JMMR Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Halak only looks poor in comaprison to Price. With Price around, you can sometimes forget the fact that Halak is still a very young NHL goalie and there aren't many others younger than him in the NHL. How old was Garon before he became a legit NHL goalie? Halak is way ahead of schedule and the bumps he's going through right now are just part of the learning curve. Price is a freak of the best kind... don't expect Halak to be on the same path as him. Very true but you must also remember that Halak is older than Price. As for Halaks play it is all about confidence, he is playing so deep in his crease but this win should inspire him, he got a little lucky and picked up two points. Montreal will need him to play well if they want home ice or better in the first round of the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Very true but you must also remember that Halak is older than Price. As for Halaks play it is all about confidence, he is playing so deep in his crease but this win should inspire him, he got a little lucky and picked up two points. Montreal will need him to play well if they want home ice or better in the first round of the playoffs. I think the age thing is irrelevant... I think comparing Halak to Price is like comparing Plekanec to Malkin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I was at the game and it was definitely a wild one.. I did notice a few things... 1. Lats makes cold molasses going up hill seem fast. 2. Kovy needs to learn when to make the simply play. He made a dangerous play and pulled it off. The crowd gasped, then he did it again and the crowd started laughing. Then he tried to go through three guys and ended up losing it. All he had to do was chip it in, but his ego was starting to bloat. If he could just learn when enough is enough. Up 2, on the PP in the third is not the time to try high risk crap. 3. Breezy is not nearly as bad as people think. Like all D, he makes mistakes, but I watched Markov make his fair share yesterday too. Breezy is a steal at the current price. 4. Overall team defense is sloppy and needs work. Halak was average, but the team defense was worse. 5. This team will not get better on the PP until they start shooting. I watched them try the cross ice pass so many times and fail. Every team in the league can see it coming and get sticks in the lanes. I watched guys in perfect shooting spots, with a guy parked in front, attempt a crap pass instead of shooting it. Carbo needs to put a stop to it. Markov, forget Kovy on the far side and put it on the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) That's a very good point Brobin about the cross ice pass. What I find even more amusing is that Carbo played, and was Captain of one of the best defensive system teams ever. You didn't see L. A. pull of one of those cross ice passes against the Habs in the playoffs, because the Habs took it away. I sometimes wonder if Carbo is frustrated with things like that, or does he just assess his team and change to suit the way they play? Regarding Maxpac, I guess I was a little excited because he was actually dominant in his preseason and first game. My earlier assessment of him may have been a little harsh. Now you can see he is a rookie, who will hesitate with the puck, but I still think he is more of a true power forward than Laps. Edited January 5, 2009 by BCHabnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 5. This team will not get better on the PP until they start shooting. I watched them try the cross ice pass so many times and fail. Every team in the league can see it coming and get sticks in the lanes. I watched guys in perfect shooting spots, with a guy parked in front, attempt a crap pass instead of shooting it. Carbo needs to put a stop to it. Markov, forget Kovy on the far side and put it on the net. BINGO! THE PP is the main reaosn why the offense is soo lacking this year with the Habs. Had the PP been roling at an 18 or 19% rate, we would have easily scored 8-10 extra goals...which would have given us an extra4-5 wins. What I find the most disturbing is that the guys on the PP seem to have no Imagination/creativity on the PP. Also, our boys seem to have the hardest time getting themselves set up in the offensive zone during the PP. They dump it in, but nobody can come out with the puck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I hate to be an optimist, but I am glad that we are getting the bulk of our goals 5 on 5. The team is less of a one trick pony. There are still things to work on, and I question our legitimacy for a cup run this year, but I think we are improved overall from last year. Middle of the pack PP and top notch PK would be nice though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 but I am glad that we are getting the bulk of our goals 5 on 5. The team is less of a one trick pony. Good point! I would rather rely on 5 on 5 scoring rather than relying on the PP all the time to get any offense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 we are greatly improved on 5 on 5 But in the playoffs we will need the pp to be a lot better than it is now. We are more dangerous s/h than with the man advantage, which is sad and perplexing. And I do not really agree that mark streight is the reason why the pp has gone south . Maybe we are just toooooooo predictable, maybe we don,t shoot enough maybe kovy has to be told that there are no extra points for style stop being so dam cute with the puck, just shoot the dam puck and go to the net. Knock their goaltender on his ass and create some fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 And I do not really agree that mark streight is the reason why the pp has gone south . Maybe we are just toooooooo predictable, maybe we don,t shoot enough maybe kovy has to be told that there are no extra points for style stop being so dam cute with the puck, just shoot the dam puck and go to the net. Knock their goaltender on his ass and create some fear. Mark Streit might not be the reason why we are having problems...but the fact that we have nobody who can adequately shoot the puck from the point and hit the damn net, is what is killing the PP. Last year, the other teams knew that if they didn't cover Streit on the PP, his shot could reach the net(and get deflected in the process) or somebody could get the rebound. That meanth that they had to cover "up-high" during the penalty kill, which meant that it gave Kovy and the other attackers "down-low" way more room to maneuver. If the team on the PK kept a close eye on Kovy and the others "down-low", that meant the Strewit could take his shot from the Point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbhatt Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Mark Streit might not be the reason why we are having problems...but the fact that we have nobody who can adequately shoot the puck from the point and hit the damn net, is what is killing the PP. Last year, the other teams knew that if they didn't cover Streit on the PP, his shot could reach the net(and get deflected in the process) or somebody could get the rebound. That meanth that they had to cover "up-high" during the penalty kill, which meant that it gave Kovy and the other attackers "down-low" way more room to maneuver. If the team on the PK kept a close eye on Kovy and the others "down-low", that meant the Strewit could take his shot from the Point! This is EXACTLY why Kovalev can't eat teams alive on the powerplay the way he used to...that top man on the box doesn't have to respect the point shot anymore, so he stays tight to Kovy and limits his options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Boston and Philly shut down our PP pretty well during the playoffs last year when we had Streit's shot there... Maybe this year when the playoffs hit our PP will produce because team's aren't as focused on that aspect of our game anymore. The overcoaching of the playoffs can make some weird things occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Ryder Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Boston and Philly shut down our PP pretty well during the playoffs last year when we had Streit's shot there... Maybe this year when the playoffs hit our PP will produce because team's aren't as focused on that aspect of our game anymore. The overcoaching of the playoffs can make some weird things occur. It would take a weak coach to be overcoached by Carbonneau. I really like the timing of his line change, his respect for every decision of the referees and most of all i really like his assistant coaches. Carbo will become a good coach when he will find the right coaches to complement his style. Right now their all the same mold, much like Tremblay chose is assistant, he chose his friends not the most competent coaches. Having the Don would very much help Carbonneau because the man has experience, his own style, he knows and has the respect of more than half of the line up who played and learned from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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