Michel Therrien's a bit sensitive, no?

[HyperScythe]

I absolutely hate this attitude. This is professional hockey, no? Do we EVER want our coaches to tell their players "ok fellas, that's enough scoring. Please don't score anymore goals. We don't want to hurt any feelings here."?

I want my coaches to say "This is the NHL. If you have an opportunity to score, you take it. Period. I don't care what the score is. I don't care how much time is left."

You think it's disrespectful to run up the score? I think it's the other way around. I think taking your foot off the gas is disrespectful. I think that not giving it 100 percent for the entire game is disrespectful. It's disrespectful to the fans, and it's disrespectful to the sport. You don't want to be humiliated? Don't let in so many goals... Score more...

Rylant

This.

If your jimmies get rustled too easily. Stay out of the playoffs.

Or don't; the embarrasment is entertaining as hell.

[dejeanneret]

Any Sens fans who can speak to whether MacLean usually takes the board himself to draw up the plays?

I ask because there are plenty of teams where the assistant coaches routinely draw up the plays on the board during a timeout if they're discussing set plays/assignments for a particular "score at all costs" or "don't allow a goal at all costs" situation.

Here, given the odd formation the Sens came out in with all players but the center along the blueline -- which is the complete opposite of what you tend to see in score at all cost situations -- it seems reasonable to believe that MacLean was simply illustrating, in substance: "I'm serious ... back the fu*k up to the blueline, let's get out of here with our win, and move on to Game 4." That would seem to be confirmed by MacLean then gesturing with both hands to his players as they were setting up for the draw coming out of the timeout to keep on moving back.

[Chuk]

After reading this thread, I think I know what happened......



"Ok boys, gather around".

" I am going to point a few times, draw on this board and make it appear that we are doing anything but trying to piss off that whiny Therien and his pathetic bunch of babies over there."
"Alfie, when I tell you , turn around and pretend to ask a question."
"The rest of you watch to see if Therien goes redder than their Jerseys."
"The NHL will not suspend any of them regardless of what they do, or Montreal will burn to the ground, so we are going to do this instead."

"I love playoff hockey. They don't call me the walrus for nothing!".

[ultrawhiteness]

After reading this thread, I think I know what happened......



"Ok boys, gather around".

" I am going to point a few times, draw on this board and make it appear that we are doing anything but trying to piss off that whiny Therien and his pathetic bunch of babies over there."
"Alfie, when I tell you , turn around and pretend to ask a question."
"The rest of you watch to see if Therien goes redder than their Jerseys."
"The NHL will not suspend any of them regardless of what they do, or Montreal will burn to the ground, so we are going to do this instead."

"I love playoff hockey. They don't call me the walrus for nothing!".

^ This! (i hope)

[sparrowtrini]

.did you see the formation the Sens were in on that next faceoff? Look at the last second of the clip below and you'll see that it's at BEST a 1-1-3 in the offensive zone, and more like a 1-4 with Turris the lone guy at the faceoff line. That's more of a formation that a team takes when holding a lead in their defensive zone, not one takes on the powerplay when trying to score another goal, as you accuse the Sens of doing. So while I want to believe you and say that MacLean was telling Therrien to f*** off with the timeout, it still just looks like good coaching to me. Regroup your players, tell them not to do anything stupid, and change the faceoff formation to be more passive and run out the clock.

Excellent observation

[sparrowtrini]

What exactly were the risks? Was Davey Desharnais gonna go after Karlsson or something?

you have a short memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=Pu89Ereyq4I

[Dakkster]

And I absolutely hate it when folks don't bother to read posts all the way thru before replying. Had you continued reading you would got to this part:



Sure its nice to be classy and a good sport but after the horrible, classless display the Habs put on, I feel that all bets are off. The point I keep trying to drive home is 'why do this with 17 secs?' The risks are high, the reward almost nil, it's just a poor decision

What is absolutely hilarious is that YOU, of all people, are whining about someone else's lack of reading comprehension. THAT'S RICH, coming from you.

[newfcollins]

I'm a Habs fan, just so you know where I'm coming from.

I have no issue with Ottawa taking the timeout. Although I did remark to my wife that it could potentially add fuel to the fire in the next game. But at the time, for whatever the reason for taking it (to draw up a play, to warn his players to not get involved, to get the shortened bench a little bit extra rest, to rub it in, whatever), I had no issue with the timeout. I still don't. Whatever the reason for the timeout, it worked.

