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Game 4: Habs humiliated by Canucks
posted by Dave Stubbs at 0h33 EST on Oct 8
• Key Moments: Vancouver vaulted into a 3-0 first-period lead with a 14-4 edge, no, make that chasm in shots. The Habs were scrambling around helping the home team look unlike a club that had opened their season with three straight losses. A goal early in the second period by Andrei Kostitsyn provided a flicker of life, Montreal at one point having a 14-0 shots lead, but the Canucks fired two more past Price, who was abandoned by his teammates in his first NHL home-province start, to end the second at 5-1. Price had a chance on maybe one Vancouver goal, and every defenceman on his team owes him an apology for having hung him out to dry in front of family and friends before he was mercifully lifted for Jaro Halak when the Canucks made it 7-1.
• What It Means: The Canadiens remain winless in Vancouver since seemingly Confederation; in fact, they've lost eight straight in B.C. and 10 of their last 11. The penalty kill needs work, having surrendered another three PP goals on five Canucks chances Wednesday, and it needs work as soon as yesterday if this club is going to continue to take needless penalties.
• What's Next: The Habs wrap up their five-game, season-opening road trip Saturday in Edmonton then take a red-eye flight home to arrive back in Montreal about dawn on Sunday. They open at home next Thursday against Colorado.
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i think that dude giving the bird deserves a special award. seriously, he's in enemy territory, surrounded by.. .. well, enemies, and yet, despite the sheer odds, he has the courage to stand up for our beloved habs. i salute you, bird waving hab's fan.
In case we haven't all moved on, nobody has a right to bitch about this game like I do. I just got home from watching it in person and went directly to the sink to pour bleach in my eyes. Can anyone recommend a good psychiatrist on the west coast? i am having post traumatic stress disorder.
This team needs to be beaten for hanging Price out like they did defensively. And offensively (ok, what offense) all the shots came from the perimeter. No one had any balls last night and no one got their nose buffed, let alone dirty.
No one shoots from the point so the playbook on the Habs is, 5 men low cause their D couldn't break rice paper with their shots.
Blech! Puke. Gag!! I am taking out my GPS to find the highest building in Victoria to jump from.
PS: The D reeks with the loss of Markov and O'Byrne. No playoffs this year.
PPS: Gainey, you're a moron for signing the new D you did.
i've posted before and i'm going to post again...i think it's going to take about 10 games for the team to find some chemistry, to try to find out how each other plays.
last night's embarrassment should lie a lot on the defence. price had very little chance on most of the goals, and when TSN is featuring most of van's goals as potential highlights of the night, you know that something's wrong.
jacques needs to step up a little. as the coach, he should know what motivates everyone and his job is to bring out the best in everyone.
some random thoughts:
- i agree that price should have been pulled earlier
- the PK is in the toilet! with saku's departure, one of my biggest conerns was how the team was going to deal with the PK and right now, it is weak to say the least!
- BGL should NOT be dressed every game!
- Max P needs a little more time for his development
- gill needs to either step out of the way or go down to block shots!
- as others have posted, different team, same results. my only excuse (if you can call it that) for last night is that the team still hasn't gelled.
on one final note, whoever it was that waited for autographs after tuesday's practice, i TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU: JACQUES MARTIN REMINDS ME OF THE PENGUIN!
Why blame BGL? We need him, or do you just want to be called the Smurfs.
I LOVE the Habs!!!
was the optional practice held last night at about 10pm eastern time? haha
Just got up after a verrrrrrrrrry looooong night!! I'm still out of It after having way too many at the Roxy, but a lovely girl named Trinity from Winnepeg made me a beautiful break/lunch/dinner, ao I'm feeling a bit better now.
No team In the N.h.l. should lose like the Habs did last night, I was thoroughly embarrassed and mentioned that to Gomes, Benoit brunet and Gillosaurus at the roxy after the game, they agreed and said they're legs were'nt In It,I said that's no excuse. I also talked very briefly about the changes the Habs made to Benoit Brunet, he said way too many changes and that It Is still a work In progress and to wait until after 20 games. I told him that Bob has failed to bring In the right mix of players and that he will pay the price for this debacle, he nodded. the one thing I will say Is that they were very nice, fed me beers and they let me rant even though they don't really give a ....
