Colin

Kovalev has been garbage. No jump, no extra effort. When he loses the puck, his shoulders slump and he drags his ass back. When a teammate screws up, his shoulders slump, and he drags his ass back. Zednik was better tonight, though he needs to remember this is a team game. How many times did he take the puck into the zone and not do anything with it until someone took it off him? Kosty is at the same point that Perez was at earlier in the season. Confidence high, buzzing on the ice - anyone remember that? Which means he's due to sit on the end of the bench for a while. Can someone find my eyes? I think they rolled right out of my head that time. Finally - can someone please explain to our defence the idea behind defence? Thanks. Much appreciated. Oh, afterthought. Theopendoor? Down too early, not challenging shooters, oversliding. Basically an AHL goalie at this point. His confidence is in the basement, and even when it's up there, he's still not doing well. Sadly, his trade value is about as low. Oh Garon, where art thou?

Tough choice. You have the Liberals lead by a slimey twit who has proved only that he's really not able to take the step from Finance Minister, where he was incredible, to Prime Minister. In NHL parlance, he's an AHLer and not ready for the big show. His party is buying votes by opening the vault, and if they get a majority, they'll close the vault again and be fiscally responsible after promising to spend but 'suddenly' realizing in a few months that Canada needs to trim the fat to pay off the debt. Then you have the Conservatives led by an American wannabe who is giving every indication of fiscal responsibility, but the undertones that are offered in his ideals seem to indicate a willingness to spend like Brian Mulroney. He wants to cut the GST - that which was brought in to pay off Canada's debt and which is now only paying the interest on said debt - and that will inevitably put us further in the hole. He wants to improve education and health care, but gives the impressing that the money for that will come out of thin air. Ah, the NDP. If we were to travel that route we'd be utterly socialist, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we'd be so far in debt, the International Banks would be putting us on the watch list and we'd hear things about Canada flirting with bankrupcy - something we haven't heard since the Mulroney years. Health care would be for everyone, education would be wonderful, university students might not take entire lives (if that) to get out of debt, but again, one has to wonder how he's going to find all this currency. The Bloq is a statement, but at least they're big enough to make some kind of inpact on current politics. As far as I'm concerned, though, they Bloq is the most deceptive party out there. They tried to buy votes by enticing non-political, Quebec hockey fans to give them their vote when they gave this idea about the Quebec team in the Olympics, etc. If that isn't the most blatant vote-buying technique, then I don't know what is. If you believe in Quebec separating (not getting into that here), then this is your vote. If not, vote for one of the other three. The Green party, as far as I'm considered, is a waste of a vote - and so is any other vote other than the big three (four). In voting for anyone else, you're basically tossing away the chance to give at least the best of what the three (four) offer a chance. People who vote Green, or anything like that like to say they're making a statement, and then when someone gets into power they don't want, or wanted less than another party, they whine and complain the whole time. Make the vote count and then write your MP if you have problems, don't make your voice meaningless by voting for something that has absolutely zero chance of making a difference in this country. I don't know what other people think or are interested in, and I won't go into any more detail, however if the conversation becomes lively enough (and civil) I'd love to hear what everyone thinks and have a real debate. I'm not sure that's possible on a hockey site (where passions run way too high anyhow) at all, though. *shrugs* Just some opinions.

They are according to RDS. And suddenly things become interesting. Benching Ribs for one game is a penalty for not playing well. Benching him for two? Rarely do you see your third best scorer benched in consecutive games - even if he is playing like Spare Ribs. There's at least a good possibility that something's up.

Maca, describe this Battlefield, or whatever it is to me. I might be curious to get it and play (and lose to) you online. I miss online gaming. Just got my HL2. OH MY DROOL. Wowzers. AOE3 looks like another I'll consider. Gotta love Best Buy gift certificates for Christmas.

