Post-Game Talk: kings are bigger. habs almost win

[Monctonscout]

Eller is a 3rd line center. He's capable of producing more than he is offensively but that is due to linemates and a snakebitten stretch rather than a lack of ability offensively.

I don't think Eller should be on the PP. I don't think he should be given a **** load of offensive starts. I think we should just realistically assess what he is. If we can give him two players that play a power game along the boards, we will see his production increase.

Eller likes to bring the puck over the line, play it to the boards and grind it out with possession along the boards. He likes to generate his offense off the cycle. Bourque does not compliment this because if he can't break away through the defense, he doesn't do anything. Briere doesn't compliment this because he's not a strong board player. Briere MIGHT be okay in an exploitation role with Eller IF Bourque was replaced with an adept puck possession/board play forward.

I think being snakebitten or a slump is 5 games up to 10 games, Eller has been crap for what's now 3 months...

Last 2 months...0-1-1 in 21 games
Last 3 months...2-2-4 in 34 games

At some point it stops being a slump and becomes an alarming production over almost a half season.

 

[DekeLikeYouMeanIt]

I think being snakebitten or a slump is 5 games up to 10 games, Eller has been crap for what's now 3 months...

Last 2 months...0-1-1 in 21 games
Last 3 months...2-2-4 in 34 games

At some point it stops being a slump and becomes an alarming production over almost a half season.

He doesn't look like himself. Hesitant and slower. By the same token he v rarely turns over the puck at inopportune times and at the least gets the puck deep in the o zone.

 

[GoodKiwi]

After reading this thread the game sounds like it was worse than I anticipated. Glad I skipped it.

 

[Andy]

Last night's game is a classic example of why people should never assess a team based on boxscore and the overall record.

The Habs were outplayed for two and a half periods. The Kings dominated possession, skated through the neutral zone like it was nobodies business. They gained the blue line with easy and cycled the puck for minutes on end without a Canadiens player getting anywhere close to the puck.

The Canadiens had some possession late in the 3rd when the Kings cared more about protecting the lead than increasing it.

Anyone thinking it was a close game wasn't watching.

 

[JLP]

Last night's game is a classic example of why people should never assess a team based on boxscore and the overall record.

The Habs were outplayed for two and a half periods. The Kings dominated possession, skated through the neutral zone like it was nobodies business. They gained the blue line with easy and cycled the puck for minutes on end without a Canadiens player getting anywhere close to the puck.

The Canadiens had some possession late in the 3rd when the Kings cared more about protecting the lead than increasing it.

Anyone thinking it was a close game wasn't watching.

Agree we were thoroughly dominated, it was like boys playing against men. In a seven-game series vs the Kings we'd be very lucky to win two games, maybe one, possibly none.

But I think maybe reading the score sheet is how some people watch hockey. And hey our #1C produced at an 82-point pace last night so he can't possibly be a problem

He doesn't look like himself. Hesitant and slower. By the same token he v rarely turns over the puck at inopportune times and at the least gets the puck deep in the o zone.

Agree Eller looks totally lost now. I hope he comes around again. He should check out Callahan's negotiations for solace -- don't have to be the team's number one C to contribute and get paid.

 

[Kriss E]

Beaten by a better team and ended up not being blowout by them. Actually....it's impressive. I mean, we do now our team's limitations and still able to be behind by only 1 with Budaj in net, again, really good effort. We need more talent though. But I guess you can't fix that overnight.

I think that might be because you were expecting a blowout. But the bounces went our way yesterday. Our only goal went in due to a lucky bounce. Kings hit two posts, and on more than one occasion there were pucks that trickled down just outside of the post instead of going in (like ours did vs Quick). I wasn't impressed. Our zone entries are so repetitive, there is zero creativity, the same lines on the PP despite it being in a consistent decline since mid november is very annoying, we tried long stretch passes all night and they were intercepted more often than not. So many bad turnovers in our zone and we still needed Budaj to perform well, including a couple of breakaway saves.

