xXx..CK..xXx
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Posts posted by xXx..CK..xXx
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26 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:
I don't know man. I find radulov extremely entertaining.
Definitely a good call. That's why I created this thread as I thought it would be interesting to hear some other perspectives. My list is a little shaky. I'm not really sure how exciting a player Matthews is. He can get the stats but he seems to be mostly business when it comes to his style of play and celebration after goals. Gaudreau, McDavid and Karlsson can be fun to watch. Radulov is definitely up there.
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4 hours ago, Stogey24 said:
The most entertaining player got traded to Nashville
He would have made the list but you could have been more creative.
The Leafs have young top end talent, that's for sure.
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Last night while watching the Habs/Flames game, I noticed that Johnny Gaudreau is a really unique player and fun to watch. A player that not many NHL teams have in their lineup. It led me to wonder about other Canadian teams and think about which players they have who fit a similar mould of entertainment value.
With that being said, feel free to chime in with your own personal opinion about who you think are the five most exciting players to watch in Canadian markets.
To those of you who want to discuss players not currently in Canadian markets, feel free to turn to another thread.
I could look up stats and include players like Scheifelle and Wheeler but I'm rather going to go off the top of my head as it is a personal opinion.
It doesn't have to be in any particular order and you can pick multiple players from the same team.
1) Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) - Leads the league in scoring and does it in an entertaining way. Arguably the quickest player in the league as well so he scores his points in an exciting type of way.
2) Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) - The reason I thought of making this list. He's really shifty on his skates and uses those edges to perfection. The type of player you'd pay to go watch, which is what I'd expect from any player on this list.
3) Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators) - I don't much like Ottawa and haven't been following them much this season but his stride is efficient and he always seems to be at the top of point getting among defenseman as long as he's healthy. There's no arguing his skill level as well which is what this list is all about.
4) Austin Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) - The leafs actually have another player in Nylander who could have made the list, and we'll see if he makes it at number 5 but any player who scores 4 goals in their first game in the league deserves some attention. Patrick Laine is no slouch either; this list isn't big enought.
5) Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) - While Carey is certainly not the most exciting player to watch outside of when he's dropping the gloves, I feel confident placing him here under one of the most entertaining players to watch. Attending a game in a foreign market just isn't the same without Carey in net and there aren't many players out there who hold the same importance on their respective teams. I'm also biased here as a Habs fan.
Honourable mentions to Patrick Laine with his 3 hat tricks in a rookie season, Max Pacioretty and his release as well as the Sedin twins who as a pair have been able to do some amazing things together on the ice over the past 15 years.
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49 minutes ago, DON said:
You certainly are a pessimist...
Possibly the least productive post I've been hit with on here in awhile.
I'm an optimistic fan but Calgary was on a high of their own from their streak so there's no reason to use that as a reason for our performance. Doesn't mean the sky is falling.
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1 hour ago, mineral said:
LOL, man you guys are surly when it comes to off-games, which is what this was. Call me an optimist, but we just had a string of 6 wins. While not all were pretty, we did play as a solid team during most of them. This was terrible game, but not exactly the defining view of the team - which seems to be the narrative in a lot of this thread. I think they came in, high off their winning streak, thinking this would be an easy game. Calgary deserves credit for exploiting their weaknesses and keeping them on their heels all night long. They were sloppy as hell, seeming to think the plays would come together on their own without having to work for them (something Calgary was doing all night long).
Emelin is definitely worried about his status on the team, and you can see it in his play. Weber is great and all, but i highly doubt he's been masking Emelin for the 50+ games they mostly played together. He's unquestionably in a rut.
You certainly are an optimist because you're creating a narrative of your own. There's no reason to take Calgary lightly as they are a playoff team. Not to mention a playoff team that had won 7 in a row themselves. I'm an optimist as well but there's no doubt that was one of the worst performances as a team this season. On the other hand, the team certainly does get shutout all too often and while I still think we have a team that can do damage, it is the worrying symptom.
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So two of our better win of the season, 10-1 versus Colorado and 5-1 vs Calgary fail to get backed up on the road. Not only that, we lose those games 4-0 and 5-0 respectively. Hard to put a positive spin on that one.
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I knew that added part would come back to bite me. I had to rush off before I could switch that in all honesty but I meant Benn's goal against New York.
I have no opinion on Galchenyuk as a centerman. I think on the current habs roster, he fits as a centerman because of our intrusive need for a skilled one but on a lot of teams he could be a great winger as well.
I dont expect Galchenyuk to become amazing at something that is not innate to him. I do think that a player of the same caliber has an advantage to their team if they are good at faceoffs however. If only because of the coach who will be forced to put out a lesser player on to the ice for being good at faceoffs. As a result, the team will have a lesser chance to produce offensively itself. I wasn't even discussing Galchenyuk but while I never expect him to be elite, he should certainly get better at faceoffs.
