Injury Report: Galchenyuk skated with team during optional practice

[HankyZetts]

I actually agree. When we will lose, put him up instead of Prust or Bourque, whoever had the worst game. I think it should be Prust based on his play so far, but maybe he'll step up against his former team.

I couldn't say anything bad against Bournival for the whole season (and playoffs).

Galchenyuk with Vanek would be a treat.

 

[JayKing]

I actually don't agree with you guys and think it's really an easy decision. We don't have to out muscle the Rangers so you take out Prust. Galchenyuk has proven that he has chemistry with Plekanec and I think he'll fit well playing with Vanek and he's no worse defensively than Bournival. I also wouldn't touch Eller's line because he's been great. Bournival also has had chemistry with Briere and Weise. (The only down side to that line up that I can see in my opinionis that you don't have a defensive minded forward to play with Plek and Gionta to hold a lead like Therrien likes to do.)

Pac- DD - Gally
Chucky - Plek- Vanek
Bourque - Eller - Gionta
Bournival - Briere - Weise

Worse case scenario if Chucky sucks you move Bourni back up and you bench Chucky on Briere's wing (who won't be playing much anyways.)

 

[Wats]

I think Galchenyuk will eventually go in for Bourque/Bournival/Prust.

 

[Habs]

Galchenyuk is better than most players on this team right now..

I disagree. Prust is playing a decent physical/2 way role and he has experience. The kid hasn't played in months, he's not in game speed and it's a tough time to jump in. His speed would be nice against the Rangers, but I'm not sure sacrificing the solid forecheck right now is worth it.

Sometimes things just work in the playoffs, why mess with chemistry right now?

 

[Monctonscout]

I'm cool with this. Maybe keep Bourque in, move Bournival to the 4th for Prust.
How awesome would it be if Chucky came back and lit it up. The way this run has been going, it wouldn't surprise me.

Prust has looked better since coming back in. No way he sits unless there is a physical issue.

You guys are nuts if you take out Bournival before Bourque.

Bourque gives you absolutely nothing if he's not scoring, which he isn't.

Bournival made a huge play to draw that penalty last night with his speed and desire. Those 2 things will never be in doubt with him. Also, he doesn't take penalties.

Honestly, the 2 forwards who I thought looked tired or sometimes didn't have that step to make a play were Gionta and Bourque. I'm willing to give Gionta a pass because it was a really tough 7 game series and the odds of him getting a step back after a few days are high.

I think you can keep Galchenyuk chomping at the bit and whoever starts slowing down as the series wears on can take a night off.

Against a smaller, quicker NYR team I think Bournival has to stay in.

If Bourque plays like he did the first 5 games, he should be in for sure, if he plays like the last 6 then White Moen or Galchenyuk would be an upgrade.

 

[Theodore450]

I think bourque will play well against a speed team like NYR, I think boston was too physical for him. I love Bourni but you play your 3-4 best winger.
Sit bourni

 

[Saundies]

I think Chucky will definitely draw in for a game or two, depending on how the series goes. Will it be right away? Sincerely doubt it, considering the type of hockey we're playing right now. But MT has shown that he is willing to make necessary changes to give the team a spark and it's best chance to win (ex. Beaulieu).

There's no harm in sitting Chucky if we're playing well. If he doesn't end up drawing in, it's not the end of the world. Only 20 years old.

 

[Raider917]

whos this guy on tsn montreal who would bench borque to play galchenyuk?......idiot

 

[HankyZetts]

I disagree. Prust is playing a decent physical/2 way role and he has experience. The kid hasn't played in months, he's not in game speed and it's a tough time to jump in. His speed would be nice against the Rangers, but I'm not sure sacrificing the solid forecheck right now is worth it.

Sometimes things just work in the playoffs, why mess with chemistry right now?

1 month and a week..

He's just that good. Imagine it was him getting all those passes from Vanek in the slot? Bruins are dirty, I understand not rushing him back for that series, but if he's ready to go, poor New York. One more dangerous player to cover.

 

[Natey]

Prust has looked better since coming back in. No way he sits unless there is a physical issue.



Against a smaller, quicker NYR team I think Bournival has to stay in.

If Bourque plays like he did the first 5 games, he should be in for sure, if he plays like the last 6 then White Moen or Galchenyuk would be an upgrade.

Bourque was great last night. Beat out an icing or two. Skated hard. Drew PPs. No complaints last night.

 

[Kriss E]

Don't mess with the lineup... yet.

Bourque has slowed down (again).

Like many posters have said, he is one player that could be 'rested'.

I think Eller's line been our best since the POs started. I wouldn't touch it.

Bournival is likely to be the one out, unless there's an injury to another player.

 

[HABS win CUPS*]

whos this guy on tsn montreal who would bench borque to play galchenyuk?......idiot

Nilan on now talking about how he almost beat up some guy at TD Garden

 

[Kriss E]

It's tough. I'm not sure what I'd do here.

I wouldn't touch the Desharnais or Eller lines.

Why not remove Bourque? Because he's playing like a solid veteran. Even when he's not been scoring of late, he's been playing solid. He had a couple of outstanding shifts last night. Good at protecting the puck, keeping it deep, winning battles. Complements Gionta and Eller well in that he's good at bringing the puck to the net where Gionta can battle hard and Eller can come in from the high slot. And because he's playing like a solid veteran, it allows the coaching staff to rely on this line as a solid all-around line, giving the Plekanec line more room to push things offensively.

