Habs vs. Bruins | Game Thread

[Colin]

Where did you get that quote?

Good stuff.

Heh. I was out playing soccer and it turned into a wrestling quote-fest.

[sbhatt]

Heh. I was out playing soccer and it turned into a wrestling quote-fest.

You can take that quote, shine it up real nice....then turn that sumbitch sideways and stick it straight up your candy ass!!!

[KoZed]

Heh. I was out playing soccer and it turned into a wrestling quote-fest.

Not the Austin quote, the Carbo quote!

[Prime Minister Koivu]

I thought that we actually played a pretty good game. We made some bad mistakes that cost us and they didn't.

The uniforms made me a little bit dizzy though! The faster our players skated the dizzier I got. I hope to never see it again :puke:

[Colin]

Not the Austin quote, the Carbo quote!

lmao

OH!

tsn.ca

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=265531&amp...os=topStory_nhl

You can also hear him actually say it if you watch the Habs post-game video on tsn.ca

Edited February 2, 2009 by Colin

[Colin]

Thornton, who also dropped the gloves with Montreal's Alex Henry just 96 seconds into the game, was less than impressed with the Habs' uniforms

''I was really concerned about it in warmup,'' Thornton said. ''When there were 23 guys skating around, I was dizzy and I didn't know if I got enough sleep or what. It wasn't as bad once there were five guys out there.''

Sums it up nicely.

(nhl.com)

Edited February 2, 2009 by Colin

[Colin]

Boston Herald

As part of their 100th year, the Habs are wearing a series of throwback uniforms. Unveiled yesterday were those from 1912-13, with horizontal red, white and blue stripes on the jersey and socks. They looked like a cross between pajamas and the shirts worn by prison inmates.

[l<OV4L3V]

A few positive things from the game:

Ryan O'Byrne's play i was very impressed with. If he plays the rest of the season like that I will have no complaints about him

Other than that the Canadiens should be ashamed of themselves...no sustained pressure...it is time for a shakeup

Edited February 2, 2009 by l<OV4L3V

[l<OV4L3V]

not sure if this has been said yet... but...

worst player on the ice today... no question... KOVALEV!!

What is it with this guy? he plays great when he's wearing the C and then plays like garbage when Koivu is back.

this is so true...

As I said in another thread...i think BG is going to choose ONE between him and Koivu this summer. I really hope it's Kovalev still. He means good for the team even though it doesn't show sometimes. And for those of you who said he played like "siht" today...your all nuts. Boston overplayed him and knew that nobody else could get it done. That is the reason why Kovy doesn't seem like last year's Kovy!! Secondly...Carbonneau is so stupid putting him on the RHS with Chara's daggar reach for the 5 on 3...Put him on the left side of the PP...remember this? http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=pnrD7c3ZMAw&...feature=related

if he can do that last year he sure as hell can do it again this year!!!

I don't know but too many of you people on here roll over and die and don't believe when the going gets tough for this team..

Lets face it...Don't try and run Kovalev out of town...he made watching the Montreal Canadiens FUN again. I'm going to point my finger at Bob Gainey until he does something and finds a true number One centre so the weight can be lifted off Kovalev and Koivu's shoulders.

[JLP]

Oh are we on this tangent again?! Hehe. I LOVE Kovalev. He is one of the best stickhandlers in the game, for sure. I hope he stays with the team for years to come, and he's in great shape so he should be able to do so. How would getting rid of our only offensive superstar make us better? He's a Hab and he ought to be a Hab, because he's got panache.

Go Habs Go!

[Chris]

I don't care how much stick handling he does, his production sucks. If they want to keep him around for stick tricks maybe they can hire him for between periods for entertainment. Bench that guy already.

This weekends games were an absolute joke. One of your best teammates gets cheap shotted by a player none for that, what was the habs response? Nothing. That pretty much sums it up for me. Gorges was one of the only guys last year to stand up for team mates and he is paid back like this. That says alot about the lack of character and toughness of this team. With Laraque in the line up you still have 17 pus#### and 1 tough guy.

