this is the pgt

[Athletique_Canadien]

All I can say is - thank you Carolina. We dump the bed but so do the B's. Makes this a little easier to stomach.

I'm moving on.

 

[AlexGretzchenvid]

goo goo dadda dadda

wtf is this? lol

My line up

 

[cjbhab*]

Never as high as the Leafs fans are right now.

honestly, I could give 2 ***** about the Leafs or anyone else.
The season is in garbage time.

 

[WeThreeKings]

While I don't disagree with your premise, picking the playoffs for their luck to turn seems pretty arbitrary.

Down-time between the season and the play-offs. Plus, the play-offs are a different animal. Habs were supposed to steam roll the Bruins in the play-offs when they won the conference and beat them handedly in the season series but it took Carey Price heroics in game 7 period 1 for us to defeat them.

 

[le_sean]

Down-time between the season and the play-offs. Plus, the play-offs are a different animal. Habs were supposed to steam roll the Bruins in the play-offs when they won the conference and beat them handedly in the season series but it took Carey Price heroics in game 7 period 1 for us to defeat them.

Carey was spectacular in that period.

That Streit goal, where he dangled Chara, was a great moment too.

 

[overlords]

Down-time between the season and the play-offs. Plus, the play-offs are a different animal. Habs were supposed to steam roll the Bruins in the play-offs when they won the conference and beat them handedly in the season series but it took Carey Price heroics in game 7 period 1 for us to defeat them.

We had swept the regular season series with philly one of the times they eliminated us, too, I believe.

 

[SB164]

I think we all need to cheer up a bit, so I'm just gonna leave this here:

 

[Whitesnake]

Down-time between the season and the play-offs. Plus, the play-offs are a different animal. Habs were supposed to steam roll the Bruins in the play-offs when they won the conference and beat them handedly in the season series but it took Carey Price heroics in game 7 period 1 for us to defeat them.

And there are other occasions when playoffs was just the continuity than the regular seson. See 08-09 with Boston. And I just checked that year 'cause I wanted to see how we did in the regular season, remembering really well being beaten in 4 in the playoffs. We ended up losing 5 out of 6 games. With 1 blowout. Problem with the leafs games is that the 2 blowouts has to play in the guys' heads. And then you add the winning series they had, and it will have to count for something. Will agree though that it's not done yet. We could beat them. Could be tighter than Leafs fans would love to see. Just saying, that we can't just totally disregard what had happened.

 

[WeThreeKings]

And there are other occasions when playoffs was just the continuity than the regular seson. See 08-09 with Boston. And I just checked that year 'cause I wanted to see how we did in the regular season, remembering really well being beaten in 4 in the playoffs. We ended up losing 5 out of 6 games. With 1 blowout. Problem with the leafs games is that the 2 blowouts has to play in the guys' heads. And then you add the winning series they had, and it will have to count for something. Will agree though that it's not done yet. We could beat them. Could be tighter than Leafs fans would love to see. Just saying, that we can't just totally disregard what had happened.

Not disregarding.. I'd say the 6-0 loss has more merit than the 5-1 loss that was a goaltending loss and not a play loss. We outshot them 15-5 but were down 4-1. That's an anomaly. I'll take that period with average goaltending and we get out 1-1. Likely come on to win the game too.

I don't want to face Toronto for personal reasons. Too many uneducated local fans that seek to annoy me even though I say nothing when the Habs beat the Leafs. If we do draw them, I'm not going to quiver in my boots because of this game..

 

[Bloumeister]

I think we all need to cheer up a bit, so I'm just gonna leave this here:

Didn't you hear? Poor old Rusty died of a heart attack after the 5th goal last night

 

[SB164]

Didn't you hear? Poor old Rusty died of a heart attack after the 5th goal last night

**** this earth, I'm going to Mars.

 

[LadyLeaf]

Hi Guys. It's too bad about CP last night. I'm sure he'll bounce back for you guys. I really like him (plus I think he's really sexy!). Although I know I'm not *supposed* to, I'm a fan of the Canadiens. I'm hoping for a Leafs vs Habs first round for obvious reasons, but if that doesn't happen I'll definitely be cheering for the Habs this post season.

Screw the Bruins!

 

[david999]

Unfortunately for the Habs any team with speed, size and grit will likely decimate them in a playoff series this year.

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

What the hell is up with Price?

Hope he shows up in the playoffs..

 

[WeThreeKings]

What the hell is up with Price?

Hope he shows up in the playoffs..

My guess?

Bad habits have crept into his game. Due to the condensed schedule, he is not getting as much time 1-on-1 with the goalie coach to fix these little deficiencies in his game that are starting to cost us goals.

