Montréal vs New Jersey Game Thread

[brobin]

very silent night from the team...Koivu had no jump in his return. Why was Kovalev not seeing Powerplay time? Why was Josh Gorges seeing so much ice time? Why was Markov not on more? It almost seemed as if Carbo was resting the all star guys. Not the way you want to go into the break that is forsure

He was rewarding the guys who were working with ice time.. Kovalev was awful.. if he wants more ice time, he needs to work when he gets it.

[JoeLassister]

It's official, I want the Habs to move in the Western Conference. Last 2 games killed me how much it was boring.

[Sir_Boagalott]

Its games like this vs the Devils that I really miss Smoke.

Smoke was cryptonite to NJ last year and was IMO the sole reason why the Habs finally had a winning season against them. Smoke had several multi goal games against Brodeur and I have to beleive that he probably would have scored tonight if he was still with the Habs.

What happened to Smoke? Did anybody sign him?

[kaos]

What happened to Smoke? Did anybody sign him?

He was so good that all 30 teams decided not to sign him. Too slow for the NHL, and probably too expensive.

[Trizzak]

Yet another NJ game. Is anyone here actually surprised at the outcome?

[sbhatt]

A buddy of mine just told me about a trend he's noticed: on nights when the Habs play like shit, many ex-Habs around the league seem to have good nights. It was true tonight:

Ryder: shootout winner

Ribeiro: hat trick

Recchi: 2 assists

Danis: win, 39 saves

Huet: 25 saves in the first two periods

Robidas: assist

Rivet: assist

Streit: assist

I'll have to remember this in the future, because checking to see if this is happening might be more entertaining than the Habs when they play like they did tonight.

Edited January 22, 2009 by sbhatt

[Athlétique.Canadien]

It's official, I want the Habs to move in the Western Conference. Last 2 games killed me how much it was boring.

I agree bigtime. These last 2 were so very boring I had to pinch myself so I wouldn't fall asleep. First off Atlanta was a snore. Too many empty seats and then again tonight agiant NJ. They play so well D wise they are hard to isolate and attack. Whenever a Habs winger tried to get past the D along the boards on the attack there was not one Devil, but two.

we tried over and over to get the puck to the slot but the Devil's had 3 players in front of Clemmenson.

What a drag. I'll say it again. The only way to get it done is to hold the puck more, cycle and protect the puck especially. I was furious by how often and inexcusable we just game them the puck.

Now we have the break. Hopefully we come back with some post weekend success.

[BCHabnut]

I watched two extremely disciplined system teams with great defense from the Eastern conference tonight. Both of these teams, I feel will go far in the playoffs if they can continue these ways. Those teams were the Devils and the Bruins. :puke:

The Habs team that inpressed me the most this year was the one that was patient and played hard on the boards and chipped out of the zone. Habs get handcuffed by defensive teams. They are too much about long high risk cross ice passes to beat the trap. This is what the Devils want. They tried chipping the boards and got beat at that a lot, but they didn't seem to stick close to each other and look for the puck support and short pass when breaking into the zone. The cycle looked good a few times, but the Devils were the better team all around. A little puck luck would have helped too.

Edited January 22, 2009 by BCHabnut

[Neech]

I only started watching halfway through when we were already down 2-0, but despite the result I liked how me played. We were definitely controlling the play more than NJ, and if Price was less rusty and we got a few more bounces then this game could have looked very different. I think Koivu looked pretty good in his return, and the Lang-Kosties line was pretty solid. They just need to bury their chances. For all the gushing you hear around here about Andrei, the guy should be more consistent. Laps-Lats was pretty good again, I really like what I'm seeing from Gui especially these days. But Kovalev had another weak outing, coughing up the puck and generally seeming like he's spending most of his time in a freezer before hitting the ice.

Our defense wasn't that bad again, but damn is it annoying when Markov just ices the puck on ridiculous deep pass attempts. They often don't even seem like they'd be very beneficial if they succeeded, as there are opposing defenders back anyway. He really needs to learn some better judgment, it saps our momentum. Gorges was solid again, and it was nice how he put that chance in the back of the net, but it's very clear he's not much of a threat on the powerplay.

All in all, however, if we keep on playing like we did in these last two games - despite us having no points to show for them - we'll get some better results.

