Post-Game Talk: Habs dominate Leafs, lose in OT.

[PaulD]

Julien and the rest of the coaching staff deserve some props with sitting Alzner and Plek and including having the team playing a style that suits the players we have and one that is very entertaining. Good game plan and good played.

For sure. When i heard that pleks and alzner were scratched I decided tho watch the game. So refreshing.
The way the habs have been run for the last seven years those two would not have missed a shift no matter how poorly they played. Coaching staff has "new attitude"

 

[Habs Halifax]

Tatar / Danault / Gallagher: Love this line. Tatar brings some puck possession skills and play making and that makes this line complete.

Drouin / Kotkaniemi / Armia: Great 2nd line and they did very well against those Leafs top 3 centers. Remember, Leafs had home ice and choice at who to throw out against Kotkaniemi.

Bryon / Domi / Lehkonen: Talk about a speedy line! They will be hard to contain. Loved Domi's compete level last night.

Hudon / Peca / Shaw: Solid 4th line that also took it to the Leafs. Peca impressed me! Hudon played a simple game and he clearly has more confidence vs last year. Shaw is Shaw.

Mete / Petry: They played very well. Their ability to move the puck to a forward in open space was solid.

Reilly / Juulsen: Is that Juulsen kid good or what? The more confidence he has playing games in the NHL, the better he will be! Reilly showed good puck moving as well.

Quellet / Benn: Quellet was alright. Benn played above my expectations. I actually seen him make a few break out passes where I had to second guess if that was actually him or not!

Price: That's the $10.5M goalie we need. Great game and I'm sure he is very happy with his performance. He needs to build confidence and move on from last year's disaster.

 

[Habs Halifax]

For sure. When i heard that pleks and alzner were scratched I decided tho watch the game. So refreshing.

How happy were you with Quellet? Would you replace him with Alzner or keep it the same?

 

[ColinO]

How happy were you with Quellet? Would you replace him with Alzner or keep it the same?

There were no blatant defensive breakdowns by this group. That is saying something playing against a Toronto offense that might be top 3 in the league and might end up leading the league in goals this season.
I think it would be pretty tough to change things up in those circumstances. (I also didn't mind seeing Matthews get pasted and that alone would buy him more time in my mind.)

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It's game one. Most of the guys on our roster are hungry. Lots of youngsters trying to prove themselves, or veterans that know they need to play well.
Teams also know coming in...our top center is Max freaking Domi, we have one single 30 goal scorer, our best Dman is supposed to play on a mid pairing, so really, natural human behavior, guys coming in aren't stressed about playing the Habs.
Gives a false sense of hope to some fans here that will cling on to ''hey..wow! we actually played well! Maybe we're better than we thought!''.

I expect nothing from this team this year. It was just nice to see them put up a good effort.

 

[PaulD]

Lots of talk, but thing is Leafs won and Habs lost. Habs played well, Toronto was out for a practice skate.

It's different for both teams. Habs have to play hard full tilt all the time to make the playoffs. Do they want to make the playoffs? Is trying for the playoffs a good idea? Horrid would be ending 9th.

Meanwhile, Babcock is just using the regular season as "training" for the playoffs. He doesn't need 164 points, he can lose 30 games. He will just get them to play better together. Tonight was a training game for players that haven't played together regularly that got 2 pts. Expect some Marlies to move up and down.

That was no practice skate for the loafs. They went all out. Barely won. Tied after 60 minutes.

 

[sandviper]

You're right there's those types all over HF and when that happens I'd like to see a mod put a stop to that crap when someone is respectful and just joining in the discussion no matter what board they're on. I just don't see how saying "I come in peace" to start a post is necessary when you're respectful when visiting and posting on another teams board.

I've seen posters on other boards acting like children when other fans post there and even if they're respectful they're told they're not welcome. That is something I'd really like to see the mods on HF crack down on.

Not to again single people out, but what I do hate is when people come in saying "I come in peace" then follow it up with underhanded slams about our players/teams or pumping their tires in a condescending or mocking way.

That said, I am with you... if you're genuinely respectful, or at least fake it well, I don't care if you're a Bruins fan (a team I despise to my core) or a Preds fan (a team I like)... you can just have a civil conversation without preemptively waving a white flag.

Speaking from personal posting preferences, I don't usually say "I come in peace" unless I sense a hostile environment. Say we not just beat, but embarrassed the Leafs last night and I felt I had something to say in their boards; depending on the topic I am adding to, I may wave my flag. I didn't post there last night, but since they beat us (even though we outplayed them IMO), I wouldn't have waved a flag.

Then again, I am not the type of poster that goes into another team's board and craps on them. I'll do that here (HF Habs), but it's disrespectful to go into their house and blast them.

As for the game itself, I was happy with what I saw mostly and was really rooting for Kotkaniemi, Lehkonen and Hudon's line. Gally and even Tatar were engaged. Reilly was freaking awesome as well. Price also gave me some confidence but in the end, with this Leafs defence, if 2 goals a game is what is a sign of things to come, it'll be a tough season. Hopefully it will at least be exciting.

 

[Kazparov]

Leafs fan coming in peace.

You guys were the better team by far and deserved to win . Better skating, more desire, better chemistry. Better system!

Domi looked good. That KK kid looks like he will be a hell of a player. Price made some huge saves, can't really blame him on the goals he gave up. 3 almost perfect shots.

You have some things to be excited about.

 

[PhysicX]

I won't criticize said player, as he's been crapped on enough in this thread already, and rightfully so.

And I'm ready to eat crow about MB's acquisition of Domi. That was an impressive first game in a Habs jersey. If that's how Domi will perform on most nights, I was wrong.

