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Canadiens vs. Bruins - Round One


rafikz

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Guess it's destiny we meet them again, eh. Just like Batman vs Joker, Habs-Bruins is a battle that will never ends.

I say this will be last year in reverse : Everybody will expect the Bruins to dominate the Habs, but the Habs will surprinsgly take them to game 7 and will really make them EARN the victory.

Edited by Jean
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Chara is the key to the bruins, if you can get him off his game and sitting in the penalty box, then we have a shot.

Komi needs to come up big, and we need bgl or stewart to stand up and kick some bruins ass. Lapierre can get under their skin and cause lots of probs for them we can maybe get them frustrated taking stooopid penalties.

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I think all Canadiens fans should be deeply offended at that picture of Ribeiro flopping around like he was shot. If that wasn't one of the most embarassing moments in Canadiens history, then it's top-three.

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I think all Canadiens fans should be deeply offended at that picture of Ribeiro flopping around like he was shot. If that wasn't one of the most embarassing moments in Canadiens history, then it's top-three.

That was the moment when Ribs lost me.

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That was the moment when Ribs lost me.

Me too.

Thats mostly why he got traded too, IMHO.

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I think the most interesting aspect of this series is that the pressure is now gone from

the shoulders of the Habs. They have nothing to lose, they made the playoffs and avoided

total disaster and fan expectations are essentially zero.

All the pressure is on the Bruins now. They are Cup contenders, their cap situation means

that they have a two playoff window to win.

How will they react to adversity? If the Habs can steal one of the first two games, how do they

respond?

This is going to be interesting, and with ZERO pressure I don't think the Habs are going to roll over.

Edited by Wamsley01
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Remember in the 1989 Finals when Claude Lemieux tried his established stunt of pulling a phoney injury and flailing around soccer-style? Pat Burns didn't even send out the trainer. Just let him flop around like a fish. :lol: Boy, was Lemieux steamed afterwards.

(He was gone not long after that - but interestingly, like Ribeiro he matured and became an impact player elsewhere. :angry: )

(Incidentally, that was also the Finals where some journalist (with La Journal, I think) created a huge stink with a big article on how Pat Burns discriminated against French players. It made me SICK to see reporters actively trying to sabotge the team on a Cup run. These are the same pack of leeches that used a flash-bulb on Saku Koivu's gouged-out eye, potentially damaging it. They're scum).

Now as for the topic at hand: the Bruins are obvious favourites, but it all depends on which Habs team shows up. We have essentially the same team as last year, plus Tanguay and Laraque. (Schneider, although a Streit-replacement, will be an improvement on Streit's performance in last year's playoffs). If we bear down and play with confidence, and an effective and disciplined team game of the kind Gainey had us playing before Markov/Schneider got hurt, and if Price gets the groove, we can make this a long series. Koivu will deliver. Kovalev looked brilliant on some shifts last night - he's got his confidence. There is no reason for this to be a whitewash; we CAN win.

But as John Ferguson used to tell his mates: PACK YOUR GUTS.

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Remember in the 1989 Finals when Claude Lemieux tried his established stunt of pulling a phoney injury and flailing around soccer-style? Pat Burns didn't even send out the trainer. Just let him flop around like a fish. :lol: Boy, was Lemieux steamed afterwards.

(He was gone not long after that - but interestingly, like Ribeiro he matured and became an impact player elsewhere. :angry: )

(Incidentally, that was also the Finals where some journalist (with La Journal, I think) created a huge stink with a big article on how Pat Burns discriminated against French players. It made me SICK to see reporters actively trying to sabotge the team on a Cup run. These are the same pack of leeches that used a flash-bulb on Saku Koivu's gouged-out eye, potentially damaging it. They're scum).

Now as for the topic at hand: the Bruins are obvious favourites, but it all depends on which Habs team shows up. We have essentially the same team as last year, plus Tanguay and Laraque. (Schneider, although a Streit-replacement, will be an improvement on Streit's performance in last year's playoffs). If we bear down and play with confidence, and an effective and disciplined team game of the kind Gainey had us playing before Markov/Schneider got hurt, and if Price gets the groove, we can make this a long series. Koivu will deliver. Kovalev looked brilliant on some shifts last night - he's got his confidence. There is no reason for this to be a whitewash; we CAN win.

But as John Ferguson used to tell his mates: PACK YOUR GUTS.

