ShortHanded

very true.

you think he should be benched?

I agree about the press. Gainey's also doing a great job and you cant' actually be sure his presentation to UFAs is no good and that they decide to sign elsewhere based on other reasons (many of which you've stated). Carbo, the verdict's still out. Somethings he does really well, others he does quite badly. I want more progress from him, but at the same time, I think ppl truly overlook just how BAD we've been for years and how badly Houle/Tremblay, etc, gutted this team. It's not something that changes overnight. Last but not least, I think Gillette's and ideal owner. The last thing I want is an owner who tries to be a GM when he knows less about hockey then all the experts he's hired to take care of business.

heheh.. Chris, you're a behaviour analyst?? That totally explains your refrain of "they're lazy" on most nights (i'm not making fun, honest, I'm being dead serious!)

I wish he'd do it. Ovechkin is really good friends with Markov and apparently tried to convince him to sign in washington last year. I think BG would percieve that as "unclassy" though and not do it

So true. What a relief...

I like your line ups for next game. I especially like moving Kosto to the 4th, Smoke to the third, and Plex to the second. and to go with that, Carbo NEEDS to shorten the bench when it's that close. the 4th line should NOT be out there when the score is close against a high scoring team like the Sens. If it's because he doesn't have the last change on the road, then don't put them on the ice unless you ABSOLUTELY need to in the last10 minutes...

The big picture looks great, I agree, and I certainly do appreciate the culture of hard work Carbo and BG have instilled in the team. What does bother me is the constant tinkering with the lines and what appears to be a lack of communication. Carbo should have told Begin he was sitting, not let him find out from the line ups on the bulletin board. Also, if he's rewarding hardwork, then last game's line up should be left alone and given another chance, or only "minorly" tinkered with. I know most ppl don't like Jack Todd, but he made a good point in his last article, which is that one thing Carbo doesn't have which BG has is the "calm factor". Carbo could stand to give the lineups more of a chance to gel and see what happens. Patience is very important with a young team (and I mean patience in terms of results, not in terms of giving players too many chances when the effort's not there.) I also don't agree with playing Plex with Kosto and Lats. He tried that experiment, it didn't work, and he's going back to it. Why?

what did he say??

very well said Punkned. I agree on pretty much all fronts. It would be a pleasant surprise if Higgins turned into a 40 goal scorer.

I totally agree. Why is this seen as an attack on Carbo exactly??

Game thread for Ottawa not up yet, so I didn't know where else to put this so... lineup from practice today via habsinsideout.com: Higgins-Koivu-Ryder Kostitsyn-Grabovski-Kovalev Latendresse-Plekanec-Kostopoulos Bégin/Chipchura-Smolisnski-Dandenault If this is what we're going to Ottawa with, I really really don't like the 3rd line. I don't understand why Carbo insists on playing Plex with 2 slow players. I actually didn't mind the third line last game and heaven forbid leaving the line up the same for 2 games in a row (or almost the same - one or two changes wouldn't be a big deal but the 2nd, 3rd and 4th have all been altered) and let the players find some chemistry. They played a REALLY good game yesterday and hit a hot goalie. Smoke with Plex and Kovy was a good second line. Kosty with Grabs and Kostopoulous was actually a good third line. If you really want to, put lats back in their without changing the ENTIRE thing. He could have played on the 4th in place of Murray... Give them a chance to try the same lineup again, please.....

People, remember that before the season started, many of us were predicting better effort, more buy in to Carbo's system (as a result of more kids coming up through the system, etc.) but that the end result would be a marginal improvement in points? That's this year, and that's basically this game. The kids are an improvement over the vets we've gotten rid of in that they have way more potential, but they also lack experience and make a lot of mistakes and that's the trade off right there.. the key is they're learning...

On one hand I'm mad, but on the other hand, let's keep some perspective. Our players played well, and then a young guy, with not enough experience (Komi, I'm looking at you!) took a stupid penalty and cost us the game. Yes, we should have scored more than one goal before that, but we ran into a hot goalie. These growing pains are to be expected from a young team. At least the effort was there tonight...

heheh... remember, he scored 2 goals one time last year? Souray was mic'd that game, and I remember him telling Murray he'd have to fly home after the game for the party / parade... Also, thanks for the source on the Dandy/Murray thing.

I'm all for bringing Lappy up, but he has to play. No point in him sitting, so you're right, if he comes up, someone else has to be moved out.

who's the 4th? I count Begin, Murray, Kosto, and... not Chipper I hope? Also, is it no consolation that we've put a speedy winger in, in the form of Grabs?

Whoa! the title was just changed to add that Dandy's out and murray's in. where's the source for that piece of news?

thanks for filling me in. I didn't see any of the preseason games.

That's interesting for the 3rd line. I think Kosty and Grabs can play together, and I guess Kostopoulous will be the grinder on that line, but the question is will they work together as a line, all three of them? I think Smoke Plex Kovy is okay. I like Kosty Plex Kovy better, but I don't think Grabs would have worked with Smoke and Kostopoulous. I guess this is where Smoke's versatility as a center/winger is helpful.

I definitely agree that Kosto should be on the 4th not the third. Whether Grabs on the third is a good idea, I'm not sure though... just because the third is supposed to be the "shut down" line against the other team's top forwards. Does Grabs have that ability? In terms of him adding offense, having him on the third would be good, but that line needs to be able to do both Offense and D, with the focus on D. Also, you have to ask yourself if Lats couldn't keep up with Plex's speed, how will he keep up with Grabs? Are Grabs and Lats even compatible? I don't know, all of these are just questions. A random idea would be to try Dandy on the third until we can find him anohter home??? No idea if this is good or not, as I've watched maybe 40 minutes of Habs hockey all season, and all while doing other stuff and not really focussing on the game, so... any thoughts on this?

that's what I figured. No worries

actually, that's exactly what i hate about it. He looks like a bird, which is I guess the goal, since he was on the penguins, but honestly, a bird doesn't really strike fear into the hearts of the opponent, does it?

Elvis is fine with me. Nothing sacred there, although not sure it's actually the best nickname for Price

I would really rather leave God out of it. For us religious fans (in my case, Muslim) I like Price, but comparing any player to God is too much, and to me, disrespectful to God and Religion.