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Washington @ Habs: GAME 3


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hasb29RETIRED, Colorado got DEMOLISHED by San Jose, was saved by miraculous goaltending and a horrible miscue by Boyle. If that exact same game played out with the Habs, you'd be screaming that Martin messed the bed and we fluked out an undeserved win.

Martin has tried to instil some discipline in a team that had none, and Gomez's playoff follies aside, it's worked fairly well. Remember Carbo's yelling and screaming? It got us squat AND the team copied his example by whining and puling and taking lazy penalties all the time instead of sucking it up.

Timeouts...whatever. To me, saying that he doesn't yell enough, doesn't call timeouts at the right moment, and doesn't dress Ryan O'Byrne is not serious tactical analysis. I see a team that's played close to its potential for most of this series and is just plain overmatched.

Young players, I'm saying it's unproven either way. None of the players involved are exactly blue chip.

the first win was much more convincing then the habs 1st win. Last game yeah, Anderson stood on his head. Mismatch in their series is much greater then the habs-caps series.

There is a big difference then a coach like Carbo or Therrian completely losing it and a coach that strategically going after refs. Lindy Ruff, Pat Quinn have worked it to perfection to complain about missed calls and get calls their way. Same thing with the GM's. Regier, Burke, play up to the media and take the refs to task - usually the next game they get the call they want.

We could have used SK74, OByrne in the lineup much more then a Metro that hasn't played in 4 weeks and a Lapierre who has played around 4 decent games all year. MAB is getting WAY to much ice time, as is Hamrlik.

As far as tactical analysis, how about his wonderful strategy of having one guy forecheck and have a fast team (really all they have going for them), sit on their ass trapping??? That is the overall strategy employed by Martin. How about him never making adjustments to counter the oppositions moves???? Some of those tactical adjustments is slowing the flow of the opposition by taking timeouts. By counter-acting the running of your goaltender by actually having someone who is big enough to clear a guy like Knuble. or nail the big cap forwards with solid hits.

The decision not to have a captain is seriously also backfiring. Who is the leader of this team??? Certainly not the coach who hasn't the balls to stand up for his players.

Edited by hab29RETIRED
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Maybe I'm just an eternal optimist...but the caps played a single good period tonight, that's all...it's easy to think they've woken up, but it was the caps plumbers that won the game for them tonight, I still have hope.
There's some sort of positive. Back in 2002 the Bruins blew us away in some of the games. I expected that from Washington. It was mostly predicted that they'd win. Being down 2-1 shouldn't be shocking. Too bad it is but I'm still stinging right now. The only way it's proven positive is if Montreal can grow a new pair and get back to stalwart 2 way play and win a MUST game. And I wonder what Sergei could produce with Gionta and Gomez? At this rate I'd like to see Pouliot out instead of Sergei. But what do I know?
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I agree with you about the Pouliot out, Sergei in idea. Pouliot has not been the same lately, he plays a perimeter game instead of going to the net to get those bang in goals.

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I agree with you about the Pouliot out, Sergei in idea. Pouliot has not been the same lately, he plays a perimeter game instead of going to the net to get those bang in goals.

I dunno man. Pouliot has been guilty of trying the perimeter for sure, but certainly not all the time. He does, on occasion, go to the slot and bang bodies around and fight for the puck. Are you telling me that Sergei would go to the net more than Benny?

I liked our 3rd line when it was Moen - Moore- Sergei. Bring MAB up to the 4th in lieu of Darche or Lapierre, and put OB back on D.

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I dunno man. Pouliot has been guilty of trying the perimeter for sure, but certainly not all the time. He does, on occasion, go to the slot and bang bodies around and fight for the puck. Are you telling me that Sergei would go to the net more than Benny?

I liked our 3rd line when it was Moen - Moore- Sergei. Bring MAB up to the 4th in lieu of Darche or Lapierre, and put OB back on D.

That works too. I bought into MAB being on D and he has done better than I thought he'd do on D. But we need more and O'Byrne might be an idea for sure. I suspect that Martin is worried about his immobility, decisions and penalties. But, at the end of the day - he makes forwards pay and can be agressive.

Martin may not like it but - LIVE BY THE SWORD - DIE BY THE SWORD! Mara isn't available to get rid of these big Caps net crashers! Hello? Jacques?