I have seen to many things happen over the last 30 years to write off the Habs especially with the

way the new NHL is setup. This is not like the 80s where the gap between 1 and 16 was insurmountable.

Like you said, the Habs have essentially the same team and are armed with a coach who is more

likely to be able to adapt to adjustments. A coach who once upon a time coached a 15th place playoff team

to a victory over the 1st overall team, the 2nd overall team and the defending Stanley Cup champion

before bowing out in the Finals.

If last season wasn't enough to show how things begin anew in the playoffs, then nothing will.

THis board was ultra confident about the opportunity to face a team the Habs had gone 12-0 against,

by the time Game 7 rolled around EVERYONE was convinced the Habs were screwed.

Last time Gainey coached them they were a Koivu eye injury away from knocking out the eventual Cup

champs. Some fans wanted the Habs to miss the playoffs, well Gainey is going to get a first hand view

of which players will go through a wall to win, which players will "PACK THEIR GUTS". That will be helpful

in his evaluations moving forward this summer.

I am tired of pessimism. I am going to hope for the best and enjoy the run. Plus, Tim Thomas does not conjure

up images of Ken Dryden/Bernie Parent/Patrick Roy/Martin Broduer for me.

Edited by Wamsley01
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Here's the way I see it:

  • If Koivu is typical playoff Koivu, that's worth a game in and of itself.
  • If Kovalev continues his late-season surge and that top line can avoid being completely shut down for 4 of the 18 minutes they're likely to see a game, we'll have a strong push. (I don't expect them to flourish just as I don't expect any line to flourish consistently ever - but if they can make things happen on 5-7 shifts per game, I think we're in business.)
  • If we can find one goal from secondary scoring per game, we'll give ourselves a fighting shot.
  • If we can stay to less than 12 minutes in short-handed time, and score on 20% of our power play chances, we'll find some success.
  • We need to play physically, but not stupidly: we can't be goaded, rather we have to take a hit, and look for the legal hit.
  • We must, must, must use our speed to both generate chances and cause the Bruins to take penalties: in other words, we have to make things happen.
  • The first pass out of our zone absolutely has to be crisp or their skill will haunt us.
  • If Unforced errors are kept to less than ten per game we're golden.
  • We can't look for the big hit exclusively, rather we have to play like Markov and angle the player out, then support and corrall the puck. In other words, gap control must be minimized and communication maximized.
  • Price (and/or Halak) can let in a maximum of one soft goal a game. If they do that, it will give us a fighting chance every night.
  • If we allow more than 30 shots per game, our chances of winning will start to go down exponentially.

It may seem evident, but it's important, I think, for the players to think and understand their goals. We need to get the puck deep and forecheck aggressively as much as possible and then get someone on Chara to try to get him off his game. The Bruins will be looking for that, of coruse, and will counter with a goon (read: Lucic) taking quasi-runs at whomever hits Chara.

If we fall into Lucic's trap, the series could be over already. Regarding him as more than a goon with a little skill is dangerous: the fans are overrating him and I'd rather not see the team overrate him. Yes, he can cause damage, but playing a smart game against him is all that's really necessary. I think it's almost pointless to have Laraque shadow him for the first two games because it's too early for emotions to get totally out of control, as I see it. Back in Montreal, though, I'm betting there'll be an opportunity to get Lucic riled and Bob will look to work that angle.

More important than anything, however, is maintaining confidence. Despite scandal, relentless injury, and a coaching change, the boys are still in The Show. They have to believe in themselves and they can beat the Bruins.

A little history and some Ghosts would help as well. All praise Yvonne.

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I think all Canadiens fans should be deeply offended at that picture of Ribeiro flopping around like he was shot. If that wasn't one of the most embarassing moments in Canadiens history, then it's top-three.

:rolleyes:

So overblown.

I've seen Raymond Bourque do the same thing in the 3rd period of some early 90's playoffs. Drew a penalty, then when he came back to the Bruins' bench the camera caught him winking at his teammates.

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I'm really getting tired to see the Bruins vs Habs, mostly because it is so emotionnaly and physicaly draining that the guys have nothing left for the following round.

BUT...

Because of that emotion, it's probably the best series the Habs could hope for. They've played without emotions most of the season. Now they should get the spark that could finally ignite some spirit.

The 1st line will be checked tight and hit alot, you can bet on it. Laps line will need to play the way they did most of the season. And it'll be interesting to see which 4th line Gainey decides to use. Stewart-Metropolit-Laraque should help keep the Bruins honest.

