Take that Ole chant! Habs win 3-2

[Rapala]

No, 'cause we do have Price. They don't have Pickard usually. And I doubt Varlamov or whoever would have been able to be as good as he was. And there's a big difference as if it wasn't for Pickard 1st period effort, there's already no game, hence AVs effort would not have been as consistent as it was throughout the game. And I don't agree that Price had the tougher saves. Price is seen as top 5. Pickard is seen as a AHL goalie. Price's routine save is suppose to be Pickard's toughest ones....

Depends which Varlamov would have showed up!
The .964 guy or the .907 guy.

 

[firewagon77*]

Montreal is not playing full 60 minute games,but they are not supposed to be peaking at the 6 game mark they have had very little practice time to work on the PK and PP they will this week with being at home.....Beaulieu needs to play ahead of Weaver especially against fast skilled teams like Colorado and Detroit coming up on Tuesday.

 

[firewagon77*]

Markov and Plekanec both have exactly 446 career points,Markov needs 1 more goal for 100.

 

[Rapala]

Markov and Plekanec both have exactly 446 career points,Markov needs 1 more goal for 100.

Yeah I want Marky to get it on this current homestand...
The place will erupt!

 

[Andy]

Not really sure why they are still labelled the first line.

Because they are. They are the go to offensive line at ES and on the PP. 90% of the time they are the first wave on the PP. When the Habs force an o-zone FO, they get it 90% of the time unless they had just previously been on the ice.

The go to offensive line is the first line. It's hilarious that this has actually become a thing now, where people need to deflect from the fact that they are MT's go to line. He leans on them when he needs a goal all the time.

I get why you don't want to call it the first line, doing so changes what we expect from DD-Pacioretty and Gallagher in terms of production, so that when they exceed those expectations you can say, "well look at how well they produce for a second line". They are the first offensive threat MT employs. He does it quite consistently and has done it quite consistently for the better part of two years now.

As well as they are forechecking and playing hard, the third line is getting scored against far too much. As a unit - Sekac, Eller, and Bourque have combined for a -16 rating and 10 PIMs through 6 games, while punching in just 3 points. I know they're our shutdown line right now, but it's simple mistakes that are usually costing us (and not always theirs, the defense hasn't been great).

Outside the Eller giveaway in game 1, I don't recall any goal against that was the 3rd line's fault. Again, yesterday Subban made a bad pinch that led to a 2 on 1. How is this the line's fault? Sekac was even in the process of going to cover point, but Subban made the error before Sekac could even up the rush. On the second minus, they once again stepped on the ice while the play was in progress.

My guess is that MT keeps employing them despite the minuses because he knows that they are not the lines fault. We all know how much of a hardass MT can be when it comes to errors. The fact that he hasn't punished either of the three players suggests that he very well knows that the minuses are matter of ill-timing as opposed to anything egregious in their play.

The +/- is the most misleading stat and carefully analyzing the 3rd line's minuses exemplifies that.

Goal 1 of yesterday. Sekac rings it around the boards for Subban. Two Avs players are close to the puck, Subban pinches anyway. Avs win the board battle, they spring it to a forward which leads to a 2 on 1.

Goal 2: Puck is deep behind the avs net, Galchenyuk, PAP and Plekanec are on the ice. The Avs defender gains control of the puck, the three habs go for a line change. As Iginla received the pass from Duchene just at the defensive blueline, Eller's line comes on the ice, they take enough strides to get passed the blue line, and Duchene tips Iginla's shot. The goal is actually Gilbert's fault as he failed to tie up Duchene who was streaking right between him and Emelin, this allowed him to get some space for a deflection. If you really want to be nitpicky, you can even fault PAP who put 0 pressure on Duchene in his own end and just skated lazily towards the bench. Duchene was able as a result to pick up speed him d-zone and go right between Emelin and Gilbert for a tip.

How are any one these the result of bad defensive ability by Eller's line?

 

[Whitesnake]

Depends which Varlamov would have showed up!
The .964 guy or the .907 guy.

Again, what Pickard had to endure was far greater than what Price did, and I'm not saying Price had an ordinairy. He had to make really tough saves and some incredibles ones. But in the life of Pickard, yesterday had to be his toughest day ever.

 

[TassieHab]

Couldn't be happier with how my first two live games have gone , the Bell Centre is certainly a very special place to be when the Habs are playing like this, the crowds support of PK especially last night was matched only by his performance, simply phenomenal! After the Boston game i expected a bit less atmosphere but the players made such great plays it wasn't the case at all, such a great crowd and such a great city, had a blast here this week. Hopefully we make it 3/3 against the Wings on my final night here.