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Well, I'm not saying the guy is Scotty Bowman or that all he decisions are above reproach. On this specific instance, he made a reasonable call because our depth lines got totally owned in the second half of Game Two. Whether it worked or not is another story.

I see the case against JM. But I find a lot of the attacks on Martin rather hysterical, as if it's SOOOOOOOO obvious what the right decision is all the time; it's easy to scream 'play Ryan OB,' but by this point in the series I'm pretty sure that, had he dressed OB, most people would be attacking him for doing it.

More specifically, my point here is that you cannot use this playoff series against JM. He's done as well as you can reasonably expect given the cards he's been dealt.

If you want to blame someone for the loss, blame Bob Gainey. He is the guy who built a team that is too small up front and too old on D. (And even the bitter 'blaming' seems silly. Did anyone see us as top-level contenders this year? So on what basis should we feel outraged at losing to the President's Trophy winner, exactly?)

Agree completely. The team was overcooked in the first period of game one and came out swinging. We took advantage of an early gift and just lost game 2. Halak was part of that. We came out today and had the Caps on their butts till a fortunate SH goal followed by another spirt breaker 3 min later. Martin is not a magician. I am frankly not informed enough or smart enough to make play by play judgments and player judgments, but everyone was talking about the discipline that led to our success after the break. It was all about coaching.

I generally prefer a civilized person to a reactionary, but I like what JM has done in these playoffs very much. I will not be surprised if we do well next game. We may not, but I don't think it'll be JM's fault.

As for the team, I was amazed that Uncle Bob did as well as he did in reshaping this team. How the hell did he get Camallerri! And Gionta? These guys are fun. And this only 2 years after going for it and nearly getting there. Nice work Mr G. You're the best.

To expect a full rebuild after such a year is just not reasonable.

Fan up men.

Go Habs Go!

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I am with CC on this. You can't put this on Martin.

The Caps have the Habs overmatched, and even up 2-0 were no guarantee to hold on

(see Rangers 1996 and Hurricanes 2006).

They didn't bring on their full assault until they felt threatened. They took the Habs too lightly

and with their lackadaisical approach to defense were lucky to get out of it.

Now they are rolling and the last bullet in the gun is praying for Price to pull a Hamilton Bulldogs run

out of his ass. It is extremely unlikely, but it is the only thing they can do right now to change pace.

Blaming refs, blaming the coach, blaming Jaro is a waste of time. Last season the Canadiens faithful

took to booing Price because they were destroyed by the Bruins. Scape goating 101.

Stop looking for one person to blame. The answer is pretty simple. The Caps are much better than

the Canadiens.

Edited by Wamsley01
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I don't put this on Martin. That's bull. However over the series and right now I have some reservations about scratches and lineups.

+1

Darche has nothing to do on this lineup. He brings nothing to the table.

I thought we were gaining Sergei Kostitsyn and his willingness to stay with the Habs back at the end of the season. Martin was giving him responsabilities and I thought he was playing good hockey. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd ask for a trade again or if he'd be heading home (KHL).

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It's not false...It's everything. We just don't have the talent the caps have. Those are the "cards" my friend, and they're not pretty.

exactly... We're facing the top team in the NHL. It's not like Habs are expected to win the series.

But what is frustrating is that the Habs were controlling the game until another Habs dman ran unto Halak. Maudite marde! STOP RUNNING UNTO YOUR OWN GOALIE!! LET YOUR GOALIE MAKE THE SAVE! ARGH Habs are so frustrating!

That SHG litterally cut the legs of the whole team.

However, it was only 0-1 ! I must put the blame of this loss on Jacques Martin. Habs have no captain. Jacques Martin is. What he did was blaming Habs fortune on the refs. He was complaining persistently to the refs about the Caps player changes. And he got the players in the complaining to the refs moods that got out of control with unsportsmanship penalities to Gomez and Plekanec for 12 minutes. Unless I missed it, there were no timeouts, nothing done to calm the troups and focus.

Again, why it's frustrating is because we had game 2 and we lost. We had the Caps in the 3rd game until that brutal SHG.

It's easy: Habs need to come out with their best effort on Wednesday or it's over.

Go Habs..

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I don't put this on Martin. That's bull. However over the series and right now I have some reservations about scratches and lineups.

Martin didn't keep his team focused but led them in complaining the refs. It was obvious the team lost it, but nothing was done to calm them down.

