Post-Game Talk: Habs defeat Drouin (and the AVS)

[morhilane]

I don't think I saw Roy in the third... at least not the last 12 minutes of it that I watched. Is he better/worse/same as Heineman?

Roy was benched after the Habs PKs in the 3rd, along Pezz (and Ylonen didn't play the 3rd after getting his ear clip). Both teams played with 3 lines from that point.

He's playing higher in the line-up than Heineman did and didn't look out of place and had some good offensive sequences in the 1st/2nd. Applied himself defensively too. Not as physical as Heineman, but he's more of a skill/IQ player.

I personally think he needs to get used to the NHL speed to speed up the rest of his game. But he could go down in the AHL and work on his puck battle skills too.

Missed the game and when I saw they won 4-3 I expected the shots to be like 60-15 for Colorado with us just winning because Allen stood on his head. Glad to hear they played a good game and nice to see Caufield, Slaf and RHP with goals.

Shots were 36-35 for Colorado which means the Habs lead the shot counter until the last 3 minutes and the 6v5....and that's despite not shooting on net for half the 2nd period.

But the Habs also blocked 25 shots vs like 6 for the Avs...

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Missed the game and when I saw they won 4-3 I expected the shots to be like 60-15 for Colorado with us just winning because Allen stood on his head. Glad to hear they played a good game and nice to see Caufield, Slaf and RHP with goals.

Considering the current state of our rebuild and the number of key players we were and continue to miss the Canadiens played as well as could be expected against a clearly superior opponent. We blocked a ton of shots, took advantage of some shoddy goaltending by the Av’s goalie, had timely saves and puck luck and played hard which, together, combined to allow us to eek out a win.

But watching Makar and MacKinnon skate through and around us all night long gave us a opportunity to watch true elite players in action.

Not so long ago, it was us who had those type of players.

 

[HabSgt]

Da fook is dat?

Mr Blobby - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Deebs]

Considering the current state of our rebuild and the number of key players we were and continue to miss the Canadiens played as well as could be expected against a clearly superior opponent. We blocked a ton of shots, took advantage of some shoddy goaltending by the Av’s goalie, had timely saves and puck luck and played hard which, together, combined to allow us to eek out a win.

But watching Makar and MacKinnon skate through and around us all night long gave us a opportunity to watch true elite players in action.

Not so long ago, it was us who had those type of players.

We haven't had players like that since the 70's

 

[Naslundforever]

It looked a few times like McKinnon had everyone beat on the rush but chose to stop and wait for friends just for giggles.

 

[mols47]

My favourite part of the game - not sure if anyone caught it, but Caufield reverse hit Drouin late in the third and put him on his ass haha.

 

[Nicko999]

You can enjoy this to go with your whine

Bookmarking this message to revisit in 10 years when we have the longest playoff drought in NA sports, still play for 0.500 and Suzuki and Caufield are still the best players on the team but now past their prime.

 

[Tyson]

Bookmarking this message to revisit in 10 years when we have the longest playoff drought in NA sports, still play for 0.500 and Suzuki and Caufield are still the best players on the team but now past their prime.

You may be right but at least their appears to be a strategy led by a competent GM.

 

[BLONG7]

Bookmarking this message to revisit in 10 years when we have the longest playoff drought in NA sports, still play for 0.500 and Suzuki and Caufield are still the best players on the team but now past their prime.

Keep the faith!! The clowns have all gone..............better days ahead, it's pretty obvious to most.
The Rinse and Repeat Era is over, and wasted a HOF goalie all the while.....

 

[ChesterNimitz]

We haven't had players like that since the 70's

There’s a reason we haven’t won a Stanley Cup in over three decades and isn’t because of the weather.

 

[Naslundforever]

Keep the faith!! The clowns have all gone..............better days ahead, it's pretty obvious to most.
The Rinse and Repeat Era is over, and wasted a HOF goalie all the while.....

…or also he could enjoy hockey. It’s ok.

 

[JianYang]

Bookmarking this message to revisit in 10 years when we have the longest playoff drought in NA sports, still play for 0.500 and Suzuki and Caufield are still the best players on the team but now past their prime.

It is a possibility, but if your hope is gone, why even bother to follow? There's no light at the end if the tunnel in your view and you're just punishing yourself.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

We haven't had players like that since the 70's

My definition of an elite player is a little different than most. I define an elite player as a player who can be the best player on the ice when ever he wants to. In my view , since the Lafleur, Robinson era, we have only had two players that met my criteria: Richer and Mahalkov. Regrettably, they chose not to be the best player too often.

 

[Habssince89]

My definition of an elite player is a little different than most. I define an elite player as a player who can be the best player on the ice when ever he wants to. In my view , since the Lafleur, Robinson era, we have only had two players that met my criteria: Richer and Mahalkov. Regrettably, they chose not to be the best player too often.

You wouldn't put Markov, Kovalev, Subban? All those three would routinely be the best on the ice, at least as much as someone like Richer.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Allen made some big save, Strubble had a other noticeable game, most guy look good even if they weren’t noticeable.
I think we have to give some props to Armia, because I seem like he is getting $hit on constantly. This is what Armia can bring when playing with smart player ( guy that don’t rely on speed and have some skills like Monahan) he can’t have those result for 82 games but even when he isn’t noticeable he is still reliable and look around the at other team bottom 6 and Armia isn’t that bad.
Kind of like Matheson getting people keep point is mistake but kinda forget how good he is playing, look at comparable for guy playing so many min and pts making less for 5M$ for a other 2 years.

