The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Franchise of Futility vs Franchise of Forever Projected line combos, courtesy Daily Faceoff Canucks exceed the Habs in every way, except in net, where I assume Casey DeSmith will be between the pipes owing to Demko's injury (as well as the fact that you'd dress him anyway, against a bottom-feeder like Montreal). I will be at this one, along with the 18 000 or so other local Habs fans who always swarm the arena when les boys come to town. GO HABS GO! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Hope the Habs get a win for you buddy. Have fun tonight CC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Mattheson and Guhle play amongst the hardest opponents in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Another entertaining close one would be appreciated. I see... 2 goals for Newhook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Colin White has been pretty good the last game or two. Another solid shift from the fourth line early in the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Canadiens warmup lines in Vancouver: Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovský RHP-Newhook-Armia Gallagher-Evans-Anderson Pezzetta-White-Pearson Matheson-Harris Guhle-Kovacevic Xhekaj-Savard Montembeault Primeau Interesting defensive pairings. Matheson, Harris is different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Oh well only down 2-0, could be worse. Killed all 3 PPs Suzuki 4/8, Evans 5/10 on faceoffs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Slafkovski with his 15th, nice tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Well, that was one of the worst performances by a Habs team I’ve had the misfortune of seeing live. The first 10 minutes were good. They were competitive. Then Vancouver gradually took over. The hinge moment was probably when DeSmith stopped Gally in close from a beautiful Suzuki feed. After that it was all downhill. What I was startled by was just how physically dominant the Canucks were. Bigger, stronger, and extremely businesslike, they won most of the board battles and basically manhandled the Habs the entire night. I think you’d have to have been there in person to fully appreciate the extent of this domination. I didn’t see much pushback either, including from the guys you might expect to bring it, i.e., WiFi, Slaf, Anderson, etc. It was a game where the extent of Vancouver’s control was so overwhelming that you could almost feel the self-belief draining from the Canadiens as the night ground along. The Canucks I saw last night were scary - a team in complete command, clamping down defensively, getting all the goals they need, and grinding the sh*t out of the opponent, shift by shift. That looked like a squad ready to go deep, playing Rick Tocchet hockey. By contrast, the Habs had waaaaaaaay too much dead weight, especially in the bottom 6. Whether it’s Gally or Anderson (LOL) or Pearson or White, etc., etc., these are duds who simply cannot hold their own against a strong and determined squad like Van was last night. That third period was utterly listless. Impotent. It’s easy, when you look at the 38 one-goal games or whatever it is, to think that we are one major additional FW away from making the playoffs. But last night’s spectacle suggested a team that needs quite substantial improvement up and down the lineup - a team that is a LONG way away. The only particular positive that jumped out to me was Newhook. His speed is something to see, and he’s making plays with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Yes, Pearson, White, Anderson seem pretty useless, unless are on team tank i suppose, but still hard to pull for those guys to do anything positive. But Habs and Canucks not comparable at this point; if had of kept Monahan and added at deadline and still sucked would of been worse obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 2 minutes ago, DON said: Yes, Pearson, White, Anderson seem pretty useless, unless are on team tank i suppose, but still hard to pull for those guys to do anything positive. But Habs and Canucks not comparable at this point; if had of kept Monahan and added at deadline and still sucked would of been worse obviously. Well, yes - I’m not denying that! Thank God we’ve been maximizing assets, because the team we have is garbage. This was probably an outlier game, i.e., an especially lacklustre performance from a team coming off a disappointing loss in EDM, missing its iconic coach, and with nothing to play for. Nevertheless, it was an abject lesson in how truly far away we are from being a serious team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 I'd also say that the reffing played a part, there were a number of ticky tack calls against the Habs early, while the Canucks were getting away with some stuff. I mean the trip on Suzuki was a bad call, and then before the Vancouver goal, there was a board battle where a Habs player took an elbow to the face right in front of the ref with no call. Add that into the points CC has above that the team is facing the Refs as one more obstacle and they folded up shop after those ten minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 13 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Well, yes - I’m not denying that! Thank