been close. The Habs were blown out of the building. Forget the score. They were outmuscled, outhustled and outskilled at every turn. Montreal needed 10 bounces and for Pittsburgh to have the worst luck known to man, to make last night a game.
Just like your picture, you don't recognise quality in either game my friend.
Side note to the Douglas Hospital Mike.
My grandfather built the Douglas wing to the hospital with his own bucks for the community and his mentally challenged son. It was named after my Uncle Douglas who lived there until his death.
That's pretty interesting stuff, Ian. You have quite the story.
Best,
JD
It's a story that would look great in print. Ian needs to write an autobiography.
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
truth is, habs can't beat the elite teams, nor can they win on the road, so expect a loss on Friday night, and as well I expect the leafs to win on Saturday. you will see just how bad our D and goaltending is.
shameful on Gainey's part to make this team worse than last year's team. just shameful. with Gainey, 10 more years of futility. Isn't 6 years enough?
Please ban this troll.
The guy is a Troll and is exaggerating, but there is some truth in what he says. The Habs don't look like a team that can be compared to the elite, in the NHl. They do seem a lot softer and more hesitant on the road so far. Gainey should leave at the end of this season. He's had his shot and we've never got passed the second round (assuming we don't this year either, a pretty good bet). Bottom line is the results are not there and it's enough.
Shameful:
The last time your team won a Cup:
1. There where only SIX teams in the league
2. Most goalies didn't wear MASKS
3. Many players didn't wear HELMETS or have curves on there sticks
Pathetic:
1. You post on this web site with nothing intelligent to add, only to agitate and provoke other posters with childish comments because your team is not worth discussing with your own fans
2. Your team is the current laughing stock of the NHL- 1-7-2 speaks for it's self
3. T.O. is going to be in the basement for the foreseeable future and Boston has your 1st round draft picks for the next 2 years
4.Toronto fans are selling their allegiances on E-bay for $25
Why don't you do something more costructive with your time, like stock up on paper bags for saturday nights game
The last time the leafs won the cup it was still just a bowl!!
Looks like your season is over( habsrsmurfs) I suppose your going to enjoy the figure skating this winter.
Hey everybody
This guy's a Laff-loving troll. Just look at his username. Th Habs played a no-so-great game last night, against the defending Stanley Cup champs, and lost.
Big deal.
Was anyone expecting this team to go 82-0?
I still believe that the Habs will finish in or about 6th place. What happens in the playoffs is a whole other story. There are things on this team that should be taken care of (A Kost, are you listening?), but we haven't even played 1/5th of the season yet!
Even the pathetic Loaf fans are saying that the '67 team who won the Cup started the season with 10 losses (or something like that). Take your hands AWAY from the panic button ... in fact, rip that button out and throw it into the garbage.
Im fully aware the guy is a leaf humper, my point is, I want him to back up his statements, or GTFO
Losers Even After Forty two Seasons
Ignore them completely or just make fun of them. Debating them is a waste of bandwidth. He's sitting in his mom's basement, thinking he's soooo clever.
Go bleep yourself, over and over. You have nothing to say except that you represent the moron faction that frequents this site. Not happy with your laffs? Troll somewhere's else.
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Beliveau- his legend is 600' tall and growing...
Well, I'll bite.
Please tell us, step by step, what you would do to fix this team. And be realistic here.
Losers Even After Forty two Seasons
he is already gone to troll other habs sites he wont be back ne never backs anything up he is as a british coworker of mine says "a wanker and a pie hole".
He's not interested in "fixes", or in the Habs getting better. He's a Laffs troll.
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
you beat me to it...lets hear it bud.
Should Price get the green light vs. Chicago, it will be a big test for him. He'll be facing a very good team, and he'll likely be up against his old mate/competitior/mentor/now-opponent Huet. That will be a lot of pressure for him. Let's hope he can face those pressures and come up big. Otherwise, Halak--who is playing well despite a loss to an excellent team and defending champs--will be starting a lot more games in the near future...
put in halak and then price saturday night. price plays well against the laffs at least he did so the first game.
I am more optimistic than most. I though last night the Habs played well. Our fwds were strong and had chances. Could have easily scored 4 or 5.
If Gionta's short handed post goes in your in a diffrent game.
Near misses followed by opposition goals is heart breaking. 1 diffrent bounce in the first and I think the habs would have given the pens a run for their money.
