Lovett's Magnatones Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 The Habs and Pens square off for the second time in a week at the Bell Center, 7 PM EST. Can they repeat their good fortune of last Saturday? Will they have something to prove after a big loss to Tampa? The biggest question: will they even get 15 seconds of air time on HNIC after the soap opera in Toronto? There might be tears as the Leaf Blowers discuss Phil Kessel and "just where things went wrong" with a medicore roster that is somehow in the Wildcard race. But I digress... The Canadiens recalled Christian Thomas and will be scratching Manny Malhotra. Personally, I would rather see Malhotra than Andrighetto center the fourth line. I would also like to see Hudon, but a home game is a good option to test out a new fourth line. This fourth line should fly, and hopefully they can chip in some offense. PA Parenteau is still injured. Mike Weaver remains a healthy scratch. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-10-6) Spaling-Malkin-Bennett Kunitz-Crosby-Perron Downie-Sutter-Rust Sill(Ebbett)-Goc-Adams Martin-Bortuzzo Ehrhoff-Letang Després-Scuderi Marc Andre Fleury Montreal Canadiens (26-12-2) Max Pacioretty - Alex Galchenyuk - Brendan GallagherDavid Desharnais - Tomas Plekanec - Dale WeiseBrandon Prust - Lars Eller - Jiri SekacMichael Bournival -Sven Andrighetto-Christian Thomas Andrei Markov - P.K. SubbanNathan Beaulieu - Sergei GoncharAlexei Emelin - Tom Gilbert Price Some pre-game reading: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/habs-mid-season-report-card/ -SportsNet ranks the Habs in the predictable catergories of offense, defense, goaltending and coaching. http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eric-Engels/The-Habs-Powerplay-is-Missing-Jaromir-Jagr/82/65468 -Eric Engels dissects the Habs powerplay. Some excellent insights on why players like Pacioretty aren't working in their current roles. (Spoiler-Renaud Lavoie threw cold water on the Jagr to Habs speculation) http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-who-will-coach-maple-leafs-next/ -Friedman weighs in on the disasters in Toronto, Boston and the WJC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 The Habs and Pens square off for the second time in a week at the Bell Center, 7 PM EST. Can they repeat their good fortune of last Saturday? Will they have something to prove after a big loss to Tampa? The biggest question: will they even get 15 seconds of air time on HNIC after the soap opera in Toronto? There might be tears as the Leaf Blowers discuss Phil Kessel and "just where things went wrong" with a medicore roster that is somehow in the Wildcard race. But I digress... The Canadiens recalled Christian Thomas and will be scratching Manny Malhotra. Personally, I would rather see Malhotra than Andrighetto center the fourth line. I would also like to see Hudon, but a home game is a good option to test out a new fourth line. This fourth line should fly, and hopefully they can chip in some offense. PA Parenteau is still injured. Mike Weaver remains a healthy scratch. What might help is that the Leafs don't play today so they shouldn't completely dominate the discussion. As for Malhotra centering over Andrighetto, that makes sense. They're looking for more offence out of that fourth line though which is what takes the veteran out. Even with that, Bournival over Andrighetto would be smart, at least Bournival is a natural C. It's a small sample size but Andrighetto is 2/12 on faceoffs. I'd like to see him show he can win the odd one with winger wins before asking him to start taking draws in the offensive zone (as there's no way that line is seeing any D-zone work). There are benefits to a fourth line like this but there are also big risks, this will be one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 The Pits pens look a little healthier than the last time we played them, they are also probably pissed off at losing the last one. The boys need to be at their best tonight. This is a very important game imho. If we win it says a lot about this team, if we lose badly it will say something too. Our defence needs to be tight. Carey will be Carey. If we could get a couple of P/P goals it would go a long way to winning this game. We can win if we play like we can for 60 minutes, instead of the 30 to 35 minutes we usually play. It's balls to the walls boys now let's go kick some a$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovett's Magnatones Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 What might help is that the Leafs don't play today so they shouldn't completely dominate the discussion. As for Malhotra centering over Andrighetto, that makes sense. They're looking for more offence out of that fourth line though which is what takes the veteran out. Even with that, Bournival over Andrighetto would be smart, at least Bournival is a natural C. It's a small sample size but Andrighetto is 2/12 on faceoffs. I'd like to see him show he can win the odd one with winger wins before asking him to start taking draws in the offensive zone (as there's no way that line is seeing any D-zone work). There are benefits to a fourth line like this but there are also big risks, this will be one of them. They need to start picking up some more goals, I don't think the fourth line is the place to look. It's an idea which is as good as any when the PP is sputtering. I think that I've seen enough of Andrighetto, I hope they bring up Hudson for a couple of games. Do you think they're doing evalautions to see what they're planning for the deadline? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Andrighetto will score tonight. I have a bad feeling about this game (mostly because of last week's game, followed by Tampa) but at least it's at home. Simple gameplan: limit Crosby and Malkin and we'll be fine in my opinion. Should be a good battle and I predict a 3-2 game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan84 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 As for Malhotra centering over Andrighetto, that makes sense. They're looking for more offence out of that fourth line though which is what takes the veteran out. Even with that, Bournival over Andrighetto would be smart, at least Bournival is a natural C. It's a small sample size but Andrighetto is 2/12 on faceoffs. I'd like to see him show he can win the odd one with winger wins before asking him to start taking draws in the offensive zone (as there's no way that line is seeing any D-zone work). There are benefits to a fourth line like this but there are also big risks, this will be one of them. In addition to those changes, I would like to see Sekac get a shot over Weise on the second line. Find it quite strange to have to fourth/third liners (Prust/Weise) playing up in the line-up instead of offensive players like the kids. Instead were trying to make the