[johnnyhasbeen]

I agree bigtime. These last 2 were so very boring I had to pinch myself so I wouldn't fall asleep. First off Atlanta was a snore. Too many empty seats and then again tonight agiant NJ. They play so well D wise they are hard to isolate and attack. Whenever a Habs winger tried to get past the D along the boards on the attack there was not one Devil, but two.

we tried over and over to get the puck to the slot but the Devil's had 3 players in front of Clemmenson.

What a drag. I'll say it again. The only way to get it done is to hold the puck more, cycle and protect the puck especially. I was furious by how often and inexcusable we just game them the puck.

Now we have the break. Hopefully we come back with some post weekend success.

I think they bored our team to sleep!

Cycle and protect the puck? Isn't that what Kovalev does better than anyone in the league?

Wondering what is up there. Is it a spat over giving up the "C"?

These are grown men, but as we all know that means the are nothing but big boys.

Saku had a couple skates, testing the legs. I never would have iced him in the last 2 minutes, although that is usually his time. He isn't quite back yet. I really hope there isn't a leadership problem on this team but have suspected it for many seasons. Rifts in the locker room that show up in play. The Theo/Ribs crew, and now I believe a Slav contingent. I could easily be out to lunch on this one. I have to say though, I played the game and every team I was on had a few circles of friends, some loners, and a "click" group. I believe Saku has always been out of the click, probable the loner type. Just my way outside observation.

[Chris]

No, what Kovalev does is control the puck in the nuetral zone, carry it over the line then he turns it over better then anyone in the league. He is clearely not the only one, the last 2 games were pathetic. I'm not sure if anyone even broke a sweat except the goalies.

Too much standing around, poor passing, not winning any battles, apparantly they thought the all star break was a few days early.

I didn't think Price looked rusty, his defense sure did, a breakaway goal, his own player put one by him and an empty netter. The shot from the point i'm sure he would want back. If there weren't 2 turnovers just before that nothing would have happened.

You can't win much scoring 2 goals a game.

1 thing I hate, when the habs get down they start acting tough, pushing after the whistle, things like that. Perhaps if you have that much energy maybe you could have played harder before you were down 2 goals, or even though they are punching bags, i have an idea, fight someone, win the fight and change the momentum. Pushing people and acting tough after the whistle isn't tough.

[Habsfan]

Why was Kovalev not seeing Powerplay time?

Cause Carbo benched Kovalev and Plekanec for a good portion of the 3rd period. They both sucked last night, and deserved to be benched!

Our boys simply did not play hard enough to beat the Devils. these last two games proves that our boys aren't part of the elite teams in the NHL(S.J., Det. Bos. N.J.) I'm not saying that we are gonna miss the Playoffs, i'm just saying that if we meet the Bruins or the devils in the first round, we will not make it through that first round!

No toughness on this team. As soon as the devils started to play hard and rough, we just backed down. We have too many perimeter players, guys who are afraid to go to the net!

Edited January 22, 2009 by Habsfan

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I didn't see either game, so I may be speaking out of turn. But let's remember that the Habs have played for an extended stretch without most of their first line, as well as without their #1 goalie (and Higgins). They've done exceedingly well despite those and other injuries. When teams miss key guys for an extended period, though, they usually hit a wall at a certain point. You can only ride call-ups, rookies, checkers and Kovalev for so long (I'll discount Pleks because he has sucked ass all season). And when you get the injured guys back, there's often a let-down - the players who have been carrying the load are apt to relax a bit, while the returnees are still not quite sharp.

So probably this team really needs a break so that everyone can either rest up and re-focus, or else sharpen their game (Price/Koivu). So while I'm not saying that we're definitely going to beat Boston or NJ in the playoffs, I do think it'd be a mistake to read too much into these two losses.

Edited January 22, 2009 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[Chris]

I think myself and habsfan are just saying the habs are not tough ehnough top play with those guys in the playoffs. The Devils and Bruins are big tough physical teams, in the playoffs it gets turned up a notch, while i think the Lapierre line is a physical line, the rest are a shabsfan puts it are all perimeter soft players. The D core is pretty soft overall as well.

