Post-Game Talk: Habs beat Laughs 4-3

[Rozz]

Getting RDS a couple years ago was a real eye opener for me. I never realized how much the CBC commentating irritated me until I opted to try and watch the Hockey Night in Canada Leafs vs. Habs games. I can't even get through a period. The last time I bothered to sit through the whole thing was last year when I had a roommate who was unwilling to watch the game in French. I understand none of what is said other than the odd penalty and the ET LE BUUUUUL, but it still feels so much better.

I'm with you .. I only understand a little bit of what is being said... I kind of piece stuff together here and there.. but last night I chose to watch the game on CBC and it was really something .. just ridiculous! i kept thinking to myself "is it just me being a sensitive fan or are they really being this bad?" then they just kept getting more and more obvious and it became apparent... i couldn't believe it .. not gonna lie i puked a little in my mouth with half the **** they were spewing..

the one line that got me the most was when they had just finished talking about how great of a save Reimer had, went to commercial (the whole time thinking to myself did i hear a post?), and then they came back and looked at it closer.. and it turned out that the puck got through Reim and rang off the post. at this point i was like ok well at least they're gonna tone down the homerism after being caught .... ya right... not more than 2 mins later they do a whole segue way bit about how the posts are saving Carey Price... and how hes the only person on the ice that's thankful to hear that sound.. at that point one of em actually was like OK that's a little too far and the other guy was like oh OK .. i cant tell who's who.. but at that point i was like are you serious... i actually started yelling at the TV .. and i don't mean normal yelling at the team to get it together kinda stuff... thank god no one else was home

Oh CBC, the hockey broadcast that will make you actually lose your mind one piece at a time

 

[skipp18]

I watched the game at a sportsbar that had the RDS feed with sound. But I follow many Habs English radio/TV personalities on twitter. After the game reading some tweets there was a lot of criticism thrown at the HNIC crew especially Healy. Mitch Melnyk tweeted about how Healy was almost in tears during the posy game wrap up.
It seems like last night the HNIC crew was even more pro leafs than usual.

 

[Bring Bak Damphousse]

I think it was actually "How do you let Rene Bourque get a breakaway!?" which is even more insulting. Can Bourque skate and receive a pass? Then he's capable of getting a breakaway.
Reminds me of Healy taking dumps on 4th liners who are fighting just to be in the NHL. Totally unprofessional and uncalled for.

The thing that drives me nuts about those two, is that they were fringe NHLers for there entire careers. It's funny to watch a guy like Healy go on a tear because an actual starting goalie let in a weak goal. Same with Stock, the guy has less than 3 seasons worth of NHL games under his belt, and is famous for having a hard head and wearing adult diapers, but he's out there every night bashing players who are actually making a living in the NHL. It makes me laugh, would be great to have someone call them out during an interview.

 

[ti-vite]

Stephane Waite! Holy ****!

Playoff avatar

 

[Scintillating10]

Briere looked a lot better at center last night. Between Bourque and Gionta it was a good line. Now, Therrein keep that line together, don't go breaking them up

 

[habtastic]

RE: The D --

I have the unpopular opinion that Boullion oddly does serve a purpose. It is an extreeeemely sub-optimal position, but we've gotten bigger, but at the same time less mobile. Obviously the loss of Gorges is screwing this whole thing up, otherwise I think everything falls into place. Boullion IMO is a very solid D man 50% of the time, and the other half, he is atrocious.

Pros:
- he is a lot quicker than any D not named Subban
- he hits and makes them count. This is why he was so popular in his previous stint here. The guy is a bowling ball and we all used to love him for his toughness.
- he's not Subban, but he can skate the puck up. It's those 1-2 second that make a huge difference in the transition
- he's experienced

Cons:
- his age is failing him, so halfway into the game, he drops off and become a liability
- has been making poor coverage decisions -- but I attribute that to him playing so much

Overall I like Cube, but I wish he wasn't being played that much. Unfortunately, that's the only situation given the sides, and the fact that Gorges is out. I don't think I'd want anyone else with Subban right now except Markov, but that creates a gap elsewhere.

I WOULD actually like to see Tinordi or Beaulieu, but hey, this is Therrien...let's not get crazy.

As for those saying it's not time to experiment - this is exactly the right time to see if we go with either Beau or Tinner. (or both!) Enough games remaining and those two are not AHL scrubs. They are very serviceable NHL D men. Tinordi made a mistake. Apart from that he was playing just as well/bad as anyone else, but he was also hitting and taking the body like we expect him to. Beaulieu was playing great before the Olympics. Possibly the 3rd best D man at the time. If Chucky and Gally can play in this league, so can they, even if it is D. Why? Cuz they're better than some of the current options. Only thing I will say about Murray is that nobody else on this team is able to do what he does -- I love seeing him bulldoze opponents and go 100% all out. Beast! But, of course, huge liability otherwise.