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3 hours ago, Commandant said:
You seem to have issues with reading comprehension.. We were talking about the powerplay and who was on the first powerplay unit.
The criticism was having him on the first powerplay unit.He did nothing on the powerplay.
Why are you twisting words to say he did nothing all game.
Its the same bullshit over and over again with you.... I say "faceoffs are as important as any other puck battle on the ice"... you come back and twist my words as if i said "Faceoffs don't matter at all." Last summer I would say "Weber is good, but I think Subban is better." you'd twist that into "Weber Sucks". Now you twist the fact that he didn't do anything on the powerplay to that he sucked all game. Its getting annoying that you keep twisting the words into something that wasn't said.
Faceoffs are not the same as puck battles along the boards. Rarely, are there any puck battles that legitimately begin 50/50. You can have a really good puck battler win 20% of their puck battles in a season due to them being on the tougher side of the battle in general. Whether it was because they always seemed to join in on the battle while the other player already had the puck between their skate and the board or even for the opposite reason. The uncertainty cannot be controlled. I'd be interested to see if Yannick Perreault ever hit 20%.
When you take a face off, players are at a stand still. They need to react and get into position as quickly as they can once the puck is dropped. If even one player doesn't do their job immediately, the whole system breaks down. In your situation, the engine is already running, whereas on a face off, you need to get the engine going. Especially in the defensive zone, coaches will work on wingers rushing out to the point in order to cover the defense because if they don't, the opposing team can get a golden opportunity. This is in addition to about a million other things based solely around faceoffs. If you ask me, coaches probably work on faceoffs versus puck battles at about a 4 to 1 ratio at the very least.
Now you said face offs are just as important as any puck battle on the ice and if you don't want me to twist your words, I'll ask you what's your point? You said "important" and not "different" so I guess there's no argument there. Of course your team should want to gain possession of the puck at any chance. Faceoffs are different though because it's a relatively controlled environment, so it's an area that better coached teams will excel at as well as teams with the right personnel up the middle.
We scored on a set play off a faceoff against Vancouver.
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3 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
I like his toughness for sure. I do have a feeling that people will grow more critical of his defensive-zone play as time wears on.
I agree because his +- wasn't the greatest while on the Stars. I know, a team stat but it is what it is. It's entirely possible that a new destination and possibly being the best Benn on a new team can inspire him though.
I've liked what I've seen so far and it's possible that Benn ends up being our best late season addition this year but I also really liked what I saw from Martinsen for example, so it's too early to tell. We really need to see 25-40 games of a player before it's possible to really get an accurate assessment of a player. After time, a lot of their deficiencies may start to seep through as you alluded to.
I will say that I agree that he's an upgrade on Pateryn, however, and if that's all he ever becomes, that's good enough for me.
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7 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
Great post! However, this data does suggest that the team performance has stagnated rather than taken the next step into the inner circle of front-ranked contenders. Otherwise put, yes, we are second tier contenders and have been so since 2013-14. Your interpretation is to suggest we be thankful that the team has not slipped significantly downwards; those of us who wanted a rebuild that led to an elite, league-feared contender will ask instead why MB's team has not improved in any discernable way over the past 3-4 seasons, given that it has never been in the top tier during that time.
I agree that we've stagnated to an extent but I'm basing that on our run to the conference finals a few years ago. Time will tell but in my opinion we're missing a key veteran contributor in the playoffs. All of our most important playoff players with experience are generally depth players. We don't quite have a Gionta or Cammalleri anymore. That would be what worries me the most. Dwight King and Alex Shaw won't win us a series. Pacioretty and Price seem to be our main hope when it comes down to it.
With that being said, the Habs and their fanbase are passionate and I can see us being able to contend with any team out there when it really comes down to it.
On another note, (nothing to do with the quoted text), bashing Bergevin for inheriting many of our better core players is kind of a silly criticism. It's not his fault and in general, Bergevin has made more moves than most GMs out there. In addition, he's done more than only chase after depth players. Of course If I remember correctly, with Radulov he was simply lucky.
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With the goals #27 has scored in the past few games, he reminds me a little bit of another older #27 we used to love and it's amusing to see the hate. The Kovalev comparison is interesting to me only because of the center vs wing debate that seems to surround Galchenyuk. I don't have much of a profound opinion on the matter and have stayed away from the discussion but I can definitely see how Galchenyuk might be dangerous for the one timer/curl in from the off wing in the offensive zone a la Kovalev. So maybe there is something to him being a winger. Either way, I think he can be a versatile player who can ultimately be competent at either position.