Here's the dilemma for me:

Galchenyuk with Plekanec and Vanek: on the one hand, I'd like to see this happen because Plekanec brings the speed and forechecking/tenacity/fundamentals, Vanek's demonstrated a great deal of creativity but Bournival's lack of offensive prowess has squandered much of that creativity. It'd be nice to see Galchenyuk complement Vanek, leaving the heavier lifting for Plekanec on that line. On the other hand, Plekanec is going to face off against Richards in all likelihood, and so his line needs to be strong defensively and gain a speed advantage, which he'd have with Bournival.

Galchenyuk with Briere and Weise: I like this because it pushes Montreal to have 4 lines that can score, with some defensive conscience on each line and some grit/tenacity on each line. That's nice. It doesn't maximize Galchenyuk, however, and Montreal may need to put his offensive talent to better use (along with Vanek's) in order to score. NYR has a much better D than BOS, and superior goaltending. So the team will need to throw more talent out there. Further, it's tough to bench Prust after two really solid games.

I agree, I wouldn't touch the DD-Eller lines. It's a toss up between Bournival and Prust.

I'd try him on Plek's wing first. I understand the defensive duties of Plekanec, but the hope would be that a Gal-Plek-Van trio would be very dominant offensively.
Best defense is a best offensive right, so let's try to put them on their heels.

 

[Team_Spirit]

No contact jersey means at least 5 days out.

Re-evaluate the line-up then. Saying he should be in for X or X is useless at this point.

 

[Kriss E]

I disagree. Prust is playing a decent physical/2 way role and he has experience. The kid hasn't played in months, he's not in game speed and it's a tough time to jump in. His speed would be nice against the Rangers, but I'm not sure sacrificing the solid forecheck right now is worth it.

Sometimes things just work in the playoffs, why mess with chemistry right now?

Because we could be even better?

If Galy-Plek-Vanek click, they can become a very legit 1st line. On top of it, the NYR will likely put their top shutdown pair of Mcdo-Girardi versus DD's line, so Plek's line wouldn't even face their toughest D.

There is no question Galchenyuk comes into the game roster if he's healthy. He won't be for game 1, so we'll see how the team does Saturday.

 

[Hoople]

whos this guy on tsn montreal who would bench borque to play galchenyuk?......idiot

I would bench Bourque in a heartbeat and replace him with Chucky.

Bourque started out on fire and has rested on his laurels as he is back to being the floating Bourque from the regular season.

If he stands around like he did against the Bruins, that line is going to get lit up by the Rangers.

Edit....

26 SOG in his first 5 PO games, 4 goals and 1 assist, +6
10 SOG in his last 6 PO games, 0 goals and 0 assist, -4.

For comparison, Eller has 2 goals and 1 assist in the last 6 PO games.

 

[Kriss E]

I would bench Bourque in a heartbeat and replace him with Chucky.

Bourque started out on fire and has rested on his laurels as he is back to being the floating Bourque from the regular season.

If he stands around like he did against the Bruins, that line is going to get lit up by the Rangers.

Nobody has been resting during this series man. They are all battling hard. Bourque will always be a streaky player, if he wasn't he'd be part of the stars in the NHL. However, Eller's line has been one of our best all playoffs. I wouldn't touch it.

 

[Wats]

I disagree. Prust is playing a decent physical/2 way role and he has experience. The kid hasn't played in months, he's not in game speed and it's a tough time to jump in. His speed would be nice against the Rangers, but I'm not sure sacrificing the solid forecheck right now is worth it.

Sometimes things just work in the playoffs, why mess with chemistry right now?

People said the same thing about Beaulieu being put in the lineup. Rangers have been a force 5 on 5 and Habs have had trouble scoring against them all season. Bruins for whatever reason were a team Habs could score on historically despite it not making sense a lot of the time. If game 1 Habs show signs of lack of offensive effectiveness similar to what we saw in the regular season vs the Rangers, putting in Galchenyuk should be strongly considered IMO.

 

[CPrice]

I dont see how we can sit Bournival. He has been one of our top forecheckers this post-season. I can only see him coming in for Prust at this point. That's really telling of the performance everyone else has had so far.

 

[Tyson]

Too much depth is a good thing.

 

[Hoople]

Nobody has been resting during this series man. They are all battling hard. Bourque will always be a streaky player, if he wasn't he'd be part of the stars in the NHL. However, Eller's line has been one of our best all playoffs. I wouldn't touch it.

Bourque's production has dropped to zero.

Eller's line has become a one man show. And you dont sit your Captain.

 

[FF de Mars]

I'm watching game 7 again. MT should replace Bourque by Chucky. Big time. Like Beaulieu and Bouillon and Murray.

 

[Hope Of Glory]

Bourque's production has dropped to zero.

Eller's line has become a one man show. And you dont sit your Captain.

Bourque looks injured though. Slow to get up everytime he's hit. And he missed a bunch of practices too.

 

[Kriss E]

Bourque's production has dropped to zero.

Eller's line has become a one man show. And you dont sit your Captain.

Well, he got 2pts in the first game of this series, but that line is still getting their chances. Gionta only had one point, but could have potted 3-4 goals. They are playing well, they control the puck well and spend some good time in the offensive zone.
They are our 3rd line, I'm not going to expect primary or secondary scoring from them.

Not that I'm defending Bourque here, I wouldn't be upset if they scratched him, I just disagree with the fact that he's been resting.

 

[Hoople]

I'm watching game 7 again. MT should replace Bourque by Chucky. Big time. Like Beaulieu and Bouillon and Murray.

Thank you. I noticed Bourque not engaging on defense and standing around a lot. He did not hustle for the puck.

Bourque is so damn frustrating. Great hockey player when he decides to show up and play. If he decides not to, he gives no effort whatsoever.