Montreal Canadiens

[blayze]

Did the series end or something?

Yes... pretty much

[Tobias Funke]

Bergevin should be fired, he's rode on Price's coattails long enough.

Despite whatever narrative we become accustomed to, and no matter how much reality sometimes still can't shake an seemingly undeniable truth, the fact of the matter is that no one rode Price anywhere this season. His play was no where near the play that has made his legacy over the past few seasons. He will not be on any Vezina or Hart ballots this time around.


Edit- my post is not a defence of The G.M. as much as pointing out that Carey Price did not win them the division title this year.

[newfcollins]

Did the series end or something?

No, but it's frustrating to watch them play a good period or two, and then fall apart. They did it in Game 1, and now again last night.

[Bass56]

Most of the series' games ended with a 1-goal difference (I don't count the empty netter in the 1st game).

With that in mind, I think this best of 7 is far from over, even if the Habs didn't bring their A-game after the first intermission yesterday.

Literally, with the amount of posts that the Habs have hit in the past 2 games, this could be a whole different story should the ''inches'' be in their favour. Nonetheless, we are where we are now and we can just hope that the team responds to the situation at hand (AKA must win 2 in-a-row).

[agentzero]

They just don't have the drive required and it starts with their captain. In the playoffs, you have to be willing to trade your vital organs for a goal. I don't see that kind of urgency from the Habs. If Pacioretty has his spleen ruptured by a spear while scoring a GWG in game 6, then I'll consider he showed up. Right now, he is playing the game like he's building a model ship in a bottle with tweezers. Get in there man! Rupture a spleen already!

[newfcollins]

I haven't been as down on MaxPac as others. He's getting his chances, but just isn't scoring. 11 hits, five takeaways, 24 shots, an important player on the PK, etc.

[agentzero]

Can we switch teams with Vegas?

[JagrBomb]

should have traded sergachev for duchene

[Bass56]

Euuuuuuhhhhh

[agentzero]

should have traded sergachev for duchene

and Pacioretty for anyone.... and Galchenyuk for anyone...... and who the hell is Brandon Davidson? Steve Ott? Bryan Flynn? Dwight King? Does Bergevin want to ice four 4th lines? We must have the greatest collection of bottom 3 players in the NHL. I don't know a team that has more of them.... some teams ice promising young players with some grinders...all we ice are 4th liners past their primes, whatever that prime was. Desharnais is laughing....

[JagrBomb]

and Pacioretty for anyone.... and Galchenyuk for anyone...... and who the hell is Brandon Davidson? Steve Ott? Bryan Flynn? Dwight King? Does Bergevin want to ice four 4th lines? We must have the greatest collection of bottom 3 players in the NHL. I don't know a team that has more of them.... some teams ice promising young players with some grinders...all we ice are 4th liners past their primes, whatever that prime was. Desharnais is laughing....

pacioretty is fine, he's no different than kessel in toronto. when you are essentially the only player on your team that can score, you'll get all the attention from the opposing team especially in playoffs. if the habs had more offense there would have been less of a burden on pac.

galchenyuk needs to be traded if he's not going to get prime minutes. i can't explain that, i thought it would change after the coaching change but apparently not.

it was clear after the TDD this team wasn't going to go far. they didn't get the goal scoring they needed to make the team a legit contender. instead they just loaded up on bottom 6 guys.

bergevin needs to be fired.

[donpaulo]

Tough loss for you guys, but now thats its over and we can take our rose colored glasses off I think we can see just where the holes lie for MTL.

Price was good, but not Lundqvist good. He didn't steal anything this series, other than quite a few fans hearts. Is he a great goalie ? yup certainly no doubt about that. The best ? Well he wasn't the best this time. Who knows, maybe I eat my words next season, but thats a thought for another time. The NYR goalie was better this time and there is no Kreider issue to point to either.

I think its fair to say that most teams would love to have CP in the crease. At 29 years old and due for free agency in 18-19 I think the club has a big decision to make. The safe move is to lock him up. Hey what about bringing back Halak ? he stole a series or two for you guys right ? I am being a bit facetious but I don't think the problem lies in the crease for MTL. Maybe price needs to be challenged by an upstart to really excel ?