It could have easily been a blowout with us not getting a goal again. LA owned us for most of the game. They play a defensive style though, and we all know that such system makes them back up in the 3rd and protect the lead. So Habs got a bit more possession out of that. But Kings owned us.

I don't think we're lacking as much talent as you keep saying though. I think the way our team has been organized is minimizing our talent.

 

[LePoche69]

Habs played better and better as the game went on, after a long trip and jet lag. They fought hard and many players played a good game despite the result. They made many execution mistakes, but there was almost always a player to make up for it, to help the one that made a mistake. They fought hard against a team in the middle of a very hot streak. They had problem to score, as always, but it is pretty normal considering the overall talent the team has on the wings.

I don't see much reason to whine.

Side notes:

• Tinordi isn't ready yet. It's funny how many here are whining about Murray while he's playing WAY better than Tinordi.
  
• Markov is still the #1 d-man on this team.
  
• Emelin is playing better and better.
  
• Gorges has slowed down since last year. I say it's time to trade him before it's too late.
  
• Subban is very good and talented, but he's playing the worst hockey of his young career for the time being.
  
• Eller and Briere showed some interesting things playing together. I hope they get some more games to see if they'll click even more.
  
• Even when he's trying hard and skating fast, Bourque isn't good.
  
• Gallagher should learn to take shorter shift, or to better dose his energy. He's completly exhausted at the end of every shift, more than any other player on the team.
  
• Galchenyuk is slowly letting his talent emerge. He's "looser" than at any time before. It will explode pretty soon.
  
• Like him or not, being a first line center or not, DD is playing really good right now.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

It's weird to see Hab fans who claimed to have watched the game be happy with what they saw last night. We got frigging dominated. That really tells me that some people just draw conclusions from looking at boxscores. .

 

[Uber Coca]

We need Whitey. Anything but useless. Funny how most of you pick on him after his first unnecessary penalty in a while. Most of those penalties are committed by guys like DD and Eller.

You'll have a hard convincing me that White is useful at something. He's pretty good at dumping the puck, maybe. He's kind of slow, doesn't fight and has a tendency for costly penalties. Begin, who was a far better player and more intense, lost his job in Montreal basically for the same thing.

On an other note, Emelin was good last night. Can't believe people are bringing is name up... He was laying big hits and kept it intense. That's the Emelin we know and love.

I don't want to keep bashing on Eller, the guy obviously has skills and is motivated. He's also one of the few guys who takes the body. But damn he's struggling lately. He really needs to get rid of his blinder.

 

[LePoche69]

It's weird to see Hab fans who claimed to have watched the game be happy with what they saw last night. We got frigging dominated. That really tells me that some people just draw conclusions from looking at boxscores. .

They were dominated in first period. Slowly turn things around in second, and they played better than the Kings in the third. I watched it.

 

[Kriss E]

Habs played better and better as the game went on, after a long trip and jet lag. They fought hard and many players played a good game despite the result. They made many execution mistakes, but there was almost always a player to make up for it, to help the one that made a mistake. They fought hard against a team in the middle of a very hot streak. They had problem to score, as always, but it is pretty normal considering the overall talent the team has on the wings.

I don't see much reason to whine.

Side notes:

• Tinordi isn't ready yet. It's funny how many here are whining about Murray while he's playing WAY better than Tinordi.
  
• Markov is still the #1 d-man on this team.
  
• Emelin is playing better and better.
  
• Gorges has slowed down since last year. I say it's time to trade him before it's too late.
  
• Subban is very good and talented, but he's playing the worst hockey of his young career for the time being.
  
• Eller and Briere showed some interesting things playing together. I hope they get some more games to see if they'll click even more.
  
• Even when he's trying hard and skating fast, Bourque isn't good.
  
• Gallagher should learn to take shorter shift, or to better dose his energy. He's completly exhausted at the end of every shift, more than any other player on the team.
  
