hockeyrealist

Wow, have times changed in motown...Lots of underperforming and underwhelming names, but not to be taken lightly by any means. A little surprised Big Mac is out again, he looked decent last game and at least takes every opportunity to hit and seems to have sound positioning. King deserves some press box time imo. Would rather see Martinsen get another chance at least if Mac is going to spectate yet again. Maybe I missed something and he is hurt or sent down, but if not I see no point in taking him out of lineup again. If not playing in NHL, send him down to at least make it look like you're developing him. These two games would be a great chance for the pp and first line to start clicking and gain some confidence. Monty deserves some run support this time. go habs go!

Will be an interesting matchup if line matching occurs. canucks bottom 6 is not very strong and could be a great chance for our "depp" to impact the game, if they end up matching up that way. Having radu in that top 6 would look much better, given Gallaghers return to energizer bunny form. Will be interesting to see if we notice the "little things" pleks does once out of lineup, I am doubtful. And really hoping Emelin can use the change to improve his vision and come back as a serviceable player who at the least doesn't cause detriment while punishing opponents. I like Davidsons comments about learning from price and Weber but know nothing about him and feel bad for Petry getting yet another project to play with as he isn't able to carry a pairing himself imo. CP31 in his home province for the W.

It does appear patty was held on a much shorter leash than many others, hopefully he gets a chance to play in Dallas. I do think he is a reliable bottom pairing player who gives out and takes abuse well. Exactly the type of no nonsense, safe play guy most teams want there. benn seems to have some grit which I love and if he sticks up for price better than the pansies are presently then awesome move. I think Weber was told to avoid unnessecary penalties and is why he has been softer than usual in that regards, normally he plays angrier.

Assuming lines match throughout game and the two second lines face off this will be a big test for habs second unit, jackets second line is a beast imo. Agreed that jackets 4th line is highly paid and also seem to have come back to earth since their hot start to season. Like leks and ghetto but not on fourth line. Problem is with DD in lineup you can't put those three together due to minimum height requirements to get onto the roller coaster. marky on first pairing scares me a bit, but him and petry on 2nd pairing is way too soff, and the third pairing always takes a lot of dump and chase banging from other teams 3-4 lines and don't want his old body taking that abuse so don't see a better place for him. Benn looks to be a more experienced, more expensive version of patteryn. Great move for patteryn but don't think it will make a difference to team fortunes. CP31 will have to be the difference as has been the case for far too long.

Zetterberg is having a good year apparently. Earning from and for 2 clubs haha. Grew up wings fan, now a habs man. Happy guy today, go habs go!

"for a guy getting concussed cause he got hit, a fighter doesn't stop that from happening. All he does is fight after the fact, which doesn't fix Nate's concussion. " - statement makes no sense, an earlier poster had a valid point and the rebuttal is wrong, just trying to make the situation fit the argument. N8 got laid out fighting Foligno, sticking up for Fleishman. So having an enforcer would definitely have helped as N8 would be told that it is not his job and to stick with playing hockey. He was concussed getting one-punched in a fight he initiated. Watch the clip of N8 being embarrassed on home ice. Typical of the season and he hasn't been the same since.

Firstly, I LOVE PK and will miss him dearly. But, we will not see shenanigans like this from Mr Weber: http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/watch-canadiens-pk-subban-loses-it-on-refs-gets-tossed/ This and a couple other examples made me contemplate whether PK had the maturity and selflessness (is that a word) to lead the team to the promise land. Perhaps this would not have been a factor if PK was not thrust into the spot light and #1 d man role so quickly. And I honestly will not miss the meandering forays into the offensive zone that end up going nowhere or the missed coverage on the d zone. All that said, I am sad to see him, go but strongly feel if Weber had spent last ten season or so in an Canadian market we would all realize that he is a stud who will make Carey's job a lot easier while making Mtl a feared stop for opponents.

So true, first goal is huge. Fore check seems key to both team's success, need smart dump-ins/chip-ins and lots of speed going both ways. If Mtl forwards come back deep early to ease pressure on our d and allow for shorter 1st, 2nd passes so Habs aren't pinned down for stretches will aid les gars in a quick start and eventually open up the stretch pass later in the game. Teams have recognized Habs desire to move puck up boards to get out of own zone, so a deep curling centreman (a la Red Wings) adds support and creates additional options for 1st or 2nd pass. Callahan has been a non factor, Drouin seems to have created more opportunities considering his limited appearances. I would rather Callahan is in, easier to defend against a straight line banger who also makes Stammer easier to defend against. Shouldn't matter who is in for them though, Habs need to have the desire to bring their A++ game and when that happens there are few that can keep up. Haven't seen any updates regarding Emelin, so I assume he is good to go...? Go Habs Go!

Ummm, tonight's game is against the Hurricanes, not the Panthers.

I appreciate the informed response, thanks. I understand where you are coming from and I admit that I still click on links that I know will be a bit of a let down because I, like many others, am a sucker for info. One of the benefits of being a Habs fan is the relative wealth of information available compared to many teams. Cheers

This is indeed a "first world problem", but I am getting tired of wasting time reading articles that are linked from the site's main page. They are consistently poorly written (grammar, spelling, phrasing) as well as often offer no real insight or valuable information at all. They use an interesting title to get attention and then rarely answer the question posed in the title and often just regurgitate the same sound bites and opinions as mainstream media (TSN, Sportsnet, etc). They are taking advantage of the loyalty, curiosity, and dedication of the numerous Habs fans around the globe. With that said, I know the site itself does not publish these articles for the most part and is just providing links to potentially useful information for the public. This service is what originally brought me to habsworld.net as I liked the centralized access to information and it was easier to load and navigate than my previous preference hockey inside out. Now that I have been frequenting this site for a couple years I have found myself getting frustrated by the aforementioned problem with the quality of the links provided. Is there no way that the administrators can screen articles that are linked from the main page of the site to ensure a minimum level of quality control? The habsworld.net articles are consistently of good quality and provide content with substance, so the administrators and editors obviously are capable of spotting/providing good content. I know, I know, I am whining but I feel this is one of those cases of quantity not trumping quality. Thanks for your patience of you made it through my ramble. Keep calm and Carey on, Go Habs Go!

