Game Thread | Habs vs. Blue Jackets | 23/02/08

[brboo]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Call up Halak

Screw calling up halak, trade for one of hossa, tanguay, richards, or even sundin. We need more scoring. Although even if there are no trades, i'm sure we will beat the thrashers on tuesday, and then beat the sabres, before a tough game on saturday against the devils.

[MFT77]

Ugly. 3-0 loss to the lowly Jackets. Just a plain boring game to watch.

Coulda used these two points. Looks like Huet should get another chance on Tuesday.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

I'd like to point out that if the Habs don't score, it's kinda hard to blame the goalie.

On most days I would agree with you, but all three goals were so bad it's hard to keep playing. After the second goal everyone was probably ready to go home. I didn't feel like cheering or watching. Price is lucky it was Columbus. Any other team and it would have been 10-0.

Price stank it up.....he needs to get it together.

What's going on in the detroit game and Aron Downey. See the pre-game scrum?

[brobin]

Yeah, but Columbus given an early lead sets into their gameplan.

You cannot win at this time of year with teams battling for their lives and players battling for jobs

by allowing weak goals.

I am sorry, but I am not going to blame an offense that saved their bacon on Tuesday and almost

saved their bacon on Thursday. At what point are they responsible?

We are so easy to lay praise at the feet of Roy for 93 and 86, but where is the praise for Claude

Lemieux, Brian Skrudland, Stephane Richer in 86, where is the praise for the 10 OT goal scorers in 93?

Why is Roy given the bulk of the credit? Why was Price hailed as the hero last Saturday?

You can't have it both ways. If they are praised for victories, then ###### them they are getting blamed for

poor performances as well.

No one is saying Price played great, but it seems if a goal goes in you think is weak you dismiss everything else. How the goalie responds. How the team is playing.

Its a team game, not a goalie is perfect or nothing game.

In my view, Price was not great, the team was not great. That is a loss. If Price was awesome and let in one goal, we might still have lost.

I do agree that a weak goal can kill a team, but they had all game long to get it back. 5-3 PP, etc. I would give the entire team about a 6 out of 10 tonight, and that is not going to cut it at this time of year.

[Wamsley01]

Screw calling up halak, trade for one of hossa, tanguay, richards, or even sundin. We need more scoring. Although even if there are no trades, i'm sure we will beat the thrashers on tuesday, and then beat the sabres, before a tough game on saturday against the devils.

That is how you make terrible deals. You make those deals if they are there. If they aren't you

sit tight and see what happens. If they choke down the stretch again you clear out the leadership.

Simple as that.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

The kid's a rookie. Expecting him to play a hermetic game like Marty Brodeur is a bit rich. Frankly, responsibility for leading us to the playoffs - or for stumbling as of late - has to fall on Huet. He is the number one guy, he's making the big buck, and he's the dude who will get a big fat UFA contract at year's end (and the sad fact is that even if he sucks ass from here to season's end, some idiot GM will still give him a bloated contract). Any help Price offers has to be viewed as a bonus, much like Halak's play last season or Huet's the year before.

Come back with Huet. If he fails again, then you think very seriously about Halak.

Edited February 24, 2008 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[l<OV4L3V]

Can we please stop goaltender juggling and claim Huet as our #1...enoughs enough F Price.....Sorry he's 20 and he is in his first season...its Sh*t like this that makes goalies want to leave MTL...so Shut up the the price hype and let huet do his job!

[Wamsley01]

No one is saying Price played great, but it seems if a goal goes in you think is weak you dismiss everything else. How the goalie responds. How the team is playing.

Its a team game, not a goalie is perfect or nothing game.

In my view, Price was not great, the team was not great. That is a loss. If Price was awesome and let in one goal, we might still have lost.

I do agree that a weak goal can kill a team, but they had all game long to get it back. 5-3 PP, etc. I would give the entire team about a 6 out of 10 tonight, and that is not going to cut it at this time of year.

I don't dismiss everything else. They just came back from 2 games where their goalies buried them.

They won one, they lost one.

When the ###### does one of the highest scoring offenses get a free pass?

Where is their, well they had a lot of chances and the goalie let them down passes?

I am a Price fan, but I don't let brutal performances change my view. I don't create excuses for him.

I watched Theo take an absolute shit team and take it 2 rounds. And now I am looking at a way better team getting let

down by their goalies. If you don't like it, oh well. But this goaltending would get them wiped out in the first round.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

No one is saying Price played great, but it seems if a goal goes in you think is weak you dismiss everything else. How the goalie responds. How the team is playing.