All In all It was simply put, a total disgrace not to mention Price was embarrassed In front of his entire family, poor kid, he deserves better. I said It before and I'll say It again, the Habs have a horrible D even with markov and they will struggle all year long. My opinion.
I LOVE the Habs!!!
odd choice for a closing line then......
Once a Habs fan Always a Habs fan! GO HABS GO!
Gotta love the guy in the St. Flannele pulling the finger...WAy to go kid!
Knowing is Half the Battle...
I felt that watching the first period was one of the hardest most frustrating things I've had to watch in my 20 years following the team. I am glad i just went to bed after that and did not have to witness the 4 other outrageous goals where Carey's D IMO showed a lack of commitment and communication on a night when Carey needed to have a HUGE game. That being said while i was frustrated, and still sort of am, i refused to post at that time. Today is another day and the Habs will live on and will give their best performance of the season (only their 5th game people) on saturday. What I'm trying to say is its very easy to angry post, but try and take the time to cool down and realize its not the end of the world.
Once a Habs fan Always a Habs fan! GO HABS GO!
Chicago has a stable of young defenseman and huge cap trouble with pending RFA's toews and Kane. Do we seriously not have the assets to leach Cam Barker from them? Duncan keith is also RFA at seasons end, and chicago might not be able to keep him. Not that our RFA situation is much better, I think we have Carey up for renewal this year, as well as lats and pleks, with no significant salary coming off the books as far as i can see.
I still find it mind-boggingly odd at how fast people have turned on the team...after the Calgary loss people were still up and happy with the effort...then last night and all of a sudden: fire Gainey, fire Timmins, release Weber, release MaxPAc, the #1 line stinks, etc...I absolutely agree that the team stank and we should be upset, but for calling for heads already? It is just Game #4 and I guarantee that there will be other blowouts this season...it happens...I am just as upset as all of you over the game, but to throw in the towel already? Come on...
Also, for posters like Timo, RetroMikey and Exit716 (or whatever three digits you use)...I will say this, you are more downer than upper and that is fine, you call them as you see them AND your messages have always been consistent...BUT this message only comes out after a loss, you say nothing or appear positive after a win or good performance (bandwagon or not who knows), I am sure many would stop arguing with you if you passed on your consistent messages even after wins, ie. "Yeah great they won, BUT..."
This game is over and in the books, if they respond as they should in Edmonton, then we can feel good about the team again because that would mean they have that bounce back factor unlike last season. Also, it is good to see AK46 get that first goal finally and actually play alright and physically involved for two games straight, let's hope he keeps it up.
Lastly, get SK74 up for that 2nd line, JM used Moen, Laraque, D'Ags AND MaxPac (along with Gionta and Cammaleri) on that 2nd line...that is his place on the team and it is too bad that things have been misunderstood and he reacted that way. I could understand if the demotion was to get into game shape since he was injured and had a VERY short camp, that needs to be conveyed to him whether true or not, might as well call him up and see what he can do to that line and hopefully clear the air, the Habs are better with both Kosts playing their A-game (when consistent) than without. And put those kids back in Hamilton to grow and learn.
"Even Roy can be run out of town after 2 Stanley Cups."
Forskis, I don,t know why you are surprised at people running the team out of town after 4 games. We will loose I'm sure again & again & we will also win some I hope I do not have to read the blogs about this player & that player is crap.......I have news for you............the word BUT is now I'm going to tell what I really think
GO HABS GO!!!! LET"S GO!!!!!!!!
You make some valid observations. Honestly though, I don't see how any of the players mentioned will change much.
The fact is that we can expect, like most teams, to lose the second of back-to back games unless the opposition is equally tired.
If at all possible, I would rest key players to avoid injuries, use whatever call-ups I can get away with and give the kids more ice time, though use the vets on the power play.
Basically, screw the game and protect my players.
Habs kind of shot themselves in the foot keeping pacioretty and dags up in the nhl already. Its too early to send them down at this point IMO. You're not helping them if you gave them a roster spot and send them down after only 4 games. LEt sergei stew a little bit more in hamilton. Let him sit there and really get in his head that he should be playing in the nhl, so when we do call him up, hopefully he comes up fired up and ready to prove us all wrong.
