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Injury Updates


dlbalr

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White called up, not for his offence, that's for sure. 2 goals in 28 games with the Bulldogs.

Definitely means Halpern is out (which is why Engqvist was likely recalled). MaxPac is probably doubtful at best.

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Definitely means Halpern is out (which is why Engqvist was likely recalled). MaxPac is probably doubtful at best.

Pacioretty was in full practice today shockingly, skated with his normal line. Halpern apparently skated and fortunately is only DTD.

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Good teams overcome injuries. It is one of the benefits of a consistent system throughout the organization.

Injuries provide players opportunities to step up. Think of how you viewed this team in October and think of how you view it today.

Subban was not expected to lead this team's defense. He was to be groomed and eased in. Pacioretty? Did anybody expect him to come up and play the way he did? The Habs were doomed without Halak, could Price hold down the fort on his own?

Cucumber. For somebody who has put forth the theory that this is stealth rebuild 2.0 and Gainey cut the fat, brought in the coach who would install the proper system and this reminds you of the Pat Burns style Habs from the late 80s, you maintain a negative focus when it comes to injuries and the systems ability to plug in players.

Since Markov's injury the Habs have gone 15-12-3. Since Gorges they have gone 6-3-2.

Things change. Eller could step up for two weeks or Desharnies could complete his adjustment to the pro game and fill a hole.

Every season has highs and lows and unfortunately injuries are a part of that. I saw a terrible Canadiens team in 2000 miss the playoffs

by 1 win and they lost Koivu for 58 games, Savage broke his neck and missed the majority of the season, McCleary took a puck to the

throat and needed an emergency tracheotomy to save his life, Linden missed 32 games, Brisebois 28 games, Rivet 21 games, Brunet 32 games and Corson missed 12 games.

That was the main core of an awful team and yet they missed the playoffs on the last day of the season.

Injuries provide excuses and this team doesn't look ready to use excuses to me.

Hee hee! Well, consider me chastised.

Notice, though, that I didn't say we can't be competitive with all these injuries. I don't see them as an excuse for missing the playoffs - although we're now down to the bone, where one or two more key injuries would indeed bring us to that point. What I find intensely frustrating about these injuries is that way that they will contribute to the ongoing narrative of mediocrity/'bubble team' surrounding the Habs in the media and among the fans, who will of course forget the missing parts when assessing team performance.

Like you, I'm a huge believer in systems and total team commitment over raw talent. But it remains true that there is no substitute for talent and that you need a certain level of it. The team I saw in November was a team on the cusp of really getting good. Whether it could have sustained that is an open question. But the team I've seen since then is exactly the one I predicted the moment Markov went down - a team that wins its share of games but has to scrap and claw and stare into death's door on a recurring basis: in other words, a playoff-worthy team but only just above the bubble. My aggravation here is more about being denied the chance to see what this team's ceiling really is. In short, these injuries might be artificially keeping us in 'bubble team' territory. As one who is sick of the Habs getting no respect I find that frustrating.

You're right, though, this is nothing compared to the horrors of 2000. Considering the job he did with possibly the worst lineup ever iced by the Montreal Canadiens, it is a mystery to me how it took Alain Vigneault so long to get back to the NHL. But that's another story.

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Like you, I'm a huge believer in systems and total team commitment over raw talent. But it remains true that there is no substitute for talent and that you need a certain level of it. The team I saw in November was a team on the cusp of really getting good. Whether it could have sustained that is an open question. But the team I've seen since then is exactly the one I predicted the moment Markov went down - a team that wins its share of games but has to scrap and claw and stare into death's door on a recurring basis: in other words, a playoff-worthy team but only just above the bubble. My aggravation here is more about being denied the chance to see what this team's ceiling really is. In short, these injuries might be artificially keeping us in 'bubble team' territory. As one who is sick of the Habs getting no respect I find that frustrating.

