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Washington @ Habs: GAME 4


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I knew that sucker was over the second that Hamrlik lost all of his hockey sense and

made back to back ridiculous decisions with 10 seconds to go.

Their transition defense is awful.

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Got his address? I have a pipe..... :lol:

At this point, the only way I see it happening is if some fans pull a Tony Harding on Hamrlik...

Let's not argue... Let's put both Halak and Price in and play 4 skaters... Hammer could sit.. :)

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We played a terrific game and Washington is very lucky to be ahead.

I agree that we played a good game; I disagree that Washington is lucky. That's what happens when you're better than the other guys. Now, do I think Washington will go all the way? No. Eventually they will meet a team that is as big as they are, has a hot goalie, and is opportunistic enough to make them pay for their sh*tty defence. We had out chance to expose them in Game Two and blew it. It's been a foregone conclusion since then.

Moving Hammer is a good idea, if anyone will take the contract. We could put Spacek on his proper side and insert Subban. However, we'd need to add another solid, veteran defenceman in the Spacek mould. Otherwise we risk a purely lateral move, trading Subban's offence for Hammer's more reliable defence.

This team has about a 4 year window. If Subban is all we hope he is, he could *potentially* be an important added piece, provided we avoid the kind of lateral move I just sketched. But bolder thinking may be required. Assuming we can't bag a bona fide power forward, we need a Mike Knuble type - a hulking 3rd liner who can do 2nd line duty for solid stretches. Maybe Pacioretty will become that guy, but maybe he won't.

Gauthier has to identify key needs and address them this summer, period. Guys like Pleks, the Kostitsyns, Hammer, maybe Halak, need to be re-upped and then dangled as bait. None of this 'we almost got our man' stuff (c.f. Lecavalier). Bigger at forward, better on D. Period.

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I just watched that 2nd period goal again.. it looks worse the more you watch it... the puck was on a Cap stick in the middle of the ice.. Hammer watches all the caps racing out of the zone.. he pinches ????? all he has to do there is back out and get the puck in the neutral zone and we end the period up one...

I mean, that decision wasn't even close to iffy.. I can't even imagine what he was thinking..

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Come on, Halak kept us in games were we were badly outshot. He made lots of good saves. He gave up one or two bad goals in one game. The difference has more to do with the team in front of them. when they play well, both Halak and Price did well. When they got no support, both got scored on.

Only one goalie stole a win in this series, and that was Halak. Price had a chance tonight to work a miracle. He was solid, but it wasn't enough.

Price faired no better tonight or in the 2nd half of the last game then Halak did in the last game. So go back to your starter, imo.

It really doesn't matter.

Listing off wether Halak stole a win is inconsequential if you hold him accountable for a couple of bad goals in game 2.

With that thought process he stole a win and cost them a win. If he plays well in both he finishes 1 and 1 as well.

He started 3 games and won 1 and has a SV% of .887. Price has played 4 and a half periods and an .898 SV%.

When your goaltenders face 156 shots in just over 12 periods it doesn't matter who is in goal. Facing 37 shots a game against

snipers like Ovechkin and Backstrom is suicide.

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I would not call what the caps have done in this series as being good..I call it opportunistic...they just seem to capitalize (no pun intended) on that one chance and then bam.

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I agree with benching him for his ltttle girl petulance move that cost us a penalty after a weak goal, but I also think he played well for the most part.

It's a shame to see our efforts just evaporate.

Good game again Habs.

Time to fan up.

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Here we are. Obvious statement: win the next one. Treat the fans to at least a game 6 at home.

I don't like this "tent folding" crap. Game 2 4-1 drivers seat and now tonight. I guess the team can live with the moniker "tent folding" It would seem that's were we are going.

Goofy goof goofs

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I just watched that 2nd period goal again.. it looks worse the more you watch it... the puck was on a Cap stick in the middle of the ice.. Hammer watches all the caps racing out of the zone.. he pinches ????? all he has to do there is back out and get the puck in the neutral zone and we end the period up one...

I mean, that decision wasn't even close to iffy.. I can't even imagine what he was thinking..

Hammer is a victim of our patchwork defence. Especially coming off season-long overuse, he really needs to have the load eased up a bit. We're using him as our #2-3 guy. He is now a solid #4 who will be very useful to whatever team we move him to. But right now his situation is analogous to those of Patrice Brisebois or Larry Murphy back in the day - good players being miscast in high-end roles, due to crummy supporting cast.

