Pre-Game Talk: Montreal (1-6-1) @ Florida (3-4-0)

[TheImpatientPanther]

Montreal's projected lineup:

Pacioretty - Drouin - Galchenyuk
Lehkonen - Plekanec - Hemsky
Byron - Danault - Shaw
Hudon - De La Rose - Gallagher

Mete - Weber
Alzner - Petry
Benn - Davidson

Price
Montoya


They are 31st in Goals for, also allow 4.13 Goals against, good for 29th overall but are 2nd
in the league for shots on goal.
Their PP is 28th and PK is 24th, other than shots, they don't have any top ten team stats.

Our offense is better than theirs, our defenses are a wash but don't take them lightly, continue to apply pressure while playing smart defense, limit the penalties and turnovers and come out with 2 pts.



Trocheck, Huberdeau and Dadonov all on PPG pace.
Matheson still without a point which is surprising.
The 3rd line forwards with 5pts each, Brickley in only 6 games

Barkov has a 58.1% faceoff rate, winning 90 of 155 draws
Trocheck has a 53.8% faceoff rate, winning 77 of 143
Mackenzie is struggling a bit, a 45.6% rate, winning 31 of 68
Bjugstad has a 67.6% faceoff rate, albeit small sample size, 23 of 34
McCann is struggling, 40.7%, winning 22 of 54


LET'S GO McPANTHERS!! ​

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[Gentle Man]

Beat them so bad that Price pulls a Roy

 

[GermanPanther]

Montreal is far better than their record, so i wouldn't be surprised if that was a loss. That said, the Ducks are dead so that should be a win, and Detroit isn't good either. Finally, Tampa and Florida always plays them well. So a 2-1-1 end to the month would be pretty good setting them up the rest of the year.

Its the complete difference. You can watch 30 on 30 on the NHL.com, what they say back then. Cause anything they say was correct. They lost 2 top D-Man.
What the have in the D Weber and then Alzner who claimed himself Top2-Top4 Player. So D is pretty weak this year. Loosing Markov was a bit too much for Montreal he alone had 36 Points. Radulov gone 54 Points. Markov 7th best scorer last Season, Radulov 2nd best Scorer last Season.
So 2 Player gone cost Montreal 90 Points and 24 Goals.

This Team dont have a big return after a single Win. Top Players for this Season Drouin -5, Alzner -7, Gallagher -5, Weber -5.

But they had an even tough sheduele as we had. BUF-WSH-NYR-CHI-TOR-SJS-LAK-ANA.

So but i dont think we will give uo the Game why. Cause we come in with an real good Game to build on. And if we play a bit more tighter in the D and work hard as we worked against WSH. We can give MTL another push into the darkness.
I also mention in my own preseason prediction, that the Player MTL lost cause some trouble to them. And Drouin is not stable enough, and let Radulov go was the biggest mistake they ever did. Must only watch how Radulov play with Seguin and Benn.

 

[Depch]

The Panthers are the better team, I called that before the season as well but as a betting man I would not place a bet on this game. Montreal is due for some good performances and bounces for an underdog win anytime soon. I still believe that Panthers should be able to take this one.

 

[Bobblebee]

Who's Mete? Is this like Florida's Matheson to the league?

 

[Depch]

Who's Mete? Is this like Florida's Matheson to the league?

Something along the lines. Been reading some Habs GDT/PGT and they're buzzing about Mete and his ability to dish the puck. Rest of the D has apparently been pretty sub par but he's one of the bright spots so far.

 

[Fern111]

Im a Panthers fan in Quebec so Panthers and Canadiens are the two teams I follow.

To whoever said their record doesn't indicate their team, thats a complete lie. They have a HORRIBLE team and their defense is a #1, a #4 and a bunch of #6-#7s playing in #3 roles, our defense is miles ahead.

That said, Im afraid we will lose this one just because im wondering if they can actually manage to lose 8 in a row, brain says yes but gut says no.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

Im a Panthers fan in Quebec so Panthers and Canadiens are the two teams I follow.

