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Game 1, Habs vs Bruins, 7:30 PM


dlbalr

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Vanek needs to get it going. What happened? Is he hurt? Did MT piss him off? what is going on. With him and patches and DD clicking we have a real shot at beating these deadbeats. I remember the old days when we used to hear that Price really wasn't that good and had never stolen a game for us. Well I guess we put that bit of crap to bed. Since he stole most of this season and is prepared to do it in the playoffs as well. Great discipline by the guys, MT seems to have them all believing. Good on him now get Melanby to talk to Vanek.

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This game was a warning that the Habs must not let up. They cannot "turtle" to protect a lead, no matter how big the lead, or how late in the game. They need to keep up the intensity at all times.

While there were concerning elements in the game, I think there are quite a number of positives to take away from it.

1) Montreal WAS able to put sustained pressure on Boston.

2) Montreal's Powerplay is still capable of doing the job.

3) Rask is beatable.

4) Carey Price can steal us games.

and, perhaps most relevantly:

5) The Habs "anemic offense" has scored 20 goals in five playoff games. We scored four on BOSTON. That's as many goals in 1 game that Detroit managed in their first four.

Yes, there are things to work on, but this game showed me we can compete. This is a real series, not a cakewalk for the Boo-ins.

All good points Jeff. If, good Lord willin' 'n the crik don't rise, Vanek either recovers from an injury or finds his Mojo.. then we will have a first line to contend with. It may be that the relocation to avoid Chara disoriented him too. Who know. Pas moi.

And we might well have just slipped into back on our heels mode not just for the first 10 minutes... but after going ahead by one and then two goals. This will burn the typical oursehole like hotsauce and beer in a Mexicali bordello. Inflamed ourseholes can be ugly and they keep scratching away at you.

And I envisioned our gang that could shoot straight flying at them a lot more ... and they very well might just do exactly that. We have seen it.

I have even less of an idea what to expect for lunch tomorrow than I did racing home from Ottawa to watch the game yesterday, but you are right to remind us of just how effective we can be and the superlative elements we have to throw at another team.

Go Habs Go!!! :1banana:

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Vanek needs to get it going. What happened? Is he hurt? Did MT piss him off? what is going on. With him and patches and DD clicking we have a real shot at beating these deadbeats. I remember the old days when we used to hear that Price really wasn't that good and had never stolen a game for us. Well I guess we put that bit of crap to bed. Since he stole most of this season and is prepared to do it in the playoffs as well. Great discipline by the guys, MT seems to have them all believing. Good on him now get Melanby to talk to Vanek.

I speculate that he must be hurt. His play .. the little I've watched it .. seems to show a guy with a natural feel and full involvement in what's in front of him. He may not be able to perform as well but is out there to at least skew defensive coverage. Somehow I just can't see him just dogging it all of a sudden.

Speaking of all of a subban.... wow...what a hell of a game... :clap:

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Guest Stogey24

I speculate that he must be hurt. His play .. the little I've watched it .. seems to show a guy with a natural feel and full involvement in what's in front of him. He may not be able to perform as well but is out there to at least skew defensive coverage. Somehow I just can't see him just dogging it all of a sudden.

Speaking of all of a subban.... wow...what a hell of a game... :clap:

All of the sudden? We all know Vanek has offensive talent, but he's been known for gliding around and doing zero back checking. Therrien said Vanek wasn't hurt(probably wouldn't say if he was anyways) and that the line juggling of him was all performance based.
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Some other stats from last night, from NHL.COM:

Period MTL BOS

1st 10 13

2nd 7 9

3rd 6 14

OT 6 14

2nd OT 4 1

Total 33 51

Team Stats
Category MTL BOS
Power Plays 2/3 0/2
Hits 45 56
Faceoff Wins 37 51

Giveaways 15 14

Takeaways 13 3
Blocked Shots 30 14
Penalty Minutes 6 8

I've highlighted the things I found notable in red.

Periods 1 & 2, we played almost even, even in shots on net boston only had a slight advantage.

Periods 3 and 1OT were bad, bad things. We were reeling. Why was Boston able to dominate there and not the other half of the game?

2OT didn't last long enough to be a good sample, but remember part of it was 4-on-4 (which heavily favors montreal) and then a montreal powerplay.

Hits! We almost kept up to boston in laying down the body. That's great, especially without resorting to anything dirty.

Blocked Shots - this statistic is a double-edged sword. We blocked more shots because boston took a hell of a lot more shots. Still, if Boston wins the possession battles, those blocked shots are things you need to do to counter it.

Takeaways continues to impress. We excel at picking their pockets.

Giveaways concern me. We are usually more disciplined than that.

Well more takeaways because we didn't have the puck for them to take away much...

And giveaways because they had everyone hearing footsteps or bracing for a hit when they got near the puck.

Pretty effective.

The near equivalence of hits if not of the equivalent hits.... is pretty good alright.

I am so curious to see how things will go tomorrow against a team that simply CANNOT lose again at home.