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You're mixing series. Theo got hot in 2002 (Year of the Hart)... we came back from the 3-1 deficit in 2006 (the year Kovy got slashed and just forgot the puck at the Habs blueline)

That's right...I remember thinking how Theodore seemed to play better after Zednik got hurt, like he was pissed off at the Bruins and wasn't going to let them win after that...we really missed Zednik the next round though cause he had been flying before he got hurt.

Anyway, at least we beat the Bruins both those series I had mixed up.

Does anyone remember that best of 5 series against Boston when we won 1-0 with a late goal by Mats Naslund in game 5?

Man I hope they come back and win this series giving us another great memory!!!!

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I think this season so far could be summed up with 'Missed Chances', the habs has chances to really put it to the caps...but could never finish. Cammy is someone I am very disappointed in, he was brought in to be a finisher...and he has not lived up to it. Some bag on Gomez, sure makes too much, but Cammy does nothing but score, and he hasn't scored near enough as a habs.

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I agree that we played a good game; I disagree that Washington is lucky. That's what happens when you're better than the other guys. Now, do I think Washington will go all the way? No. Eventually they will meet a team that is as big as they are, has a hot goalie, and is opportunistic enough to make them pay for their sh*tty defence. We had out chance to expose them in Game Two and blew it. It's been a foregone conclusion since then.

Moving Hammer is a good idea, if anyone will take the contract. We could put Spacek on his proper side and insert Subban. However, we'd need to add another solid, veteran defenceman in the Spacek mould. Otherwise we risk a purely lateral move, trading Subban's offence for Hammer's more reliable defence.

This team has about a 4 year window. If Subban is all we hope he is, he could *potentially* be an important added piece, provided we avoid the kind of lateral move I just sketched. But bolder thinking may be required. Assuming we can't bag a bona fide power forward, we need a Mike Knuble type - a hulking 3rd liner who can do 2nd line duty for solid stretches. Maybe Pacioretty will become that guy, but maybe he won't.

Gauthier has to identify key needs and address them this summer, period. Guys like Pleks, the Kostitsyns, Hammer, maybe Halak, need to be re-upped and then dangled as bait. None of this 'we almost got our man' stuff (c.f. Lecavalier). Bigger at forward, better on D. Period.

What they need to do is forge and identity and acquire players that fit that mold.

I don't care what their names are as long as they make us better.

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Thats my point.. it doesn't matter. For the record, he had one bad goal in game 2, but there were far bigger issues going on then that.

So since it doesn't matter which play as it is the team that will either step up or not, then I say end with the guy who got you there.. just like they did for Price against Philly a few years ago.

I won't be upset either way, because Price did all he could to give them a chance tonight. My only dissappointment with his was the misconduct penalty he took.

It really doesn't matter.

Listing off wether Halak stole a win is inconsequential if you hold him accountable for a couple of bad goals in game 2.

With that thought process he stole a win and cost them a win. If he plays well in both he finishes 1 and 1 as well.

He started 3 games and won 1 and has a SV% of .887. Price has played 4 and a half periods and an .898 SV%.

When your goaltenders face 156 shots in just over 12 periods it doesn't matter who is in goal. Facing 37 shots a game against

snipers like Ovechkin and Backstrom is suicide.

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I think this season so far could be summed up with 'Missed Chances', the habs has chances to really put it to the caps...but could never finish. Cammy is someone I am very disappointed in, he was brought in to be a finisher...and he has not lived up to it. Some bag on Gomez, sure makes too much, but Cammy does nothing but score, and he hasn't scored near enough as a habs.

You're right; except for those bonheaded penalties in Games 3 + 4 (and that *is* a big thing to forget), Gomez has been a pretty dangerous player for us all series on the ice. In fact, we were useless without Gomer. Cammy, meanwhile, has flubbed a lot of shots. I think he's pushing too hard - a result of the slump he was in. It's a shame, because he is a terrific hockey player.

