habsfan88 Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 1st - Kovalev is back to all-star form..he is on his way to another fantastic year and it looks as if he has put those gruesome new york ranger years behind him. 2. Koivu is going to have one of his best years this year especially when it comes to goals. He will get about 35 goals this year just watch. i know it has only been 8 games..and i have seen him put up points but i have not seen him score THIS much..so watch out for koivu this year 3. Zednik...can't say much about him because he has been injured...i think he will be back for the game on tuesday though.. What other habs do you think will have a breakout/outstanding year this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habmanonthepacific Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Do you think Zednik will go back to his first line spot or are we in for a major line shuffle? Could he be reinserted on the second line with Ribeiro and Ryder? Could that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les_glorieux Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 probably not. 1. you generally don't lose your position on a line due to injury. 2. he does't play well with r n' r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habsfan88 Posted October 23, 2005 Author Share Posted October 23, 2005 Personally, I'd like to see zednik back on the first line, and maybe perezhogin can be put on the second line..but i think it will be a major line shuffle either way because with zednik coming back, that means we have to scratch a player who is easily starting player material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohabsgo252006 Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 I am convinced that Zhogs will remain on the first line and there are 2 major reasons for it. First off, why mess with something that is working beautifully, K and K are enjoying playing with him and they are producing, no reason to change it. Second and most importantly, I think some of the inspired play we are seeing from Kovalev may be attributed to Zhogs. This is b/c of his new mentor status for the youngster, he seems determined to play well and help Zhogs. I think taking his young countryman off of his line while they are producing may anger him a bit. I think when Zednik comes back, he may join the second line, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see him play with Bonk and Bulis, to give them a finnisher on that line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habsfan88 Posted October 23, 2005 Author Share Posted October 23, 2005 i dont think he;d be very happy/productive on the 3rd line....but thats just my opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redondo Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Yeah, keep Perezhogin on the 1st line. If Koivu and Kovalev have taken him under his wing and he seems to have responded, let him keep learning from them. I don't think he'd have that kind of benefit on the 2nd with Ribeiro and Ryder for the simple fact that even though both have been successful last season, they're still pretty young. Now there are problems with Zed both on the 2nd (chemistry problems with Ribs in the past, forget where I heard this) and 3rd (less ice time, plus he's not the most defensively aware guy out there), but it still doesn't merit breaking up the first truly DOMINANT line we've had in recent years. Side question for you guys, if we'd placed Zed on the IR back at the season's start, would we have been able to keep Hossa and not send anyone down? I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think we could've used him on that 3rd line in the NYI game, instead of moving Begin and having to ice that awkward 4th line with Dags on it........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les_glorieux Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 is zednik playing against philly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Originally posted by les_glorieuxprobably not. 1. you generally don't lose your position on a line due to injury. 2. he does't play well with r n' r interestingly, glorieux, in an interview on RDS, Jacques Demers was saying the opposite. He said that it isn't surprising if a player loses his position due to an unjury. He expects that Zednik will NOT go back with K & K because he (Zednik) isn't a good sharer of the puck whereas Perezhogin is more of a 'team' player in that he will play co-operatively with his linemates and can dig in the corners for the puck just as well as Zednik can. :hlogo::ghg::hlogo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habsfan88 Posted October 23, 2005 Author Share Posted October 23, 2005 oh man..i can just hope for him to put up similar numbers even on a different line..and really wouldnt like to see him leave here because hes unhappy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohabsgo252006 Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 I think they should try Zed out with Ribs and Ryder and if it doesn't work blow it all up, who's to say which line would be which. Zednik Bonk Ryder Bulis Ribs Plekanek Higgins Begin Sundstrom and if that doesn't work then shift em around again...It's the beautiful problem of depth once people are healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matsnaslundsuperfan Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Originally posted by shortcat1interestingly, glorieux, in an interview on RDS, Jacques Demers was saying the opposite. He said that it isn't surprising if a player loses his position due to an unjury. He expects that Zednik will NOT go back with K & K because he (Zednik) isn't a good sharer of the puck whereas Perezhogin is more of a 'team' player in that he will play co-operatively with his linemates and can dig in the corners for the puck just as well as Zednik can. I disagree with Jacques Demers. Are you sure he didn't get those players reversed. Zednik I expect will be on the first line. Watching Koivu, Kovalev and Zednik cycle the puck down low was a BIG reason Habs went so far in the playoffs last time around. I can't imagine them not starting off together when he's back. Then again, I've been wrong alot more than right when it has come to HABIBLICAL issues of late. :hlogo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Originally posted by matsnaslundsuperfan Originally posted by shortcat1interestingly, glorieux, in an interview on RDS, Jacques Demers was saying the opposite. He said that it isn't surprising if a player loses his position due to an unjury. He expects that Zednik will NOT go back with K & K because he (Zednik) isn't a good sharer of the puck whereas Perezhogin is more of a 'team' player in that he will play co-operatively with his linemates and can dig in the corners for the puck just as well as Zednik can. I disagree with Jacques Demers. Are you sure he didn't get those players reversed. Zednik I expect will be on the first line. Watching Koivu, Kovalev and Zednik cycle the puck down low was a BIG reason Habs went so far in the playoffs last time around. I can't imagine them not starting off together when he's back. Then again, I've been wrong alot more than right when it has come to HABIBLICAL issues of late. :hlogo: That's a great one! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLP Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 anyone know when Zed is back? Philly? Will be interesting to see where he ends up, I used to hate it when Vigneault juggled the lines because whatever he came up with there were weak components on every line. Now this new crop of players are going to make Julien look like a genius -- I mean, Begin with Bulis and Bonk worked, it's almost like yo ucould throw the current forwards' names into a hat and randomly gran three at a time and you'd end up with a pretty good set of lines! ... (ok maybe leave Dags' name out of the hat) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 that players do not lose their spot to injury is a universal sports maxim that tends to be a ingenuous lie told to players to encourage their loyalty. In a world where coaches get fired for sneezing, most will not hesitate a second to ice whatever line he thinks best. Some might have the foresight to think that providing players with a level of security improves the team, but most are swayed by the short-term. What can often happen is letting a player come back to the first line, then demote him a week later (although the first line might be considered to important to play this game). All of this is to say, I think i see Perezhogin on the first line once zed comes back. It should be noted that it has been a while since zed has player with ribs. Ribs and ryder should be more mature and zed is a tough digger who, on paper at least, should help the 2nd line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohabsgo252006 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I would hope that Zednik cares enough about the team and about winning to not complain about playing on the seocnd line assuming that line can click and start to produce...If he's that concerned about not playing on the first line, we might as well trade him for a Dman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 All three of those are reasonable concerns. I'm not sure but if he is a prima donna of sorts that may very well be a source of difficulties. In so far as I can see, I don't see that in his character (or not too much anyway). He's taken a lot of punishment for the team and has carried on for it. :hlogo::ghg::hlogo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I'd like to see Higgins get some quality playing time on the second line with Ribeiro and Ryder. Unfortunatley that means dropping Zednik to the Bonk line, leave Perezhogin on the 1st line as they've been the best line for Montreal night in, and night out. But I think Zednik, Bonk and Bulis or maybe even Plekanac can make a great 3rd line, and Zednik would still get plenty of ice time with the PP as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I am really excited about Zednick getting back soon....the sooner the better, of course. The CH present edition is suppose to be on the fast side of neutral but when you ad Zednick in the line-up...then there is just no question about it,....the team is one of the FASTEST team out there.....and will make consequently a net gain upon its return......whichever line he en-up playing with. But my guess as to which line he end-up with ? The second line of course. Perezhogin is a notch above Zednick and that alone is enought to extent his playing on the first line. You would need a good reason not to let that happen and neither Kovu or Kovalev would object to thatin any way. Zednick will bring the required speed needed to complemented Rib and Ryder along with his forechecking and finishing talent.....and they will do just fine on the power play second-wave. But its all speculation, since after all, Julien as never verbally disqualified Dagenais from a return on the second line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Napier Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Originally posted by kaosI'd like to see Higgins get some quality playing time on the second line with Ribeiro and Ryder. Unfortunatley that means dropping Zednik to the Bonk line, leave Perezhogin on the 1st line as they've been the best line for Montreal night in, and night out. But I think Zednik, Bonk and Bulis or maybe even Plekanac can make a great 3rd line, and Zednik would still get plenty of ice time with the PP as well NO WAY, not in a million years will Zednik end up on the third line. Even if Julien puts him there for a shift I'm sure Zednik will be back on one of the 2 top lines before the game is over. Question is which one. Breaking up the first line doesn't seem like a good move right now. Perezhogin and Koivu have amazing chemistry together and Kovalev is Perezhogin's mentor. I think Zednik would be a good fit on the 2nd line adding some grit (yes he does have some grit), maturity and speed to the second line. He is good at getting pucks along the boards and that's needed on that line. If there is some sort of personality clash with Ribeiro, Zed should be enough of a vet to overcome it. I don't know....Julien may just give him the first line based on seniority and not making waves with the teams top scorer. Should be very interesting but a 3rd line assignment is not in Zednik's future (not in the long run anyway- maybe for some conditioning where he won't play so many minutes but that's it. I don't think even this will happen). We could see some juggling of Perezhogin and Zednik between the top 2 lines to see who fits where best but it's hard to believe that the first line could be better than it is now with the players available including Zednik. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I doubt Juliien will touch the top line since its performing so well. Zednik may very well end up on the second line with Ribeiro and Ryder, and I hope very much that works out if it does happen. But Chris Higgins has been awesome this year so far with his speed and energy and I think he deserves a look. He definitly didn't look out of place with his promotion to the top lines in the last game. I think a line of Zednik, Bonk and either Plekanac, or Bulis would be a great line, with potential great chemistry being that their all from Czechaslovakia/Slovakia. They'd get 15 + minutes a games and lots of time on the PP, and its spreads Montreals scoring over a third line. Whatever Julien does, I'm sure Zednik will get alot of playing time, and hopefully he'll pop his usual 25 to 30 goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Originally posted by kaosI doubt Juliien will touch the top line since its performing so well. Zednik may very well end up on the second line with Ribeiro and Ryder, and I hope very much that works out if it does happen. But Chris Higgins has been awesome this year so far with his speed and energy and I think he deserves a look. He definitly didn't look out of place with his promotion to the top lines in the last game. I think a line of Zednik, Bonk and either Plekanac, or Bulis would be a great line, with potential great chemistry being that their all from Czechaslovakia/Slovakia. They'd get 15 + minutes a games and lots of time on the PP, and its spreads Montreals scoring over a third line. Whatever Julien does, I'm sure Zednik will get alot of playing time, and hopefully he'll pop his usual 25 to 30 goals. Members of the thirth line are ask to spend aditionnal time on the PK unit not on the PP and thats why Zednick will not play on this line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Well considering that you drop a forward on the PK unit its still either Bonk and Bulis, or Bonk and Plekanac, as well as I've seen Koivu and Begin who if I recall are on the 1st and 4th lines respectively with plenty of PK time so thats really not a problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maple_leafs... Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Who cares, either way Leafs will kill the habs in the playoffs, and that's if habs even get that far. Don't let this early success get to your heads, habs fans, cause when Sundin comes back it's gonna be scary.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Napier Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Wow a leaf troll . Hadn't seen one of them here yet > And what's up with everyone with pictures of Gretzky for their avatars??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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