xXx..CK..xXx

I definitely think it has had an effect on Galchenyuk to an extent but I also think it's up to the player to handle it the right way. Not every player would get affected by being used in a versatile role. I'm not talking about 1st line versus 4th line but center versus wing. Everyone constantly brings up his handling and development as being the reason for anything negative attributed to his play. The truth is he has played extended periods at both positions. I'm more concerned with the way he has been handled by Julien (4th line vs top 6) than anything previous to that (center vs. wing) but I'm still thinking he'll be fine.

I've been a big proponent of Galchenyuk being our top line center. I thought it was only a matter of time until it would become a regular thing in these very playoffs. There comes a point where the player definitely has to take responsibility for his play though. There are some instincts that players either do or do not have. Galchenyuk has been playing hockey his entire life and if he needs to learn to feel comfortable at a given position, he should have been doing that for the past 15 years. I've played left wing and center and I'm aware that there are different responsibilities for both positions. If a coach asked me to play either, I'd be abke to step up to the plate. Sure, the NHL is a different beast but there have been rookies and sophomores who have been able to adapt their game to the league quite quickly. If I was lucky enough to have the skills of Galchenyuk and was moved to the wing, I would simply adjust my mindset. Cover the point in the defensive zone and create some havoc in the neutral zone hoping to force some odd man rushes. If I was a center? Set up as the high man in the offensive zone and try to cover for any pinches by the d men and try to be the first forward back. Anticipate when a turnover will happen and use my head effectively. Theres no reason that Galchenyuk's progress should have been delayed even with his handling. Galchenyuk has even stated what I said I'd feel about the situation by saying that he's fine with playing either center or wing and will play where the coach tells him to. The 4th line thing was ridiculous but that's happened for about 10 days in his careeer and was an extreme outlier. With Julien I do become a little more worried but as much as I love Galchenyuk and was so happy when we drafted him, enough pampering of him by the fan base as well. He needs to take responsibility for his play as long as he's being given top 6 minutes. Wing or center? It doesn't matter: produce. I think the the whole conversation is for naught though. I believe he will be top 3 in scoring for us next year.

The one thing I will say is that first of all, we scored the same amount of (actually more) goals this year than Anaheim. A team that is poised to win the cup as well as a team that has that elusive stud center prototype in Getzlaf that we are trying to get ahold of. San Jose also couldn't put the puck in the net more than us and I'd take some of the forwards on their team. Furthermore, New York couldn't score either in our series and they have key players who are struggling yet they're still in it for the run. Next, a team like Washington who are the team most Habs fans use as an example of that top tier team are on the brink of elimination. If they lose this series, they simply weren't realistically top tier contenders. It doesn't matter how many times one says they were. I say that because Toronto gave them a run for their money as well. We'll see though as they are still in it. Finally, what team has been a dynasty out west for the past few years? What's that? They got shutout multiple times in a 4 game series they were swept in? Fine, I hear you already. "But this has been a continual issue for us and not Chicago". It's been stated that Bergervin has failed to target the real issue which is scoring by targeting something that conveniently wasn't an issue in leadership. And we're supposed to know that how? After 1 year of addressing that "non issue"? Great sample size we're using there. We do need more scoring but realistically the team had a shot this year and out of any year I don't think there was much more Bergevin could have done to really make a difference. There's the expansion draft coming up and the pickings were extremely thin at the deadline. Only in retrospect, if it was even possible, I may have entertained a deal involving Duchene and Galchenyuk. None of that has much baring on whether or not I personally believe he should be fired or not. I don't think he will be though until at the very earliest next Spring. The new coach was here for 2.5 months and they'll want to see how things start off next year.

I'm sorry to say but it's obvious he embellished there. He got hit in the back of the head and covers his face. Whether it's a penalty or not on Subban is another question. Some refs wouldn't call it.

I had Fisher on my fantasy team for most of the year this year. Doesn't change the fact that I'd take Pacioretty on my team as my captain over Mike Fisher on my team as my captain any day of the week. i think Max is a fine captain but would have been just as fine with Weber, Plekanec or Markov being captain prior to last season. The only one of those who could really take it over anymore would be Weber but I don't think we're there yet. Jumbo Joe and Brown had it for years before it was stripped.

Pacioretty is one of the best goal scorers in the league. It makes me sick to my stomach that we need more goal scoring and people want to trade him in order to help acquire someone who will help in that department. I'm going into full defender mode of him because he takes too much heat. I've never thought much of him in international play, I'll admit, but in the NHL he's an elite goal scorer. Trade him to the islanders and he'll be lighting it up, just not for us. The only thing people remember is him getting thrashed on because it seems to happen so often on here. What people don't remember is that half the time he's been off his game, he's had things like broken necks, ribs, etc. etc. people question things like his drive and work ethic and even call him soft and yet his nickname is Wolverine after some of the injuries he's come back from and how quickly he has returned from them. Then he heals up, starts dominating again because he's healthy and players like Gallagher get thrown under the bus until Pacioretty goes silent for 5 more games, as even the best players do, if you watch them all, and then we hear it again. If you want to get Tavares, there should be three players off your list going the other way: Pacioretty, Weber and Price. Galchenyuk, Beaulieu, 1st you do in a heartbeat. Galchenyuk, Sergachev, 1st I also consider and end up doing. Pacioretty, Beaulieu and a 1st is not far off of a lateral move and while I might do it, we still continue to have offensive issues that we need to address. I'd even trade Markov before Pacioretty for Tavares and I love both of them. I definitely get why people would do the move but I'm tired of trading away the players we need to build around in return for someone else even though I get that you have to pay to play. Byron and Danault do not belong in the top 6 and they're still there once we trade away Pacioretty for Tavares.