Metropolit only played 5 minutes. I wonder if he's really healed. Sergei makes some mistakes but so what, every other players do! At least he's got some offensive skills and makes his line a threat. And I thought he was great on PK

Markov needs to play more than that! Why can't he play 30 minutes ?

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exactly... We're facing the top team in the NHL. It's not like Habs are expected to win the series.

But what is frustrating is that the Habs were controlling the game until another Habs dman ran unto Halak. Maudite marde! STOP RUNNING UNTO YOUR OWN GOALIE!! LET YOUR GOALIE MAKE THE SAVE! ARGH Habs are so frustrating!

That SHG litterally cut the legs of the whole team.

However, it was only 0-1 ! I must put the blame of this loss on Jacques Martin. Habs have no captain. Jacques Martin is. What he did was blaming Habs fortune on the refs. He was complaining persistently to the refs about the Caps player changes. And he got the players in the complaining to the refs moods that got out of control with unsportsmanship penalities to Gomez and Plekanec for 12 minutes. Unless I missed it, there were no timeouts, nothing done to calm the troups and focus.

Again, why it's frustrating is because we had game 2 and we lost. We had the Caps in the 3rd game until that brutal SHG.

It's easy: Habs need to come out with their best effort on Wednesday or it's over.

Go Habs..

That goal changed the game from us going hard to the net with speed to sitting on the perimeter trying to snipe perfect shots. We lost all the will to live at that point.

I hope we win game four but unless our defense stops backing up all the way to the net every time the Caps hit the blueline, we are screwed.

I'm curious to see how the defensively better Bruins will fare.

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I want to take a minute to apologize

I was at the Bell Center yesterday, so the loss is on me :(

lol

I TOLD YOU! ^_^

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That goal changed the game from us going hard to the net with speed to sitting on the perimeter trying to snipe perfect shots. We lost all the will to live at that point.

That's the one thing that makes me sort of hopeless with this team. 1 goal allowed is enough to stun them? P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c. That team has no confidence in itself and they dont have the coach that can motivate them.

Scoring first and then holding on the lead might be an ideal, but no worthy competing team should be so desperately relying on that monolithic, one-track-mind archaic game plan.

A team has to be consistently able to answer a goal with a goal, and be confident about it's abilities to strike back. None of this "Oh no! We're losing 1-0!" BS...

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To be honest, this game is not what the habs been like this season, it seems more like an outlier than a pattern, but who knows. Hopefully the players got all the frustration at the bad calls out of their system and ready for game 4.

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I'm utterly shocked they're losing to the best team in hockey. Stunned that they aren't dominating completely. Overwhelmed that they don't have a 3-0 lead in a series they should obviously win. This isn't at all what I thought would happen in the playoffs. I was sure we would all meet on Ste Catherine's when the season started and I saw the makeup of our team. *The* underdog team that would most assuredly bring back Lord Stanley's revered drinking mug.

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That's the one thing that makes me sort of hopeless with this team. 1 goal allowed is enough to stun them? P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c. That team has no confidence in itself and they dont have the coach that can motivate them.

Scoring first and then holding on the lead might be an ideal, but no worthy competing team should be so desperately relying on that monolithic, one-track-mind archaic game plan.

A team has to be consistently able to answer a goal with a goal, and be confident about it's abilities to strike back. None of this "Oh no! We're losing 1-0!" BS...

Psychology is important in hockey, and especially playoff hockey. They suffered a DEVASTATING loss in Game Two and came back with a terrific first period last night - but didn't get rewarded. Then they go down 1-0 on a brutal, life-sucking goal like that, to a team that they KNOW is substantially better than them. It would be surprising if they DIDN'T have the life go out of them after that.

There is a certain logic to being an underdog. You have to get rewarded when you're playing like the better team. If you don't, you will lose. Everyone on the ice knew this. And practically any other team would have gone limp just like the Habs did, under those circumstances.

As fans we can idealize how teams should act - like indestructable supermen - but these guys are human beings just like us. There's only so many gut shots you can absorb before you need to withdraw and regroup.

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As far as Martin is concerned, why the hell is MAB playing so many minutes? He has handcuffed Markov in to playing super defensively to cover his sorry ass. It is a waste of Markov's incredible offensive flair. Everybody knows that MAB is really weak defensively.

In this regard Martin is indeed to blame.

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Lapierre needs to sit in the pressbox he is completely useless out there, both on the scoresheet and off of it. OB needs back in, he can't do any worse than Hammer did last night. Halak got yanked but none of the goals were really his fault, it was JM's only move at the time I guess, although it didn't produce much effort from his bench.