The habs are a work in progress. I expected a slow start. We did not even play well in the two games we won so no one should be surprised. I would rather lose now, and learn how to win, then get to cocky too early, and then for everything to fall apart.
Couple of points:
-Pleks and AK46 looked a lot more engaged in the last two games, and that's a positive sign.
-Martin also needs to have a sit down with Pacioretty, see where his heads at, and discuss more in depth what martin wants to see from him. The kid has a deer in the headlights look going on, and looks a little confused. I still think he is our top prospect, and maybe shifting Gui up to the 2nd line, and pacioretty down to the third for a bit would be a good move.
-I thought we were done with this overplaying the 4th line BS that carbo used to do. Looking at the ice times on tuesday, we played a great road game, and just got unlucky. The 4th line didn't play much, and our best players got quality minutes in. Now go look at last nights ice time figures. The 4th line played way too much. It might not be very well reflected, because 4th line ice time may have gone up once the game got out of hand, but I dont want to see george laraque and chipchura playing 10.5 and 12.5 minutes respectively. Especially not when you have pacioretty, lapierre and latendresse playing 10, 13, and 12 minutes respectively.
Bob really needs to pull a blockbuster, because we are going to struggle mightily on defense without markov. Our D is completely out of whack. I have seen more done with less, but our defense corps just dont gel well together.
Markov loss hurts. The Defence, otherwise, is not the problem, nor is goaltending. If we can get the PP going, somehow, the opposition will hesitate on the forecheck and Gill, Mara et. al. will have time to make the first pass. Until then, teams will take liberties and make the D look bad.
Well Im not just referencing last nights game, but our defense has been brutal. In the first couple of games that we won, there was way too many shots allowed, and then you look last night, and the defense was just brutal. IVe always wondered how having so many left hand shots really hurts your team (because in NHL10 it doesnt make a difference), but when you watch the habs and pay attention to all the LH defense we have, and then watch a team with better balance between LH and RH shots, you really see the difference.
Which is why im not happy with the MA Bergeron signing, another left-handed defenseman. I like bergeron, and maybe i would rather have him then Gill or Mara, but Im not happy adding another lefty on a team full of lefties! We have what? 3 RH shots at the most?
I mean all in all, this no time to panick, and I would like to give the team some time to GEL. Like i said in another post, its not about the names of your defensemen, but how they work together as a group thats important. Maybe as they get more used to each other it will improve, but right now its absolutely brutal.
Get over it, the whole team had an off night, including Carey, who tried but other times was just a bit tired from the night before. Also don't forget that we are missing some key players due to injuries. Metropolit musta read my posts in the off season and came out like a player with heart. And of course we are definitely lacking in defense in spite of the trades. We are a small team and it showed on the ice last night. Simple fact is, we have maybe four or five great players and the rest of the team are grinders in everything but name. Dago was all over the ice, he tried his heart out but I bet he'll be benched most of the next game like Pacs was. Why does management blame the rookies for the short comings of veterans? So it looks like Montreal is still struggling with coming from behind and this time, the struggle was probably made worse by jet lag. Yes, jet lag, the Montreal Vancouver run is a jet lag run, no wonder Montreal never wins in Vancouver.
Outside of Lapierre, Laraque, Stewart, Moen and chipchura, who would you actually qualify as a grinder? THe specific problem is that no one is winning the battles along the boards, and gaining posession. IF we had a team full of grinders, that probably wouldnt be the problem, finishing off plays would be the problem.
The team just needs some time to get their stuff together, and get some confidence going. A big bounce back win in edmonton would help. If we finished 3-2 I would consider our season opening road trip a success (minus the injuries of course).
Are there TWO nunacanadien? You normally rip the team a new one when they win and when they lose, you defend them or think of excuses...what gives? You have two consistent messages: the really up and the down...is this a shared username?
"Even Roy can be run out of town after 2 Stanley Cups."
i was thinking the same thing.
