redondo

Got the point, now get the 2nd....

Two points out of these two games would be great, I too think we have more of a chance against the Wings, but if Price plays the way he has we can steal ANY given game. Kosty will be key, along with the disciplined defensive play. GO HABS GO!

Agreed, he should have been weeks ago, if he can help, let him help. I'd certainly play him over a guy like Stewart.

How many games has it been, and you've already given up on Gomez? Remember that Kovy, whom you said you loved, also had a very slow start with us (it took him a while to even score, and when he did it was an empty-netter) when we first got him. I was not happy with the Gomez trade either, but it's a little early to pronounce him dead in the water. He certainly looks like he is trying to me, at the very least.

I'm sorry, but this team is not one, two or maybe even three players (unless they're ALL superstars, and you don't draft too many of those picking 10-20th oa.) away from being a contender. This can still be a good team once everyone's healthy and the system takes over (if it does), but not a contender, not this year, and probably not the next either. I certainly didn't want the old core back after the playoffs we had, I'm not sure many folks here did either. Koivu was getting to the point where he was not even great for a 2nd line centre, and Kovalev, well let's just say the amount of money that Bob reportedly offered him was insane and thank God it didn't work out. Of that whole bunch, I only really wanted Tanguay and Komi (but NOT for what he got) back, and possibly Cube for insurance. So the old core was not gonna work any more regardless. Also, getting swept on basis of inferior talent is one thing, but getting manhandled like we did this past year is a whole other. I honestly think Gainey got so disguisted by it all that he decided on a change not as much for sake of fixing the talent level on the ice (I would say that on-paper, the improvement is marginal, though at the steep cost in terms of cap-flexibility) but he did it for sake of fixing the atmosphere and general philosophy of last year's loser squad.

Congrats to Price, wow....Hard to be upbeat after that kind of effort, the boys stunk up the joint.

I liked Carbonneau, and I think he will probably do a good to great job next time he gets a head coaching job, someplace. But he didn't help himself exactly with that quote about not knowing what to do/being out of answers (i forget the exact line, but it was less then a week before he was fired), you never want your coach to admit publicly that he's lost the room even if he has, it's kind of the kiss of death. And I agree with you on the performance afterwards, but Bob Gainey the interim coach is one thing, and Bob Gainey the GM is another. So if you accept the point of view that last year's group needed purging (which I do) even if you don't necessarily agree with how Bob went about it (which I partially don't), then you wonder what any coach could have done with them. That bunch looked pretty listless to me, but not before killing four pretty decent (if young) coaches previously. I will live with this year's group's faults, at least they're fighting and in games, not getting beaten up and beaten down, midgets or not. I'm not a fan of 1:0 losses, but Bruins just went through something similar a week ago and now they're back scoring/winning, I am still optimistic. There is lots of room for improvement......

Look a little like the old Devils unis, don't they?

Whatever we're going to do with the kid, it makes no sense to have him sit in the AHL when he could be benefiting us up here. Whether it's to drive up his value for a trade, or get some (any) value out of his talent for ourselves before getting rid of him, as I stated in another thread he should be in Montreal right now. If he does well there is a good chance we can still salvage this situation, remember HIS BROTHER plays for us still, all of his issues become non-issues if SK can make the 2nd line come alive and re-establish himself as an NHLer with us. The message has been sent, ok, now move on.

True, I also thought we played good for stretches. But those eventually have to start going in, the same way that on the other end some of those bailout saves have to be made - we're not good enough to give ANYTHING away at this point in time. Not scoring on 5 on 5 all night is unacceptable, I honestly don't understand what Sergei Kostitsyn is still doing in Hamilton when we need secondary scoring. Or someone. Plus I suspect that having Plex play out the contract season with no NHL-caliber wingers is NOT the way to get him to re-sign either.

Nice, we got the monkey off our backs as far as the streak against Boston. Mind you, we shouldn't get too excited, as this Bruins squad was about as decimated at forward as we are on D, but still. We will be scratching and clawing for these wins until guys are tuned into Martin's system AND we get our key guys (Markov+++) back, but a win is a win. The shots against are worrisome and so is the play in our own end, we need to learn to play more of a posession game, even moreso with the lead. MAB is scary at times, Pyatt with a decent first game, Kostitsyn looked like he cared, Price with a well deserved win. I'll take it.

agree with everything except "trade the other one". i would keep both goalies.

