Post-Game Talk: Fights, Speed, Grits, Cats & Dogs.. This Is The NHL Classico Ladies And Gentlemen! (Habs 3-2 Bruins)

[Habs 4 Life]

Good road effort with the play you expect out of your best player
Nice to see them bounce back in Boston

 

[Hannibal]

Good old emotion, intensity, rivalry and toughness.

Today's game lack all of the above. Yesterday was refreshing.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I'd love to see the Leafs slip to 3rd or a WC spot, just to laugh at their narcissistic fan base.

You're right that this team is clearly much better than most predicted. Won't bother predicting further, other than a cross-fingered hope that Bergevin doesn't disassemble what he slowly started assembling.

If Bergevin makes a young player for young player trade where we address a team need, I'm OK with it as long as we trade from position of strength. Bergevin has never had this option since he became our GM. Based on his popularity in the last 3 years, he is very aware of making any bad moves at this stage. I also find it funny that he is trending well right after Dudley left. Maybe Bergevin is listening to Timmins now with help on player evaluations.

My biggest concern is our cap space with Bergevin. He better not use it unless it's for a player like Stone, Panarin, etc. Don't go after depth players where you overpay like Alzner.

It would be funny to see the Leafs fall to the wild card spot. The Bruins will be pushing them for the 2nd spot no doubt and that D they have man... It's going to crumble and they have not had any injuries. It's a very long season!

Babcock quote... "lets see if the depth we have is as good as we say it is". Something tells me he told Dubas to go after improvements and add depth pieces in case of injuries and Dubas told him, we already have good depth in the AHL.

 

[Perrah]

I don't see much of an improvement on the defence. The difference in goal has been Price. Since he took time out to sort things out he has been spectacular. He has made that defence look better but they haven't improved. Actually, like I mentioned in the previous post, I'm worried about Weber. His defensive play the last week or so has been sub par and his shot has vanished

They stopped giving the puck up as much and cut down on the cross ice shit, making the options more predictable. The first 2 months of the season they didnt take any options away. Play a 2 on 1 to take neither the pass or the shot away. Leaving guys unchecked around the net, leaving guys wide open in the slot on a nightly basis. It is night and day. Price could play great some games early in the year and still give up 3 or 4. No doubt Price is playing better as well but between your comments last season on the defense actually being better about 10-15 games into the season and not seeing any improvement this year, call me puzzled on what you constitute as playing well defensively.

 

[Roots73]

Chew on that Chowds!! On to FLA. Had to toss a vote to Lord Byron... Price saved the game but Habs likely don't get a point without the shorty. Awesome win on so many levels.

 

[Saundies]

This has been one of the weirdest seasons I remember. I don't know who half our players are, I don't know how they're winning games, I don't know where they're going to finish, and I don't know what our GM is going to do about any of it. It's Game of Thrones without the dragons, but with a weekly red (white and blue) wedding where someone's always getting cut.

In terms of pure entertainment, 2018/19 is already a big win.

This is the mood I'm subscribing to all year. I thought, with full transparency, that we were going to suck hard this year (and I was fine with it). I couldn't see how after Price's bad season last year, Weber being out til December, and trading two of our top scorers, we were going to be competitive.

Not only have they been competitive, they've actually kept themselves in the thick of a playoff race almost 50 games in. The games are actually watchable this year and don't make me wanna end it all after the first period.

Obviously a cup is ALWAYS the goal but you also have to be realistic with the cards you're dealt. If we make the playoffs: great! Playoff hockey is the best and it gives the young/new guys some great experience. If we don't: Great. At least they were entertaining all year and we get put into the lottery for Hughes.

 

[GSP2018]

Funny how Ruins fans say that without Price we would have been trounced. Yet, they were pumping Rasks play the last two weeks. And how he saved their butts a few times. Seems to be a tad hypocritical no ?

 

[sandysan]

Ya that is no longer true. Ask players about fighting these days and it is seem more as a necessary evil than something that they want to engage in. As more players have lives changed forever from head injuries the list of players wanting to avoid fighting at all cost will continue to grow.

whether someone wants to engage in it is not the relevant metric. players like saku koivu support fighting because it allows for protection by proxy. The players know the risks and are adults and the PA has never EVER had a poll of its membership where the pro fighting postion was not shared by more than 9 out of 10 of its members. its pretty much stayed the same from eras where fights were very common and it stays pretty much the same as fights are decreasing.

so " no longer true" is a big fat lie.

 

[sandysan]

I love fighting. I'm the Master Trainer of a MMA gym in Hong Kong. So you couldn't be more clueless about your assumptions.
What I'm saying is a hockey fight is essentially useless, it has no barrings on the outcome of games. Gallagher going to the net redirecting a routine point shot wasn't some special play because Dlo dropped the gloves. It's a play he does every single game.

