Official positivity thread

[SOOPAVILLIN]

Trying to look for a reason to bump this thread, so I did a little stat digging from the regular season.

I broke the 82 games into series of 7's, obviously wins and losses. So to sum it up here's what I came up with.

So first of all we had 11 seven game series up to game 77 and the last 5.

Round:

1. 4-3W 5. 1-4L 9. 1-4L

2. 4-2W 6. 1-4L 10. 4-0W

3. 4-0W 7. 4-2W 11.-2-4l

4. 4-2W 8. 3-4L 12. 3-2W

Now I only noted the record based on how long it took them to loose or win 4 games, so not every game is accounted for, but just for the sake of accuracy, I'll brake it down including all games.

1. 4-3W 5. 2-5L 9. 2-5L

2. 4-3W 6. 3-4L 10. 6-1W

3. 5-2W 7. 4-3W 11.-2-5l

4. 5-2W 8. 3-4L 12. 3-2W

So altogether the went 7-5 the rehearsal for the playoffs,it also shows that we should expect that whatever happens in this or any series were involved in will go 6 or 7 games. I know its not dominating, but if we stay in the same cycle, it allows a little bit of positivity to creep back our minds.

Edited April 22, 2011 by SOOPAVILLIN

[BTH]

My positive message is that the score is tied.

Trying to look for a reason to bump this thread, so I did a little stat digging from the regular season.

I broke the 82 games into series of 7's, obviously wins and losses. So to sum it up here's what I came up with.

So first of all we had 11 seven game series up to game 77 and the last 5.

Round:

1. 4-3W 5. 1-4L 9. 1-4L

2. 4-2W 6. 1-4L 10. 4-0W

3. 4-0W 7. 4-2W 11.-2-4l

4. 4-2W 8. 3-4L 12. 3-2W

Now I only noted the record based on how long it took them to loose or win 4 games, so not every game is accounted for, but just for the sake of accuracy, I'll brake it down including all games.

1. 4-3W 5. 2-5L 9. 2-5L

2. 4-3W 6. 3-4L 10. 6-1W

3. 5-2W 7. 4-3W 11.-2-5l

4. 5-2W 8. 3-4L 12. 3-2W

So altogether the went 7-5 the rehearsal for the playoffs,it also shows that we should expect that whatever happens in this or any series were involved in will go 6 or 7 games. I know its not dominating, but if we stay in the same cycle, it allows a little bit of positivity to creep back our minds.

Wow, 82 playoff games. The Habs must be the most experienced playoff team in the NHL!

[JoeLassister]

We're safe. Just like last playoffs, I'm gonna modify the look of my playoffs beard to help the Habs regain the momentum.

We're so safe.

[illWill]

Well, despite the two home losses in a row, I am happy about a potential development if the Habs can pull out the win in this series. Since Buffalo has Philly on the ropes, the Habs could be looking at a matchup against Pittsburgh next round (assuming the series all finish the way they likely will). One could make the assumption that they can beat a Pens team without Crosby and Malkin since they beat them with those two in the lineup last year. It is alot of wishful thinking but it could possibly happen.

Edited April 23, 2011 by illWill

[SOOPAVILLIN]

Patches injury isn't serious. Finally some positive news.

[bbp]

Patches injury isn't serious. Finally some positive news.

I was so happy when I heard that

[bbp]

Umm... we just destroyed them? YAY POSITIVISM!

[JMMR]

Would be more positive if they play hard+stay healthy and BEAT the Bruins tonight.

[bbp]

Would be more positive if they play hard+stay healthy and BEAT the Bruins tonight.

haha, thats the most negative "positive sentence" I've heard

[illWill]

This thread is exactly what the title says. It's where you can post about all things good in Habs land and look at the glass half full instead of empty.

It seems no matter where I turn there are always haters and some of them are so called fans. Whether it is on tv, message boards, blogs or at the water cooler, it seems like nobody has any faith in this group of players. Subban is overrated and only won the Norris in a shortened season, Price won the gold medal because the defense was so good and anybody could have been in net, Therrien is an idiot and everything he does is wrong, Bergevin should have done this or shouldn't have done that, Markov is old and slow and the never-ending smurf topic.

Why can't people just be happy and cheer on their favorite team? Of course the ultimate goal is to win the Cup but you have to be realistic and realize that there are 30 teams with the same goal. This isn't the original 6 era or even pre-expansion during Bettman's tenure. There can only be one winner and even the very best team after 82 games isn't guaranteed to win. So why is it the end of the world if we don't go all the way? This is the entertainment industry and as long as we are, then that's all that matters. I have been very entertained the last decade or so. In the last 9 years, we have missed the playoffs only 2 times and one of them was down to the last game of the year. We have won the East twice in that span and made the Conference finals. There are only a handful of teams that have had more success in that time.

