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2006 or 2008


Wamsley01

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It is interesting the parallels between the 2006 and 2008 playoffs.

Game 1 in 2006 in Carolina the Habs romp 6-1 and start the series off with an easy victory

Game 1 in 2008 in Montreal the Habs romp 4-1 and start the series off with an easy victory

Game 2 in 2006 in Carolina the Habs blow a 3rd period lead but win the game in OT to take a 2-0 series lead

Game 2 in 2008 in Montreal the Habs blow a 3rd period lead but win the game in OT to take a 2-0 series lead

Game 3 in 2006 in Montreal the Habs enter OT tied 1-1 and lose on a PP goal in OT to let the Canes back in the series

Game 3 in 2008 in Boston the Habs enter OT tied 1-1 and lose on a PP goal (delayed penalty) in OT to let the Bruins back in the series.

Some scary parallels considering the end result. But I am just noting them as interesting, this is not posted for somebody to tell

me the difference is Ryder scored not Kovalev or the score in game 2 was 6-5 not 3-2.

I just thought about the 2 last night in frustration because the Habs had a chance to bury the Canes as well and it came back to bite

them in the ass. The big difference this year may be the return of Koivu instead of the exit.

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All year this team has responded well from losses, I am interested to see how they respond to a playoff loss.

Also I am interested to see the line up changes I believe OB will be in the line up and his physical play will help them win.

The top line needs to score, they just have to will the puck into the net.

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All year this team has responded well from losses, I am interested to see how they respond to a playoff loss.

Also I am interested to see the line up changes I believe OB will be in the line up and his physical play will help them win.

The top line needs to score, they just have to will the puck into the net.

I agree. All year the media and the fans have waited for the other shoe to drop and all year they have stepped up and

showed they are mentally tough. I think it is ridiculous to expect the Bruins to be able to dictate the pace of every game

as much as it was ridiculous to expect Montreal to do what they did in Game 1 for every game.

The Habs will bounce back and barring a Carey Price implosion will win the series.

One thing I love about Playoff time is the panic and overconfidence that follows every loss.

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins...l_losing_steam/

LOL check out this overeaction. Montreal losing steam, and the guy calls the Habs the Expos

Edited by Wamsley01
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Interesting parallels indeed. But this team is so completely different from that one I can't get too worked up about it.

My fear all along has been that Boston would do to us what we did to them in the last two series: play over their heads against a superior team and win. That's the parallel that worries me slightly. :wacko: Unfortunately the last two games have done little to assuage those worries, but like yourself, Wamsley, I won't get *really* worried unless the Habs lose the next one.

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Interesting parallels indeed. But this team is so completely different from that one I can't get too worked up about it.

My fear all along has been that Boston would do to us what we did to them in the last two series: play over their heads against a superior team and win. That's the parallel that worries me slightly. :wacko: Unfortunately the last two games have done little to assuage those worries, but like yourself, Wamsley, I won't get *really* worried unless the Habs lose the next one.

I agree, this team is much better. I just don't like the parallels of (insert cliches here) opening the door a crack and letting them up off the canvas.

For this series I refused to worry about the Bruins until they proved they could win a game. I picked Habs in 6 because I did not expect the Bruins to

roll over.

Conventional wisdom would imply that Thomas cannot replicate what Theo did in either year, but the gap between the 2002 teams was

HUUGE. Theo was out of his mind. The gap had closed by 2004 but Theo outplayed Raycroft and was a major difference again.

I just can't see Tim Thomas outplaying Carey Price in 3 of the next 5 games. If that doesn't happen, the Bruins cannot win.

Edited by Wamsley01
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I agree, this team is much better. I just don't like the parallels of (insert cliches here) opening the door a crack and letting them up off the canvas.

For this series I refused to worry about the Bruins until they proved they could win a game. I picked Habs in 6 because I did not expect the Bruins to

roll over.

Conventional wisdom would imply that Thomas cannot replicate what Theo did in either year, but the gap between the 2002 teams was

HUUGE. Theo was out of his mind. The gap had closed by 2004 but Theo outplayed Raycroft and was a major difference again.

I just can't see Tim Thomas outplaying Carey Price in 3 of the next 5 games. If that doesn't happen, the Bruins cannot win.

big difference: Sak is coming back to, not leaving, the series.

can we also collectively agree to drop the "habs nation" thing? we don't need to steal anything from the buds.