If these injuries are artificially keeping us in bubble team territory, what are the injuries to the Penguins this year keeping them at? From the best record in NHL history? :)

The Rangers are battling with us pretty much neck to neck, and they've had as many if not more injuries than us. I don't think our injuries have cost us more than two or three points to date.

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But the team I've seen since then is exactly the one I predicted the moment Markov went down - a team that wins its share of games but has to scrap and claw and stare into death's door on a recurring basis: in other words, a playoff-worthy team but only just above the bubble. My aggravation here is more about being denied the chance to see what this team's ceiling really is. In short, these injuries might be artificially keeping us in 'bubble team' territory. As one who is sick of the Habs getting no respect I find that frustrating.

Great point C.C., I completely agree.

I know some of you will bash me for saying this, but all these injuries were bound to happen. When most of your guys are smaller than the average, they have to work harder than bigger guys. Which means they get tired faster and at this time of the year(the dog days of the season) injuries start popping up! I love Gio, but my guess is that he'd be a better player if he were surrounded with guys who are a little bigger(and obviously who have the talent to play on the top 2 lines).

I don't doubt that we can still make the playoffs, but I doubt we'll make it as far as last year. Our guys will be tired by that time of the year.

The Rangers are battling with us pretty much neck to neck, and they've had as many if not more injuries than us. I don't think our injuries have cost us more than two or three points to date.

I respectfully disagree. Markov by himself would have provided us with 5 more points. (just think of all those one goal losses) or all the games we lost in regulation. Had we lost a few of those in OT or SO, that could make a huge difference.

In any case, the injuries to Camms and Max Pac are a great opportunity for both pouliot and AK46 to finally show us if they have what it takes to play on the top 2 lines!

Edited by Habsfan
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Hee hee! Well, consider me chastised.

Notice, though, that I didn't say we can't be competitive with all these injuries. I don't see them as an excuse for missing the playoffs - although we're now down to the bone, where one or two more key injuries would indeed bring us to that point. What I find intensely frustrating about these injuries is that way that they will contribute to the ongoing narrative of mediocrity/'bubble team' surrounding the Habs in the media and among the fans, who will of course forget the missing parts when assessing team performance.

Like you, I'm a huge believer in systems and total team commitment over raw talent. But it remains true that there is no substitute for talent and that you need a certain level of it. The team I saw in November was a team on the cusp of really getting good. Whether it could have sustained that is an open question. But the team I've seen since then is exactly the one I predicted the moment Markov went down - a team that wins its share of games but has to scrap and claw and stare into death's door on a recurring basis: in other words, a playoff-worthy team but only just above the bubble. My aggravation here is more about being denied the chance to see what this team's ceiling really is. In short, these injuries might be artificially keeping us in 'bubble team' territory. As one who is sick of the Habs getting no respect I find that frustrating.

You're right, though, this is nothing compared to the horrors of 2000. Considering the job he did with possibly the worst lineup ever iced by the Montreal Canadiens, it is a mystery to me how it took Alain Vigneault so long to get back to the NHL. But that's another story.

I won't deny that that Carolina game had me thinking this team was about to move into top 5 territory, but teams rarely stay healthy all season and when they do, you get the 2008 Canadiens. A team that didn't lose anybody to a significant injury and maxed their potential. Unfortunately that max potential was on display as they were eliminated. That team didn't really have another gear.

That same team the next season lost key parts and dropped back to where they were supposed to be.

You are too worried about the media's respect level for the Canadiens, I understand that it can influence players if they believe we are a consistent contender but the media are generally ignorant to reality. They proved their mettle when they predicted the Canes and Sabres to finish in 14th and 15th in the East coming out of the lockout and had them both play for the Eastern Conference crown. Then they called the Habs to miss the playoffs, they won the East. Then they called them a Cup contender and they collapsed.

I guess it is about expectation and hope. I expected this team would be better than 2010, but likely be less successful in the playoffs.