So that brings me to the present time. The new regime comes in to a disaster of a team that finished last in the conference. All they do is win the division and continue this season right where they picked up. Here are the point totals of the league since the beginning of last season to right now:

Points Chicago 161 Pittsburgh 156 Anaheim 155 St. Louis 144 Boston 141 San Jose 139 Montreal 136 LA 131 Toronto 128 Minnesota 128 NYR 125 Vancouver 125 Detroit 124 Washington 122 Colorado 120 Ottawa 119 Columbus 118 Phoenix 116 Philly 115 Winnipeg 115 Dallas 114 Tampa 111 NJ 111 NYI 109 Carolina 103 Nashville 103 Buffalo 93 Calgary 93 Edmonton 92 Florida 87

That looks fairly impressive to me and it seems like there are 20+ teams that would love to be where we are, yet we get zero respect. Not many teams can boast a Norris trophy winner not even in his prime, arguably the best goaltender in the world, a young perennial 30 goal scorer, a potential point per game 20 year old center and a stock pile of prospects, and hold our own draft picks in upcoming years. We have a really good team right now and no it is not perfect. Every team has weaknesses and can improve in some area but why not just enjoy what we have? All I hear is complaints about this group and it is not warranted at all. Despite all the negativity, all this team does is get points. Be happy with you what have, not unhappy with what you don't have.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Montreal is right now a team that rarely loses when everything is going right and find a way to win when everything is going wrong. I'd prefer everything to go right all the time or most of the time but results that baffle general consensus is fun too.

Also every shift by Brendan Gallagher is great. His consistency is amazing. Even when he's not scoring, he's breathing life into the team. I wouldn't trade him for a guy who could score double. Best part is we can thank Milan Lucic for pushing Boston scouting to look at him, which got other teams like Montreal to look at him too. Boston thought he'd drop further and didn't pull the trigger. Thanks Looch

[sim.on]

This thread is exactly what the title says. It's where you can post about all things good in Habs land and look at the glass half full instead of empty.

It seems no matter where I turn there are always haters and some of them are so called fans. Whether it is on tv, message boards, blogs or at the water cooler, it seems like nobody has any faith in this group of players. Subban is overrated and only won the Norris in a shortened season, Price won the gold medal because the defense was so good and anybody could have been in net, Therrien is an idiot and everything he does is wrong, Bergevin should have done this or shouldn't have done that, Markov is old and slow and the never-ending smurf topic.

Why can't people just be happy and cheer on their favorite team? Of course the ultimate goal is to win the Cup but you have to be realistic and realize that there are 30 teams with the same goal. This isn't the original 6 era or even pre-expansion during Bettman's tenure. There can only be one winner and even the very best team after 82 games isn't guaranteed to win. So why is it the end of the world if we don't go all the way? This is the entertainment industry and as long as we are, then that's all that matters. I have been very entertained the last decade or so. In the last 9 years, we have missed the playoffs only 2 times and one of them was down to the last game of the year. We have won the East twice in that span and made the Conference finals. There are only a handful of teams that have had more success in that time.

So that brings me to the present time. The new regime comes in to a disaster of a team that finished last in the conference. All they do is win the division and continue this season right where they picked up. Here are the point totals of the league since the beginning of last season to right now:

Points Chicago 161 Pittsburgh 156 Anaheim 155 St. Louis 144 Boston 141 San Jose 139 Montreal 136 LA 131 Toronto 128 Minnesota 128 NYR 125 Vancouver 125 Detroit 124 Washington 122 Colorado 120 Ottawa 119 Columbus 118 Phoenix 116 Philly 115 Winnipeg 115 Dallas 114 Tampa 111 NJ 111 NYI 109 Carolina 103 Nashville 103 Buffalo 93 Calgary 93 Edmonton 92 Florida 87

That looks fairly impressive to me and it seems like there are 20+ teams that would love to be where we are, yet we get zero respect. Not many teams can boast a Norris trophy winner not even in his prime, arguably the best goaltender in the world, a young perennial 30 goal scorer, a potential point per game 20 year old center and a stock pile of prospects, and hold our own draft picks in upcoming years. We have a really good team right now and no it is not perfect. Every team has weaknesses and can improve in some area but why not just enjoy what we have? All I hear is complaints about this group and it is not warranted at all. Despite all the negativity, all this team does is get points. Be happy with you what have, not unhappy with what you don't have.

