Habs now 5th in east

[Mark Napier]

...and the teams below them are Buffalo, Tampa, and Philadelphia who are all within a couple of points of the Habs. You got to think at least Tampa and Philli are going to be contending for top spots in the East. By the time Kovalev comes back we could be fighting to make the playoffs. Not so sure a playoff spot is as likely as it it once seemed. I'm afraid without Kovalev and Theo this team is rather ordinary and it's showing now. Theo has been getting better but he needs to stand on his head for this team to not lose serious ground with Kovy out.

[Psycing]

Throw in the fact that we've got no Markov for the next 3 games... easily one of our top-3 players since the season began... Kovalev and Koivu finishing that list off...

But hey, it's the Habs... I think we've got a good chance at beating Ottawa tomorrow night. You know, when you're on top there's nowhere else to go but down... That's what the Canadiens seem to be facing right now...

Anywayz, call me a real optimist, but I really think the young guys will pick up their game w/ the increased ice time, and voila, success!

[Mark Napier]

Yeah you're a real optimist. I can see us missing the playoffs real easy if:

1) Kovalev's injury fails to heal well and he is out for a long time.

2) Theo doesn't start playing at the Vezina trophy level that he did before.

This team has really no one that can carry it other than these 2 guys. To be honest the rest of the team, while having some good players like Koivu, Zednik, Ryder, and Markov, doesnt have real superstars that can make the difference in game situations. In short the team lives and dies with Kovalev and Theo. Kovy is out for god knows how long and Theo is a mystery as to whether he shows up and plays well or plays like crap. Very iffy right now for this team and the playoff picture. I predict i 2 weeks from now the Habs will be hovering around 8th in the East. Stay tuned........

[BTH]

Well, if we can stay at .500 without our "best" player then that's still good news. The problem is that we keep losing in OT. We need some wins. Sure, both the Leaf losses were ours and a couple of the other games we should have won, too. We have a horrible record in the past few games. If we can win 7 out of the next 10 then that'll be great news. I don't think we're in as much trouble as you think. With or without Kovalev for the next 3 weeks we'll make the playoffs an we'll have a full team for them. Okay, maybe we'll have to play a harder team because we'll be lower in the standings but we'll still be an underrated and talented team. And what's so bad about 5th? A couple of wins to end this drought and we're fine. The problem is that we can't seem to snap out of it.

[Mark Napier]

There's not much of a chance of the Habs winning 7 out of the next 10. The way things are going 4 out of 10 would be a good result.

[Mark Napier]

Just to add, there's no way we deserved to win against Toronto last game. Don't know which game you were watching. As for Kovalev, he will only be back in 3 weeks if we're lucky. He could be out 2 months and it's been known for injuries to take much longer to heal than expected. You've seen the results of his absence so far and to say we'll make the playoffs without him is very wishfull thinking. Do you remember what this team was like before they aquired Kovalev?? Not a pretty picture. Remember, this man is greatly responsible for the playoff win against Boston and our great, unexpected start this year. To say this team will be alright without him is selling the man a little short, don't you think??

[Psycing]

Well, in 04... we made the playoffs without Kovalev....

And when we DID get him, he didnt do anything until the playoffs.

But of course, I will send him a HUGE thank you card for his help once we got in there and defeated Boston...

(But tell me you didn't hate at least for a split second when his wrist got slashed and Glen Murray went in alone on Theo to win game 4?)

I really think it's all psychological on the players... they forget what they can do as a team, and what they've done in the past. Once they get a hard-worked win, I think the players will start to feel a bit better about themselves and the results wont be so skewed.

I think everyone got too used to winning every game thanks to the great start.... This whole slide is more of a reality check, and the fact that the other teams who had games in hand, have now played those games and got some points.

Everyone was talking about how the NHL was going to be a more level playing field with the cap, and well, the deeper we get into the schedual, the theory will start to become a reality. There are going to be a lot of "good" teams missing the playoffs this yearl.

okay, I've done the unthinkable, I've ranted... hahaha... I'm too tired for this . Sorry to go off topic, just my mind started racing, and my heart started pacin, and well, I just stroked a rythem... hey that reminds me, time to practice guitar.

[BTH]

Well, with him we were second in the Conference so why is making the playoffs without him such a bold comment?

And the game against the Leafs, we got robbed. The refs called back an obvious goal and then called a stupid penalty. With normal refs that game was ours.

If you were talking about the other game then we still should have won. We destroyed them in the first perod despite the scoreless draw. Then we gave up a quick pair on the few shots the Leafs managed. Then we came back and with the W in our grasp Allison scores the luckiest goal in history. Need I remind you? Dandenault is behind the net. It hits Allison's back, goes off the glass, hits the back of the crossbar, tumbles over, hits Theodore on the back and trickles across the goalline a split second before Theo grabbed it. I can't remember but I believe the shots were heavily in our favour. And Theodore played like garbage in that game so we're definitely a much better team than we were in this game, anyway.

[Mark Napier]

I'm talking about the last game where the Habs were thoroughly outplayed by the leafs. We got some late goals to make it a game but we clearly didn't deserve the win. Game should of been over in the first period but the leafs didn't capitalize on a lot of their chances.

[Roo-AH! Roo-AH!]

I like macaskill's observation: this team, without Kovalev, was good enough to make the playoffs in '03-04, a season, incidentally, in which Theodore played well but did not generally stand on his head. So Kovalev's absence is no excuse.

What's changed, then? Why do we get such bad vibes off these guys now, without Kovy?