Its a team game, not a goalie is perfect or nothing game.

In my view, Price was not great, the team was not great. That is a loss. If Price was awesome and let in one goal, we might still have lost.

I do agree that a weak goal can kill a team, but they had all game long to get it back. 5-3 PP, etc. I would give the entire team about a 6 out of 10 tonight, and that is not going to cut it at this time of year.

Ya .......and a great goalie keeps you in it. Leclaire was great. Price not so great.....

[Wamsley01]

The kid's a rookie. Expecting him to play a hermetic game like Marty Brodeur is a bit rich. Frankly, responsibility for leading us to the playoffs - or for stumbling as of late - has to fall on Huet. He is the number one guy, he's making the big buck, and he's the dude who will get a big fat UFA contract at year's end (and the sad fact is that even if he sucks ass from here to season's end, some idiot GM will still give him a bloated contract). Any help Price offers has to be viewed as a bonus, much like Halak's play last season or Huet's the year before.

Come back with Huet. If he fails again, then you think very seriously about Halak.

Agreed

[brobin]

I don't dismiss everything else. They just came back from 2 games where their goalies buried them.

They won one, they lost one.

When the ###### does one of the highest scoring offenses get a free pass?

Where is their, well they had a lot of chances and the goalie let them down passes?

I am a Price fan, but I don't let brutal performances change my view. I don't create excuses for him.

I watched Theo take an absolute shit team and take it 2 rounds. And now I am looking at a way better team getting let

down by their goalies. If you don't like it, oh well. But this goaltending would get them wiped out in the first round.

I agree we need better goaltending... my point is that the team's play would also get them wiped out in the first round.

These guys score up a storm on the PP and against wide open teams. They struggle against the trap. They are always looking to pass and can't seem to figure out that sometimes you have to just keep crashing the net.

We need a big forward who can actually park himself in front of the net and stay there. We have lats but he takes too long to get there.

Edited February 24, 2008 by brobin

[Wamsley01]

I agree we need better goaltending... my point is that the team's play would also get them wiped out in the first round.

These guys score up a storm on the PP and against wide open teams. They struggle against the trap. They are always looking to pass and can't seem to figure out that sometimes you have to just keep crashing the net.

We need a big forward who can actually park himself in front of the net and stay there. We have lats but he takes too long to get there.

Maybe, but this team is playing better than it's goaltending lately.

[l<OV4L3V]

I agree we need better goaltending... my point is that the team's play would also get them wiped out in the first round.

These guys score up a storm on the PP and against wide open teams. They struggle against the trap. They are always looking to pass and can't seem to figure out that sometimes you have to just keep crashing the net.

We need a big forward who can actually park himself in front of the net and stay there. We have lats but he takes too long to get there.

Why not try Komi in there?

[brboo]

That is how you make terrible deals. You make those deals if they are there. If they aren't you

sit tight and see what happens. If they choke down the stretch again you clear out the leadership.

Simple as that.

LOL, Obviously that is why I'm not the gm. I know Bob will not overpay. But we have a lot of depth that in a few years it's gonna be tough to find roster spots for anyway. Unless you plan on icing a team filled with rookies every year. (we've been rebuilding for a decade now it shouldn't take that long) Gainey has us headed in the right direction, however if we don't make some noise this year it's gonna be tougher to attract free agents than it would be if we had a deep run in the post season.

[Wamsley01]

LOL, Obviously that is why I'm not the gm. I know Bob will not overpay. But we have a lot of depth that in a few years it's gonna be tough to find roster spots for anyway. Unless you plan on icing a team filled with rookies every year. (we've been rebuilding for a decade now it shouldn't take that long) Gainey has us headed in the right direction, however if we don't make some noise this year it's gonna be tougher to attract free agents than it would be if we had a deep run in the post season.

Gainey will not trade his blue chippers. But I don't think he will hesitiate to deal Grabs, Valentenko etc.

But will other GMs bite, or are they staring him down right now hoping he panics and blinks by Tuesday.

I doubt he blinks, especially for a rental.

[kenadian]

It would also be nice if the 5 guys in front of whoever's in net could generate some quality scoring chances (not the 1 shot from a bad angle or on the side boards) and keep some pressure up in their end for more that 10-15 sec..............and that 1 bad shot.

Where was Koviu tonight? Where was Higgins? And Kovalev? Plekanec missed a WIDE open net guess we should trade him too.

Maybe some of you should look at the TEAM stats,

PK (23rd)

Shots against per game (26th)

etc...before you start pissing on the goalies.

