Best team in the league over the past 10 games.. hard to believe reading this section

[Et le But]

This team is a lot more talented than given credit for

However it's going to get bounced in the first round, and unlike last year, will completely deserve it. We are last year's Leafs.

Only if you never watched the 2012 Kings. They're pretty much polar opposites. LA was playing very well all year and just getting on the unlucky side of things. And that's in a much tougher Western conference.

The habs are lucking out wins against the toronto maple leafs. Completely different.

The Kings are actually the case study about why you need to look at more than goals. They struggled scoring but they were possession monsters, as a team with Doughty and Kopitar is going to be.

Just because they are big and physical doesn't mean they don't dominate the puck.

 

[WeThreeKings]

This team is a lot more talented than given credit for

However it's going to get bounced in the first round, and unlike last year, will completely deserve it. We are last year's Leafs.



The Kings are actually the case study about why you need to look at more than goals. They struggled scoring but they were possession monsters, as a team with Doughty and Kopitar is going to be.

Just because they are big and physical doesn't mean they don't dominate the puck.

And our possession numbers are brutal

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Hab fans have amnesia it seems. How many bloody times did we have a top team during the regular season and get our ***** handed to us in the playoffs? What makes this year any different? Small, soft team that lives and dies off of the PP. Small and soft players will be easily neutralized and the PP opportunities won't be there which will expose the putrid 5 on 5 production.

Just don't come crying when we get ousted by a lower seeded team.

 

[Beatnik]

The GDT's are incredibly negative overall lately

The PGTs are full of very mad people when we win. The mood in it is better when we lose. That tells a lot.

 

[Gamimenos]

Only if you never watched the 2012 Kings. They're pretty much polar opposites. LA was playing very well all year and just getting on the unlucky side of things. And that's in a much tougher Western conference.

The habs are lucking out wins against the toronto maple leafs. Completely different.

I am on the mindset of "you make your own luck".

 

[Habsawce]

I love these comments where the people who are negative on the team are somehow unable to see that the team is overall doing well. What I also find funny is how these people trying to gloat about where they are in the standings and present themselves superior to others is their inability to understand that some watch hockey for entertainment value. And the fact that this team is not entertaining and making wins boring seems to escape them in their happy dances over horrific hockey.

So let me make this statement: Yes, the Montreal Canadiens are winning and we are all happy about this. However, they are like watching paint dry, the system is horrible and we have every damn right to complain about it not being entertained.

Can we not agree to this and stop with the rub it in your face persona? Cool, glad we got that out of the way.

 

[Natey]

I love these comments where the people who are negative on the team are somehow unable to see that the team is overall doing well. What I also find funny is how these people trying to gloat about where they are in the standings and present themselves superior to others is their inability to understand that some watch hockey for entertainment value. And the fact that this team is not entertaining and making wins boring seems to escape them in their happy dances over horrific hockey.

So let me make this statement: Yes, the Montreal Canadiens are winning and we are all happy about this. However, they are like watching paint dry, the system is horrible and we have every damn right to complain about it not being entertained.

Can we not agree to this and stop with the rub it in your face persona? Cool, glad we got that out of the way.

Maybe if you're post was right...

There might be a few like that. But the entertainment thing isn't why people are *****ing most of the time.

 

[Habsawce]

Maybe if you're post was right...

There might be a few like that. But the entertainment thing isn't why people are *****ing most of the time.

It's why I complain. This is not fun hockey to watch, and I constantly see posts about people falling asleep during the game or just straight up doing other things which I find myself doing which is not normal.

Even last year, if I had to miss a game I would PvR it and watch it later. This year, I don't even bother.

 

[Habnot]

It's why I complain. This is not fun hockey to watch, and I constantly see posts about people falling asleep during the game or just straight up doing other things which I find myself doing which is not normal.

Even last year, if I had to miss a game I would PvR it and watch it later. This year, I don't even bother.

You need some perspective - this is the new NHL. I subscribe to NHL and the Habs are no worse or better that 90% of the NHL.

Pinning this only on the Habs is disingenuous.

And btw, last two games have been fun to watch - high entertainment value.

 

[HockeyF3ind]

I don't mind our D group now.

Subban, Markov, Gorges, Emelin, Murray, Tinordi, Beaulieu. I haven't seen Bouillion play a game in a while which is great, but I'd rather see these pairings, even though I guess Murray is a veteran stabilizing presence on the bottom pairing.

Markov-Subban
Emelin-Beaulieu
Gorges-Tinordi

 

[Fozz]

10 game sample= fact.

What constitutes a good sample size for you?
63-35-12... Is 110 games enough?

 

[peate]

The upcoming road trip will be a good gauge of where the team stands and its possible success in the playoffs. I hope Price is ready to play.

 

[SlyIslands]

Hab fans have amnesia it seems. How many bloody times did we have a top team during the regular season and get our ***** handed to us in the playoffs? What makes this year any different? Small, soft team that lives and dies off of the PP. Small and soft players will be easily neutralized and the PP opportunities won't be there which will expose the putrid 5 on 5 production.

Just don't come crying when we get ousted by a lower seeded team.

If my memory is good I would say only last season, otherwise we were always the underdog. In 2007-2008 we finished 1st and went into second round so it's not as bad as you are trying to make it seems.

 

[Hackett]

This team is a lot more talented than given credit for

However it's going to get bounced in the first round, and unlike last year, will completely deserve it. We are last year's Leafs.