On the flip side, I love the fact that Therrien lost it and is angry. I'm loving the fact that the Habs have a coach who wears his emotions on his sleeve. After four years of Gainey and Martin coaching the team, it's good to have a coach that seems like he cares what is happening on the ice instead of being stoic all the time. Sure, eventually it will run thin and players will tune him out. But it's not happening yet. So let him get emotional. It's what the team needs after the last four or five years.

[Rylant]

And I absolutely hate it when folks don't bother to read posts all the way thru before replying. Had you continued reading you would got to this part:

Fair enough, Mcgoo. I did read your entire post, but you seem to be making points on both sides of the argument, and the point I made was in response to your point on the one side. I apologize if I read you wrong, or if I hurt your feelings...

My point still remains. If my team is up big, and there is 17 seconds left in the game, and we are on the powerplay, and my team's center wins the faceoff back to the point in their zone, I WANT the defensemen to blast the puck and try to score again. It's good hockey. It's passionate. I like that. I do NOT want the defensemen to skate back to his zone and kill the clock. It might be "smart" hockey, but it's not "fun" hockey.

Rylant

[mister_mcgoo]

Fair enough, Mcgoo. I did read your entire post, but you seem to be making points on both sides of the argument, and the point I made was in response to your point on the one side. I apologize if I read you wrong, or if I hurt your feelings...

My point still remains. If my team is up big, and there is 17 seconds left in the game, and we are on the powerplay, and my team's center wins the faceoff back to the point in their zone, I WANT the defensemen to blast the puck and try to score again. It's good hockey. It's passionate. I like that. I do NOT want the defensemen to skate back to his zone and kill the clock. It might be "smart" hockey, but it's not "fun" hockey.

Rylant

We are in agreement on the basic principle for sure, I don't have any problem (especially in the playoffs) with burying a team that is playing poorly, the reason being that if you let up even a little bit you give them hope and you give them a chance to get back into the game. Better top completely crush them and have them demoralized for the next game right?

I just think in this situation it was already really volatile and poised for explosion so the benefits of making it 7-1 over 6-1 in the last 20 secs were vastly outweighed by the importance of not losing players to any number of possible outcomes (e.g. player could break hand in a fight, could be driven into the boards and concussed, could be suspended for something), that's really all I was driving at, sorry if I was short with you man.

[pbhockey4]

I'm a Habs fan, just so you know where I'm coming from.

I have no issue with Ottawa taking the timeout. Although I did remark to my wife that it could potentially add fuel to the fire in the next game. But at the time, for whatever the reason for taking it (to draw up a play, to warn his players to not get involved, to get the shortened bench a little bit extra rest, to rub it in, whatever), I had no issue with the timeout. I still don't. Whatever the reason for the timeout, it worked.

On the flip side, I love the fact that Therrien lost it and is angry. I'm loving the fact that the Habs have a coach who wears his emotions on his sleeve. After four years of Gainey and Martin coaching the team, it's good to have a coach that seems like he cares what is happening on the ice instead of being stoic all the time. Sure, eventually it will run thin and players will tune him out. But it's not happening yet. So let him get emotional. It's what the team needs after the last four or five years.

I'm not really digging at Therrien for showing emotion, because I do think that's important. After all, it is the playoffs, and if he isn't upset after a game like that he doesn't have a soul. What brought down my opinion of Therrien is how he's handling his emotions--directing them at Paul MacLean and trying to create this "MacLean vs. me" drama that's only true because he created it in the first place. I would have loved for Therrien to take all of that negative emotion he had and instead been visibly pissed off about how his team played during the game...instead, he chose to highlight Paul MacLean's timeout and focused on the Senators.

In my mind, there's a difference between showing emotion and what Therrien is doing. He's made this series more about himself and what MacLean is doing to antagonize him rather than about his team and what they can do to win, and to me that's just sad. Granted, I've only seen select clips of the press conferences, but I would love to see Therrien take a little more ownership and responsibility for losses rather than put the focus/blame on those bullies named the Senators and Paul MacLean. Therrien seems like a very good coach, and I honestly don't know much about him...I hope for Habs fans this is just a bump in the road and that the drama of this series stays on the ice instead of in the press rooms.