Pre-Game Talk: Ottawa @ Montreal MARCH 25th

[Lafleurs Guy]

Must win game. We gonna moida da' bums!

 

[The Great Weal]

If we are going to play like crap, let's do that now before the playoffs start.

 

[IcemanTBI]

Well, after beating the Sens twice last weekend, we failed to pad our lead in the division, so here we are, back to square one again. Sens one point back.. again. Wish this didn't have to be a huge game, but alas, it is. Need a win here. The good news is, the habs seem to play better against higher calibre teams. So I wouldnt be surprised to see another win against the Sens, in fact I expect it. And then next week we lose against more non-playoff teams. Seems to be how this team operates.

 

[Mrb1p]

If his confidence is shattered because of that, get'em off this ****in team pis ça presse.....geez, you'd think the guy had the mental make up of a 10 yr old

Beaulieu has always had confidence issues. Hell play even dumber hockey when he has pressure.

 

[Hackett]

Well, after beating the Sens twice last weekend, we failed to pad our lead in the division, so here we are, back to square one again. Sens one point back.. again. Wish this didn't have to be a huge game, but alas, it is. Need a win here. The good news is, the habs seem to play better against higher calibre teams. So I wouldnt be surprised to see another win against the Sens, in fact I expect it. And then next week we lose against more non-playoff teams. Seems to be how this team operates.

I didn't get the feeling that the habs were out of the woods with those two wins. There's too much hockey left, and I also believe that the unpredictability increases at this time of the year, so I give a little less credence to schedule strength. Aside from that, habs don't score enough to be a huge favourite against anyone.

As for the habs playing better against good teams, that has not been the case when you look at the season as a whole. SN showed a graphic a few days ago exhibiting the habs feasting against non playoff teams, and having a rather pedestrian record against playoff teams..... but again, I think this time of the year is strange anyways, so anything can happen no matter who you play right now.

 

[OldCraig71]

We should have won the last two games and this would mean nothing but here we are cheer leading and prepared to watch another OT grind win or loss.

 

[BLONG7]

Maybe Therrien is not the worst coach in the world after all?

Maybe he is................LOL.

CJ gets Team Canada status, and Therrien will get Antichambre status...it's all good!!

 

[BLONG7]

I didn't get the feeling that the habs were out of the woods with those two wins. There's too much hockey left, and I also believe that the unpredictability increases at this time of the year, so I give a little less credence to schedule strength. Aside from that, habs don't score enough to be a huge favourite against anyone.

As for the habs playing better against good teams, that has not been the case when you look at the season as a whole. SN showed a graphic a few days ago exhibiting the habs feasting against non playoff teams, and having a rather pedestrian record against playoff teams..... but again, I think this time of the year is strange anyways, so anything can happen no matter who you play right now.

We are just too thin down the middle...it's really that simple. We do not seem to be able to match up down the middle at all.

The only thing about the Sens games, were, they were important and the guys responded...it's unfortunate they laid an egg vs the Wings and Canes...weird actually.
8 games left to figure it out............CJ seems to have found Therrien's blender!! LOL

 

[Habfan10]

We scored more with Therrien. That is sad.

Our lack of scoring won't change with any lineup changes or line changes...we are who we are. We lack high end talent up front and this will eventually be our demise come playoff time.

 

[ottawa]

King is not garbage he's very solid in his own zone which is why they got him. He is also as bricks though, but I don't see the big deal in having him back in the lineup.

King is garbage. He's slow and doesn't use his body and he's not good offensively. If he's good defensively in spite of lacking all the other skills I mentioned in the previous sentence, then he's a dime a dozen and will definitely be gone this off season. I'm calling it

 

[The Nightman]

King is garbage. He's slow and doesn't use his body and he's not good offensively. If he's good defensively in spite of lacking all the other skills I mentioned in the previous sentence, then he's a dime a dozen and will definitely be gone this off season. I'm calling it

I don't know what the hell Bergevin was thinking with this one. Doesn't fit at all with our play style.

Must be the same pro scout out West that recommended us DSP. Is it Sean Burke?

 

[The Great Weal]

Our lack of scoring won't change with any lineup changes or line changes...we are who we are. We lack high end talent up front and this will eventually be our demise come playoff time.

Right, but we have looked terrible defensively, and that is supposed to be our best part(besides goaltending).

 

[Forum93]

Slabs on Ice- now that's funny! By the way is Methot playing tomorrow? Poor guy missed his chance to beat up Gallagher.

 

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

I just hope this off season things get shaken up a little.

I mean this team needs to get some skill in the middle.

Some imagination, vision, something to make this team more exciting to watch.

Enough with thse super boring games where the game plan is to keep the game as close as possible and hopefully win it late or in OT.

I don't mind winning games 1-0 or 2-1 as long as the team has had lots of scoring chances. They don't even generate those now.

Yesterday after 10 minutes in the 1st, I switched off and watched Iron Fist FFS and that's saying something to the quality of the on ice product.

