Game 17 (audio): Price brilliant but Habs fall

Can we all agree that if Kovy was playing like The Artiste that he is, we wouldn't be in this predicament? When he turns on the Juice, who can stop him? WHO?! Nobody, that's who. Do y'all remember what Jagr said 2 years ago? He KNOWS Kovy from waaaaay back. "Kovy needs to feel the Love." So what if it's foolish, so what if he's a prima donna, so what if he's a big baby, so what?! He's the BEST player on our team. Not only is he the best player, he's a dang GAMEBREAKER. All he wants is Love and Acclamation in return. Is that all? No problem! I'll even throw in the proverbial chausson aux pommes. C'mon Kovy! We still love you! Yaaaay, Kovy! Peace Out ______________________________________________________ Lord Bugs Potter, esq. Earl of Fluppitburg, Baron of Flopshlupshire and Knight of the Flannel Republic.

The game last night reminded me of too many Saturday nights having to watch the pathetic Maple Leafs,here in Southern Ontario. Thank god Price made the score (loss) look respectable. Come on guys pull your socks up!

i am a long time reader and first time poster, i am so confused about why patrice briesbois is on this team, to me it is evident that he is scared to death to go into the corner.as a person who has played hockey all my life, it is so obvious. does anybody else not see this? this is not an nhl defenceman and i don't understand the support he gets. scared= turnovers.

For a little optimism in this murky sea of disgrace and worry... http://habsinsideout.com/otherwing/ericengels/11198 EE

If us, as fans, can see what's wrong with this team, why can't the coaches?

I agree with habsrule1; Lats played a solid game last night. In fact he and his line were much more effective, IMHO, than any line with possible exception of Lang and the brothers. To me it is a question of urgency; when the boys play like it matters they ae the best team on the ice no matter who they are playing against. Unfortunately they don't seem to maintin the urgency from shift to shift much less then from game to game. I suppose until this all sorts itself out we will have to endure long nights of mediocre play and a 500 record, win one lose one etc.

I believe most of us here play (or coach) hockey (or soccer). Whenever a team playing evidently bad, the problems come from Union. It come from dressing room, the room poison. The biggest suspect is Kovalev.

After last nights game I was left with a terrible taste in my mouth!!!. What the heck is going here.Thank goodness the price was right last night or else they would have gotten slaughterd. There are 4 problems this team has and 3 can be fixed. 1)Power Play. They must find a solution and fast teams have noticed and adjusted to there scheme.put Markov back on his original side and have Sergei or Koivu run the point anything call up Weber whatever that must change. 2)Defence: Where in the world has the Defence Gone even with Komi in the line-up we still give up too many shots Trade for a D-man or adjust the system it aint working by the way Breezer is a waste of space.Obyrn must smarten up stop taking the dumb penalties. 3) Toughness :Laraque must be in the line-up even if he plays only 2 minutes a game just him breathing on the bench the opponents will take notice.Last night if hes in the lineup Ruutu doesnt take a shot at Pleks and Sutter doesnt take a shot at Price. 4) Latendresse: He is playing like a PEASANT.I don't know who he hired as a skating coach but he looks like an A** outhere completly hopeless he doesnt hit he doesnt shot and doesnt fight so what is he there for Beauty GOD he doesnt even have that.Plain and simple GET RID OF HIM. There are atleast 2 guys in Hamilton who would love to have his spot atleast they would bring something to the team. But we all know that THANKS to the french media if anything should happen to there SAVIOR they would probably riot ala Maurice Richard. Just my opinion This team will bounce back There is enough heart on this team to do It. Ijust beleive there stuck in 2007.

Hope this line: Higgins -- Plec -- Kost intact.

Waiting for Kovy... Waiting, still waiting... http://habsbros.blogspot.com/ I propose that next home game, 21 273 people start SOFTLY chanting Kovy's name. Not NORMAL chanting. SOFT chanting. "ko-vee, ko-vee, ko-vee..." Softly, ever so softly. Let's CALL HIM OUT. It would not only be freaky but I think he'd respond like a sunovagun. Peace Out ______________________________________________________ Lord Bugs Potter, esq. Earl of Fluppitburg, Baron of Flopshlupshire and Knight of the Flannel Republic.

So it's haikus now. I can dig it. The leaves fell before Inevitable plummet Yet Squirrel has nuts! Peace Out ______________________________________________________ Lord Bugs Potter, esq. Earl of Fluppitburg, Baron of Flopshlupshire and Knight of the Flannel Republic.