fourth line offensive. Oh well, should be a good game tonight. I have a strange feeling we'll get it done tonight and play a good game. Price will have to be great but rarely does that not happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I think that I've seen enough of Andrighetto, I hope they bring up Hudson for a couple of games. Do you think they're doing evalautions to see what they're planning for the deadline? Yep, it feels like evaluation time, especially with Thomas being there. I don't mind it not being Hudon as he's in a bit of a funk right now (mind you, Thomas hasn't done any better). This is Thomas' last year of his ELC/waiver exemption so they need to know whether he can be part of the future or if he should be trade bait in the not-too-distant future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 In addition to those changes, I would like to see Sekac get a shot over Weise on the second line. Find it quite strange to have to fourth/third liners (Prust/Weise) playing up in the line-up instead of offensive players like the kids. Instead were trying to make the fourth line offensive. It's interesting that they're trying to make the fourth line more offensive instead of plugging a guy like Sekac on Line 2 and Andrighetto/Thomas on Line 3. That would allow for the fourth line to be Prust-Malhotra-Weise, which was really good at the beginning of the year. It may not be an offensive unit but it'd sure be an effective one. I will note though that if you flip Sekac and Weise, you're left with a line of Prust-Eller-Weise if nothing else changes. Unless the plan is for that to be a checking line, it probably wouldn't work too well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 It's interesting that they're trying to make the fourth line more offensive instead of plugging a guy like Sekac on Line 2 and Andrighetto/Thomas on Line 3. That would allow for the fourth line to be Prust-Malhotra-Weise, which was really good at the beginning of the year. It may not be an offensive unit but it'd sure be an effective one. I will note though that if you flip Sekac and Weise, you're left with a line of Prust-Eller-Weise if nothing else changes. Unless the plan is for that to be a checking line, it probably wouldn't work too well. Am I the only one who thinks Sekac is under utilized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I wanted to post an image but HabsWorld wouldn't allow it from the website I was hosting the image on. http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/stats.htm Habs have no minus (-) players in the lineup today. Interesting to see how high Weise's +/- is as well with all this talk about his promotion in the lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I wanted to post an image but HabsWorld wouldn't allow it from the website I was hosting the image on. http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/stats.htm Habs have no minus (-) players in the lineup today. Interesting to see how high Weise's +/- is as well with all this talk about his promotion in the lineup. Is Malholtra not playing? I thought he was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Am I the only one who thinks Sekac is under utilized. No, you're not the only one. However, the Habs have eased young players into their roles under this group so it's not as if it's unexpected that his role is limited. He'll get a bit more ice time in the second half of the year if history repeats itself but he'll still have less of a role than a lot would like. I wanted to post an image but HabsWorld wouldn't allow it from the website I was hosting the image on. What was the image extension? I think quite a few different extensions are allowed (by the way, we have no control that I know of on which are and aren't allowed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 By the way, it's the main HNIC crew for this one, Hughson, Simpson, and Healy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 There has been lots of talk about the first period lately so here's a stat to ponder... 1st period goals for: Pittsburgh: 48 (1) Montreal: 15 (T-29) Each team has allowed the same amount (30). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toronthab Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I sure liked the first few minutes and don't mind the way we're playing. I think we got a taste of what we can do when we gel and click. Poor PP. I still think we'll resolve this one. Lots and lots of talent. And thanks Brian for the interesting looking links you suggested. I'll check'em out when I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 There has been lots of talk about the first period lately so here's a stat to ponder... 1st period goals for: Pittsburgh: 48 (1) Montreal: 15 (T-29) Each team has allowed the same amount (30). Wow, 15 goals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs30/31 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 watching the Pats Ravens game and switching back and forth now. That power play is to laugh at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Prust needs to stop trying to make the pretty passes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 watching the Pats Ravens game and switching back and forth now. That power play is to laugh at. that is negative, we are not laughing at the power play crying maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toronthab Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 hahahaha... Patches. I'll take it. Sure like that Eller line. ... In fact I like all of our lines without a lot of competent analysis of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I tell ya lull them to sleep and you got them. THAT has to be the plan? right? Great goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Prust is becoming useless...he needs to stay on the fourth line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Prust is becoming useless...he needs to stay on the fourth line. He's played pretty good. Just his passing needs to lessened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illWill Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Max Pac isn't going to miss from there with that much space and time, great shot. I thought Bealieau played a pretty good period, some excellent break out passes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toronthab Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Prust is becoming useless...he needs to stay on the fourth line. Well.. I'm not a particularly cometent observer by any means, but my take.. which really is not deeply analytic or stat based, and despite seeing a little clay on the ice at times, is that Prust has been playing just great and I love what he's bringing to the team. Don't know what others are thinking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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