That Chucky/Pleks/Pap line is so much fun to watch, one of the best we have had in a long time, the understanding they have kindled is pretty impressive considering how early in the season it is. Hopefully Chucky can handle the hype because if he keeps playing like this then it is going to intensify big time. He looks every bit the top end attacking talent we have been crying out for for years though.

Great to see #31back to his brilliant best too, though it has been pleasing to be winning without relying on him. Got to say I am feeling very optimistic about this season now, maybe I'm just caught up in the wave of this place but it's hard not to be impressed with this team atm.

 

[Andy]

PAP and Plekanec are the perfect linemmates for Chucky. Neither of the former two players like to hold on to the puck, while Chucky does. Galchenyuk is at his best when he's controlling the play and dishing the puck. Both Plekanec and PAP constantly are giving Galchenyuk the puck and he's doing his thing with it. PAP is having a blast waiting in the slot for Chucky's feeds (Plekanec's too). Galchenyuk is obviously loving the fact that he's seeing the puck more often than he ever has in the past.

This line needs to be the first wave on the PP. They are much more dynamic than DD, Pacioretty and Gallagher.

 

[Natey]

I closed it as the players were greeting Price at the net. No idea what you're talking about.

To be fair, you should consider leaving them open for about 2-3 minutes after the game.

1) People on Gamecenter are 90-120 seconds behind live satellite TV.
2) So people stop wearing out their F5 key refreshing the page for a PGT.

In all honesty, #1 is a serious statement though.

 

[HTTP 400]

Because they are. They are the go to offensive line at ES and on the PP. 90% of the time they are the first wave on the PP. When the Habs force an o-zone FO, they get it 90% of the time unless they had just previously been on the ice.

The go to offensive line is the first line. It's hilarious that this has actually become a thing now, where people need to deflect from the fact that they are MT's go to line. He leans on them when he needs a goal all the time.

You are right. DD's line started every PP last night and they are still considered MT go to line.

They've been the go to line for the last 2-3 years, you don't change that in 6 games. That being said, Pleky's line is slowly getting more and more offensive responsibilities and the more they produce, the more Therrien will handle them those responsibilities. Overall, in the end, Pleky's line had 3 seconds more PP time than the Desharnais line last night.

I really like how MT handles this. No need to make major change and risk offending players. Instead, he creates a healthy competition between the lines.

 

[Rapala]

You are right. DD's line started every PP last night and they are still considered MT go to line.

They've been the go to line for the last 2-3 years, you don't change that in 6 games. That being said, Pleky's line is slowly getting more and more offensive responsibilities and the more they produce, the more Therrien will handle them those responsibilities. Overall, in the end, Pleky's line had 3 seconds more PP time than the Desharnais line last night.

I really like how MT handles this. No need to make major change and risk offending players. Instead, he creates a healthy competition between the lines.

I'm fairly certain the offending players bit isn't something MT even fathoms.
I'd go as far as saying the status quo probably started eating on some last year.
There is zero risk in playing a guy who is performing over someone who isn't.
There is Huge risk in pimping a line to get them back in business...

 

[Natey]

TVA sport calling DD a superstar and Renaud Lavoie had nothing better to say to Galchenyuk then " ey did know you could ave ad a peenultee for touching da puck wit your stick wit your foot still in da box?" The kid put on a show tonight and scored a highlight goal but all you can talk about is da potantielle peenultee..

Just like people here can do nothing except bash DD... so what's the difference? Call it equality.

PS. Galchenyuk is amazing.

 

[Account Terminated]

To be fair, you should consider leaving them open for about 2-3 minutes after the game.

1) People on Gamecenter are 90-120 seconds behind live satellite TV.
2) So people stop wearing out their F5 key refreshing the page for a PGT.

In all honesty, #1 is a serious statement though.

My response to #1: Buy a TV, hippies!

But yeah, agreed. Must suck though, being 1-2 minutes behind. As you're posting "THIS IS INSANE!" you see posts above you reading "All we do is win!"

 

[sheed36]

You are right. DD's line started every PP last night and they are still considered MT go to line.

They've been the go to line for the last 2-3 years, you don't change that in 6 games. That being said, Pleky's line is slowly getting more and more offensive responsibilities and the more they produce, the more Therrien will handle them those responsibilities. Overall, in the end, Pleky's line had 3 seconds more PP time than the Desharnais line last night.

I really like how MT handles this. No need to make major change and risk offending players. Instead, he creates a healthy competition between the lines.

I'm pretty sure I remember the Pleks, PAP, Galchenyuk line started at least 1 PP last night.

 

[Andy]

I pretty sure I remember that the Pleks, PAP, Galchenyuk line started at least 1 PP last night.

They did because DD's line was on the ice prior for about a minute. Like I said above, DD's line is the go to line in offensive situations 90% of the time. The other 10% is usually when they just had an extended shift.