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big difference: Sak is coming back to, not leaving, the series.

can we also collectively agree to drop the "habs nation" thing? we don't need to steal anything from the buds.

which the Leafs stole from the Red Sox which the Red Sox stole from the Raiders

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I just thought about the 2 last night in frustration because the Habs had a chance to bury the Canes as well and it came back to bite

I thikn Thomas saved the day for the Bruins last night. Especially on Kostopoulos in Overtime. The Habs dominated overtime, but the Bruins got lucky!

AS far as your "similarities"...I must admit it is scary. But I have more confidence in this team than I did back in 2006!

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I'm panicking. Absolutely terrified....

No, actually, I'm not, but I am actually a bit concerned about the way we've played the last two games. Let's hope they're able to adjust before tomorrow night and pick up the pace a bit.

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Since no one's picking up on this point, I thought I'd reiterate it... :lol:

One of the interesting things about this series is Julien's coaching. Now I have no idea what goes on behind the benches, but it seems clear to me that Julien and his staff have developed an excellent strategy to counter some of our strengths. The weak PP doesn't just happen - it's a product of PK tactics such as huge pressure on Markov and probably a lot of other less obvious strategies. I get the sense that Julien has accurately identified keys to this team and it's working, in part.

The angle we haven't yet heard is how, or whether, Carbo can respond. Based on the fact that the Bruins have partially neutralized many of our key players and team assets, we have to conclude that Julien is outcoaching him at this stage. (That's not to blame Guy - just to make an observation pertinent to the series so far).

How all this relates to 2006, beats the hell outta me :wacko:

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It's not a new strategy, this is how Boston plays every game. Throw the habs games out of the scenario and B's had a better record. This is what they have done all year. The Habs for the last 2 games simply didn't skate, stopped moving on The PP and haven't done anything to create there own turnovers to have a transition game. Everyone seems to be waiting for someone else to step up instead of taking charge.

Playoff games (it will sound dumb) are won by who wants it more. Blocking shots, playing physical, etc. The habs haven't done anything much the last 2 games.

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Since no one's picking up on this point, I thought I'd reiterate it... :lol:

One of the interesting things about this series is Julien's coaching. Now I have no idea what goes on behind the benches, but it seems clear to me that Julien and his staff have developed an excellent strategy to counter some of our strengths. The weak PP doesn't just happen - it's a product of PK tactics such as huge pressure on Markov and probably a lot of other less obvious strategies. I get the sense that Julien has accurately identified keys to this team and it's working, in part.

The angle we haven't yet heard is how, or whether, Carbo can respond. Based on the fact that the Bruins have partially neutralized many of our key players and team assets, we have to conclude that Julien is outcoaching him at this stage. (That's not to blame Guy - just to make an observation pertinent to the series so far).

How all this relates to 2006, beats the hell outta me :wacko:

I made reference to Julien outcoaching the Habs staff in the game thread. I agree 100% with you.

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although it has often not looked great, I still think that much of the PP problem is a product of small sample size. There have been short periods throughout the season where the PP hasn't been great - I think this will change. Even if not just a small sample size issue, Koivu coming back (at some point) cures a lot of ills.

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I think the key learning from this parallel is that no one is done until its over. This goes back to how a crappy habs team came back and won the series from Boston (who was number 1 that year) as well.

The fact is that they played semi crappy in the last two games and split them. Damage is now done and frankly, they are lucky they are not down by 1 instead of up by one. Koivu made the comment that last night looked like a playoff game, versus the first two. I think he is bang on. The Bruins are playing "playoff hockey" now and leaving nothing on the table. The Habs need to stop treating this like an easy series that they will win because they always beat Boston.

To me there is only one coaching change that Carbo has to make, and really, it is not even a coaching change. The team needs to execute on their team speed and passing. If they do, the Bruins will struggle. If they want to play slow and make sloppy passes all night, then Boston will dictate the play. When that happens, it is anyone's game, as we have seen.

We make fun of Thomas a lot but the truth is we never saw him play well once all season. Last night we saw the real guy. He made several huge game saving plays last night. He is more then capable of stealing games. The key is to get the early lead and keep pouring on the pressure. Once you break him, he folds (so it seems). The longer the game goes on with them leading or close, the better he becomes.

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I think the key learning from this parallel is that no one is done until its over. This goes back to how a crappy habs team came back and won the series from Boston (who was number 1 that year) as well.

The fact is that they played semi crappy in the last two games and split them. Damage is now done and frankly, they are lucky they are not down by 1 instead of up by one. Koivu made the comment that last night looked like a playoff game, versus the first two. I think he is bang on. The Bruins are playing "playoff hockey" now and leaving nothing on the table. The Habs need to stop treating this like an easy series that they will win because they always beat Boston.

