GAME THREAD: Habs vs. Leafs | April 5th

[JoeLassister]

The atmosphere was SIIIICK !!!! My voice is gone until next game when i'll be there to scream again !!!!

[haber]

YES thats awsome...

Ya know... if I were play in that game, i would have stopped right in front of the leafs bench and start practicing my golf swing

[InsaneHABSfan]

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the Habs are playing supremely well, looking every inch an elite contender (2 GAA in the last three games, from the league's best offensive team, are you kidding me???); and obviously we've kicked Boston around all season. On the other hand, the karma for a Habs-Boston series does feel slightly wrong to me.

The Prunes will have *absolutely* no pressure and no expectations at all. None, zip, nada. That always makes teams dangerous. Remember the Habs' most recent playoff series, upsets all? Those upsets were partly fueled by a we've-got-nothing-to-lose-so-let's-give-em-hell attitude, the energy and attitude of the total underdog. The shoe could be on the other foot this time. And there's a further chance that the Habs - being young, and with visions of a season's worth of abject domination of their opponent - will sleepwalk into the series, thinking it'll be a gimme, which could spell trouble.

Don't get me wrong. Smart money has the Habs to win handily. But in a way I can see where Cherry's coming from on this. What he forgets is that Montreal is simply 10X the team Boston is, from the goalie on out.

Still, Ottawa might, in fact, have been a preferable opponent...somebody who, were we to beat them, would really put the wind in our sails; and yet who looks eminently beatable. If we manhandle the Bruins the way we've done all season, then we will not have been adequately tested for the next round. If we drop a couple of games to them, then we'll enter into very dangerous waters where the Bruins will begin to smell upset and become truly dangerous. The best scenario is for us to pound the shit out of them in the first two games, establishing our supremacy; then have the Bruins play us good and tough for the next two or three. A hard-fought 5-game series win might at least put some fear of God into us, steeling us for the next round, without truly jeapordizing this magical year.

Just a cautionary note...I've remember enough good seasons sullied by dodgy playoffs, from back in the '80s-90s, to see some dangers here. I look forward to being proven wrong for even thinking this way

[JLP]

The first round may be the Habs' biggest test

[Neech]

Awesome game. And I must say, Macaskill, your game threads are the best. Not a knock on the others' threads, however.

How many 'jeux parfaites' did our first line set up tonight? Plex could have gotten number 30, and Alex and Andrei could have had 2 or 3 points each. Ah well, it didn't matter. Price was excellent when called upon. And McCabe once again shows his complete and utter classlessness.

On to the Bruins. I'm of the same mind as Chicoutimi Cucumber about that (you should copy paste that post into the other thread, CC, it's a good contribution); of course I'm confident, but Boston is a tough team and won't be a pushover. It's up to Carbo and the vets to get us in playoff mode. Lucky we have Carey in our goal as well! Can't wait till Thursday. :hlogo:

[brobin]

Great night all around. Watch the Belleville bulls win (another assist for Subban), the habs win, and the Caps win.

I had a pretty good view of Subban. I was beside the bench and couldn't see the play sometimes.. I was staring at this back..lol .. .he was about 12 inches away. His skating is just incredible.

I watched the Habs game on the PVR after. Stewart had a pretty good game. Shame he didn't pot one. I thought it was great to see him get PP time at the end. He got a nice fight in anyway with that dirty scumbag McCabe.

Time to rest up for the Playoff run... let's down the Bruins fast so I can taunt my buddy.

[Doktor Kosmos]

Carey Price, how can you not be impressed with this kid? He looks so calm out there. Great game. Gregory Stewart played his first NHL game and looked like he enjoyed it, he had a couple of really good scoring chances. And in the last minute of the game he had a fight with that c*nt-face bryan mccabe. Looked like mccabe was going to his bench for a change and Stewart gave him a little push, game was over 3-1 in favor of the Habs at the time, the leafs' season is over, and mccabe takes a double-handed slash on Stewart, then starts trying to spear Stewart in the groin. Stewart drops the gloves and stands up to mccabe. ALso über-c*nt darcy tucker fought Josh Gorges. WTF is up with that? What a ######ing pussy. I'm glad the leafs are gone.