To whoever said their record doesn't indicate their team, thats a complete lie. They have a HORRIBLE team and their defense is a #1, a #4 and a bunch of #6-#7s playing in #3 roles, our defense is miles ahead.

That said, Im afraid we will lose this one just because im wondering if they can actually manage to lose 8 in a row, brain says yes but gut says no.

Yeah the Habs have been a mediocre team carried by their goaltending for years. Only difference now is their D is clearly worse with the loss of Markov and Subban and Price isn't bailing them out.

But I also have a feeling they'll break out of their losing streak against us. lol

Would be so typical.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Who's Mete? Is this like Florida's Matheson to the league?

Skates extremely well, PP QB in the making, his size probably pushed him back a couple rounds but he was a big reason London Knights won the OHL championship and Memorial Cup in 2015-16.
I know of him through a mutual friend, never met the guy but the Canadiens obviously see some huge upside to give a 4th round pick top 4 minutes this early in his career. Probably hoping he is Markov 2.0 (who was a 6th round pick and had a pretty stellar career himself)

 

[Cats2TheCup]

Watching the caps game now. Anyone else think Ekblad looks great quarterbacking the pp? Haven't seen him play like that since he was with Team North America.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Im a Panthers fan in Quebec so Panthers and Canadiens are the two teams I follow.

To whoever said their record doesn't indicate their team, thats a complete lie. They have a HORRIBLE team and their defense is a #1, a #4 and a bunch of #6-#7s playing in #3 roles, our defense is miles ahead.

That said, Im afraid we will lose this one just because im wondering if they can actually manage to lose 8 in a row, brain says yes but gut says no.

Their PDO is 91% lol. Yes their defense is bad. So is Florida's. Not sure what your point is. They're at least a 90 point team.

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

Watching the caps game now. Anyone else think Ekblad looks great quarterbacking the pp? Haven't seen him play like that since he was with Team North America.

Not quite to that level. But, he getting there. Ekblad, RNH , Mac and Johnny Hockey might've played their best pro hockey ever for Team NA.

 

[I am not exposed]

Watching the caps game now. Anyone else think Ekblad looks great quarterbacking the pp? Haven't seen him play like that since he was with Team North America.

No. He seemed a lot slower than Yandle is distributing the puck.

His slower decision making meant the Caps Dmen could get into their positions. Yandle makes quicker decisions with the puck, and his passing is crisper.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Does the GDT signup thread still exist? I'll do this one and the 1st game against Vancouver

 

[EnforceTheLaus]

No. He seemed a lot slower than Yandle is distributing the puck.

His slower decision making meant the Caps Dmen could get into their positions. Yandle makes quicker decisions with the puck, and his passing is crisper.

Disagree there, Ek on the QB was getting the Cap D to come up and try to defend the shot. With Yandle they don't worry about shooting from the point so they play lower to cover forwards. Against EK they are trying to pressure him and block the shooting lanes, leaving players open low.

 

[Gentle Man]

No. He seemed a lot slower than Yandle is distributing the puck.

His slower decision making meant the Caps Dmen could get into their positions. Yandle makes quicker decisions with the puck, and his passing is crisper.

I have not liked Yandle at all on the PP. Even last year.

Living on reputation right now.

 

[GermanPanther]

Does the GDT signup thread still exist? I'll do this one and the 1st game against Vancouver

Spoiler

10/6 Lightning: Pukboy5kroner
10/7 Lightning: SoupyFIN
10/12 Blues: German Panther
10/14 Penguins: Ghoste
10/17 Flyers: ucanthanzalthetruth
10/20 Penguins: McPumacon
10/21 Capitals: Big Bjugs
10/24 Canadiens: Sparkman112
10/26 Ducks: IAmNotExposed
10/28 Redwings: FLpanthers16
10/30 Lightning: Flapanthers18
11/2 Blue Jackets: FlaPnthrsPunk
11/4 Rangers: FlaPanthers11
11/7 Hurricanes: Sportpsych90
11/10 Sabres: Cowboy82nd
11/11 Devils: Panthersfan94
11/14 Stars: Rat Trick
11/16 Sharks:
11/18 Kings:
11/19 Ducks:
11/22 Leafs:
11/25 Blackhawks:
11/27 Devils:
11/28 Rangers:

Normally who has the first vote or open up the Point Game, also open up the GDT Thread. Sometimes its mix up Cause Soupy open up GDT, about EU Members of the Board can do it earlier.
And our Vancouver Game will be in 14th February 2018.

 

[MintyFresh88]

I have not liked Yandle at all on the PP. Even last year.

Living on reputation right now.

I honestly don't know how he strung together 4 seasons in a row with 10+ goals, one of which he had 59 total points. It boggles my mind. Having now seen him play quite a bit, it's hard to believe. Even when he gets assists, I feel like it's not a nice pass or anything...when's the last time we said, wow what a play by Yandle? Anyway, there's no way he finishes that contract with us, I'd be shocked. I mean, there's no doubt he's a useful #3/#4 guy for us, but I'd like to go back and watch how he played with the Yotes to see what changed.

 

[Gentle Man]

I honestly don't know how he strung together 4 seasons in a row with 10+ goals, one of which he had 59 total points. It boggles my mind. Having now seen him play quite a bit, it's hard to believe. Even when he gets assists, I feel like it's not a nice pass or anything...when's the last time we said, wow what a play by Yandle? Anyway, there's no way he finishes that contract with us, I'd be shocked. I mean, there's no doubt he's a useful #3/#4 guy for us, but I'd like to go back and watch how he played with the Yotes to see what changed.

Soup on his last year was better than Yandle last year.... And this year so far.

Not good

 

[GrumpyKelly]

I have not liked Yandle at all on the PP. Even last year.

Living on reputation right now.

He needs to play less. And not on the top pairing.

Time for Matheson to step up his game so they can make him and Ek the new top pair.

 

[RainingRats]

Yandle is fine. He had 41 points last year on an offensively inept team with a bad powerplay. He should break those number this year. I don't know what you guys expect from him. He's made some good plays on the PP, not all register on the scoresheet so far.

He's not a #1 shutdown guy but some here expect him to be. He's a guy who can play on the first pair in a pmd role and he's doing that well. His 5 on 5 play has been fine, especially when you consider the competition. 5 on 5 he hasn't been responsible for goals against like the other d-man. He's been responsible for the most part, only on the ice for 3 goals against(5 on5) playing 23 minutes a game against the opponent's best. And I don't even remember him being at fault for the goals against since at least 2 were Ekblad's fault.

 

[RainingRats]

He needs to play less. And not on the top pairing.

Time for Matheson to step up his game so they can make him and Ek the new top pair.

Matheson can't handle the minutes he gets right now. Matheson is letting guys get behind him and has horrible positioning around the net. Yandle is playing better than Matheson against tougher competition.

 

[I am not exposed]

Yandle is fine. He had 41 points last year on an offensively inept team with a bad powerplay. He should break those number this year. I don't know what you guys expect from him. He's made some good plays on the PP, not all register on the scoresheet so far.

He's not a #1 shutdown guy but some here expect him to be. He's a guy who can play on the first pair in a pmd role and he's doing that well. His 5 on 5 play has been fine, especially when you consider the competition. 5 on 5 he hasn't been responsible for goals against like the other d-man. He's been responsible for the most part, only on the ice for 3 goals against(5 on5) playing 23 minutes a game against the opponent's best.

I do think Yandle gets too much flak. Ideally, he would be on the second pairing and thus not taking the hardest assignments. And then performing on our first PP unit.

I'm still not keen on him and Ekblad together.

 

[RainingRats]

I do think Yandle gets too much flak. Ideally, he would be on the second pairing and thus not taking the hardest assignments. And then performing on our first PP unit.

I'm still not keen on him and Ekblad together.

Unfortunately, there is nobody ready to step up. Matheson could be that guy but I don't see it yet, unfortunately.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Yandle was also the best Florida could do. I'm sure they thought Campbell would re-sign, he was offered a generous contract. I think people were used to Campbell supporting Ekblad as a security blanket, unfortunately it doesn't look like Yandle is up to it. Ekblad needs to be better (he looks better than last year by far, but not the same as his 1st 2 seasons).