The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Agreed, but last game was an example of what's so frustrating about AK - he was a force out there, including that terrific hit on Staal. Note, too, that Martin seems to believe in AK. I would not be a bit surprised if the Habs retain AK while shipping out the baby.

The anti-Crosby argument is ridiculous. The kid is a great player who has already won everything it's possible to win. Yes, his whining is irritating; what's that got to do with his irrefutable on-ice achievements? While there is a legitimate debate to be had about who is the greater player (Ovechkin, Crosby, perhaps Malkin), the hate-on that so many fans have for Crosby is not explicable in any rational terms. I think what really drives them crazy is the same thing that drove people crazy about Gretzky when he was first coming up: the squeaky-clean, wholesome Canadian Boy image. It's like he's Mr. Perfect, and that drives some people crazy. It also doesn't help that Crosby's game is, in part, a cerebral game, based less on spectacular individual play than using the whole ice and his teammates. The loathing for the Good Team Kid is the only explanation for why people just looooove Ovechkin, who so far in his career is a certified loser, and Malkin, who has basically profited from playing in Crosby's wake, yet want to brand Crosby with ridiculous labels like 'Cindy' and 'Choker.' The kid is a brilliant player. Period.

Is anybody other than me wondering what this D could accomplish if we had Spacek, Gill, Markov AND Subban all playing healthy? Add to that the phenomenal Josh Gorges and the mostly solid O'Byrne, and holy crap, that's a ferocious defence corps! I just can't get over this happy-Habs-fan feeling. I don't want it to end

The coaching has been FANTASTIC. Indeed, practically everything has been. It's fairly clear to me that, contrary to what his critics think, Martin wants young players to do well. But he is adamant that they do it on his terms, which are the right terms: hard work, consistency, commitment, team play, discipline. Look at the praise he's heaped on Lapierre and even A. Kostitsyn; look how O'Byrne is quietly flourishing. You can almost see the light bulb going of in Lappy's head. For too long, this team had a toxic culture that failed to reward the virtues Martin insists on. But hoo boy, do things ever look sweet right now.

Yeah, Philly would be ideal: our entire run has been built upon feasting on dubious netminding, which Philly has, just like usual. If by some miracle we do win game 7, my biggest fear is Rask bringing his 'A' game and stoning us. Subban will make Bergeron redundant next season - although due to cap issues we might actually see him replacing Hamrlik and Gauthier keeping Bergeron around as a cheap PP specialist.

The kid is a beast and may well end up being listed with Doughty and Keith and whoever as Bona Fide NHL Young Stud D-men. Just remember that sooner or later - hopefully later! - he will hit a speedbump or two, and half the fans will be howling for Gauthier to ship him out of town.

WOW. The Stanley Cup champs are on the verge of ELIMINATION :hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo: YEAH BABY!!!!! What a game by Josh Gorges. An absolutely heroic effort. Cammy, what can you say. Spacek looked like the guy we thought we were getting when Bob signed him (was he playing on his proper side, finally?). And PK Subban - damn, is he ever impressive. Cool under fire, creative, strong. GREAT STUFF!

You said it. I didn't realize how much I MISSED this tenacious Pat Burns-style hockey. We haven't been privileged to see teams play this way since 1993. Enjoy every second.

Cammy...what a shame he's "too small for playoff hockey" The guy's a superstar for God's sake.

Not too optimistic about this one. It's so hard for a team to play through injuries on D like that, especially considering the calibre of Markov and Playoff Monster Gill. Spacek thrown in cold - he can help us, but it's a lot to ask of a guy who hasn't played in weeks. So I say the miracle ends here...a casualty of injury more than anything else. That's the playoffs for ya, healthiest squad usually wins.

Getting pretty peeved about our injury situation. Two of our top-4 defencemen are out. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's Staal somehow recovers from an injury that by rights should have axed him for the series. No ill will toward Staal, but I can't help but suffer a feeling of cosmic injustice over the Markov injury in particular. It's not fair, dammit!!!! I really want the Habs to win tonight. Even though I believe that we are highly unlikely to win this series with Markov out, taking two games from the Cup champs should solidify the respect we earned by crushing the Caps. Going out in 5 makes it too easy for all the moron media 'experts' (and consequently, public opinion in general) to continue to dismss us as a team that fluked out thanks to miraculous goaltending. If we can't get a Cup out of this run, at least let us get some serious props. :hlogo:

Damn that Andy Moog!!

