Defense

[Nedved]

If we had another legit top 6 forward we'd spend a lot more time in the offensive zone and wouldn't have to worry about our defence, which hasn't even been bad.

Pacioretty, Plekanec, Chucky, Eller and Sekac are all pretty good at keeping the puck in the offensive zone but then we have guys like Parenteau/Desharnais who get pushed around too easily and lose the puck, Gallagher who shoots from anywhere or makes awful passes every time he gets the puck and then a bunch of 4th liners who can't even stick handle.

Last year when we added Vanek the amount of time we spent in the offensive zone greatly improved, until we get another good forward we're going to be stuck having to rely on Price because we're usually stuck scoring like 2 goals a game.

i think a lot of our struggles offensively come from our defensive system...the stretch pass isn't effective, and it's easy to keep it to the outside and generate very few good chances.

when the opposition enters the zone, our d don't hold the line, which means we never create quick turnover at the line; whereas on the the pk, when we can apply pressure and force the dump in, we seem to create odd man rushes.

i think our d is fantastic, i just don't think they're used effectively.

it drives me nuts.

 

[Scriptor]

Problem isn't the defense, it's the forwards aside from Eller, Sekac and Patches being unable to maintain possession. Everyone blames the D when they can't defend the fifteenth 3 on 2 of the game but nobody blames the forwards for turning over the puck to create these 3 on 2's or 2 on 1's.

It is important to maintain possession but, if you don't score at least semi-regularly, you're just keeping possession for a 1-0 Shootout win.

Eller is great at puck possession but, he hasn't really lit an offensive candle to save his life yet this season. We need some offence from him, at least.

Sekac, for a 22 yr old rookie, is a puck possession beast and seems to have more offensive vision than Eller, to be honest. Perhaps it's that Sekac is more willing to take the puck to the net as part of his puck possession show…

As good as Paciroretty already is, imagine if he also used his body to take the puck to the net more frequently as part of his puck possession magic. He'd be a "Rick Nash" highlight reel of old….

 

[habsfanatics*]

What's the problem with the defence? Same as everything else on this team. Coaching.

We give up more shots from the most dangerous areas of the ice than the Oilers, for pete's sake. The reason we get away with it is that Price has been nearly unbeatable this season except from point-blank range, and the Oilers goaltending is sub-par. Don't believe me? Go look at the heat maps.

Canadiens: http://war-on-ice.com/hexteams.html?team=MTL&start0=20142015&end0=20142015

Oilers: http://war-on-ice.com/hexteams.html?team=EDM&start0=20142015&end0=20142015

Chew on that for a minute: we surrender 0.4 shots/game more than the Edmonton Oilers. Unreal. Therrien

.4 shots, omg, he should be fired immediately.

 

[Haburger]

It is important to maintain possession but, if you don't score at least semi-regularly, you're just keeping possession for a 1-0 Shootout win.

Eller is great at puck possession but, he hasn't really lit an offensive candle to save his life yet this season. We need some offence from him, at least.

Sekac, for a 22 yr old rookie, is a puck possession beast and seems to have more offensive vision than Eller, to be honest. Perhaps it's that Sekac is more willing to take the puck to the net as part of his puck possession show…

As good as Paciroretty already is, imagine if he also used his body to take the puck to the net more frequently as part of his puck possession magic. He'd be a "Rick Nash" highlight reel of old….

I never in my wildest dreams thought eller would regress this year.he wont shoot,cant pass and gets muscled off the puck game after game.boy does mb have his work cut out to turn this team into a true contender.

 

[Team_Spirit]

What's the problem with the defence? Same as everything else on this team. Coaching.

Agreed.


Subban = Playing like **** right now. The guy can take over games but his play has been regressing badly. He threw a vintage hit last night the play by play guy went ''oohh vintage Subban hit...we haven't seen those in a long time!'' ugh so true.

Markov = Most likely doesn't give 2 ***** about JJD. Still forced to adjust to the stupid 'system'.

Gonchar = See Markov but add leadership. He saved Beaulieu's career with the Habs. No wonder the kid always praise him.

Emelin = regressed to the point he's almost a scratch.

Gilbert = Playing like a borderline no.6. The guy put up around 30pts his entire career and he's on pace for 14pts............

 

[shawdowmaker]

I get the sense that our D is not being utilize properly Beaulieu can produce much more but he is forced to play that system. Pk needs to be given the green light to hit and take over at will...Emelin has to play like the Emelinator hit hit. Markov needs less minutes. Gonchar should coach the PP and play (serious)

 

[blarneylad]

I get the sense that our D is not being utilize properly Beaulieu can produce much more but he is forced to play that system. Pk needs to be given the green light to hit and take over at will...Emelin has to play like the Emelinator hit hit. Markov needs less minutes. Gonchar should coach the PP and play (serious)

I don't think Subban needs to be a physical force. Hitting takes its toll on energy and the body.

Subban is being asked to play top minutes now so he can't be beating himself up all the time if we expect him to be playing 25+ mins a game.

I mean, using your body to separate a guy from the puck is obvious, but bone jarring hits are unnecessary.

 

[groovejuice]

I don't think Subban needs to be a physical force. Hitting takes its toll on energy and the body.

Subban is being asked to play top minutes now so he can't be beating himself up all the time if we expect him to be playing 25+ mins a game.

I mean, using your body to separate a guy from the puck is obvious, but bone jarring hits are unnecessary.

Do you think Suter, Doughty, Giordano, et al who play big minutes don't hit? Subban is clearly not hitting because he's been instructed not to, as it appears others have also.

I can't see any other explanation why the whole team have most stopped physical play.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

I never in my wildest dreams thought eller would regress this year.he wont shoot,cant pass and gets muscled off the puck game after game.boy does mb have his work cut out to turn this team into a true contender.

...did Lars steal your girlfriend or something??...or do you just not watch the games??...Larry's been damn good this year and has been arguably the best Habs on the ice on a number of occasions, despite his limited icetime and no PP time...


...and WTF does any of this have to do with our D??...

 

[Mr. Hab]

Agreed.


Subban = Playing like **** right now. The guy can take over games but his play has been regressing badly. He threw a vintage hit last night the play by play guy went ''oohh vintage Subban hit...we haven't seen those in a long time!'' ugh so true.

Markov = Most likely doesn't give 2 ***** about JJD. Still forced to adjust to the stupid 'system'.

Gonchar = See Markov but add leadership. He saved Beaulieu's career with the Habs. No wonder the kid always praise him.

Emelin = regressed to the point he's almost a scratch.

Gilbert = Playing like a borderline no.6. The guy put up around 30pts his entire career and he's on pace for 14pts............

My question is...can Tinordi come up just to be mentored by Gonchar?!!

And, then...can Emelin and Gilbert also be mentored by Gonchar?!!
I'm not even kidding!!

Emelin (NTC)...does anyone know anything about his NTC??!
(NTC till 2016? or 2017? what teams can we trade him to?!).

Like ''Nedved'' wrote in page 1 of this thread...I also loved the way Subbie played when JM was coaching. Did it have anything to do with JM...? (green light on everything, etc). Maybe...probably...I cannot know for sure!?


P.S.: why can't Markov be a good mentor to Beaulieu or Tinordi?

 

[ECWHSWI]

...did Lars steal your girlfriend or something??...or do you just not watch the games??...Larry's been damn good this year and has been arguably the best Habs on the ice on a number of occasions, despite his limited icetime and no PP time...


...and WTF does any of this have to do with our D??...

repeating the RDS mantra, nothing else