Komi was the human turnover factory again. atleast his stock is falling with his piss poor play. In my ongoing series of what you learn as an 8 year old, when you are skating backwards in your own end, you don't blindly throw it up the middle.

This team needs an enema. I'm pretty sure i would rather watch 18 pluggers who try then this garbage.

I wanted to thank Henry, Pacioretty and Price for showing up. I thought O'Byrne was ok until the end when he cheapsotted someone, you had the entire game to make a statement and you wait until 2 seconds are left? That's bushleague. Grow soem balls and fight someone.

I'm afraid the more i watch the more last year was clearly just the stars aligning and evertything went.

Unfortunately this years teams motto is when the going gets tough, the habs quit.

Unless some series shakeups happen i see them falling right out of the playoffs.

The good news is they are quickly moving up the draft board.

[Habsfan]

Game plan...that is the problem. There is none. They've got more talent than Boston but do you see the difference??

Are you kidding?? Chara, Savard, Bergeron, Kessel, Lucic etc... There's a reason why Boston is the best team in the NHL, and Lack of talent isn't one of them.

[Habsfan]

Komi was the human turnover factory again. atleast his stock is falling with his piss poor play. In my ongoing series of what you learn as an 8 year old, when you are skating backwards in your own end, you don't blindly throw it up the middle.

Um, I agree that Komi made a huge mistake that lead to Boston's first goal, but he played a decent game after that...even Pierre and Benoit mentionned it on RDS...and I think they have seen and analyzed a few more games than you have.

You need to chill a little. Even though the current situation with the Habs is an unpleasant one, they are still ahead of last years pace, and are in 4th or 5th place in the conference this morning!

No need to hit the panic button just yet!

[jrhabs]

Well if not panic... now, there are definite dark clouds on the horizon which will bring some strong rain and hail.

[Habsfan]

Well if not panic... now, there are definite dark clouds on the horizon which will bring some strong rain and hail.

true, but weren't we saying similar things just a few weeks ago when we lost Koivu, Higgins, Laraque, Tanguay and komisarek for long stretches...then our young guys came through and we went on an 11-2-1 streak throughout late december and early january!

Give the kids who are here (Pacciorety, D'Agostini, O'Byrne, Henry) a real chance to prove themselves...maybe they'll show the older guys how a solid 60 minute effort is more effective than 20 minutes per game!

[BTH]

I don't care how much stick handling he does, his production sucks. If they want to keep him around for stick tricks maybe they can hire him for between periods for entertainment. Bench that guy already.

This weekends games were an absolute joke. One of your best teammates gets cheap shotted by a player none for that, what was the habs response? Nothing. That pretty much sums it up for me. Gorges was one of the only guys last year to stand up for team mates and he is paid back like this. That says alot about the lack of character and toughness of this team. With Laraque in the line up you still have 17 pus#### and 1 tough guy.

I agree about that second part; that, one, we need more character in our line-up and two, it's too bad no one stood up for Gorges seeing as he's one of the two (Kosto is the other) guys on the team that have been getting their asses kicked in fights for their teammates.

As for Kovalev, what do you guys expect? We know who he is, we've known before he ever even came to Montreal. We don't need to whine about it every time he has a bad game - that's Kovalev. If our team's strategy is to sit around picking their noses until Kovalev saves them, then that's a much more serious problem. Kovy is going to have some good games and he's going to take some off (just like Saku) and the team should understand that and be prepared to win games on their own, if they have to.

We have far too much depth (when healthy) to be basing our game plan around a single player, much less one that we know to be inconsistent. Kovy is just one piece of our puzzle, one of the most important ones. Instead of waiting for him to put on his cape and rescue them, the team should be built/playing in a way that Kovy is just another contributor. In the past it was Souray & the PP (incidentally, not a bad band title) or incredible goaltending that we relied on for a win. Now, it's a SuperKovy.