God we’ve been maximizing assets, because the team we have is garbage. This was probably an outlier game, i.e., an especially lacklustre performance from a team coming off a disappointing loss in EDM, missing its iconic coach, and with nothing to play for. Nevertheless, it was an abject lesson in how truly far away we are from being a serious team. I wouldn't call it garbage. They just need some secondary scoring. They are headed in the right direction. I am not surprised that this game was a bit of a letdown as they put up a tremendous effort in Edmonton and were the better team in most of that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 26 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: I wouldn't call it garbage. They just need some secondary scoring. They are headed in the right direction. I am not surprised that this game was a bit of a letdown as they put up a tremendous effort in Edmonton and were the better team in most of that game. Well, remember, I recognized above that this game was likely an outlier. Nevertheless, it's accurate to say that the team as currently constituted is garbage. And a game like that really underscores he yawning gap between these guys and a contending group. The organization is not garbage, however. Lots of young talent in the pipeline and lots of assets to use as leverage in deals that can help us get better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 I hadn't watched a Habs game in a few weeks, I tuned in to see what the big fuzz was about Armia being a 2nd line winger. Well, he isn't. === Despite being targeted all night and coughing up the puck a few time sunder pressure, I liked Guhle's game. I also loved Slafkovky-Suzuki-Caufield. My potato-head eyes saw Savard unable to neutralize the VAN forward on two goals, and that made almost loose one... Mrs potato-head would have been mad at me! Go Rocket Go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Who is calling Armia a 2nd line winger. I don't anyone thinks he is one. He's playing on the second line by default, but I don't think anyone, here or media wise, thinks he's a top-6 player long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, Commandant said: I'd also say that the reffing played a part, Why is it, that the losing team's fans seems is the only one to ever complain about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 46 minutes ago, DON said: Why is it, that the losing team's fans seems is the only one to ever complain about this. Commandant can speak for himself, but I took his point to be that the team knew it was in tough against a powerful opponent, was coming off a difficult loss against EDM, and that under those conditions the "ticky tacky" calls sapped the energy and morale needed to really give Van a go. On a human level, that makes sense. It's just contrary to the brand that MSL has instilled of being a team that fights to the finish, win or lose. Even Canucks commentators were saying that "the Habs are a team that doesn't quit" and expressed surprise, therefore, that the third period was so completely dominated by Vancouver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, Commandant said: Who is calling Armia a 2nd line winger. I don't anyone thinks he is one. He's playing on the second line by default, but I don't think anyone, here or media wise, thinks he's a top-6 player long term. Third line is probably the most appropriate place for him, with the ability to move temporarily up to second in case of injuries (like now). At $3.4M overpaid for that role, but with a more modest contract he would still be a credible middle-six winger, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 11 minutes ago, tomh009 said: Third line is probably the most appropriate place for him, with the ability to move temporarily up to second in case of injuries (like now). At $3.4M overpaid for that role, but with a more modest contract he would still be a credible middle-six winger, I think. there was a comment on another thread about playing Armia on the 2ns line. I think that @DON or @tomh009 asked me if I had watched recent games and I had not watched for weeks. I came into this game inpart curious to see if Armia was playing like a 2nd line winger. I have him playing on the 3rd line next year and excelling on that role before being traded for a 3rd (or later) pick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Reasonably speaking, few Habs played a great game last night, Armia was far from the only one. From moneypuck.com: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 12 minutes ago, tomh009 said: Reasonably speaking, few Habs played a great game last night, Armia was far from the only one. From moneypuck.com: wth is that ? % of what ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 18 minutes ago, JoeLassister said: wth is that ? % of what ? Sorry, I snipped a bit too much. that's xGF% (expected goals for percentage). xGF% does depend on the opposition so Suzuki's number should not be directly compared to White's, for example, but, as a team, the Habs are all clustered far lower than they would be after most games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Ok makes sense now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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