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I'm really getting tired to see the Bruins vs Habs, mostly because it is so emotionnaly and physicaly draining that the guys have nothing left for the following round.

BUT...

Because of that emotion, it's probably the best series the Habs could hope for. They've played without emotions most of the season. Now they should get the spark that could finally ignite some spirit.

You make a good point here. I think this is the main reason I've been quasi-hoping for the Bruins over the last couple of weeks. Distractions, unjury, and apparent disinterest - particularly from young players who failed to realize that they need to bring on a nightly basis the kind of intensity and commitment that they brought when they were first coming up - these are what turned a top-4 team in the Conference into an 8th-place finisher. But the first and last should NOT be a factor in this series. Clearly, when these teams play, it's personal.

Also, if we ever want these young players to evolve into champs, they need the opportunity to *win* a series like this. Thomas said that the series last year against the Habs brought the Bruins together. This series can do the same for us.

Of course a great deal hinges on Markov returning and returning in some kind of game-ready form. If he isn't ready, then we go from being underdogs to *extreme* long-shots in need of a miracle.

In the main, though, I'm with Wamsley. Crazy, disastrous season's over - now let's sit back and enjoy the ride!! :hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

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:rolleyes:

So overblown.

I've seen Raymond Bourque do the same thing in the 3rd period of some early 90's playoffs. Drew a penalty, then when he came back to the Bruins' bench the camera caught him winking at his teammates.

Yup....AND he got himself some rest as he'd probably logged over 30min of icetime that game. I remember it well.

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I don't know why people were so surprised last year. All year long, the Bruins had key injuries and blew all their games against the Habs. That was the difference between the teams. They were not that bad a team. As the playoffs approached, they were getting healthy and they knew they had to step up against the Habs and not be stupid. The number of penalties went down, they focused on the PK, and Price started to crack. They almost killed us and we needed 7 games to dispatch them.

If we were so good, that series should have been over in 5 games tops. Reality was that we were pretty evenly matched.

Move ahead to this year. They are a better team. They are a much healthier team. They no longer have a mental block when it comes to the habs. In fact, they have confidence that they can beat us. We are beat up and we are not playing well coming in. We are missing our top player. We have little depth. We are still reliant on the PP, yet our top PP guy is injured. Price is still not at the top of his game.

I see no reason to expect an upset. The one thing that causes upsets is goaltending. The only way we win is for Price and / or Halak to steal this series while Thomas implodes. That is how we upset them last time. Theo was stellar.

This is why I would rather have played Washington. They do not have the goaltending and if Theo falters, they are screwed. I view the odds of Theo messing the bed as infinitely higher then Thomas collapsing.

As for people whining about ribs (still), you should be wishing that we Pleks was half the offensive machine Ribs is. Ribs with Kovy and AK would mean we had two lines, instead of one line plus a decent 3rd line.

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Interesting conundrum. Two of the guys who want us to be tougher still pine for Nancy the Diver.

Just putting things in perspective. Like you did when I exposed Saku's lack of drive and leadership for the first 5 months of the season.

Between "Nancy the Diver" and "Captain Invisible", there's always room for nuance.

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Interesting conundrum. Two of the guys who want us to be tougher still pine for Nancy the Diver.

It is an extremely interesting conundrum. ^_^

Bos cant win a series in which the other team wont fight back. :lol:

The majority of the Habs wont stand up for their actions (i.e. questionable hits, etc) and this will drive Bos crazy. Bos will want to fight every time and most of the Habs players will refuse to engage them and this will lead to Bos taking a lot of penalties.

Plus this year with BGL the Habs could probably cheeze their way to the Cup in 3 ways:

1) I've seen several goals recently in which the goalie was pushed over the goal line and it counted as a goal. There isnt a goalie in the NHL that could prevent BGL from pushing them into the net.

2) In the Bos game Chara used Komi as a punching bag and didnt get a fighting or a instigator penalty. All BGL has to do is punch guys with his gloves on, or if the other guy wont fight him fight them anyway and as long as they are too afraid to drop their gloves its not a fighting penalty.

3) Like I said before is BGL should be used around the net more, and in the Pitts game some might have noticed why. Its hard to take the puck away from BGL and the other team gets frustrated and end up taking penalties trying.

OK, 3 isnt pure cheeze, but it could still get the Habs deep into the playoffs.

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