Nov. 5 Blues vs Habs 7:30 PM

[Lovett's Magnatones]

Please, please don't bring up names like that anymore.... I think I have gotten over it and then bam..,then mention of a certain player or the idea of trading PK sends me into a flashback of the absolute horror of the Houle years. Blessed are those who have no idea who those two players you mentioned are... you don't want to know

How about Niklas Sundstrom or Garth Murray?

Andre Savard years, but still...

[hab29RETIRED]

I for one will never want a slug like Parros. He will always be a liability. Maxpac and Eller will make mistakes like all players make mistakes. Over time they are plus players. Parros IS a mistake and will always be a liability and a minus player.

What lift or benefit have we gotten from any of his fights?

One day people want Parros. The next day they want him gone. The coach told him to go out there and scrap Reaves. Maybe somone should have been counting Max Pacioretty's turnovers, because they sure as hell didn't win us the game and he gets paid to score. Or maybe Lars Eller turning the puck over in our zone in O.T. Cut Parros some slack. He's been back 3 games from an awful injury.

[Lovett's Magnatones]

What does that mean? That there are people clamoring for small but skilled guys on the 4th line?

The players that we're waiting to come back from injury for the 4th line are 6'0" and 6'2" and both tough, so I hope that I got this statement backwards.

Yes. It started with Koivu in the 90's, he was the gateway drug, slightly undersized but played with grit. After he signed with Anaheim, fans moved onto the harder stuff, Gomez, Cammalleri and Gionta. The removal of the redline made smurfs readily available and lured us in. By the time Desharnais came around, fans found themselves too deep in their own addiction to enjoy the play of George Parros. Liver disease and cardiac arrest are around the corner.

[Guest Stogey24]

I for one will never want a slug like Parros. He will always be a liability. Maxpac and Eller will make mistakes like all players make mistakes. Over time they are plus players. Parros IS a mistake and will always be a liability and a minus player.

What lift or benefit have we gotten from any of his fights?

We need a heavy weight fighter. Teams know George is ready to fight at the drop of a dime. He keeps players honest. I'm sure you were one of the guy complaining when the leafs walked all over us last year. Or when our fourth line starts a line brawl in the play offs and gets worked. Goons are a part of the game and always will be.

[hab29RETIRED]

Parros is such a liability he will be the cause of cardiac arrest or liver disease.

If you want to see fighting watch MMA or boxing - does anyone even watch boxing anymore? Are there even any boxers with watching?

Yes. It started with Koivu in the 90's, he was the gateway drug, slightly undersized but played with grit. After he signed with Anaheim, fans moved onto the harder stuff, Gomez, Cammalleri and Gionta. The removal of the redline made smurfs readily available and lured us in. By the time Desharnais came around, fans found themselves too deep in their own addiction to enjoy the play of George Parros. Liver disease and cardiac arrest are around the corner.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Watched this affair on "Canadiens Express" last night. Wow - men vs. boys all night, and the Habs weren't the men. I understand people ragging on Parros and the 4th line, but I don't know that I've ever seen Habs defencemen so easily manhandled by forecheckers. We were literally tossed around like ragdolls in our own zone at times.

Somehow we kept it close - thank God for Carey Price.

I get that MaxPac missed some chances, but he was flying all night, along with Gally and the phenomenal Bournival. Galchenyuk had a POS game, one of his worst, I thought. Not reassuring vis-à-vis his readiness to be an NHL centre. Subban is struggling, but battling. It occurred to me last night that he might be trying too hard to be an offensive catalyst and might think about recommitting to the physical aspect of the game. He may be defining himself as a more one-dimensional player than he actually is (typical of a guy in a relative slump; of course, PK in a slump is still better than 85% of defencemen. More alarming was seeing him go down hurt, twice, suggesting a pre-existing injury).

The Blues are a damned strong club, genuine contenders. Anyone clinging to the idea that "anything can happen" and that the Habs have a genuine chance at Cup if we can make the playoffs had better watch this tape. Because once the playoffs start and the whistles are put away, a team built like St Louis will be almost impossible for us to beat, at least with our present lineup.

[DON]

Murray with 8 blocks which Price appreciated, after Murray's early gaff.

Plekanec got worked in faceoff circle.

Lazy stick penalties didn't help.

I liked Eller and Bourque together.

Backes is an underrated player and had 9 hits (I think more than all habs had?).

Reaves with 6 hits was effective player.

But I thought was good game and the youngster scores again.

