GDT Game 5, Ottawa vs Montreal, 7 PM

[Lovett's Magnatones]

The great thing about the short season is we got to play into May, its only happened a handful of times in the last twenty years. Theses guys gave us some real thrills this year, last year we were waiting for the draft and waiting for Staubitz to punch someone in the face. After all, these games are meant to be entertainment, we stole a few ifrom the Bruins and won the division. We got to watch some great young players and the organization move forward a big step.

[Toronthab]

I'm grumbling and bitching, but the fact is that the team played super hard in this series , had some critical injuries and bizarre goals against, some of the worst reffing I've seen and still came out swinging hard.

Have a good offseason guys.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Tough way to go for an otherwise outstanding season.

There's a lot here to work with.

[hab29RETIRED]

That's it in a nutshell. An exciting performance for (most of) the regular season, and second seed in the east. Maybe some luck in the mix, but a huge improvement over 2011-2012.

We just didn't have it together for the playoffs, though. Neither Price nor the rest of the team.

Time for some introspection in the off-season, and hopefully some appropriate changes.

Is the lasting memory going to be the surprise of the regular season (last moth is what I expected all year), or getting embarrassed in the playoffs??

The great thing about the short season is we got to play into May, its only happened a handful of times in the last twenty years. Theses guys gave us some real thrills this year, last year we were waiting for the draft and waiting for Staubitz to punch someone in the face. After all, these games are meant to be entertainment, we stole a few ifrom the Bruins and won the division. We got to watch some great young players and the organization move forward a big step.

That sounds like TSN's line that until Krejki last night, no one had scored a hat trick on the leafs since Gretzky 20 years ago. That's pretty easy, when you don't make the playoffs for almost a decade

[Commandant]

You can't even blame Budaj... he played to his talent level, he's a backup, who played like a backup against a good team.

Those expecting miracles out of the 1.5 million dollar man were always gonna be disappointed.

He's useful, in his role, playing against non-playoff teams.

[Toronthab]

Not sure what MT could do with the injuries. Gave the kids PP time, no goals. It isn't as simple as just giving player x more time. We have a lot of players who are not great in the playoffs and that goes back several coaches.

Ottawa had a great goalie who kept us to 9 goals. Easy to coach when your goalie is that good. We were decimated with injuries. Easy to coach against a beat up, soft team. He got all the breaks from the refs.

The problem doesn't lie with MT. It will be up to Bergeron to make some deals and continue rebuilding this team. It will take more then one year to fix this.

I agree. I think MT did a wonderful job.. not that I know a damn thing about what he actually did, but we had a lot of spirit this year. Eller and the rest of it did us in.

Very weird post season.

Tough way to go for an otherwise outstanding season.

There's a lot here to work with.

Ya, it really was a bizarre finish.

[Lovett's Magnatones]

Is the lasting memory going to be the surprise of the regular season (last moth is what I expected all year), or getting embarrassed in the playoffs??

That sounds like TSN's line that until Krejki last night, no one had scored a hat trick on the leafs since Gretzky 20 years ago. That's pretty easy, when you don't make the playoffs for almost a decade

Yeah, when these guys won the Cup I was six, I try to stay positive about following what's become a completely unremarkable franchise. It's too bad, theres been some incredible Habs, but most of them haven't played for at least twenty five years. But I'll watch these guys lose 82 games in a row...

[Toronthab]

Well, I should have known.

Ya keep yelling "Go Habs Go" all year, .. and they'll just..... go...

Yeah, when these guys won the Cup I was six, I try to stay positive about following what's become a completely unremarkable franchise. It's too bad, theres been some incredible Habs, but most of them haven't played for at least twenty five years. But I'll watch these guys lose 82 games in a row...

Now that's a fan. A great fan.

Oscillating fans are great in the summer.

[brobin]

Pacs playing with a separated shoulder... No surprise.