• Galchenyuk is slowly letting his talent emerge. He's "looser" than at any time before. It will explode pretty soon.
  
• Like him or not, being a first line center or not, DD is playing really good right now.

We didn't play well at all. As for the traveling, enough of this crap. They didn't have to check in 3 hours before at the airport sitting on some uncomfortable chairs, board a crap plane sitting in the coach area on a prehistoric seat and have a 12 hours turbulence flight, land in a 7-8h time difference, and find their own way to a hotel.

They travel in first class, can sleep throughout the whole flight and they landed in LA. Everything is organized for them. It's 3h time difference. Let's not exaggerate about the traveling. Not to mention, they are conditioned to it.
As for their performance, they didn't play well. If this was them playing well, then our standard has dropped significantly. They had trouble making passes all night, the only line that created much offensively, as usual, was DD's. LA owned us pretty much all night until they started protecting the lead (normal for a defensive system) in the 3rd.

As for your notes:

1- Murray was crap all night. Stayed pined in his zone, made bad passes inside of it that got intercepted. The love this guy gets is unbelievable. All this because he's big.
As for Tinordi, he should be playing with a good veteran, like we did with all the kids coming up and pairing them next to Hamrlik. Putting Tinordi next to a horrible Dman like Murray will only hurt him. It shows.
2- He's not a #1. He's a #2 at best, and we have a #1, but Therrien has refused to use him as so.
3- He isn't. Emelin has been struggling since last year. I still see his turnovers, I still see him be out of position. And he's nowhere near the hitter he used to be.
4- We have been in need of a replacement for Gorges for 2 years now.
5- Definitely playing his worse hockey. He's been on a constant decline since Therrien decided to make him a target in the media.
6- That wouldn't hurt.
7- Bourque is indeed horrible.
8- Gallagher is exhausted because he's the only one that does the dirty work on his line. If he stops doing that, people will say he's not doing his job.
9- Galchenyuk should be centering his line. At the very least, he should be getting a shot at center on the PP.
10- DD's been playing well for a while now.

 

[le_sean]

Last night should be a clear indicator of the importance of size on a team. Jordan Nolan is not that good of a hockey player, but he made things look easy.

I'm looking forward to the days of having guys like De La Rose, McCarron, and Crisp in the lineup.

 

[ThaDevilGirl]

So... Why did Murray play 20 minutes? He shouldn't be even close to 15.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

Oh, the myth of the productive EGG line. They really only produced during the first 3 games of the season. From game 4 to game 19, Eller got only 2 goals and 4 assists in 16 games.

So it's not like Therrien broke a productive line to please Desharnais. He needed offense and managed to create almost a PPG trio by putting Gallagher and Pacioretty on Desharnais wing.

Ok and what was Eller's point production last year going into the playoffs when they were red hot together? How come Therrien never tried Eller with Pacioretty and Gallagher? How come Therrien never really put Leblanc or Bournival with Galchenyuk and Eller instead of Bourque/Prust?

 

[Whitesnake]

Last night's game is a classic example of why people should never assess a team based on boxscore and the overall record.

The Habs were outplayed for two and a half periods. The Kings dominated possession, skated through the neutral zone like it was nobodies business. They gained the blue line with easy and cycled the puck for minutes on end without a Canadiens player getting anywhere close to the puck.

The Canadiens had some possession late in the 3rd when the Kings cared more about protecting the lead than increasing it.

Anyone thinking it was a close game wasn't watching.

It's weird to see Hab fans who claimed to have watched the game be happy with what they saw last night. We got frigging dominated. That really tells me that some people just draw conclusions from looking at boxscores. .

I don't think anybody is HAPPY. I think that personnally, it's obvious to recognize that the Kings are a better team but with that in mind, we still kept it close on the scoreboard. DD aims is better and we're going on OT. Obviously, I will never be fooled by that team and especially in the playoffs, but you still have to give it to them to have been able to keep it close to at least have a chance to win it. People who are mad are actually thinking we're much better than we actually are based on record and position in the East. Yet, no matter how we look at it, if there's one team we can give to that team is that they have heart. And that they rarely give up.