[Guest Stogey24]

Watched this affair on "Canadiens Express" last night. Wow - men vs. boys all night, and the Habs weren't the men. I understand people ragging on Parros and the 4th line, but I don't know that I've ever seen Habs defencemen so easily manhandled by forecheckers. We were literally tossed around like ragdolls in our own zone at times.

Somehow we kept it close - thank God for Carey Price.

I get that MaxPac missed some chances, but he was flying all night, along with Gally and the phenomenal Bournival. Galchenyuk had a POS game, one of his worst, I thought. Not reassuring vis-à-vis his readiness to be an NHL centre. Subban is struggling, but battling. It occurred to me last night that he might be trying too hard to be an offensive catalyst and might think about recommitting to the physical aspect of the game. He may be defining himself as a more one-dimensional player than he actually is (typical of a guy in a relative slump; of course, PK in a slump is still better than 85% of defencemen. More alarming was seeing him go down hurt, twice, suggesting a pre-existing injury).

The Blues are a damned strong club, genuine contenders. Anyone clinging to the idea that "anything can happen" and that the Habs have a genuine chance at Cup if we can make the playoffs had better watch this tape. Because once the playoffs start and the whistles are put away, a team built like St Louis will be almost impossible for us to beat, at least with our present lineup.

Would you be willing to trade Plek to add size up the middle?

[habs rule]

I feel sorry for Carey, he plays lights out, absolutely awesome and the slugs in front of him can't score any goals. Tough for a goalie to win when his team gets 0,1,or maybe 2 goals. You can't get 2 or less goals a nite and expect to win many games. The goal that beaat him in the shootout was an awesome major league shot, not many guys can put it that high from that close. I thought DD had a really good game and hope he continues as is for a while. I think MT should let PK be PK, he needs to play a full balls to the wall game, have fun and score goals. Parros is good to have against certain teams, not the finesse teams like St Louis, Detroit, Chicago etc. He is the nuclear option so he must be kept in reserve. Murray should leave the puck alone, he can't handle it, 2 games in a row he gets the puck all tangled up in his feet and costs us a goal. Do your job hit people and block shots, let someone else handle the puck. We have a very strong defensive club, we need goal scoring. If there was a way to get Yakupov out of Edmonton we should go get him. It may cost us a Gorges or a Tinordi but we need goals. We are a lot closer to being a very good team, cup material, than some people think. We have goal tending, strong defence, complementary goal scoring, but no real sniper. Our snipers are defencemen, that won't work, Booby Orr they are not. All in all we could have won this game as easily as not and that says a lot because the blues are a very good team.

[Lovett's Magnatones]

I feel sorry for Carey, he plays lights out, absolutely awesome and the slugs in front of him can't score any goals. Tough for a goalie to win when his team gets 0,1,or maybe 2 goals. You can't get 2 or less goals a nite and expect to win many games. The goal that beaat him in the shootout was an awesome major league shot, not many guys can put it that high from that close. I thought DD had a really good game and hope he continues as is for a while. I think MT should let PK be PK, he needs to play a full balls to the wall game, have fun and score goals. Parros is good to have against certain teams, not the finesse teams like St Louis, Detroit, Chicago etc. He is the nuclear option so he must be kept in reserve. Murray should leave the puck alone, he can't handle it, 2 games in a row he gets the puck all tangled up in his feet and costs us a goal. Do your job hit people and block shots, let someone else handle the puck. We have a very strong defensive club, we need goal scoring. If there was a way to get Yakupov out of Edmonton we should go get him. It may cost us a Gorges or a Tinordi but we need goals. We are a lot closer to being a very good team, cup material, than some people think. We have goal tending, strong defence, complementary goal scoring, but no real sniper. Our snipers are defencemen, that won't work, Booby Orr they are not. All in all we could have won this game as easily as not and that says a lot because the blues are a very good team.

Nail Yakupov is a step in the wrong direction, We need bigger forwards, and defense to handle the playoff game. (Did you watch the game, you know, with the Blues)?

Parros is such a liability he will be the cause of cardiac arrest or liver disease.

If you want to see fighting watch MMA or boxing - does anyone even watch boxing anymore? Are there even any boxers with watching?

Boxing is more popular than ever, Floyd Mayweather makes 70 mil a year, the idea that "boxing is dead" or "who watches boxing" is a canard. The smurfaholics/euro lovers are on notice. MB/MT like tough hockey, and tough players, and if you're looking for a return of the 911 Nancies of 2011/2012, I suggest you tune into a rerun of "Dawson's Creek."

[Commandant]

2 Boxers are popular.... Mayweather, Pacquioa maybe a couple more.

But by and large any card that doesn't feature one of those guys is a disaster in terms of revenue.