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Hammer is a victim of our patchwork defence. Especially coming off season-long overuse, he really needs to have the load eased up a bit. We're using him as our #2-3 guy. He is now a solid #4 who will be very useful to whatever team we move him to. But right now his situation is analogous to those of Patrice Brisebois or Larry Murphy back in the day - good players being miscast in high-end roles, due to crummy supporting cast.

I understand he is miscast, but he has to rely on 20 years of pro experience and understand

risk and reward on that play.

10 seconds to go you make the safe play that at worst sends you to intermission up 2-1, the

risk involved in a 3-1 lead is not worth sacrificing a 2-2 tie.

He made a poor decision trying to get it to the goal, then instead of backing off tried to pinch.

That is inexcusable as far as I am concerned. If he gets beat to the outside because he is slow

(like Gill) or is manhandled because he is small (Gorges) I am not upset. That was a ridiculous

mental error by a veteran.

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I just watched that 2nd period goal again.. it looks worse the more you watch it... the puck was on a Cap stick in the middle of the ice.. Hammer watches all the caps racing out of the zone.. he pinches ????? all he has to do there is back out and get the puck in the neutral zone and we end the period up one...

I mean, that decision wasn't even close to iffy.. I can't even imagine what he was thinking..

Maybe he was just tired. Sometimes as we all know, we pull some stupid move just because we're tired.

He was only a minus 2 this year on a team that couldn't score.

Sure he blew it, but what the hell. Watching MAB out there is usually more painful for me, even with simple outlet passes.

OK. I've recovered. I've fanned up.

Go Habs Go.

They've been playing great.

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Thats my point.. it doesn't matter. For the record, he had one bad goal in game 2, but there were far bigger issues going on then that.

So since it doesn't matter which play as it is the team that will either step up or not, then I say end with the guy who got you there.. just like they did for Price against Philly a few years ago.

I won't be upset either way, because Price did all he could to give them a chance tonight. My only dissappointment with his was the misconduct penalty he took.

I had no problem with him firing the puck out of his own net. What was the second one for?

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If we do start Halak next game we should give up 45 plus shots...isn't he 8-0 or something like that when facing that many shots?

Reminds me of Denis Heron in Pittsburgh...better when facing a barrage but came to Montreal after Kenny quit and couldn't seem to keep his head in the game.

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You're right; except for those bonheaded penalties in Games 3 + 4 (and that *is* a big thing to forget), Gomez has been a pretty dangerous player for us all series on the ice. In fact, we were useless without Gomer. Cammy, meanwhile, has flubbed a lot of shots. I think he's pushing too hard - a result of the slump he was in. It's a shame, because he is a terrific hockey player.

Missed chances can also hold true in the sense that if they hadn't blown the lead to the Isles OR beat the Leafs

they would be playing the Sabres or Devils, not the Caps.

That's right...I remember thinking how Theodore seemed to play better after Zednik got hurt, like he was pissed off at the Bruins and wasn't going to let them win after that...we really missed Zednik the next round though cause he had been flying before he got hurt.

Anyway, at least we beat the Bruins both those series I had mixed up.

Does anyone remember that best of 5 series against Boston when we won 1-0 with a late goal by Mats Naslund in game 5?

Man I hope they come back and win this series giving us another great memory!!!!

I remember it. He beat Doug Keans in the final minute of Game 5 in the Gaahden.

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What they need to do is forge and identity and acquire players that fit that mold.

I don't care what their names are as long as they make us better.

Do they really lack an identity? Except for Game Three, they played pretty coherent hockey all series. They clearly have a system and implemented it well. That's why they were competitive in these games. No?

As I see it, the problem, against a Washington, is a combo of talent and team make-up. Size up front was a huge factor in Games Two and Three. That obviously needs to be corrected and the failure to correct it will be inexcusable. The D is a patch-up job. Subban may or may not be key to melding it into something better. But these weaknesses are no longer hypothetical ('let's give this team a chance'). They must be corrected if this generation of Montreal Canadiens are to contend. If addressed, the team could play the same game and quite possibly gut out a win in this series.

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Missed chances can also hold true in the sense that if they hadn't blown the lead to the Isles OR beat the Leafs

they would be playing the Sabres or Devils, not the Caps.

I remember it. He beat Doug Keans in the final minute of Game 5 in the Gaahden.

Ahhhh yes...Doug Keans hahaha

If only he was playing for Washington we might still have a chance!! (ok, a better chance)

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