This year there is a difference, Price is back to his old self before he became a pro, and this is exciting. Finally we have a good bunch of prospects, mixed in with some exciting trades. The only problem we have now is the lack of a good defense. I know you all say that we have the answer to the problem of a defense. I don't think so, Gorges is still passing the puck the wrong way every now and then, but he has improved with having Gill there to protect him and this proteciton gives Gorges time to set up a play. Only problem is Gorges has a bad habit of passing to the wrong side of the ice only to have the puck come back with a quality shot on Price. We are still lacking in quality shots in the few short games we have had. While Gomez and Gionta may set up a play, the other lines have a hard time actually taking a quality shot on the net with the puck. They basically pass the puck to the other teams goalie! Compare this to the hard shots Price gets. The biggest improvement this year is the Habs are paying back the other teams for crashing Price last year. This year we are murdering the other goalie, about time, cause the NHL has one big payback coming from Montreal. After all Price got hurt when he was not being defended. He still is not being defended as well, but better than last year. We just don't have a wall of defense, in fact we have no real defense. Just Gill standing there and Gorges running around like a chicken with its head cut off and then you have the other invisible defense. Its like there are four forwards on the ice and its just Price on defense!
LMAO, I loved this post. I certainly don't agree with all of it but your description of Gill and Gorges made me laugh. Gill is slower than a tuertle, and every time I see him and Laraque on the ice I just laugh.
The funny thing is that Laraque has been absolutely dominant when he has the puck, and basically does a good job of killing the clock and tiring out their defensive players by being so goddamn hard to move. lol
The turtle is just hilarious because he looks like he is stuck in slow motion while everything else is on fast-forward. I understand that he has LONG legs and is heavy so takes him a while to get going. He was acquired for the latter part of the year and the playoffs, so his struggles don't bother me. I think our defense is ok with Markov in there, but without him we have no real-puck mover.
I love how we can change the coach, we can change the players, but the habs still play the same way. No one shoots the puck! I was happy to see gomez start shooting, but all in all they keep passing around too much.
Break into the zone, get off a quick, low, hard shot, and have a winger charging for the rebound. If you're cycling down low, get the puck to the slot and fire off a quick shot. They keep looking for the fancy play, and clearly whats worked for us so far is getting the puck on the net and banging in the garbage. Too much passing, and thats why we have so many giveaways.
That must be a HIO poster in the center of the picture.
__________________________________________________________________________
No one man can replace Markov.
Hope nobody jumped off the bridge last night. lol
Ohh well we had a bad game, so what.
New system, new coach, new players and our best D is out. It will take some time to get on track. I am not worried yet.
They should bounce back against Edmonton.
What worries me is our small shrimp line is going gung ho early in the season and they'll probably get worn down and combine that with our injury prone players, the team at least has a great rookie stable to call up and cover. If only the D-men would defend their goalie! Price came out hot this year and it would be a shame to destroy his year like last year by psyching him out.
If there is one move Gainey makes that would make me extremely happy ..it would not be a big move but it would make me extremely happy ....get rid of Gill ...just give trade him for free...put him on waivers if possible....trade him for a bag of pucks...just get rid of him...and I will be so happy. ..and I agree...bring up Maxwell.
Come on.... all these people trying to point fingers at individuals or at the management make me laugh...
We played a brutal game. These things happen. Even the best teams get shot down from time to time (not saying we're the best team, for all you nit-pickers out there.), and all you can do is look at the team as a whole and learn from it.
I didn't see the Habs playing hockey out there, I saw them involved in a scrimmage. Suck it up, learn from it, and move on. We played so well as a team in Calgary, then had to play the next night against what was supposed to be the Red Wings' main competition as #1 in the West. They'd lost 3 straight, were rested, and were hungry for a win.
Neither Bob Gainey nor Jacques Martin lost the game, the players did. Hal Gill didn't lose the game, the players as a whole did.
...I'm just wondering how, when the Habs start winning, all these crying and finger-pointing fair-weather fans are going to manage to climb back on the bandwagon having broken their necks from jumping off whenever we lose.
Look at the bigger picture. It's going to be a fun season.
Absolutely - dead on... the 'best' team did get shut down - last night! The Pens were outworked, humbled, shut-down and shut-out by the Coyotes.... Every team has an off-game - granted this game was really 'off' for our beloved Habs - but just one 'off' game.... 79 more to go....lots of hockey left....we're going to be so much better come December - January.....Go Habs Go!