Galchenyuk is a younger, quicker, and slightly less talented Kovalev.
In their first 5 years in the league:
Alex Galchenyuk 319 games played 195 points .611 PPG
He still has some more games this season as well to inch closer to Kovalev's totals as well.
Alex Kovalev 315 games 215 points .688 PPG
Their numbers in their respective first 5 years are really interesting to compare. Especially the past two seasons.
GP G A P
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1 hour ago, habs rule said:
I 'm sorry but 5 years wandering around, not improving, changing 3rd and 4th liners like they come in a popcorn box. It tends to bring out the pessimism in fans. I like mark down but he has to come up with some offence, cause I want a cup. Last night was good to see Gallagher and Byron finally get some goals. Once again with any other goaltender we lose that game. We are bigger but not more skilled. You seem to be good with that, me not so much. Hopeully Mark down can improve the team over the summer. Let's hope.
Actually, considering the Habs have been one of the better teams in the league over the last 5 years, it should bring out the optimism in fans.
Here's a little statistical analysis produced by yours truly:
Teams received points based on their final standings over the last 4 seasons as well as their current standings this season. 30 points were awarded to the team who finished 1st place all the way down to 1 point being awarded for the last place team.
Over the last 5 years
1) Anaheim 21+26+28+29+28=132
2) Chicago 27+26+24+24+30=131
3) Pittsburgh 26+27+16+25+29=123
4) Washington 30+30+23+14+22=119
5) St. Louis 12+28+28+27+25=120
6) NYR 26+22+30+19+19=116
7) Montreal 23+10+29+22+27=111
8) Boston 18+16+14+30+26=104
9) San Jose 24+20+9+27+22=102
10) Minnesota 29+14+20+20+16=99
11) LA 13+23+13+22+24=95
12) Ottawa 21+12+18+12+19=82
13) NYI 16+21+23+5+16=81
13) Tampa Bay 10+19+26+23+3=81
15) Nashville 19+18+25+12+4=78
15) Detroit 6+16+20+17+19=78
17) Columbus 28+4+9+17+16=74
18) Dallas 6+29+12+15+10=72
19) Philadelphia 12+18+7+18+11=66
20) Vancouver 3+3+23+7+24=60
21) Winnipeg 8+7+18+9+13=55
22) Florida 14+26+11+2+1=54
23) Toronto 16+1+4+9+22=52
24) Colorado 1+10+10+28+2=51
25) New Jersey 8+11+6+12+10=49
26) Calgary 18+5+15+4+6=48
27) Edmonton 22+2+3+3+7=37
27) Carolina 6+13+5+7+6=37
27) Arizona/Phoenix 2+7+2+13+13=37
30) Buffalo 9+8+1+1+10=29
Thankfully, we're not fans of one of the many teams below us. Can any team in the top 10 win the Stanley Cup this season? Absolutely. St. Louis and Boston would be tough outs in the playoffs because they have experience. I'd like to hear a thesis on why the Habs are the only team in the top 10 without a chance. New York Rangers? They absolutely have a shot. It doesn't mean they are favorites but seeing them lift the cup would not be a surreal experience.
If you want to see it based on the standings from this season, here it is:
1) Washington 30+30+23+14+22=119
2) Minnesota 29+14+20+20+16=99
3) Columbus 28+4+9+17+16=74
4) Chicago 27+26+24+24+30=131
5) Pittsburgh 26+27+16+25+29=123
5) NYR 26+22+30+19+19=116
7) San Jose 24+20+9+27+22=102
8) Montreal 23+10+29+22+27=111
9) Edmonton 22+2+3+3+7=37
10) Ottawa 21+12+18+12+19=82
10) Anaheim 21+26+28+29+28=132
12) Nashville 19+18+25+12+4=78
13) Boston 18+16+14+30+26=104
13) Calgary 18+5+15+4+6=48
15) NYI 16+21+23+5+16=81
15) Toronto 16+1+4+9+22=52
17) Florida 14+26+11+2+1=54
18) LA 13+23+13+22+24=95
19) St. Louis 12+28+28+27+25=120
19) Philadelphia 12+18+7+18+11=66
21) Tampa Bay 10+19+26+23+3=81
22) Buffalo 9+8+1+1+10=29
23) New Jersey 8+11+6+12+10=49
23) Winnipeg 8+7+18+9+13=55
25) Carolina 6+13+5+7+6=37
25) Detroit 6+16+20+17+19=78
25) Dallas 6+29+12+15+10=72
28) Vancouver 3+3+23+7+24=60
29) Arizona/Phoenix 2+7+2+13+13=37
30) Colorado 1+10+10+28+2=51
Oops, looks like the Habs slid down from 7th overall over the past 5 years to 8th overall this season. Must be nice to be Boston, St. Louis and Tampa fan right now. Seems they are the teams that have dropped off. If you ask me, I'd say this version is actually less telling in predicting playoff success than the original one come playoff time anyway even though it's based on this season. I don't expect teams like Columbus and even Edmonton to quite have a shot yet because of their inexperience in playoffs. They do have a few players who have been there before but not so much as an organization.
