Habs @ TB - Dec 13 (GAME THREAD)

[puck7x]

Can the habs rebound from the disaster of last night?

Will CJ make any changes to the lineup?

HABS @ BOLTS

Date : DEC 13th @ 7:30PM

TV Radio : RDS/CJAD/CKAC

:hlogo::hlogo::hlogo:

:ghg:

[TheAussiePosse]

Less than a minute in, and we're down 1-0

It's gonna be a looooooooooooong game

[puck7x]

Originally posted by TheAussiePosse

Less than a minute in, and we're down 1-0

It's gonna be a looooooooooooong game

2-1 habs , you were saying aussie?

[Quebecois]

Certainly a worrisome start, but the Habs recovered nicely. Begin is out of the lineup again, but the Juneau line has been great so far and contributed a goal tonight. The other one was on the PP with Perreault finishing off a deflected Souray shot.

[puck7x]

4-1 Habs!

Habs controlling play after that crap start. Souray has 3 assists!!

[jeppa]

Very nice win tonight after a bad effort against Florida.. Let's hope they can steal 2p from the B's next game..

:ghg:

[Edited on 2003/12/14 by jeppa]

[puck7x]

Habs win 5-2...

If someone asked you before this weekend if you would be happy if the habs came out of the weekend with at least 1 win , you'd say yes. So think of it that way

Edit : Fixing score , I forgot about the Habs empty net goal.

[Edited on 2003-12-14 by puck7x]

[habitual_hab]

Perreault with an empty-netter to seal a 5-2 Habs win. TB turned it on a bit in the 3rd (19 shots) but Theodore was sharp and I thought the Habs D played a good - but not spectacular game in front of him. Sundstrom's goal was a beauty.

[puck7x]

ohh yeah...

Happy birthday Bob Gainey , he turned 50 today! :/)

[Colin]

Take the Two Points and Run

It was a definite improvement over last nights contest in just about every respect, that much is for sure. To think, however, that we deserved to win by the score we managed, to think we would have beaten a team that wasn't in the same kind of funk the Lightning are in, to think we wouldn't have been demolished by a top team would be ludicrous. While our play was better than last night, it still left a lot to be desired. Rarely did we see more than two or three passes connected in a row and rarely did we see sustained and strong pressure from any line other than our checking line. I think I'm going to let out a few guffaws when I hear about how we need to get rid of Dackell, Sundstrom and Juneau tonight - by *far* our best players on the ice.

One thing that we can take with us to Boston is this: almost everyone came out to play. Even if it wasn't their 'A' game, even if they could only manage a full effort rather than putting in that second effort, at least a majority of guys decided to show up and make the effort. In that vein, let me say that I admire Ribeiro's effort when he was so obviously hampered by the groin pull - though it would have been better for everyone involved had he made the correct decision to take the night off; but for this Julien is just as much to blame. Not that I'll ever complain about players going when they're hurt...lord knows I've done the same stupid things many-a-time.

~~

Notes: (performance)

Theo: I guess we decided that, at least for the first part of the road trip, Theo was going to have to face some rubber, because he was peppered again tonight. He made the saves necessary, though, to keep us in the game - even though tonight's shot quality was far inferior to yesterday's. A

Bouillon: Not the greatest performance and I'm starting to see where he's trying to do too much with the puck. Call it overconfidence not that he's 'made' the starting six, or call it bad decision making on his part, either way he's hurting the team when he doesn't dish it off to an open player before he gets crowded out and out-muscled. C-

Rivet: Benched for the third, and I can hear the cheers from almost every habs fan out there. I was counting good and bad plays tonight carefully, and as I look at my notes, I see that he had more bad plays in the eleven minutes he played than most players had marks for the entire night. Our big orange Traffic Cone 52 is just not having a good time on this trip. F

Quintal: Good effort coming back from a night he probably wants to forget. He ends up plus four for the game, and it was merited. Sure, he was behind on a few plays and sure, he's still slow with the puck and away from it, but tonight he used his head and positioned himself well to minimize those short-comings. B

Souray: Big night on the scoresheet for the big man. He had a really solid game, not doing anything particularly spectacular, but not doing anything stupid either. This is the type of game I would expect from him regularly. Let's be honest, the points were a nice bonus, but it's his steady play that we really need night on night. A

Komisarek: Perhaps coach Julien was waiting for a large lead to give Komi the chance to play in all situations? Or maybe Komi forced his hand by playing well? Perhaps it was the inability of Traffic Cone 52 to bring his skates tonight? I think a little of all three. Komi was solid. He was beaten to the inside once that I recall, and he has to cut that out completely, but wasn't beaten to the outside, punished his men regularly, and played a quiet game completely within his means. Perfect for the confidence. Also nice to see that Julien had him out on the PP and the PK - that's a *great* sign. Also great is seeing that shot on the PP: low and accurate. He may not have had any points tonight, but he's going to get a pile with a shot like that. B+

Markov: A much quieter game from our other leading defender, but he was careful with his game and didn't cause too many concerns out there. He's got a bit of a confidence problem which rears its ugly head whenever he loses a partner, but I think that should slowly get better with time. B

Langdon: Okay, is it me, or is Andre Roy just a little child - throwing his pads at someone on the ice? Come on! Laughable. Good on Langdon to go over there and take a few shots, including that knockout one to the head. Put that little punk in his place. B-

Kilger: I'm slowly working on nicknames for everyone, and I think Kilger's is going to be Shrug. That's the way I see him, a big *shrug*. He might show up for a shift or two, but usually is invisible. C-

Perreault: Can't complain that much when you score two, but really, it was a matter of right place and right time for the first and an empty net for the second. I don't think he had a bad game, but neither do I think he stood out in any way. C+

Audette: Well, if you compare his skating with Dagenais', then it's no contest and he should be in the lineup 100% of the time. BUT, if you compare the rest of the game? Audette was a busy bee in the offensive zone, made a couple of better than average defensive helpers, but was more often than not just that #82 guy on the ice skating nicely but not really doing anything. Then again, his shots after Rivet's fight were nice to see, perhaps a little team spirit showing through from the guy who's not considered 'team' material. C+

Zednik: Shame for him that Bulis took his spot on the first line (though good for Bulis), and also a shame that Ribs was nigh on useless with that injury, because Zed was a complete non-entity. I didn't write less for anyone else. When his linemates aren't spectacular, I think we need him to step it up and be that way. C+

Ribeiro: As mentioned before, I appreciate his efforts in helping the club, but in the end they did more damage than anything else. He was abysmal in his own end because he couldn't manouver anymore, and did you see when Souray out-skated him - at double the speed? Brutal. D+

Bulis: Another strong game from Mr. Hustle. He's just all over the place and it really makes a huge difference on the PK - our once not-so-special special team. He wasn't as useful in the offensive zone, but I'm not sure it had anything to do with him, honestly. A-

Ryder: On the one hand, he didn't get many chances, on the other hand he played about seven minutes less than usual and still had three shots, made a couple of pretty passes and managed to be strong in the offensive zone when he got there....AND still be solid defensively. He made the most of his time, that's for sure. B+

Koivu: Goal and an assist. Wasn't his night at all. He was frustrated with his own game, and the more observant of you out there would have noticed him being really angry with himself over a number of plays, most noticeably when he cursed so loud the play-by-play mike picked it up clearly (it was a lost faceoff in the defensive zone). That he got two points during a game where he clearly struggled is testament to his abilities, but really, offensively he wasn't good at all. On the defensive side, however, and particularly on the PK, he was solid. B-

Juneau: *applause* And I'd love it if he could come to the list and give a sweet smile then stick out his tongue at the non-believers. That line totally controlled practically every time they hit the ice. Juneau was excellent. A

Sundstrom: Brilliant. Anyone catch the fact that Scotty Bowman was impressed with him tonight? Great game from start to finish, his best as a habs. He was in corners, working the net, cycling intelligently, and best of all was playing stunning defence. A

Dackell: Awsome. Anyone notice how he went to the net all the time? He created screens, and havok all night. He was great one-on-one (as usual) winning battles in all three zones regularly. He worked well with his linemates creating numerous chances. And he was the best habs tonight. A+

~~

A game above .500 again and while it wasn't our best game, I think some satisfaction has to be taken from the fact that Julien took this team by the ear after yesterday's brutal performance and made them accountable, thus coaxing out a much better game tonight. As I said, it would never be enough to beat a team like the Bruins, but it's something we can build on when we go and meet them in Boston in the half-vacant Fleet Centre. This will be a significant test of this club, and should give us a good indication on where we stand in terms of coming back from less-than-great performances.

And did anyone catch that commercial with Kovalchuk and Naslund chasing the puck everywhere? Brilliant, and two guys who are extremely talented as well - good faces to put on the NHL brand.

A concerned Fan.

[puck7x]

Nice player by player recap Colin...

I agree about CJ lighting a fire under the team. He really tore into them at practice today... Had a players+coach only meeting... Its nice to see that the players responded, instead of ignoring him.

And alright... I'll give credit to Juneau , he played an outstanding game , as did the rest of the 3rd line. Funny that they were our top offensive and defensive line tonight , you'd figure one of our top-2 lines would be the top offensive one.

Oh , yeah did see that Nike commercial , its pretty cool.

[Habs77]

Originally posted by Guy!

Ribeiro:  As mentioned before, I appreciate his efforts in helping the club, but in the end they did more damage than anything else.  He was abysmal in his own end because he couldn't manouver anymore, and did you see when Souray out-skated him - at double the speed?  Brutal.  D+

Kinda hard on a guy playing on one leg, don't ya think?

And he did more damage than good?... sorry but it was his efforts on the defensive end protecting Theo that lead to the power play on which we scored our first goal... his play was the spark that lead to the successful comeback.

I know you hate the guy, but geez... you're pretty hard on our top point-getter.

Yes he did suck, but for a good reason... and he still found a way to help his team win. That's all you can ask for.

P.S. Anyone who said Ribeiro & Ryder would be our 2 top point getters at the 30 game mark... please stand up.

... Ok you can sit down now.

[TheAussiePosse]

Originally posted by Guy!

And did anyone catch that commercial with Kovalchuk and Naslund chasing the puck everywhere?  Brilliant, and two guys who are extremely talented as well - good faces to put on the NHL brand.

You can view the video here

[habfan67]

Im proud of les boys what a turnaround in other years the fla game would have started a long losing streak,kudos to cj for reviving the team,been a lot of games in a short period 6 in 9 nites i beleive so you have to beleive the boys were tired but came up with the win,thats what playoff teams have to do,is it just me or is vinne lec trying to play his way out of tb cause he sure doest look as domanent as last year.nice to see sunny upping his trade value,the improved play of the team streathens bgs hand in making trades,when your team is winning and you dont have to make a trade the offers come to you and you can get more than face value,but when your losing and have to make a trade you end up overpaying,i give all the credit to bg ill bet there wasa a lot more fans then me that thought he was crazy when he said 3 weeks ago we have enough to make the playoffs and you know i think that statement turned the team moral around,i mean really hes done everything for the players too all the media pressure off them and he brings crediability to the team and class,hes one of the few i know who could chastise the media and fans like that and get away with it,there is a method to his madness and he doesnt make hasty moves when he does make a trade i think we will all be amassed.