"...The Edmonton Oilers - hockey's team of the 80's versus the Montreal Canadiens - hockey's team of all-time...." - Dryden
They did. And a good Coach has to look at it that way. But after all that's happened, I'm just wondering how much help they got (9 power plays?). The league has little credibility with Phoenix. I really question whether or not they should be playing.
yeah i remember detroit getting blown out by far lesser teams a few times last year. It happens.
Glad to here someone speak uith common sence.I love my Montreal Canadiens no matter what happens.Things will get better...............
Thanks for being level headed. Does anyone remember Detroit losing to Columbus last year 8-2, and then a few weeks later losing to a similar score to Nashville I believe. These things do indeed happen, it sucks it happened but so what.
I'm not expecting the moon this year, we're in tough with two defencemen out for lengthy periods. O'Byrne isn't amazing, but he was one of our steadier defencemen so far this year, certainly good enough to take Komi's spot on the team.
Have fun, cheer for our team and don't get too excited or deflated, win or lose
Can you imagine what'll happen when we play Columbus or Colorado?
Everybody lighten up. If your place of work had half the positions filled with new employees overnight - how well do you think the business would run in its first week?
BTW: I was at the game last night. It was great to see one CH for every Canuck Whalers abomination. Guys here are saying that there's gonna be a new Vancouver jersey post-olympics. Unbelievable - is there any colour they haven't worn? It's like the UN of jerseys here.
After one of the goals, they had Carey's dad on the big screen - painful stuff. Another thing - they used Coldplay - Fix You for the intro - that really p*ssed me off. It's also too bad I couldn't see Mathieu Schneider play.
But, yes, Gill is slow and his fighting was laughable - I saw enough Friendly Giant as a kid and have since moved on - Gainey should have, too.
Final thing: I'm asking around here and nothing seems to be going on at GM Place tonight - what was the rush to have the game last night?
Quick, someone make a tribue video to Markov with the song "everything sucks when you're gone" by mxpx and send it to him... then maybe he'll feel bad for us and play with crutches!
Gill blows. No wonder Pens never renewed his contract. TOO SLOW. Not that last nite was his fault but I have a feeling Jaro will be our #1 guy by the end of this year. The players helped Price look like a sieve last nite in front of his folks. He'll probably pull the plug on himself eventually. Could you imagine the sh&t storm if that game took place at home.
Why would you think that Price will be moved to #2 based on that one game? He'll be fine, but the defence has to be better. Price had a chance on maybe 1 or 2 of those goals - 5 of them were massive defensive blunders, and nothing Price could have done. I feel bad for the kid, but he'll bounce back
I think he means that Price won't want ot play for the Habs. I don;'t blame him.
Probably, but that won't be at the end of this year. He's an RFA, and unless he does some weird holdout thing, which I would be extremely surprised about, but hey who knows.
It's sad what happened to Price last night, really sad. But he's going to have games like that and the 'Nucks had something to prove last night. They just kept coming hard and it showed they wanted to beat us badly.
I can guarantee that it was much easier for Van to get up for this game rather than the Columbus game. That's something everyone should realize - all 29 teams in the NHL play the Habs hard every single time out, and it always has been that way, and always will be that way. I'm pretty sure it's much easier to get up for a game against the Habs than the Nashville Predators.
Gainey has to match any offer for Price. I'm sure that there are teams out there just waiting to get their hands on Price. They know that with the right team he could be a top 5 goalie one day!
Maybe - but the Habs would have to be completely brain dead to not match any offer that he is given. The smart move would be to sign him now, but we know that Gainey doesn't like to negotiate during the season - this is one fact that I will never understand though.
In the words of Nathan Explosion: "BRUTAL!"
XXIV...and counting
I've never read such a bunch of bandwagoners in my life.
Get over it.
Maybe go support a team who only win all the time. What fun would that be ?
I know it's almost unbelievable. Yesterday everyone was singing the praises of our team, and today everyone's pissed. Did anyone not expect this to happen from time to time? Look this team has no Markov, and is missing probably our best physical defenceman in O'Byrne. We're going to be ok this year, but we are going to struggle to make the playoffs. Just be happy when the team wins guys, and when they lose, roll with it. It's going to be tough year without Markov - anyone who thinks different is kidding themselves
Ow. Just ow. Let's just try to forget about that one.
