GDT Apr. 24: Game 5, Ottawa vs Montreal

[ICEWATER77]

Now that I've slept on it..I'm still PISSED!! We are being let down by most of the top minute guys..Carey Price included(but he gets a pass to a certain degree) Max, DD, AG, Plek, BG, DSP, Markov, THE POWERPLAY, to a lesser extent Gilbert, and last but not least Coach. Is he going to keep this lineup intact(especially on the pp!) and try it again sun? WTF?!

[kuternoga]

That was Game 5, round 1 and the score wass... 5:1. Lol. I'm pissed too. Awful, pathetic game by boys. Can our "top line" finally awake?

[Habs30/31]

A new day. They need to win one game against a team they just beat three times in a week. Will it be in Ottawa on Sunday or in a dramatic game 7 back in Habtown. If Pacs is hampered by some injury (would not be cleared to play with concussion) some one else will have to step up with some offense. The muckers have got them this far. The top six have to step up, or we are going seven!

[Habs30/31]

Now that I've slept on it..I'm still PISSED!! We are being let down by most of the top minute guys..Carey Price included(but he gets a pass to a certain degree) Max, DD, AG, Plek, BG, DSP, Markov, THE POWERPLAY, to a lesser extent Gilbert, and last but not least Coach. Is he going to keep this lineup intact(especially on the pp!) and try it again sun? WTF?!

I hear ya. Have seen this in the reg season and they just pull out of it. Problem in play-offs you have less time to pull out of it. Coach is doing what we are, watching and waiting to pull out of it.

Sens have slowed the habs bests player down through the neutral zone. Covering the stretch pass. Pleks had a shorthanded break away but that was probaly Andersons only highlight save. That and one on chucky early.

Need the first goal and need it early.

[Habs30/31]

Half-way desperate at this point: I feel like Sergei Gonchar [who was booed continuously in Ottawa as a Senator] will rise to the occasion and haunt the sens in place of Gilbert if MT decides to do the switch for gm6

As for the Forwards...another dry showing.

Tidbits for Sunday:

1) firmly believe Lars Eller deserves to be on first PP unit..he is overdue to explode

2) if Gilbert plays: pull a Claude Julien and use Gilbert's size as a screen like Chara does on Boston: camp out front for 2nd unit of PP

3) enough of this markov subban rotation rubbish....put subban on LW and possibly go with Pleks on the right point with Eller and DSP down low (umbrella)

4) Lastly, keep the shots to the perimeter....Price will stop it if he can see it 92% of the time

Hire this man.

problem? I would love Eller on first pp unit. MT wont do it because DD owns that spot.

1 for 21 on the powerplay. Thats the series right there. Should be over if the pp was clicking at more than 4.8 %

[dlbalr]

To be fair, Max is god awful on the PP. When's the last time he got a PP goal.

Pacioretty has the lone PPG for the Habs in this series. But yes, he has never been a major sniper on the PP; he had just 7 this year out of his 37 goals which is pretty low.

Parenteau will be in for DLR Sunday, you can bank on it

I'd like to think Parenteau will be in. I don't see it being for de la Rose though. At his worst, he's still a 'safe' player and those guys get a ton of rope. I could see Flynn sitting though.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I don't have any miracle suggestions. It comes down, as the cliché says, to our best players playing like a team's best players.

I love PK, but he's not producing as power-play QB, nor has he really done much by his lofty standards since his explosion in Game Two. Markov has had a sketchy series, frankly. Patches has not been Patches. Price is simply not radiating that impeccable sense of mastery and total control that he did for most of the season; the Sens now believe he is a beatable, so his psychological advantage is gone. Toss in Pleks being useful but for some reason constantly missing the net, DD being in and out in terms of his offensive-zone creativity, and Galy CONTINUING - like some sort of hedgehog who only knows one thing - to be a perimeter player who constantly tries the rookie play of deking guys out rather than using the whole ice, and the core guys are simply not being core guys.

MB shored up the depth, but his core is letting him down big-time.

All that said, one win in Ottawa and all of this goes away.

But at least we now know the answer to the question of whether a PP means as much in the playoffs. Hoo-boy does it ever. A decent PP and this series would be over.

[DON]

Pateryn gets 1st playoff pt.