WHOOOOEEEE!

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That was a really crucial victory.

If the Habs lose the game, it sets up a must-win in the second game, less than 36 hours away.

I like how the "rest" factor is in our favor with the short turnaround. Guys like Lucic, Chara, etc will be gassed by the third period.

Wtf was up with the "finger gun salute" by Boychuk? He has five fingers; one finger for each goal he scores in a calendar year. And Krug, what a bunch of losers. "Hey, we're on home ice, and we're playing catchup in game 1, let's dance!" That reminds me of the late 90's New England Patriots.

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Vanek was responsible for one of Boston's catchup goals...he didn't cover his man.

Ya, I didn't catch that myself but one of the commentator's did.

I really do think he must be hurt, because he seems a different guy out there and though I don' t know him well, it just all seems out of character. He even seems to take regular season games.... all 82 (insanity) of them.. seriously. I can't believe he's packing it in for the playoffs. I think Bergeven would have known his character pretty well.

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I'd cut Torey Krug some slack. He's a rookie, and playoff emotions run high. (Queue Bergevin dance.)

I have no idea what to make of Vanek's non-performance. He looked ... ineffectual and lost. And without him, Pacioretty and Desharnais, as hard as they're working, seem unable to produce.

Edited by Jeff Price (no relation)
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That was a really crucial victory.

If the Habs lose the game, it sets up a must-win in the second game, less than 36 hours away.

I like how the "rest" factor is in our favor with the short turnaround. Guys like Lucic, Chara, etc will be gassed by the third period.

Wtf was up with the "finger gun salute" by Boychuk? He has five fingers; one finger for each goal he scores in a calendar year. And Krug, what a bunch of losers. "Hey, we're on home ice, and we're playing catchup in game 1, let's dance!" That reminds me of the late 90's New England Patriots.

I agree 100% LM.. love your moniker.. wish I were that clever and funny.....

The win was absolutely crucial. Totally different pressure situation in game 2.

And on a separate note.. what the hell's with Bergeron crosschecking PK in the face, and later another Hab.

Blatant horseshipp.

The refs gotta jump on da punk.

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I'd cut Torey Krug some slack. He's a rookie, and playoff emotions run high. (Queue Bergevin dance.)

I have no idea what to make of Vanek's non-performance. He looked ... ineffectual and lost. And without him, Pacioretty and Desharnais, as hard as they're working, seem unable to produce.

I sincerely hope that Vanek really was just a little overwhelmed and lost out there and that he's not hurt. Scenario 1 he can emerge more plausibly perhaps.

I thought that was Marchand with the crosscheck? My memory is a muddy nervous jumble. The 3 coffees I've had today aren't helping with the jitters.

Actually... you're absolutely right and its my 4 coffees doing the talking here. It was Marchand and it really piffed me off to see that dirty crap. Refs will see the replay.

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On Krug and Boychuck - I don't have a problem with players gesticulating during goal celebrations, and I think the NHL culture of demonizing anyone who dares to do so is completely ridiculous. But what is even more enervating is the massive double standard whereby it's OK for anyone who is a Bruin or Leafs to do it; nobody says anything then. If PK does it, though, LOOK OUT!! He is a disgrace to the game etc., etc., etc..

The REAL rule is that black players and Europeans are not allowed to do it. But I guess we're not allowed to say that.

Lovett made a great point. We lose that game, we're in really, really tough for Game Two. Now all the pressure is on the Bruins.

On the cross-check, I think the Habs are playing it exactly right. By never retaliating, we are putting all the onus on the refs, and I'm betting that if we keep that up, we will remove all the usual excuses not to make the calls against the Bruins. Basically we are shaming the refs into doing their damned job. That will work in our favour as the series progresses IF we can keep it up.

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Actually, not calling that cross-check may yet save us the series.

Imagine if they'd called the 5 minute major, and Montreal's powerplay clicked the way it did all game for 2 more powerplay goals.

Now we've got a four goal lead, and boston stops playing with comeback desperation and starts playing with the brutality that they are known for when they fall behind. It's possible that Chara or Lucic take a run at someone and get suspended, sure, but this is Boston. It's equally possible that they take a run at one of our players, leave them with a broken neck, and have the intentional assault glossed over by the league as "a hockey play."

At best, that powerplay helps us win the game. We won it anyway.

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That would have been a 5 minute major and a game misconduct, had they seen it. Imagine 2-3 more powerplay goals that game... :canada:

You're not kidding... what a wild scenario.

And that hip check on the new club favorite "Bourkey" formerly.. well, never mind..

I honestly didn't think that one merited a penalty having delivered a hip like that upon occasion myself.. at a much lower pay scale of course....

Actually, not calling that cross-check may yet save us the series.

Imagine if they'd called the 5 minute major, and Montreal's powerplay clicked the way it did all game for 2 more powerplay goals.

