xXx..CK..xXx

Not victim blaming but he has to keep his head up a little more and anticipate that other people are out there trying to hit him. It’s been a few times now where similar hits have happened to Slaf. Anderson was skating the same path just before and I was thinking to myself what if someone were to hit him as he streaked behind the net, but he had his head up the whole time and maintained his speed. A few seconds later, bam, the hit on Slaf.

Definitely interested to see Matheson in action.

Boggles my mind that some people root for 0 points. No Konecny for Philly tonight and he‘s been producing quite well for them so that’s a good thing for the Habs.

I agree with Brian on there needing to be an adjustment when it comes to the manner in which the goaltender is being pulled. Patrick Roy did it years ago and it worked so everyone began copying it. For me, it’s like a drop shot in tennis. Do it once, and it surprises your opponent. Perform it multiple times, and your opponent will make adjustments and turn on the offensive because you are bringing them to the net. Analogy aside, there are two factors in play here. 1) It is no longer a surprising tactic to pull your goalie with a few minutes left. Teams have made adjustments when it comes to defending this threat for a longer period of time. 2) The team itself has to be good, or have quality training with what to do with the extra man once they have it. 6 on 5 isn’t the exact same as 5 on 4 but the Habs power play is 28th in the league out of 32 teams. It does not surprise me that we are having this conversation in regards to this specific team. The analytics may show that a team has an advantage when they have the “man advantage” but the statistics also show that the Habs themselves are poor in this respect, for whatever reason. I tend to agree that in the case of the Habs, St. Louis’ decision making has been borderline reckless when it comes to pulling the goalie because it has indeed happened many times where the opposing team scores their empty net goal with over 90 seconds left. With that much time left in a one goal game, the Habs are still in it. We go from a situation where the Habs are throwing their guts at the wall and pressing giving it their all, to a joyous celebration and sense of relief for the other team; all of this with plenty of time left still on the clock.

Suzuki pulls the Suzuki 🚨

We just played non contact hockey on Columbus’ fourth goal.

I definitely misread that part so my mistake. The point stands in a different way though, in that if they are organizational centers, they would be good enough to replace Suzuki on the first line within a few years. I’d be ecstatic if that were the case but I personally think there is generally a little too much naive enthusiasm when it comes to the potential of the unknown and future prospects jumping in to save the day. At some point, we need to utilize what we have, or know for sure. Otherwise we will always be a franchise looking to the future rather than competing in the now. With that being said, I don’t think the actual organization operates to such an extreme and so that is where the dichotomy that I was pointing out lays.

Not to get personal, but I believe that is what you are looking for the Habs to do, rather than what their actual “plan” is. I mean, I did not come here with an actual suggestion as to what their plan will be, but it is in my eyes much more likely that Dach gets placed in that role, rather than anything you suggested. I’d calm it down with 4 generational centers as well. Slafkovsky was a 1st overall pick and it’s not like he is coming in and destroying things in his first season. I understand that next year’s draft will be incrementally better, but I also realize that it is unlikely that any player drafted next year (outside of Bedard/Mitchkov) will have any type of major impact for a few years.

Another thing to consider (if one agrees with my Kessel and Matthews comparison) is that they only played roughly 70 games each those seasons I quoted. Somewhat of a coincidence based on my “heart” prediction but over an 82 game season, they were on pace for about 42 goals had they played. To answer Don’s question, 40 goals is certainly in the realm of possibility.

Last year I got criticized heavily for stating that Caufield is someone I could always use in the same breath as Kessel and Matthews when it comes to goal scoring ability. I still believe there’s a comparison to be made when it comes to scoring. Kessel scored 36 goals in his third year and Matthews scored 37 (though he scored 40 in his rookie year). I think your answer is likely there. Just so I can look back at the end of the year how many goals Caufield ends with I will predict: Head: 36 Goals Heart: 42 Goals

