cfposi Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Hello all, I am taking a crack at an ongoing thread here...if no one answers, my feelings wont be hurt tho . I want to look at areas for improvement that people notice and what is being done by the training staff to remdey these issues. So far this is what I can think of, please add on... Consistency: We need both our top lines contributing on a given night. Higgs - Saku - Ryder were invisble and made a few mistakes last night (Ryder especially, he has been out of it in the last few), while the "Sputnik Line" played well. I know it was the first game with the new set up, but I expect more from the first line last night (other than a shorty). If we have 2 lines going every night, we will be a scary team to face. 5 on 5 and 5 on 4: We are doing well on the PK (good thing cuz we are taking alot of penaties), but our 5 on 5 is still inconsistent and the PP is rather weak. Penalties: This is a recurring issue for the CH, stupid penalties. Good thing we have a good PK, but teams will figure out how to crack us soon. Defence: I know injuries are an issue, but the constant brain farts of the Habs defence is something that has been going on for a long time. Niinimaa is frustrating, Markov is hot/cold, Streit and Komi are developing, Souray gives up more goals than he scores (although he had a good game last night), and Rivet has played for the habs long enuf (time to move him next year). Until we have a true Star D-man, we will always be vulnerable. Finally: One of the announcer's on RDS made a great point last night that made me think...He said the Sens had a more imaginative offence. The habs have tremendous speed and skill, but are pretty predictable on the offence. Most of the successful teams right now are employing artistic plays to confuse the D and the Goalie. Immediate examples are Buffalo, Leafs (on the PP), Minnesota and the Penguins (they will be good this year). The habs have the skill to pull this off (esp Kovy, Sammy and Higgs), so it time to try some new plays. Phew, rant over, please contribute to this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I couldn't agree more with the list. The only thing i would add is toughness. This does include someone who will drop the gloves when the other team is taking some liberties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Puck Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 (edited) Hello all, I am taking a crack at an ongoing thread here...if no one answers, my feelings wont be hurt tho . I want to look at areas for improvement that people notice and what is being done by the training staff to remdey these issues. So far this is what I can think of, please add on... Consistency: We need both our top lines contributing on a given night. Higgs - Saku - Ryder were invisble and made a few mistakes last night (Ryder especially, he has been out of it in the last few), while the "Sputnik Line" played well. I know it was the first game with the new set up, but I expect more from the first line last night (other than a shorty). If we have 2 lines going every night, we will be a scary team to face. 5 on 5 and 5 on 4: We are doing well on the PK (good thing cuz we are taking alot of penaties), but our 5 on 5 is still inconsistent and the PP is rather weak. Penalties: This is a recurring issue for the CH, stupid penalties. Good thing we have a good PK, but teams will figure out how to crack us soon. Defence: I know injuries are an issue, but the constant brain farts of the Habs defence is something that has been going on for a long time. Niinimaa is frustrating, Markov is hot/cold, Streit and Komi are developing, Souray gives up more goals than he scores (although he had a good game last night), and Rivet has played for the habs long enuf (time to move him next year). Until we have a true Star D-man, we will always be vulnerable. Finally: One of the announcer's on RDS made a great point last night that made me think...He said the Sens had a more imaginative offence. The habs have tremendous speed and skill, but are pretty predictable on the offence. Most of the successful teams right now are employing artistic plays to confuse the D and the Goalie. Immediate examples are Buffalo, Leafs (on the PP), Minnesota and the Penguins (they will be good this year). The habs have the skill to pull this off (esp Kovy, Sammy and Higgs), so it time to try some new plays. Phew, rant over, please contribute to this! Okay, I mostly agree. However.... 1. Right now our PP isn't bad at all. We are in the top 5 statistically in the league. We didn't score last night buts thats okay. It looks to me like they have been practicing Souray faking a shot from the point and passing to the winger for a quick shot. I like this play, but Souray still needs to take shots when he has the open lane to the net. If the PK shuts down his point shot we can try the tricky play. 2. I think our offense is creative enough. Except for the 2nd line we are going to score by simple plays, driving the net and taking shots when we have the chance. The 2nd line has the skill to be much more creative but the problem up till now has been that Kovalev and Samsonov are trying to be too creative. They need to take shots rather than always looking for the beautiful unexpected pass. Edited November 1, 2006 by Peter Puck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Consistency: We need both our top lines contributing on a given night. Higgs - Saku - Ryder were invisble and made a few mistakes last night (Ryder especially, he has been out of it in the last few), while the "Sputnik Line" played well. I know it was the first game with the new set up, but I expect more from the first line last night (other than a shorty). If we have 2 lines going every night, we will be a scary team to face. 5 on 5 and 5 on 4: We are doing well on the PK (good thing cuz we are taking alot of penaties), but our 5 on 5 is still inconsistent and the PP is rather weak. Penalties: This is a recurring issue for the CH, stupid penalties. Good thing we have a good PK, but teams will figure out how to crack us soon. Defence: I know injuries are an issue, but the constant brain farts of the Habs defence is something that has been going on for a long time. Niinimaa is frustrating, Markov is hot/cold, Streit and Komi are developing, Souray gives up more goals than he scores (although he had a good game last night), and Rivet has played for the habs long enuf (time to move him next year). Until we have a true Star D-man, we will always be vulnerable. Finally: One of the announcer's on RDS made a great point last night that made me think...He said the Sens had a more imaginative offence. The habs have tremendous speed and skill, but are pretty predictable on the offence. Most of the successful teams right now are employing artistic plays to confuse the D and the Goalie. Immediate examples are Buffalo, Leafs (on the PP), Minnesota and the Penguins (they will be good this year). The habs have the skill to pull this off (esp Kovy, Sammy and Higgs), so it time to try some new plays. Phew, rant over, please contribute to this! Our PP is rather weak? We're 5th in the league!!! Star D-men dont run the streets. We've already got guys who have star upside: Markov and Komisarek. Its just a matter of them picking up their game, they can be dominant. Niinimaa will be fine once Dandy comes back and that will give us another good pair. Souray just needs a partner who can cover him up. Rivet is the weakest link. Can't win battles, can't pass, not really any good offensive upside... too bad he's a team leader. Saku will cry if we trade Rivet. Artistic plays? You can't teach that. You have it or you don't. If anything, the Habs just need better chemistry up front. The Sabres have are a group that all been brought up together, that's their edge. The Habs' edge is that we are now balanced and we can adapt to any style. Its just a matter of getting chemistry on each line. Our 1st line is successful because they easily find each other, not because their artistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfposi Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Our PP is rather weak? We're 5th in the league!!! You would probably know more than me generally, but I think that early season stats can be deceiving. I am going on my observations, not stats. They are not shooting, missing passes, allowing 3 on 2's short handed, and generally acting disorganized on the PP. If they keep this up, they will drop in the stats quickly. That being said, thats why this is an improvement thread, I think that is they work on crisper/more accurate passes and move around the O-Zone better during the PP, they will find more holes and get nice opportunities. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmac34 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 You would probably know more than me generally, but I think that early season stats can be deceiving. I am going on my observations, not stats. They are not shooting, missing passes, allowing 3 on 2's short handed, and generally acting disorganized on the PP. If they keep this up, they will drop in the stats quickly. That being said, thats why this is an improvement thread, I think that is they work on crisper/more accurate passes and move around the O-Zone better during the PP, they will find more holes and get nice opportunities. JMO. I agree, although we are 5th in the league, its still early and that statistic is decieving. Most of the goals came from Souray. I think we need to add more elements to our PP. Our play has certainly been inconsistent, but it seems like its slowly being tweaked into place. I think (some of you may think its still too early to say) that we have our lines pretty well set now. I like the lines on paper and chemistry-wise I think it works. Our D could also make some improvements. Overall, I think that we are gradually tweaking out less and less major things to be improved. We have our lines now, its just a matter of addressing the other issues. In my opinion, things seem to be falling into place slowly. I like the look of this team. I didnt think we would beat Ottawa but we did. Perhaps it wasn't wholly entertaining but we were solid defensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfposi Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 I like the look of this team. I didnt think we would beat Ottawa but we did. Perhaps it wasn't wholly entertaining but we were solid defensively. We were shaky in the third...dont know the stat, but we spent alot of time in the defensive zone. Thanks god for Abby being a great 3rd period goalie, cuz we would have given the sens a comeback if anyone else was in nets. Not many goalies can deal with that much sustained pressure that late in the game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Souray gives up more goals than he scores (although he had a good game last night) Souray gives up more goals than he scores during even strength situations. If you count his PP production, that equation balances out quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 The defense seem vulnerable to a fast foecheck. They know what to do generally, but when pressured, they make mistakes. This is not unusual, but the habs Defense seem to collapse a more then they should. I think this comes from the fact that they have a lot of plays to help the offense, which are great in fairly balanced games where the defense has time to enact them. When the other team is out skating them and coming in hard and fast, you have to revert to a more "defensive play". You just need to get it out of the zone, don't worry about the offense. Frustrate the other team but keeping it out. I think the defense needs to practice some plays (and the forward to), that are set plays for dealing with the forecheck. For example, the defense has to know where the winger is. The winger needs to be there to support getting the puck out. Ie... protect the point, do not allow the opposing defenceman the time and space to keep it in. Once they work on some simple pressure relieving plays, I think they will improve overall and we won't see a repeat of the Toronto game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Lats needs to score a goal so he can stop pressing too hard, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuRy Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Be more disciplined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hat trick Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I agree with you guys, and will only add one more thing, though it can be put within the CONSISTENCY problem. Habs need to play better during the first period and play well all 60 minutes... Can't always run away with 3rd period rally and last minute victory. Go :hlogo: Go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shu Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 More of a solid defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redondo Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 We need to cut down on the shots allowed (our goalies see a lot of rubber), and take less penalties. Obviously, the two are somewhat related.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfposi Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 I watch other teams alot (thank god for NHL Center Ice), and I see many teams that are capable of "shutting the door" at the blue line. Compare that to our defensive strategy, and we look rather porous. Of course there are lots of shots when teams can both carry the puck into our zone, as well as dump it in. If we limit D-Zone incursions to dump ins as much as possible, it would pick up the defence and limit the shots on goal because our team has as much a chance to get to the puck as the attackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cataclaw Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 No.. PP and PK are both fine at the moment (stats don't lie) The biggest issue at the moment is discipline, plain and simple. The 2nd line problem is a secondary issue, one that will be aided if the line sees more ice time, which is the case if the Habs stop taking so many penalties. Besides, the russian line has played well two games in a row. Have we turned the corner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athlétique.Canadien Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 2 things need to be improved. 1 ) They have to clear the zone and not get bogged down. They looked better in that dept last night though. 2 ) I need to put on a signature bigger than this. I attempted to use the URL's from 5 other users sigs on this very site. Those are also too big. It's OK for everyone else to have a sig that big, but not for me. I wonder why? Little help? I hope to see these 2 elements improve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beliveau1 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 (edited) Souray gives up more goals than he scores during even strength situations. If you count his PP production, that equation balances out quite a bit. People also need to take into consideration that he's a defenceman..... not a 50 goal sniper! Hence the fact he gives up more than he scores. Odds are highly likely that most if not all defenceman are in the same boat! Edited November 2, 2006 by beliveau1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 No.. PP and PK are both fine at the moment (stats don't lie) The biggest issue at the moment is discipline, plain and simple. The 2nd line problem is a secondary issue, one that will be aided if the line sees more ice time, which is the case if the Habs stop taking so many penalties. Besides, the russian line has played well two games in a row. Have we turned the corner? Agreed. This team will always be on the verge of collapsing as long as it remains one of the worst penalised team in the NHL. It's not just personal discipline it is systemic,....I feel the CH still remains a miss-adapted newNHL team,..... if Carbo can fix that I believe that most anything else will fall into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.