46-25 shots

Pelly/Weise 5shots-12hits.

Galchenyuk 3rd star, 3shots 4 hits

Prust also had good game.

Plekanec only Hab centre under 50% again.

Kudos to Anderson, he had another solid game.

Flynn-MItchell-Prust all -2.

And of course Sens 2/4 and Habs 0/3 on PP.

[habs rule]

Boy there sure seem to be a lot of pissed off Habs fans on here today. And I am one of them. They came out hard in the first and couldn't score, somone has been saying for 3 years, this team needs a sniper. Max on the PP is kinda useless, maybe 2nd pp is better for him. We have to put different people out there for 1st line PP. Subban may as well play the whole 2 minutes. Put Gonchar with him. Marky is sliding. Giveaways, getting beat to the puck. He simply does not have the speed anymore. He misses the puck at the oposition blueline and you know it is now Prices problem cause Marky can't recover anymore. I made a big thing about the PP all season long and got ridiculed that it was not that important cause we can score 5 on 5. Really? and how do you feel abut that now? This series would be over if we could score on the PP. We have the people. What could be the problem, maybe it is the guy who says, "we talk about it everyday" isn't that nice, how's that working for you Mike? This team is very offensively challenged, they need to take every advantage that they can. Apparently other teams know exactly what to do to shut them down. Maybe a little change is in order? You brought gonchar in to help with the PP, not that he did much, but we are getting desperate, try something for fork's sake.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Pateryn gets 1st playoff pt.

46-25 shots

Pelly/Weise 5shots-12hits.

Galchenyuk 3rd star, 3shots 4 hits

Prust also had good game.

Plekanec only Hab centre under 50% again.

Kudos to Anderson, he had another solid game.

Flynn-MItchell-Prust all -2.

And of course Sens 2/4 and Habs 0/3 on PP.

All these positives, plus six goals, get you a W last night.

Bottom 6 has been strong, agreed. No problem there.

I agree about putting Gonchar in. He showed a lot of smarts when we first got him. The concern is probably that in dressing both him and #79 we'd have two mobility-challenged, over-the-hill veteran defencemen and be even more vulnerable to turnovers and forecheck.

One thing I forgot to add in my post above is that Therrien has to make adjustments. That's part of what's gone on here - Cameron has adjusted, now MT has to adjust back - i.e., the traditional playoff coaching dance.

[hab29RETIRED]

The shots on goal state is meaningless. Too many of the were from the point, or from the perimeter and most were without any net presence whatsoever.

This is why I didn't want to play the Sens. Their goalies typically don't allow in point shots they can see. Bishop and Anderson are two goalies the habs don't do well against.

They also know our PP is useless. That is a coaching issue. Cameron has adjusted, MT has been asleep.

Pateryn gets 1st playoff pt.

46-25 shots

Pelly/Weise 5shots-12hits.

Galchenyuk 3rd star, 3shots 4 hits

Prust also had good game.

Plekanec only Hab centre under 50% again.

Kudos to Anderson, he had another solid game.

Flynn-MItchell-Prust all -2.

And of course Sens 2/4 and Habs 0/3 on PP.

[hab29RETIRED]

100% agree with you about the stupidity of not fixing the PP. MT is the embodiment of stubborn stupidity. Throwing the same guys out with the same stupid game plan.

Don't know what the hell we got Gonchar - a supposed PP specialist, if he isn't going to play. No lineup changes after Wednesday was dumb.

Not giving Eller 1st unit time in the PP is dumb. If the habs blow this 3-0 lead le genius should be tarred and feathered before he is fired.

Boy there sure seem to be a lot of pissed off Habs fans on here today. And I am one of them. They came out hard in the first and couldn't score, somone has been saying for 3 years, this team needs a sniper. Max on the PP is kinda useless, maybe 2nd pp is better for him. We have to put different people out there for 1st line PP. Subban may as well play the whole 2 minutes. Put Gonchar with him. Marky is sliding. Giveaways, getting beat to the puck. He simply does not have the speed anymore. He misses the puck at the oposition blueline and you know it is now Prices problem cause Marky can't recover anymore. I made a big thing about the PP all season long and got ridiculed that it was not that important cause we can score 5 on 5. Really? and how do you feel abut that now? This series would be over if we could score on the PP. We have the people. What could be the problem, maybe it is the guy who says, "we talk about it everyday" isn't that nice, how's that working for you Mike? This team is very offensively challenged, they need to take every advantage that they can. Apparently other teams know exactly what to do to shut them down. Maybe a little change is in order? You brought gonchar in to help with the PP, not that he did much, but we are getting desperate, try something for fork's sake.