Now we've got a four goal lead, and boston stops playing with comeback desperation and starts playing with the brutality that they are known for when they fall behind. It's possible that Chara or Lucic take a run at someone and get suspended, sure, but this is Boston. It's equally possible that they take a run at one of our players, leave them with a broken neck, and have the intentional assault glossed over by the league as "a hockey play."

At best, that powerplay helps us win the game. We won it anyway.

Now that's what I call circumspection... and perspicatious circumspection at that... :clap:

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On Krug and Boychuck - I don't have a problem with players gesticulating during goal celebrations, and I think the NHL culture of demonizing anyone who dares to do so is completely ridiculous. But what is even more enervating is the massive double standard whereby it's OK for anyone who is a Bruin or Leafs to do it; nobody says anything then. If PK does it, though, LOOK OUT!! He is a disgrace to the game etc., etc., etc..

The REAL rule is that black players and Europeans are not allowed to do it. But I guess we're not allowed to say that.

Lovett made a great point. We lose that game, we're in really, really tough for Game Two. Now all the pressure is on the Bruins.

On the cross-check, I think the Habs are playing it exactly right. By never retaliating, we are putting all the onus on the refs, and I'm betting that if we keep that up, we will remove all the usual excuses not to make the calls against the Bruins. Basically we are shaming the refs into doing their damned job. That will work in our favour as the series progresses IF we can keep it up.

Good points guys.

Isn't this FUNNNN!!

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CC said "The REAL rule is that black players and Europeans are not allowed to do it. But I guess we're not allowed to say that."

Fear based prejudice and bigotry is just part of the human makeup at its' lower animal level. I remember being on a bus in Vancouver across from 2 asian background ladies yapping away in singsong Chinese at a pretty good volume.

A young man a couple of seats back, .. ..right out of the blue... roared out "SPEAK ENGLISH !!!" in a violent and commanding way.

And it was just because they were different and removed from our normal discourse and understandings.

How frightened was that man.

I'm sure the two young Asian women will remember that all of their lives as I do.

I'm an english speaking guy born in Quebec with an Anglo mother and english speaking dad whose family was originally french until my grandfather was born in Nevada following a business venture failure and return to la truly belle province.

When I moved to Ontario in my mid teens I was struck by the dumbasss low level prejudice and ignorance still manifest in some quarters towards those best of all possible people.. les francais de Quebec. ( I have a reverse prejudice and can forgive any fault ..."secular values" impositions excepted..... committed by any Quebecois.

Reason over passion as Pierre Trudeau used to say and no doubt still does in the great beyond. :canada::quebec:

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All true, Toronthab.

Although let's also not forget the institutionalized fear that the provincial government of Québec has for the English language...

Note: I love the French language. I took it voluntarily all the way through high school in a futile attempt to gain fluency in it. I even read Alexandre Dumas' "Le Compte de Monte Cristo" in OAC Ontario French class, a long long time ago. I had to read it again in English years later. Seems to me that the only province in this country, however, that remembers that we are a bilingual country, is New Brunswick with their Frenglish/franglais. Most of the rest of Canada seems to think we are only English, or only French.

Edited by Jeff Price (no relation)
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What an embarrassment for people like myself from Boston. With the tweets, and the over-the-top media in Boston, it's safe to say that this series has gotten embarrassing.

But to be fair, I'm sure 95% of those tweets were from high school kids. Adults who have jobs to lose, and children don't embarrass themselves over social media. There's a reason that when Facebook started, you had to be a college student, and you were limited to your college network.

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At one point yesterday, I thought that Habs line were just like the ones we used to use in HWL during the playoffs.

Lines that nobody has ever seen before !!!

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All of the sudden? We all know Vanek has offensive talent, but he's been known for gliding around and doing zero back checking. Therrien said Vanek wasn't hurt(probably wouldn't say if he was anyways) and that the line juggling of him was all performance based.

Thanks Stogey..that clarifies the situation for me somewhat.

During the regular season games I thought he was a lot more involved at least from my relatively unfocused perspective.

I didn't know he was known to float.

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The biggest surprise so far in these series is the emergence of Rene Bourque and Lars Eller. Who would have expected their contribution so far? Simply incredible.

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All true, Toronthab.

Although let's also not forget the institutionalized fear that the provincial government of Québec has for the English language...

Note: I love the French language. I took it voluntarily all the way through high school in a futile attempt to gain fluency in it. I even read Alexandre Dumas' "Le Compte de Monte Cristo" in OAC Ontario French class, a long long time ago. I had to read it again in English years later. Seems to me that the only province in this country, however, that remembers that we are a bilingual country, is New Brunswick with their Frenglish/franglais. Most of the rest of Canada seems to think we are only English, or only French.

Too much so I suppose mon ami. Le Compte de Monte Cristo!! En francais! Formidable!!

I am fortunate that my family .. with limited success.. certainly encouraged me to "celebrate"..overused term.. our bilingual success story in Canada. Montreal is for me the quintessentially Canadian city in this regard. We really do have a pretty danged good thing going in Canada. I'll count our blessings including of course..... :habslogo::quebec::canada:

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