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Nice tribute for Subban before the game. I actually missed him until he got that first assist.
Glad we won the game. Joe, I'm not sure anyone has ever mentioned this but you two need to stay together forever.
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38 minutes ago, Stogey24 said:
I'd rather see Ott in over Mitchell. Hell, I'd rather see all the new acquisitions run on the fourth line.
People often bring up stats which point out how bad the Habs are offensively. I know we shouldn't have to rely on our bottom 6 for scoring but it's no secret that the Habs basically acquired the 4th line of the league's worst team at the time in the Buffalo Sabres. Flynn is a meh to me and I've been trying to give the benefit of the doubt to Mitchell but after keeping an eye on him I've come to the conclusion that the only thing he does for this team is kill penalties. He's more than replaceable. That being said, who knows if any of Ott or Martinsen are actually better.
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50 minutes ago, Commandant said:
I refer you to my post above. No one knows for sure what he wanted, but apparently a 2nd round pick would have got it done per TSN.
Of course it would have been nice to add anyone who can score but right wing isn't a weakness of ours, relatively speaking. I'd rather fix our center, defense and left wing positions before right wing. Your choice shows how slim the pickings were.
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I wonder if Mitchell eventually comes out of the lineup. Local boy or not he's going to be my whipping boy from now on until he scores at least two goals.
Should be a good game. Let's go for a 4-2 win. Carey's allowed to be better than that as well (won't say the word).
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With things starting to sink in a little, I think the Habs had one of the better trade deadlines this year. Hanzal, Shattenkirk and Vanek would have been nice but there wasn't too much exciting out there outside of that when it comes to people who actually got dealt. Bergevin remained one of the more active GMs and did what he could. My favorite move of the day was the acquisition of King. It's always nice to have that big body who can put the puck in the net out of the blue. I've watched him here in LA over the years and he's nothing special but he works hard an he'll stand out even more on the Habs than he did with LA.
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*I could quote so many people*
I'm not here to really praise the trade, I'm just happy with where we are because Weber is better than Subban even though Subban is a good player.
Alright, now I know what it feels like to make delusional comments on this side of the fence as well.
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20 minutes ago, Stogey24 said:
Danault doesn't have higher trade value than Gallagher was my point
Fair enough but Gallagher is vastly underrated just because of this season. I wouldn't want to trade him for Duchene and I've loved Duchene since his draft year. I constantly see posts about trading Gallagher but I can only shake my head at the thought.
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2 hours ago, Stogey24 said:
Well I'd rather Mitchell, but that's not how it works.
Danault is playing as our first line center, Mitchell is our 4th. I'm also throwing in a first rounder and Beaulieu. Your comparison is more off than mine.
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4 minutes ago, Habs owned the 70's said:
Gallagher & first for Duchene. Do it.
Our wingers would be terrible. I'd rather Danault and a 1st.
Edit: I might even do Danault, Beaulieu and a 1st/2nd.
Duchene is the only player I would have wanted this free agency.
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I'm looking forward to this one actually. I've always enjoyed Saturday games against the Leafs.
I agree with Will, the force is strong with Price on Saturdays and Gallagher will get off the Schneid.
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8 minutes ago, Lovett's Magnatones said:
They stink. They just fired their coach and scored three goals in three games since. Their one win was in the shootout. Discounting two hot starts, they've been a bottom 10, if not 5, team in the league for 1.5 seasons. If Carey Price doesn't keep the other team to two goal, and if Max or Radulov don't score, it's curtains for these moribund losers.
Random thought based on this comment but I'm going to go on a limb and say Gallagher starts potting soon. Let it start tonight against the Leafs
Hopefully his hand isn't worse than I realize though.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames | March 9th, 2017 | 9:00 EST
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
Sorry for bumping back to this but if you've seen my posts on here over the years, I'm the type to defend any of our players and always have a positive outlook on things. The difference is that at a certain point in can also be considered blind fandom to act positive during situations where we legitimately should have concerns.
I'm often on your side of the fence, as well as his, but he was the first one to criticize those who were being fairly negative in this instance and this didn't seem like the right time for it, that's all.
In addition, I was responding to the part of his text where he said "You can call me an optimist" so I wasn't trying to label him myself. Perhaps my tone was off.