Im teeter tottering on the first part of this one. Even before the season, it was obvious that our offensive lines were not up there with some other contenders. The hope was that Carey could be Carey and that our defense would be solid. On the other hand, I feel as though a lot of our top end players also underachieved. I think that every one of Galchenyuk, Gallagher and even Radulov can be better than they were this season. In all honesty, many of the predicted point totals for Radulov on here had higher expectations than his actual final totals. Byron and Danault overachieved but on my ideal team, they're both pieces of our third line with someone like Shaw. I agree though, we need more in the top 6 but we're not more than two pieces away from being fine. The Habs offense was 'pathetic' this season, but it is better than it demonstrated. With all that in place, I do believe Pacioretty and Radulov need a better supporting cast. The same people crapping on Pacioretty are also complaining that the rest of our players are plumbers. If you ask me who I'd rather be my captain between Mike Fisher (Nashville game is on) and Max Pacioretty, I'd take Pacioretty every day of the week. Why don't Nashville predators care as much? His supporting cast is about 4 times better and so his slumps can be supported.

I honestly think our center depth was fine when we had all of Plekanec, Eller, Desharnais and Galchenyuk touted as our next #1. Since then, we traded Eller, which many were and still are fine with. Then we traded Desharnais, which should have happened years ago, Plekanec regressed, Galchenyuk was injured and mishandled and Danault became our best center. I'm not so convinced that there's not a blurry line being drawn between Habs fans having wanted a top line center for the past two decades and organizational needs. I mean, at that time we didn't need a true #1 because we were legitimately able to roll four lines. This has since changed. In addition, we weren't trading Desharnais (Defense: Davidson) or Eller (Draft Picks) for an upgrade at center anyway and we were trying to get rid of them. I believe Therrien was going to eventually have Galchenyuk playing center full time but only now do we have a different coach who is hopefully not going in a different direction with him. I dont mind Galchenyuk playing wing. But when it is also such an obvious organizational need to need a skilled center, you have to play the cards you're dealt. I still think this season is a complete aberration of the perception that should be given to Galchenyuk. He had a rough year to an extent but I believe he could be a first line center as soon as next year. My opinion matters not if the Habs organization don't tread water carefully though. We should have other teams concerned about covering Galchenyuk; we shouldn't worry as much about Gakchenyuk defending the pluggers who will be matched up to defend our top line. What we really need to acquire this off season is a top 6 center. The list Commandant showed was nice, and I would have been after every one of them, outside of the no clauses, but in this off season, we definitely need to acquire a top 6 center. While it would be nice, it doesn't have to be a first liner as long as the coach plays his cards right. If we acquire a top 6 center and Danault is still not off the first line? I'll have issue that we didn't get a top 3 center, leaving no doubt in the coaches mind who should be our first line center, only then.

No. Bergevin should not consider trading Price and that's coming from someone who doesn't feel like Price played particularly well this season, relative to his standards. The reason the team has failed so to speak is because the 4 offensive and 3 defensive pairings are not up to standards with at least 10 teams in the league. We could trade Price and he would win a cup with another team while we'd still be fighting for our round 2 or 3 births. Price got outplayed by the opposing goalie too many tines this season but he should remain a lifelong Hab and let's hope to Stanley we win a few cups (at least one) in the span of his career. We need offense and if there's a will, there's a way. In this case I'd find another way.