[Toronthab]

Pacs playing with a separated shoulder... No surprise.

Ya, that's the kind of thing we just never know. I didn't think Prust showed up tonight.

[tomh009]

You can't even blame Budaj... he played to his talent level, he's a backup, who played like a backup against a good team.

Those expecting miracles out of the 1.5 million dollar man were always gonna be disappointed.

He's useful, in his role, playing against non-playoff teams.

It's the six million dollar men (Lee Majors, in case anyone else is old enough to remember!) of whom we need to be able to expect minor miracles. Anderson is only getting paid half that.

Not that the rest of the team played at a level sufficient for winning, but Price didn't play like a franchise goalie for most of the series, either. As they say, goaltending is 90% mental, the other 10% is all in your head. Price needs to get that sorted out, otherwise he will never be able to fully utilize his talents.

[Commandant]

Price played well enough to have a 2-2 series before he was hurt (with competent officiating).

[brobin]

Price played well enough to have a 2-2 series before he was hurt (with competent officiating).

Yeah, but the team played well enough to be up 3-1, with competent reffing and decent goaltending.

I am tired of every season being told Price is great. Price needs to prove it. He is a very good goalie, but inconsistent and has yet to prove himself in the playoffs. He might be our Luongo, but he has done far more in the playoffs then Price.

Meanwhile, guys like Crawford, Anderson, and even Niemi are getting it done. I have watched a lot of their games and the goaltending has been spectacular.

[Trizzak]

Is the lasting memory going to be the surprise of the regular season (last moth is what I expected all year), or getting embarrassed in the playoffs??

Regular season, no contest.

So much to build on with this team this season. I'm not going to remember a disappointing playoffs. I'm going to remember an unfortunate playoffs to end a fun season.

[dlbalr]

For the last time for a while (only 5 months until the 2013-14 season begins), the 3 Stars are up: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=3083

[xXx..CK..xXx]

Yeah, but the team played well enough to be up 3-1, with competent reffing and decent goaltending.

I am tired of every season being told Price is great. Price needs to prove it. He is a very good goalie, but inconsistent and has yet to prove himself in the playoffs. He might be our Luongo, but he has done far more in the playoffs then Price.

Meanwhile, guys like Crawford, Anderson, and even Niemi are getting it done. I have watched a lot of their games and the goaltending has been spectacular.

2 of those 3 goalies have never got anything "done" in the playoffs. By your logic, you'd probably rather have a goalie like Bobrovsky over Price, who has good regular season numbers but doesn't even get that chance to fail or succeed in the playoffs. Personally, I'd rather Price or Luongo.

It's clear as day through your posts that you're not being fair to Price. You are not judging him by any measure of rationality. You're not blaming him for being bad, you're accusing him of not being an inhumane saviour. Good for you but no one really cares.

Great season overall and like most on here, I feel that there's for sure a lot to be excited about in the future. I'm always positive when it comes to the Habs but tonight's outcome was no surprise to me. We were way too decimated by injuries.

[JoeLassister]

Yeah, but the team played well enough to be up 3-1, with competent reffing and decent goaltending.

I am tired of every season being told Price is great. Price needs to prove it. He is a very good goalie, but inconsistent and has yet to prove himself in the playoffs. He might be our Luongo, but he has done far more in the playoffs then Price.

Meanwhile, guys like Crawford, Anderson, and even Niemi are getting it done. I have watched a lot of their games and the goaltending has been spectacular.

Goaltending has a tendency to become more solid when your team scores 3+ goals every game. Coincidence ? I don't think so.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

"Embarassed in the playoffs..." I disagree. We outplayed Ottawa for the majority of this series. This team is much closer to contending than the outcome of this series, or the score of tonight's game, suggests. All the "experts" who will no doubt declare our regular season a fluke are in for a surprise within the next two years. Book it.

