Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

Two periods done. The Habs had a few great chances during a late power play but again can't make em count. The puck movement is great but it only counts if the puck goes in.

[ericdaoust]

Hilarious shot of 2 kids going nuts enjoying the game. Lots of energy there. Any chance we can fit one of them into an Anderi Kostitsyn jersey and send AK home?

[ericdaoust]

Habs have phoned it in at this point. Three goals down and they are content with just dumping the puck out of their zone. Long shift leads to a long delayed penalty where the Bolts had several chances to score. I'm concerned at this point about the team starting slow. The lines are not in sync.

[edesjardins]

Some tidbits on the game tonight:

Yemelin: Needs some AHL seasoning. He's positioning on the ice is weak and he doesn't seem aware of opposing players on the ice except the puck carrier. Will go out of position for a check.

Diaz: Good first pass and he's got soft hands. Small for a dman. Weak defensive coverage and soft as Fleece in front of is own net.

Gallagher: Was good with Gomez and Pac to start the game. Couldn't keep the tempo for more than 30 seconds and looked exhausted at the end of every shift. He got a day off this week and wouldn't be surprise he has a cold. Another guy looking good at M-A Bergeron expense.

Budaj: OMG, shaky, didn't look good at all.

Cole: Good wheels, north-south skater and will drive the net. Not much creativity. Good positioning and hand-eye coordination to deflect pucks in front of the net.

Desharnais: He need to be more selfish and shoot more. He was alone in front of Roloson tonight and went for the pass. He played on the 1st PP unit tonight with Camm-Cole in front and Subban-Plekanec at the blue line.

Gomez: Was real good tonight. Good wheels as usual. Always the guy you notice skating around on the ice. Went to the net and took many shoots.

Subban: Tought to judge. He had the wrong partner tonight to pinch and carry the puck. Yemelin was not looking for Subban's back when he was taking a chance. He will need to shorten that John Daly backswing on is slapshot.

AK46: Didn't noticed him much except for that poor coverage on a Tampa goal.

Bournival: He had some nice flashes and a post. He need to work on his footwork and keep them moving all the time. Will go down to the Q. May have a shot next year.

[ericdaoust]

Some tidbits on the game tonight:

Yemelin: Needs some AHL seasoning. He's positioning on the ice is weak and he doesn't seem aware of opposing players on the ice except the puck carrier. Will go out of position for a check.

Diaz: Good first pass and he's got soft hands. Small for a dman. Weak defensive coverage and soft as Fleece in front of is own net.

Gallagher: Was good with Gomez and Pac to start the game. Couldn't keep the tempo for more than 30 seconds and looked exhausted at the end of every shift. He got a day off this weak and wouldn't be surprise he has a cold. Another guy looking good at M-A Bergeron expense.

Budaj: OMG, shaky, didn't look good at all.

Cole: Good wheels, north-south skater and will drive the net. Not much creativity. Good positioning and hand-eye coordination to deflect pucks in front of the net.

Desharnais: He need to be more selfish and shoot more. He was alone in front of Roloson tonight and went for the pass. He played on the 1st PP unit tonight with Camm-Cole in front and Subban-Plekanec at the blue line.

Gomez: Was real good tonight. Good wheels as usual. Always the guy you notice skating around on the ice. Went to the net and took many shoots.

Subban: Tought to judge. He had the wrong partner tonight to pinch and carry the puck. Yemelin was not looking for Subban's back when he was taking a chance. He will need to shorten that John Daly backswing on is slapshot.

AK46: Didn't noticed him much except for that poor coverage on a Tampa goal.

Bournival: He had some nice flashes and a post. He need to work on his footwork and keep them moving all the time. Will go down to the Q. May have a shot next year.

Thanks for the report. I agree with all of your points. I see some good things individually but collectively the parts don't fit well together at this moment. This isn't what I wanted to see with one game left before the opener. I would have liked to see the team's strengths come together.

[LeTrefle]

Hey mate,
just stepping by to ask about one of my fav. prospects. Just read an article on tsn about Gallagher making a case for a rosterspot. How good is the young gun? I own him in all my keepers and would love to hear some good news.

best wishes ktl

Was sent down to his junior club today.
(Bournival too by the way)

[ericdaoust]

Was sent down to his junior club today.
(Bournival too by the way)

I actually would prefer sticking with both than going with expensive disappearing acts like Kostitsyn and Moen.