On paper, the Habs have three lines of players who have scored 20 goals in a season in this league. 1) When was the last time the Habs have had that amount of scoring depth? 2) How many teams in the league have that much offensive depth on their forward corps? I am not going to go out and sound crazy by saying we have one of the best forwars groups in the league, but I will happily say that our forward corps is severely underrated by those who say we have one of the worst. The Habs are viewed as a team that aren’t contenders and as a result both media as well as fans have extrapolated that data on to the forward corps, when indeed it has the potential to score. I did not even mention Dvorak at all today, and he scored a hat trick last night. We have a team that on any given night, a different player can be the GWG hero. People continue to bash Dadonov (who on paper scored 20 goals last year), as well as Hoffman, but it will not surprise me in the least, if either of those players pot 2 goals or a hat trick with us some time this season, and I say that with confidence. Our forward depth is strong.

A lot of mention about the rookies but the Habs are not a young team. We are right in the middle of the NHL in terms of average age. We don’t have any veteran superstars but we do have a veteran presence on this team, and even more-so when Matheson and Edmundson return. My only point is that I am going against the grain in saying there is no reason to believe the Habs are unique, and cannot be a team that “progresses as the year evolves” as well as other teams. (The rookie question is valid, but it’s not like Harris or Guhle are racking up 1000 points right now, and that will disappear. They are simply playing fundamentally strong basic hockey.) It seems as though in some fans’ eyes, the Habs can do no well but other teams can. “The Habs will regress but other teams will progress” ”The Habs won so maybe the other team took them lightly” ”If the starting goalie goes down, the Habs are doomed, but other teams would survive that scenario” There are plenty more examples… One can bring up tanking all they want, but the Habs are not tanking. My other point which got lost amidst my rant is that the Habs have a solid forward (veteran) corps. Suzuki Caufield Anderson Gallagher Hoffman Monahan Then we have outliers like Dadonov Dach Evans Drouin I know a third of the people I listed are hated by many fans (Drouin, Dadonov, Hoffman) however our forward depth is better than it has been in some time. Dadonov and Drouin have been terrible at times but their ceilings are quite high so these are better players to have on the squad than Charles Hudons. Anyway, I don’t have our team making the playoffs either necessarily, but the team is a lot better than most give it credit for, and that is perfectly fine with me.

I promise I said that before Juraj’s snipe. 🚨

We’re still alive in this one. Blues aren’t used to winning recently.

I think we all should feel similarly when it comes to…. 1) The great admiration for Carey we should have. 2) The ominous feeling when it comes to the realization that we may not have a goalie of his caliber again for decades. The thing is that I don’t think much of the fan base even feel the way I described. Many certainly took him for granted while we had him and even wanted him gone. For me personally, it will be tough to move on. On one hand, we’ve already had some exciting performance by goalies in the 21st century outside of Price. Whether it be Jeff Hackett flying in the air to make a save, Jose Theodore standing on his head to defeat the Bruins, or Jaroslav Halak transforming into a stop sign for a couple of NHL rounds. However the truth remains that none of them were actually the best goalie in the world at any given point, and we have lost that. Here is to hoping that we will have another elite goaltender on the squad in the near future. However on a personal level, as I watch the game quietly in my living room, I will consistently be reminiscing about having Price in net, and comparing many of our future goalies to what we once had.

This logic seems backwards. I am fairly confident he would produce more given a full season on the top line versus a lower line. I also wonder how the conversation would go between you and Monahan should you ever meet in person (which obviously likely would not happen). *Prime Minister walks down Av. des Canadiens-de-Montréal in a Koivu Jersey when Sean Monahan spots him* Monahan: Go Habs Go! Nice jersey! Prime Minister: Thank you. Koivu was a legend. Monahan: He sure was. I’m so happy to be back and healthy again, and playing for this organization is simply a blessing with all the history surrounding it. Hopefully we can build something here over the next couple of years. Prime Minister: Well… actually… I was hoping to get a first round pick for your services in order to help speed that process up. Monahan: *Blocked*

