The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Respected for sure. Funny, though, you can never tell. Eg Burrows was pegged as a sure-fire potential coach, and yet he seems not to have had the analytical mind needed.

LOL. Hughes was probably joking. That said, I’m OK with short-term plug-and-play vets as a temporary solution for the hole at C. Perhaps better to acquire them as UFAs though. In the highly unlikely event that PITS trades Crosby, they will likely want a big return in terms of prospects.

He does seem like coaching material.

Wow. Good for him. It seems rare these days that players know when it’s time to hang ‘em up. Savard probably could get signed somewhere this off-season - teams are always interested in experienced RD, especially one with his ‘warrior’ profile. (Personally I am relieved, since the Habs might be tempted to re-sign him). Instead of clinging on as a #6-7 D, he is doing the gracious thing and exiting. Kudos to him for a fine career.

The guy played 62 games and backstopped us into the playoffs against all expectations, making a huge contribution to that result. Meanwhile the OP is complaining because he has a chonky face. (So did Patches. Some faces are just built like that). Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Sam Montembault has quite obviously delivered the goods. He is a quality G.

If Hutson plays best at RD (!!!!) then that is definitely where he should stay. Holy crap, for him to be THAT good and a RD to boot…the kid is a unicorn.

Struble seems pretty clearly better than Xhekaj at this point? Not sure why people want us to dress a worse player. And Struble is no shrinking violet either, even if he isn't a heavyweight like WiFi. It's up to Xhekaj to remove the dumbass penalties and undisciplined play from his game.

Nick Suzuki is THE MAN.

Assuming Washington takes us seriously - they didn’t in 2010 - Hutson is about to take a pounding like nothing he has previously experienced or imagined. I saw what Nashville did to Quinn Hughes last year. Hopefully he can manage. The Caps are 4-6 in their last 10, and I remember hearing somewhere that they’re having one of those ‘unsustainable’ seasons where the stats are outliers. This by no means suggests the habs will win, but our odds of giving them fits are probably higher than all the “over in 3!” experts will have us believe. Of course, this assumes the Habs will start playing better than they did over games 81 and 82.

Massive moment for the rebuild. Canes were the better team for 40 minutes, but 'questionable' and 'mediocre' Montembault made all the saves he needed to make as usual. You can't let NICK FRIGGING SUZUKI standing all alone 10 feet out. He will score that goal every time, and that was the goal that made the difference. Habs took a playoff-style physical pounding in the third. They'd better get used to it... What a great night!

True, but how about he step up? I know players are human, but I’m getting tired of hearing that the Habs are “nervous.” (The RDS guys mentioned it a couple of times). Man up, boys. Habs were the better team but didn’t get rewarded. All we need is one point. Keep up the strong play.

You know who else is annoying out there? Slaf

Even I’m getting irritated with MM

Excellent PK by Carolina

I suppose that’s Monty’s fault too 🙄 Dammit

Demidov is off the hook How did CC miss that

You realize we went to the Finals this decade, yes? Yeah, it would be all too typical for KK to insert the shiv. GUHLE opens it

They have to buckle down and play good team D. I do believe they have it in them; they’ve done it for stretches this season. But this chicken-with-their-head-cut-off play in their own end, and stupid penalties, will not work against a disciplined ‘system’ team like Carolina. Even missing key guys I expect Carolina to play well-structured, sound hockey - the kind that beats teams like the one we saw lose to Chicago, 19 times out of 20.

It’s hard to judge Dach because the guy we saw this year was playing on a wonky knee. If he’s damaged goods and that is now what he is, then there is no way that guy becomes a top-6 FW at any position IMHO. His future would therefore be as a defensively reliable 3rd-liner who is hard on the puck, if not especially physical. If his knee fully heals, then we shall see. But personally I wouldn’t bet on seeing Dach in the top 6 on a strong team in the future.

Savard vs Xhekaj is a Hobson’s choice, and illustrates some of the problems our roster still has despite significant overall improvement this season. At least WiFi has upside, but I probably still wouldn’t play him this game - too high risk - even knowing Savard’s egregious limitations. Demidov I can see on Line 1 because that line didn’t play so great last game AND Newhook squandered several great chances Demidov manufactured. However, assuming Demidov continues his great play, keeping him where he is *should* give us two dangerous lines. Matheson did not look good last game. He probably knows that so yelling at him likely wouldn’t help, LOL. We just have to hope he has one of his good days against CAR.

Yeah. The Dach thing was bad luck, basically. It's one thing to say that, in retrospect, move X didn't work out. It's another thing to retroactively condemn HuGo for making that move. And another thing still to say 'we knew it all along' when we praised the player acquired as a #1C. GMs are judged on their overall body of work, and they do need some luck. HuGo got unlucky with Dach.

He seems to be a surprisingly important player for this group.

The original post is a mess. It did get me thinking about one thing, though - using my long memory as an old guy. There is always a significant chunk of the Habs fanbase that doesn’t like the Habs’ goalie. Doesn’t matter who it is. Patrick Roy? I remember FOR YEARS quite a few friends of mine in Montreal, and callers to Montreal sports radio, saying they didn’t like him, that he was overrated, trade Roy, etc. 1993 shut them up, mostly. But it took one of the greatest playoff runs in all of NHL history to mute them. Carey Price? Same deal. Apart from 2014, when he was so dominant it was ridiculous, he also had a significant cohort of fans affecting to be unimpressed. Overrated. He never wins anything. Trade him. Blah blah blah. Went on right to the end. So I think goaltending is the same way as second-tier offensive defencemen in Montreal. It’s a certain profile of player/position that, for whatever reason, the Montreal fanbase has a long history of unfairly denigrating. Montembault is just the latest in that line. The evidence is in: he’s a quality NHL starter. But this isn’t about evidence. It’s about a fanbase that has a cultural tic whereby it demands that its goalie play at the level of the all-time greatest performances in the history of the position, or else be criticized as inadequate.

I apologize for my post causing a long chain of disputation. Commandant’s position is perfectly rational. My stance is irrational but deeply felt. Carolina always owns us, period. The evidence backs up that irrational fact. It’s a minor version of the Habs’ 40 years of owning the Bruins. As Heraclitus observed, you can’t step in the same river twice. So yes, every game is a new game and there is no logical reason why (basically) two decades of being owned by Carolina should translate into a loss tonight. But until the Habs break the chain, Carolina is going to be a team that owns us. And I don’t like the fact that we have to find the wherewithal to break that chain during a season-defining game with a group that has looked tired for a little while and that messed the bed defensively against the dismal Black Hawks. So I stand by my irrational pessimism, while hoping, of course, that it’s wrong.

LOL. I said what I said