To me there is only one coaching change that Carbo has to make, and really, it is not even a coaching change. The team needs to execute on their team speed and passing. If they do, the Bruins will struggle. If they want to play slow and make sloppy passes all night, then Boston will dictate the play. When that happens, it is anyone's game, as we have seen.

We make fun of Thomas a lot but the truth is we never saw him play well once all season. Last night we saw the real guy. He made several huge game saving plays last night. He is more then capable of stealing games. The key is to get the early lead and keep pouring on the pressure. Once you break him, he folds (so it seems). The longer the game goes on with them leading or close, the better he becomes.

I have seen plenty of Thomas and you are right, that is the real Tim Thomas. He whiffed on two stoppable long shots that luckily for him

trickled by the post wide. One just missed the post and the other landed on (I believe) Higgins stick and he couldn't tap it home. But that is Tim

Thomas, unorthodox and capable of outstanding saves as well as capable of brutal goals. Very Abby like.

The Kostopolous goal was atrocious goaltending. Terrible positioning, at that angle if he holds his ground in a butterfly the only rebound opportunity is going to be

slapping it back into his pads or chest, instead he lunges and finishes way out of position allowing an easy tap in on the rebound.

If that is his best, the Bruins are in trouble.

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The Kostopolous goal was atrocious goaltending. Terrible positioning, at that angle if he holds his ground in a butterfly the only rebound opportunity is going to be

slapping it back into his pads or chest, instead he lunges and finishes way out of position allowing an easy tap in on the rebound.

Yeah, I laughed at that when I saw the replay. He dove in front of his own player who pushed him further out of position, and ended up face down.

But as for your similarities, I know you don't believe these series to be mirror images of each other. Carolina was one of the top teams in the league, that had had our number all year. Now that's us relative to the B's. We outplayed the Canes in game 3 of the series, but then lost on a terrible goal. This time, we've been outplayed twice but managed to split those games. So last series, we controlled the first three games, but lost one of them. This time, we were outplayed for most of the series, but only lost once. We didn't give our best showing last night only to leave with a loss, which was the case against Carolina. And then there's the mental strength that this team has shown all season, plus Price's own immutability, compared with that past team's mental toughness, and Huet's shakiness.

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I have seen plenty of Thomas and you are right, that is the real Tim Thomas. He whiffed on two stoppable long shots that luckily for him

trickled by the post wide. One just missed the post and the other landed on (I believe) Higgins stick and he couldn't tap it home. But that is Tim

Thomas, unorthodox and capable of outstanding saves as well as capable of brutal goals. Very Abby like.

The Kostopolous goal was atrocious goaltending. Terrible positioning, at that angle if he holds his ground in a butterfly the only rebound opportunity is going to be

slapping it back into his pads or chest, instead he lunges and finishes way out of position allowing an easy tap in on the rebound.

If that is his best, the Bruins are in trouble.

He won.

All goalies are capable of bad goals, but that is why I said we had to pour it on early. You can't score if you don't shoot, and we spend most of the PP not shooting lately.

I do believe we can beat him easily, but if they wait until overtime, he is very capable of stoning us long enough to get the win, as he proved last night.

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He won.

All goalies are capable of bad goals, but that is why I said we had to pour it on early. You can't score if you don't shoot, and we spend most of the PP not shooting lately.

I do believe we can beat him easily, but if they wait until overtime, he is very capable of stoning us long enough to get the win, as he proved last night.

Who cares if he won. All I said is if that is Thomas at his best the Bruins will not win the series.

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Some Boston fans are saying (hoping) it's a mirror image of 2004:

1: Bos wins 3-0

2: Bos wins 2-1 in OT

3: Mtl wins 3-2

... and the underdog (Montreal then, Boston now) goes on to win.

I agree with Wamsley that the goaltending advantage will prove itself over the course of the series, but it will be interesting to see how long the pattern holds.

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Some Boston fans are saying (hoping) it's a mirror image of 2004:

1: Bos wins 3-0

2: Bos wins 2-1 in OT

3: Mtl wins 3-2

... and the underdog (Montreal then, Boston now) goes on to win.

I agree with Wamsley that the goaltending advantage will prove itself over the course of the series, but it will be interesting to see how long the pattern holds.

1. If they are hoping it is a mirror image, it means the Bruins will lose tonight. :clap:

2. Tim Thomas is no 2004 Jose Theodore and Carey Price is no 2004 Andrew Raycroft

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