The Chicoutimi Cucumber

what happened? Help! Is Huet sucking ass, or what?

Man, I can't watch this game 'cos I gotta work - but HOLY SAINTED GHOST OF THE ROCKET, this game sounds absolutely 100% IN-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNE in the brain!!! I'm not even watching the thing and I'm STILL having a heart attack!!! GO HABS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My guess is that whoever wins this, wins the series.

I don't like the sound of that - three goal leads can evaporate quickly, or have we already forgotten the last game of the season? Cockiness is our enemy. Hopefully the habs don't start thinking this way. All the same - WOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :hlogo: :king:

I second all these emotions, but let's remember - after those final three regular season losses, people were singing a different tune, including on this board, where plenty of 'what the hell is Gainey doing??' remarks spewed up. If the Habs lose the next four, the tone will likely be different.

We have a winner. :king: Except it's too clever for NHL nicknames these days (always boring things like 'Dandy' and 'Breezer'). The last really great nickname must be Red Light Racicot which was Red Fisher's immortal handiwork. Cristopall it is!

Yeah, the problem with Ribs is that you can never count on him to step up when you need it, and that he brings nothing except some middling playmaking finesse. He'll do until something better comes along, but I'm pretty sure that Gainey is very interested in finding that something (e.g., Arnott).

For example, if another team signs Marc Savard next season for a large contract hoping he'll be an offesnive leader, I think he'll be a huge flop; between Koivu and Savard, I still pick Koivu. I don't want to bash Ryder, I like the guy, but I'm just saying that he's not playing up to his potential, and not as well as his 30 goals would indicate. I'm not expecting him to win the Selke, but he needs to make better use of linemates to generate more scoring opportunities for them and also for himself (you give the puck to an open guy, and there's a good chance he'll pass it back to you). I think he actually played better during his rookie season, than this one. Savard is impossible to assess because of his incrfedible linemates. Those guys would make Mike Ribeiro look like Joe Sakic As for Ryder, I think your assessment is pretty accurate, but let's remember two things: first, this was his sophomore season; and while he did fall prey to the traditional jynx to some extent, he still bagged 30 and has lots of time to develop those other aspects of his game (it should be noted, too, that he improved his skating, which bodes well). And second, the man is a pure goal scorer. They don't grow on trees - in fact, we haven't had one since, oh, about 1993. If he gets 30 in a bad season, he surely has the potential to evolve into a 40-goal man. So, let's not be TOO critical. He's a very promising young player and probably part of the long-term solution in Montreal.

Right. And if Theodore hadn't sucked rocks for 20 games, the Habs would have had more wins. And if Markhov, Koivu and Kovy hadn't gone down for extended periods...blah, blah, blah. This is a silly way to think. The Habs deserve to be there. Which is not to deny that the Canes will probably obliterate them.

If Hasek remains injured, then definitely Ottawa. Especially given the Sens' history of pathetic playoff collapses - if we can steal a couple from them, they might crumble ('oh nooooo it's all happening again!!!')

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOHABSGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: :king:

You know, there's a case to be made for carrying two strong goalies instead of one 'star,' despite the fact that the latter has become the dominant model in the NHL for the last two decades. The simplest reason for going with two goalies is that you have some protection in case of injury - a HUGE advantage IMHO. The second reason is that even Brodeur has slumps and it's nice not to have to go down in flames just because one player has a cold streak. Think back...even the great Ken Dryden had Bunny Laroque spelling him off for about 30 games a season, while Roy's backup Brian Hayward got about the same share of starts for several years. Nowadays noone can afford to carry a Patrick Roy-type salary AND another good goalie, but the Habs are lucky enough to be in a position where they have two good cheap netminders, and this depth could prove to be an enormous asset going forward. So people need to ease up on the notion that Huet must play every single game from now until 2010.

Hip Hip Huet is UFA this summer. I say, around $2 mil with bonuses up to $3...it's hard to see another team topping that, unless the Habs make the playoffs and he steals some rounds for 'em (in which case, open the fershlugginer vault!)