The team is small, and built to make the playoffs, not to go deep into the playoffs. Boston is roughing up the smaller, perimeter style Sabres, and not surprisingly the Caps are doing the same thing here. April/May hockey is a completely different animal, and until someone in the front office realizes that and builds this team to compete in the post season rather than just make it there, it won't matter how many points we get or how many division titles you win.

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As far as Martin is concerned, why the hell is MAB playing so many minutes? He has handcuffed Markov in to playing super defensively to cover his sorry ass. It is a waste of Markov's incredible offensive flair. Everybody knows that MAB is really weak defensively.

In this regard Martin is indeed to blame.

I repeat an earlier post, Martin is too stubborn to be a successful coach. He does not know how to coach during a game, Boudreau out coached him and will continue to do so. Martin likes certain players and puts others on the side and is lacking the ability to change his mind on these players, good or bad. Regardless of what happens during the series, one thing the Molson Brothers can do is tell Gauthier to fire Martin and if he refuses then replace both.

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Psychology is important in hockey, and especially playoff hockey. They suffered a DEVASTATING loss in Game Two and came back with a terrific first period last night - but didn't get rewarded. Then they go down 1-0 on a brutal, life-sucking goal like that, to a team that they KNOW is substantially better than them. It would be surprising if they DIDN'T have the life go out of them after that.

There is a certain logic to being an underdog. You have to get rewarded when you're playing like the better team. If you don't, you will lose. Everyone on the ice knew this. And practically any other team would have gone limp just like the Habs did, under those circumstances.

As fans we can idealize how teams should act - like indestructable supermen - but these guys are human beings just like us. There's only so many gut shots you can absorb before you need to withdraw and regroup.

Sorry, but that's utter rubbish. Sure, the loss in OT in Game 2 hurts, but you turn the page. The Habs were on the PP and the Caps opened the score. It's early in the 2nd, you're 1 man up and you already cower because you allow a bad goal? Come on! How weak is that!? It's hockey, you're not gonna score first every game but to let it stun you is absurd. A real competitive, confident team would have answered by swarming the Caps right then and there on the PP. Instead the Habs looked like an insecure team trying to reassure themselves by whispering "We're ok, we're ok" while pissing their pants.

Give me a break with the gut shot and human interest touchy-feely crap. It's hockey, it's sports, it's a fight, a battle of skills and wills. It's push and pull. You get pushed, you push back. You dont curl up in a ball hoping the other will stop pushing. You have to dominate with your will first, the rest will follow. If your will to win breaks down so easily, stick to knitting.

I'm so damn freaking tired of these excuses and cope outs whenever the team falters because of a fundamental lack of competitive spirit.

Win or die trying, period. It's not idealization, it's a value that hung 24 Cup banners up in the rafters.

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Sorry, but that's utter rubbish. Sure, the loss in OT in Game 2 hurts, but you turn the page. The Habs were on the PP and the Caps opened the score. It's early in the 2nd, you're 1 man up and you already cower because you allow a bad goal? Come on! How weak is that!? It's hockey, you're not gonna score first every game but to let it stun you is absurd. A real competitive, confident team would have answered by swarming the Caps right then and there on the PP. Instead the Habs looked like an insecure team trying to reassure themselves by whispering "We're ok, we're ok" while pissing their pants.

Give me a break with the gut shot and human interest touchy-feely crap. It's hockey, it's sports, it's a fight, a battle of skills and wills. It's push and pull. You get pushed, you push back. You dont curl up in a ball hoping the other will stop pushing. You have to dominate with your will first, the rest will follow. If your will to win breaks down so easily, stick to knitting.

I'm so damn freaking tired of these excuses and cope outs whenever the team falters because of a fundamental lack of competitive spirit.

Win or die trying, period. It's not idealization, it's a value that hung 24 Cup banners up in the rafters.

Good teams can overcome adversity, bad to average teams can easily collapse.

You can write it off as excuses or cop outs, but it exists.

Gomez himself said the Devils blew a lead against Philly and it took them a game or two to recover.

They got it together in time to win the series coming back from 3-1 and eventually won the Cup.

That was a Stanley Cup contender with a core of previous winners, so i don't think it is a stretch to say that

this Canadiens team could fall apart after Game 2.

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