Have to love the compete in guys like Gallagher but lets face it he is often hurt and that will continue. He goes to the dangerous parts of the ice and gets stapled when there. If only he were 30 pounds heavier. NY punished him big time. He reminds me a bit of Ken Linesman or Pat Verbeek. Got to love the gonads on these guys. Not sure he is top 6 for a quality playoff club however. Maybe if they can pair him with a larger man on the other side...

The center situation is what I think needs to be addressed. Tough to acquire quality players at that position so the draft is probably the best place to find these kinds of players. But that takes years. It might be prudent for the club to work on improving the special teams, faceoffs and play more of a defensive lockdown system and ride Price to 1 goal wins. I know that is probably not what fans want to hear, but I think the club has more than enough talent and good coaching to accomplish that. They are a playoff club after all. Plek who is what, 180cm ? cannot be asked to do it all and can't.

The blueline needs an overhaul. Markov is far too old for a marathon like the playoffs after a full season, yet still has value to some. Let him walk. Emelin is too slow in my mind for anything other than 3rd pairing and crease clearing where his tremendous strength is apparent. But burning a hole in the cap at 4 million plus for a 30 year old who skates like a slug is probably not the best investment. With his NMC I doubt he is going anywhere but at least its only 1 more season. Are Serga and Juul the answer ? I can't say because I don't follow the club all that closely but they can't be worse than Nesterov and Davidson. Beaulieu getting scratched for such an important game, is that writing on the wall ?

I actually liked the moves they made before the deadline. They got bigger and nastier and that helped matters, but overall NY won the small battles on the boards more often and were in better shape to counter when Montreal entered the O zone, especially in game 5 and 6. King is an effective player so is Martinsen but its probably best not to resign them. Then again they have the size MTL lacks.

Ott got some press for tapping Zuc on the head, but who is smiling now punk ? As much as Shaw gets it for his well deserved reputation he doesn't pull stuff like that beer league move by Ott. Its for the best that Shaw returns next season and Ott takes his antics elsewhere.

I guess the big decision is what to do about Galchenyuk. Play him at center and deal with the warts. Hope he thrives in the limelight ?

It was a good series, especially when the puck stayed in play and we could enjoy the end to end action. I really wish you guys all the best going forward. It hurts right now, but sometimes its darkest before the dawn.

LGR

[Axeman33]

should have traded sergachev for duchene

I can respect his decision why he didn't do this deal but you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Today, Bergevin (and the Habs) died by the sword.

[rufio.85]

What is also very telling is that Galchenyuk and Beaulieu haven't progressed at all this year.
They showed flashes, like Chucky did for 25 games starting the season, but the reality is that they are back to square one in terms of development.
These are two young players who were supposed to be pillars going forward and they're both question marks right now...

Galchenyuk looks lost on the ice. I don't disagree with those who think he should be playing with top players, but at the same time I find his decision-making average.
Honestly, there's a reason he can't stay in the top-6 full-time. Therrien and Bergevin really handled him poorly over the years and that probably messed him up.
I mean, take a decision regarding his position, inform the player with an honest talk and then work with him with a consistent plan for god's sake.
Personally, I don't see him as a centre. He doesn't have much awareness in his own zone. Let's see if a full year under Julien will help him out.

Beaulieu is a train wreck in the defensive zone, he plays way too soft and he lacks the positioning or the hockey IQ to compensate.
He's a mobile skater but he still needs to be insulated after three full seasons... not sure that qualifies as a future top-4.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Habs decide to protect Jordie Benn and trade Beaulieu instead of losing him at the expansion draft.
Hopefully Sergachev and/or Juulsen can develop into more reliable dmen...

Anyways, very disappointing way to finish the season last night. The Habs showed no emotions and no drive for the two most important periods of the season.

[Thunder]

I blame P.K. He was virtually invisible in this series.