Game Thread | Montreal vs. Toronto| 10/06/07

[Partisan]

Well here are my thoughts.

1st line overall - very good, i think the 3 were very well positioned, especially Higgins.

Koivu - Did pretty well, surely gave his 100% in my mind. A few of his plays with his teamates created some very good chances.

Higgins- Always in the axes of passes, counterattacked many times, second effort always offensively and defensively. his move while sliding to take the puck off after a defense mistake was incredible. His move that lead to Markov Goal in PK was awesome too, he bought a lot of time and the pass was perfect. Smart plyays.

Ryder- If he plays like this all year, i assure you i wont bad mouth Ryder. Made a decent ammount of a strong passes which in my mind is an addition to his offensive play that isnt always there for Ryder.

Grabovsky- I saw sparkles of talent, he does have lightning speed. Koivu could babysit this guy a little to show him how to play better 1 on 1 while being small. I think sometimes he doesnt use his speed enough to undiscover himself from his marksman from the opposing team.

Kovalev- Unlucky crossbars is the habit for Kovy hehe. I think he played very well.

Kostitsyn- definitely 2nd line material and he has the potential to make a lot of points. He has an awesome vision, he's one of the few players with Markov and Kovy who can find the 4 other players on the ice in the offensive zone with a slick precise pass. He has the nose for the net also. His first half of this game wasnt his best but it was basically the same for Grabovsky and Kovy.

Plekanec- played excellent too bad he has wingers who just can not play in the offensive zone he needs better wingers. ( I think JJMR pretty much said what was on my mind). I would definitely not scratch Grabovsky yet however i think Plek should end up with kost and Kovy pretty soon.

Kostopolous - A big begin however he's 4th line material and PK material in my book. And God what was he doing on the PK for god sake...

Latendresse - In my mind and i'm french canadian, 2 bad penalities, invisible guy. Turtle pace....Very bad plays. The puck never sticks to his hockey. He's definitely not having a good start. He has the worst to me in Carolina and he was in the worst for sure this game to me.

Smolinski- "he belongs with Plekanec the one shift together they had at least 2 good scoring chances. Played well." - JJMR

For sure if Plek or him arent move to 2nd line if Grabovsky line doesnt work...I see them together as well.

Dandenault - played very well but with Smolinski and Begin that's a 4.7 M for a 4th line....

Begin- I think his forechecking was pretty decent, their line was the most consistent line, hardly bad shifts except an icing or two.

Komisarek- He'll rebounce...not his best game but i think we'll see Komi more into the traffic this year.

Markov- Very good offensively and i saw a sparkle of physical play. He did some very good moves defensively also but the 2-3 giveaways that he did tonight were costly especially on 3rd goal if im not mistaken.

Hamrlik- Simply awesome to me. Whenever it's on his side of the play, i'm trusting him to make the right move. he's a sound defensemen who can make good passes. I would see him more with Streit that Brisebois.

Brisebois- He did very good moves offensively. Him and Hamrlik did a good of defensive plays together. However you could see the weaker of this pair was definitely Brisebois. He's definitely a good passer and he's a good skater. But in my mind like in many others, he would probably a 6th defensemen.

Streit - He's definitely 4th or 5th. Hopefulyl Streit wont get benched this year.

Bouillon- As much as like Bouillon, i'd like to try out Gorges. Gorges is a decent defenseman who,s 23 yrs old who needs to play for sure. If he played into 64 games with the Sharks last year, i do not see why we arent giving him a spot on our defensive squad when the 5th or 6th defenseman get bad games.

Huet- Made some very good saves and allowed 2 goals that should of been stopped ( or at least one should of happened, the 2nd one) one in OT from Kaberle and the goal from his bad play when he went out of the night. And for god sake where was the defense on White shot from the point.

Kaberle has a very good shot but like a goal from Carolina, it went thru him again

Carbonneau – Probably put Bouillon has he's a good skater and could of attacked well on 3 on 3.

Referes...God They were so Toronto Biased tonight.

Habs - Gotta capitalize on your chances and polish your plays to put it in.

[Easy Ryder]

I was expecting somethinglike that meltdown in the third period to happen.

Why because sh*** happen when you let down your guard and don't play your

best players against the right players.