In my mind this loss is not nearlly as scary as the vancouver loss. That game it looked like our team was useless...I think this game just got away beacasue of a few bad breakes.
Our top line needs to take defending their own end a little more seriously. That first goal was brutal...Gomez needs to be stronger on that puck at the blue line.
Oh...and Gill - next time try and remember that crosby and Malkin are on the ice.
Think they derserve a little extra attention
Richard B
Agree about the optimism.
This wasn't the Vancouver game, or the Habs trouncing the Isles, where one team just gets outplayed over the course of a game. This was the classic meaningless blowout where one team has miscues and the other capitalizes a lot to take a big lead quickly. Hockey is a fast-paced game where mistakes are made, and it takes only seconds to score; three consecutive defensive miscues could lead to three flubbed scoring chances, or a goal and two flubs, like they usually do. Or they could lead to three goals and you end up with a laugher. It happens.
One day the Habs will catch a team when their D or goaltending is off and build a big lead without having to play much better than the other guys. It could happen to any team -- and wouldn't it be hilarious if it was against Chicago on Friday? ;)
You could have JC in nets and the Pens would score. That being said, the Habs got schooled by a far superior hockey team. It is like putting my 1996 Accord up against a 2009 Acura. The Acura wins!! I love the Habs but I am a realist. They have noone to match the fire power of the Pens. In order to do so, you must finish bottom tier for multiple years and then pick Crosby, malkin, Staal etc and build around. Whereas the Habs finish middle of the pack and pray for FA, teams that are bottom feeders for multiple years use the top picks of the draft and then supplement with FA. A big difference. The Pens, Capitals, Hawks etc..... have used the draft to become powerhouses. Now people are going to bring up Price, but a goalie as has been proven with Fleury take a lot longer to reach the top then a forward such as Crosby, malkin, ovechkin, Toews etc.
speaking of saturday - if you haven't already been offended by the new leafs anthem ("...this is Canada's team") here's an article with the full lyrics. happy that the songwriter was supporting the troops, disappointed he assumed we are all part of the so-called "leaf's nation".
btw - i hope the boys don't look past Friday's game like we all seem to be doing!!
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Good_News/2009/10/06/pf-11319706.html
If the Leafs are Canada's team, then who are the American's team? Atlanta? Phoenix? In baseball, I gues it would be the Cubs...
dallas cowboys used to claim to be america's team. most of america hated them too...
did Don Cherry's publicist author that one?
does anybody know if we are wearing those god awful jailbird jerseys on saturday night.. thought i heard they were wearing them..i hope not.
According to the schedule, they will be going full barber.
god ..great just great. does the marketing machine or who ever is on charge realize we are the butt of so many jokes when those are worn..
Great, watch we lose one of our top guys again due to injury. Those shirts are CURSED!
Losers Even After Forty two Seasons
I hope they wear the Barber Poles. The Leafs would be distracted from messing with their vertical hold all night.
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
One thing I can nit-pick about, and I said it last night, our passing seems to be a little too hot at times and it blows potential SOG oppertunities.
Just a thought.
Losers Even After Forty two Seasons
On the OT loss against Dallas, a Leafs fan writes on TSN: "you can sum this loss up with one word, Komisarek, what was burke thinking? this guy makes you wish for Mccabe" LOL!
"All you need in hockey is good character, luck and skills" - Ovie
makes you wish for McCabe! Priceless!
Speaking of the Laffs game, are we allowed to like Mike Ribeiro, even momentarily, for scoring with a couple of minutes left in the game to send it to overtime, and eventually another Laffs loss?
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
did you see him embellish that high stick? the wind almost knocked him over.
classic ribeiro...he shouldn't get a fine either IMO...he could easily eappeal that he he reacted by reflex to dodge a high stick, and the ref's made a mistake.
- we need a MARKOV.
if you want to call them the laffs, then the joke is on you, because the habs are no better and will lose to the LEAFS on Saturday. too bad we have the habNOTS!
why are u still posting everyone knows that ur a laffs fan and r just stiring the pot cause u know the ur laffs r hopeless, do you wanna sell ur support to someone on ebay like the other laffs fans i will buy it from you what is your price? just name it and i will buy it and when i do i will have u support a division 3 team in osaka so you dont bother us habs fans anymore.
Away with you, troll.