That Pittsburgh guy is hilarious. "Slap gramma from her chair, I needa siddown!" Chris Cuthbert as PBP man is excellent. I'll always love Dick Irvin. Danny Gallivan. Ah, those were the days. It was actually worth it to watch the CBC. Buffalo fella is good as well, and I miss the La-la-la-la-la-la-la-lafontaiiiiiiiiiiine! That was awesome.

Buffalo, Toronto, Florida, Montreal, and Washington The teams "apparently" interested in his services.

Dunno how many games you've seen recently, but Bulis has *significantly* out-performed Spare Ribs.

In reality, BTH isn't that far from the truth. The Habs played better than the score indicated, though Kovalev and Zednik failed to show. Goal one against us saw a poor pinch by Rivet turn into a Crosby goal. Goal two was another defensive blunder, can't remember who (might have been Rivet again) which allowed Endicott to break and score a terribly weak goal on Theo. The second Crosby goal took an inoffensive shot and banked it off Crosby's foot then Theo's foot. Those were the three against the Koivu line and, while Crosby's line was better on this night, the reality is that, with competent defence and a little better luck (the third goal) our first line ends the game even and we win. I wouldn't say we dominated 50 minutes, but we were the better team for more time than Pittsburgh.

Theodore was scrambly all night, he was oversliding all over the place. The gap between the forwards and the defence was monstrous leading to dozens of turnovers. There was no concerted offensive effort amongst the lines for most of the game. Where were Kovalev and Zednik? Bulis is a real second line centre. Other than that, I just bought Half Life 2, so I'm going to kill things to feel better.

I will never, ever understand this attitude. What makes anyone think Gainey didn't try very hard to get every single sniper and superior talent available? Selanne already said that Montreal approached him, but he decided to go elsewhere. There is one very, VERY major fact that gets overlooked by a large number of fans way too often. Players do not like coming to play in Montreal. The situation is improving because Gainey has brought back some of the class to the organization, yes. However, this is a cold locale, a highly political locale, and the toughest place to play hockey on the PLANET. All you have to do is look at the first post in this thread to see why. Gainey is getting bashed for not lasooing talent and forcing them by gunpoint to play here. I mean, come on. Brisebois had a good year last season, and he was STILL booed. Turgeon practically begged to be sent away. You think Patrick Roy left the Habs ONLY because of Tremblay? Remember what happened during the game? He was embarassed - sure by the coach - but also by the fans. Anyone recall the mocking cheers and how Roy raised his hands in mock salute right back. You can bet your bottom dollar he was pretty damn pissed at the fans that night. Montreal is not a destination city because the fans and the media are horrible to play in front of. Sure, when things are going well you're a hero, but make a mistake.... God forbid. Selanne was asked. He said no. I'm sure there were many others asked as well. Remember Lapointe a couple of years back when he chose Boston over Montreal? Wanna guess why? We can never know for certain, but I'll put pretty good money on what I've mentioned so far as the reason he chose Boston. You want people to play in Montreal? Get rid of the nonsense from the fans. Get rid of the nonsense from the media. Get rid of, PLEASE get rid of the politics - it has no place in hockey, and yet when you talk about the Canadiens, it seems it goes hand in hand. Hockey should be a place where your language means nothing because it's what you put on the ice that counts. Only in Montreal does it matter to anyone. Our captain still gets flack for not speaking French, and yet he performs at a very high level on the ice. Isn't the language of hockey goals, assists and saves, not, "Merci pour votre question, M. Le Media?" I'm not saying it's impossible to attract big-name talent, but even with Bob Classy Gainey as the GM, it's a very tough task. I've said it before, I'm sure I'll say it again - we want the high-priced talent? Well it all starts with us first. We have to help make Montreal a place where people want to play. Ask yourself this: if you make a mistake at work, do you like fifty reporters sitting around you at the end of a long day picking apart your every move? How long would you stay in that position?