Thought this thread was who should be coaching habs not a chance for same ole posters to say the same ole poop about the same players. MT is doing well and flying under the radar. You can't ask more from a coach in Mtl. Say what you want about him but present results speak volumes. He is a professional level coach and getting the most out of his team at the right time of year. He is easy to bash, but upon unbiased evaluation he is doing well. I love PK, but as far as his and MT's relationship, PK has to respect his coach regardless and be a professional who shows up every game and plays for team wins, I see this happening more and more and thank MT and MB for instilling the team-first mentality, along with some key leaders like Gio, Marky, Prusty, Gorges and a few others. Keep the vibe alive Habs!

The juggling goes on, but EGG deserves to stay together, which seems to be pretty common consensus. I liked the Pleks, Gio, Bournival combo. I do not get why they are not still together, they were bright together. Some of Gio's best games were in that combo, Bournival seems to invigorate him and Pleks is always reliable defensively but Bournival's speed seems to open up space for him in the offensive zone as well. I can see Briere, Pax, Bourque working out well or at least as a decent third line and I kind of like the 4th combo of White, DD, Moen as DD can hopefully provide some speed or "energy" while not being in a role where offence is expected. Lower the expectation and let him over deliver (? hopefully), rebuild some confidence at least worth the shot for a game until Prust returns to demolish his former team. Either way Prust and Emelin can not return soon enough, no need to rush them back this early in season, but if they are good to go and play their type of game....Yeehaw, a whole new team i.m.h.o.

Some good points brought up, I like many of these ideas. Watching teams "play for the tie" is brutal, it would be akin to watching Jaques Martin style "protect the 1 goal lead" hockey all lover the place. Very frustrating to watch. I personally do not like the idea of 3 on 3, would rather a SO than that. Very tough decision, the SO's were exciting at first but now have lost the appeal, I feel bad for goalies who stand on their hands all night only to lose in SO. Very sticky situation, that is why playoffs are so great, there is no easy way out. These players are all in incredible shape and should be able to handle extended OT but network tv would not like it very much. Zero points for a tie, hmmmm. Kind of warming to that idea as it definitely motivates teams to take the initiative. The deserving team ending up with the points on Tuesday though, would have loved to see the habs get 2 points but they did not deserve it.

I thought I nailed it, but got one wrong. I think it was either the mustache question, I thought it was big bird but not sure or the one about how many players had dressed for every game. I had 12 since I counted both goalies but wasn't about that method. Would have loved to get a Prusty t though, damnnnn! Anybody nail all ten? Any ideas on the mustachio? It was a beauty soup strainer though lol. Cheers to the weekend all.

I would go similar but switch Galchenyuk (at this point in his career) for Markov (for who knows how much longer, but as of now) and like the earlier comments about Prust as he provides much needed grit with ability to play minutes, tough to replace that these days as the game evolves. If Emelin returns to form he could be an integral part as well since he also provides physical presence combined with skill. Cool thread, loving some of the answers lol. Good point about Gionta not being listed, seems like just when you are ready to call him out he comes up with a multi-point game. Hopefully that comes soon.

Yeah, since Cole left and right through to present day, where was he last night? I know he is fresh off an injury, but if you are not ready to go 100% and contribute then take the requisite time to heal, this is not the playoffs and he will do further damage if not fully healed. Patches hasn't put up numbers and spends more time in recovery than playing. I like him and hope he returns to form as the team desperately needs the offensive contributions he has shown but I do not believe he is a legit sniper and shows no sign of using his size as a power forward. I believe Cole's ability to back the opposing defense in using his speed down the wing is a big part of Patches success as it opened space up inside the opposing zone, now Patches has to attack d who are holding the line and stifling his freedom of movement, prime example is his last injury as he chose to carry the puck into a well covered slot area into good coverage. Like I said, I hope he is able to be paired up with complimenting players, when the kids are a little better defensively it could be great to combine Gallagher's net crashing and forecheck, Galchenyuk's playmaking with Patches to perhaps re invigorate his goal scoring. As of the last four games the whole team looks overrated, joking. Go habs!

that really doesn't say much. Current roster + current year as far as this thread goes.

As far as white does, he does well on draws, stands up for guys even when out matched and has been very strong positionally. Hard to say overrated as he never gets press or much ice time and plays 4th line. Overrated: Patches as far as guys who are expected to produce, get top minutes. Puts himself in vulnerable positions without getting any pay offs for it, doesn't hit, misses net in shoot outs, hasn't really done anything since Cole left but keeps getting lots of t.o.i.. Underrated: Gallagher. He has consistently been one of the best players on either team any given night, is producing, had been good an draws when needed and gets into the dirty areas. We need a big forward that can do these things as Patches, Bourque, Moen do not seem to do it consistently enough. Those three should give opposing dmen nightmares but they hardly throw their weight around.

I thought the EGG line had been reunited? Or am I out of loop, either way looking forward to habs win!