Didn't used to be that way... sure there were always stars, but now there are less stars than ever, and little attention given to the undercards and lesser known guys. Boxing is really at a crossroads.

As for the more size, more grit, more toughness argument....

sure great, but you better be able to skate.

Guys like Backes, Berglund, Stewart, Bouwmeester, etc.... they can skate.

Guys like parros and Murray are just big plugs.

[Colin]

Nail Yakupov is a step in the wrong direction, We need bigger forwards, and defense to handle the playoff game. (Did you watch the game, you know, with the Blues)?

Boxing is more popular than ever, Floyd Mayweather makes 70 mil a year, the idea that "boxing is dead" or "who watches boxing" is a canard. The smurfaholics/euro lovers are on notice. MB/MT like tough hockey, and tough players, and if you're looking for a return of the 911 Nancies of 2011/2012, I suggest you tune into a rerun of "Dawson's Creek."

Don Cherry? Is that you?

Just to make a point, big and tough doesn't mean fights, it means, well, big and tough. I don't think any of the arguments against fighting mean people want another episode of the Smurfs. I think it just means they don't want guys like Parros and his stage directed fights.

Another small point, I'm not particularly fond of your Cherry-esque quasi-bigotted "euro lover" statement. It's just one comment, and I don't know if it's off-the-cuff and knee-jerkish to the whole anti-fight thing, but its implications are not good. It's no different than the elements of the French fandom who decry anything non-Quebecois.

[Lovett's Magnatones]

2 Boxers are popular.... Mayweather, Pacquioa maybe a couple more.

But by and large any card that doesn't feature one of those guys is a disaster in terms of revenue.

Didn't used to be that way... sure there were always stars, but now there are less stars than ever, and little attention given to the undercards and lesser known guys. Boxing is really at a crossroads.

As for the more size, more grit, more toughness argument....

sure great, but you better be able to skate.

Guys like Backes, Berglund, Stewart, Bouwmeester, etc.... they can skate.

Guys like parros and Murray are just big plugs.

You're completing discounting the Latin American audience. Just because there aren't 10 elite American heavyweights like 1962-1978, doesn't mean that boxing doesn't draw in other countries. It's down in North America, but Latin America is still boxing mad.

[Lovett's Magnatones]

Don Cherry? Is that you?

Just to make a point, big and tough doesn't mean fights, it means, well, big and tough. I don't think any of the arguments against fighting mean people want another episode of the Smurfs. I think it just means they don't want guys like Parros and his stage directed fights.

Another small point, I'm not particularly fond of your Cherry-esque quasi-bigotted "euro lover" statement. It's just one comment, and I don't know if it's off-the-cuff and knee-jerkish to the whole anti-fight thing, but its implications are not good. It's no different than the elements of the French fandom who decry anything non-Quebecois.

The Euro lover comment is over the top. I bet 100$, if you scan any other team's NHL discussion group, there aren't four pages worth of posts attacking goons. Maybe it's a Canadian thing, I know that many Canadians want fighting out of hockey, for whatever reason. If Parros is with Moen, and White, he'll be fine, Therrien is putting him in some curious situations.

[Commandant]

Parros with White and Blunden gave up 3 goals in 7 shifts.

He won't be "fine"

The guy was the worst forward on the worst team in the NHL last season. He simply can't play hockey.

[Neech]

We need a heavy weight fighter. Teams know George is ready to fight at the drop of a dime. He keeps players honest. I'm sure you were one of the guy complaining when the leafs walked all over us last year. Or when our fourth line starts a line brawl in the play offs and gets worked. Goons are a part of the game and always will be.

Who exactly was kept honest? Reaves later took runs at Bournival and Subban, the fight made no difference.

Watched this affair on "Canadiens Express" last night. Wow - men vs. boys all night, and the Habs weren't the men. I understand people ragging on Parros and the 4th line, but I don't know that I've ever seen Habs defencemen so easily manhandled by forecheckers. We were literally tossed around like ragdolls in our own zone at times.

Somehow we kept it close - thank God for Carey Price.

I get that MaxPac missed some chances, but he was flying all night, along with Gally and the phenomenal Bournival. Galchenyuk had a POS game, one of his worst, I thought. Not reassuring vis-à-vis his readiness to be an NHL centre. Subban is struggling, but battling. It occurred to me last night that he might be trying too hard to be an offensive catalyst and might think about recommitting to the physical aspect of the game. He may be defining himself as a more one-dimensional player than he actually is (typical of a guy in a relative slump; of course, PK in a slump is still better than 85% of defencemen. More alarming was seeing him go down hurt, twice, suggesting a pre-existing injury).