[habs83]

I actually would prefer sticking with both than going with expensive disappearing acts like Kostitsyn and Moen.

You also have to take into account that they now have 48 NHL contracts. They have to keep a few open spots in case of an injury or a trade. I don't think it will hurt their development, even if it would have been fun to see Gallagher start the season in the NHL. Both players you mentioned qilll not be there next year.

[ericdaoust]

You also have to take into account that they now have 48 NHL contracts. They have to keep a few open spots in case of an injury or a trade. I don't think it will hurt their development, even if it would have been fun to see Gallagher start the season in the NHL. Both players you mentioned qilll not be there next year.

You're right about that, but if the Habs found a way to trade their contracts the team would be down to 46 and the problem would be solved. It's just my personal opinion that neither AK or Moen move the needle at all in terms of wins and losses. AK is a non-factor most nights while Moen is too slow and clumsy to compensate for his hard work. Plus when he fights he always gets beat up. I read somewhere that the Habs have the oldest lineup in the league and that to me is a major red flag. Unfortunately there are still a lot of years left on some of those big contracts. I just think that Bournival and Gallagher would add some much needed piss and vinegar to the lineup and help spark things.

[habs83]

I read somewhere that the Habs have the oldest lineup in the league and that to me is a major red flag.

Your read ut there

http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/lo...MontrealSports

but they meant "oldest" in the sense of "historical" ... next paragraph

Mtl is about in the midlle of the pack in term of average age.

But I get your point.

[ericdaoust]

Your read ut there

http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/lo...MontrealSports

but they meant "oldest" in the sense of "historical" ... next paragraph

Mtl is about in the midlle of the pack in term of average age.

But I get your point.

Thanks for clarifying. I still stand by what I was saying though, when looking at the key positions on the team the age group is rather old. I just hope that they find ways to get the next crop ready for when the current bloated contracts expire.

[ericdaoust]

Tonight's lineup courtesy of http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/boone/last-tangle-in-qc

Mike Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Erik Cole
Max Pacioretty – Scott Gomez – Brian Gionta
Mathieu Darche – David Desharnais – Andrei Kostitsyn
Aaron Palushaj – Andreas Engqvist – Yannick Weber

Hal Gill – P.K. Subban
Josh Gorges – Chris Campoli
Jaroslav Spacek – Raphael Diaz

Carey Price

Yemelin a healthy scratch. Hmmmmm ….

Of interest:

-Emelin (one fewer keystroke than Yemelin so I'll use that until someone decides WTF his name really is) is probably destined for Hamilton.
-Weber being used up front which could save his job in Montreal
-The injury situation is such that Palushaj and Engqvist could start the year on the team. Ryan White and Larse Eller have yet to play.

[ross10019]

Tonight's lineup courtesy of http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/boone/last-tangle-in-qc



Of interest:

-Emelin (one fewer keystroke than Yemelin so I'll use that until someone decides WTF his name really is) is probably destined for Hamilton.
-Weber being used up front which could save his job in Montreal
-The injury situation is such that Palushaj and Engqvist could start the year on the team. Ryan White and Larse Eller have yet to play.

I highly doubt Emelin gets sent down to Hamilton, Habs wouldn't risk him deciding to return to Russia. My guess is he and Diaz both start the season with the Habs.

[ericdaoust]

I highly doubt Emelin gets sent down to Hamilton, Habs wouldn't risk him deciding to return to Russia. My guess is he and Diaz both start the season with the Habs.

I believe he could be sent down with the handshake agreement that once his play is up to par he gets called up. His positional play has been awful but his flaws can be fixed with additional coaching and experience. He could always play as 7th dman (press box) but I thought that role would be reserved for Woywitka.

[Killer67]

Do you ever feel like Montreal is just going through the motions of seasons without really doing anything to improve themselves? They've had some decent success the last couple of years but it always felt more shocking than expected.

I don't know what they need to push them into that bracket where people assume they are going to make the playoffs but it sure would be nice to have that feeling of pride again.

Rant Over.