In addition, I have been on these boards for 17 years and have lived through many of the negative nancies who have posted and continue to post throughout the years. Exaggeration is part of the formula. In these past 29 years we have had more than one team that has has a somewhat legitimate chance of winning the cup. The Habs finished atop the Eastern Conference a few times, reached the conference finals a few times, and made the cup final as well. It is true that the negative nancies were correct every single one of those years, since we never won a cup. What is also true is that in any given year, they have about a 97% chance of being correct without even using a brain cell. While we did not win, this does not change the fact that realistically there have been a good 10 years of seasons where there was legitimate reason to have hope, and they simply get omitted from memory because everyone “knew” the Habs weren’t a “top tier” contender anyway. We were first overall in the regular season? “Not a playoff team”. We squeaked in at 8th spot? “We should have tanked.” If you are expecting a season where you have full confidence, we likely will still not win that specific year because you are a human and not a robot that can simply predict that “this is our year” based on your calculations. Due to reality that we are not in 1960 anymore and there are 32 teams, we will likely win the Stanley Cup during a year where the fanbase had hope, long before the season you had confidence.

It’s not meant to be insulting towards the majority of the fanbase. There are genuinely people who show no joy after any Habs win. That’s not normal. Whether you want to call them emotionless robots or armchair GMs, the description of these people will be unpleasant either way.

Even though I appreciate the Expos, I actually preferred last year’s dark blue version, which everyone hated. Either way, I’ll end up having both.

One thought I’ve had recently (actually yesterday) is whether or not the “robots” on Habsworld, and Habsland in general, actually have any endorphins in their brain which can be released upon the Habs doing well and winning a game. It’s a constant buzz kill and in fact not always accurate to proclaim that the Habs will lose, or should lose any given game. The way this ties in with your post, which I understand for the most part, is what is so wrong with a fanbase being happy about their team while they win games? In a way, I understand that we do not want to be a reincarnated version of the Leaf fanbase who call for a parade perennially in October. On the other majorly large hand, why should we listen to arm chair general managers who proclaim to know the future with the never ending 3 year future window? “The future will always be better”. It’s no secret that our team is not actually a legitimate contender but can it outperform expectation and could we be closer than we think? Absolutely. Now, I am not stating that because of the actual physical names we have in our lineup. I am simply stating this because similar to how you have seen fan expectations be overly high towards unproven prospects, I have seen the opposite time and time again. Fans claiming that we are “three years away”, when we never are… as well as “our team is pathetic and didn’t deserve to make the playoffs”, the same year we make a CUP FINAL run. What I will say is that youth aside, the Habs have a very strong forward corps. We scored 6 goals last night, and we have 3 or 4 more forwards who could have been the goal scorer yet did not score. I do believe that simply because of that, we are turning out to be fairly underrated. On the other hand, when it comes to the youth, I think things can be overblown as well and I agree with your point. Caufield, Suzuki, sure. Some of the other prospects have a long way to go before they actually prove themselves as being part of our future core on a contending team. Some expectations in that respect should be tempered.

Rooting for a win here and I believe we will pull it out. 4-2 Habs is my prediction but final score aside, a win’s a win.

I haven’t had time to think but it will be between Suzuki and Caufield. My last one was Weber with the “C”. I’d like a Caufield one the most, but Suzuki with the “C” is an equal playing field. I will report back once I decide… Right now I am leaning Caufield but it will be interesting to see what I actually decide.

It’s also true that our farm team is in Laval so I don’t think there is anything spoiled about getting comfortable enjoying the city. Even if he were to be demoted, he can still do so. I also believe the thing that he will enjoy the most in his new setting will be the home cooking, comfortable bed and a more natural home-like setting to live in. There‘s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact judging by the quote, it would seem as though Xhekaj and Harris would be more worrisome in terms of “enjoying the city” too much. Considering they are young, downtown and sharing a place by themselves. Nothing to se here concerning Slaf. As PMAC stated, it’s actually likely beneficial for him to be billeted, regarding the concern of him becoming spoiled.

Seeing a lot of neutrals complimenting Gallagher for standing up for captain Suzuki at the end of the game.

Jake Allen out here trying to change my perception.