On behalf of Habs fans everywhere, I hope we see very little of you - none at all would be preferable - in the first and third. In the second, however, I hope you're both featured. I also ask that, when Crosby is close to you during a lull in the game, you shout, "Sydney, demand a trade to the Canadiens! We'll treat you like royalty!!!" Some things to look for tonight: 1. Theo's back. If he comes out and challenges the shooters with a straight back, it will cause him to have his shoulders square and wide and will mean his positioning is solid. He's a far more imposing goalie like that, and he therefore has the proper position to fire out arms and legs to make the saves necessary to win the game. 2. A sprawling Penguin. Either early in the game (likely), or later on if the team starts to struggle (unfortunately also likely), watch for Koivu to go out and do everything he can to motivate the team, and that means some poor Pen will feel his wrath in the form of a huge and well-timed body check. 3. One or more quasi-breakaways. This is going to be a quicker game and I think one of the things Julien is going to look for is the quick transition game or even the breakaway pass, particularly from Markov. When he gets the puck deep in his zone, watch for him to spin on a dime and fire a tape-to-tape pass to a breaking teammate thereby splitting a fairly weak Penguin defence. 4. The forward-defence gap. If the space between the forwards and defence is large, we're going to struggle badly. Only when we work as a team, and give the defence options as we turn the puck up the ice, will we find success. A small gap means a successful transition game, and a backpeddling Pen defence. A large gap means intercepted passes, and dump outs: both turnovers and a fast return to defence. 5. Smelling Salts. For Kostitsyn on the bench. After his first shift or two he should be relegated and may need the trainer to pass the salts under his schnoz to wake him up.

Thanks Fanpuck! I didn't even know I'd hit it until today (Christmas Day) when I was taking a break on the computer waiting to head to my parents to eat the third turkey dinner in three days. I think this is the first time I've looked at this congratulatory thread. LOL

Team Fortress Classic. The Half Life one. I was a 70-1 kill ratio sniper. Haven't done that for years and years, though. I was in one of those online clans. Kicked butt constantly. Lotsa fun. I'm going to get HL2 now that I have a slightly better g-card and see if I can't get back into the swing of things. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get a couple of these other online shooters as well. If you get killed by a sniper and you can't get him? It's probably me.

It's not that we're losing with Koivu and Kovalev out of the lineup, it's the *way* we're losing those games. Conversely, it's not enough that we won all those games early on, remember the *way* we won those games - we backed into half the wins, didn't deserve them at all. There are too many passengers on this team, and I think most people would agree with that statement. My question is this: when a player is coasting through his games and not making a lick of difference - a la Zednik lately - then why isn't he replaced on the top lines with a kid who has talent and the drive to use it, or even better, why isn't Zed watching the game with a bag of popcorn in one hand and a pink slip in the other? At the end of the Edmonton game, Julien put him on the ice rather than Perezhogin, Higgins, and even Kostitsyn. Hell, I'd have gone with Murray before Zed because at least you can tell Murray to get to the net and stand on the goalie and he'll DO HIS JOB. If a team has struggles two or three games in a row, well that's pretty normal. Every team has that kind of problem over the course of a season. But when you can't motivate guys to play hard for basically the bulk of the season, I have to question your bench abilities. Let's not even get into his mishandling of the kids - and I don't want to hear that they don't belong hear, because Higgins and Plekanec at the very least have proven they belong. What about Julien's continual use of the Dags - Ribs - Ryder line? I mean come on, it's completely and totally useless five-on-five. Anyone who actually watches the game cannot help but agree, even if you're the most diehard Ribeiro fan on the planet, he's been awful five-on-five. Why is that combination continually used? If you want to spark Ribs, why not TRY something different. And by try, I don't mean three shifts in a row. I mean give it a couple of games - I hate this line juggling garbage when things aren't working for him during a game. Unless he's going to stick with something and let it develop, he's never going to get anywhere. Peewee coaches know this. Look, there's no doubt that he's done a fine job getting the team to at least buy into a more responsible defensive system - because even if they don't execute night in and night out, you can see they're in basically the right places. I mean, Zednik is almost always positionally correct, he just doesn't break a sweat while he's there. Julien has put this team on the right track. But I think the players have stopped listening. Of COURSE they have, they aren't competing night in and night out at all. Jarvis, in my opinion, is not the answer either, though he probably is next in line. I believe this team needs a complete revamp of the bench bosses - which sucks for Jarvis, actually. Green has done a fine job getting the defence to this point. Jarvis is going to be a fine coach after a few more years of apprenticing. But we need to strike out in a completely new direction and, as others have said, inject some life into the on-ice part of the organization. It's evident with Gainey's moves that he's trying to build a certain type of team. Everyone he's acquired works. Everyone that's left? Bu-bye Hossa and Hainsey. Now he needs to find the coach that complements that position and *demands* effort and then holds the players *responsible* when they fail to bring everything to the table. I've heard recently that Julien was planning on benching a few players when Koivu and Kovalev get back, just to show them that he doesn't forget. What is that? Was the team really better while Zednik was out there on the ice doing nothing, rather than sitting in the press box while a rookie worked his butt off in his place and created oh so much more? It's time for a change here. Yeah, when the two injury buddies come back there will most certainly be a change in things on the ice. People WILL be more accountable because Koivu demands that himself. But if the players start performing better when Koivu comes back, then maybe HE should be the coach. I mean, why would his return make players be accountable when Julien is there to make people accountable now? (On the other hand, that goes a *long* way in showing just what kind of leader Koivu is. Look at the team's effort with him in and out of the lineup.)