One thing that is becoming more and more clear to me is that, unless Gainey can bring in someone above Koivu and Kovalev - say, Lecavalier, then we're going to need to choose between the two of them in the offseason. As things are, it seems like the team is split in two, not knowing who's their real leader.

Are you kidding?? Chara, Savard, Bergeron, Kessel, Lucic etc... There's a reason why Boston is the best team in the NHL, and Lack of talent isn't one of them.

I agree with the original statement - that the Habs have more talent than the Bruins. I also think that our offense goes one line deeper. The Bruins have talent but they play a much more "coach-oriented" game than we do. Their success comes from hard work, good defense, playing the system.

[Fanpuck33]

I agree with the original statement - that the Habs have more talent than the Bruins. I also think that our offense goes one line deeper. The Bruins have talent but they play a much more "coach-oriented" game than we do. Their success comes from hard work, good defense, playing the system.

Which is exactly why the Habs struggle. They don't work hard for 60 minutes and their offensive system is non-existent.

[BCHabnut]

I still think that last year when Carbo was fighting to make the team play a system, he said OK lets try the Old Bowman's throw speed at them. And it worked great. Habs were so fun to watch last year. They had no system at all and it was fun. This year they do seem to play different for different teams. Trap one team forecheck another. I think the offensive system is not an issue. Actually I should retract part of that statement. When they play against the trap, they need to skate more and support the puck carrier. Be close and ready for the give and go. Long passes against the trap are dangerous. it's defensively where there seems to be an issue. I was very impressed by our defensive game yesterday. Thomas made a few great saves and the way he held it in his skates was pretty crazy. |With the exception of the injuries and our power play, I thought the Habs played very well. As I said before, If they continue to play like this, they will succeed.

Edited February 2, 2009 by BCHabnut

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I still think that last year when Carbo was fighting to make the team play a system, he said OK lets try the Old Bowman's throw speed at them. And it worked great. Habs were so fun to watch last year. They had no system at all and it was fun. This year they do seem to play different for different teams. Trap one team forecheck another. I think the offensive system is not an issue, it's defensively where there seems to be an issue. I was very impressed by our defensive game yesterday. Thomas made a few great saves and the wasy he held it in his skates was pretty crazy. |With the exception of the injuries and our power play, I thought the Habs played very well. As I said before, If they continue to play like this, they will succeed.

I'm inclined to agree. This team is in many ways superior to last season's. Last season we relied 100% on sheer skill, speed, and momentum - not to mention specialty teams. It made for scintillating hockey, but it's not how you win in the playoffs.

This year, the team has been very strong 5-on-5 and has shown an ability to play, if not one defining system, then different systems as required (e.g., last night *was* a strong game, the game against detroit - frankly, we see this mainly when they play a tough opponent). What's quite amazing about this bunch is that they've won as many games as they have, considering that several key young players have regressed (Higgins, Pleks, S. Kostitsyn, even Komi), they've gotten weaker individual performances from key veterans (Kovalev, Hamrlik), and they've suffered several major injuries. This speaks to a team that is fundamentally good, fundamentally sound. (And probably solid coaching too, whatever the Carbo-bashers think).

Now me, I think Lang's all-around game contributed significantly, stabilizing us down the middle and adding comprehensive competence. Hopefully he isn't the magic ingredient.

Having said these nice things, it *is* true that a) we struggle in our own end when we play against hard-forechecking, physical teams and that b) the team remains frustratingly prone to costly individual gaffes by players who have a bad shift (i.e., brain cramps). The former problem can be mitigated somewhat by tight team play, but really, it is a fundamental weakness given the personnel and coaching we have. Solving it will take either a defensive-specialist coach who upgrades Muller, or the addition of a second rushing defenceman a la Markov (Kaberle would be perfect). I think personnel is the real problem there - you can't have a really resilient transition game if you only have one defenceman who can effectively spark offence from the back end.