[Habs30/31]

I don't have any miracle suggestions. It comes down, as the cliché says, to our best players playing like a team's best players.

I love PK, but he's not producing as power-play QB, nor has he really done much by his lofty standards since his explosion in Game Two. Markov has had a sketchy series, frankly. Patches has not been Patches. Price is simply not radiating that impeccable sense of mastery and total control that he did for most of the season; the Sens now believe he is a beatable, so his psychological advantage is gone. Toss in Pleks being useful but for some reason constantly missing the net, DD being in and out in terms of his offensive-zone creativity, and Galy CONTINUING - like some sort of hedgehog who only knows one thing - to be a perimeter player who constantly tries the rookie play of deking guys out rather than using the whole ice, and the core guys are simply not being core guys.

MB shored up the depth, but his core is letting him down big-time.

All that said, one win in Ottawa and all of this goes away.

But at least we now know the answer to the question of whether a PP means as much in the playoffs. Hoo-boy does it ever. A decent PP and this series would be over.

great post

[Habs30/31]

100% agree with you about the stupidity of not fixing the PP. MT is the embodiment of stubborn stupidity. Throwing the same guys out with the same stupid game plan.

Don't know what the hell we got Gonchar - a supposed PP specialist, if he isn't going to play. No lineup changes after Wednesday was dumb.

Not giving Eller 1st unit time in the PP is dumb. If the habs blow this 3-0 lead le genius should be tarred and feathered before he is fired.

Prices stellar play since gold medal has hidden and/or made up for team short comings. You are right that a major one is the powerplay. Sometimes you can get by without one. Other times, like when your goalie is not stealing wins, having a good powerplay is paramount.

[Habs30/31]

The shots on goal state is meaningless. Too many of the were from the point, or from the perimeter and most were without any net presence whatsoever.

This is why I didn't want to play the Sens. Their goalies typically don't allow in point shots they can see. Bishop and Anderson are two goalies the habs don't do well against.

They also know our PP is useless. That is a coaching issue. Cameron has adjusted, MT has been asleep.

cant argue with that.

43 shots.....DD had zero, and had zero shot attempts. Yea thats who i want playing center on the first line and powerplay. Only other hab with zero shots emelin.

Eller to first line center. DD third line winger.

PP could QUIT SHOWING THE SENS THE SAME THING EVERY GAME ! They could now defend it blind folded.

[hab29RETIRED]

You can't bench DD at this time of the year, but they need to shuffle the lines. Usually he shoots more without maxpac.

I'd try maxpac-eller-galchenyuk, pap-pleks-gally, DLR-DD-smith-pelly, prust-mithell-weisse

cant argue with that.

43 shots.....DD had zero, and had zero shot attempts. Yea thats who i want playing center on the first line. Only other hab with zero shots emelin.

Eller to first line center. DD third line winger.

PP could QUIT SHOWING THE SENS THE SAME THING EVERY GAME ! They could now defend it blind folded.

[dlbalr]

You can't bench DD at this time of the year, but they need to shuffle the lines. Usually he shoots more without maxpac.

I'd try maxpac-eller-galchenyuk, pap-pleks-gally, DLR-DD-smith-pelly, prust-mithell-weisse

I'm not sure I'd want to ask Galchenyuk to play a new position right now. If you're going to move the lines around, that's fine but putting him on the right side is probably asking for trouble. Parenteau on the left, a position he has only played sparingly in the past, could be another issue.

Should the Habs be looking to try to load up one line right now or try to keep somewhat-balanced lines while rejigging them in the process? Hard to say really.

[Habs30/31]

I'm not sure I'd want to ask Galchenyuk to play a new position right now. If you're going to move the lines around, that's fine but putting him on the right side is probably asking for trouble. Parenteau on the left, a position he has only played sparingly in the past, could be another issue.

Should the Habs be looking to try to load up one line right now or try to keep somewhat-balanced lines while rejigging them in the process? Hard to say really.