Does the team have the abiltity to make a run, sure, especially with Price playing even better then last year. But they don't match up well against physical teams. A healthy Laraque will help.

I also read on the front page that O'Byrne may be recalled soon, so although he is slow, he is big.

[kenadian]

I'm still trying to find out what our team identity is....................

We have the speed/skill to play the fast paced, skating game but I haven't seen a lot of this team. We obviously aren't a physical/gritty team (look what happened vs Philly in the playoffs when they played the physical game)

Maybe we need to change the makeup of this team, grabbing some skilled PHYSICAL players (or players who don't shy away from that style) Look at Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, [even Malkin and Crosby] who are skilled point producers and aren't afraid to get in the corners and dig for the pucks and take a hit to make a play/pass

Our rookie's IMO (and the 2nd year players) are outplaying/outhustling/outhitting our vets/stars...

[BCHabnut]

I think the team identity is there. When they play patient, trap style hockey and keep the puck along the boards until there is a turnover, then use their explosive offense and creativity, the team is hard to play against. I have seen evidence that Carbo does have a system, and that is the system. Play the boards hard and be patient.

What I really think the team lacks, is a good system in there own zone when the other team has the puck. They look scattered and passive. Allowing the worst teams to wander in and set up for shots. I've actually questioned if the team needs a defensive coach. You can argue that if Carbo and Jarvis (two extremely good defensive centres) can't do it, who can? I still think having a defenseman behind the bench would be a good thing. When we have the puck in our own zone, we are usually good at chipping it out, or findint the stretch pass, but when the other team has the puck in our zone, the team looks almost lost.

[Habitforming]

I'm still trying to find out what our team identity is....................

We have the speed/skill to play the fast paced, skating game but I haven't seen a lot of this team. We obviously aren't a physical/gritty team (look what happened vs Philly in the playoffs when they played the physical game)

Maybe we need to change the makeup of this team, grabbing some skilled PHYSICAL players (or players who don't shy away from that style) Look at Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, [even Malkin and Crosby] who are skilled point producers and aren't afraid to get in the corners and dig for the pucks and take a hit to make a play/pass

Our rookie's IMO (and the 2nd year players) are outplaying/outhustling/outhitting our vets/stars...

The only thing wrong with that theory is not a single one of those players listed will be traded, and others that might be traded aren't skilled enough to take ice time away from one of our regulars.

If you add Higgins, Koivu, and Tanguay back into the forward lines there is no room for someone like that without removing the same type of player ie. Begin, Lappierre Latendresse, or Kostopoulousousouspsiuos

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I think the team identity is there. When they play patient, trap style hockey and keep the puck along the boards until there is a turnover, then use their explosive offense and creativity, the team is hard to play against. I have seen evidence that Carbo does have a system, and that is the system. Play the boards hard and be patient.

What I really think the team lacks, is a good system in there own zone when the other team has the puck. They look scattered and passive. Allowing the worst teams to wander in and set up for shots. I've actually questioned if the team needs a defensive coach. You can argue that if Carbo and Jarvis (two extremely good defensive centres) can't do it, who can? I still think having a defenseman behind the bench would be a good thing. When we have the puck in our own zone, we are usually good at chipping it out, or findint the stretch pass, but when the other team has the puck in our zone, the team looks almost lost.

I think you've captured the situation quite nicely. Good analysis!

Of course, 'playing the boards hard' may become a problem when you have guys like Kovalev and Kostitsyn and Tanguay up against really hard-grinding teams like Boston, Philly or Anaheim. Moments like that expose a possible limitation of our combination of personnel/system. In that sense, what you say here is consistent with what, say, chris is arguing about overall team toughness.

But I actually think the deeper problem is indeed the one you identify, i.e., a certain incoherence in our own end, which, again, is especially exposed when we confront aggressive teams with a strong forecheck. That is the real problem in my opinion - the way this team can be made to run around in its own end if the forecheck is determined and physical enough. We are as a whole perhaps the most offensively talented team in the NHL, outside of Detroit and San Jose. This can balance off our occasionally being out-muscled in the neutral and offensive zones. It's the game in our own zone that will cause us to lose in the playoffs (if we do). Is that, again, a personnel problem? Or a coaching issue? I dunno, but it may need solving before we win.