Last night was just a clear lack of focus. His mental game was not engaged.

 

[Tyson]

Unfortunately for the Habs any team with speed, size and grit will likely decimate them in a playoff series this year.

Probably true. Habs can match speed with anyone but a team like Toronto is just as fast and possess a much grittier team.

 

[Mrb1p]

Probably true. Habs can match speed with anyone but a team like Toronto is just as fast and possess a much grittier team.

They also have plugs all over their line ups. Its clear this team has a problem with the Leafs, its in their heads. (Much like the Bruins have one with us.)

If MT can fix this, we will probably come out victorious!

 

[Jack Bourdain]

All I can say is - thank you Carolina. We dump the bed but so do the B's. Makes this a little easier to stomach.

I'm moving on.

Failing to create separation between us and the Bruins is a major negative in my books. Could be worse, but at this rate, sticking to #2 might be the difference between going far and being bounced in the 1st round.

 

[Whitesnake]

Failing to create separation between us and the Bruins is a major negative in my books. Could be worse, but at this rate, sticking to #2 might be the difference between going far and being bounced in the 1st round.

Absolutely. Difference between putting everything in doubt....and just thinking we need to tweak a thing or 2.

 

[Lshap]

Probably true. Habs can match speed with anyone but a team like Toronto is just as fast and possess a much grittier team.

I'm not sure if you're kidding or not. It amazes me how some people inflate the importance of a single game. We played a worse game last week against Philly and it was forgotten a day later; the only difference with Toronto is we hear the buzzing coming from their fan anthill. 99% of it is noise, not analysis.

We killed them head-to-head the previous game. We're capable of doing that again and again. Last night's game wasn't decided on grit, size or speed. It was decided and done after four goals in five shots. Having ten Lucics and Charas wouldn't have helped. However, having one goalie would have.

 

[habtastic]

I think many people are taking the leafs too easily and since they have the luxury of never having to leave Montreal, they don't actually feel the rivalry. For a lot of us, it IS a rivalry, ever since we moved to "leafs nation". So, while you might not feel it now, come playoffs, when we play them (who here thinks Boston with their easy sched is not going to overtake us?), as someone said -- you will come to hate them more than Boston. It's a national thing. Pride. As much as politics don't come into it (or culture or however one might frame it), it harkens back to the origins of these two teams (think "The Hockey Sweater").

Anyway, as for not caring about this loss, I think getting over it is one thing, but not realizing that the leafs present just as much if not more of a problem than the bruins, might be myopic.

They are a very good team, very good (and dirty) coach, very strong offense (way more than Boston) and last I checked, we seem incapable of piercing their D (remember they have Gardiner now who is a terrific two way player). We can't win a freaking faceoff against Tyler f'in Bozak who has replaced RJ Umberger, we get pinned to the boards constantly and our plays neutralized, they cruise into our zone with ease and scatter our defense (they weren't even trying to score after 3-0, and they did twice, and probably would have 3-4 times more if it weren't for Budaj).

MT has come to a point where I here a lot of bluster, but I don't see any adjustments. Our PP is actually hard to watch sometimes cuz it's basically passing between the three guys near the blueline and occasionally ringing it around the boards and trying to get it back. Our fwds down low have no hands. There's no threat. MT needs to fix this because he can. Ever notice how, when we get the puck at the half boards, the guy just looks for options, doesn't see any after waiting for like 3 seconds and then just passes back to PK. We need another play apart from, pass it to PK.

This is all important because we will likely play this team in the 1st round so we need to adjust. Yeah, play our game and system (which was what last night?), but if a coach doesn't take note of who he's playing, he's a stupid coach. People have been saying that the leafs Sh% is unsustainable BEFORE last night. Then they go 3 for 4!!!! That Reimer is so bad that he can't maintain these flukey wins. Well, we didn't test him much, so why would it stop? I don't get why people think that in two weeks the leafs will just fall apart rather than ramp it up. They have elite to close to elite scoring potential. We need our guys to play their best to come near that. Our top 9 is actually no very scary lately, it's the D that's been scoring.

I'm not panicking, I'm just opposing the myth that the leafs are irrelevant and that last night was a fluke. It wasn't. They got goals and then shut us down. I do not remember it being a 5-4 or 5-3 game. We scored 1 goal and again, it was from the D! Pacioretty, you're supposed to be our pfwd - act like it. Gio, your stick hacking and just taking up space really -- getting tiresome even if you are savvy defensively. We can't have you missing the net a billion times or just generally losing your battles. Bring back the old Gio. DD -- takes a lot of heat even though he tries, but now is when he needs to use that creativity and not be so damn predictable. Pleky, Bourque, Ryder just have to start finishing a little more. Ryder has looked sluggish and loses the puck in the D zone a lot. Bourque has 2-3 good scoring chances, hopefully it's just getting back in and NOT last year's 100+ missed chances. Eller's line to me plays with the most intensity -- they just have to find a way of putting those pucks in. And Eller needs his revenge. At the BC. HUGE HIT. That's a playoff hockey MUST. (Maybe even the last game of the season.)

