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This team has been poorly prepared since the exhibition season. They have no PP to speak of while they are poor 5-5.. not a recipe for success. Our big acquisition was Cole.. a big winger who can go to the net.. we have a 5-3 and he sits on the bench... If he is out of favor already, what do we do for the next 4 years we have him.

My keys to victory..... a) don't hold our sticks so tight!!! said PK Subban b) make a few tape to tape passes and show some skilled play!!! said Michael Cammalleri c) Stick to the system!! said Tomas Plekanec d) put your life on the line!! said josh Gorges d) trust your teammates! said Hal Gill e) keep possession on the PP! said Brian Gionta f) watch that glove side!!! said carey price g) stabilize the lines!!! said jacques Martin and go Get the First GOAL and WIN against Toronto!!! says the hearts of all habs men

Hmmm.... just a little bit more tweaking and........................ BANG!!! a win!!

Biggest issue with the team continues to be Forward Support in the defensive zone. If the forwards were better in their own end it would solve everything. If we backchecked better, we'd even end up scoring more goals. Seems counterintuitive? I agree... but hear me out. Think about the type of goals this Habs team has scored at Even Strength over the last 2 years. What do you see? Do you see a team cycling the puck in the offensive zone? Do you see a team winning board battles and then setting something up? Or do you see a team that creates through the use of odd man rushes? 2 on 1s, 3 on 2s, and other quick strike, counter attack style plays. I know what I see, and its the odd man rush that creates a huge part of our 5 on 5 offence. This is a team where 5 of our 9 most talented fwds are 5'10 or shorter, but are speedy. With such a lineup you can't count on a puck possession game. You can't count on playing a strong forecheck and cycle style of game. You just don't have enough big forwards to do it, when 2 guys on every line lack size. So how do you create offence? By using that speed in odd man rushes. So how do you create odd man rushes? Simple.... you need to force the other team to turn over the puck... either have a takeaway, or block a shot and pick up the loose puck, pick off a bad pass, win puck battle, etc.... So in this way better defence.... the forwards supporting our defencemen (what they haven't done at all this year), would help this team not only give up less goals, it would actually help us create more chances at the other end. This is how the 2001 New Jersey Devils were the highest scoring team in the NHL.... this is how Martin's Ottawa teams scored a lot of goals.... this was how we reached the final four to years ago.... this is how we took the first two games in Boston last year... and this is what we need to get back to doing if we want to be successful.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the power play. It's a crucial element that's been lacking. Muller was the leader in that department. I don't deny that the Wiz would be a help, but I can't completely agree with his absence being the significant reason it's failing. The players don't win battles on the PP. There's a lack of passion in the play (which is ingrained in their overall play except for the game against Buffalo) which, from my view anyhow, is the reason the PP isn't producing. Everything is "by the book" and very predictable as well - very coached. The creativity on the PP, that passion I was talking about, seem to be absent. While the PP is an issue for sure, I'm more concerned about the mental complacence.

Learning the new forum features together.. there's now a green and a red arrow at the right of all posts. Do you see it? Click the green arrow for "+1" 's !

The worst disaster to befall this team (other than the Roy deal) over the last 15 years is this: SAKU KOIVU'S KNEE. He was leading the NHL in scoring, an emerging superstar with blazing speed and deft moves, before he blew it out in 1996. He was never even close to the same player thereafter. I actually rate Audette's arm quite highly on that list. But yeah. with a healthy Markov who knows what could have been last season. And his knee could end up costing Martin his job - or even Gauthier, the way things are going.