Everything about Price points that he'll be alright in the long run. He has the physical pre-despositions, talent and so far this is still just a blip in what still looks like a good resume. But he IS NOT looking confident right now, last nite was not awful, but it wasn't great either. You guys are right that this team cannot carry a goalie right now, but am I the only one feeling that the rest of the team still seems to play a little more confidently with Halak between the pipes right now? Not that he's been stellar either, but we seem to be in a lot of 1-goal games this year. The D was shaky even before Gill went down, and every bad goal hurts. It's looking like we will be scraping by any which way until Markov gets back, but I still think that with everyone healthy (or at least all major pieces) we can be dangerous in the playoffs. IF we get there.......big IF...

Hey, at least it's the end of the Barber Pole Curse!

Not pretty, but we'll take it!

Metro is all over the ice tonight!

Exactly, I bet this is what Martin is thinking as well, trying to protect Price from the wolves a bit. Problem is, some people will write shite regardless, I can just imagine Jack Todd's next column about "How can Price be ok with another goalie starting over him, he doesn't have the fire, Roy would've never said something like that blah blah"......And of course if he spoke out against it, he'd write something like "bad team player, how can he not support his fellow goalie, blah blah blah". You just can't win with some folks......

Neither his value nor his brother's is that great right now, so we probably wouldn't get fair value in trade. Plus with either of them it's not the talent that's the problem, and those are the types of players that can really come back and burn you if you give up on them too early. At least get them to the point where they're playing and contributing so you can get fair value in return.......though as I'd said in the Sergei theread, I'd prefer to keep them and have them get it together HERE as opposed to elsewhere.

What do Vesa Toskala and Michael Jackson have in common? - They both wear one glove for apparently no reason.

Sure, but I was not making a Price vs. Halak point here, just trying to point out how this early in the season the stats can be very skewed, and one or several of our young guys could still have pretty good campaigns.

Yes. This is why I think the Gomez trade was crippling, even though I really like the guy - it severely limits our options more than any of those other contracts as far as formulating a plan B in order to be a contender. Either plan A works, or we'd essentially have to find someone to do the same for us as we did for the Rangers. On the other hand, the season is still young, and it's not inconceivable that some of those young guys can still have pretty good seasons. If our D was as tight as it has been lately Price would have had better stats. I'm cautiously hoping the last few games were a sign of things to come, and that this team is slowly starting to get it together. SK could be a big part of that, judging on his AHL stint, it seems he may be ready to continue where he left off after his rookie season. But the fact is his latest stunt delays the day he gets called up. And he certainly has some bridges to mend - I think Andrei's role and involvement may be key to how this plays out in the end. My guess is still that Sergei gets traded, even though I hope it doesn't come to pass.

What bad timing, there was definitely a place for him on the Habs, and he's been playing well in the A. On the other hand, if the mandate was to get rid of bad apples and have a team pulling in the same direction, seems in hindsight he had to go. I just wish we'd gotten something for him... This bothers me more then it should.....now it's imperative for some of the other kids to step up, so many bad things have already happened since the start of the season.

I voted end of the year, would like to see Chips succeed as he seems like a nice kid, but it's looking like he was a player meant for the old, and not the "new NHL". On top of that his confidence seems shot, I don't find him not nearly aggressive enough for a guy who was touted as "future captain material", "character player" AND is on his last chance to make a good impression on top of that.

The first article actually had ~some~ basis in fact (other than not actually having the option of sending Carey to minors and Todd's inexplicable and obvious dislike for the young man). This one is totally a joke, apparently Jack Todd's found himself a new Brisebois to skewer, how sad his life must be. I HATE this kind of journalism....

Great post with the rosters, Colin. It really drives it home. I really think Bob's greatest asset is the ability to push along with his programme and stay relatively on-course thru incessant "advice" from media, fans, etc. The one time that he didn't (and it made sense at the time) which was last summer, he paid the price. Many of his decisions I don't agree with in hindsight, many I didn't at the time, but there is a logic you can understand behind them, you feel like there's a plan. Only one thing truly worries me.... This team has had some bad luck, bad injuries, and straight up freak injuries over the past few years. I'm really not comfortable with a team that's so new, with so many pieces that have to fit together, being this close to the cap and this close to maxing out the contracts for the season. Bob's severely limiting what I think is one his biggest assets - he's proven in the past that he can go out and get the logical missing player if his team needs it (Kovalev, Schneider). Now, we're depending on not just one, but probably 2-3 prospects and young players taking a step forward if this is really going to work. It's not a crazy thing to expect, it's just playing it a little close to the edge for my taste. Gainey is a cautious man, so you have to wonder what would have him do this. I may get flayed for saying this, but it really seems obvious to me that for him the results on the ice THIS year are secondary to establishing a proper work ethic and reverence/respect towards wearing CH that players used to have. I think his disgust with the last year's collapse has given him great motivation to purge this club before leaving, and also think he will leave on his own once he feels he did that, whether we have won the Cup at that point or not.