Am I the only one who thinks Weaver was a great pickup? Very solid. Not unlike Gorges. Sure, he blew the coverage on Kadri, but he saved a lot of goals/scoring chances. And not just last game.

I wonder if Therrien was just waiting for an excuse to take Tinordi out. That he was forced to bring him up in the first place, but really he didn't want him in. Beaulieu...he could so be a dark horse gamer for us going into the playoffs. His D game has improved significantly. Maybe we'd hear about him as much as about Gardiner. Nah. "How do you let a rookie D skate around you and score!?"

 

[PricePkPatch*]

RE: The D --

I have the unpopular opinion that Boullion oddly does serve a purpose. It is an extreeeemely sub-optimal position, but we've gotten bigger, but at the same time less mobile. Obviously the loss of Gorges is screwing this whole thing up, otherwise I think everything falls into place. Boullion IMO is a very solid D man 50% of the time, and the other half, he is atrocious.

Pros:
- he is a lot quicker than any D not named Subban
- he hits and makes them count. This is why he was so popular in his previous stint here. The guy is a bowling ball and we all used to love him for his toughness.
- he's not Subban, but he can skate the puck up. It's those 1-2 second that make a huge difference in the transition
- he's experienced

Cons:
- his age is failing him, so halfway into the game, he drops off and become a liability
- has been making poor coverage decisions -- but I attribute that to him playing so much

Overall I like Cube, but I wish he wasn't being played that much. Unfortunately, that's the only situation given the sides, and the fact that Gorges is out. I don't think I'd want anyone else with Subban right now except Markov, but that creates a gap elsewhere.

I WOULD actually like to see Tinordi or Beaulieu, but hey, this is Therrien...let's not get crazy.

As for those saying it's not time to experiment - this is exactly the right time to see if we go with either Beau or Tinner. (or both!) Enough games remaining and those two are not AHL scrubs. They are very serviceable NHL D men. Tinordi made a mistake. Apart from that he was playing just as well/bad as anyone else, but he was also hitting and taking the body like we expect him to. Beaulieu was playing great before the Olympic. Possibly the 3rd best D man at the time. If Chucky and Gally can play in this league, so can they, even if it is D. Why? Cuz they're better than some of the current options. Only thing I will say about Murray is that nobody else on this team is able to do -- I love seeing him bulldoze opponents and go 100% all out. Beast! But, of course, huge liability otherwise.


Am I the only one who thinks Weaver was a great pickup? Very solid. Not unlike Gorges. Sure, he blew the coverage on Kadri, but he saved a lot of goals/scoring chances. And not just last game.

I wonder if Therrien was just waiting for an excuse to take Tinordi out. That he was forced to bring him up in the first place, but really he didn't want him in. Beaulieu...he could so be a dark horse gamer for us going into the playoffs. His D game has improved significantly. Maybe we'd hear about him as much as about Gardiner. Nah. "How do you let a rookie D skate around you and score!?"

Man, you well-articulated and nuanced opinion of a french-canadian player has no place on this board. GTFO

 

[Halifaxhab*]

Man, you well-articulated and nuanced opinion of a french-canadian player has no place on this board. GTFO

TABARNAC!
I know eh!

 

[PricePkPatch*]

TABARNAC!
I know eh!

Seriously. It's like someone might actually start making reasonable and intelligent arguments, pondering whether or not they are in the right or not, and being self-critical.

BOARD
RUINED
FOREVER

 

[Kimota]

Habtastic for President!

 

[Kimota]

About HNIC, it's even more annoying when the Leafs struggle and loses cause they still talk about THEM! Instead of talking about how the other team played great and what they did well, it goes on and on about how it's a national tragedy and talk about what the Leafs did badly.

 

[Kriss E]

Seriously. It's like someone might actually start making reasonable and intelligent arguments, pondering whether or not they are in the right or not, and being self-critical.

BOARD
RUINED
FOREVER

So let me get this straight, he mentions the cons for Bouillon as being a liability, old and poor positional, but because he isn't slow as hell and skate the puck up (only to shoot it down anyways), he isn't that bad??
That's an intelligent argument to you?