I've had my doubts about Bergevin ever since the Kassian and Semin ordeals. Whether or not it was correct to get rid of those players for basically nothing is irrelevant because they were simply Bergevin covering up his own mistakes either way. The Subban trade does have its negative aspects but for me I felt as though it wasn't necessarily something that Bergevin had full control over and he got a great player in return. As a result, it wasn't like I had a continual dislike towards him but my skepticism did start a lot earlier than most. With all that in place, I constantly see remarks about Bergevin not addressing our most glaring need(s). Sit in Bergevin's chair for a minute, Close your eyes. What is the most nagging comment you hear ringing in your head from the past decade when it comes to our team and our identity? Open your eyes. Half of you (who aren't actually Bergevin) will hear cries for that scoring top line center. The other half (who also aren't Bergevin) will hear cries about the Habs being too small and needing to get bigger. We're constantly "too soft" and get run over physically by other teams. This year saw the Habs lose the most physical round 1 series and the Habs themselves played a huge part of that physicality despite possessing the puck quite a bit throughout the series. Bergevin transformed this team into a more physical team this year... and it didn't work. What's the point in all of that? Bergevin did actually address one of our most glaring needs, it simply did not work out. What people who criticize Bergevin fail to assess is that not every move works out. That's not a defense of Bergevin, because the better GMs will have more successful moves over their lifespan, but it's not true to say that he wasn't actively trying to correct our most glaring needs. If Bergevin had a shot at Malkin or Toews, I'm sure he'd be all over it. Since that wasn't possible? Let's address our other need, which is to get a little bigger (no more smurf talk). Some will argue that speed is better in today's NHL, and I may agree with that as I missed our speed up front against the Rangers, but it doesn't change the fact that we've been criticized for being too small for an era. Bergevin could have acquired Eaves. He could have acquired Vrbata. He could have acquired Drew Stafford. But when those players didn't work out within our system, how would people have felt? They would have felt the same way and said that Bergevin should have acquired player X instead. There's not a single player that was acquired at the deadline with decent stats who would have produced the same way on the Habs. Eaves on Anaheim is a great fit and Stafford doesn't impress me on Boston. Half of us are pissed that Bergevin didn't do more at the deadline and the other half keep saying that there wasn't anything on the market this season. My personal opinion is that his moves sucked overall, but there really wasn't anything interesting on the market and he was one of the more active GMs in the league at the deadline. He seemingly really was trying to help the team. He's just not as good at the walk. When it comes to our centers and how Bergevin has failed to address this need, I think this is the first moment where we can officially start to have questions about Galchenyuk and his overall potential. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised for him to be able to produce like a first line center as soon as next year. He had an injury riddled season and it's always extremely unfair to judge a player based on a season like that. Next, we throw out comments about Plekanec regressing into a bottom sixer like it was fully and obviously expected but again, the evidence of its profound impact on the forward corps as a whole is only relatively recent. Bergevin did add Radulov (only luckily ) but then had a player like Plekanec regress into a bottom sixer. At the moment, we still need two more top 6 players to be a real, legitimate threat to win a Stanley Cup. Bergevin could have added two top 6 players last summer and we'd still be in a hole. Overall, the expectations are simply a bit unrealistic. He would have had to have added 3 top 6 players to have really done a great job. As for my opinion? I'm not really sure. I definitely think Bergevin has made mistakes along the way which is unacceptable and although there's been too much "new" within the organization recently, I'd be fine with him getting fired. I'm just not convinced that the constant issues people bring up about him are genuinely rational.

That's why I want Weber to shoot more. Score a goal or hurt someone (on their team).

Without a doubt the biggest surprise in even some time. I had a completely different read/opinion on him prior to Montreal.

Now, if Max scores and Emelin fights, it will be quite strange as well.

I may not be as rational as I usually try to be but this is an elimination game and I'm just hoping our best players are our best players tonight. With Weber and Pacioretty, a lot of their strengths are compatible with our offensive needs so I'm just hoping for the best. If we do get a power play goal tonight, I really do feel it will be Pacioretty, Weber or Galchenyuk so here's to hoping.

Being a little more specific, I'd like to see Weber score a power play goal. I'll admit the power play has looked great actually but I'd love to see more bombs from the point from Weber and it looks like the team has gone away from that. Weber is an elite goal scorer when it comes to defensemen. Let's see him get one.

Today has the potential to be a defining day for Weber and Pacioretty. I rarely place players under the microscope, but if we lose and either of them don't show up today, I won't argue against any of the criticism they'll face, as I usually would. They along with Price, simply have to be our best players tonight. The Weber I saw earlier in the series would suffice and although Pacioretty has been playing fine from my stand point, he needs to raise his game and produce. I don't care if it's a goal or two assists but it needs to be something. Of course, none of that holds true if we win, as they'll have more time to show themselves in the playoffs which puts a rather unintended negative spin to this post! I just hold those players in high regard and this is the type of game where they need to give it their all. Not sold on some of the lineup changes, but it looks like the coach feels like we need a legitimate shakeup even outside of injuries.

I guess the play where McDonagh fell to the ground and left Pacioretty all alone in the slot with a golden opportunity at 1-0 is already forgotten. There's a difference between not putting in the effort and squeezing the stick. If I had to guess between the two, it would be the latter and not the former. Pacioretty scores that goal 8 times out of 10. As for the serries in general. I agree with the coin flip mentality but I look at it in a negative way. It's not the greatest feeling knowing you're headed into a game where there's a 50% chance your season is done. If we can win next game, I'll start to hold some optimistic hope again.

I did

Alright, I'm calling Pacioretty now to score

It was too obvious. Still have hopes for the game now that that is out of the way though.......

We need the next goal. Tired of the team playing content with a 1 goal lead.

My pre-playoff wish was to see Boston and the Leafs lose round 1 and for us to beat Ottawa in round 2 but Ottawa is the tougher out. A lot of Bruins players aren't feeling 100%.

Only a matter of time until King scores a big goal for us. It might just come in Round 4

Weak call by the refs but I'll take it.

Nice hit by Davidson on Grabner