Post-Game Talk: L'harceleur harcele Price. Habs lose 5-4 in OT

[OldCraig71]

I don't ever want to meet any pro athlete ever again. However, like you, I think highly of the player, especially for the good he's done off ice.

Tell uncle OldCraig71 what happened to make you feel this way.

 

[groovejuice]

The puck leaves his blade with a power and precision that is debatedly the best of all time, one of the greatest goal scorers to ever play the game. If he were Alex Smith from Thunder Bay his picture would be in the backdrop of coaches corner! I have deep respect for Ovechkin to the point that he is my very favorite player in the NHL, a good man with amazing talents and never ever taking things too seriously. I felt so good for him raising the cup, I love the player and would love to meet him personally some day. To see him give homage to Price last night showed me a secure and confident superstar, we are lucky to have watched him.

Well said. Ovechkin may end up being the best sniper of all time. He's certainly already in the conversation.

It's not just that he's so prolific - he's also remarkably consistent.

 

[admiralcadillac]

I don't ever want to meet any pro athlete ever again. However, like you, I think highly of the player, especially for the good he's done off ice.

Did you meet a Nashville predator or something?

 

[Runner77]

Tell uncle OldCraig71 what happened to make you feel this way.

Just personal philosophy when it comes to public figures. I don't want to ruin the positive impression I have of certain athletes by meeting them and then possibly realizing they're not at all what I thought they'd be. I don't like the downside risk and then have to try and get out of my head that someone is really a jerk.

 

[Runner77]

Well said. Ovechkin may end up being the best sniper of all time. He's certainly already in the conversation.

It's not just that he's so prolific - he's also remarkably consistent.

It's also the fact that he is such a physical player, he's not afraid to hit or get hit -- it's a rare combo. Most elite snipers shy away from physical contact.

 

[groovejuice]

It's also the fact that he is such a physical player, he's not afraid to hit or get hit -- it's a rare combo. Most elite snipers shy away from physical contact.

A throwback to another era physically, for sure.

 

[Kriss E]

The puck leaves his blade with a power and precision that is debatedly the best of all time, one of the greatest goal scorers to ever play the game. If he were Alex Smith from Thunder Bay his picture would be in the backdrop of coaches corner! I have deep respect for Ovechkin to the point that he is my very favorite player in the NHL, a good man with amazing talents and never ever taking things too seriously. I felt so good for him raising the cup, I love the player and would love to meet him personally some day. To see him give homage to Price last night showed me a secure and confident superstar, we are lucky to have watched him.

Also shows how a player can go on massive binges throughout the summer and still come back in game shape.
I think Ovi is the greatest goalscorer ever. I realize you cannot compare eras, guys like Bossy, it's tough to gage as more than half their goals you would think, today, would never go in. They played in an era where goalies came out of the net by 1-2 meters.
It's more of a debate when you look at the Selannes and Hulls, but I gotta give it to Ovi. He's just insane out there.

Ovi is also a power forward type...and over the last 5 years, his two way game has improved significantly to become a good two way guy and leader.

 

[Runner77]

I think Ovi is the greatest goalscorer ever. ...

I don't think Ovi would oust Gretzky or Lemieux, but he does a lot more than they did if scoring is not the only thing one looks at.

 

[OldCraig71]

Just personal philosophy when it comes to public figures. I don't want to ruin the positive impression I have of certain athletes by meeting them and then possibly realizing they're not at all what I thought they'd be. I don't like the downside risk and then have to try and get out of my head that someone is really a jerk.

People are still people, famous or not, no one is perfect and I would still be willing to risk it to meet Ovie lol. I would bet him that I could out drink him! Just a big fan of this player.

 

[OldCraig71]

Also shows how a player can go on massive binges throughout the summer and still come back in game shape.
I think Ovi is the greatest goalscorer ever. I realize you cannot compare eras, guys like Bossy, it's tough to gage as more than half their goals you would think, today, would never go in. They played in an era where goalies came out of the net by 1-2 meters.
It's more of a debate when you look at the Selannes and Hulls, but I gotta give it to Ovi. He's just insane out there.

Ovi is also a power forward type...and over the last 5 years, his two way game has improved significantly to become a good two way guy and leader.