I feel we're in a slump and we'll rebound but if we don't, Bob has to make changes as I have said all along. 1. A physical DMan (bring up Shawn Belle from Hamilton or make a deal) 2. Bring up Matt D'Agostini and send Canadiens Idol Sergei K down (sophmore jink is coming true as I predicted!) 3. A big offensive skilled CMan (Robert Lang has to skate, skate, skate! or will it be bye bye bye if we pull the gun for a trade in this position.) I really don't like the way O'Byrne is playing this season for a promising prospect. I'll keep Brisebois any day folks! I see this his last season and I envision he will be the D coach for our team which we lack next season. Young guys who are supposed to be our cornerstone for years to come like Plekanec, A. Kostitsyn, Higgins, Komisarek havd been an early season disappointment and I do hope they rebound back. A Latendresse basher last season I was, he is improving IMO and will get better. Wake me up when this slump is over HIO staff and wake up the players as well! I want my firewagon hockey back in Montreal. Nice to see Grabovsky doing well in Toronto! No, I will not watch Roy's retirement, well, maybe a little peek before the game starts. We must rebound against Ottawa! "We will win the Cup only with Carey Price in the nets"

maybe it's time to revisit the Sundin to habs saga. He would definitely add the grit and heart we are lacking. But if we also bring up players from Hamilton, won't it get our regulars to start working, because they would be worried about their jobs? anything to lit a fire under these underachieving lazy players.

Hi Dave, Pat and Kevin, Are we going to be seeing any new Puckcasts posted to the site anytime soon? I remember it being a weekly posted item on the site and looked forward to it. Has something changed? I've checked the Puckcast page, the description on the puckcast does not match what plays. Thanks, Go Habs Go!

The Empty Netters .. by Seth Rorabaugh/Pitts. Post-Gazette ..... http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/emptynetters/archive/2008/11/19/... .................................. The Ottawa Sun - Ruutu to Habs : Bring it On .. by Don Brennen (your not trying to suck us into penalties are you, Jarkko) ..... http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Senators/2008/11/19/7458641-sun.html .......... RDS Update: The lines remained the same at practise in Ottawa today.

To be fair, the criticism of a "too European" style of play has nothing to do with the ethnicity of the players but ... their style of play (and perhaps lack of committment to the team concept). There is no shortage of talent on this squad. This is a coaching problem right now. Carbonneau needs to turn his wrath and disappointment on his own players and stop whining and/or looking aggrieved everytime a call doesn't go his way. We want winners not whiners!

where is chris nilan when you need him.

I really didn't want to be proven right....but it is inevitable. I stated many many times going back several weeks, almost to day one. We have the wrong people in the lineup. The signing of Breeze to me was a thunderbolt that had me walking around in a daze for weeks...shaking my head, not being able to find a shred of rationale around it...Henry and Weber are MILES better than Mr. Breeze....never mind Obryne who consistently crushes the opponents and is resilient because of his youth....breeze is an old tractor that never really worked well in the first place...if we need old relics around then let it be in a suit, behind the bench. (recall Savard in 93) Basically we have a HANDICAP on every line and that drags the abilities of the lines down. Carb has been negligent in his line combinations and I consider that as the main reason for our collapse. the likes of Kostop, Begin, Dandy, Lapierre add next to nothing in terms of offence, and very little in regards to defense, they are not heavy weights, they do not win fights and their checking abilities are well below a guy like LATS who has the size to make effective hits. We only need to keep one or maybe two of these guys, (Laps/Kostp are my choices) but to have all of them on the ice is LUDICROUS!! the next batch of mediocre underperformers is HIGGS, KOSTYjr, LATS... but if they are put with the right linemates, the best can be brought out of them. The other forwards are trying too hard with too little support and have fallen to making poor decisions at times. I find it completely ignorant that we would dare to question KOVY, KOIVU, TANG, LANG, ANDREKOST and PLEK. without them we would be dead last. to touch on the Defense, what the hell is the matter with KOMI? WAKE THE HELL UP AND GET BACK IN THE LINEUP BEFORE YOU MEET LUCIC AGAIN ON SATURDAY....AND YOU BETTER CRUSH HIM WITH SOME HITS... BGL WILL RE-ARRANGE HIS FACE...anyway, we'll talk about Boston another time. So whats the solution....SIMPLE!, bring up D'ags and PAX and CHIP: kostsr-plek-kovy tang-koivu-D'AGS PAX-lang-kostyjr Lats-Chip-BGL this lineup will crush BOSTON. 1. The work of BGL will be key to our success this season... 2. The Bell Centre should be rebuilt to hold 80,000... 3. Kovalev is now in his prime...