Alexei Kovalev played a great game, offensively and defensively. Created chances for himself and his teammates. I haven't seen him this good in years. He finished the year with 35 goals and 84 points. Christopher Higgins had two goals for Montreal and he hit the post twice to deny him the hattrick.

The defense did a good job even though Mike Komisarek is still out with an injury. Also it didn't look like the Canadiens missed Saku Koivu that much either, they played well on the offense. THey only scored on e on the powerplay but they move the puck around very well and you could tell why their powerplay is the best in the league.

And the Bell Centre crowd was great too. A great way to finish the regular season. Regardless of whether the Pens win tonight or not, the Habs can be very proud of their season.

[TheAussiePosse]

Carey Price, how can you not be impressed with this kid? He looks so calm out there. Great game. Gregory Stewart played his first NHL game and looked like he enjoyed it, he had a couple of really good scoring chances. And in the last minute of the game he had a fight with that ######-face bryan mccabe. Looked like mccabe was going to his bench for a change and Stewart gave him a little push, game was over 3-1 in favor of the Habs at the time, the leafs' season is over, and mccabe takes a double-handed slash on Stewart, then starts trying to spear Stewart in the groin. Stewart drops the gloves and stands up to mccabe. ALso über-###### darcy tucker fought Josh Gorges. WTF is up with that? What a ######ing pussy. I'm glad the leafs are gone.

Agreed.

But I feel we left him out to dry a few times, and better players would have capitalised on the opportunities we gave to Blake or Tlusty or Ponikarovsky. We're just lucky they're all muppets.

We need to keep blocking shots and standing up to players when they cross the blueline, and not give them as much space as we did last night.

And we also need to stop coughing the puck up at their blueline, there were too many odd-man rushes, and we would get burned against any other team but the talentless, classless Leafs

[Prime Minister Koivu]

McCabe is an absolute ass for his nonsense on Stuart. What a frickin looser

[Wamsley01]

McCabe is an absolute ass for his nonsense on Stuart. What a frickin looser

Would you expect anything less from him?

As for the Bruins, if we are going to fear an opponent that we have won 11 straight against I don't know what type of matchup that we can confidently say we will win. They have won 11 straight because of superior goaltending, discipline and speed.

The Bruins D cannot handle the Habs speed. It was one of the big reasons for the upset in 2004, as was a huge advantage in goal

with Theo over Raycroft. Once again the Habs start Price against Tim Thomas/Alex Auld/Manny Fernandez. The Bruins are slow

and lack discipline. Perfect matchup for the Canadiens.

Can anything happen in the playoffs? Of course it can. But as much as the Bruins have nothing to lose, maybe their Cup is the playoffs

and just making them. They sure lacked an edge last night against Buffalo.

The Habs have shown great resiliency and the ability to bounce back time and time again this year. I will not doubt them anymore.

If they lose, so be it. But if I have to look for things like they are due, or they have nothing to lose to be worried, then the Habs have

inflicted some severe emotional trauma on me the last 10 years.

They are the better team. They should win.

[CBHabs_fan]

Would you expect anything less from him?

As for the Bruins, if we are going to fear an opponent that we have won 11 straight against I don't know what type of matchup that we can confidently say we will win. They have won 11 straight because of superior goaltending, discipline and speed.

The Bruins D cannot handle the Habs speed. It was one of the big reasons for the upset in 2004, as was a huge advantage in goal

with Theo over Raycroft. Once again the Habs start Price against Tim Thomas/Alex Auld/Manny Fernandez. The Bruins are slow

and lack discipline. Perfect matchup for the Canadiens.

Can anything happen in the playoffs? Of course it can. But as much as the Bruins have nothing to lose, maybe their Cup is the playoffs

and just making them. They sure lacked an edge last night against Buffalo.

The Habs have shown great resiliency and the ability to bounce back time and time again this year. I will not doubt them anymore.