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
No we can't LIKE him. We can relish in the fact that his disgraceful antics helped serve the loafs another plate of humble pie, but liking him isn't required for that. A weasel he still is.
Thanks for the clarification! Mickey Ribs sucks!
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
That's more like it.
Sucks Rocks!
Sounds like I picked a good game to miss!
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
I don’t think it’s any great surprise that we lost to the defending Stanley Cup champions, especially on a night when their superstar was on fire. Truth be told, we aren’t as bad as our previous losing streak would suggest, and we’re not as good as our winning streak (against bottom feeders) led us to believe. Most Hab fans realize that we’re not going to be contending for the Cup this year, but instead are going through the process of building for a Cup run further down the road. The run for the roses will be based on the ongoing development and maturity of our young players, something that just isn’t there right now.
In light of that fact, I wonder if we really should be getting stressed out after every game. We seem to be alternating between the two distinct camps of fans that dominate this site. Each gets to rain down on the other depending on the nightly outcome of each game. Instead of posting a thread entitled, ‘About Last Night’, it might be more beneficial for Mike Boone to post ‘About Last Week’ or ‘About Last Month’ every once in awhile. That’s certainly how I’m choosing to evaluate my team this year. I’ll be happy with a 7-7 record after Saturday night. I’d also like to see us get our GD back to .500 in the near future.
You bring up an interesting point. I live in Calgary so I'm smothered with Flames talk, but when Darryl Sutter was coaching he said three things that resonate with the HAbs this season. Sutter would break the season down in two ways. The first thing he said was that in order to make the playoffs (he was talking about the Western Conference here) you had to have 96 points so you had to win 12 points for every 10 games. After ten games the Habs were 5-5 for 10 points so they were one win behind the pace necessary to make the playoffs. Now they are 6-6
The second thing sutter said was that you should look at the season as 11 7-games series (and one 5 game series) because that's the way the playoffs are structured. In Montreal's first 7 games they went 2-5, in the current series they are 4-1 with two games to play.
The final thing Sutter said was to look at whether the team is improving or regressing from the previous series and figure out why. In the first four games of this series, they increased their goal support, reduced their SoG against, and were crisper with their passing and breakouts. Against Pittsburgh, 37 SoG against, one goal for, difficulty connecting on passes.
Good point of view. I wasn't going to post anything after such a dismal game, but I was thinking about our team and where we need to progress to think about being contenders in the next couple of years. I think our team is overall pretty good - as you point out, not as good as we looked during our winning streak, but nowhere near as bad as we looked last night or against Vancouver. When Markov comes back the defense, which already looks surprisingly solid (apart from the occasional brain cramp), will be very good. I love our top line and am even more or less reconciled to the Gomez contract. I have't given up on either Kostitsyn, and really hope that Sergei will be back up and that Martin can get Andrei going. Pleks looks to be back to his form of two years ago; a bit more strength along the boards and he could be our first-line centre. The young guys are looking better, especially Chipchura, although we need more from Latendresse, and still think Pacioretty should be in Hamilton. I think the team will improve as the year goes along and be still better next year. For me the big question is goaltending. Our guys are both pretty good, but neither is elite. I don't think Halak will become an elite goaltender, but he'll be solid and reliable on most nights. But what worries me is that I have yet to see in Price any signs that he's progressing. More mature, yes; better attitude, yes. He looks positionally sound to me, but slow. I admit I know little about the fine points of goaltending, but if he just never becomes good enough, we'll be in a hole as far as goaltending goes. I think most people now think he should have had at least a year in Hamilton. Has this de-railed his progress so much that he'll never reach his potential? Or will it just take longer? Or will he simply turn out to be a bust?
No sense investing much brain sweat in thinking about that game. The Habs were in it after one, got blown away in the second, and folded up their tents in the third. Game over.
I'm curious to see how the Habs do against Chicago, another team with great individual skill players that play a puck-possession game. The Habs forwards feast on turnovers, which are much harder to generate against the likes of the Sedins, Crosby, Malkin, Toews and Kane than they are against the top lines of the Islanders, Thrashers or Leafs.
The big line didn't play well...and when they don't play well, the Habs look like a very bad team. They didn't show up in Vancouver, either, and the Habs were blown out. This team desperately needs somebody else to step up and become a consistent scoring threat. Plekanec has done yeoman's work in that regard thus far, but I sure as heck refuse to put any faith in him come playoff time until he can prove he isn't a shrinking violet when the refs put away their whistles.