I fell in love with the player early on, he had all of the talent in the world but at no time ever took it all too seriously. He truly looked like a guy to me that was enjoying every second of it all no matter how things were actually going. I loved seeing him raise that cup just as a fan of the game and not just the habs . I have been watching since the 70s and I remember Lafleur and Ovie is the modern day version of that for me.

 

[Kriss E]

I don't think Ovi would oust Gretzky or Lemieux, but he does a lot more than they did if scoring is not the only thing one looks at.

Those guys will always have an asterisk next to their name. It isn't to discredit them but they play in a time where you could score 200 pts. Where Dmen scored 100pts.
This is so far removed from today's reality and we know that it has nothing to do with skills. Crosby, McDavid, Kane, do things with the puck just as good if not better than what those other guys did, but the competitiveness and skills of the league has increased dramatically. Some of these records will never be replicated.

 

[Tyson]

Ovechkin has been prolific since his rookie season and he has not slowed down. Had he played in the 80’s he would have scored 80+ goals every year. He is the best pure goal scorer the game has ever produced! Hard not to like him.

 

[Kriss E]

I fell in love with the player early on, he had all of the talent in the world but at no time ever took it all too seriously. He truly looked like a guy to me that was enjoying every second of it all no matter how things were actually going. I loved seeing him raise that cup just as a fan of the game and not just the habs . I have been watching since the 70s and I remember Lafleur and Ovie is the modern day version of that for me.

Back in the Crosby vs Ovechkin debate, I always chose Ovi. I just associate more with his style.

 

[Runner77]

Those guys will always have an asterisk next to their name. It isn't to discredit them but they play in a time where you could score 200 pts. Where Dmen scored 100pts.
This is so far removed from today's reality and we know that it has nothing to do with skills. Crosby, McDavid, Kane, do things with the puck just as good if not better than what those other guys did, but the competitiveness and skills of the league has increased dramatically. Some of these records will never be replicated.

I think it's always a dangerous proposition to try and extrapolate from the minutia of every era where an elite player happened to be a part of. The game evolves all the time, however relative to where the game was and where these players were -- they were significantly better than their peers, notwithstanding that the points being garnered league-wide, were greater than now. The better comparable is Ovi vs. his peers and Gretzky and Lemieux vs. their peers.

 

[Fixxer]

I've watched the ending (didn't see the game "live").
Drouin didn't cover Eller.
When Price moved to face Eller, his Five Hole was WIDE open. Price noticed and Eller just kind of whipped the puck there and it worked.

 

[Runner77]

People are still people, famous or not, no one is perfect and I would still be willing to risk it to meet Ovie lol. I would bet him that I could out drink him! Just a big fan of this player.

Of course, people are people. Public figures have the best and worst of all of us. However, unlike other people, we get to know these athletes without really knowing them personally, so there is a preconceived idea of what they might be like. I don't care for seeking them out or meeting them if an opportunity presented itself, but to each their own.

 

[OldCraig71]

I've watched the ending (didn't see the game "live").
Drouin didn't cover Eller.
When Price moved to face Eller, his Five Hole was WIDE open. Price noticed and Eller just kind of whipped the puck there and it worked.

If hockey is truly a team game, Drouin let the team down on that horrible back check.

 

[OldCraig71]

Of course, people are people. Public figures have the best and worse of all of us. However, unlike other people, we get to know these athletes without really knowing them personally, so there is a preconceived idea of what they might be like. I don't care for seeking them out or meeting them if an opportunity presented itself, but to each their own.

Much like our message board meetup lol, the numbers are low.

 

[didimentionlarseller]

Drouin didn't cover Eller.

many players have tried to cover Eller

 

[Runner77]

Much like our message board meetup lol, the numbers are low.

They've had better turnouts in the past. Who knows why it's such a low turnout now. I guess most people are content just remaining anonymous.

 

[OldCraig71]

They've had better turnouts in the past. Who knows why it's such a low turnout now. I guess most people are content just remaining anonymous.

I still Want to see belial there and have the pics reveal that it was Molson all along.

 

[scrubadam]

Since when is American Thanksgiving THE date? Over the past decade, its happened a few times the Habs were smoking to start the year and started completely tanking by xmas, not thanksgiving.
You would think Habs fan wouldn't look at November.

