The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 We've seen Gainey's coaching beginning to make a huge difference to our big-name veterans (Koivu, Kovalev, Tanguay) and to the overall team defensive game. But what's most remarkable is the complete transformation of Christopher Higgins. He is suddenly dominant out there in a manner I haven't seen since (ironically) Carbonneau - in his 'defensive' role he generates all sorts of offensive momentum. This is an astounding turnaround from a dismal season and a reminder of why Higgins was widely viewed as a potential star. More to the point, it truly does suggest that Carbo didn't just have a problem with some cranky old vets (Koivu and Kovalev)...Higgins was also being wasted under his tutelage. Do you think we can look for more of this from Higs on a consistent basis? Or is this just a hot spell? And do you give credit to Gainey? Or do you think it would have happened under Carbo? Discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Higgins was pretty darn good under Carbo last year. So was everyone on the roster. Thye are playing for there boss directly now, they have been called out by everyone, most of them don't have contracts, so if you ask me it's about time some of these guys started working hard again. Higgins is a 3rd line winger, he can dominate as you say be using his size and speed to make things happen. Offensive players he plays against now don't play much defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I agree with Chris, Higgins was wasting himself under Carbo. He was getting good minutes with good linemates and had no success. Carbo never benched him or anything of the sort. What's weird, though, is Higgins' response to Gainey's challenges. As a rookie, Higgins was elevated to the 1st line from the 4th line upon Bob's arrival, and proceeded to score close to 20 goals in the second half alone. Wasn't Higgins always supposed to be this kind of player for us? I think he was miscast as a scorer, and this checking role was always supposed to be his true calling. I remember him as a prospect being described as our Jere Lehtninen. It's nice to see him embrace this new role. It's odd, because Gainey saw him as a scorer 3 years ago. Carbo uses him as such, gets a lot of goals out of him, and one bad year and Carbo was wasting him? I kind of strongly disagree with that. Higgins did have a very abrasive attitude I found in his interviews this year. Something wasn't right. I thought it was just frustration from his injury and not finding the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForumGhost Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Higgins is the kind of player every teams wants to have: good defensive play, good offensive play, can penalty kill, play on the powerplay, good attitude, constant effort. Even if he's not always scoring, his effort always produces offense. Unless something really salivating comes up in a trade deal, keep him in the fold. Plus, he can always surprise you with a string of goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trizzak Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Perhaps the demotion to the 4th line removed the pressure on him to score and with less pressure came more production. Much like Latendresse being given a lesser role on the 3rd line instead of the 1st or 2nd line resulted in greater performance. Or perhaps he took the demotion to the 4th as a wakeup call, and the mental shakeup made everything click. Or maybe Metropolit and Dandenault are his hockey soulmates and he's never had a more perfect skillset to his immediate and far right. Hopefully it's not option 1 or 3, because if his recent play carries over to when playing with Plekanec and A. Kostitsyn, then this team becomes a threat every game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HABBER-oooooKNOWS Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Who knows. Higgy still may surprise us. John Leclair in my eyes never seemed to have a scoring touch around the net. He was a hard working bang and crash guy. I would pick him in my hockey pools every year because during pre-season he would score 10 goals in 10 games only to fade away during regular season and never reach 20. Until Lindros came along and changed that. All of the sudden he was King. Could Higgns do it? With the right centre I think he can still be at least the 40/40 guy he wants to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafikz Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I think Higgins should get thinner This guy has good hands and can make some nice moves, but he is too slow because of his built A thinner Higgins would have more points IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I don't think it has anything to do with the coach. It has more to do with him being demoted to a purely defensive role (4th line & PK time, nothing on the PP) and having the chance to simplify his game and lower his expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokyohabs Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Everyone on here seems to agree: simplification=increased production for Higgins. Perhaps Bob had a little word with him about the partying as well? He isn't a good passer, so let him race around with abandon, hover around the puck, crash the net. Don't overwhelm him with responsibilities; make sure he is with defensively responsible teammates. Take the spotlight off. And defo try to keep him on the 3rd or 4th lines. Good timing, we need his contribution, energy and enthusiasm now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I think Higgins main problem is his lack of finishing. He seems to get a lot of chances but has a hard time finding the back of the net. Truth is, he's not a natural goal scorer. He's got great speed but have you ever seen him try to deek out a goalie on a breakaway?! I don't want to see him on the top 2 lines anymore, unless he's just filling in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForumGhost Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Just because he can't deke it doesn't mean he's not a goal scorer. Has Holmstrom ever deked anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I haven't seen Holmstrom play much but I know he has reached the 20 goal mark only 4 times in 12 years in the league. And what I meant to say is that Higgins doesn't have the hands or the shot of a guy like AK46. The numbers he put up last year seem to be the most he'll ever get. I almost never miss a habs game and I've watched Higgins play hard almost every game. Yet the results are almost never there. I'd like to see him as a 3rd line winger who can move up to the top 2 lines only when necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 I think Higgins main problem is his lack of finishing. He seems to get a lot of chances but has a hard time finding the back of the net. Truth is, he's not a natural goal scorer. He's got great speed but have you ever seen him try to deek out a goalie on a breakaway?! I don't want to see him on the top 2 lines anymore, unless he's just filling in. I laugh when I see people use the term "natural goal scorer". Ironically I think several of the Habs players all have the same problem: pressure. The Habs seem to have several players, Higs included that dont perform well when under pressure to be the top player who is relied upon to come up big in the clutch. Higgs used to finish on break aways but then he was promoted to the 1st line and then could barely hit the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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