well last night we got some awesome goaltending, but the team is not playing a full 60 min game. the way we are going to win the next couple of games is to put in a 60 min effort. as of all the bashing it doesnt matter how bad your team is doing. i still have confidence in this team and listen it doesnt matter in the season well it does but the real season starts in april when they make the playoffs and go for the drive for 25 well thats my insight. go habs go

If you'll forgive me for stating the obvious, right now, there seems to be too much onus on solo efforts, and not enough onus on playing as a team. Whomever said that there is no "I" in team, also has to realize that when you pull the "team" apart, you're looking "at me". When the tic-tac toe passes work, and they have in the past, the Habs are arguably the most exciting team to watch. Last season's finish wasn't a fluke, the team played well. Yes, they fell apart in the playoffs, but there's no denying that the skill level is there. I personally believe that right now the Habs' biggest problem is between their ears. Once they learn to calm down and play together like they did last season, the wins will come. GO HABS GO!!!!!!

Do you guys remember Therrien's rants? Pittsburgh turned it around, and I, for one (seriously, am I the only one?), still believe this team can do it too. There are 3 new players (well 2 that really matter) that everyone is still getting used too. I think Lang & Tanguay are both doing well, but those around them will get better and better. We still have a few very inexperienced players that will struggle. That's one of the reasons the schedule is not 20 games. It's 82! The effort is not there right now, for whatever reason. I personally don't think that lies totally on the coach. Why would they quit playing for a coach that helped them reach first place, and who was runner-up for coach of the year. It's possible, but I don't think so. They have the talent, but they just seem lazy, and I hope the coaching staff can figure that out fast. What really gets me is the amount of "fans" on this site saying they've stopped watching or have given up on the Habs. I would really prefer these bandwagon jumpers stay off the banwagon permanaently. I see the problems, but I also have faith. This is a very good team that has lost it's way, but with hard work, they will find it again...soon. A couple wins can turn this season around very fast! GO HABS GO!! "I can't hear what Jeremy(Roenick) is saying because my Stanley Cup rings are in my ears" - Patrick Roy Go Habs Go!! Habsrule

the habs will be a better team once alot of euros are gone. I would keep Koivu and Hamrlik tho, but the rest forget it. I'm not criticizing european players, but the style of play in Europe, is strickly skate and pass, waiting for the PERFECT PLAY. that style does not work in the NHL. It is a dump and chase style with hard hitting, checking and work ethic. They just don't play like that in Europe. therefore it's time to get rid of both kostistyns as well as Pleks, and Markov. waive Lats and bring up Weber, Pac and D'Agostini. And until the moves are made, this team will not win, nor will they make the playoffs. oh, BTW, congrats to the habs for now, officially, according to NHL stats: "HAVE THE WORST PP IN THE ENTIRE NHL!". so we went from first to worst. nice going guys. next, we'll end up with the worst record in the eastern conference. it's coming guys, because I see no way this team will get better without changes. but I'm not surprised, because has not played 60 minutes for the better part of 2 years! stop living in the past! IT WAS A FLUKE lAST YEAR! the team overachieved. they weren't nearly as good as their record. and, we are actually 10-7 now because the overtime looses aren't recorded in the regulation loss column, so we're basically a 500 team at best.

As I read through the comments I fully understand and appreciate the frustration and anger. The truth is that the team is not playing well and it makes the great players look average and the average players look bad. It is easy to point fingers at individuals but, they will only get out of this slump as a team...together. The main problems that I see are the absence of a strong transition game and poor P.P. efficiency. When they are coming out of their own zone they cannot make two or three passes to players in stride. All passes are to players standing still or in-behind moving players forcing them to turn back therefore, allowing the opposition the opportunity to stand-up on the blueline. This team is not built for chip and chase hockey. Every part of this team's game is based on speed and skill and to play this type of game the key word is precision. They were playing better earlier in the season and it seems the week long break they had really hurt the chemistry and timing. The problems with the P.P. are due to the absence of a shooter from the point. When they lost Souray, Streit became the shooter. Streit is replaced by Tanguay and S.Kostitsyn. Both are skilled players but, neither is a shooter. Both look to pass first. The team needs to fill this void internally or through a trade. As I have said before I would love to see Gainey get really aggressive and go after Kovalchuk. The team will rebound with time but, I still believe that they will need a bonafide top line sniper and one more solid defenceman to contend for the CUP.