LIt is not because you win one game with some players, line that you have to go back with

them against another team.

It was not the time to play Dandenault, even if he scored, i do not care.

Smolinski should have centered the Kovalev line.

Chipchra centered the fourth and Murray taken place of Dandenouille.

Huet needed a night off, anyway the Laffs have his number, he does not lull some great games against

them.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I really think people are overreacting a bit. One PP goal and we win that game.

Two goal leads are notoriously risky. The Habs had plenty of chances to add to that lead and tried to do so, but it wasn't going in. Toskala played well.

I'm also amused by the claim that we need to bring someone in to 'protect'...Komisarek from Sundin??? The fact is, Komisarek needs to drop the gloves from time to time. McCabe challenged him and he wasn't having it. Something's amiss with Komi these days - not sure what it is, but he needs to take another step if he wants to get true respect as a fearsome NHL defenceman. That step includes rearranging someone's face.

Bottom line, though, is that I'm just tired of all the intensely negative blaming. We lost in OT. It could easily have gone the other way. We had them hemmed in for long stretches. They did the same to us, but not on the same scale as often happened against them last season. The team D struggled at times against a hard and determined forecheck, but still looked better, on the whole, than it did for most of last season. Huet made a dumb mistake but also played well, by and large. Yes, Carbo needs to make adjustments, especially vis-a-vis Grabs (he needs to go, but won't for another few games IMHO) and Pleks (he needs to be given the chance to really fly out there with top linemates). It's Game Two and we're 3 for 4 points. Obsess over the negative all you want, but I still think this team looks better than last year's, even in defeat.

[Dirty Harry]

The leafs always win with garbage over the habs. THose 2nd and 3rd ones were gifts, their fans better be in church this morning.

[habs rule]

after taking the night to sleep on it. I think this game should be seen in this perspective, Toskala was very hot, as good as I have seen him play. Huet was ok but stupid plays do happen if breezy's give a ways had caused goals we would all be calling for his head he got lucky and huet was unlucky. We came within 2 inches (the crossbar) of winning. It happens. I am very pleased to see that Kovi is interested in playing hockey again, that could be the difference in where this team finishes this year. The better he plays the better we will be. cube dandy are on the bubble I think Carbo wants to see if they have it in the regular season. I think if dandy keeps up this level of play he may stay with the team. I think cube is busy playing himself off this team and will be gone soon. Gorges or O'byrne will replace him. I think huet will be traded and the era of Price/Halak will begin. Showcasing Huet now is a good idea but we need to see Price under pressure before we make the switch, we also need a dance partner to make a trade. We have lots of goalies we need offence. We have too many defencemen we need offence. I think that cube dandy and huet and possibly ryder (ufa end of season) may all be gone by xmas or sooner. I see very good things for this team in it's future and 1 tough loss on the road with refs being paid by TO ( ok thats a joke ) is no reason to fire Carbo send the whole team to Hamilton and bring up the Dogs. In fact firing Carbo would be the stupidest thing we could do but Hey Bob ain't no dummy so he stays and builds and learns. And we will win a cup within 2 years.

[MMPL]

Gainey needs to wake up.

We need toughness, only about 255 of our team is willing to fight.

Prime examples of cowardness:

1) #56 for Toronto just bulldogged Higgs to the ice for no reason after the whistle, and everyone on the habs just watched it then went to the bench!This is just terrible to watch, our guy sneed to stick up for each other! That really Pissed me off.

2) Markov. He was punched out by the biggest pussy coward in the league, Suckdin. Nobody was willing to even go after Sundin, Koivu tried tomaybe push him, bu tc'mon drop the gloves and send a god-damn message!!!!!!!

3)Komy. He went to check suckdin, and suckdin high sticked him (cheapshot), with Komy lying down and bleeding, all the habs just watched and let Sundin go and laugh on the bench. :puke:

This team worries me, if we make it to the playoffs, we won't be no Ducks (led league in fights), instead we will be scared of the ducks, or any other team.

[OneSharpMarble]

We lost but it wasn't so bad, we dominated this game but had some brain farts. Toskala stood on his head and the leafs needed a big powerplay in OT to win it so it doesn't bode well for them. When this team meshes well and we get rid of the dead weight we will be well out of their league. This always seems to be the way these games go, if we show up and try we dominate easily.

