Round 1: Habs vs Capitals

[Commandant]

19 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

There have been many reports that those CBP agents who tend to be "strident" (in no way all of them) have been emboldened since January 20th ... so pre-January 20th experiences are not entirely relevant.

 

Absolutely.  Its different in the last few months.

[hab29RETIRED]

5 hours ago, Butterface said:

Of course Washington is intimidating. Tom Wilson being one of the best power forwards in the league. They are a big team. 
 

I suspect Xhekaj will sit out the first game and we will see how things fair in front of our net. 
 

Wilson was trounced by Anderson earlier this season, but Anderson won’t be clearing the front of our net.

 

I think Anderson may have to trade his ice time for Wilson’s. If they both sit in the box, that is a trade I’d be willing to make.

 

Capitals D are big, but not nimble. We need to buzz around their net and on the rush. I think Newhook, Demidov, Suzuki and Caufield can do this. Let Slaf, Anderson and Armia worry about the boards. 

 

We can’t compete with their size. So we need to out skate them.

 

Hopefully another David vs Goliath story unfolds… and the oddsmakers take a beating again. 
 

 

His heroics last game notwithstanding, that’s one thing I’m pissed at Guhle for. I like him being physical, but I don’t want him reading ice time with a guy like Domi in a fight, or go for an unnecessary big hit when he other team is asleep like in Chicago. That’s the kind of stuff that got Xhekac stapled to the bench.

 

he is still young. So still lots to learn about time and place, as well as his value to the time and how he hurts his team being gone for 5 min, in exchange for Domi.

[BCHabnut]

1 hour ago, hab29RETIRED said:

His heroics last game notwithstanding, that’s one thing I’m pissed at Guhle for. I like him being physical, but I don’t want him reading ice time with a guy like Domi in a fight, or go for an unnecessary big hit when he other team is asleep like in Chicago. That’s the kind of stuff that got Xhekac stapled to the bench.

 

he is still young. So still lots to learn about time and place, as well as his value to the time and how he hurts his team being gone for 5 min, in exchange for Domi.

I applauded the clean hit on JT. Not so much the fight. The interference hit in Chicago was a mistake for sure, but I want him crushing guys as long as he isn't taking himself out of the play. He is engaged when he's smashing.

[hab29RETIRED]

9 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

I applauded the clean hit on JT. Not so much the fight. The interference hit in Chicago was a mistake for sure, but I want him crushing guys as long as he isn't taking himself out of the play. He is engaged when he's smashing.

Oh, I loved both of hits against Toronto. I hated like the one against Chicago. We need him crushing players - but he has to be aware of time and place, along with making sure he isn’t going to penalized.

What we don’t need is our top pairing D, fighting a Toronto 3rd liner/4th liner. If Matthews wants to stick up for JT, fine. But no reason to fight a grunt.

 

[sbhatt]

16 hours ago, Helmethead said:

As someone who has dual citizenship I can absolutely assure you that over the years I’ve had worse overall experiences with French Canadian CBP than any anglophone or American agents. 

 

I always avoid the lane that has the bilingual designation on it for this very reason when I return by land.

[dlbalr]

Washington has ruled out Martin Fehervary for the rest of the series (and all of the playoffs).  He's not a well-known blueliner but he's an important part of their back end.

[DON]

Was he hurt in the 1st game, i dont recall the name.

[Commandant]

8 minutes ago, DON said:

Was he hurt in the 1st game, i dont recall the name.

 

No, he was hurt in the 2nd last Caps game of the regular season. 

 

He was playing over 19 minutes a game for them in the regular season and had 25 points on the year.  Clearly a key part of their rotation as their 5th highest icetime Dman.

[DON]

 

The Habs’ Playoff Drought Stat is Among the Most Impressive in Sports – HabsWorld.net

"Not even the mighty NFL has a franchise as consistent as the Canadiens."

 

 

Time for Canadiens to act on lessons learned in losses - Sportsnet.ca

If there were three guys who gave the Canadiens a chance, it was Dvorak, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson, who have played a combined 2,113 games in this league — 128 of them in the playoffs.

 

For a second consecutive game, Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle were overwhelmed by the Capitals' onslaught of pressure, and they uncharacteristically rushed plays instead of making them.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Glad to hear that Slaf was upset. Maybe that will fuel him. He needs to start getting pissed off. Played well last game, let’s see him build on that.

[dlbalr]

Game 5 now has a start time, 7 PM ET. https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/game-5-between-washington-and-montreal-will-start-at-7-p-m

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Top lines goals/expected for the playoffs  so far. It’s only been 3 games but Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky are #1

 

 

[DON]

Canadiens playoff hopes, for now and beyond, appear in good hands with Hutson and Slafkovský - The Athletic

 

Hutson is showing it.

When he was on the ice at five-on-five in Game 3, the Canadiens controlled 68.57 percent of the shot attempts, 70.59 percent of the shots on goal and 86.27 percent of the expected goals.

 

The environment in the Bell Centre could have made some young players wilt. It only drove Slafkovský.