 

[Natey]

Malhotra 13 for 18 (72%) on faceoffs tonight. Nice..

Oh, how nice it is to be able to play a possession game if we desire.

Third in the league in FO% (Malholtra, Desharnais, and Eller are all over 55% right now).

No Gionta and Gorges constantly giving the opposition the puck back.

My goodness....

 

[sheed36]

They did because DD's line was on the ice prior for about a minute. Like I said above, DD's line is the go to line in offensive situations 90% of the time. The other 10% is usually when they just had an extended shift.

Ok.. Just read your post again and I agree that the Pleks line should start on PP's.

 

[Rapala]

I'm pretty sure I remember the Pleks, PAP, Galchenyuk line started at least 1 PP last night.

Nope but almost...
MT gave the draw to DD's line. They promptly lost the draw and the play ended up being stopped about ten seconds or so later at the Avs blue. He changed for Plecky at this point?

 

[ThePriceIsRight44]

Just like people here can do nothing except bash DD... so what's the difference? Call it equality.

PS. Galchenyuk is amazing.

I expect more from the people who pretty much have a monopoly over my options to watching the games then I do from the people on forums. No equality in calling DD a superstar and criticizing Chucky after scoring a highlight reel goal. I don't even want this to sound like a DD bash, he's hustling out there but he doesn't come close to what Chucky will be at his age (a superstar).

 

[sheed36]

Just finished reading most of the Subban thread on the mainboard and has I was reading I was thinking I can't believe a Sens fan hasn't showed up yet pumping Karlsson's tires. Well I got as far as page 6 and there it was. I don't think I've ever seen a Subban thread on the mainboard without a Sens fan hijacking it with a Karlsson post.

 

[sheed36]

Nope but almost...
MT gave the draw to DD's line. They promptly lost the draw and the play ended up being stopped about ten seconds or so later at the Avs blue. He changed for Plecky at this point?

Maybe they didn't start but I'm pretty sure they did start 1 PP and Andy confirmed it above also.

 

[zx81]

You're talking about effort, and that i agreed on.

But DD keep missing great scoring chances every game with the low-quality of his shot......and even if the effort is there for DD, it's Gallagher that make those two look okay, not DD.

That duo will be force fed O-zone start and PP in the next couple of games, just like last year. If they don't wake up then Therrien will need to move on.

Let's just hope Therrien doesn't break Galchy-Plek-Parenteau cause so far that line don't need to be babysit like DD's line was last year in order to produce and that's what we need.

Sheesh. The line is fine. They scored 3 goals against Boston 2 games ago. They also haven't been on the ice for an opponent's goal yet this season.

 

[Rapala]

Oh, how nice it is to be able to play a possession game if we desire.

Third in the league in FO% (Malholtra, Desharnais, and Eller are all over 55% right now).

No Gionta and Gorges constantly giving the opposition the puck back.

My goodness....

This post made me think that hey a lot of the Avs pressure was like one and done.
We weren't hemmed in for nearly as long as I've become accustomed to.

 

[Natey]

Too bad about DD's line. MT really pushing the issue again.
I'm not on board with throwing them out there when the goalie gets pulled.
Taking a huge risk for no reason. Plecky deserved that time...

You're one of my favourite posters, but this was not well thought out.

The ice-time over the last 4:10 was;

Plekanec: 2:19
Parenteau: 1:41
Galchenyuk: 1:39
Eller: 1:36
Prust: 1:27
Bourque: 1:25
Moen: 0:45
Pacioretty: 0:45
Malhotra: 0:21
Gallagher: 0:21
Desharnais: 0:11
Sekac: 0:00

What was Therrien supposed to do for those few seconds? Leave Plekanec out there for the last 4 minutes entirely? He had a 1 1/2 minute shift and had only been off the ice for about 1 minute. Eller's line just got off the ice after a 75 second shift.

I really see no need to complain about this. Unless we just leave Plekanec out there for the entire 4-minutes, that sounds good.

You know as well as I do MT will put DD and Patches out there with an empty net to go point hunting. I was yelling at the t.v for Patches not to score at the end . He didn't deserve it.

Cheering for your team not to score in a 1-goal game? Makes sense.

Yes that was a dumb move by MT...

Yeah, let's leave our defensive players out there forever, so we get scored on when they can't move anymore! It was a short breather for Eller/Plekanec lines, preparing for the last hurrah from Colorado. Pacioretty overstayed his shift, but when doesn't he?

 

[FloJack]

I've seen enough good Habs starts that never materialized into much so I don't get too high or low early in the season. I enjoy the wins for sure and last night they looked a little more solid.

However, this is starting to remind me of the smoke and mirrors good start of 08-09, the results don't reflect the on ice performance. Hopefully they clamp down and capitalize on this good start and stay ahead of the pack.