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You are so right - we should just waive them all and play with the boys from the farm. Why didn't Gainey think of this earlier. You should email your comments right away to comments@imanidiot.com
Congrats for being such a bad troll :)
ok mr aficionado what would you have done? you always have garbage to say so why dont you amuse me for once and tell what you would have done this off season?
Ignore trolls, idiots and Laff fans posing as sentient beings.
if you think signing a 16 goal scorer for 7.3 mil/season is smart, then you're a total idiot, just like the GM!
standing alone in you manure feild again eh?
Yes, thanks for that, I'm sure that those reading your thoughtful comments are having trouble identifying the idiot.
i think they finally cut him off!
you are right i should know better.
Wow that was a tough one to swallow... Not much of a bright side besides Ak46's goal...nice to see him get some good shots off.
I thought Price played well besides not stopping the highlight reel goals in the first period!!
I have said it before I will say it again: HAL GILL is the worst dman in the league!! hands down...did anyone else get a little bit of satisfaction when a 5'9" player mad him look rather stupid in a fight??? I sadly did.
I will take back my comment about Hammer being as bad as Gill. No one is. Hammer moves the puck well but I am still not sold on his defensive abilities...too many rebound goals scored by his assignment (none last night that I saw...everything was too pretty).
I am a big fan of SK74's ability (not so much of his character after his last escapades)...but this is a business and we could use a guy with his skill in the line up. Brind him up and let JM break his balls on the big team. Patches looks too much out of place. Dags definitely looked better.
Will someone tell BGL that his job is to run around and hit anything and everything that moves, to intimidate and gengerally never smile!! In the first period he curled off a check on O'Brien when he should have at least bumped him, also jsut asking to tilt all night is not good. Keep running people and eventually Hordichuk will fight you.
I thought Webber is an offensive player...then why didn't we see him on the PP?? Gorges and Mara on second unit instead of him?? Give the kid a chance....and to really give him a chance on even strength please take him off a pairing with "Gillve away"
Can't wait until Saturday...we better see a totally different effort.
"No Regrets, That's my motto, that and Everbody Wang Chung Tonight" from the movie Out Cold
You are too hard on Gill, too easy on Laraque. Gill, at least, will show up to work.
GAINEY HAS KILLED THIS FRANCHISE!
GET RID OF GILL(pylon) AND GAINEY! I HATE GAINEY!
lol...
Want me to call Toronto and ask for a Gainey - Burke trade? Will that make you feel better?
I don't know why everyone is in love with Bob Gainey.
What has he done to improve this team?
NOTHING....
I want to see Gainey bring back Sergei (ya, ya, I know, but we can't have our 2 top lines with only 5 NHL players and one gap-filler)
I want to see Gainey bring back Maxwell and get rid of Chipchura until Metropolit comes back.
I want to see Gainey fix our defense. Apparently M-A Bergeron isn't very good in his own end, and with O'byrne (who was playing great) and Markov (...) gone for what seems like forever, we can't rely on Gill, Mara and Weber.
And most of all, I want our important players to stop getting hurt. Everyone knows it as well as I do, losing Metropolit is not AS bad as losing Markov but close. Without Metro, our 4th line is TERRIBLE.
If SK is our 6th best forward ...we are in trouble !! Moen deserves a crack at the second line I'd say .
So I'm figuring by some of the responses .. the Laraque .. is playing his " code' card again ...
So get rid of him , get rid of Stew, Pacs and Dags .. and bring up that Neilson dude .. no code BS here .. he just drops them and starts wailing away !!!!
At this point he is our best 6th forward. Moen is not good enough to compliment AK46 & Pleks IMO. He scores those ugly goals, the ones where theres a scrap going on in front of the net and then all the players come out with their arms up....
Pleks and AK46 are not those kinds of players... SK74 will be able to finish what they start ALOT more efficiently than Moen.
Nothing wrong with ugly goals my son .. That's been our problem .. we want pretty goals ... instead od sticking our nose in goals !
I want to see Gainey GONE at the end of this season....
and on the way out ... he can take Timmons with him !
I wonder what you guys will say when we win 3 in a row and the new guys score all the goals in those games...
