GDT January 22nd, 2013 - Panthers @ Habs

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Well, it's wonderful what a good game can do. Saturday night you guys were depressed, now you feel great. I told you to be patient.

The lockout made everyone double emotional. So losing to the Leafs by one goal was the worst day ever and winning by three goals is the best game ever.

[JoeLassister]

Gotta luv the whole play before Gally's goal. he was everywhere on the ice before the tip.

[hab29RETIRED]

The lockout made everyone double emotional. So losing to the Leafs by one goal was the worst day ever and winning by three goals is the best game ever.

Losing to the leafs period is hard to take - particularly since the days before the lockout looked like it would end, you had wall to wall leaf's coverage ad naseum. I"m so sick of the Luongo to Leafs analysis. I can't believe how soft the toronto media was on Burke and hard on ownership when he got fired. Yes timing was questionable and finished worse then they did before he got there.

Anyway, the loss against the leafs was harder to take, then say it was against the jets. It also was painful too watch after the pre-game ceremony with all the habs legends. I didn't point it out on Saterday, but there were three ex-hab captains that were consipicous in their absense - one rightly so (Gainey), the other two(Carbo and Keane) didn't make much sense. Their absense really seemed to keep a huge gap between the Savard the modern (sucky) era, by just having Damphousse from the post-90's habs. Obvoiusly Muller is coaching and koivu is still playing so they wouldn't have made the gap seem so big, but ceremony did highlight how far the team has fallen.

[Colin]

Interesting commentary here. I'm surprised people are somewhat down on Cube on the PP. The guy knows how to pass the puck a lot better than Curioius George (which is taking nothing away from the latter, since I believe him to be one of those very strong first-poass guys). That's one of the best and most complete games I've seen the Habs play in years, which includes some of the games when we went to the semifinals (if you remember, that year we played two periods a lot of that season and relied on luck and goaltending to take us through). It's either a wonderful one-off game, or Therrien has learned how to actually coach a team somewhere down the line. 60 minutes; nice job!

Now, I'm sure there are those who will say, "But... Florida!" And yes, the Panties sucked. But let's be clear about how Montreal played: consistently from whistle to whistle, hard-nosed, feet and sticks constantly moving. The key word in all that? Consistent. They will win more games than they lose with that kind of effort - and therein lies the bottom line, the effort. Honestly, the most satisfying performance in a very, very long time.

Heroes for the game? Markov, obviously. But most will point to the two goals, while I'll instead comment on his underrated defensive performance. He doesn't hit to demolish, nor does he play with flash at the back, but he angles guys out of the play as well as anyone in the game. Add to that his extremely good hand-eye coordination and you have the recipe for great success. I submit that, had he been healthy the last two years, we'd have a Norris guy at the back. Add Subban to Markov and the rest of the back line, and in my humble opinion you have one of the better defences in the game. In Markov and Subban, two of the best two-way guys in the league (both very underrated defensively).

Who else was a hero? Galchenyuk, who plays a very mature game. Price whose poise will put him in the Vezina conversation year-in and year-out. Gorges was extremely steady defensively. Plex and Gio played extremely well as well.

Goats? What in Sam Hill was White thinking? Yes, it appeared Gorges was boarded. Yes, defending your teammate is important. But really? Trying to beat the snot out of a pimple? He didn't think that through at all. I'm really not impressed with Desh so far this season. It's not like he's playing poorly, per se, but I don't think he's warranting first line time.

Most satisfying for me was the teamwork on display. There was far more puck support, far more options going from the defensive and through the neutral zone, and more plays to the net. Any team can give themselves chances to win when they accomplish these things. In a 48-game season, consistently playing like this will offer opportunity to surprise. Now let's see how Montreal responds in the next game.

[JMMR]

Well I'm happy with the overall effort tonight, but who picks the 3 stars for the game? Someone in the Habs front office? Gally was not first star worthy, but I'd easily give him a the 2nd or 3rd star. Markov was clearly deserving of that award. Not a good idea to pander to the kid this early.

Did anyone else notice that Gally's former linemate Nail Yakopov scored his first NHL goal tonight?