Armia had some really, really poor showings and deserved his demotion. He should be playing like he was yesterday because he’s capable of it.

 

[Runner77]

Seravalli asked their GM if they're looking for depth scoring. The GM told him addressing their goaltending is a more pressing issue.

Allen looked good tonight, particularly in the 3rd.

Many in here had written off Allen but he’s posted a convincing performance against one of the best if not the best team in the league and done so when his last start was Jan. 4th.

The AVS start was only his 5th since Dec. 10th.

We all know how Allen wears down if given the workload of a no. 1 starter but he can be an effective 1A goalie on a contending team.

I wonder how much attention he gets on the goalie market (there are several goalies rumored to be available) and how much his 2nd contract year hurts his trade appeal, if at all.

 

[JianYang]

Many in here had written off Allen but he’s posted a convincing performance against one of the best if not the best team in the league and done so when his last start was Jan. 4th.

The AVS start was only his 5th since Dec. 10th.

We all know how Allen wears down if given the workload of a no. 1 starter but he can be an effective 1A goalie on a contending team.

I wonder how much attention he gets on the goalie market (there are several goalies rumored to be available) and how much his 2nd contract year hurts his trade appeal, if at all.

I don't think Allen is a guy I'd target if I'm heading for the playoffs. If you have a goalie problem that you're looking to fix, you're likely going out to acquire someone who can carry the load on the playoffs, and as you said, Allen seems to deteriorate in thos conditions.

I suppose if a team is looking to reduce their goalie's load until the playoffs start, then there might be a match but that would be a highly selective situation, plus I don't think hes on an expiring contract yet which further muddied the waters.

 

[sheed36]

I was quite surprised to see when I looked at the boxscore that Drouin had 27:09 TOI last night. MacKinnon 28:56 TOI and Rantanen 29:18 TOI. That's a lot of ice time for a forward line.

Only 2 other Avs forwards played over 15 minutes (Colton 18:52 TOI and Johansen 15:35 TOI). Makar played the most on defense with 29:17 TOI for the Avs.

 

[MD thaivuN]

I was quite surprised to see when I looked at the boxscore that Drouin had 27:09 TOI last night. MacKinnon 28:56 TOI and Rantanen 29:18 TOI. That's a lot of ice time for a forward line.

Only 2 other Avs forwards played over 15 minutes (Colton 18:52 TOI and Johansen 15:35 TOI). Makar played the most on defense with 29:17 TOI for the Avs.

That first line + Makar were pretty much voluntarily playing 2-minute shifts. The other lines were just there to recharge their top player's battery

 

[Captain Mountain]

I don't think Allen is a guy I'd target if I'm heading for the playoffs. If you have a goalie problem that you're looking to fix, you're likely going out to acquire someone who can carry the load on the playoffs, and as you said, Allen seems to deteriorate in thos conditions.

I suppose if a team is looking to reduce their goalie's load until the playoffs start, then there might be a match but that would be a highly selective situation, plus I don't think hes on an expiring contract yet which further muddied the waters.

I don't know if we can make that claim one way or another, but Allen hasn't played a playoff game since 2020 and Shesterkin is the only active goalie with a better playoff save %. Allen has historically elevated his play in the playoffs.

 

[Captain Mountain]

I was quite surprised to see when I looked at the boxscore that Drouin had 27:09 TOI last night. MacKinnon 28:56 TOI and Rantanen 29:18 TOI. That's a lot of ice time for a forward line.

Only 2 other Avs forwards played over 15 minutes (Colton 18:52 TOI and Johansen 15:35 TOI). Makar played the most on defense with 29:17 TOI for the Avs.

The Avs are a very shallow team at forward, especially with Landeskog, Nichushkin, Lehkonen and Wood out of the lineup.

 

[holy]

It is a possibility, but if your hope is gone, why even bother to follow? There's no light at the end if the tunnel in your view and you're just punishing yourself.

Bro he's gotta be right though, that's what matters the most.

 

[FLHabs]

Armia definitely played like someone that wants to be traded to Colorado

 

[Kimota]

Best game of the season, the guys were combative as Hell, reminded me of the group that went to the cup. If Epinard could become a Byron-type that would be cool. Slaf scored. Our third goalie was solid. Struble was awesome(the guy must have played a forward at some point cause he thinks like one in the offensive zone).

The team I saw last night I really liked. I would be OK rooting for them.

 

[Rapala]

Best game of the season, the guys were combative as Hell, reminded me of the group that went to the cup. If Epinard could become a Byron-type that would be cool. Slaf scored. Our third goalie was solid. Struble was awesome(the guy must have played a forward at some point cause he thinks like one in the offensive zone).

The team I saw last night I really liked. I would be OK rooting for them.

The end result was good.
There were however some super long stretches where we didn't touch the puck.
We will need to improve on that if we hope to be more entertaining.
Pretty much the same as last season we find ourselves rooting for a team who have no business being in some of the games they find themselves in.
This despite the fact that we know it probably isn't the best scenario for them come draft day.
Once the puck drops you can't help yourself when we find them scratching and clawing for a point or two.