 

[OldCraig71]

I just hope this off season things get shaken up a little.

I mean this team needs to get some skill in the middle.

Some imagination, vision, something to make this team more exciting to watch.

Enough with thse super boring games where the game plan is to keep the game as close as possible and hopefully win it late or in OT.

I don't mind winning games 1-0 or 2-1 as long as the team has had lots of scoring chances. They don't even generate those now.

Yesterday after 10 minutes in the 1st, I switched off and watched Iron Fist FFS and that's saying something to the quality of the on ice product.

I watch all of the games and if I had to miss one I would use the good old pvr and what you are saying is bang on. The team has no skill, Radulov,Chucky and Markov are our only truly skilled players, there are many players on this roster that cannot dangle or make anything more than a 10 foot pass and it is a problem. Bergevin values character over talent and as long as he is GM be prepared to stay the course. I don't know what his job was in Chicago but surely it was not head of skills department president. He loves grinders more than Canadian Tire. If he stays, what you will see is what you will get.

 

[IcemanTBI]

I just hope this off season things get shaken up a little.

I mean this team needs to get some skill in the middle.

Some imagination, vision, something to make this team more exciting to watch.

Enough with thse super boring games where the game plan is to keep the game as close as possible and hopefully win it late or in OT.

I don't mind winning games 1-0 or 2-1 as long as the team has had lots of scoring chances. They don't even generate those now.

Yesterday after 10 minutes in the 1st, I switched off and watched Iron Fist FFS and that's saying something to the quality of the on ice product.

The two Ottawa games were very entertaining.. Unfortunately most of the times the habs games would could cure any insomniac. Anyways hope we have an entertaining game. The rivalry is strong with the Sens and that makes this a good tilt. I still think we win here. We seem to wake up when it matters.

 

[nhlfan9191]

We scored more with Therrien. That is sad.

This roster was made for Therrien.. what do you expect? The forwards are so abysmal that no coach can do anything with them. It will take time for Julien to have an influence. He took over a crapshoot. He has the goaltending and defence he can work with, but absolutely no offense. Why do you think we're playing to win 1-0, 2-1 every game?

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Beaulieu has always had confidence issues. Hell play even dumber hockey when he has pressure.

Since when does Beaulieu have confidence issues?

I remember when he was in juniors and when he came into the nhl, he was labeled as cocky

 

[The Great Weal]

This roster was made for Therrien.. what do you expect? The forwards are so abysmal that no coach can do anything with them. It will take time for Julien to have an influence. He took over a crapshoot. He has the goaltending and defence he can work with, but absolutely no offense. Why do you think we're playing to win 1-0, 2-1 every game?

Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, and Radulov played better with Therrien.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

I didn't get the feeling that the habs were out of the woods with those two wins. There's too much hockey left, and I also believe that the unpredictability increases at this time of the year, so I give a little less credence to schedule strength. Aside from that, habs don't score enough to be a huge favourite against anyone.

As for the habs playing better against good teams, that has not been the case when you look at the season as a whole. SN showed a graphic a few days ago exhibiting the habs feasting against non playoff teams, and having a rather pedestrian record against playoff teams..... but again, I think this time of the year is strange anyways, so anything can happen no matter who you play right now.

There have been changes in personnel as well as in the utilization of the usual players.

 

[member 256847]

CJ is acting stupid.

Danault between rads and pac doesnt work.

Beaulieu being subbed out for Davidson a few weeks ago shattered his confidence.... Jesus

Danault does work. If the center is not contributing offensively as Galchenyuk wasn't, might as well put a responsible player there and let the other two figure it out.

Also, Beaulieu has way too much confidence, bordering on cockiness for it to be affected by this.

 

[Le Tricolore]

We scored more with Therrien. That is sad.

We win more with Julien

 

[yianik]

I call it CJ tinkering with the line-up as he is still newish to the team, then got 5 new players dropped on him. However, having Shaw as our 2C ?

 

[PaulD]

Here are the forward lines and defensive pairings head coach Claude Julien featured at practice on Friday.

Max Pacioretty - Phillip Danault - Alexander Radulov
Paul Byron - Tomas Plekanec - Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk - Andrew Shaw - Artturi Lehkonen
Dwight King - Michael McCarron - Torrey Mitchell

Andrei Markov - Shea Weber
Alexei Emelin - Jeff Petry
Nathan Beaulieu - Jordie Benn


The 2nd line way too small.

I see Byron and Gallagher drew the short straws.

 

[PaulD]

I want the Habs to win and remain at the top of the division because I'm kind of scarred of what the Leafs' rookies could do to us in the playoffs

Loaf rookies are good yes. D sucks.

Get this...... MB has been building his team fore 5 years.

Play offs are approaching and some Hab fans are "scared of what (3 teenage) "rookies will do to us"

Bergy not exactly the next Sam Pollock I guess. Nice glasses though.