 

[Account Terminated]

So... Why did Murray play 20 minutes? He shouldn't be even close to 15.

He's better than Subban, haven't you heard?

 

[JLP]

So... Why did Murray play 20 minutes? He shouldn't be even close to 15.

Size? Gorges' icetime took a hit last night: season average 21:13m/g; last night 16:41.

 

[Andy]

DD aims is better and we're going on OT.

I don't like arguments like this because with better aim, the Kings' two posts and a Crossbar makes the game 5-2 instead of 2-1. Then there were the two breakaways.

If they get played against for the rest of the season like the Kings did last night, the Habs will lose more games than they'll win without some kind of horseshoe.

The coach should stop thinking about heart and character to win games and do his job to implement a system that exploits the talent. Watching the Kings, Pens and Wings transition the puck made me sad. The Habs have no movement plan, they either depend on their centres to skate the puck through the neutral zone, go for a low percentage hail mary pass or flip the puck in the neutral zone hoping for a lucky bounce.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

So... Why did Murray play 20 minutes? He shouldn't be even close to 15.

He's better than Subban, haven't you heard?

1) Gorges was missing for like 3/4 of the third period. 2) Murray was brought in for these kind of games. I'd be calling for Therrien's head if he played this much against a fast team like ANA, COL or DET but that's not the case. 3) Subban played over 23 minutes and he hasn't been playing his best hockey. I don't really get your point. MTL took 5 penalties, Murray is obviously gonna see more ice time because of that.

 

[Monctonscout]

So... Why did Murray play 20 minutes? He shouldn't be even close to 15.

I didn't see the game but didn't Gorges miss a stretch?

 

[Whitesnake]

I don't think we're lacking as much talent as you keep saying though. I think the way our team has been organized is minimizing our talent.

Gamebreaking talent. Not just talented. I mean, even DD has some kind of talent. Plekanec surely has some very good 2-way talent. But when you start analysing gamebreaking talent and elite players, the list goes smaller by the second. But then yes, there's also the kind of coaching that would believe in the players they have and not make those talented players pure grinders. But who on our team has the talent to take a game and put it on his shoulders. A Superior talent like Price just proved this year with his season and the Olympics that he could do it. Who else? We can't even put Subban in there yet with all the deficiencies he has to battle with. Will surely go there soon. Was there in the short season last year. A little tougher this team. We might have Markov on the back end. Up front.....you could put Pacioretty in there and Galchenyuk soon-to-be. But every top team has top players with gamebreaking abilities. We might be going there slowly at every position...but not there yet. Mind you....the weak Eastern Conference might show that you might not need to be that Elite to be a top team. But that would be by default. But that's how the league is made, I guess we can use that to our advantage.

 

[tinyzombies]

I was at the game, and I saw something totally different I guess.

First of all, I have lived in Southern California for the last four years, so I've seen a lot of the Kings. They were better than they have been for the last several months, but that is still not the best the Kings can play. They are still very sluggish and not physical. I don't think they took this game seriously.

Montreal look amped up to start the game, all the players were moving on the bench during the anthem. LA was flat. But Montreal rarely got to the net all game long. To beat LA you need to have speed and grit, we have a nice little passing game, but do not look much faster than LA...

Six minutes left in a one goal game and Therrien puts his fourth line out for a minute just before the TV timeout... uh, hello? Coach much? Maybe try loading up a line or something?

1- Murray got caught out of position a couple times, but got away with it. Otherwise, he did his job, especially against a big team. He's a #6 dman, we shouldn't expect more. He was great on the kill.