I echo MoLG's comments. A good effort, but the top 2 lines still make me want/expect more.

Voted on by the fans.

Interesting commentary here. I'm surprised people are somewhat down on Cube on the PP. The guy knows how to pass the puck a lot better than Curioius George (which is taking nothing away from the latter, since I believe him to be one of those very strong first-poass guys). That's one of the best and most complete games I've seen the Habs play in years, which includes some of the games when we went to the semifinals (if you remember, that year we played two periods a lot of that season and relied on luck and goaltending to take us through). It's either a wonderful one-off game, or Therrien has learned how to actually coach a team somewhere down the line. 60 minutes; nice job!

Now, I'm sure there are those who will say, "But... Florida!" And yes, the Panties sucked. But let's be clear about how Montreal played: consistently from whistle to whistle, hard-nosed, feet and sticks constantly moving. The key word in all that? Consistent. They will win more games than they lose with that kind of effort - and therein lies the bottom line, the effort. Honestly, the most satisfying performance in a very, very long time.

Heroes for the game? Markov, obviously. But most will point to the two goals, while I'll instead comment on his underrated defensive performance. He doesn't hit to demolish, nor does he play with flash at the back, but he angles guys out of the play as well as anyone in the game. Add to that his extremely good hand-eye coordination and you have the recipe for great success. I submit that, had he been healthy the last two years, we'd have a Norris guy at the back. Add Subban to Markov and the rest of the back line, and in my humble opinion you have one of the better defences in the game. In Markov and Subban, two of the best two-way guys in the league (both very underrated defensively).

Who else was a hero? Galchenyuk, who plays a very mature game. Price whose poise will put him in the Vezina conversation year-in and year-out. Gorges was extremely steady defensively. Plex and Gio played extremely well as well.

Goats? What in Sam Hill was White thinking? Yes, it appeared Gorges was boarded. Yes, defending your teammate is important. But really? Trying to beat the snot out of a pimple? He didn't think that through at all. I'm really not impressed with Desh so far this season. It's not like he's playing poorly, per se, but I don't think he's warranting first line time.

Most satisfying for me was the teamwork on display. There was far more puck support, far more options going from the defensive and through the neutral zone, and more plays to the net. Any team can give themselves chances to win when they accomplish these things. In a 48-game season, consistently playing like this will offer opportunity to surprise. Now let's see how Montreal responds in the next game.

As always love your insight.

I think people look at Frank's minutes and see them higher then Gorges in a game and people get concerned. I do for a couple of reasons.

1 Frank had more PK time today than Josh, only slightly but still. I really don't like Frank on the PK at all to begin with because he is small and although quick is beaten by bigger forwards too easily around the net. I understand that his buy in with MT will be excellent and that might help transition in system but I feel he played too often.

2. Although Frank is serviceable on on PP I believe there are better options. Kaberle, Markov, Diaz and Emelin in my opinion should be the top 4 for the PP and I would even like to see a forward on the point now and again.

All that said who knows how the ice time would have been distributed had the game been closer.

DD looks awful as does Patches.

I thought Cole had a much more solid game.

Max might be hurt seen him on the ice a lot in the first two games looking around at the Zebras for penalties which never come.

[JMMR]

Carey Price seemed to like what White did.

[Kiwihab]

I kind of like what white did as well. I say kind of in that I don't want us to become a bully team like the flyers, but I do like the attitude of sticking up more for team mates. After all, most of us have been complaining about the team showing no grit, well that was some grit.

I'd like to ask you guys a question, if Deharnais dosnt step up in the next couple of games, how about trying Eller on the top line? Sink or swim kind of thing.

[bar]

I'd just like to point out that my GDT are 1-0 and Brians are 0-1...just sayin'

[Helmethead]

I kind of like what white did as well. I say kind of in that I don't want us to become a bully team like the flyers, but I do like the attitude of sticking up more for team mates. After all, most of us have been complaining about the team showing no grit, well that was some grit. I'd like to ask you guys a question, if Deharnais dosnt step up in the next couple of games, how about trying Eller on the top line? Sink or swim kind of thing.