Yah, they've BOTH let in some softies over the course of the year BUT some guys have been in EXTENDED SLUMPS a few times this year...........

Maybe BOB should go after Luongo, Brodeur and/or Kiprusoff at the deadline..........

Edited February 24, 2008 by kenadian

[BTH]

Pssh fine, everyone ignore my ingenius post (which can be found on Page 7 *ahem*) and go on with the Price debate. I will stand by and watch from the outside looking in, without feeling the slightest bit excluded. This will surely do nothing to affect my shakey self-esteem and will undoubtedly have no influence whatsoever on my suicide tomorrow morning.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Gainey will not trade his blue chippers. But I don't think he will hesitiate to deal Grabs, Valentenko etc.

But will other GMs bite, or are they staring him down right now hoping he panics and blinks by Tuesday.

I doubt he blinks, especially for a rental.

Has Bob ever blinked?

The thought of Gainey in a panic is roughly equivalent to that of George W. Bush in a Ph.D seminar: inconceivable.

[brboo]

Pssh fine, everyone ignore my ingenius post (which can be found on Page 7 *ahem*) and go on with the Price debate. I will stand by and watch from the outside looking in, without feeling the slightest bit excluded. This will surely do nothing to affect my shakey self-esteem and will undoubtedly have no influence whatsoever on my suicide tomorrow morning.

Hmm, I only see 6 pages :shrug:

[Wamsley01]

It would also be nice if the 5 guys in front of whoever's in net could generate some quality scoring chances (not the 1 shot from a bad angle or on the side boards) and keep some pressure up in their end for more that 10-15 sec..............and that 1 bad shot.

Where was Koviu tonight? Where was Higgins? And Kovalev? Plekanec missed a WIDE open net guess we should trade him too.

Maybe some of you should look at the TEAM stats,

PK (23rd)

Shots against per game (26th)

etc...before you start pissing on the goalies.

Yah, they've BOTH let in some softies over the course of the year BUT some guys have been in EXTENDED SLUMPS a few times this year...........

Maybe BOB should go after Luongo, Brodeur and/or Kiprusoff at the deadline..........

I don't know if you noticed but Koivu and Higgins have taken their share of heat.

Kovalev and Plekanec get free passes because that line has carried the team.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Kovy played a spirited game. For God's sake, put the blame where it's due.

Is it just me, or did the ice look bad tonight too? A lot of weird bounces and shit.

Edited February 24, 2008 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[brboo]

Kovy played a spirited game. For God's sake, put the blame where it's due.

Is it just me, or did the ice look bad tonight too? A lot of weird bounces and shit.

The only thing i noticed is a lot of shots missing nets, and the jackets beating us to every single loose puck.

[JCPetit]

I don't know if you noticed but Koivu and Higgins have taken their share of heat.

Kovalev and Plekanec get free passes because that line has carried the team.

Another tough game for Price. I wonder if he is ready for the NHL. At least, he got his act together and made a few saves after the two first goals.

IMO he was extremely slow to move on his right side on Nash's goal and was very weak on the second goal. The third and last goal was the result of a good play. It would have been a great save, but it was too late anyway to save the game.

Too bad because it's the second time in as many games when good goaltending would have make a big difference. We could easily have four more points if we had a hot goalie in the net. It was the case and we lost.

I believe that Price will be sent in the AHL if he does not regain his confidence soon. Halak would be called back and, this time, I think that Carbo will give him a real chance to show his stuff.

I also think that Mikhail Grabovsky is not far from Montreal. Either that or he will be part of a big trade next week.

[BTH]

Kovy played a spirited game. For God's sake, put the blame where it's due.

Is it just me, or did the ice look bad tonight too? A lot of weird bounces and shit.

Yeah, Kovalev was awesome tonight. It's not his fault if he people miss the empty nets he sets up.

[Fat Tony]

Ugly. 3-0 loss to the lowly Jackets. Just a plain boring game to watch.

Coulda used these two points. Looks like Huet should get another chance on Tuesday.

Check the replays on the goals.

Goal 1 was a cross ice pass that the D should not have allowed, no goalie is stopping that.

Goal 2 was a stinker...5 hole, no excuse.

Goal 3 was a toss up who was at fault but it was irrelevant.

NEVER in the history of the NHL has a team won a game scoring ZERO goals. Blaming the goalie for this loss is nothing more than grasping at straws!

Halak is not the answer, more grasping at straws. Halak had his chance to shine last year and was average at best posting 10-6 and played a few awful games. Halak is 5-3 since back in the AHL, not spectacular. Price and Huet need to step up for sure, but please don't blame either when their team can't score even one goal!