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#9: Philadelphia Flyers @ Montreal Canadiens 7:30 EDT


Commandant

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Hmmmm... the last time Montreal won a game 5-1 they then lost 6 straight :unsure:

Maybe that's why they had such poor results in the first 6...getting rid of the curse!

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about friggin time they played like a playoff contender!!! I hadn't had internet access, so wasn't aware the MaxPac was going to be back and i was shocked to see him, great to see him get two goals. Cole also looked good tonight and Price looked like last year's Price.

I for one was very happy to see Pearn go and still think the Penguin needs to go, but he definitely bought himself some breathing room tonight. Still didn't like seeing Pleks on the point on the PP.

Anway, let's hope that MaxPac burns the Bruins tomorrow! Can't ever get payback for what Chara did, but would like him to hurt them at every game where it counts.

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We completely dominated after the first! That was such a great game to watch! Cole, Max, Price... excellent, I thought PK was solid out there, didn't see much of Diaz after the first, but he made some solid plays while the rest of the team was running around.

Great game!

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We completely dominated after the first! That was such a great game to watch! Cole, Max, Price... excellent, I thought PK was solid out there, didn't see much of Diaz after the first, but he made some solid plays while the rest of the team was running around.

Great game!

Yep. Although, I think we were done if we hadn't got that goal in the last few seconds - but then given how the BUffalo game went, we deserved that goal. While we also outshot Florida, i really didn't like the way the boys shot around the FLorida goalie. Darche had 3-4 chances that if was anyone but him shooting, the habs probably would have got at least two goals.

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subban led team in TOI and shifts

price .95 SV%

cole led team SOG

pac 3 big points

we looked to have some stability in the lines over the last 2 games outside of minor adjustments instead of full line over hauls...

a tweak here and there is what we needed.. jacques got the message i think and wont be so quick to constantly abandon ship (i hope)

pk running the PP from the right like in belleville and hamilton... if he can think to pass before shoot from there we might be on to something!

here's hoping Boston is the necessary tonic to get us really rolling!!

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There's something universal about Jacque Martin's being hanged in effigy during the slump. He's probably quite innocent. He's probably been doing mostly the right things for most of the year and yet we're all set to howl and hound him.

Looks a lot like a typical employment situation. And not all that admirable.

I was not expecting a 5-1 victory over the Flyers. Happy me.

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There's something universal about Jacque Martin's being hanged in effigy during the slump. He's probably quite innocent. He's probably been doing mostly the right things for most of the year and yet we're all set to howl and hound him.

I find it laughable that there are so many posts on here about firing Martin.

Its like a ritual. How long have you guys been Habs fans? you should know the drill..

Oh ye of little faith.

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There's something universal about Jacque Martin's being hanged in effigy during the slump. He's probably quite innocent. He's probably been doing mostly the right things for most of the year and yet we're all set to howl and hound him.

Looks a lot like a typical employment situation. And not all that admirable.

I was not expecting a 5-1 victory over the Flyers. Happy me.

I think your observation about scapegoating is quite sharp. If it ain't the coach, then it's a specific player who becomes the sacrificial victim: e.g., Brisebois, O'Byrne, or in Vancouver, Luongo. The fans' need to demonize specific individuals on their 'own' team (sometimes humiliating them publicly to the point where they get sick, c.f. Brisebois) is a very ugly aspect of pro sports, not far removed from schoolyard bullying on a giant scale.

What's comical about the assault on JM is how interchangeable it is with the assault on every other coach past and present. It doesn't matter what you do, everyone and his doberman knows better than you. ALL coaches juggle their lines except when they have a proven, super-successful combination (Sedin-Sedin-Burrows, that sort of thing). Yet go to ANY city and you will hear the fans bitching about line juggling. (Almost) all coaches emphasize a defensive system. Yet go to any city and you hear bitching about the system.

Then there's the whole 'emotion' issue. Unlike the bowl of porridge in Goldilocks, it's never 'just right' as far as fans are concerned. Look at Carbo: shows TOO MUCH emotion on the bench, causing the Habs to get no sympathy from the refs. Fire him! Now it's Martin: doesn't show ENOUGH emotion on the bench, causing the Habs to play lacklustre. Fire him!! This is invariably followed by selective memory, where the fans who were yowling for the coach's blood look on his subsequent performance with other teams and go, 'how could the Habs have fired that guy??' Vigneault. Julien. Burns.