[brobin]

2 of those 3 goalies have never got anything "done" in the playoffs. By your logic, you'd probably rather have a goalie like Bobrovsky over Price, who has good regular season numbers but doesn't even get that chance to fail or succeed in the playoffs. Personally, I'd rather Price or Luongo.

It's clear as day through your posts that you're not being fair to Price. You are not judging him by any measure of rationality. You're not blaming him for being bad, you're accusing him of not being an inhumane saviour. Good for you but no one really cares.

Great season overall and like most on here, I feel that there's for sure a lot to be excited about in the future. I'm always positive when it comes to the Habs but tonight's outcome was no surprise to me. We were way too decimated by injuries.

Nonsense. Why should our highest paid player get a pass. Seriously, what has he done to warrant being called elite? Why do we always excuse his play when he sucks, but when he has a few good games he is suddenly a god.

I don't expect miracles from Price, but I expect him to play well and win us some games. In his four games, he simply didn't measure up. You think this is about me? I have yet to see an analyst say anything but that Price had to be better. His numbers speak for themselves.

This is about the team. At some point we need to get a young goalie prospect who can push Price, and if needed, take over. I hope Price gets his game together next year and finally EARNs the respect of the fans in the playoffs by being great and taking the team deep. At a minimum, not be the reason we lost.

Pacs was playing with a separated shoulder and didn't contribute. He was slagged constantly, including by me. I don't see people apologizing for him. Stop apologizing for Price. Does that mean we need to dump both of them? Of course not. Both still have time and potential. Price needs to start living up to his potential.

Let me be clear... Price was terrible in two games. He has been bad for a month now. He hasn't won us a game, only lost us games. That is not elite goaltending. If you are happy with the way he played, then you have low standards.

"Embarassed in the playoffs..." I disagree. We outplayed Ottawa for the majority of this series. This team is much closer to contending than the outcome of this series, or the score of tonight's game, suggests. All the "experts" who will no doubt declare our regular season a fluke are in for a surprise within the next two years. Book it.

I agree. I wonder how many will pick us not to make the playoffs next year.

I will say I was embarrassed by the team in game three. They stopped playing and started acting like cheap goons.

[xXx..CK..xXx]

Nonsense. Why should our highest paid player get a pass. Seriously, what has he done to warrant being called elite? Why do we always excuse his play when he sucks, but when he has a few good games he is suddenly a god.

I don't expect miracles from Price, but I expect him to play well and win us some games. In his four games, he simply didn't measure up. You think this is about me? I have yet to see an analyst say anything but that Price had to be better. His numbers speak for themselves.

This is about the team. At some point we need to get a young goalie prospect who can push Price, and if needed, take over. I hope Price gets his game together next year and finally EARNs the respect of the fans in the playoffs by being great and taking the team deep. At a minimum, not be the reason we lost.

Pacs was playing with a separated shoulder and didn't contribute. He was slagged constantly, including by me. I don't see people apologizing for him. Stop apologizing for Price. Does that mean we need to dump both of them? Of course not. Both still have time and potential. Price needs to start living up to his potential.

Let me be clear... Price was terrible in two games. He has been bad for a month now. He hasn't won us a game, only lost us games. That is not elite goaltending. If you are happy with the way he played, then you have low standards.

I agree. I wonder how many will pick us not to make the playoffs next year.

I will say I was embarrassed by the team in game three. They stopped playing and started acting like cheap goons.

See, I don't understand where you get out of my post anything about how I felt about how Price played this series because I didn't mention it. Regardless of how I feel about how he played this series, I am extremely happy that he is our goaltender in general.

If you want my opinion on why I think we lost this series, it's an easy list:

1) injuries

2) officiating

3) Anderson

And before you go on about #3, I don't think it would have been a factor without numbers 1 & 2.

I wouldn't put Price on the list of reasons we lost this series. It's easy to say a bunch of players did poorly these playoffs because of a small sample size of 5 games. I believe that without our injuries and terrible calls on the ice, we would have easily won this series. So you can go on talking about Price all you want but he IS a great goalie... And I never get involved in these goalie debates.