Damn right I like what White did.

Will he get suspended? Most probably. Was it bullying? Sure it was. However, it was a game we had a 3 goal lead in and clearly sent a message to everyone watching that anyone attempting to hurt or injure a teamate will be held accountable for their actions.

The most successful teams I've been on are ones when we stood up for each other. Makes everyone believe that as a unified front we will not be beaten.

Sure as hell beats watching the reaction of Gomez on the Chara hit or Brisebois on the McLaren hit.

[brobin]

I though Markov, Diaz, and boo boo played excellent overall games. While Diaz and Markov are not pure shooters, Markov is a good shooter. Just because he can pass too doesn't mean he isn't deadly at the point. He would have had a hat trick if DD was paying attention as Markov snuck down and was wide open for an easy pass, but DD passed it ack for some reason. Markov has always had,that ability to read the play and sneak down for the shot.

As for the first line, it is still early so I hope they pick it up soon. I think at the ten game mark we will know if we really have a problem.

[PMAC]

Not smart by White. Might be sat next game for that.

Veeery Smart and very necessary. If that happens a couple of times-- one of the opposition splats one of our guys face first into the boards and gets pummelled for his trouble-- many players will start to think twice about taking liberties. Very happy that we have guys that can play a regular shift (White, Prust, Boullion) who are ready, willing and able to stand up for their teammates.

[Trizzak]

So everyone wants fewer penalties and personal accountability on this team, but White getting 2, 5 and a game is fine because he was protecting a teammate?

The only thing opposing teams learned from this is that White can't pick his moments. "Hey guys, White is on the ice. Lay a big hit on one of his teammates... maybe he'll do something stupid and give us a 5 minute powerplay."

The only reason we're happy about this game is because the Panther's powerplays didn't kill us like the Leafs powerplays did.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

So everyone wants fewer penalties and personal accountability on this team, but White getting 2, 5 and a game is fine because he was protecting a teammate?

The only thing opposing teams learned from this is that White can't pick his moments. "Hey guys, White is on the ice. Lay a big hit on one of his teammates... maybe he'll do something stupid and give us a 5 minute powerplay."

The only reason we're happy about this game is because the Panther's powerplays didn't kill us like the Leafs powerplays did.

Even Price said he was fine with killing White's penalties because he was sticking up for Gorges. It's the stick holding, stick slashing, cross checking and interference stuff that we want to stop.

Sheldon Souray got a penalty after attacking Colby Armstrong when he boarded Saku Koivu. I doubt anyone was unhappy about that one either.

[TurdBurglar]

Will he get suspended? Most probably. Was it bullying? Sure it was. However, it was a game we had a 3 goal lead in and clearly sent a message to everyone watching that anyone attempting to hurt or injure a teamate will be held accountable for their actions.

This.

One thing we been lacking for awhile is toughness and responsiveness . It was baffling that Fleischmann didn't get called on a clear board. Gotta love White coming in and not even challenging Fleischmann to a fight, just unloading on him. Once teams get the message that we will respond aggressively if you pull dirty stunts against us, they will stop. One thing that wasn't touched on was how the team responded to White's actions. It motivated them and that 3 minute 5-on-4 and 2 minute 5-on-3 Florida couldn't get anything going.

Last year we got pushed around. This was a clear message that we will not be pushed around and I applaud White's decision and effort.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

It was baffling that Fleischmann didn't get called on a clear board.

He did get a boarding penalty. Surprising how many missed this. The Florida PBP was complaining about it and trying to act like it wasn't that much of a boarding.

[TurdBurglar]

So everyone wants fewer penalties and personal accountability on this team, but White getting 2, 5 and a game is fine because he was protecting a teammate?

The only thing opposing teams learned from this is that White can't pick his moments. "Hey guys, White is on the ice. Lay a big hit on one of his teammates... maybe he'll do something stupid and give us a 5 minute powerplay."

The only reason we're happy about this game is because the Panther's powerplays didn't kill us like the Leafs powerplays did.

White didn't make a bad decision because of a big hit. He protected a teammate for a dirty hit. In retrospect the Panthers would of gotten away with it if it wasn't for White.