THat'll never happen ... the new guys score all the goals .. unless we win those 3 games 1-0 and the likehood of 3 shutouts in a row with th0 D we have now is not gonna happen ...
I'll still give this team 20 games ... but it'll be a painful 20 ....
Probably blame ownership by saying that the Molsons know how to win but Gillett didn't, or that the moon's gravitational pull was slightly weaker for those three games which allowed the Canadiens' skate blades to coast more freely.
I keep waiting for all those naysayers who crapped on everyone and everything a couple of years back when Shanahan and his wife were thinking of playing for that habs, i guess his wife was gonna play left wing or something who knows...but anyway, blame the media, blame the tax man, heck blame the schools, blame the fans, and blame don cherry for the new acquisitions for not scoring a hat trick each in each game! Actually in my opinion the way these players were, is the way they play in Montreal, right down to Spacek getting prima donna penalties, Mara passing the puck to no where land, Gionta getting lazy after going like a mad man, Gomez in skating like an ugly duck and passing the puck but not really scoring, all flash and no substance....and then we wonder why Red Fisher wondered why everyone thought these trades were God's Gift to hockey, they were good trades as trades go but honestly, 16 goal a year superstars?
Solution, give the team this speech before next game and its a guaranteed win :-P
Can somebody explain the following to me, it's been nagging at me since last night.
How is it possible... that with a different coach (An experienced one) and 12 new players, some of them very good vets, they can duplicate a performance just like last year?
I mean, different team, different coaching staff. They can't say it's the media, the season just started. The media didn't even have a CHANCE to start hitting them on the head.
They can't say it's the french thing anymore. They can't say it's the crowd at the Bell Center, they haven't played there yet.
So what the hell is it? I mean, the only comon denominator I can think of is Gainey. He's the only one left from last year.
Gainey who is trying to shove Chipchura into everybody's throat. He didn't play ONE preseaon game yet he's the one playing? Why not Maxwell?
And what about Gill??? Is he NHL level? Dude, he's got NO PLUS SIDE!!! he lost a fight to a shrimp.
WTF is happening with this team? It's supposed to be a new team. I am not talking about cohesion here or chemistry. I am talking about HEART. Last night was pitifull.
New team, same results
U R 100% correct ...
I have to agree but disagree on some things. We have some great heart up front with Gomez and Gionta, albeit the way they were in other teams including Spacek, they bring their bad habits here. Honestly, who the hell fights without tucking in his jersey? The only difference is noticeable with the likes of Metropolit and Gorges being sparked by new blood, and it shows. The same old team you can see as Lats, Laps and others give a mediocre effort and take stupid penalties. We got sold the old one two scam, on one hand we sign veterans with heart (and we call them superstars!) and we get rid of the poison that showed itself in game after game, where no one put in a real effort. Now at least there is some hope, but it gets dashed when we're on a power play, or when we have to defend a rush after Gomez and Gionta can't fight enough to keep the puck in the other end. Definitely Montreal needs something else, losing Markov only showed that we are very weak on defense. And we're still fighting from behind, heck you might as well have Jack Martin talk like Stalonne and jog with those ugly grey shorts and play the Rocky theme song when the habs go on the ice and hope to hell Price doesn't pull another Vancouver on us.
Calgary was there best game. Last night their worst. It was two games in two nights which is no excuse but is tough on the players early in the season and when the other team is rested and has lost three in a row. My question is why was the game not tonight instead of last night? Montreal does not play again till Saturday and Van city on Sunday? The fans deserve to see two fresh teams not one fresh and one tired.
Stupid NHL
well, now that I've managed to get my head out of the sand...
any blowout like last night cannot be analyzed for areas to improve. aside from Price who fought through an embarrassing lost cause in his home province, the whole game stunk (unless you're a Nucks fan)!!! it was no one player's fault. they collectively sucked.
No offense. No defense. PK was horrid. Vancouver outskated, outhustled, outmuscled, outplayed us in every zone. it was boys vs. men. period.
as a fan, that was a game I'll be trying to completely wipe from my memory. and, just as the players need to set their sights on Edmonton and start fresh, we fans ought to follow suit.
