Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

Louis Leblanc has been sent down to Hamilton. He played extremely well in a makeshift role with five points in 14 games. On several nights he was very limited in ice time which makes the production even more impressive.

[ericdaoust]

About last night's game: http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/about-last-night-48

[dyzfunctioned]

Yea Eller! That just won me the goals category for the week I'm pretty sure...

[ericdaoust]

Our thread gets some love as it approaches 1000 posts!

http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.ph...d.php&t=122925

[ericdaoust]

I have not covered the racial slur incident regarding Kris Barch and PK Subban but I'll offer a link to an article along with some fan comments:

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/...ended-one-game

I just thought it was a non-story and no suspension would come of it. Slipping on a banana peel is a common thing from movies and even metaphorically in storytelling. I personally think it's a reach to make a racial connection.

As an avid player of the Mario Kart series the idea of slipping on a banana peel is very common to me and also a frequent excuse for not finishing a race in 1st place. Maybe I'm not the correct person to interpret Barch's comment given that I don't see the harm in it due to my background.

[ericdaoust]

WJC recap for Habs' players on Team Canada. I did not see any USA games so I can't comment on Jarred Tinordi.

Brendan Gallagher: 6GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, +5

He saw a lot of ice but served more as a role player in a sense that his job was to go to the net. He did not handle the puck much on the perimeter. It's worth noting that Canadian teams tend to have a lot of pre-determined roles due to their insane depth. With all that in mind, Gallagher looked very good. He has good instincts around the net and knows how to find the puck. He created a lot of other chances that did not register as points.

Michael Bournival: 6GP, 0G, 1A, 1PT, -1

He did not see much ice during the tournament. He served as a depth player which is likely his future role in the NHL too. I project him as a strong third liner in the future.

Nathan Beaulieu: 6GP, 0G, 1A, 1PT, -1

Beaulieu's numbers were not spectacular and I think we should get used to it because he will not light the NHL on fire offensively either. I compare his contributions to what Roman Hamrlik brought to the Habs: very good at everything but not spectacular at anything. He will log big minutes overall as he is useful in all game situations.

[ericdaoust]

https://twitter.com/#!/habsinsideout1

Alexei Emelin takes puck to face in practice. Nasty looking according to the updates.

[ericdaoust]

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/...soon-to-strike

The Emelin situation appears to be a false alarm. Weber hit him with a shot in the cheek area which swelled up a lot but he should be ready to go tomorrow. Weber has failed in his attempt to get back into the lineup...

[Killer67]

Good thing we got rid of all our veteran D men and brought in these young guys...really working out for us.

I do like to watch Emelin hit though!

[ericdaoust]

Good thing we got rid of all our veteran D men and brought in these young guys...really working out for us.

I do like to watch Emelin hit though!

In fairness, the one they let go (Hamrlik) is not playing up to his potential in Washington. I would have given a chance to a guy like Paul Mara instead of Campoli though. Campoli is redundant, as is Weber. Mara can hit/fight and still skate well.

[loco man]

Hey Eric

I am a huge Max Power fan, and am really temped to ship injured Derek Roy for him. I had him pegged at 30-30 this year with 40-40 upside (a reach, I know).

Not sure what to make of him these days, and I haven't followed the habs lately.

Is this a panic move, or is Pacioretty the real deal? Worth moving Roy for him?

Thanks a lot

[ericdaoust]

Hey Eric

I am a huge Max Power fan, and am really temped to ship injured Derek Roy for him. I had him pegged at 30-30 this year with 40-40 upside (a reach, I know).

Not sure what to make of him these days, and I haven't followed the habs lately.

Is this a panic move, or is Pacioretty the real deal? Worth moving Roy for him?

Thanks a lot

This all boils down to the severity of Roy's injury which we don't know yet. On an even playing field Roy is the better point producer. But if he's out for a while then Pacioretty is a good consolation prize.

[loco man]

This all boils down to the severity of Roy's injury which we don't know yet. On an even playing field Roy is the better point producer. But if he's out for a while then Pacioretty is a good consolation prize.

Thanks man,

Think MP will be a steady 30-35 G man? I do (or did, kinda hard to say these days as he seems to have lost the top PP role). As my league is goal heavy, he has even more value than other leagues, if this is a fair estimate.

[ericdaoust]

Thanks man,

Think MP will be a steady 30-35 G man? I do (or did, kinda hard to say these days as he seems to have lost the top PP role). As my league is goal heavy, he has even more value than other leagues, if this is a fair estimate.

Right now he's on pace to fall into the 55-60 range which is a good start. He can definitely grow from there. How quickly he grows offensively can be debated because right now he has found great chemistry with Erik Cole and David Desharnais. Will the same chemistry be there next year? He could have some ups and downs along the way but I think 65 points and 30 goals is fair as an expectation for the future.

[ericdaoust]

If there's one thing I can say about this game, it's that the Habs played for 60 minutes. It wasn't a great game by any means, but there were not any major dips in intensity like we're accustomed to seeing. The team did a great job playing with the lead by not sitting back and playing prevent defence. They continued to attack and even out-shot the Lightning 9-7 in the third period.

Carey Price had a light work load with just 24 shots but made a lot of key saves, especially after the Habs took a 2-1 lead in the second period.

The Cole-Desharnais-Pacioretty line was back together with some great results. Pacioretty snapped a goal-less drought with the game-winning goal in the second period. The trio added a late power-play goal to seal the victory. The goal was scored by Cole.

Huge props to Alexei Emelin who was a truck out there. He delivered seven hits, many of which looked extremely painful. He is one of the real bright spots on this team. On L'Antichambre after the game they mentioned that Pierre Gauthier should re-sign him now. I agree with this statement. Emelin likely will not develop into a top-pair guy but he can play solid minutes at even strength and on the PK. He has a big shot which could be used on the power play too but he is probably best used in defensive situations.

Erik Cole and Andrei Kostitsyn were also major factors physically. Cole had four hits, including a solid hit on Steve Downie to set up a break-out that led to Pacioretty's goal. Kostitsyn only had two hits but they were very noticeable.

Lars Eller did not have any points but looks extremely confident and is a great forechecker. He played 20 minutes which speaks volumes. Coach Randy Cunneyworth praised his defensive abilities in the post-game press conference.

Josh Gorges had an outstanding game. He blocked five shots and made a great recovery to stop a breakaway following a PK Subban turnover. He should be team captain.

Speaking of captains, Brian Gionta returned from injury. He had two shots but both were quality scoring chances.

Subban had a good game aside from a few mistakes. His shots are getting through to the net and he's creating a lot of offensive plays.

Tomas Kaberle was down to 13 minutes of ice time. Not sure if it was just coach's decision or if he's shaken up.

Mike Blunden scored his first goal with the Habs tonight.