The Blues are a damned strong club, genuine contenders. Anyone clinging to the idea that "anything can happen" and that the Habs have a genuine chance at Cup if we can make the playoffs had better watch this tape. Because once the playoffs start and the whistles are put away, a team built like St Louis will be almost impossible for us to beat, at least with our present lineup.

The Blues are a genuine contender, but the fact remains that we took them to shootout. We created a lot of chances and hung in against them. Price was good, but he was only called on for two or three outstanding saves (which he thankfully delivered). We could have easily won this game, and with a better fourth line we would have.

And in the playoffs, yes anything can happen. The Blues play in the west, remember.

[JoeLassister]

Guys like Backes, Berglund, Stewart, Bouwmeester, etc.... they can skate.

Guys like parros and Murray are just big plugs.

What about this one :

Guys like Galchenyuk, Pacioretty, Plekanec, Subban, etc.... they can skate.

Guys like Reaves and Polak are just big plugs.

What is your point ? that the Habs are the only team with big plugs ? Cuz they're not.

[brobin]

The powerhouses of,the league have skill and size, usually up the middle. We simply do not have enough skill to overcome a big fast team. Our D were over powered last night. The team turtled blocking shots and stole a point, but imagine a seven game series against these guys... Ouch.

Signing DD was a mistake, but adding Briere simply compounded it. We can't have Gionta, Gally, DD, and Briere on a otherwise average sized team. We might make the playoffs, but we are not going deep. Our D isn't too bad when Emelin gets back, but we need to add some size up front. It won't be easy, but locking up big bucks on smaller players like DD and Briere doesn't help.

FYI.. Size isn't just height, it's mass, strength, and how you use it. We don't need big and soft, we need big, skilled, and hard working. A six foot two Gally. Lucic comes to mind.

Unless we can get a decent draft pick, not sure how we acquire a Lucic type. Are there any free agents coming up?

[DON]

You're completing discounting the Latin American audience. Just because there aren't 10 elite American heavyweights like 1962-1978, doesn't mean that boxing doesn't draw in other countries. It's down in North America, but Latin America is still boxing mad.

How did boxing become a hockey topic?

[Guest Stogey24]

Parros with White and Blunden gave up 3 goals in 7 shifts.

He won't be "fine"

The guy was the worst forward on the worst team in the NHL last season. He simply can't play hockey.

M.B has a head on his shoulders. Parros was signed for a reason.

[hab29RETIRED]

So how many games that parros has fought in did we win??

We need a heavy weight fighter. Teams know George is ready to fight at the drop of a dime. He keeps players honest. I'm sure you were one of the guy complaining when the leafs walked all over us last year. Or when our fourth line starts a line brawl in the play offs and gets worked. Goons are a part of the game and always will be.

[dlbalr]

So how many games that parros has fought in did we win??

At the moment, that actually could be changed to played.

I don't want to make it seem like I'm being overly hard on him, even that fight yesterday which wound up being costly was a result of him stepping up for a teammate. If only it didn't come at what turned out to be such an inopportune time...

[JMMR]

Pacs is now 2 for 16 on the shootout... This is not his forte.

I would definitely use Markov since none of our forwards can score.

Diaz... Plus 1, 5 blocked shots (only Murray with more).

For someone getting a lot of flack, he has been a pretty reliable D.

Diaz is a lot better than Frank as of late.

[habs rule]

Nail Yakupov is a step in the wrong direction, We need bigger forwards, and defense to handle the playoff game. (Did you watch the game, you know, with the Blues)?

Boxing is more popular than ever, Floyd Mayweather makes 70 mil a year, the idea that "boxing is dead" or "who watches boxing" is a canard. The smurfaholics/euro lovers are on notice. MB/MT like tough hockey, and tough players, and if you're looking for a return of the 911 Nancies of 2011/2012, I suggest you tune into a rerun of "Dawson's Creek."

So your suggestion is we build a team like the flyers of old and just fight all the time? If Nail is a step in the wrong direction, I think you have lost your way. Nail is a gifted goal scorer and not a smurf. And yeah I watched the game, we need a guy to score goals. We can dump DD Briere Gionta as far as I am concerned but we desperately need goal scoring. We got enough fighters thanks.

[Colin]

I wouldn't dump Gio just yet. He can still put the biscuit in the basket. However how drool-worthy were guys like Backes and Stewart. Guys who can deputize on any line you need them.