Habs top 3 D until markov comes back (after the olympics): Gorges, Hamrlik, Spacek= Avereage, nothing special, not alot of offence, spacek has lost it, played good in buffalo and edmonton
Red Wings top 3 D: Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall= great offence, work well together, definately better then our top 3 D
Blackhawks Top 3 D: Keith, Campbell, Barker= chicago has the best D core in the league.
-and our bottom 3 might be the worst in the league
Conclusion: were not that good.
Markov, Hamrlik, Spacek - that top 3 is a very good top 3
Gorges, O'Byrne, Mara - that's a very good bottom 3 as well.
Early injuries have decimated this team. Our D prospects are very young, don't expect them to blow up the spot this year. It is what it is guys, take out Markov and this team is just not the same. I'm not saying give up this year, but you may want to give up your HIGH expectations. We'll make the playoffs, but not much more. That's just the hand we've been dealt this year.
U know that the Wings have not won a game yet this season right!!!!
Their D is not too hot right now...
I posted this in the comments section of Todays Gazette Column about last nights loss... I just had enough, and thought maybe I should share it with my fellow cohorts here on HIO....
I must say because it's been bothering me for some time now... WHO THE HECK READS THE MONTREAL GAZETTE AND COMMENTS ON THE HABS IF THEY A) DON'T LIVE HERE OR B) ARE LEAFS FANS... Seriously? I have never ventured to read Toronto newspapers, nor would I. I DON'T LIVE IN TORONTO. Furthermore, why on earth would anyone frequent a site that is in favor of an opposing team to ones own? All I have been able to deduct from this scenario is that leafs fans are so bored with their own franchise that they would rather focus their energy on bashing a club with actual potential. That or these people seriously, and I mean SERIOUSLY, have NO LIVES! ...as for last nights game, well, it was a spanking, that much is for sure. I would have liked to see some of our new vets weather the D a bit stronger and some of our old newbies step up their game, but alas, this was not what happened. Hopefully we can turn the ship around and plot a ramming speed course for them oilers! Lastly, shrug it off price, it wasn't your fault; Bergeron, please present yourself to the operating room; and GO-HABS-GO!!!
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Albert Einstein
Yo 79 Les Canadien du Montreal have a world wide following and your post sucks as much as Price did last night...don't worry it's not your fault,shrug it off,lol
hey Xtra, do your parents know you're using the interweb?
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Albert Einstein
i see your point about the Leafs or even Boston fans coming to antagonize HIO. however, I was born and raised in Montreal, and while I no longer live there I check the news and sports there on a regular basis. I have family and friends there - it's still home in my heart, so I'm always interested in what's going down over there. just so you realize there are people who don't live there that read the Gazette online or otherwise....
Those people were assumed in my rant, though they don't account for the haters. If you care about Montreal because you used to live here and read the gazette to stay informed, thats fine. But no one in Montreal is interested in how much better off you are elsewhere or in hearing about how much better your team is in the comments section of a Montreal article. Maybe as a joke from time to time, fine stoke the fire. But these haters are there almost every day!
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Albert Einstein
I wonder whats up with george laraque. he could have changed a lot of things last night. he just does not know how to intimidate. he's a tough fighter but not a tough presence. there were many opportunities for him to demonstrate his real abilities. instead he chose to smile and threaten. other tough guys would have stirred the pot. instigated initimdation NOT retaliated . there were times when he could have tuned up a couple of the brave ones from vancouver. those actions might have gotten vancouver off their game and given the habs a chance to get into their own game. whats up with george? is he being paid to cycle the puck or bust up some noses??
Laraque is a waste of money. He is only good in the corners and other than that is too slow and has ZERO hands. 1.5 for a player worth .5
What's the weather like over there in the 1970?
We'll take Andrei Markov with one leg. Put him in the line-up with a wheelchair and we'll fair better.
Montreal Hockey Fan Montreal Hockey
If it remains one game, that is in next game the players respond, this is nothing to worry about. It happens.
PS Someone from the Gazette or anyone, a bigger version of that pic please? hehe
Two words: PK Subban. People might argue that he is too young and this is too soon...but while Markov/O'Byrne are out let him play. If he can't handle it, send him back down. Its only game 5 now. Lets not be afraid of potentially digging a small hole to see what PK can do. IMO, its worth the risk! Plus this is a brand new team so we need alot more gelling to take place between players, and that will take time. I have faith in my Habs!