Tend to agree. Games 88 and line juggling, position juggling???

Everybody has played with everybody. You cant go to a line that you have not broke up multiple times already. ie "the blender"

May as well do the ping pong ball lottery machine to make up the lines ....or Michelle Therrien.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

People blame MT for fiddling too much (the 'blender') even as they blame him for not fiddling enough (the PP). That's the way it goes.

MT's major mistake, it seems to me, was in leaving the configuration that lost Game Four pretty much intact. This was a reasonable move in principle - after all, those guys had just gone up 3-0, and were entitled to another shot, etc. - but it blew up. Therrien must now make adjustments, both to game plan and personnel. Given DD's struggles, a bigger role for Eller would seem an obvious place to start.

Here's another thought. Much has been made of the Habs's use of the 'stretch pass' in this series. That approach is yielding declining returns as the Sens have adapted to it. But - and correct me if I'm off-base on this - I don't recall the Habs constantly relying so heavily on stretch passes in the regular season. So the obvious inference is that this was a deliberate strategy that worked for a while but doesn't any more; and the team needs to get back to the short, quick passes on the transition and close support for the puck carrier. If these guys still keep trying the long bomb next game, we'll know that either they or MT have failed to adjust.

[dlbalr]

Here's another thought. Much has been made of the Habs's use of the 'stretch pass' in this series. That approach is yielding declining returns as the Sens have adapted to it. But - and correct me if I'm off-base on this - I don't recall the Habs constantly relying so heavily on stretch passes in the regular season. So the obvious inference is that this was a deliberate strategy that worked for a while but doesn't any more; and the team needs to get back to the short, quick passes on the transition and close support for the puck carrier. If these guys still keep trying the long bomb next game, we'll know that either they or MT have failed to adjust.

I think the Habs have used the stretch pass a lot all year to be honest. I've griped many times about how the wingers fly the zone way too early, a byproduct of frequent stretch passes. Quite a few Pacioretty breakaway goals have come that route as well. Perhaps they're using it a bit more than usual in the series but I wouldn't expect that to change for tomorrow as it has been in their DNA all year.

[Lovett's Magnatones]

People blame MT for fiddling too much (the 'blender') even as they blame him for not fiddling enough (the PP). That's the way it goes.

MT's major mistake, it seems to me, was in leaving the configuration that lost Game Four pretty much intact. This was a reasonable move in principle - after all, those guys had just gone up 3-0, and were entitled to another shot, etc. - but it blew up. Therrien must now make adjustments, both to game plan and personnel. Given DD's struggles, a bigger role for Eller would seem an obvious place to start.

Here's another thought. Much has been made of the Habs's use of the 'stretch pass' in this series. That approach is yielding declining returns as the Sens have adapted to it. But - and correct me if I'm off-base on this - I don't recall the Habs constantly relying so heavily on stretch passes in the regular season. So the obvious inference is that this was a deliberate strategy that worked for a while but doesn't any more; and the team needs to get back to the short, quick passes on the transition and close support for the puck carrier. If these guys still keep trying the long bomb next game, we'll know that either they or MT have failed to adjust.

Someone said the Sens were playing the 1-3-1, which cuts the "stretcher" off from their teammates. If the Sens are being that passive, I dont see a stretch pass working. They'all have to try a two man forecheck to take advantage of the lone D man.

[DON]

Maybe the full-court press is the way to go!

[dlbalr]

So clearly the 'fancy GDT' didn't turn things around. Who wants to try their luck for Game 6?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

So clearly the 'fancy GDT' didn't turn things around. Who wants to try their luck for Game 6?

I'll try to change the luck by attempting my first GDT. If only I could figure out how to insert images, it might look cooler. But expect a heartfelt yet bare-bones effort.

[dlbalr]

I'll try to change the luck by attempting my first GDT. If only I could figure out how to insert images, it might look cooler. But expect a heartfelt yet bare-bones effort.

Any .jpg images (I think there are a couple of other accepted formats as well) can be copy/pasted directly where you're pulling it from. Alternatively, you can insert a link URL. On the second row of buttons in the post (or reply screen), look to the immediate left of <> and you'll see a frame-like image. Click there, and paste the URL of the image. Click OK and the picture should appear.