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Habs-Lightning series discussion thread


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58 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said:

I think DD should take out Byron and add Tatar on that line. He would add size and scoring to that line .

Tatar  / Evans  / Lehkonen , I think that would balance our lines better because our smaller guys are being pushed around by Tampa. Byron hasn't been effective in the series on the score sheet and we need more goals especially in Tampa. 

Byron is in for the sole reason of the danger he presents with his foot speed.  While it hasn’t been effective this series, he’s shown in the previous 3 rounds that he has to be respected while on the ice.  It widens the neutral zone as the defense has to play deeper in their zone, creating a bigger neutral zone gap.  Montreal was exploiting that last game.  Chip and chase from the neutral zone opened up Tampa.  
 

Take away that threat, Tampa plays tighter and makes zone entries and retrievals harder.  I get your reasoning to replace him with Tatar, I just think the threat of what Byron can do is greater than what Tatar will likely add. My opinion of course.

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And add to that Byron's effectiveness on PK. PK forwards are basically Danault, Lehkonen, Byron and Evans -- who can also present a SHG threat. If you take out Tatar, he won't be able to perform that role, so Armia would need to sub in (not that he's terrible on PK either, but he doesn't have Byron's speed).

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4 hours ago, GHT120 said:

The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, and the Montreal Canadiens will seek to add to their record by winning their 24th championship since entering the NHL in 1917, when they meet in the Stanley Cup Final, beginning Monday.

 

Heard NBC refer to the Habs as having won 23 Stanley Cups ... figured it was an error ... but heard Mitch Melnyk explain that the NHL only counts Cups won as part of the NHL ... above is proof of their sectarian, parochial, insular ignorance ... as if the names before 1917/18 aren't actually on the trophy.

 

Am I the only one who had either never heard, or had forgotten, this BS?

 

As recently as 2016 the NHL realized it was 24 Cups:
On this day in 1993, the Montreal Canadiens won their 24th and most recent Stanley Cup championship, defeating the Los Angeles Kings in five games. It also marks the most recent time that a team from Canada won the NHL title.

 

I don't think it is anything to get upset about; it's just a matter of perspective.  The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times, but only won the NHL title 23 times. The league simply tends to refer only to what has happened within their own history. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. When the NHL absorbed the WHA, they didn't suddenly refer to their champions as former NHL champions.

 

Aside from the pre-NHL Cup, their second Cup in 1924 is interesting as well. It was their first Cup as members of the NHL, but winning the NHL only qualified them to play in the Cup Final, where they had to defeat the WCHL champion for the Cup. So if you ever play a trivia game that asks how many times the Canadiens have won the Cup by winning the NHL, the answer is only 22.

 

This came up when my friends and I were playing Wits and Wagers, where everyone submits a numerical answer and then bets on who they think is closest. I knew it was a trick question and went with the 23, since I knew the 1st Cup didn't count, but had no idea the 2nd Cup wasn't won simply by winning the NHL. Everyone knew I was a Habs fan and bet everything on my answer... and we all lost everything since it was even more of a trick question than I thought.

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3 hours ago, Habsfan89 said:

I think DD should take out Byron and add Tatar on that line. He would add size and scoring to that line .

Tatar  / Evans  / Lehkonen , I think that would balance our lines better because our smaller guys are being pushed around by Tampa. Byron hasn't been effective in the series on the score sheet and we need more goals especially in Tampa. 

In the last 17 games (12 regular season) Tatar played he scored no goals ... in his last 17 games (all playoff) Byron has three ... IMO no evidence that currently Tatar will automatically add offence ... TT may be more offensively skilled, but swapping him in for PB on the hope that Tomas suddenly regains his scoring touch would deprive the Habs of one of its top TOI penalty-killing forward (1:41/gm ... 3 seconds per game behind #4 SH-TOI Armia ... and 49 seconds/game more than the 6th place Toffoli) ... in his three seasons in Montreal Tatar averaged only 2 seconds/game on the PK ... as for size ... while objectively Tatar is bigger, this season Byron had over twice the number of hits/60 than Tatar ... I have always thought of Byron as "tougher/more physical" than Tatar ... doesn't seem like a good strategic risk to me.

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47 minutes ago, JoeLassister said:

Sorry guys, totally forgot. One of my kid is sick and so am I. 

Your priorities are right (IMO) ... hope you and your child get well quickly

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