The Kings are actually the case study about why you need to look at more than goals. They struggled scoring but they were possession monsters, as a team with Doughty and Kopitar is going to be.

Just because they are big and physical doesn't mean they don't dominate the puck.

Maybe this team looks a lot more talented on paper, but the more I think about it, maybe its just paper.

Briere is a good name on paper, but let's face it, he needs to be managed at this stage of his career.

Gionta is is not what he used to be either. I always valued his ablitiy to score goals while playing with Gomez, but he is not that player anymore.

Markov is another good name on paper, and he is still an effective player, just not the markov of 5 years ago. Emelin probably won't be better until next year when he gets a full training camp.

Out of the youngsters, eller has always looked good on paper according to his upside and flashes of offensive prowess. Maybe those expectations need to be tempered a bit. Bourque will never hit close yo 25 goals again.

While I dont like the style the team plays, maybe we also overstate the true ability of this club. I think we have some nice pieces, but I question the mix.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

If my memory is good I would say only last season, otherwise we were always the underdog. In 2007-2008 we finished 1st and went into second round so it's not as bad as you are trying to make it seems.

Last year doesn't count?

It is bad because we have not learned from our mistakes.

 

[JLP]

Last 10 games = Chicago worst team in their division

 

[Forsead]

An NHL season is usually filled with good stretches and bad stretches. When the good stretches happens more often and are longers the team is doing well. Here on HF, it seems there's panicks when there's a bad stretch, but this years the good stretches doesn't seems enough to satisfy even if the team has a good record. The reason is that I think this season has been saved with elite goaltending and the team is playing worse than last season which is a worrying situation. The product on the ice isn't that entertaining...it's seems the coaches are making bad decisions while the team is playing without passion.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

....Fire Therrien.

 

[Alexdaman]

Many people only see the players behind the team's success. In the NHL contrary to sports league like the NBA, or any top football league in Europe, success mostly comes from the team's playing system.

You can have teams like the Bruins win a stanley cup and come real close to repeating that 2 years later with no stars up front.

The reason why the habs have been successful so far this year, is because it has 3 lines that have a good balance between talented veterans (Gionta, Plekanec, Briere) and good young players (Pacioretty, Gallagher, Eller, Galchenyuk) *Desharnais and added to that a more physical presence from better depth players.

The system does a good job to grind the opposing team and a vast majority of the plays come off the boards (lob passes, dump and chase, blocking passing lanes, putting pressure on the puck carrier and the player intended for the pass)

This is what this team usually does better than the opposition We are a very hard team to play against because we do a good job of letting few good scoring opportunities and the rest is well handled by Price.

This team is playing the best with what it has. It cannot rely on a star player since it has none and in a sense it plays to the team's favor since everyone is expected to play without being in the shadow of someone.


The canadiens are not a contender. When looking at the past cup winning teams, the canadiens simply dont have what it takes to win a championship, but when Galchenyuk makes it to the next level (a glimpse was shown last saturday), we might well have ourselves the recipe for success.

 

[TheGoalJudge]

People want Bergevin fired because they think we lack talent. But Therrien has to also be fired because 3rd place is an underachievement with the talent on this roster.

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Meh! 16 points out of 20 in our last 10 games... those are 4 points we'll never get back. I still see room for improvement.





Yes, I'm being sarcastic but I still don't see how this team is getting success with the way Therrien is coaching.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Hab fans have amnesia it seems. How many bloody times did we have a top team during the regular season and get our ***** handed to us in the playoffs? What makes this year any different? Small, soft team that lives and dies off of the PP. Small and soft players will be easily neutralized and the PP opportunities won't be there which will expose the putrid 5 on 5 production.

Just don't come crying when we get ousted by a lower seeded team.

This is pretty much it

Whistles disappear in the playoffs and games get a lot tougher

We are already on the losing side of 5 on 5 Goals F/A, need to add a shut down D and 2 offensive wingers to play with Pleks then we can talk about being the best team in the league over the final 10 games of the year

 

[LyricalLyricist]

It's a lot easier to justify opinions of too soft, too small, etc... when 1 of 30 teams wins every year.

The simplest answer for me is the obvious one: Are we are as talented as Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, etc...? No.

 

[Scintillating10]

Since Gallagher has come back this team has an extra offensive edge to it. I like this team, think we have a chance despite our coach

 

[Price is Wright]

Montreal outshot the Senators in four of five games. Despite some twisting it as such, physicality was never Montreal's problem in the series. Scoring on Anderson was. Third period collapses. Injuries. Five on five.

Five on five scoring is the only thing people are really correct about but it wasn't actually a problem in the regular season last year. Only in the playoffs. With 20 more games played everyone is around the same numbers they were last season with Eller having a bit of an even strength drop and Pacioretty scoring more than he assisted last year.

The question I have, is if the team was strong five on five last year then dipped in the playoffs, while this year they are weak five on five, how is that a correlation that the team will continue to be weak five on five? Doesn't the matchup matter more?

What's interesting that nobody looks at is five on five goals allowed. Montreal is 7th this year, 9th last year. Only the Bolts and the Bruins allow less five on five goals in the east. Point being, if we allow less five on five goals in the playoffs compared to last year, that matters a heck of a lot more than scoring more five on five goals. Especially in the Eastern Conference where a lot of teams can score goals but can't keep them out.

That said, if we could add a Tomas Vanek (37 ESP) or Ryan O'Reilly (30 ESP) that could go a long way for us.