Sometimes these seasons are the best thing for future growth, even though the fans can only see past the end of their nose and worry about today. While everybody ran their tires over Carey Price's back, the season that looked on the outside like a disaster was an integral growth season for him. I said it then, I will say it now. How much better will this team look next season if Paccioretty, Pouliot, Eller, Desharnies and Subban develop like they have shown flashes of doing? That is a core of maybe $5M in salaries that will help this team dramatically moving forward, freeing up $$ to augment the offense or defense. Maybe succeeding in positions they weren't sure they could will benefit the Habs in 2012.

I want the Habs to make the playoffs, but I realize that this is not a true Cup contender. So if things do continue to regress I will watch closely how the secondary pieces react to filling gaps. I like where this team is headed unlike many on this board.

Edited by Wamsley01
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I want the Habs to make the playoffs, but I realize that this is not a true Cup contender. So if things do continue to regress I will watch closely how the secondary pieces react to filling gaps. I like where this team is headed unlike many on this board.

I DITTO this. I would be the first to admit that I had huge concerns entering the season. I wouldn't say they are regressing, but actually ahead of where I had them. The key for me is how much these, what you refer to as secondary pieces develop, in a year when there were many question marks coming in. I think the injuries will force Martin into using the youngsters.

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Ok, here is a cup half full view. We still have Avitsin, Boyd, Carle, Henry, Maxwell, Wyman and Palushaj available as viable call-ups.

Guess our depth isn't an issue at the moment.

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I'm not sure I buy the whole 'good teams overcome injuries' argument. Yes, players have to step up, but who can you expect to step up in place of a cornerstone player who's making 5 million a year? If it were that easy, if players could just step up to replace players like that no problem, we wouldn't need to pay for big players. Markov makes 5 million a year because he has a unique skill set that, frankly can't be replaced by anyone in the system. Ditto for Cammy. In the cap era, it's doubly hard to patch up in injured team.

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  • 2 weeks later...

so nobody talking about Camm travelling with the team? looks like a week or two left for him

I don't agree with them, but some rumours have him back this weekend.

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Renaud Lavoie lately has made a point of hashing out frankly some baseless rumours (such as discussing how Kovalev could be returning to the Habs...on the day of Koivu's return no less, suggesting the cap space was available which it clearly isn't but I digress...). Cammalleri's skating. Big whoop, last I checked, you don't need a shoulder to skate. How that translates to "could be back this weekend" is sheer nonsense and amateurish. We'll be much better off when Lavoie gets back to reporting the stories instead of trying to make them.

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Renaud Lavoie lately has made a point of hashing out frankly some baseless rumours (such as discussing how Kovalev could be returning to the Habs...on the day of Koivu's return no less, suggesting the cap space was available which it clearly isn't but I digress...). Cammalleri's skating. Big whoop, last I checked, you don't need a shoulder to skate. How that translates to "could be back this weekend" is sheer nonsense and amateurish. We'll be much better off when Lavoie gets back to reporting the stories instead of trying to make them.

OMG Lavoie... Someone has to remind him Less is More... He talks so much that when he follows through on the description of the game he is already 5 secs behind of the action... 5 secs is A hell of a long time in Hockey!

Why do these oldtimers decribe play by play as if it were radio? is it intended for the visually impaired?

On a PP:

We can see Wiz got the pass on the right side of his stick.. no need to say he takes 3 no, 5 strides to the left, and heads over to the middle then pivots to the left to draw the attacker away from Weber who by the way has his family in town (add a giggle from B.Brunet and a comment how expensive that is for a rookie)... and by the time he says that weber takes a shot and deflects on a D.. Carey Price already is passing the puck to Pk subban who just replaced Weber who isn't even on the rink anymore!!!

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You're talking about Pierre Houde, Renaud Lavoie is one of the beat reporters for RDS.