Tinordi made a couple mistakes getting pulled out of position for the hit, but otherwise, I really love the raw potential. He's fine on the third pairing - leave him there! One of the only guys with any energy last night. But I would think twice about pairing him with Murray, so something has to give. And isn't it a bad idea to be playing a young dman on his wrong side? Didn't we make that mistake with Emelin? I would use Murray against big teams and move Tinordi on his proper side (same with Emelin). Comparing Tinordi to Murray is pointless. Tinordi is a future first pairing guy, even as a stay-at-home, Murray is a #6-7 dman his whole career.

2- I thought Markov was ok. He looked a little disorganized at the point. He also looks like he is having trouble with his knee again to me. Cannot crossover to his right. I have a feeling we are seeing the last of him in a Montreal jersey. We have to move him if we can, or let him walk in the summer and hand over the #2 keys to Beaulieu.

3-Emelin was fine. I wouldn't get too excited about his potential, but he is probably landing as a #4 tops, as a complementary player to a #2 dman. Hopefully. He's not quite there yet. The gamble to give him all the money is not paying off.

4-Gorges is very slow now, but he plugs a lot of holes still. There aren't many dmen out there, so not sure about moving him, but on a contender he's third pairing or pressbox. Another overpaid guy as far as ability, but not effort.

5-PK looked great to me. I don't understand the backlash. One of the few dangerous players on the ice for us, with Gallagher and every now and then Galchenyuk.

6-Eller was very flat. Not sure if he's topped out as a third liner or not. If Kesler really is up for grabs, I'd think about it if I were them. Briere is small and very slow, but he does hunt and peck at the net. Not a fan of his game these days though. He's done.

7-Bourque has no hockey sense. I'm pretty sure that's his problem. And he inexplicably does not know how to use his size. He's just not an urgent, quick player. But we badly need his size ... third liner with very little hustle.

8-Gallagher can stay out there the entire game. He does ALL the heavy lifting on this team (with PK). Give him a couple guys with size and passing and maximize his scoring. He needs to get back with Galchenyuk, and maybe Prust to dig out pucks. Desharnais is pretty useless 5-on-5.

9-Galchenyuk is great one-on-one and has nice vision, but he often looks like he has no help.

10-I do not like DD. This is not pee-wee hockey. Yet another overpaid guy (tho he does give the effort).

 

[Whitesnake]

I don't like arguments like this because with better aim, the Kings' two posts and a Crossbar makes the game 5-2 instead of 2-1. Then there were the two breakaways.

If they get played against for the rest of the season like the Kings did last night, the Habs will lose more games than they'll win without some kind of horseshoe.

The coach should stop thinking about heart and character to win games and do his job to implement a system that exploits the talent. Watching the Kings, Pens and Wings transition the puck made me sad. The Habs have no movement plan, they either depend on their centres to skate the puck through the neutral zone, go for a low percentage hail mary pass or flip the puck in the neutral zone hoping for a lucky bounce.

Didn't we have 2 posts ourselves? Again, if my point was to prove that we're great after all, you'd be right. But if that's what you are reading, you are wrong. Idea is that while we were not the best team, we still were in the game till the last second. Players could build on that.

Now, the coach will be the coach till he's not the coach. Until he wakes up one morning and believes he has to be somebody else. Until then, we're screwed. There's obviously no transition plan. This team is not a fast team and does not think the game at a fast pace. But this is why we have the team that we have, coached by an average coach but that has to deal with the talent in place. A talent that could be better exploited, but would also demonstrate his limitations if we would go full not grinding.....

 

[Tyson]

Anyone who thinks Tinordi is not ready I disagree with. He is easily ready for #6 D responsibilities. He is already adept at killing penalties.
I think Emelin played a solid game last night, very nice to see.

 

[sheed36]

If the Kings offense which is as bad as the Habs offense could finish last nights game would've been 5-1. The Habs hardly had any quality scoring chances for most of the game. Anyway I figure that was loss 1 of 3 for California and I think the Sharks and Duck games won't be so close on the scoreboard.