*laughs* And last night they were insistent that both players would assuredly be back on Saturday night.

If only everyone in the world had this kind of open mind we wouldn't have half the problems we do. Ever since I started taking more liberties in "bashing" Ribeiro I've learned a great deal more about the people around, the interesting ideas that people have, and the Canadiens in general. Some may not believe it, but I take the time to read every little thing said to me because, in my opinion, you don't grow unless you're willing to learn and accept what others have to say. I'm not necessarily going to change my mind because someone has an argument with what I say, but I will consider it, and re-affirm in my own mind my point of view. On the other hand, if an argument has a lot of merit, I have absolutely no problem in saying I was wrong and accepting a new point of view. I've done it many times in the past, and I'll do it many more times. I think it's the easygoing atmosphere that Sakicq and company have created that makes it possible for me, and hopefully others, to learn more about the team we have - and the fans that support it. Because of this site I had an excellent debate with Bulis_the_Habbie, and I have to say, I modified a few of my beliefs, if ever so slightly, because of it. It was an intelligent and well-thought out debate, and it wouldn't have happened if not for this site.

Interesting. The goal that Bulis scored counts because the net was taken off by the Kings own players, and the player who interfered with Garon's goaltending was his own defender. Was that essentially what we saw last week with Markov? Some guy hooks him, falls into Belfour, then the puck hits Markov and goes in. Please someone, explain the difference to me. Oh wait, I know what it is. We were in the Centre of the Universe. :eyes:

I'm sorry, Ribeiro is not hurting the team? He was a -1 last night despite the gifts of points from the opposition. That's not particularly impressive. And Bonk has been playing hurt for a long time apparently, so I think I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he can do when healthy. I really don't understand why people watch the pond hockey ballerina and think he's a stellar player. Sure, he has great moves, and occasionally great vision, but he's a perimeter player, albeit with good skills, who gives half-efforts. Is this the kind of guy you want on the second line? He was buried in the playoffs and has been relatively ineffectual so far this season in comparison with his so-called good year. Yes, when he tries, he can look good, but we don't see enough of it. All we have on our hands right now is a big ego who can't deliver. My hope is that he was played like he was so he gets some trade value. This team has virtually zero Cup potential with him in the lineup.

Ahem. Colin is a goon. I believe I actually edited sakicq and not quoted him. However I did NOT erase a single word he wrote. Which he will surely agree with. You can read my reply again here: I don't think it's all the French media, so I shouldn't be so quick to lump everyone together, you're right. There are quite a few out there who are extremely good writers and very objective in what they do. I've no experience with Foy as I don't get the Journal myself but it does seem like he was trying to provoke something there. However, I do stand by what I said regarding the RDS crew. I think, at times, they try to be the anti-CBC crew and go entirely the opposite direction from the Leaf love-in that happens there.