As for his supposed mishandling of young players, that is a total myth unsupported by any evidence. The evidence, in fact, suggests just the opposite.

I've been pretty consistent in saying that if we fall too far out of a playoff spot, we either make a big trade or fire the coach as ways of hitting 'RESET' on the season. But this isn't the same thing as saying that the coach sucks or is wholly to blame. Who knows, maybe Gauthier's 'minimal' move yesterday is a sufficient reset. I hope so, myself.

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Well, that was out of left field. Did the Flyers play badly? Was Montreal really that good? Did the blind squirrel find a nut? Or did firing Perry Pearn really have that much to do with it?? That last question, in particular, is the flyball to left. Deep flyball. Raines is at the fence, but it's going, going.... HE CAUGHT THE BALL! What a play by Timmy Raines!

Is it possible Pearn was somehow a poor intermediary who was detrimental to the message between coach and players? That would be a rare catch by the management/coach.

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I think it was pretty evident that the players were playing with a lot more emotion this game. Cole looked like a man possessed, the fore check was aggressive and guys were actually going to the net. Perhaps the Pearn firing was a wake up call, maybe Price saying " can't be sucking our thumbs, we gotta man up", or even Max coming back early from injury to inspire. Whatever it was, this is the way they have to play to be successful. No more robots going through the motions of the system. The hockey players need to play hockey.

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I will wait to judge how the team is doing after a few more games. If they can keep up this level of engagement, then we should be okay. If they slip back to playing on the outside, then we are back in the deep end.

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We win one game, and here comes the people accusing Hab fans of being irrational. This happens in every city, in every pro sport. Joe Girardi is questioned on every detail, the nature of baseball allows for even more analysis. A man lost his job yesterday. If it continues, JM is next.

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I will wait to judge how the team is doing after a few more games. If they can keep up this level of engagement, then we should be okay. If they slip back to playing on the outside, then we are back in the deep end.

And that's the key, isn't it. The so-called shot across Martin's bow was probably something of a wake-up call for him, and certainly a wake-up call for the team. Do they now hit snooze, or was a negative or coma-inducing element removed which will change the way the Habs approach the game.

Hey, full credit to Gauthier who didn't knee-jerk, but did apply pressure in an unusual but (so far) effective manner. I'm guilty of thinking of the coach as a blanket for the coaching staff, and that's where Gauthier's experience obviously trumps mine. (Although, I have been harping on a Muller replacement, so I must be at least partially right... right? Right? Someone? Anyone? Bueller?) Rather than a full explosion, he set a precise charge which leaves what he believes to be a strong overall leadership in charge, while excising the element that he felt was dragging things down. Now, do the Habs replace Pearn with a Muller-type (the enthusiastic Yang to Martin's Yin)? Or do we see just how well things go like this.

Interesting times.

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I think your observation about scapegoating is quite sharp. If it ain't the coach, then it's a specific player who becomes the sacrificial victim: e.g., Brisebois, O'Byrne, or in Vancouver, Luongo. The fans' need to demonize specific individuals on their 'own' team (sometimes humiliating them publicly to the point where they get sick, c.f. Brisebois) is a very ugly aspect of pro sports, not far removed from schoolyard bullying on a giant scale.

What's comical about the assault on JM is how interchangeable it is with the assault on every other coach past and present. It doesn't matter what you do, everyone and his doberman knows better than you. ALL coaches juggle their lines except when they have a proven, super-successful combination (Sedin-Sedin-Burrows, that sort of thing). Yet go to ANY city and you will hear the fans bitching about line juggling. (Almost) all coaches emphasize a defensive system. Yet go to any city and you hear bitching about the system.

Then there's the whole 'emotion' issue. Unlike the bowl of porridge in Goldilocks, it's never 'just right' as far as fans are concerned. Look at Carbo: shows TOO MUCH emotion on the bench, causing the Habs to get no sympathy from the refs. Fire him! Now it's Martin: doesn't show ENOUGH emotion on the bench, causing the Habs to play lacklustre. Fire him!! This is invariably followed by selective memory, where the fans who were yowling for the coach's blood look on his subsequent performance with other teams and go, 'how could the Habs have fired that guy??' Vigneault. Julien. Burns.