Say we make a few small moves like replacing Dandy and Boullion with Gorges and O'Byrne. Maybe packaging Ryder and Halak for a strong 1st line winger and we are gonna be doing damn good.

[xXx..CK..xXx]

I agree with the fact that a lot of you guys are overracting, although that doesn't mean I'm happy with the outcome either. Understandably, there's a lot of negative comments here simply because we lost to the leafs.

As for Grabovski, I am praying he proves you guys wrong and plays well at least once we've played our first home game and Carbonneau is the one in charge of match ups. He's definitely been relatively invisible so far, but he can definitely be one of the better players on the team in any given game (and he was last season). When he utilizes his speed, he can really be effective. Keep in mind it's not that easy to adjust one's style, especially when playing with a player like Kovalev. I'm still optimistic about that line and so far have seen better things than I expected (from the team).

[Dalhabs]

We start the game on the road for 3 games and after two games we already have 1 ppg. If we can get 1 ppg all roadgames this year Im going to be REALLY happy. Any points in the final roadgame now is bonuses.

[BTH]

We start the game on the road for 3 games and after two games we already have 1 ppg. If we can get 1 ppg all roadgames this year Im going to be REALLY happy. Any points in the final roadgame now is bonuses.

That's aiming a bit low, for me. .500 on the road should be a minimum for us - it's dangerous to stay that close. But it's only been two games so they have no real baring on what our final road record will be, I just think your standards are low.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Brisebois had a giveaway but also on several occasions did excellent pokes (even one behind his back ) and was intercepting pucks in passing lanes all night. He had his gaffes but his upside was fine by me.

[MAK]

Brisebois had a giveaway but also on several occasions did excellent pokes (even one behind his back ) and was intercepting pucks in passing lanes all night. He had his gaffes but his upside was fine by me.

gotta give to the guy his due: he's an excellent passer. he also seems to connect with kovalev. some of their plays almost ended up in goals.

[Habsfan24]

I've been quite impressed with Brisebois so far, however I still think he has been playing too much. If he played a few less mins in less important situations he could be more valuable.

Having said that for a guy that had bad injury problems and only played 1 preseason game I have been happy with his play so far.

[ShortHanded]

I'd have to agree with the assessment on Brisebois. As for Bouillon, can he either sit or be used A LOT less? What I'd like next game:

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Streit

Gorges Brisebois

Not sure if I've got ppl on their right sides, but I'd rather Bouillon sat, Breezer played on the third pairing (even though he plays well with Hamr, I think he would benefit from less minutes in fewer "key" situations, and Hamr needs to be used to his full capacity) and Streit plays more minutes with Hamr, plus let's give Gorges a chance, please.

[Habsfan24]

I'd have to agree with the assessment on Brisebois. As for Bouillon, can he either sit or be used A LOT less? What I'd like next game:

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Streit

Gorges Brisebois

Not sure if I've got ppl on their right sides, but I'd rather Bouillon sat, Breezer played on the third pairing (even though he plays well with Hamr, I think he would benefit from less minutes in fewer "key" situations, and Hamr needs to be used to his full capacity) and Streit plays more minutes with Hamr, plus let's give Gorges a chance, please.

totally agree.

I would also like to see O'Bryne get a chance soon, but thats a completly different story.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I've been quite impressed with Brisebois so far, however I still think he has been playing too much. If he played a few less mins in less important situations he could be more valuable.

Having said that for a guy that had bad injury problems and only played 1 preseason game I have been happy with his play so far.

Hear hear! Nice to see the tone starting to shift from embittered blaming and negativity to more balanced assessment.

[lazy26]

I'd have to agree with the assessment on Brisebois. As for Bouillon, can he either sit or be used A LOT less? What I'd like next game:

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Streit

Gorges Brisebois

Not sure if I've got ppl on their right sides, but I'd rather Bouillon sat, Breezer played on the third pairing (even though he plays well with Hamr, I think he would benefit from less minutes in fewer "key" situations, and Hamr needs to be used to his full capacity) and Streit plays more minutes with Hamr, plus let's give Gorges a chance, please.