Lastly, Price was solid, and this song's for you Kotkaniemi, for being the first kid born in the 2000's to play in the NHL and score a point:

 

[PhysicX]

I'm happy Carey looked solid, let's go! Bring on those penguins!

The only disappointment was Drouin but I'm sure he will be better, he's basically our new Kovalev...

The rest of the team was great.

There's no comparison to be made there Belial.

 

[beowulf]

Skaky D? I thought our D played very well last night against one of the best offensive teams in the league.

It's one game...

 

[Habs Icing]

lol chucky had terrific skill, was just hungover and lazy

Chucky is not on par with Domi in stick handling or skating. Passing they're about the same, I'd give the edge to the midget. So what skill exactly does Chucky have over Domi.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

- The whole defence played very good, standouts were Reilly and Juulsen.. Reilly was excellent
- Impressive first game for Kotkaniemi who didn't look out of place
- Domi looked good at centre, was our best forward tonight in my opinion
- Lehkonen looks faster than last year, now that he's healthy I wouldn't be surprised to see him get 25-30 goals
- People shit on Shaw all the time, he's overpaid but he's still a useful player. He had a very good game for someone who hasn't played since March, the whole fourth line looked very good.
- Drouin was disappointing, but aside from the Danault line none of the lines have played much together. I'll give him time to get chemistry with his linemates before ****ting on him.

 

[Habs Halifax]

It's one game...

Sure. This is true and it's a long season. If the Leafs scored 7 goals last night and I said be patient, it's only one game. What would have people said? Pretty sure they would of been all over how bad we are.

We should be proud of the Habs and support them. They took it too the Leafs 5/5 and humbled them! Yeah, they won in OT due to their scoring power but they were humbled by the Habs last night. I'm sure they are happy with the 2 pts but Babcock will be all over them in practice trying to make improvements.

That Leafs D man.... it's worse than I thought. The idea that they can ride with Hainsey for another year when he played above expectations is silly. Just as silly as the Habs thinking Alzner was a good top 4D. If any of the Leafs D go down with an injury, they are in trouble! They don't have the depth to deal with man games lost.

 

[beowulf]

Sure. This is true and it's a long season. If the Leafs scored 7 goals last night and I said be patient, it's only one game. What would have people said? Pretty sure they would of been all over how bad we are.

I'm at a point that I don't know if I want them to play well and maybe make the playoffs or be so bad that the team has a chance at another top pick. The team as is is not likely to contend for a Cup any time soon and I don't trust the current management team to be able to build on the fly as they have shown us they can't.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Heard that last October.

And then he played a new position. This doesn’t really disprove my comment.

 

[Tyson]

Like all teams, a few kids looked promising.....

They did pick up a Therrien point against the Loafs.

Want them to beat the leafs, but tanking every where else would be wisest at this point.

I don’t think this team got the memo about tanking.

 

[Tyson]

I'm at a point that I don't know if I want them to play well and maybe make the playoffs or be so bad that the team has a chance at another top pick. The team as is is not likely to contend for a Cup any time soon and I don't trust the current management team to be able to build on the fly as they have shown us they can't.

I watch my team for them to compete and get better. Tanking is not an option

 

[Habs Halifax]

I'm at a point that I don't know if I want them to play well and maybe make the playoffs or be so bad that the team has a chance at another top pick. The team as is is not likely to contend for a Cup any time soon and I don't trust the current management team to be able to build on the fly as they have shown us they can't.

I have mixed emotions and I am very concerned with middle of the pack strategy. I can see a bottom 5 finish but I can also see a wild card spot for the playoffs. It's a long season! Lets say we do well and either just miss the playoffs or lose in the 1st round (again). Is this forward progression on team direction thinking we can go farther next year? NO! We need more top 5 picks if we are going to be cup contenders.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If they keep losing and playing like that i will be happy fun enough to watch !

Dam right! Entertaining hockey where we don't throw our players under the bus but a top 5 pick in the next draft? I'll buy some of that!

 

[PaulD]

I don’t think this team got the memo about tanking.

management can and does tank

players cant and do not

 

[PaulD]

It's one game...

Yes, but more enjoyed than the prior 82. Worth noting.

 

[PhysicX]

Leafs fan coming in peace.

You guys were the better team by far and deserved to win . Better skating, more desire, better chemistry. Better system!

Domi looked good. That KK kid looks like he will be a hell of a player. Price made some huge saves, can't really blame him on the goals he gave up. 3 almost perfect shots.

You have some things to be excited about.

We don't care you're a Leafs fan or that you come in peace. You're more than welcome to chime in and discuss the game.

Once the Leafs get the wheels rolling, they'll be a treat to watch. That powerplay is scary lethal.

 

[habsfan909]

I'm at a point that I don't know if I want them to play well and maybe make the playoffs or be so bad that the team has a chance at another top pick. The team as is is not likely to contend for a Cup any time soon and I don't trust the current management team to be able to build on the fly as they have shown us they can't.

Would rather see a bottom 3 finish... what does coming 7th or 8th do for us? Just to be eliminated in the 1st round again.
I find the draft lottery and the hopes of getting Hughes very exciting. I thought the lottery this year was awesome (especially when it seemed we may actually win it).

 

[FrankMTL]

I expect nothing from this team this year. It was just nice to see them put up a good effort.

1 100% agree. I don't think I watched more then 2 periods of any game last year (they we're so damn boring) and I pretty much watched the whole game last night. I never saw anything like the speed and effort they showed last night at any point last year. I think most Montreal fans know that this is a rebuilding phase for the team, but if they can play that type of game all year while showing that they have some young exciting players coming up the ranks, people will be satisfied. Hell, I think if that game was in Montreal last night, the fans would have probably applauded Montreal for their effort.