Answer: several players are stinking out the joint, and I don't mean Theodore. Ribeiro was a crucial performer for us in 03-04, drawing some of the opposition checkers away from Saku; this year, he's been useless most nights. ZEDNIK---who for some reason nobody is complaining about---has been semi-invisible since returning from injury. Ryder has scored some goals but has not played consistently well. Dagenais, well, the less said, the better. And Souray has been a shadow of the thundering menace he was that season. Add to this the fact that Bonk has added nothing offensively, and you see the basic problem: it's not that Kovalev is out, it's that too many key guys from our previous season aren't showing up. All Kovalev's super play did was help to mask the underlying problem. Ribeiro and Zednik, in particular, HAVE to pick it up if we're to make it in the long run.

[Mark Napier]

Roo-AH! Roo-AH! you must have a very selective memory because what I remember from the Habs before Kovalev (and I don't mean the first regular season while he was still adapting) was a team that was constantly struggling to stay above .500 and was always picked to miss the playoffs. I don't remember Ribeiro being this dominant player you were talking about. Sure he has been a little less visible but it's pretty much the same Ribieiro of 2 seasons ago. It's obvious that the spark plug for this team is Kovalev and all the proof you need for this is the fact that the Habs have a losing record without him. At least it should be obvious....

By the way Roo-AH! Roo-AH!, I never had good vibes about this team before Kovalev. Without him, Montreal's offence is as anemic as can be.

[Roo-AH! Roo-AH!]

The Habs made the playoffs without Kovy, is my point. They should be able to do it again, and if they don't, it'll be because good performers from 03-04 aren't showing up.

Napier, I would never suggest that Ribs was a 'dominant' player last season; only that he was an effective second-line centre and helped take some of the load off Koivu. Ribeiro used to dangle the puck on a string and create room for his wingers with his exceptional vision. These days, he's perpetually a step behind the play. That's a BIG problem. Few teams have much of a chance without a decent second-line centreman.

[Mark Napier]

Things are very different in the NHL from 03-04! The east has become the much stronger conference than the west since then. I don't think the 03-04 Habs would of made the playoffs playing in this season. Look at all the good players that have come over to the east since then and how teams have generally improved in the east. It's a much tougher eastern conference and the Habs have to step up to keep pace. That's why the Habs got Kovalev, so they could keep up with the arms race in the east.

[Roo-AH! Roo-AH!]

That's reasonable...but I think my basic point---that key performers from 03-04 aren't producing, and that that's a fundamental problem---stands. Also, do consider that we've added some good rookies as well as the mysterious Bonk; on paper, we should be at least marginally better than the 03-04 team even without Kovalev.

[JMMR]

I agree Roo AH

This team should be better then 03 04 even without Kovalev.

Ryder has been invisible for 80% of his shifts especially in the defensive zone.

Ribero looks lost sometimes in the new NHL entering the zone 10s of seconds after his line mates.

Bonk 0 goals enough said.

Zednik where did his one timer go. All he does is waive at the puck like the queen.

Oh yeah and the HABS ARE STILL IN FOURTH

http://www.nhl.com/standings/20052006/conf..._standings.html

even with the laffs win tonight. Check it out laffs win again on a 5 on 3 in the third period. All I can say is quel soups.

[Mark Napier]

I don't know where you guys are getting the idea that Ryder, Ribeiro and Zednik are not performing up to their usual levels. Ribeiro is on pace for 61 points, just about what he had in '04. Ryder is on pace for 34 goals which sounds pretty good to me. Finally Zednik has 7 goals in 16 games which is pretty close to a 40 goal pace if he didn't miss some games. Seems like you guys got a little taste of winning and suddenly everyone is suppose to score 50 goals and break 100 pts. These guys are doing just what is expected if you go by their past numbers. They're on pace to have the same type of seasons they had in '04. It's amazing how close they are to their '04 totals actually. Problem is these guys aren't good enough to carry the team and why Kovy better get well real quick (and Theo better start playing like an all-star).

[option+]

I, too, am starting to get worried. I don't like some of the bad habits that have crept in during the past 2 weeks, namely not bothering to show up during the first period. The Leafs game was set to be a slump breaker (disagree with you Mark Napier, we were the better team for 2 of 3 periods) but given the way it ended... I don't know how the team will react to that. It doesn't help that Markov is suspended for the next 3.

The next 10 games are crucial. That's all I'm going to say.

[Roo-AH! Roo-AH!]

It's not so much the numbers as the overall game these guys are bringing. Ribs is getting some points mainly because Ryder, being a natural scorer, is often able to score on the one good shift he puts in per game. Last season, the second line fairly consistently generated offensive momentum; not this year. Zednik, the guy is invisible out there---where are those great drives to the net he used to generate? (Note, also, that 60 points in the 'new NHL' is closer to 40 points in the old NHL. So if these guys have similar totals to last season, that represents a net decline).

[Mark Napier]

Well Roo-AH! Roo-AH! in my book 60 pts is still 60 points. 2 years doesn't change the game that much. Ryder and Ribeiro have always been the type of players that are pretty much invisible but get their share of points. That's their game. They are not like a Kovalev and Koivu that can control the ryhthm of the game with their play and puck control. I think we're getting exactly what is to be expected from these 3 guys which is points and not much else in terms of dominating, defensive play.

To option I do agree that the Habs were the better team in the last 2 periods but I'm saying the way they came out in the first they were lucky the leafs didn't run up the score to 4 or 5 nothing. That's what I meant by they didn't deserve the win. Late game heroics are useless if you're buried in the first.

[bookworm]

we are going to win the stanley cup this year and theo is going to win the conn smythe trophy.

[lovethehabs]

Come on JMMR;

Zednik is not waving like the Queen. She has much more energy. I believe he has been fly fishing on a frozen pond! He sure has not been chasing pucks!