Caps @ Habs - February 10th, 2010

[KoZed]

I was serious...Price was set up to fail in this game, and he came through with a lot of saves. I understand you don't like him, but you can at least give credit where it's due.

5 goals allowed. Unless he received 80 shots, you oughta be kidding when you say he won us that 2 points. He f*cked on the 4th and 5th goal. I understand you like him, but you can at least admit when he makes mistakes.

[BCHabnut]

Unfortunately Carey is good for one bad goal tonight. The last goal should have been saved. Really the 4th too. He cheated a look at the winger instead of playing the shooter

[KoZed]

Ok, new strategy: call up kids from the AHL every game!!!

[brobin]

No conspiracy needed.. that was a junior ref. He was blasted by Boudreau and he wilted. He also made the usual bad calls from his own incompetence.

I don't think we need to look farther then that.

He made tons of saves that should have been goals...did the montreal D ever look slow and bad out there tonight...even Markov. I'm a little worried about Markovs play the last three weeks.

A winning capitals team is great for the NHL...cue the conspiracy....

[MFT77]

Nice play by SK on the OT winner.

Sure glad he has shown what he can do, as i always had faith in him and never wanted him gone. Now hopefully JM realizes how much SK can help the Habs.

2 more big points against a red-hot Caps team.

[bar]

I've remember a lot of times when Halaks let in 3 goals and people praised him to the high heavens, I could care less about your bias. You don't want to admit it fine...doesn't make it any less true. There are other factors...but people seem to let everything boil down to two things. Shots and goals. Never mind that the caps are the highest scoring team in the league, never mind the fact montreal was short 1 D from 2nd period on, never mind the fact Price hasn't played in 5 games.

You're right if Halak was in there, it would probably have been 50 shots against...with 5 goals going in...so at least his sv % would look better from all the rebounds he gave up.

[KoZed]

Nice play by SK on the OT winner.

Sure glad he has shown what he can do, as i always had faith in him and never wanted him gone. Now hopefully JM realizes how much SK can help the Habs.

If only THAT version of SK would show up every game. When he controls the pucks and dangles around, he can create plays out of nothing. We dont have many of those.

2 more big points against a red-hot Caps team.

I'M asking the question again: how comes we haven't been playing with this kind of intensity and offense before Cammalleri got hurt?

[bar]

Hmm I dunno...it's a pattern though KoZed...the next game the habs wont play like this. Pit/Bos NJ/NY then FLO/TB.

It could be the fact that Washington plays that wide open style that Pitt does, but a team like Boston does not hence the difference.

Edited February 11, 2010 by bar

[Sir_Boagalott]

I was serious...Price was set up to fail in this game, and he came through with a lot of saves. I understand you don't like him, but you can at least give credit where it's due.

OK, so if a Habs dmen, say Hammer isnt doing exactly whats he's supposed to be doing, thats an invitation and excuse for Price to basically leave the crease, and when the goal is scored of course its Hammers fault? C'mon.

Give me a break. Thats precisely the reason why that 1 goal was Prices fault. You cant completely ignore a scoring threat thats almost in the crease just because somebody isnt covering him. Thats exactly why Price should have been aware of the goal scorer instead of being completely oblivious to him "cuz it was Hammers guy".

Excuses excuses. Seriously. The last goal wasnt Prices fault, its the pucks fault for not being the size of a beach ball.

Fact: Price let in 3 soft goals tonight.

[brobin]

Price let out a ton of rebounds... I wish you would open your eyes.. all goalies let out rebounds and most of them don't end up as second shots or goals. Price played merely okay, which is fine as he was rusty.

the point people are making are you are trying to claim HE was the reason we got two points... rather.. he is the reason the Caps got one. I have never seen a game where Halak has let in 5 goals and every one came in a praised him.. in fact, I distinctly remember people make the same comments about him.. weak game, but the team pulled out the win.

The big surprise tonight was how well the team played with so many guys out of the lineup. They played extremely well until late in the 3rd when they got careless and took some dumb penalties.

[KoZed]

I've remember a lot of times when Halaks let in 3 goals and people praised him to the high heavens, I could care less about your bias. You don't want to admit it fine...doesn't make it any less true. There are other factors...but people seem to let everything boil down to two things. Shots and goals. Never mind that the caps are the highest scoring team in the league, never mind the fact montreal was short 1 D from 2nd period on, never mind the fact Price hasn't played in 5 games.

You're right if Halak was in there, it would probably have been 50 shots against...with 5 goals going in...so at least his sv % would look better from all the rebounds he gave up.