Can't really fault the D too much without Emelin cuz I think he was one of the important pillars and not just in the physical dept. He has learned a lot and we needed him badly. Not sure if Diaz is even coming back, i'll believe it when I see it.

I think we all know what Carey has to do, but three guys who are really showing the rest of the team how to play are Subban, Prust and Gallagher. I hope the team doesn't take the leafs lightly (why would they, it's preposterous to think otherwise, there's always been bad blood) and MT forms a strategy, cuz "not being ready" is not an actual thing, it just means you were useless and couldn't beat them (just thinking score more than 1 goal at least since we were cooked after 3-0, but it was so early).

 

[habtastic]

I'm not sure if you're kidding or not. It amazes me how some people inflate the importance of a single game. We played a worse game last week against Philly and it was forgotten a day later; the only difference with Toronto is we hear the buzzing coming from their fan anthill. 99% of it is noise, not analysis.

We killed them head-to-head the previous game. We're capable of doing that again and again. Last night's game wasn't decided on grit, size or speed. It was decided and done after four goals in five shots. Having ten Lucics and Charas wouldn't have helped. However, having one goalie would have.

huh? We did? We dominated that game and they got three lucky bounces off skates. We still scored and looked like we could win the game. At 3-0 against the leafs, how much time was left? A LOT! But we failed to accomplish much even with the D pinching (leading to their 5th goal).

I was at the previous game at the ACC. Completely different. Guess who was in that game? Emelin and I noticed him all night. All I'm talking about is how we played after 3-0, which is not like a team that should be down 3-0, but not like a team that could score 3 goals in a game either. The leafs contained us as much as we attacked constantly. They knew what they were doing. Does anyone remember a tough save for Reimer?

 

[Hackett]

My guess?

Bad habits have crept into his game. Due to the condensed schedule, he is not getting as much time 1-on-1 with the goalie coach to fix these little deficiencies in his game that are starting to cost us goals.

Last night was just a clear lack of focus. His mental game was not engaged.

Last night was just strange. For the average/off nights that price has had, he usually gets beat due to being a little too conservative in his crease, or slightly off his angle.

He's pretty air tight with his body and you just don't see pucks going through any of the holes even on his sub par efforts.... so last night was really odd. Whatever the case, he'll be better, we know that.

Like many goalies, I think Price struggles with staying sharp when the team is carrying the play, and he has to wait a few minutes for a single shot, which can often end up being a good scoring chance. These are the instances that I get most nervous with Carey. When the habs are carrying the play, there's always something in the back of my mind asking how Price is going to react when the time comes for him to make a save.

Some goalies never really adapt to this. I think of Luongo as a guy who has needed alot of rubber in his career to stay sharp... others master the art of making a big save after laying idle for extended periods, like Ken Dryden, and to a lesser extent, Chris Osgood.

Now, I'm not saying that the habs have a juggernaut, but there have been many instances this year where the opposition can go many minutes without a sniff at goal, and Price must adapt. I think he has it in him.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Was there a game last night? Must of missed it

 

[Lshap]

huh? We did? We dominated that game and they got three lucky bounces off skates. We still scored and looked like we could win the game. At 3-0 against the leafs, how much time was left? A LOT! But we failed to accomplish much even with the D pinching (leading to their 5th goal).

I was at the previous game at the ACC. Completely different. Guess who was in that game? Emelin and I noticed him all night. All I'm talking about is how we played after 3-0, which is not like a team that should be down 3-0, but not like a team that could score 3 goals in a game either. The leafs contained us as much as we attacked constantly. They knew what they were doing. Does anyone remember a tough save for Reimer?

I see your three-lucky-bounces-by-Philly and raise you four-goals-in-five-shots. We went from unlucky in Philadelphia to poltergeists in Toronto. We were outshooting and outplaying Toronto last night, but we were doing it while playing with an empty net. Think about that: We could have pulled our friggin goalie and had practically the exact same outcome! No wonder our skaters lost their cool and their system and were easy to contain - the game was over before they had a chance to play it.

But yes, I agree with you about Emelin's importance. We really, REALLY need a bigger, more physical presence on our D.