I like the idea of giving Streit more time, but I think Gorges (as much as I like his potential) playing with Breezer would be a disaster.

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Gorges/O'Byrne

Streit Brisebois

Bouillon

I think that'd give us 3 effective pairings. Obviously, put Streit with Hamrik on the PK, and go with our usual PP units.

Still, I think the Cube will get (another) chance to prove himself, and the lines will remain intact for Wednesday... at least in the D department.

[shortcat1]

This is probably old news but the three stars are:

Première étoile Nikolai Antropov

Deuxième étoile Nikolai Antropov

Troisième étoile Nikolai Antropov

according to Canadiens.com

[Dalhabs]

That's aiming a bit low, for me. .500 on the road should be a minimum for us - it's dangerous to stay that close. But it's only been two games so they have no real baring on what our final road record will be, I just think your standards are low.

If we get 40-ish points on the road this season and 50-60 on home ice I will be happy. I dont expect us to be a top5 in the east this season. I hope we make the playoffs and after that anything can happen (especially with a goalie like price on the team).

[ShortHanded]

I like the idea of giving Streit more time, but I think Gorges (as much as I like his potential) playing with Breezer would be a disaster.

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Gorges/O'Byrne

Streit Brisebois

Bouillon

I think that'd give us 3 effective pairings. Obviously, put Streit with Hamrik on the PK, and go with our usual PP units.

Still, I think the Cube will get (another) chance to prove himself, and the lines will remain intact for Wednesday... at least in the D department.

just curious why that is?

[lazy26]

Gorges is young, and from what I've heard from the the SJ boards, a little prone to mental breakdowns in the defensive end. Now, we haven't seen that too much in MTL, I just feel that the combo of Breezer's breakdowns and Gorges breakdowns may lead to goals against, and wreck a young player's confidence. I could be wrong, but I'd rather Gorges play with someone reliable so he can develop better.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Gorges is young, and from what I've heard from the the SJ boards, a little prone to mental breakdowns in the defensive end. Now, we haven't seen that too much in MTL, I just feel that the combo of Breezer's breakdowns and Gorges breakdowns may lead to goals against, and wreck a young player's confidence. I could be wrong, but I'd rather Gorges play with someone reliable so he can develop better.

Yes. Brisebois can help us, but only if teamed with a solid D-man and given a controlled number of minutes. He and Hamrlik has looked pretty good for the most part; what I'd do is give Gorges some of Breezer's minutes, still paired with Hamrlik.

[ShortHanded]

Gorges is young, and from what I've heard from the the SJ boards, a little prone to mental breakdowns in the defensive end. Now, we haven't seen that too much in MTL, I just feel that the combo of Breezer's breakdowns and Gorges breakdowns may lead to goals against, and wreck a young player's confidence. I could be wrong, but I'd rather Gorges play with someone reliable so he can develop better.

I see. I wouldn't mind your suggested combos with a couple of tweaks:

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Gorges

Streit Brisebois

Bouillon

but the problem there is that Gorges probably shouldn't be playing top 4 minutes and Streit should. Not sure. I'd give Streit the top 4 spot, play Gorges with Breezer and try it out for a few games...

[BTH]

I'd have to agree with the assessment on Brisebois. As for Bouillon, can he either sit or be used A LOT less? What I'd like next game:

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Streit

Gorges Brisebois

Not sure if I've got ppl on their right sides, but I'd rather Bouillon sat, Breezer played on the third pairing (even though he plays well with Hamr, I think he would benefit from less minutes in fewer "key" situations, and Hamr needs to be used to his full capacity) and Streit plays more minutes with Hamr, plus let's give Gorges a chance, please.

Yeah. Bouillon and Streit were getting dominated down low by the bigger forwards. I think Brisebois and Gorges are both a tad better at handling big guys, while Streit gets to play with Hamrlik; possibly our best player at using his body in the defensive zone. The Cucumber's lines work just as well but I'm getting worried about Streit, he isn't so good against the big guys - though he definitely balances out our D pairings by adding some offensive skill to the bottom pairing. I think Streit-Brisebois are a very creative offensive pairing but would keep us boxed in on D. Imagine if they had a shift with Grabovski's line!