 

[CupInSIX]

Same old HNIC nonsense. You think they're bad when the Leafs are on the verge of missing the playoffs? Just wait until they finish 9th and Ron MacLean has his yearly interview with Gary Bettman. He'll cry about how unfair the draft system is, and that 'the biggest Canadian hockey market' needs a good chance at rebuilding. Then the first 3 playoff games are nothing but Leafs, Leafs, Leafs. What went wrong for them, what they have to do to win the cup next year etc.

Strombo can't get here fast enough.

 

[Habsawce]

There was an unfortunate soul wearing a Reimer jersey at the bar I was in watching the game. Don't worry guys, I definitely did not let him off the hook

 

[JAVO16]

So let me get this straight, he mentions the cons for Bouillon as being a liability, old and poor positional, but because he isn't slow as hell and skate the puck up (only to shoot it down anyways), he isn't that bad??
That's an intelligent argument to you?

Which of these guys would not be a liability if paired with Subban and thus being given the icetime and opposition Subban faces:

-Tinordi
-Beaulieu
-Murray
-Bouillon

?

 

[overlords]

Which of these guys would not be a liability if paired with Subban and thus being given the icetime and opposition Subban faces:

-Tinordi
-Beaulieu
-Murray
-Bouillon

?

None, but the kids would be less of a liability.

 

[JAVO16]

None, but the kids would be less of a liability.

The upside for the kids is obviously much higher when they have good games, but down the stretch with the team up 6 points on the ninth seed, I don't blame Therrien for trusting his vets instead of our rookies. (Note that I'm still of the opinion that Beaulieu and Tinordi should both play instead of at least 2 of our vets)

 

[TofoEmptyNt]

Which of these guys would not be a liability if paired with Subban and thus being given the icetime and opposition Subban faces:

-Tinordi
-Beaulieu
-Murray
-Bouillon

?

Of those 4, I'd prefer Tinordi or Beaulieu with Subban. Murray and Bouillon are too long in the tooth to be playing 20+.

 

[Blind Gardien]

Which of these guys would not be a liability if paired with Subban and thus being given the icetime and opposition Subban faces:

-Tinordi
-Beaulieu
-Murray
-Bouillon

?

Markov?

 

[JAVO16]

Markov?

You do realize that if we pair Markov with Subban. We then need to pair one of these guys with Emelin. That Liability-Emelin pairing will still need to face tough opposition for ~20 minutes a night. They would get crushed even harder than the Liability-Subban pairing because Subban can cover for his partner's mistakes better than Markov or Emelin can IMO.

 

[Blind Gardien]

You do realize that if we pair Markov with Subban. We then need to pair one of these guys with Emelin. That Liability-Emelin pairing will still need to face tough opposition for ~20 minutes a night. They would get crushed even harder than the Liability-Subban pairing because Subban can cover for his partner's mistakes better than Markov or Emelin can IMO.

Markov and Subban can own the game for 30 mins and our Cirque-de-liabilities can get owned for the other 30, then we win with Price, basically.

Emelin-Weaver is my 2nd pair for minutes, though. Take that!

 

[JAVO16]

Markov and Subban can own the game for 30 mins and our Cirque-de-liabilities can get owned for the other 30, then we win with Price, basically.

Emelin-Weaver is my 2nd pair for minutes, though. Take that!

That might just work. I'd go:

Emelin-Subban
Markov-Weaver
Liability 1- Liability 2

 

[PricePkPatch*]

Markov and Subban can own the game for 30 mins and our Cirque-de-liabilities can get owned for the other 30, then we win with Price, basically.

Emelin-Weaver is my 2nd pair for minutes, though. Take that!

Maybe comes playoff time. But let's not burn Markov or Subban just before the tournament, mkay?

 

[Kriss E]

Which of these guys would not be a liability if paired with Subban and thus being given the icetime and opposition Subban faces:

-Tinordi
-Beaulieu
-Murray
-Bouillon

?

Well I would have tried different pairs from the start of the year.

What I would have done is kept Markov-PK together. Diaz-Gorges was a functional pair.
I would have kept that top 4 intact. But that is no longer possible.
I never understood why Emelin needs to play with Markov just because he's russian. It's Pejorative Slured. The guy is clearly more comfortable on the left, so I would have tried him next to PK long ago. Alas, we have no clue as to how they would do.

But right now, I'd have Beaulieu and Tinordi play on our bottom pair. I can live with rookies screwing up. They will learn. The top 4 gets the bulk of the responsibilities anyways.
Bouillon is bad. His reads are very bad. I don't see how our rookies could do worse. So might as well give them the experience they need.

Of course it would help if we had an actual defensive structure. Not sure if it's Therrien or Daigneault, but our 5 man defensive game is horrible.