Like you said, it's about the team and if the team needs Carey to STEAL games in order to win, like you so badly want, then he is already being placed on a higher pedestal and we've got bigger issues to worry about.

[Trizzak]

What is 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 -1?

A terrible password? Yes. But it is also the goals in each game Montreal scored this playoff series.

While it would be nice to have Price shutout the opposing team every time, in the end the team that scored at least 3 goals won the game.

This isn't a black and white issue, there is obviously nuance like goals that kill momentum, playing from behind vs playing ahead, etc... but you have to look at this series and ask what is more to blame, the amount of goals scored against us or the amount of goals we scored?

Basically, if there is a list of 5 things that went wrong for Montreal, goaltending is #6.

[Guest Stogey24]

What is 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 -1?

A terrible password? Yes. But it is also the goals in each game Montreal scored this playoff series.

While it would be nice to have Price shutout the opposing team every time, in the end the team that scored at least 3 goals won the game.

This isn't a black and white issue, there is obviously nuance like goals that kill momentum, playing from behind vs playing ahead, etc... but you have to look at this series and ask what is more to blame, the amount of goals scored against us or the amount of goals we scored?

Basically, if there is a list of 5 things that went wrong for Montreal, goaltending is #6.

Players feed off good goaltending. We've seen price stand on his head before and also have seen him shat the bed. He wasn't there this series. He's Montreal's pride and joy because we have no other "big namers" to fall back on. So obviously we want to defend price. That's our boy. He's getting paid the big bucks to show up every game. So when your goalie is having a bad night, for the most part, your team is having bad night. They're the back bone of the team. Defend him all you want, he didn't show up like we needed him to. Blame the refs, injuries, defence, etc. 6.5mill a year you better be keeping us in every game. Anderson is basically keeping an AHL team in the playoffs right now.

BROBIN I love the idea of young goalie pushing price a bit.

[Chris]

I'm not gettign into the Price same old same old.

I get your point Stogey, but as much as players feed off good goaltending this team has consistently folded up and wilted when the going gets tough.

Fluery has been awfull, guess what, his team sucked it up and scored 5 goals. They were 2 and 2 with awfull goaltending, same with the Islanders, Detroit, even Lundqvuist has given up 4 golas twice. The Rangers started scoring more.

The Habs don't do that.

[Guest Stogey24]

Yup, your absolutely right. Ill let this topic go. I know it's getting old.

It's just those teams also have their go to players. Show up on a consistent basis. I honestly feel we don't have that key guy in our line up. Am I wrong? Maybe it's time we sink some money into a top line guy. A guy that when its crunch time, can get the job done.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

This team did not "wilt." It came out hard for game after game in this series with the sole exception of Game Three. People are confusing results with effort/will/character and even the game actually played on the ice. On the ice, the Habs outplayed the Sens for the bulk of this series. Losing is not the same as wilting.

Price sucked in Game One and let in a momentum-killing goal in Game Three. He played as well as a human goalie can play in Games Two and Four. So I give him a "B-" on this playoff, and as for whether or not he "wilts" in the playoffs, I say: still not proven...although the media and fans now have their go-to narrative, of course.

This was a Murphy's Law series. We were wasted by injuries. We ran into a hot goalie. We lost a key game mainly because of a concatenation of bizarre officiating decisions. We lost one game because of bad goaltending. Even the Senators and the media were talking about how the Sens have relied on hot goaltending and luck.

Fans need to get over the fact that this is NOT the 2012 team. This team has character and talent. As for "sinking money into a top-line guy," hell, if some superstar wants to sign here that's OK by me; but Galyenchuk is supposed to become that guy. If you want to win the Cup next season, then you try to score home runs on the UFA or trade market. If you're working with a longer-term vision, you trust the youth and see this season as one to build on.