Riiiiiight.

You bitch about Halak's rebound control, but you can't even realize that Price is technically messed up and completely failed on the 4th and 5th goals. Wasnt the D's fault. He won us 2 pts? Gimme a break. He gave 1 pt to Washington. The forwards won us 2 pts.

I'm tired of this shit. The kid is all out of whack. Just f**king face it once and for all and stop f**king whine everytime mentions it. That way we can perhaps dream of moving on and not have to waste time setting you guys straight every time someone dares perhaps maybe hint that maybe somehow Price let in a bad goal that affected the outcome of the game.

Same shit as the Habs facebook page. Every time they announce who will start the game, you get 5646 comments about who sucks and who wins and the same old crap.

This is Plekanec, SK, Pyatt's game. Can we at least agree on that or does anyone else still wants to pretend it's Jesus in Pads that gave us that win?

[bar]

I didn't say Price was blameless on any goals...I said what I said he was set up to fail tonight, long break, tough team, depleted lineup. Price looked rusty, as did Halak when he sat for a while, thats why its a mistake to let goalies in a platoon system go more than 3 games without switching. If you're looking at Price as a backup, then he did decently well.

[bar]

Riiiiiight.

You bitch about Halak's rebound control, but you can't even realize that Price is technically messed up and completely failed on the 4th and 5th goals. Wasnt the D's fault. He won us 2 pts? Gimme a break. He gave 1 pt to Washington. The forwards won us 2 pts.

I'm tired of this shit. The kid is all out of whack. Just f**king face it once and for all and stop f**king whine everytime mentions it. That way we can perhaps dream of moving on and not have to waste time setting you guys straight every time someone dares perhaps maybe hint that maybe somehow Price let in a bad goal that affected the outcome of the game.

This is Plekanec, SK, Pyatt's game.

Haha your big 'setting me straight' is "this kid is out of whack"? I bring up real reasons for your golden boy not being as great as you think, and you counter with...this is kid is out of whack. You'll never convince me Halak is more than a glorified backup, and I'll stop trying to get you to admit Price is more than such.

As an aside, you need to stop whining when I bring up Halaks infamous rebound control, no amount of sugar coating will change the fact that's his Achilles heel.

Edited February 11, 2010 by bar

[Wamsley01]

Price played like he has for 5-6 weeks.

He made 6-7 spectacular saves, but made small technical flaws that bit him in the ass. On the 4th goal he was cheating on the pass,

he has to trust the D to pick up the trailer and play the shooter. On the last goal, he had poor luck on the deflection but paddle down

may have avoided the goal.

If the Canadiens really want to make a decision on Halak, they should have given him that start.

When you play the Caps you are under a constant barrage. Those were not 38 easy shots like you get against the Panthers.

I wanted to see how Halak would fair under those circumstances, a much bigger test than the start on Sunday vs. the Bruins

coming off a back-to-back.

[KoZed]

You'll never convince me Halak is more than a glorified backup,

Pretty much disqualified yourself of any claim to credibility as far as evaluating goalies is concerned. Saved me the trouble of having to do it. Thanks!!! :D

[Sir_Boagalott]

Its pretty simple on this board to figure out who knows goalies and who doesnt. The people that bash Halak for poor rebound control are clueless. Sure, Halak lets out more rebounds than Price. I will completely admit that.

Heres why:

1) Halak more often than not actually stops the 1st shot, hence theres more rebounds.

2) Halakis purposely sttempting to direct these rebounds at the Habs players nearby.

Neither reason 1 or 2 makes Price better.

Now for the usual "oh, Halak plays worse competition". Look at the standings, and think. As if Price only plays against SJ, Chi, and Wash.

[bar]

Its pretty simple on this board to figure out who knows goalies and who doesnt. The people that bash Halak for poor rebound control are clueless. Sure, Halak lets out more rebounds than Price. I will completely admit that.

Heres why:

1) Halak more often than not actually stops the 1st shot, hence theres more rebounds.

2) Halakis purposely sttempting to direct these rebounds at the Habs players nearby.

Neither reason 1 or 2 makes Price better.

Now for the usual "oh, Halak plays worse competition". Look at the standings, and think. As if Price only plays against SJ, Chi, and Wash.

I call BS on #2, Halak is reactionary goalie, so he stops pucks with his reactions, not positional play, and he doesn't always know where the rebound is.

I would call into question whether you know goalies, but that would be doing what you're doing to others.