If they lose, so be it. But if I have to look for things like they are due, or they have nothing to lose to be worried, then the Habs have

inflicted some severe emotional trauma on me the last 10 years.They are the better team. They should win.

It is not so much this, but the fact that any 7th or 8th seed goes in with no pressure against any 1 or 2 seed. There are plenty of first round upsets, and they can happen to anyone. So the boys will have to be ready, and I'm sure they will.

I am definitely not afraid of them, and obviously agree we are a better team and should win. I am also aware that anything can happen.

Cant wait for Thursday!

[Habsfan]

Good morning Boys. Just got home, and I thoroughly enjoyed the game last night. The beer was flowing and there was a party atmosphere in the Bell Centre. The Fans were crazy and so was I. I find myself without any voice this morning(i screamed too much last night).

Towards the halfway mark of the game, everyone in my sections started to encourage Gorges. WE wanted him to score his first goal of the year! Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be, but it was a good game nonetheless!!!

At the end of the game, the players skated to the middle of the ice and raised their sticks to salute the Fans (à la N.Y. Rangers). WE appreciated the gesture and it was a classy move by the players!

In the end, i had a fvc.king great time last night, and I hope our boys can go VERY far in the playoffs this season!

[alexstream]

Am I wrong or did we see

Higgins Smokes S. Kost line for a good part of the game?

if that's so, that's awesome, Smokes has still some offense left in him, more than he has defense actually... I think it could make up for a good offensive line in the playoffs...

what were the lines? I was working and couldn't focus on the game.

[simonus]

Am I wrong or did we see

Higgins Smokes S. Kost line for a good part of the game?

if that's so, that's awesome, Smokes has still some offense left in him, more than he has defense actually... I think it could make up for a good offensive line in the playoffs...

what were the lines? I was working and couldn't focus on the game.

per http://www.cs.unb.ca/~mwf/habs/icetime82.html

6 Kostitsyn 14 Plekanec 27 Kovalev

84 Latendresse 21 Higgins 74 Kostitsyn

22 Begin 20 Smolinski 6 Kostopoulos

70 Stewart 40 Lapierre 25 Dandenault

[Mont Royale]

Good morning Boys. Just got home, and I thoroughly enjoyed the game last night. The beer was flowing and there was a party atmosphere in the Bell Centre. The Fans were crazy and so was I. I find myself without any voice this morning(i screamed too much last night).

Towards the halfway mark of the game, everyone in my sections started to encourage Gorges. WE wanted him to score his first goal of the year! Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be, but it was a good game nonetheless!!!

At the end of the game, the players skated to the middle of the ice and raised their sticks to salute the Fans (à la N.Y. Rangers). WE appreciated the gesture and it was a classy move by the players!

In the end, i had a fvc.king great time last night, and I hope our boys can go VERY far in the playoffs this season!

You nailed it - it was awesome. That was the first game I've attended at the Bell Centre in 5+ years, and it was absolutely incredible. The Bell Centre didn't rock like that back then (obviously the team wasn't as praise-worthy).

I especially appreciated the thought given to acknowledge our opponents for the evening: the chants of 'Leafs Suck', 'Raycroft' and 'sixty-seven', the t-shirts for sale outside the Bell Centre (on the back: 'Losers since 67')... you know, the little things. There was a lot of miserable looking Leaf fans walking around that night.

[Habsfan]

I especially appreciated the thought given to acknowledge our opponents for the evening: the chants of 'Leafs Suck', 'Raycroft' and 'sixty-seven', the t-shirts for sale outside the Bell Centre (on the back: 'Losers since 67')... you know, the little things. There was a lot of miserable looking Leaf fans walking around that night

Agreed. I bought one of those t-shirts.. 5$ and worth every penny!

You thought there were alot of Leaves fans?! I was just about to say that compared to other games played against the Leaves, there weren't many of them Saturday night. Saturday night, they numbered in the Hundreds. Usually on a saturday night game, they number in the thousands.

In any case, it was a great evening!