smon Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I'm pretty surprised with how mediocre Montreal's penalty kill has been of late. They let up two powerplay goals in the 3rd period, and yeah I know Markov wasn't around, but even with him in the lineup Montreal's shorthanded play has been one of the worst in the league (81.1%, 22nd in the league). Considering that this was once of Montreal's strengths, not too long ago, and it was thanks largely to the coaching of Guy Carbonneau, it's a surprise that the penalty kill hasn't improved...on the flipside the powerplay is 7th in the league, but still, with the number of penalties the team's been taking as of late, a solid penalty kill is key. Personally I think it comes down to the defensemen Montreal's got out there for the PK. The only real rock solid guy we can count on is Markov (obviously he's not perfect, but he's close). Souray yeah we all know he's made quite a few mistakes this year. Rivet has been consistent for the most part, but he's had his share of dumb mistakes too. What it comes down to is that aside from Markov, we don't have any actual top four defensemen. The hope is that Mike Komisarek can become one someday (anytime soon?), but really aside from him the prospect pipeline is bare. Emelin and O'Byrne are talked about, but they're 4-5yrs away. That's why Gainey's offseason goal should be spending some of that cap room on a defenseman, and a good one at that, not a fifth-sixth guy like he signed last offseason. We all know Montreal needs a big top-six forward, but let's not forget the defense's pressing need too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habschris Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Yep, this issue will be addressed. The best penalty killing forwards right now is Pleks, Bonk, Begin. I'm not sure why Bulis and Higgins aren't being used as much, for a while they were being used and the penalty killing was getting better. The D is the big problem. If the Bertuzzi deal is still there in the summer (Souray and Zednick) that should be done. Then focus on signing some D. Mara to replace Souray. Morris, Kubina and others are out there as well. 2 top D should be the priority. Lines looking like: Bertuzzi Koivu Ruyder (if the deal goes down) Perez Pleks Kovalev (Trade Ribiero) Higgins Bulis Dandenault great speed and checking line Begin Bonk Murray / Downey Kostitsyn top sub Komisarek Markov Rivet Mara Morris Cote/ Boiullon split time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smon Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Yeah, unfortunately Morris inked a hefty deal to re-sign with the Coyotes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habschris Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 That stinks, maybe Kubina or someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 (edited) . The hope is that Mike Komisarek can become one someday (anytime soon?), but really aside from him the prospect pipeline is bare. Mike Komisarek is extremely young, only 24, and will be a few years before he hits his prime. He still has alot of learning ahead of him. We kinda take for granted that he came in so early, and so much is expected of him now, its kinda unfair. He'll develop into that top 4 defender in a few years. Hopefully he's still here. Defencemen will be a hot commodity during free agency, when arn't they, and will command heavy price tags. Some of the guys that seem to be available and hopefully Montreal will go after if they are.... Ed Jovanovski, of course Redden and Chara but Ottawa will likely resign them, Willie Mitchell, Pavel Kubina, Filip Kuba, Eric Brewer, Colin White, Andrei Zuyzin and Dany Markov, although I'm sure plenty will resign with their current clubs with the Salary cap being increased. Edited March 17, 2006 by kaos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 I would tend to impart our less than ordinary PK efficiency purcentage this year to the under-performing goally we had in our net for the largest chunk of the action this season. Now that he is gone I would tend to believe in our existing defencemen and Carbonneau to be more than adequate at making things for the better. Honnestly we have been sloppy all year long with our discilpline. Julien asn't been great at preparing his team to avoid taking penaltys in the NewNHL,......and this trend has barely fluctated since Gainey took over. Lacking in scoring depth when compare with the better team.......THIS should have been the first department on which to get some control over. Yet the better teams like Bufallo and Carolina have restricted themselves in taking respectively 341 and 358 penaltys,.........while MTL have indulged in taking 407. The best way to avoid being scored in PPs,.......is to avoid giving away PPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Well they do say that your goaltender is your best penalty killer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMMR Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 No it is that your goaltender should be your best penalty killer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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