GDT Round #1: Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game #1 - Montréal Canadiens @ Washington Capitals - Monday, August 21st @ 7PM EST

[bar]

I guess I'm in the minority thinking last night was worrisome. I think the habs will be grinded down as the series goes on and will wilt under having one line thats a scoring threat and a very one dimensional PP unit.

 

I want to be wrong, but at this point I'm just happy with the team getting to the playoffs, getting some experience. I also think learning now what kind of player Laine is, and how he really shouldnt fit into the teams long term plans is valuable knowledge.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

Xhekaj doesnt stop the Caps from hitting the Habs d.  Thats who they are and his 15 minutes isnt going to stop Wilson, ovechkin, etc from forechecking.

 

Struble is much better than Xhekaj.  Im not taking him out to play Xhekaj.

 

Savard is key on the PK and also a rhd.  Im not taking him out, screwing up the PK, and then having one if struble/Xhekaj play out of position.

 

The best way to stop them forechecking is to keep the puck in the washington end.  Forecheck them instead.

 

The issue last night was not getting enough of your own physical play.  Both goals came when Slaf started causing issues in front of Thompson and retrieving pucks behind the net.  Thats what we need more of.  Thats what gallagher/anderson already do and thats why it was our second most successful line on the night.

 

Having Armia with Demidov and Newhook gives that line someone to do that job.  While Heineman and Evans can do that job with Laine.

 

 

 

This is modern NHL thinking. The “put in WiFi” calls are old NHL thinking, circa 1983. “Oh we got pushed around…better put in the guy who can throw ‘em even if he takes dumb penalties and it creates structural havoc with the rest of the D set-up.”  It doesn’t work, which is why goons are no longer standard operating procedure. (Not that Xhekaj is a goon, but the only reason for dressing him is that he can fight, so same principle).

 

I would only dress Xhekaj if I felt my team was soft and physically intimidated. That is, I’d dress him because of his effects on MY team, not his effects on the other. And I didn’t see a team that was intimidated or soft last night. They were physically dominated, but that’s not the same thing - as the third period comeback showed.

 

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

Matheson isnt perfect.  But Xhekaj isnt playing his 25 minutes and isnt moving the puck the way he does.  Again the way to avoid the D being forechecked is to control the puck more in their end.

 

Matheson was putrid last night - unusually so. We need him to be better, and we know he is capable of being better, so while I can understand a call to replace him with Xhekaj (!) at a gut level, I can’t believe anyone actually wants that.

 

1 hour ago, Commandant said:

 

I dont think big changes are needed.  That said one of the 4 lines did get caved in analytically and were a -2 in goals.

 

Especially on the road, id move Armia to the Newhook-demidov line just to give it more structure and not let the caps get ovi on the ice with our two worst defensive forwards.

 

Line 2 is the big problem. As was fully predictable. Newhook is not a #2C, Laine does not reliably make the smart or responsible play, and Demidov is a raw rookie. I don’t know that Armia is the answer, but I do know that Armia will play responsibly and grind, which Laine obviously can’t be counted on to do.So may as well give that a go.

[Plutarch]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

Matheson isnt perfect.  But Xhekaj isnt playing his 25 minutes and isnt moving the puck the way he does.  Again the way to avoid the D being forechecked is to control the puck more in their end.

Oh for sure. I was just speaking to how bad a game Matheson has.

[Plutarch]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

You cant play two.centres on the same line unless you are playing Kapanen at centre which seems a bridge too far for him IMO.

 

With my lines youd give a lot of minutes to the top line but the 

 

Armia Newhook Demidov

And

Laine Evans Heineman 

 

Line would both get about the same 5v5 icetime.  Its not one over the other 

Fair. I really liked what I saw from Evans and the idea of him with Demidov and Laine makes some sense in my head

 

Would this make sense in your opinion...

 

Laine-Evans-Demidov

Armia-Newhook-Heineman

[BCHabnut]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

You cant play two.centres on the same line unless you are playing Kapanen at centre which seems a bridge too far for him IMO.

 

With my lines youd give a lot of minutes to the top line but the 

 

Armia Newhook Demidov

And

Laine Evans Heineman 

 

Line would both get about the same 5v5 icetime.  Its not one over the other 

While Armia would stabilize the 2nd line defensively,  I think that line would be even easier to defend . Everyone knows Armia is hurt and can't shoot. Including the Capitals.

[Commandant]

16 minutes ago, Plutarch said:

Fair. I really liked what I saw from Evans and the idea of him with Demidov and Laine makes some sense in my head

 

Would this make sense in your opinion...

 

Laine-Evans-Demidov

Armia-Newhook-Heineman

 

I think Evans is slightly better than Newhook defensively so it improves.  But the problem remains that Laine and Demidov are the two worst defensive forwards on the team right now.  One is a raw rookie who may get better and Laine is who he is.

 

My goal was breaking up the two of them and so both lines have two.solid defensive players.... and not have both liabilities playing together 

 

I went to the original line from the Demidov debut but i wouldnt have an issue with

 

Laine Newhook Heineman

Armia Evans Demidov

[Commandant]

7 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

While Armia would stabilize the 2nd line defensively,  I think that line would be even easier to defend . Everyone knows Armia is hurt and can't shoot. Including the Capitals.

 

They arent defending the Laine Newhook Demidov line cause they are hemming that line in their own zone.  

 

Laine had 5 shots but all the dangerous ones were PP and not 5v5.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

44 minutes ago, bar said:

I guess I'm in the minority thinking last night was worrisome. I think the habs will be grinded down as the series goes on and will wilt under having one line thats a scoring threat and a very one dimensional PP unit.

 

I want to be wrong, but at this point I'm just happy with the team getting to the playoffs, getting some experience. I also think learning now what kind of player Laine is, and how he really shouldnt fit into the teams long term plans is valuable knowledge.

 

I didn't find last night worrisome at all. The Habs got better as the game went along and had the Caps on their heels for much of the 3rd period. They could have easily won the game but couldn't quite finish. 

 

Sure the Habs still have some holes (ie 2nd line center) but that won't be fixed during the playoffs. The Caps had the 2nd best record in the NHL this year and the Habs gave them all they could handle. A lot of positives for me. 

[BCHabnut]

42 minutes ago, bar said:

I guess I'm in the minority thinking last night was worrisome. I think the habs will be grinded down as the series goes on and will wilt under having one line thats a scoring threat and a very one dimensional PP unit.

 

I want to be wrong, but at this point I'm just happy with the team getting to the playoffs, getting some experience. I also think learning now what kind of player Laine is, and how he really shouldnt fit into the teams long term plans is valuable knowledge.

Last night the refs were ok with hits to the numbers, leaving your feet (Wilson on Guhle) and an over the top amount of hits before touching the puck, very late after playing the puck, or nowhere near the puck in the first place. A different pair of refs could continue calling it that way, but my guess is they will call it differently.  Habs don't get nearly as pummeled if some of those interference plays are called. We will see. I also expect a game plan based on just that. Caps are committing to big hits and taking themselves out of the play. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't more stretch plays.

[BCHabnut]

3 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

They arent defending the Laine Newhook Demidov line cause they are hemming that line in their own zone.  

 

Laine had 5 shots but all the dangerous ones were PP and not 5v5.

Haha. That's a very good point. 👍 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

43 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

This is modern NHL thinking. The “put in WiFi” calls are old NHL thinking, circa 1983. “Oh we got pushed around…better put in the guy who can throw ‘em even if he takes dumb penalties and it creates structural havoc with the rest of the D set-up.”  It doesn’t work, which is why goons are no longer standard operating procedure. (Not that Xhekaj is a goon, but the only reason for dressing him is that he can fight, so same principle).

 

I would only dress Xhekaj if I felt my team was soft and physically intimidated. That is, I’d dress him because of his effects on MY team, not his effects on the other. And I didn’t see a team that was intimidated or soft last night. They were physically dominated, but that’s not the same thing - as the third period comeback showed.

 

 

There is probably no bigger fan of Arber on these boards than me  BUT the playoffs are a different animal and discipline is more important than retribution as you simply can't take bad penalties.  Players need to look out for themselves more. Sure, the Caps are a bigger stronger team but I didn't see the Habs being intimidated at all last night. Agree on that point. They played with passion. I trust MSL to make the right decision on what defensemen to dress. 

[BCHabnut]

Did anyone else notice at least 3, maybe four bank shot zone clears where the puck was cleared from the d zone, cross ice, banked off the boards and hit Thompson? It almost looked like it was practiced. I'm not sure, but I think armia did at least 2.

[TurdBurglar]

21 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

Did anyone else notice at least 3, maybe four bank shot zone clears where the puck was cleared from the d zone, cross ice, banked off the boards and hit Thompson? It almost looked like it was practiced. I'm not sure, but I think armia did at least 2.

 

I'm sure it's practiced by all teams.  It's getting the puck all the way to the other end of the ice and not getting an icing call. 

 

I really didn't like how Montreal tossed the puck out of the zone as often as they did.  The pressure got to them.  They started to deal with the high pressure in the 3rd by the wingers blowing the line when it looked like the puck was being turned over.  Edmonton and Florida made it to the finals employing that method to punish an agressive forecheck last year.

[JoeLassister]

42 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I didn't find last night worrisome at all. The Habs got better as the game went along and had the Caps on their heels for much of the 3rd period. They could have easily won the game but couldn't quite finish. 

Let's not act as if the Caps could not have won it easily in the first 2 periods though...

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

9 minutes ago, JoeLassister said:

Let's not act as if the Caps could not have won it easily in the first 2 periods though...

 

The Habs have the youngest team in the playoffs, many playing their 1st playoff game so having some playoff jitters early on is to be expected. They got more comfortable and confident as the game went along. In my opinion that's what's more important. 

[dlbalr]

57 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

Did anyone else notice at least 3, maybe four bank shot zone clears where the puck was cleared from the d zone, cross ice, banked off the boards and hit Thompson? It almost looked like it was practiced. I'm not sure, but I think armia did at least 2.

 

It seemed like an awful lot of those were landing on net compared to a normal game.  I'd lean toward a lot of that being more of a fluke than a plan.

[JoeLassister]

38 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

The Habs have the youngest team in the playoffs, many playing their 1st playoff game so having some playoff jitters early on is to be expected. They got more comfortable and confident as the game went along. In my opinion that's what's more important. 

Fair enough.

 

On my side, I found this game VERY worrisome and I expect the Caps not only to play as physical and to bully our young smallish players as much as Game 1, but to straight up turn up the heat. 

[Commandant]

4 minutes ago, JoeLassister said:

Fair enough.

 

On my side, I found this game VERY worrisome and I expect the Caps not only to play as physical and to bully our young smallish players as much as Game 1, but to straight up turn up the heat. 

 

The caps will continue to hit when given the opportunity.  No doubt about that.

 

The question is how the Habs respond.  To me the response is to play more in their end then in the Habs end.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 minute ago, Commandant said:

 

The caps will continue to hit when given the opportunity.  No doubt about that.

 

The question is how the Habs respond.  To me the response is to play more in their end then in the Habs end.

 

Exactly, the Caps are a big strong team, they should play physical. The Habs need to play smart, play with energy (use their speed) and don't take bad penalties. 

[BCHabnut]

9 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

The caps will continue to hit when given the opportunity.  No doubt about that.

 

The question is how the Habs respond.  To me the response is to play more in their end then in the Habs end.

Yep. Making them pay for their forecheck with some stretch plays can also make them switch strategies.

[DON]

1 hour ago, BCHabnut said:

Yep. Making them pay for their forecheck with some stretch plays can also make them switch strategies.

Too what, sit back and use the trap?

Habs took it to them in the 3rd with twice the amounts of shots, seems their forecheck couldnt be kept up for 60 minutes.

Caps coach said they played their best period in a long time and shots were even.

So if that is the best they got, encouraging.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Bit of a random thought here, but the Habs play like a young team (which they are). By that I mean that they struggle to match the shift-in shift-out intensity and consistent systems play of battle-hardened veteran teams, but once they get the wind in their sails they over-perform, carried along by youthful excitement and exuberance. Hence, the inordinate number of comebacks in the second-half of games. 

 

You look at a guy like Suzuki, he’s past all that - he just chugs away shift after shift. 

 

It’s a learning process. 

[Commandant]

5 hours ago, bar said:

I guess I'm in the minority thinking last night was worrisome. I think the habs will be grinded down as the series goes on and will wilt under having one line thats a scoring threat and a very one dimensional PP unit.

 

I want to be wrong, but at this point I'm just happy with the team getting to the playoffs, getting some experience. I also think learning now what kind of player Laine is, and how he really shouldnt fit into the teams long term plans is valuable knowledge.

 

There is reason to worry that the Habs will be grinded down.  The Caps are the #2 team in the league and #1 in the Conference for a reason.  Yes their goal is going to be to grind the Habs down.  It's not an issue unique to the Habs, they will try to do this to every playoff opponent. 

 

The issue is what is the counterpunch to the Caps playing this way. 

To me, its not changing the defence and putting in Xhekaj, its having the forwards play more in the Caps end of the ice. 

 

And here's the thing, that still might not work, cause like I said, the Caps are a good team.  All you can do is play the best you can and hope for some breaks. 

[BCHabnut]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Too what, sit back and use the trap?

Habs took it to them in the 3rd with twice the amounts of shots, seems their forecheck couldnt be kept up for 60 minutes.

Caps coach said they played their best period in a long time and shots were even.

So if that is the best they got, encouraging.

Well if they send two players in hard to get that hit and our d threads a pass to spring a forward, and ot happens repeatedly,  odds are they won't send 2 in behind the goal line aggressively. They'll need to adjust.

[DON]

5 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

Well if they send two players in hard to get that hit and our d threads a pass to spring a forward, and ot happens repeatedly,  odds are they won't send 2 in behind the goal line aggressively. They'll need to adjust.

Yes, but isnt big and physical their best or only game plan?

Coach said he loved their banging 1st period.