The Montreal Canadiens INVENTED New Jersey Devil style hockey. We had it practically patented over the 1980s and until Pat Burns's departure. Even the 1970s team had an overarching commitment to team D. It's been aggravating to me to watch Jersey basically steal that model and win with it, while we floundered around pathetically. There's a reason Lou Ciagrillo tends to hire ex-habs to run his operation. A further note. All you young fans watching this playoff: the kind of work ethic, leadership, discipline and team commitment that you're seeing from this group? It used to be something the Habs put out EVERY YEAR. Year in and year out. What's blowing you away right now is something that old coots like me used to take for granted from the Montreal Canadiens. Think about that and you start to undertand the real meaning of the :hlogo:

The discussion is endless and circular. I can think of no scenario other than the 'monster return' one whereby it makes any sense to trade either goalie, at this juncture. Until they become UFAs the Habs have the cards. KEEP 'EM BOTH...for now.

Agreed. It's not like we have much choice to stick by our system in any case (what're we gonna do, run and gun with the Pens?). And just because it didn't work last night doesn't mean it won't work going forward; as you say, a slightly inferior performance by Fleury, or a little better sharp-shooting from our guys, and it's a whole other ballgame. So the system is fine; there may need to be some tweaks here and there within that context, but that's another story.

Fair enough. That makes me feel a bit better. I've said all season that IF Subban can emerge as a force, and IF we can add another top-6er (e.g., Max Pac) this team can contend within two years. These playoffs only convince me further.

The trouble is that we need BOTH those guys in good form in order to become bona-fide contenders. Add a flourishing Subban to the current full lineup and maybe one more top-6 forward and honestly think you've got a team that can seriously challenge. Subtract Markov and add Subban, you've probably weakened the roster overall.

Excellent analysis. I'd just add that the absence of Markov was a major factor, if you ask me. In a game where we needed some attack, he could have kindled an extra 2-3 opportunities. (For a spellbinding analysis of Markov's importance, check this out: http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2010/5/4...-without-markov The other element was Fleury. Unlike nearly every other game in these playoffs, the goalie we faced made ALL the big saves and routine saves that he needed to make. Our counter-attacking system is premised on opportunism, and - de facto - less-than-stellar netminding. If Fleury can suddenly be relied upon to make, oh, 5 big saves a night, we're in trouble.

Wow. That is the first time I've ever read of Price holding teammates accountable. It usually seems to be the other way around. Good for Carey! Maybe the incredible internal leadership on this team is starting to rub off - which is EXACTLY the sort of dynamic Gainey had in mind when he signed all those new guys Interesting to read Martin staunchly defending his belief in both Andrei Kostitsyn and Maxime Lapierre. :hlogo: For all that some people attack JM's handling of young(er) players, he clearly wants them to succeed. He just doesn't believe in shotcuts. Meanwhile, his silence vis-a-vis Sergei in that context speaks volumes. Reading that piece, I'm not so sure that AK47 will be shipped out. But Sergei is clearly on borrowed time. If he doesn't show up in the KHL I guarantee you Burke will sign him.

My impression with SK is less that he doesn't hustle out there on the ice, than that he doesn't listen to/respect coaches and is perpetually whining. On the ice, he plays with some moxy a reasonable per centage of the time. That doesn't mean he's coachable or isn't poison in the room. With AK, it seems to be more a general cluelessness and on-ice laziness (or else, lack of confidence). He is, to a striking degree, a carbon copy of Kovalev in terms of on-ice approach, just not talented enough to get away with it. I'm with everyone else - both bros. will be out of here by next training camp. This will create problems, though, because we'll need comparably cheap talent to fill those roster spots. Nonetheless, one thing is overwhelmingly clear. The Jacques Martin era is a return to the traditional Habs' philosophy that values hard work, team play and commitment above all else. We're seeing in these playoffs exactly what that philosophy can accomplish. As an organizational philosophy, it does mean sometimes letting go of talented players; the trade-off is that you can often achieve a whole that surpasses the sum of its parts. Latendresse is a hard case. He said himself that he 'knew' his time here was done when he wasn't offered a longer-term contract. I think he went into this particular season with a bad attitude, perhaps alienated by the Big Purge as well as his disappointment that the team didn't commit to him; and therefore he was demoralized and unwilling to buy into what JM was selling. This is too bad, because while his talent was always open to question, until this season he did seem to be a committed player who could have fit into the team-first philosophy described above. It seems that the Lats/Habs relationship is a casualty of timing more than anything else.

Markov: injured big time in the second half last season; injured for half of this season; injured for the playoffs and possibly the start of next season. I think we can officially start to label him 'injury prone.'

We all agree that Gomez is overpaid. But if you're ragging on him, that's because you haven't been paying attention to the playoffs. He has been AWESOME.

Can't spell Twitter without 'twit.'

Well, at least an eventual Markov return hasn't been definitively ruled out for this spring. I grasp at what straws of hope I can.

Heh heh heh Further to the question of the Habs' 'system' and whether Halak is working non-stop miracles, here's a nice piece: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup...s-strategy.html