The problem of individual brain cramps is aggravating, and probably only experience can solve it. Guys like the Kostitsyns, Lats, even Lapierre, are still learning that they have to bring it every shift. O'Byrne is learning the game. We probably just have to ride that out, hoping that Price and improved confidence and focus heading into the stretch will minimize those miscues.

Note, finally, that the two are linked - an imperfect transition game puts more pressure on the D and leads to more gaffes. A smooth-passing top-4 defenceman would go a long way to minimizing both IMHO.

[Helmethead]

I'm inclined to agree. This team is in many ways superior to last season's. Last season we relied 100% on sheer skill, speed, and momentum - not to mention specialty teams. It made for scintillating hockey, but it's not how you win in the playoffs.

This year, the team has been very strong 5-on-5 and has shown an ability to play, if not one defining system, then different systems as required (e.g., last night *was* a strong game, the game against detroit - frankly, we see this mainly when they play a tough opponent). What's quite amazing about this bunch is that they've won as many games as they have, considering that several key young players have regressed (Higgins, Pleks, S. Kostitsyn, even Komi), they've gotten weaker individual performances from key veterans (Kovalev, Hamrlik), and they've suffered several major injuries. This speaks to a team that is fundamentally good, fundamentally sound. (And probably solid coaching too, whatever the Carbo-bashers think).

Now me, I think Lang's all-around game contributed significantly, stabilizing us down the middle and adding comprehensive competence. Hopefully he isn't the magic ingredient.

Having said these nice things, it *is* true that a) we struggle in our own end when we play against hard-forechecking, physical teams and that b) the team remains frustratingly prone to costly individual gaffes by players who have a bad shift (i.e., brain cramps). The former problem can be mitigated somewhat by tight team play, but really, it is a fundamental weakness given the personnel and coaching we have. Solving it will take either a defensive-specialist coach who upgrades Muller, or the addition of a second rushing defenceman a la Markov (Kaberle would be perfect). I think personnel is the real problem there - you can't have a really resilient transition game if you only have one defenceman who can effectively spark offence from the back end.

The problem of individual brain cramps is aggravating, and probably only experience can solve it. Guys like the Kostitsyns, Lats, even Lapierre, are still learning that they have to bring it every shift. O'Byrne is learning the game. We probably just have to ride that out, hoping that Price and improved confidence and focus heading into the stretch will minimize those miscues.

Note, finally, that the two are linked - an imperfect transition game puts more pressure on the D and leads to more gaffes. A smooth-passing top-4 defenceman would go a long way to minimizing both IMHO.

:bow:

Great assessment!

I know it's slightly off topic, but I'm curious..

How old are you and what kind of hockey related experience do you have??

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

:bow:

Great assessment!

I know it's slightly off topic, but I'm curious..

How old are you and what kind of hockey related experience do you have??

Thanks, Helmethead!

Since you ask...I'm a decrepit old man of 38. I can't claim any *particular* hockey-related experience, I'm just a guy who's closely watched lots and lots of good Habs teams (mid-to-late 80s, early-90s) and lots and lots of bad Habs teams...plus I've lived in other cities and followed the travails of their teams and their fans...all of which might help to give a guy some perspective (I also have a PhD, which might help contibute to an 'analytical' disposition slightly at odds with the hysteria often prevalent around here - not to say that I'm immune, either ). Anyway, while I may never reach the heights of of the long-departed Wamsley01, I try.

[Habsfan]

Great post Cucumber!

BY the way, where is Wamsley???

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Great post Cucumber!

BY the way, where is Wamsley???

Thanks. I e-mailed him a while back asking where he's gone...turns out he's dedicating his energy to his blog. I don't have the link here (at work) but I'll post it later today or tomorrow, if I remember.

Too bad. His blog is thoughtful, but I enjoyed his contributions more as part of this overall conversation.

EDIT: Wamsley01's blog: http://fantasysensehockey.blogspot.com/

No kidding this guy was an amazing contributor - he must eat, sleep, and drink hockey and hockey stats! Impressive stuff to say the least.

Edited February 5, 2009 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber