1-0-0 in the Vanek era

[BenchBrawl]

Those were the days...

 

[Gamimenos]

Here's my problem... Eller is scratched because he's had a bad stretch of games, but Bourque has never been scratched and he's sucked ever since he got here.

Baffles and angers me so much. Bourque is the biggest floater in the league. A lazy has-been who can't score to save his life whose sole motivation is his incredibly oversized paycheck.

Sure hope the Habs buy him out. Doesn't even seem to add anything to the locker room and appears to have the personality of a dead rat.

We expect more out of Eller. Bourque's high point in his career is " A lazy has-been who can't score to save his life whose sole motivation is his incredibly oversized paycheck."

 

[Habaneros]

Anyone else think that was Tinordi's best game this season?

Dustin T bailed him out big on one turn over.....
Few other plays also shakey......but were talking a rookie dman here against a 92 pt team.So it what it is.......

Remember back to Max Pac first couple seasons,and look now......gotta do same with JT

 

[Uber Coca]

We expect more out of Eller. Bourque's high point in his career is " A lazy has-been who can't score to save his life whose sole motivation is his incredibly oversized paycheck."

Eller is also 24 and still learning.

 

[FXBrassard]

Well right now Emelin isn't playing like a second pairing guy. I agree, he's better than what he's shown and I'm a strong believer he should play on his natural side. It's where he's always looked at his best, so might as well.

Never said his contract was cumbersome or immovable, never even said it was a bad contract. That isn't the point.
The point is, there's absolutely no need to risk signing a rather average player with under 100 games of NHL experience to a 4 year deal when he hasn't played in 8 months.
That doesn't mean you don't believe in the player, you certainly can, but there's just no guarantee on how he'll perform when he returns and so, no rush to ink this deal. I mean, you'd think people would have learned something after the Markov debacle. What was Bergevin scared of? That Emelin will come back, playing amazing and ask for 6M? That was never going to happen.
We likely could have had him for cheaper.

I know you don't believe in cap space being as important. But you save 1M on Emelin, say we had given PK that 5y-5M deal, we'd likely be saving another 2M from that deal (if not more), that's already 3M in extra space.
Cap space adds up and it gives you more flexibility. So whenever you can save some, even if it's just 500K, you go for it.

I completely agree with what you are saying, the timing of the Emelin contract always felt fishy to me. It was something where if the amount was under market value it would've made sense from the Habs standpoint as a risk, but signing him to fair market value right in the middle of a serious injury obviously makes no sense. There must have been something going on behind the scene that we don't know about, only way I can make sense of this. Bergevin is not a idiot. Emelin probably had a KHL offer on the table or something.

Sometimes for us fans it's easy to think of trading or signing players to contracts is as easy as it is in EA Sports NHL, but in reality the GMs have a multitude of things they have to consider that we don't even hear about.

 

[Lions999]

Tokarski is my hero. What a mens leaguer. I have better pads than him!

If we are to use Bourque in a 3rd or 4th line role, the way he played tonight was just fine.

Also, I think 3rd line C is now Brière's to lose. Eller should start on the 4th line when he's back and he'll have to win his spot back by his hard work, like DD did earlier this season.

And I'm confident he can!

DD is playing awesome now but he didn't win his spot back... They just gave it...

 

[hototogisu]

DD is playing awesome now but he didn't win his spot back... They just gave it...

That's what happens when you have a 60 point season and proven chemistry with our best goal scorer to fall back on.

Equally important - he's been proving he deserves the spot on a nightly basis.

 

[Habs10Habs]

All year the Negative Nellies have been saying that without Price the Habs would be a lottery team, well since he's been injured they have gone 3-1-1 for 7 of 10 points.

I'm real happy about benching Eller, I think it should have been done 4-6 weeks ago. Not to be negative though, because he can be A LOT better, and watching a game or two from the stands helps hit the reset button and get back to what he does best. With Vanek coming in, and with Galchenyuk back if Eller can regain anywhere close to last year's form we can go back to a 3 line team instaed of 1.5 or 2.

In fairness, that's a very small sample of games to choose from. If not for some lucky bounces here and there. We could have just as easily had a losing record during that time period. Last nights game, though fun to watch, was a perfect example.

 

[Andy]

All year the Negative Nellies have been saying that without Price the Habs would be a lottery team, well since he's been injured they have gone 3-1-1 for 7 of 10 points.

Lucked out points against the Pens and the Red Wings. Looked terrible against the kings despite the score being 2-1. Deserved to win against the Leafs. Last night could have gone either way...a fantastic first, a putrid second period and an undisciplined third. If Getzlaf had a little more accuracy he would have had a hatrick last night with his 3 posts.

If the Canadiens don't tighten up their game, they'll get bounced early. This team has never been so talented, but the biggest flaw is behind the bench.

 

[zzoo]

Good:
- DD line was generating a lot of chances. They were quite good in offensive zone. They were really our 1st line, and by very far.
- Shots block: there were many of them yesterday. Bravo to Gorges.
- Therrien: yes MT......for playing Tinordi instead of Bouillon, and for NOT selecting Pax in SO.


Bad:
- Penalties: we got too many
- The 2nd and 3rd Duck goals


Ugly:
- Toraski in SO: he was terrible. I wonder if he made any stop at all. It's either a goal, or a shot went wide or hit the post. The performance during the game was fine.
- Emelin: 2 stupid penalties, some turnovers, shot wide many times. He was horrible.

 

[FuzzyWuzzy]

Good:
- DD line was generating a lot of chances. They were quite good in offensive zone. They were really our 1st line, and by very far.
- Shots block: there were many of them yesterday. Bravo to Gorges.
- Therrien: yes MT......for playing Tinordi instead of Bouillon, and for NOT selecting Pax in SO.


Bad:
- Penalties: we got too many
- The 2nd and 3rd Duck goals


Ugly:
- Toraski in SO: he was terrible. I wonder if he made any stop at all. It's either a goal, or a shot went wide or hit the post. The performance during the game was fine.
- Emelin: 2 stupid penalties, some turnovers, shot wide many times. He was horrible.

Davey is seriously turning me into a believer. He's been compeltely torrid since he broke out of his (unbelievably horrible) slump. His shootout skills has won us a couple games and his winger's shooting for 40 goals this year.

So long as he keeps on scoring semi-reliably (and he's been 100% reliable lately) then i'm gonna be riding the Davey train.

 

[Smokey Thompson]

Vanek

 

[PricePkPatch*]

Davey is seriously turning me into a believer. He's been compeltely torrid since he broke out of his (unbelievably horrible) slump. His shootout skills has won us a couple games and his winger's shooting for 40 goals this year.

So long as he keeps on scoring semi-reliably (and he's been 100% reliable lately) then i'm gonna be riding the Davey train.

With such a small vehicle, I hope there's not gonna be many of you

 

[Dagistitsyn]

Davey is seriously turning me into a believer. He's been compeltely torrid since he broke out of his (unbelievably horrible) slump. His shootout skills has won us a couple games and his winger's shooting for 40 goals this year.

So long as he keeps on scoring semi-reliably (and he's been 100% reliable lately) then i'm gonna be riding the Davey train.

I agree with what you said, but I'm still very concerned he will be easily shut down in the playoffs. Hope he continues to prove me wrong.

 

[Monctonscout]

In fairness, that's a very small sample of games to choose from. If not for some lucky bounces here and there. We could have just as easily had a losing record during that time period. Last nights game, though fun to watch, was a perfect example.

On the flip side it's been against some of the best teams in the NHL...LA Anaheim and Pittsburgh. Even with a full roster, those teams aren't pushover for anybody. Toronto is in a playoff spot and Detroit is mid pack.

No denying that Price is a big piece of the puzzle, but all top teams have stars and superstars(Crosby Malkin Kopitar Quick Getzlaf Kessel etc) that they rely heavily on.

 

[PricePkPatch*]

I agree with what you said, but I'm still very concerned he will be easily shut down in the playoffs. Hope he continues to prove me wrong.

I don't think he is "easily" shut down. Yes, he might be shut down by an effective shutdown line/D pairing, but the best lines in the NHL can be effectively shutdown. That doesn't make them bad.

What we need isn't worrying about David; it's to ensure secondary scoring. Making sure that if the opposition's top defensive effort is set against DD and his line, that we still produce. Maybe sufficiently that the opposing team coach change the focus of the defensive effort.

 

[Uber Coca]

Ugly:
- Toraski in SO: he was terrible. I wonder if he made any stop at all. It's either a goal, or a shot went wide or hit the post. The performance during the game was fine.

He seriously looked out of place more often than not during the shootout. On the disallowed goal, Tokarski gave him the entire net to shoot at.

 

[Bryson]

That's what happens when you have a 60 point season and proven chemistry with our best goal scorer to fall back on.

Equally important - he's been proving he deserves the spot on a nightly basis.

Let's be honest DD didn't earn anything. He was given every opportunity to succeed to the point of defying logic. He's playing with a potential 40 goal scorer, monopolizing O-zone starts and often plays as much as 5-10 minutes more than any other center not named Plekanec. All that for a 50 point season if you're lucky? Plekanec does it with his eyes closed, playing with scrubs and top line opposition.

Those 50 points also came with collateral damage. They came at the expense of Eller, you know that big center we've always dreamed of and Galchenyuk, you know the franchise player of this team. Both of whom have looked completely lost since being broken up. Situation is much different if DD gets the Eller treatment.

And yet this team is in 3rd place. :shrugs:

Can Pac-DD keep up their hot streak without Gallagher? Can the EGG line be re-united and recapture the magic they had at the beginning of the season? We need everybody to get it going if we want to make it deep in the playoffs.

 

[Bryson]

Lucked out wins against the Pens and the Red Wings. Looked terrible against the kings despite the score being 2-1. Deserved to win against the Leafs. Last night could have gone either way...a fantastic first, a putrid second period and an undisciplined third. If Getzlaf had a little more accuracy he would have had a hatrick last night with his 3 posts.

If the Canadiens don't tighten up their game, they'll get bounced early. This team has never been so talented, but the biggest flaw is behind the bench.

Give anaheim some credit. Announcer said that the ducks scored something like 70ish first period goals this season versus 167 during the second period.

 

[FuzzyWuzzy]

With such a small vehicle, I hope there's not gonna be many of you

currently picturing myself actually riding on davey's shoulder


thats the dream

 

[PricePkPatch*]

currently picturing myself actually riding on davey's shoulder


thats the dream

Share the space with Pacioretty

 

[FuzzyWuzzy]

Let's be honest DD didn't earn anything. He was given every opportunity to succeed to the point of defying logic. He's playing with a potential 40 goal scorer, monopolizing O-zone starts and often plays as much as 5-10 minutes more than any other center not named Plekanec. All that for a 50 point season if you're lucky? Plekanec does it with his eyes closed, playing with scrubs and top line opposition.

Those 50 points also came with collateral damage. They came at the expense of Eller, you know that big center we've always dreamed of and Galchenyuk, you know the franchise player of this team. Both of whom have looked completely lost since being broken up. Situation is much different if DD gets the Eller treatment.

And yet this team is in 3rd place. :shrugs:

Can Pac-DD keep up their hot streak without Gallagher? Can the EGG line be re-united and recapture the magic they had at the beginning of the season? We need everybody to get it going if we want to make it deep in the playoffs.

If DD doesnt slump completely during the 20 first games, he'd be on pace for a 60-70 pts season this year. Say he'd gotten like 5-10 points during those 20 games (wich would've been nothing exceptional). I agree with you about the collaterals (especially Eller) but then again, the guy's producing at close to a ppg pace. Most coaches would accept collaterals in order to have a line/centerman who scores at that pace. FYI, he has like 36 points in his last 41 games.

 

[Bryson]

He seriously looked out of place more often than not during the shootout. On the disallowed goal, Tokarski gave him the entire net to shoot at.

True. Hard to say if it was just nerves but typically shootouts are a completely different animal than a regulation game. Even Price isn't that great in SO. Budaj is better. Same goes for forwards. They can dominate an entire game but completely suck in the SO like Getzlaf for example.

That being said, Tokarski put on an absolute clinic during that first ducks PP. I like these quick reactionary goalies that can back up bigger positional goalies that can take up a brunt of the workload like Price.

Tokarski = next Halak.

 

[hototogisu]

Let's be honest DD didn't earn anything. He was given every opportunity to succeed to the point of defying logic. He's playing with a potential 40 goal scorer, monopolizing O-zone starts and often plays as much as 5-10 minutes more than any other center not named Plekanec. All that for a 50 point season if you're lucky? Plekanec does it with his eyes closed, playing with scrubs and top line opposition.

Those 50 points also came with collateral damage. They came at the expense of Eller, you know that big center we've always dreamed of and Galchenyuk, you know the franchise player of this team. Both of whom have looked completely lost since being broken up. Situation is much different if DD gets the Eller treatment.

And yet this team is in 3rd place. :shrugs:

Can Pac-DD keep up their hot streak without Gallagher? Can the EGG line be re-united and recapture the magic they had at the beginning of the season? We need everybody to get it going if we want to make it deep in the playoffs.

Please, so tired of the "boo Desharnais, poor Eller" narrative on this board. Desharnais plays with Pacioretty because it works and has worked for more or less since their entire time together in the organization. Eller's dip in production started while he was still on the EGG line, and to shoulder the blame off him and onto everyone else (Desharnais, Therrien, Eller's linemates) for Eller's 1 assist in 30 games or whatever it is is just ridiculous.

Team's winning. Desharnais' line is clicking. Eller has to figure it out for himself. The end.

 

[le_sean]

That was a great Vanek last night. Love Vanek-ing top teams like that. Thank Vanek for the two points.

Vanek.