There is 60 more games to play. Our record at this point can drastically change. There is 4pts seperating us from 1st or 9th.

Thats pretty much what every media personality says. Listen to radio, games, blogs etc..

Not saying its a gurantee, but Thanksgiving is looked at as a milestone in a season.

Why it's important to hold an NHL playoff spot at American Thanksgiving - Sportsnet.ca

“It’s early.”
That’s a common refrain you’ve probably heard to this point when discussing struggling or overachieving players and teams. And it’s true — it can take a quarter of a season to get a real handle on what’s a fluke and what’s a trend.
But as we cross that quarter mark on the American Thanksgiving weekend, it’s not early anymore. The Nail Yakupovs of the league have cooled from red-hot starts while the John Tavares’ (three points through his first seven games) have settled in and returned to form. Sure, we’re still waiting for Sidney Crosby to find his groove and for Alex Ovechkin to start scoring again – both of which should happen – but it’s unlikely either star has a career year now.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are still five months away, but if we use recent seasons as a measuring stick, American Thanksgiving marks an important threshold for post-season hopefuls.
Since 2011, 78 per cent of teams in a playoff spot at the American Thanksgiving make the playoffs in April. Over the past four years, this is the breakdown of how many teams in a playoff spot at this point in the season stayed there at the end of it:
2013-14: 13/16
2014-15: 13/16
2015-16: 12/16
2016-17: 13/16

Its about a year old article. There is still that 20% chance. Like the habs example, or if you remember that one year Ottawa went crazy and won like 30 games in a row or something. I take an 80% chance at playoffs.

 

[Kriss E]

Thats pretty much what every media personality says. Listen to radio, games, blogs etc..

Not saying its a gurantee, but Thanksgiving is looked at as a milestone in a season.

Why it's important to hold an NHL playoff spot at American Thanksgiving - Sportsnet.ca



Its about a year old article. There is still that 20% chance. Like the habs example, or if you remember that one year Ottawa went crazy and won like 30 games in a row or something. I take an 80% chance at playoffs.

I'm not sure what is really telling about this article though...the more games you play the more PO position teams will be in a PO spots.
What about the 10 game mark? What's the stat there?
This year, at the end of October, here are the 8th PO teams:
TB-TOR-BOS-PIT-BUF-MTL-NYI-CAR
vs now:
TOR-TB-BUF-CLB-MTL-BOS-NYR-WSH

So 5 out of 8 are the same in the East.

In the West:
NSH-MIN-COL-VAN-WIN-CGY-SJ-CHI
vs now:
NSH-WIN-MIN-CGY-SJ-COL-VAN-DAL

So one...

I mean, there is nothing earth shattering here, teams that make the POs tend to win games...
I was just wondering when Thanksgiving suddenly became THE date. I have been watching hockey since forever, reading daily articles and listening to radio all the time, been an active poster here for over a decade. First time I actually read about this.

In any event, statistics matter very little when you are talking about a specific case.
The habs have players performing way over expectations, their goal differential isn't good, and they have been a .500 team for 75% of the season, which is their current trend.
Saying 78% of the team since 2011 that were in PO spot at Thanksgiving made it is fine and all, but it means very little when looking at our situation. If the Habs don't improve their game much, if Domi doesn't keep up his pace, we're going to fall into that 22%.

 

[Runner77]

A throwback to another era physically, for sure.

I don't think there was an assigned "enforcer role" until John Ferguson came along. Most star players had to fend for themselves. You see the likes of Maurice Richard mixing it up to carve out room for himself and facing whoever challenged him to a fight -- and teammates not immediately intervening to help him -- it was his fight to get through. You saw a lot more accountability in the olden days -- you could score all you wanted buy whoever was assigned to make life difficult for you, was your personal demon.

 

[Schwang]

Yes every game against the habs,Ovechkin is just standing there on the side with the stick partially raised and ready for that shot which he almost always scores on.He's a hab killer.Almost makes sense to have a guy glued to him on the pp.Literally taped to him.

Especially that game. He was their only legitimate threat with the injuries. How do you not know that is the play?! It happens the same way every time! Plus, Price should be either cheating on that or at least standing up. One timer, over the shoulder. Every time. Matthews is starting to do the same.