Pretty much disqualified yourself of any claim to credibility as far as evaluating goalies is concerned. Saved me the trouble of having to do it. Thanks!!! :D

Haha I'll try not to lose any sleep over it.

[Habsy]

Its pretty simple on this board to figure out who knows goalies and who doesnt. The people that bash Halak for poor rebound control are clueless. Sure, Halak lets out more rebounds than Price. I will completely admit that.

Heres why:

1) Halak more often than not actually stops the 1st shot, hence theres more rebounds.

2) Halakis purposely sttempting to direct these rebounds at the Habs players nearby.

Neither reason 1 or 2 makes Price better.

Now for the usual "oh, Halak plays worse competition". Look at the standings, and think. As if Price only plays against SJ, Chi, and Wash.

So we can all get it straight. You're one who "knows" goalies I suppose?

[Sir_Boagalott]

I call BS on #2, Halak is reactionary goalie, so he stops pucks with his reactions, not positional play, and he doesn't always know where the rebound is.

I would call into question whether you know goalies, but that would be doing what you're doing to others.

Haha I'll try not to lose any sleep over it.

You cant be serious.

So according to you its impossible to react with a kick save to direct the puck towards one of your own players.

Funny how I recall seeing Jiggy do that all the way to the Cup finals with the Ducks that year. Guess I dont know goalies.

[Habsy]

We just beat the leagues best team, with the most exciting player, and it's goalie talk. great.

[bar]

You're putting words in my mouth so to speak. These aren't isolated cases, he does it ALL the time. Every goalie gives up rebounds, the better goalies smother pucks when they're shot in or directed to the corner, watch Brodeur sometime, he does it great. Because you feel like you can pass judgement on a 22 year, I feel its my right to pass judgement on a 24 year old, and that he hasn't improved it, the rebound control, so I don't think he's as great as you claim.

We just beat the leagues best team, with the most exciting player, and it's goalie talk. great.

Haha arguing is fun...the anti-Price fans may even have valid points, but I'm not gonna admit them, cause then the arguing would be over haha.

You're right now, despite the bad calls both ways, the sloppy play in the third, it was entertaining. If only more teams would engage the habs like the Pens, the Caps do. It's entertaining for everyone. The Bruins use to be a fun watch, not they play boring hockey...the same way JM seems to want to take the team in, but sometimes he releases the hounds and everyone wins!

Edited February 11, 2010 by bar

[Wamsley01]

So we can all get it straight. You're one who "knows" goalies I suppose?

In all honesty, until you have laced up the blades and put in time on the footwork, putting in the dedication

to master a t-push, removing inefficient movements that force you to open up making you vulnerable

laterally, anticipating plays etc, you probably don't really understand goaltending.

You have to seperate what you want to be true, from what is true.

At this point right now, I am more forgiving of Price's flaws than Halak's because of their age. If Halak was 22 and Price 24, I would be singing

a different tune. Price gets a bigger benefit of the doubt from me. I am not looking towards today, I am trying to figure out who will be better

in 2012. This team is not a contender and I don't care if they make the playoffs this year. I wouldn't sacrifice the future for the perception that exists today.

Price's leash will continue to shrink for me over the next 2 seasons, but not yet.

Edited February 11, 2010 by Wamsley01

[bar]

In all honesty, until you have laced up the blades and put in time on the footwork, putting in the dedication

to master a t-push, removing inefficient movements that force you to open up making you vulnerable

laterally as well as trying to anticipate plays, you probably really don't really understand goaltending.

I'll be the first to admit I have no practical experience...I'm merely sharing what I see, I watch everygame of the season the habs play and it's what I notice. Until Marty or Roy comes on this board, there's really no be all end all expert haha.

[Wamsley01]

I'll be the first to admit I have no practical experience...I'm merely sharing what I see, I watch everygame of the season the habs play and it's what I notice. Until Marty or Roy comes on this board, there's really no be all end all expert haha.

I am not commenting at anybody in particular, but I have read 2000 posts over the last 6 months about the Habs goaltending and

almost zero insight into why a goaltender is better outside of rebound control and stats.

They are not at the same point in their development curve and until the last month, Halak was not facing starting NHL competition.

He is impressing me, but at the same time he needs more than 6 weeks of strong play to convince me.

They are both strong prospects.

Edited February 11, 2010 by Wamsley01

[bar]

I am wondering what you all think of Plek. Is he a mirage? Is this the true Plek? He really seems to be dominating...like every night he has a part in everything.