Still, Therrien is getting ton of hate and Ive yet to read some intelligent comments on why he is that bad..
I just have a hard time believing another coach could do better with a such roster.. Its so easy to blame a coach or a goaltender when things dont work well.. Coaches have to deal with a ton of factors we dont even know.. And its strange that those points you summarize are the same we hear again and over again no matter who is behind the bench.. thats like a broken record to me.
Really?
Take the game vs the Preds for example. 1 of the keys of every teams facing the Habs is to contain/stop the EGG line. Thats common sense. Nobody will dispute that. Its the only line producing anything offensively as Plek has nobody to plays with him, so its easy to key on the kids line.
What did the Preds had to contain/stop the EGG line? Only 2 players (Weber and Jones). Trotz figured he'd make sure they were on the ice every times the EGG line was on.
As you know, that game was in Mtl. Therrien had the last change.
My question is simple: why was he so utterly outcoached in his own building by someone who doesnt have any options besides 1 D pairing?
Please note again that the game was in Mtl, meaning MT had last line change.
During that game, did you saw, at any point, MT call the EGG line to the bench and send in the 4th line vs Weber/Jones? No, it didnt happened once. A very common strategy to free up your guys (in that case EGG line) from the opposing coach matching up vs them is to call them to the bench, send 3rd-4th liners, get some offensive pressure going (cycle), then when Weber/Jones comes off, you comeback with the EGG line. This happened 0 time in that game. None.
This is a blatant no in-game adjustment. Julien has outcoached many coaches in the past, especially with his use of Chara and Bergeron. Recall how the previous coach (Martin, not Randy) reacted when he saw Chara jumping on the ice to match the Habs 1st line?
MT sucks at line matching. At home, he has 0 excuse. It was apparent last year and its very apparent this year. MacLean made MT look bad last playoffs with line changes.
When was the last time MT used his TO wisely? Do you recall him calling a TO to keep the EGG line + Markov/Subban on the ice on the PP when he needs a goal late? What is this need for a team to end the game with that TO? Why not use it to give you better odds at getting that big goal that could seal it midway thru the game.
MT easily couldve used that TO in the 2nd last night. Everyone was noticing what was happening. MT did nothing. He sat there, idle, doing angry faces after angry faces.
As far as the thread title, I wonder where the Habs would be without Price.