The big difference in that game versus the winning streak was that the turnovers last night were to guys like Kunitz, Guerin, Malkin and Crosby...those guys WILL make you pay. With the Habs firing blanks at the other end, it was bound to be a long night.
Chris, I responded way back in Steve's Pens preview. If your feeling like reading an essay. ;-)
I replied...the old forums are quite nice for the rest of the folks who don't like our tomes. :)
I agree and I got you back again.
This team could be alright, even without Markov if they received any sort of secondary scoring.
D'Agostini, MaxPac, Lapierre, Latendresse, Akostitsyn are all basically plugs out there. They have a combined 5 goals. Plekanec is playing his heart out but he's got a better chance of passing back to the point and letting the defenseman shoot. You'd think with Metro and Plekanec playing so well that one of those guys could score more than a goal, but no.
Why does anyone think Kostitsyn is going to break out of his career long funk. One year he happened to play with a dominant Kovalev and an improving Plekanec and got himself a big contract. Kovalev was dominant that year which left Kostitsyn open. AKost has a good shot and can sometimes skate fast, but he doesn't care, never has. He's not physical, is easily intimidated and can't communicate with his linemates because he doesn't speak English. I'd like to personally congratulate the Canadiens on drafting a small, epileptic Belorussian instead of thoroughbred big, Canadian centre
Your points were all decent until your last statement. Briniging someone's disabilities into play are not what this site is about.
Agreed - Did not know you also had trailer trash reneck dolts in Canada.
mjames
file this one away in the forget it column. the hawks are good and laffs improving. they will bring there A games for sure so we have to be better. LAFFS improving puke on that.
The whole Halak vs. Price question is a total crock. When the team in front of the goaltender plays a good game, the goalie looks good. When the team in front plays like crap, the goalie looks bad. The Habs do not have a goalie who can steal games for them...not Halak, and not Price. And this team, at times this year, is going to need some grand theft. Yes, we won four games in a row, and yes Halak was in net for all four of them. So what? There were times during those four games where our goaltender was very ordinary, letting in some questionable goals, and ill-timed at that. And I remind you that it was Halak in all four games. For you Price groupies, I don't believe he would have done any better...or worse. Our goaltending is not up to the calibre required with the defensive corps we have. Other than the Rangers, our opposition for those four wins was mediocre at best. Against the Rangers, the Habs played a great game but had to go to OT in order to get a 5-4 win. That's not great goaltending. When a team plays as well as the Habs did that night, and they need OT to get a win? Halak is not going to be our saviour. And, it would appear that Price does not have that in him either. If Price is the "can't miss" prospect all scouts and GMs thought he was, then try and find someone who will trade their number one goalie to us in exchange for Price. Halak could continue to be what he is...our backup. Oh I agree, Halak could be a starter for a few NHL teams, but those teams are in the bottom third of the entire league. Is that where we want to be?
I was at the Ranger game and most of the goals were from horrific giveaways in our own end. We can't expect the goalie to save the day every time. That being said, I think with Halak what you see is what you get. We have to play well in front of him in order for him to succeed. Last night we didn't play well and paid the price (no pun intended). I think Price has more upside because we've seen him actually steal games (Buffalo, Toronto) when he is in the zone. Can't fault him last night for the 2 goals he gave up. He hasn't played in two weeks and that's the price you pay for riding a hot goalie.
Or a "percieved" hot goalie. I will agree that Price has more ability to steal a game. But as I've said below, the team needs to play well in front of the goalie....regardless of which one it is. Price fell victim to bad timing. Just when the team started to play a more cohesive game, and limit the shots on goal, he was sat in order for Halak to get in a couple of games. It was only fair, after all, and it could be argued that Price needed a rest anyway. Then the perception that Halak had the "hot hand" was born. Price should have been back in goal Monday vs. the Isles, but Martin stayed with old hot hands and nearly got burnt. Last night he did get burnt.