Well, everyone's thinking it, but I'll voice it, so to speak. Ribeiro is the French media darling and there's no way they'd say anything about it. They want this buried so they keep their darling. Now, if it was an Anglophone or a foreigner, he'd be run out of town. If it was a French player that was critical about the media; run out of town. But Ribeiro? Short of killing someone there is zero way that RDS would EVER say anything bad about him. Hell, Pednault has the toughest time saying even minor bad things about him. He's on a bad scoring drought? Bain, Ribeiro a ses difficultes, mais au moins il competitionne. Basically, Ribeiro and Theodore have free passes. In fact, if either is traded you can bet the media will villify Gainey and call for his head even if we get Brodeur and 5 first rounders for Theo and Jagr and 5 first rounders for Ribeiro.

LOL I just ruined my wife's dinner I'm so steamed. Talk about a pass-the-buck guy, eh? Won't accept any responsibility himself, but blames it on the leading scorer of the team. Un-frikkin-believable. If that comment isn't his ticket out of Montreal, then I might just start to lose interest in the Canadiens. I've absolutely had it with pricks like this ruining things I enjoy.

«Si Michael Ryder avait complété la moitié des chances de marquer que je lui ai procurées, le problème ne se poserait pas», a-t-il laissé tomber hier. Le ton n'était pas agressif, mais reste que ça sonnait dur à l'oreille. Ce genre de commentaire est inhabituel dans une entrevue et il est aussi rare qu'un joueur s'échappe de la sorte en privé. NOT mis-quoted. Time to get the little ###### out of Montreal. http://www2.canoe.com/sports/nouvelles/arc...201-100200.html [Edited on 2005/12/3 by Colin]

Apparently from the Journal de Montreal: "Si Micheal Ryder avait complété la moitier des chances de marquer que je lui ai procurées, le problème ne se poserait pas." If Ryder had scored on half of the chances I gave him, there wouldn't be a problem. Arrogant little prick. To EVER say something like that about a teammate whether it be true or not is outrageous. If this is true, and not taken out of context or misquoted, then if I see his skinny little ass on the ice, I'm firing off an email to the Canadiens DEMANDING his trade. Last year it was Koivu, and this year it's Ryder? I mean, COME ON. Why don't you go join your arrogant friend Hainsey in Columbus you little (censored and lemme tell you that when I say it, it's a LONG line of cussing). I have had it up to here with his attitude, with his LACK of effort and with his useless play. I don't want to see him disgracing the jersey anymore and I don't want to see his face in Montreal anymore. He was a sham when he dove against Boston in the playoffs, he's utterly useless in the new NHL, and now he's CREATING problems in the dressing room. Lemme tell ya, this had BETTER be a mis-quote...

Two things: 1. You are partially correct. The refs are letting a lot more go and it's dragging the game down quite significantly. 2. The coaching and the goalies. In the first case, they've done a solid job adapting to the new rules. Players are instructed to skate towards their own zone in the attacking skating lanes. Defender skate together towards the puck when there's a dump in so the attacker has to go the long way around. There are little things that coaches have picked up that are improving the defences. The other thing is that the goalies are getting used to the new equipment and rules and have adapted their games to suit. I wouldn't give up yet. I think this is exactly where the "competition" committee wants the games. I remember hearing an interview with Gainey early in the season saying there were too many penalties called. I think this is the happy medium they were looking for. However, if it continues to get worse, then you're right, back to the 90's.

Hm. I missed all this. I knew Maca had a girlfriend (I assumed he kept her chained in the basement - it will wash with soap now), but I didn't realize she was on here. AND was banned. What was the thread? I need a good laugh... And what's her user name? I have to send her a few U2U's (unless I get payment from you, in full, in the next 24 hours, Maca). [Edited on 2005/12/1 by Colin]