Quality post.

[DON]

Defensive side of game is improved for Habs this year.

Should be a nice new rookie crop in Hamilton next fall with; Bozon, Thrower, Crisp, Nevins, Vail, Hudon, Bennett and maybe a Swede or 2 possibly suiting up?

[KoRP]

Awesome post illwill !

[hab29RETIRED]

POSITIVES:

-We are winning a lot more than we deserve to and thanks to a very weak eastern division are well positioned.

-We have the following players to for a very strong future core:

-Subban

-Price

-Galchenyuk

-Gallagher

-MaxPac

-We have the following strong veterans to help that future core or to move for a high return:

-Pleks

-Markov

-Gorges (to me is clearly one to move)

-DD (a guy we NEED to move ASAP while he is hot)

Have the following young players with a potential for a bright future and additions to the future core:

-Eller

-Tinordi

-Beaulieu

-White

-Bournival

-Sorry, don't feel as good enough about the team to just be to be positive, so:

NEGATIVES:

-None of our core was a shrewd pickup by the current management team (Galchenyuk was a no-brain choice) and I don't see any players they added that give me confidence in them

-Moves by GM which are reasons for my pessimism:

-Bridge deal to Subban a guy who was a guy who should have been signed to long-term deals, and pre-lockout were in similar positions to Tavares, Kane, Seguin

-The GM's most significant free-agent signing is adding another under-sized guy like Briere who was clearly on a downward trajectory, rather than Jagr who would give us the size and would finally be a guy that would have given Pleks a decent winger

-Having a coach that every single player that is part of our future core has regressed under him in year 2

-Having a coach who continuously making head scratching decisions like paying under-performig guys like Gionta in over-time, rather than young dynamic players like Galchenyuk, Galleghar, or players having strong games like Briere

-A coach who is clearly messing up our best player Subban and is taking is clearly demonstrating his dislike of Subban as an analyst. Last night's game warranted sitting Subban for a few shifts to make a point - not sitting him in OT against one of the best shootout teams in the league

-not giving Galchenyuk a good look at centre. Yes, Seguin got the same treatment in Boston, but Galchenyuk is not playing behind Krejci and Bergeron

- I could go on with more, but this is supposed to be a positivity thread

[DON]

Beaulieu has had 2 good games after several sub-par ones and likely wont be Hamilton too long.

Andrighetto & Pateryn played very well again today, would like to see them get a look sometime in March.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

The Habs are a good organization with a lot of quality pieces.

I think it's still to early for decisive pessimism OR optimism about the management team. Therrien should be fired within the next two years, but as long as we do not make long-term personnel moves to accommodate his whims, that's not negativity, just a simple statement of probability.

If you are looking for a competitive team that can beat any team on any given night, and give most teams a good playoff series, then you have every reason to be optimistic. I am not especially optimistic about our making the jump to legitimate, serious contender because everything I've just said describes almost every Habs team since 2008.

[habs rule]

I am very positive about the Habs but that does not mean I won't express my opinion on daily events be they negative or positive, nor will I fall into the "oh the sky is falling" and definitely not the " can't we all just get along" tripe. This is an exchange of ideas and just because we disagree or or have differing views does not change the fact that WE ALL WANT A CUP dammit. At least I hope we do.

I am the Fan Gm

[dlbalr]

Here's a positive note:

In the last 10 games, no team has a better record than Montreal (7-1-2).

[DON]

Habs are 12-9-1 vs Western teams, which would equate to a 93.2 point season just vs West.

So sure, many eastern teams not the strongest, but Habs simply arnt doing bad at all (other than overall offense).

Really looking forward to some good games this week, Kings one may be low scoring or tight, but solid team and good 'test'.

I guess 4 of 8 points on trip would be as much as should be expected?

[DON]

Markov with big 3point game yesterday, now has 10pts in last 10 games, I wonder if he had a minor injury in dec-jan that threw off his game for awhile?

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Habs are 12-9-1 vs Western teams, which would equate to a 93.2 point season just vs West.

So sure, many eastern teams not the strongest, but Habs simply arnt doing bad at all (other than overall offense).