We don't have a goalie that can steal games for us? I'm pretty sure I've seen both Price and Halak steal games for us. Did you not see the first 2 games Price played this year? Are you forgetting about the run Halak went on a tear last year where he was seeing 40+ shots and we were winning? If that's not stealing the game, I obviously don't know the meaning. If you are expecting our tenders to steal the games every night, its not very realistic, but BOTH of them can, and have stole us games.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "This kid is going to win a Stanley Cup one day and hopefully I'll be with him when that happens" - Saku Koivu
Actually I was sitting 8 rows up directly beside Price for two periods in Buffalo. Price played very well, the Sabres, despite the shots on goal, did not have a great night, and the rest of the Habs woke up halfway through the game. The Sabres, since, have turned it on. Opening night vs. the Leafs, yes Price played very well. The only thing that supports your claim that Price stole those two games would be the shots on goal. Since those first two games who has stolen a game? The fact is that team play has improved and thereby shots on goal against has gone down dramatically. Are you saying that our goaltenders need to face 45 shots a game in order to be in a position to steal one? The truth is that we have "adequate" goaltending. Not great goaltending. And don't hold your breath waiting for too many "steals" from our goaltenders. If the team in front plays sound hockey, our goaltenders will keep us in the game. If not, there are going to be too many long nights for these two goaltenders.
My only point was that you said that our goaltenders CAN'T steal us ANY games, I just wanted to point out that they already have. You didn't specify good teams or bad teams, you just said neither Price nor Halak could do it. Thats all.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "This kid is going to win a Stanley Cup one day and hopefully I'll be with him when that happens" - Saku Koivu
OH really. Maybe I was seeing things when Price Stole the first to games of the year. Everyone in here was saying "Price is back"!!!
"Truth! You can't handle the Truth"
back from where? the AHL? seriously, when was Price a superstar in the NHL? so I don't understand the "back" part, unless that means he's back in net... it's not a knock on him either. I think he's got potential and can play well, but people seem to unfairly compare him to Roy or Brodeur
I don't!
Roy Was Roy & Dryden was Dryden.
Price will be Price!
"Truth! You can't handle the Truth"
Amen. I don't care if it's Luongo, or Brodeur, or Roy, or Dryden, or Plante, or even Vezina... if your team plays crap D in front of them, it'll make an all-star goalie look average pretty quickly. I'd worry more about the goaltending if the team played a great game and we still had to fish six pucks out of the net.
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I have H1N2. Always the bridesmaid...
As long as we win in Chicago and at home against the laffs all will be forgiving about this game with the pens. My only concern is watching a little of the laffs game they looked pretty hungry and almost pulled off a win. I just hope the Habs come out with that aggression and kick some ***.
Of course we're better than Pittsburgh! Well, except for their hockey team. We will be more competitive than that, the next time we meet though.
Enough hot hand already. Give the starting role back to Carey Price. Go Habs!
I've said it before and will say it again, something happens when Price is in net and we see a lot more average players developing the capacity to go corner roof daddy than they normally would. Face it...putting the puck high right in the corner is not easy whether a goalie is in net or not. What troubles me is that ordinary guys seem to somehow gain this ability against Price. Same with seeing eye goals. I mean honestly now how many times did RJ Hamburgler just throw the puck at the net during the playoffs without really looking only to have it go through 4 guys and corner roof daddy on Price? It was uncanny. Maybe Price is snakebitten in the NHL.
Posted this yesterday during a barrage of posts...just thought I'd put it up again to see what people think:
So hold off on the parade.
If the team continues to play good against bad/average teams but have difficulties against top tier teams, what do you think they should do?
1) What do you do with Pleks? He's been playing great but he's in a contract year - any worries he'd revert to girly man once the ink is dry? How much is he going to want? For some reason, I think he'll be gone by the deadline if a guy like Maxwell develops well.
2) What do you do on D when OB and Markov come back? Out of this lot, Gill has to sit but he won't.
3) Who do you try out in the NHL? Pyatt? Maxwell? Subban? Weber? I'd like to see the first two get a tryout. We have too many d-men as it is so barring a trade, I think Subban and Weber will play out the year in Hamilton. That isn't a bad thing because I think Boucher is a great coach.
4) What do you do with the Koz side show? I'm all for potential and not wasting it but dayum it's tough to put up with their antics. The longer we wait for them to stop sucking/sulking, the less trade value they have. As much as I'd like to see Sergei get a shot at redemption, I'm thinking he won't. I'd like to see Andrei get a shot too...adrenaline...right in his heart. I think both may be gone by the deadline.
Still happy with the team. We got some bad luck on the injury front. My hope is that we don't trade some of our real promising guys for a fix that'll only get us through round 1 if that. If we do trade guys, let's bring back some future assets.