As for his supposed mishandling of young players, that is a total myth unsupported by any evidence. The evidence, in fact, suggests just the opposite.

I've been pretty consistent in saying that if we fall too far out of a playoff spot, we either make a big trade or fire the coach as ways of hitting 'RESET' on the season. But this isn't the same thing as saying that the coach sucks or is wholly to blame. Who knows, maybe Gauthier's 'minimal' move yesterday is a sufficient reset. I hope so, myself.

I agree 100% on this, on every point you made. Firstly the scapegoats on this team are Martin, Spacek, and Gomez. Maybe not as much here, but on twitter and other sites fans are brutal on these guys. Look at the hate for Spacho who is playing well this year, and Gomez who I thought was playing much better than last season but wasn't getting results. However these three are the holy trinity of habs fan hate.I also agree 100% on Martin, he's done nothing wrong, but if this isn't a turnaround, a move might still be needed just to try and get some positive momentum before its too late.

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Colin, my memory isn't the greatest, but didn't we *add* an additional coach this summer in Landouceur, bringing in both he and Cunneyworth to replace Muller? So you could argue the Pearn firing just streamlines the operation and making full use of a guy who Gauthier clearly feels is an upgrade on Pearn. I'm not sure we need to hire a new assistant to replace Pearn. If we do, I hope it's Denis Savard, who seems to be the ideal 'assistant coach' type.

EDIT: Commandant, we should add Price to the list of guys scapegoated by fans. It's worth remembering that if Carey hadn't been quite a strong mentally as he is, he might well have been destroyed by the fan pressure and hostility. Lucky for the fans he 'chilled.'

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My memory isn't the greatest, but didn't we *add* an additional coach this summer in Landouceur, bringing in both he and Cunneyworth to replace Muller? So you could argue the Pearn firing just streamlines the operation and making full use of a guy who Gauthier clearly feels is an upgrade on Pearn. I'm not sure we need to hire a new assistant to replace Pearn. If we do, I hope it's Denis Savard, who seems to be the ideal 'assistant coach' type.

Or maybe one of the other two steps up to be the rah-rah emotional guy I feel Martin needs.

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Or maybe one of the other two steps up to be the rah-rah emotional guy I feel Martin needs.

Yeah, according to Francois Gagnon that is exactly what Ladouceur brings: http://www.cyberpresse.ca/chroniqueurs/francois-gagnon/201110/27/01-4461654-perry-pearn-plus-quun-sacrifice.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B4d__476072_section_POS3

He's in effect the Muller replacement. It may even be possible that Pearn was given a chance to step up in Muller's absence, while at the same time Ladouceur was kept in the wings if it didn't work out. And it didn't, so here we are.

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I'm not a "stats" guy. But I did come up with one just now. We're 3 points out of 8th, with only 73 games left to play!!!! Does make me wonder about about that November 1st cut-off date.

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Yeah, according to Francois Gagnon that is exactly what Ladouceur brings: http://www.cyberpres...72_section_POS3

He's in effect the Muller replacement. It may even be possible that Pearn was given a chance to step up in Muller's absence, while at the same time Ladouceur was kept in the wings if it didn't work out. And it didn't, so here we are.

Or perhaps Ladouceur was intimidated and not letting his inner rah-rah out with Pearn there. Or perhaps Pearn was shutting down the rah-rah. Either way, Gauthier saw something and acted. Fingers crossed it wasn't a one-game infusion of passion, but rather will continue long-term.

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You guys are getting deep into this, interesting theories. I'd love to know, never really will. I wouldn't be surprised if it was simply a move for the sake of moving. The heat is on, do something, or you go.

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You guys are getting deep into this, interesting theories. I'd love to know, never really will. I wouldn't be surprised if it was simply a move for the sake of moving. The heat is on, do something, or you go.

Perhaps, but Gauthier has never been a move-for-the-sake-of-moving guy. He's a planner; always has been. Same mould as Bob Gainey - nothing done without a reason. I have to believe that, while the club was sinking, he was investigating (or had a good idea already and was verifying), and when the water got too hot, he layethed the smacketh down. Probably did a good People's Eyebrow in his office at Pearn as well. People's Elbow. You know what the Goat is cooking'.

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