Oh true!!!! your right! Renaud Lavoie is the reporter who has been known to have "scoops" I had more faith in him before his tweeting days... now it seems he tweets about anything. But it is known he has inside info... I still preffer him than Francois Gagnon

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Oh true!!!! your right! Renaud Lavoie is the reporter who has been known to have "scoops" I had more faith in him before his tweeting days... now it seems he tweets about anything. But it is known he has inside info... I still preffer him than Francois Gagnon

Well, it's been a while since he was right about anything...comes out today that Cammalleri still isn't ready to shoot a puck yet. How, then, could be be ready to play this weekend as Lavoie claimed? But as we're seeing so much now in the media (not just RDS either), scoops before accuracy rules the day.

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What's up with Cammy ? We need him bad.

Hoping to skate with the Habs this weekend (further proving that reports of him being ready to play last week were insane). From there, he'd be another few days to get game ready. I'd imagine he'll be ready for the outdoor game; if all goes well, maybe he's available for the Edmonton game a few days earlier.

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Alright time to worry again... After surtaxing the Habs D since the departure of Markov and then Gorges... We are now seeing the results of this surtax. Injury prone players (yes all teams have them) Yet I believe our D is definitely among the most worn down...What we have left on the team is balancing on a thread... We have 6 possibly alright players ready to dress on Saturday... Can we risk losing one of them in a game with a rival that has nothing to lose?

scenario one: Habs dont do anything because PG is working the phones with the hopes of adding a body down back in a few days

scenario two: Not sure another GM is willing to Tango and we should call of an emergency D and dress 7 D.

scenario three: assuming Gill can't dress.. we have to play Picard, Weber and Spacek over 20 min each... PK, WIZ and Hammer are given they are all +23min each. Does this not seem critical to you?

I think the Islanders were merciful with us last night... any chance the Laughs are gonna do the same?!??! ahhhmmm NO

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Alright time to worry again... After surtaxing the Habs D since the departure of Markov and then Gorges... We are now seeing the results of this surtax. Injury prone players (yes all teams have them) Yet I believe our D is definitely among the most worn down...What we have left on the team is balancing on a thread... We have 6 possibly alright players ready to dress on Saturday... Can we risk losing one of them in a game with a rival that has nothing to lose?

scenario one: Habs dont do anything because PG is working the phones with the hopes of adding a body down back in a few days

scenario two: Not sure another GM is willing to Tango and we should call of an emergency D and dress 7 D.

scenario three: assuming Gill can't dress.. we have to play Picard, Weber and Spacek over 20 min each... PK, WIZ and Hammer are given they are all +23min each. Does this not seem critical to you?

I think the Islanders were merciful with us last night... any chance the Laughs are gonna do the same?!??! ahhhmmm NO

Your concerns are legit, but don't forget that the Habs played back-to-back games, and that the first game was a doozy. Wiz is still getting over the strep, and there was surely an emotional hangover. Try to stay positive!

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Your concerns are legit, but don't forget that the Habs played back-to-back games, and that the first game was a doozy. Wiz is still getting over the strep, and there was surely an emotional hangover. Try to stay positive!

Adaptive and sustainable management, is all Im getting at.

Lets be warry of our D... And yes from the looks of the 9 to 3 slaughter of the Pens... the Isles were saving their fists for the flightless birds

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I think lazy's right...it's unfair to judge the D based on the last two games. If the team fails to rally tonight for a strong all-around effort, though, then I'll start to worry. They've had a couple of days off to lick their wounds and refocus. Win or lose, I want to see the team play a strong, Jacques-Martin-style defensive game with good puck support tonight. Get back to basics, back to the system. We will stand or fall on that basis.

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I think lazy's right...it's unfair to judge the D based on the last two games. If the team fails to rally tonight for a strong all-around effort, though, then I'll start to worry. They've had a couple of days off to lick their wounds and refocus. Win or lose, I want to see the team play a strong, Jacques-Martin-style defensive game with good puck support tonight. Get back to basics, back to the system. We will stand or fall on that basis.

your not getting the point... im not judging the performance of the D... I'm warning about the resilience of our D against our other merciless opponents tonight! Our D is running thin!

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