“I never experienced anything like that,” he said. “When we first got on the ice before the game started, it was crazy. That’s what it’s all about. That’s why the playoffs are fun. That’s why we want to be here and that’s why we want to keep winning games, so we can have this more and more.”

[tomh009]

Protas (another giant (Bela)russian might or might not be back tomorrow. I see less of an issue with that in game 4, but on Wednesday Carbery has the last change.

[Commandant]

16 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Top lines goals/expected for the playoffs  so far. It’s only been 3 games but Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky are #1

 

 

 

 

 

% is most important here since it factors in both xGF and xGA and while 68.9% is fantastic, its not number 1 in the league. 

[tomh009]

Primeau not recalled yet from Laval? Habs waiting until tomorrow, or js Montembeault well enough to dress as a backup?

[GHT120]

14 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

Primeau not recalled yet from Laval? Habs waiting until tomorrow, or js Montembeault well enough to dress as a backup?

Laval doesn't play until Friday, so unless Montembeault is healthy enough to start the habs should dress Primeau as the backup

[tomh009]

28 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Laval doesn't play until Friday, so unless Montembeault is healthy enough to start the habs should dress Primeau as the backup

Right ... so why did they not recall him? Unless they don't need him, or they are suddenly worried about putting him on waivers.

[GHT120]

Just now, tomh009 said:

Right ... so why did they not recall him? Unless they don't need him, or they are suddenly worried about putting him on waivers.

If Montembeault is injured it would be an emergency recall, I believe, no waivers ... I expect they are waiting to do the paperwork to see how montembeault is tomorrow ... after all, Primeau will likely be at practice anyway, or at worst is a subway ride away.

[dlbalr]

1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

Primeau not recalled yet from Laval? Habs waiting until tomorrow, or js Montembeault well enough to dress as a backup?

 

I don't think they skated today so there was no need to recall him today.  Leave Washington in suspense a little longer.

 

55 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

If Montembeault is injured it would be an emergency recall, I believe, no waivers ... I expect they are waiting to do the paperwork to see how montembeault is tomorrow ... after all, Primeau will likely be at practice anyway, or at worst is a subway ride away.

 

Waivers aren't going to come in play for a while.  He hasn't spent a day on the roster since clearing after Christmas so he can be up for 10 games played/30 days without needing waivers.

[DON]

Big goons just tend to be very popular. 

Habs Weekly: Hanging in There – HabsWorld.net

 

"... Guess what?  Whether Xhekaj was there or not, they were going to elevate their game.

And don’t get me started about how the team is better when he’s in the lineup.  The fact is that late in the season, the Habs had a better record without him than with him...."

 

Gorton discusses growth of Canadiens on ice and off in Q&A with NHL.com | NHL.com

 

You named Nick Suzuki captain on Sept. 12, 2022. He was 23 years old. What did you see in Nick then and what have you seen from him now?

 

"The best thing for me about Nick is that you can just see him getting better every day. Since I've been here, it's been about 3 1/2 years, he's better every season, and not just marginally better...."

[Prime Minister Koivu]

 

 

How the hell?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

49 minutes ago, DON said:

Big goons just tend to be very popular. 

Habs Weekly: Hanging in There – HabsWorld.net

 

"... Guess what?  Whether Xhekaj was there or not, they were going to elevate their game.

And don’t get me started about how the team is better when he’s in the lineup.  The fact is that late in the season, the Habs had a better record without him than with him...."

 

Gorton discusses growth of Canadiens on ice and off in Q&A with NHL.com | NHL.com

 

You named Nick Suzuki captain on Sept. 12, 2022. He was 23 years old. What did you see in Nick then and what have you seen from him now?

 

"The best thing for me about Nick is that you can just see him getting better every day. Since I've been here, it's been about 3 1/2 years, he's better every season, and not just marginally better...."

 

Very interesting interview with Gorton. I never really thought about that aspect of scouting, where the scouts don’t just assess a player, but also assess where he is likely to go in the draft; the whole strategic question around drafting is not just ‘where is this guy on our list?’ But also ‘where is this guy likely to be on other organizations’ lists, so that we can plan to draft him?’

 

Hutson is THE reason the rebuild is ahead of schedule. You draft a franchise, top-10 NHL D-men at #62 overall, it has a massive cascading effect on everything.

 

I love the idea that the team got sick of losing and carved its way out of that trough. There is probably a moment at which a young team can go either way - this way, or the Buffalo way. Fortunately we effected the right pivot and, between MSL, Suzuki, and others, seem to have sufficient internal leadership.

 

20 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Top lines goals/expected for the playoffs  so far. It’s only been 3 games but Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky are #1

 

 

 

If Slaf keeps playing like he has this series, that line will go ‘next level.’ 

[GHT120]

3 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

How the hell?

 

Pinched nerve?

[hab29RETIRED]

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

 

Pinched nerve?

If he is in, keep shooting high on him. Suzuki and Carrière goals was up high and another couple high body shot may make him tentative