But hey...if I don't think it's that fight that changed everything then..
1) I hate fighting
2) I'm a sissy
3) I never played hockey

Ya man...That's some serious insightful comments.

and this is based on your extensive personal experience that trumps the collective opinion of pretty much exclusively everyone who has ever played ? yeah that makes sense.

and you didn't have to explicitly state #3, it was pretty much assumed.

 

[Deebs]

Gotta give credit to Mete as well. He's been phenomenal since his recall. Really like that pairing

Shea and Mete have been so good for us since his return from the A. They compliment each other very well. He's playing with confidence and jumping up into the play. The points are going to come for this kid, he can't keep being snake bitten forever lol.

 

[Gamimenos]

Funny how Ruins fans say that without Price we would have been trounced. Yet, they were pumping Rasks play the last two weeks. And how he saved their butts a few times. Seems to be a tad hypocritical no ?

Last I checked Price is still here and will be for a while. If what the say holds water, I too would be worried.

 

[Lshap]

whether someone wants to engage in it is not the relevant metric. players like saku koivu support fighting because it allows for protection by proxy. The players know the risks and are adults and the PA has never EVER had a poll of its membership where the pro fighting postion was not shared by more than 9 out of 10 of its members. its pretty much stayed the same from eras where fights were very common and it stays pretty much the same as fights are decreasing.

so " no longer true" is a big fat lie.

Keep in mind the members of this club aren't in charge of creating the rules. For good reason. The membership is composed of young adult males who voted for fighting just like their young adult predecessors voted against helmets and visors.

I honestly don't know the answer to this next question, but I wonder what these same players think about fighting a few years after they retire. Does their opinion change once they're older and no longer held up to the scrutiny of teammates?

 

[OldCraig71]

A game like last night definitely clouds our judgment. But that's just us emotional fans, which affects nothing except the marginal uptick in our collective moods. The real question is whether it clouds Bergevin's judgment. At this point you'd imagine he sees a playoff series in the future, which carries a set of temptations to do the wrong thing. Hopefully, he also sees Tampa or Washington in that same future and comes back to reality.

The funniest thing would be the Habs pulling out a 1st-round underdog win against a powerhouse. We'd lose our minds...

I mean, who wouldn't love to beat the Leafs or Lightning in a first round upset? I sure would but the problem then becomes "look what we accomplished last year" and it might not have been anything more than an individual performance that takes us there you know what I mean? We then go in to the offseason with a pick in the 15-30 range and we still have holes on D and we need two top 6 forwards and then we see 200 posts about Matt Duchene coming here on July 1st and how this is team is further along than some think, we have been here many times in the last 25 years man.

With all of this said, it is the players that basically decide what happens on the ice and it currently looks as if a playoff spot is ours to lose, 7th or 8th is certainly a possibility. I can want what I want for this team till the cows come home but the team will decide, I just hope though that Bergevin remains true to his word(for once) and allows the team to make it's own destiny.

 

[sandysan]

Keep in mind the members of this club aren't in charge of creating the rules. For good reason. The membership is composed of young adult males who voted for fighting just like their young adult predecessors voted against helmets and visors.

I honestly don't know the answer to this next question, but I wonder what these same players think about fighting a few years after they retire. Does their opinion change once they're older and no longer held up to the scrutiny of teammates?

and they are adults despite the " good intentioned" trying to protect them from themselves because they are convinced that their lack of skin in the game gives them insights that have elude the players. ALL of the players. for decades.

You can ask some of the players, especially those that didnt fight, who no longer play. guys like oh I don't know, bobby smith. but it doesnt have to be him, it can be literally anyone.

 

[Tyson]

Over the last 14 games Chaput has no points and is 46.9% with faceoffs, he literally brings nothing.

Fair points but a 4th Liner is expected to be hard to play against and I would argue that neither Peca nor Hudon are 4th line players.

 

[Habs Icing]

I've noticed the same thing. Weber's still smart and rock-solid, but his mechanics look off. I'd guess his body is adjusting to the increased pace after a year off, so the hope is this is just a normal post-recovery lull, like we saw with Markov.

That occurred to me and I hope you're right.

 

[Conflicted Habs fan]

Great for the win but would have preferred the beans were denied a point

 

[OldCraig71]

It’s because we have such a large fanbase. We’re going to have a lot more morons then the average team. And what does a fan with little knowledge of the game do, pick on the goaltender because the rest of the game is probably going over their head. It’s easy to see when a goalie makes a mistake.

Very true but then there are those that see Price as our Crosby as well and they (probably justifiably so) expect to see him at such a high level because of his talent level and salary and I think that they also are partly correct. It gets cloudy for all of as fans when we forget that hockey is a team game an when the team is not performing well as a group that we tend to single out individuals for their excellence or lack thereof and then we make assesments on the team as a whole based on one or two guys. We currently sit here with the worst pp in the league and Max Domi sits 55th in league scoring and we sit even in goal differential(the only eastern playoff team not in positive territory). The only thing we have is the "once you make it anything can happen" mentality because on paper, it's actually all we have.(sorry to be long winded and go all over the place here)

 

[Habs Icing]

.897 vs .927... come on man. That is such a stark difference.