It was a dominant game by Montreal, and if you take the hits and that penalty out of it, we would be sitting here this morning talking about how we lost that game and how Montreal didn't respond. We dominated physically and didn't back down. The result was energy and confidence.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

No discipline for White according to the NHL.

Officially worth it.

[Helmethead]

He did get a boarding penalty. Surprising how many missed this. The Florida PBP was complaining about it and trying to act like it wasn't that much of a boarding.

Tell me about it. Almost made me long for Jack Edwards from NESN. (Almost...)

[sbhatt]

I loved White's response, and I love that we have guys like him and Prust on the team. For far too many years, cheap shots on Habs players went unanswered....I like that there are guys in the lineup who will deter many of these types of hits, and avenge the ones that do happen.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

My humble thoughts on last night's extravaganza:

1. The Panthers were a tired team. So while I'm glad we won - and it is important that we win the games we should win, something this team failed to do last season - our excitement should be tempered.

2. I forgot just how damned good Markov is. Never mind the goals, his passing and reading of the play is stunning, light years ahead of anyone else on the Habs. He just transforms the PP. I honestly believe that if we had had this guy in the lineup last season, we would have made the playoffs (and Cammy would still be here). It's just too bad that every team will be gunning for him - one more reason to get Subban back in the lineup, so teams have another D-man to worry about.

3. Price was superb. In game One, he made many great saves but didn't seem totally comfortable. Last night, he radiated the sense that you were not gonna score. Goaltending does not get better than that.

4. This Canadiens team is structurally different from anything we've seen in the last decade. It has a critical mass of chippy, physical players who can both push back and take it to you physically. White, Armstrong, Bouillon, Prust (whoa!), Moen, Emelin, Bourque (who finally showed us why he is an NHLer), Cole and Patches - on almost every shift we're throwing someone with either a chippy or a bruising game in your face. This won't make us a playoff team, but it will make us an unpleasant team to play against.

Count me among those who was 100% in White's corner. Your HAVE to pummel anyone who tries stunts like that. Take the penalty to make the point - especially in a game that's well in hand. It's especially important to send that message because of Markov's importance and fragility. "Cheap shot us, you're losing teeth." Good play, Ryan.

[huzer]

While it wasn't quite eye for an eye (see Varada/Gilmour), I was definitely glad to see White stand up for the boarding on Gorges. Remember the joke of a response given by Buffalo when Lucic ran Miller a couple of years ago? Just grabbing ahold of TF and giving him a harsh tongue lashing wasn't going to be the appropriate response to a boarding hit. I'm glad Ryan was on the ice when it happened. Send the message early in the season.

My enthusiasm is indeed tempered after a win against the tired Panthers, although...every other team in the conference finished better than the Habs last year. Heck, the Cats even won the Southleast.

[JCPetit]

I loved White's response, and I love that we have guys like him and Prust on the team. For far too many years, cheap shots on Habs players went unanswered....I like that there are guys in the lineup who will deter many of these types of hits, and avenge the ones that do happen.

White has to play this kind of game, otherwise he doesn't have a place in the team.

[JMMR]

Although I am on the side supporting White and think its good for the team concept, one thing is for sure this action and retaliation will not STOP these cheap shots and dirty /borderline hits but it may decrease their frequency.

[bbp]

Even on the NHL comment threads, home of all sorts of atrocities, non habs fans are saying what he did makes sense and should be expected when you run a guy from behind.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Even on the NHL comment threads, home of all sorts of atrocities, non habs fans are saying what he did makes sense and should be expected when you run a guy from behind.

I don't know what the debate is. No, it won't put a total stop to such incidents, but as JMMR suggests, doing this consistently will plant a seed of doubt in players' minds ('careful, these guys push back') and thererfore make them less likely. I've been saying for a while that, given the NHL's near-total indolence in enforcing player safety with suspensions, the only answer is for teams to kick the sh*t out of players who take liberties, and to hell with this misbegotten instigator rule. As far as I'm concerned there is a direct correlation between the rise of 'lack of respect' on the ice and the decline of the culture of self-policing by players.