That loss was IN NO WAY Aebisher's fault. He played well, every bit as well as Huet generally does. So it makes no difference. I can't believe anyone's bringing it up, actually. Gainey's official logic was that Buffalo hasn't seen Aebisher this season and he thought that might offer the Habs an edge. Seems sensible to me. People seem to forget that Abby is a legitimate NHL starter who has at least one stellar season under his belt - which is more, frankly, than Huet has. However, I do agree that Huet should be in the pipes for the fatal game against NJ. You dance with the lady that brung ya, and Huet is the reason we're in a position to make the playoffs. (Indeed, is it inconceivable that he wanted Huet well-rested and hungry for that pivotal contest?)

Both sides of this debate are right. We SHOULD be shitting bricks. The odds of our making the playoffs plunged from about 80% to about 50% in one night. But neither a Montreal loss nor TB/Atlanta victories are as guaranteed as the pessimists seem to think. The fact is, the Habs CAN at least TIE Jersey and, quite simply, need to play their very best game of the season for #82. If they do that, they'll either make it or go down proudly deserving better. And remember things could a whole heap worse - we could be Vancouver. So...let's bite our nails, lose sleep, sweat, suffer...and see. I barely slept last night. That's how bad it is.

Easy there, folks. I agree it's nerve wracking, but come on...all we need is a tie. Have faith - especially in Huet and Kovalev...

Bertuzzi is poison. I live in Vancouver, take my word for it - bad mouthing the coach, sulking whenever things don't go his way, taking stupid, undisciplined penalties...who needs it? If we can get him for a song, then sure. But Souray (which was the big rumour)?? FORGET IT!!!!!

It's cool, although a lot of the time all you get are hollers such as 'c'mon c'mon c'mon,' etc.. My favourite is when they mike the coaches - that's when you really hear some interesting analysis.

The best thing about our making the playoffs this season is that this makes us more attractive to free agents...don't be surprised if that good nucleus gets beefed up by at least one significant signing. (Arnott?) Definitely need some young D. Too bad about the loss of Hainsey, who seems to have become a stud for the Jackets. Looks like I was wrong about him, as were the Habs :puke:

Cheap shot. I despise Cherry as much as I despise their nativism; I hate anyone who allows ethnicity and raw bias to distort their assessment of performance. True, they do say bad things about French players, and they say do nice things about non-French players. But the general pattern is to inflate French talent and be, in an almost cyclical way, abusive of specific non-francophones (e.g., Koivu. Yes, he deserves criticism when in a slump. But to go from there to systematically questioning his leadership? Come ON). Does anyone remember the way they all went berserk when we traded our best defensive defenceman, Lyle Odelein, for Stephane Richer? 'BIEVENUE STEPHANE!!!' Meanwhile, no mention that we had just gutted our D of its toughest, steadiest performer and leader. Then they expressed surprise on-air that Odelein went on to become a key cog on the vaunted Jersey defence, doing EXACTLY what he did for the Habs. Or, they used to crap all over Turner Stephenson - same deal, get rid of him, he's nothing...just a Cup winner with the Devils and blood-and-guts contributor. How about Mike Keane? ENEMY OF THE QUEBECOIS NATION, run him out of town. And all he did afterwards was win Cups. F**king idiots.

I'm in BC, on Shaw, and---yep, it's RDS and their English-hating gibberish for me, all the way.

ps...could this finally be a cup year??? Oy vey. Let's not take leave of our senses.

I heartily endorse Colin's assessment. That they've ragged relentlessly on Koivu is ridiculous, and their inclination to forgive Ribeiro in particular is grotesque. I like Mitch Melnyk's argument...this is the first time in a decade that the French media have exactly ZERO influence over Habs management, and they don't like it one bit. At least Demers refrains from ATTACKING English players; his failing lies in the tendency to romanticize French guys. That's easier to swallow than, say, the unforgiveable attacks delivered on Koivu by much of the french media for his supposed 'manque de leadership' for much of this season. If it were up to these guys, we'd be a team of 100% francophones, and last overall.

That's the trouble. He plays great, then evaporates, etc.. Last season - hot and cold but basically fine; then come playoff time, he's a no-show (except for showboating in the worst possible way against the Prunes); then this season when we really need him to step up, he's vanished again...and now, a sustained run of good play. What do you do? Keep this guy? If you're a coach/GM, do you really need these headaches?

Roy was a dog in the regular season in 1986. I was one of those fans who ripped out their hair that coach Perron didn't dress Doug Soetart more often Shows what I know.

One area where this team has it all over the 1996 edition is management and coaching. Give those players to this braintrust and we're talking MORE than one Cup, by Howie Morenz.