He didn't suddenly start playing differently. He played well in a lot of those games where we'd give up four goals. It was just ****ing chaos in our own end.

Before his small break his rebound control was atrocious and more importantly he was having trouble tracking the puck. Since that break his rebound control is good (not great yet) and what has really improved by leaps and bounds is his puck tracking. In the last 20 games I've seen him lose sight of the puck maybe a total of a handful of times whereas before the break that was happening to him in one game sometimes in one period. I never thought his technique or his reflexes were bad in the first part of the season. He just wasn't seeing the puck. I don't know if it was concentration, fatigue or something else but now I see his head is constantly moving keepin the puck in his line of vision.

 

[beowulf]

whether someone wants to engage in it is not the relevant metric. players like saku koivu support fighting because it allows for protection by proxy. The players know the risks and are adults and the PA has never EVER had a poll of its membership where the pro fighting postion was not shared by more than 9 out of 10 of its members. its pretty much stayed the same from eras where fights were very common and it stays pretty much the same as fights are decreasing.

so " no longer true" is a big fat lie.

I'll have to disagree. The union will always put out what helps their membership and for some players, though increasingly less, the only or main reason they are even in the NHL is because they can drop the gloves.

Look at the drop in fights, especially staged fights. I know a few guys that play or have played in the league, some we even enforcers and they say that it's part of the game and will remain part of it but they don't like it per say.

 

[Uncle Gary]

I just realized we have 2 back to backs this week.

 

[Kriss E]

and this is based on your extensive personal experience that trumps the collective opinion of pretty much exclusively everyone who has ever played ? yeah that makes sense.

and you didn't have to explicitly state #3, it was pretty much assumed.

Are you actually telling me that Dlo was the f***ing MVP tonight? You really want to stick to that buddy? Dlo was more important than Price..
Is your understand of human behavior at such a fetus state that you cant even tell when teammates are just throwing some love to one of their guys..? Because..I dont know...hmm, maybe he ate a bunch of punches
But..but...but...the guys gave him the dragon coat man!..
You're right buddy...Dlo was the 1st star tonight.

 

[Milhouse40]

Very true but then there are those that see Price as our Crosby as well and they (probably justifiedly so) expect to see him at such a high level because of his talent level and salary and I think that they also are partly correct. It gets cloudy for all of as fans when we forget that hockey is a team game an when the team is not performing well as a group that we tend to single out individuals for their excellence or lack thereof and then we make assesments on the team as a whole based on one or two guys. We currently sit here with the worst pp in the league and Max Domi sits 55th in league scoring and we sit even in goal differential(the only eastern playoff team not in positive territory). The only thing we have is the "once you make it anything can happen" mentality because on paper, it's actually all we have.(sorry to be long winded and go all over the place here)

As i said in the past, 1st round exit playoff is still more fun than finishing 9. Of course as the team is right now, i don't give them a lot of chances to go far in the PO but i'm still intrigue especially if we can manage to not face Tampa Bay.

 

[peate]

I figured Price would get most of the votes, so I gave mine to Petry for his game winning RBI single in the 10th.

 

[Lshap]

and they are adults despite the " good intentioned" trying to protect them from themselves because they are convinced that their lack of skin in the game gives them insights that have elude the players. ALL of the players. for decades.

You can ask some of the players, especially those that didnt fight, who no longer play. guys like oh I don't know, bobby smith. but it doesnt have to be him, it can be literally anyone.

We're approaching this debate the wrong way. Fighting has always been against the rules. Start a fight, the game stops, you're sent off. No player has ever suggested fights become a penalty-free event where the clock continues to tick while two guys slug it out. In fact, since the instigator rule, what's really changed about fighting isn't the rules from the NHL's head office, but rather the strategies of team building and coaching, from right down there on the ice. Forget the image of poor players being patronized by their elders. Fighting is disappearing by Darwinian natural selection. Fighting is no longer a valuable skill to be scouted and acquired. Starting a fight isn't a strategy that a coach uses to win games. In today's roster of heightened skill, systems and speed, the ability to fight simply isn't important. The diminishing role of fighting has nothing to do with telling players what's good for them. It has to do with skilled players playing against other skilled players, rather than the imbalance we used to have of less talented players filling roster spots. Opening up the league to international talent left no room for second-rate players whose main skill was their fists.

Sure, there will always be fights as long as there are tempers. But it's less often and less important. It's a leftover NHL relic that's an oddity among pro sports, not some imaginary rallying cry that's essential to hockey. Imagine classic moments in the NFL, MLB or NBA revolving around a fight. Ridiculous. There's no mystique around hockey fights - it's just a distraction.