Western Conference wins: Edmonton (4-1), Vancouver (4-1), Winnipeg (3-0), Anaheim (4-1), Dallas (2-1), Minnesota (6-2), Phoenix (3-1), Nashville (4-3), Dallas (6-4), Chicago (2-1), Calgary (2-0), Vancouver (5-2)

Western Conference losses: Calgary (3-2), Nashville (2-1), Edmonton (4-3), San Jose (2-0), Minnesota (4-3), Colorado (4-1), St. Louis (3-2), LA (6-0), St. Louis (5-1), Winnipeg (2-1)

We've beaten two top five teams (Anaheim and Chicago) and lost to two top five teams (St. Louis and San Jose). Add two more Top 10 teams in Colorado and LA for the loss column. Minnesota, Dallas and Vancouver are bubble teams we've all beaten (we really have the Canucks number) while splitting games with teams like Edmonton, Nashville and Winnipeg. Phoenix and Winnipeg, to be fair, are bubble teams. The win against the Ducks wasn't like before the Ducks were playing well. They were 7-3 when we faced them.

We play the Kings, Ducks, Coyotes and Sharks. Four games in six days. We face the Kings when they are on a four game winning streak (outscoring opponents 13-6), the Ducks who have been everywhere on the map (shut out by Dallas and Chicago, shut out the Blues, eight goals in five games), a Coyotes team with the ability to shut out the Kings and Blackhawks and then the next game lose to the Sabres (plus running a three game losing streak as of posting) and a Sharks team that scored nine goals in seven games, then blasted the Flyers 7-3 only to lose to the Sabres 4-2 after. Nobody knows what the heck the Sharks will do. They are also in a similar situation with us and Markov when it comes to Dan Boyle and he might be gone to a team like Pittsburgh by the time we face them. I honestly don't know how this road trip will go, especially with the trade deadline happening in between, but when it ends, we got the Bruins.

The best sign in the Toronto game was the first period, where Montreal absolutely dominated Toronto for a good 15 minutes. I don't expect 60 minutes of that but if we can minimize the opposite happening to us and at least play an ebb and flow game including a dominant 10-15 minutes we can beat pretty much anyone.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I agree with Machine - if we can replicate the level of play we attained in the first 15 minutes against TO, we will not only win lots of games, we will become genuine contenders. I'm not sure what happened there, but for a while it was like watching Chicago or St Louis, one of the REAL NHL teams. Then, of course, the Leafs adjusted and the world returned to normal. Nonetheless, maybe that can offer a good reference point for MT and the whole group going forward: "if we do it like this, we can beat anybody..."

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I agree with Machine - if we can replicate the level of play we attained in the first 15 minutes against TO, we will not only win lots of games, we will become genuine contenders. I'm not sure what happened there, but for a while it was like watching Chicago or St Louis, one of the REAL NHL teams. Then, of course, the Leafs adjusted and the world returned to normal. Nonetheless, maybe that can offer a good reference point for MT and the whole group going forward: "if we do it like this, we can beat anybody..."

I'm all about average play. Or at least try to be. I try to see how a guy plays on an average shift, or how a team plays on an average game. Focusing on the highs and lows can limit the perception. For a while Montreal was playing their low. Even against Toronto we saw their low, where only one guy can make it across an opposing zone, every pass is to a defenceman who is covered, nobody at the net in position to do anything, board work that leads to nothing, all of that unfortunate stuff. But when Montreal plays their high, we cross the zone, we free up the blueliners, there are players buzzing near the net, the board work actually cycles to an open player and when shots goto the net it creates rebounds. It never feels like the coaching is coaching the team wrong fundamentally, it's just they can get in bad habits instead of good habits. That isn't to absolve some of Therrien's really bad tendencies.

To speak of highs, I thought Lars Eller had his best game in a long time. Maybe not defensively since he lost the puck a lot but he made one rush I was really happy to see. The kind of rush I've been saying he has to make regardless of his teammates. He makes more of those, it's going to convert and Therrien is going to actually consider him a potential top six player again. I'm also understanding why Therrien plays Briere so little. When Briere is on the ice a lot, teams know where he is. When he plays fourth line, they forget there's actually a dangerous player out there. He really messed up Carlyle's line matching plans. Therrien was also slipping him out with skill guys at the right moments and Briere was making things happen. Flyers fans have said for years that Briere starts slow and ends fast. It's looking like that. Also big credit to Josh Gorges who might have played his best game as a Hab this year. He was our best defenceman in our zone. It looked like he broke his hand and kept playing great hockey. It's games like that where he deserves his money but again, we're talking about a high and not his average.

[habs rule]

Positive Positive Positive Positivly fire Therrien, jeez I had it going there for a minute.