Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

I think this happens to the Habs every preseason. I remember it happening a few times in recent years vs Ottawa. A pretty strong Habs team vs mostly nobodies and they have a weak game. At least it's just preseason.

Korshkov was the star of this one. Hutchinson was solid, stopping a lot of shots (mostly from the perimeter). No weak goal allowed to give the Habs a bit of momentum.

[ericdaoust]

Price has a bruise on his catching hand, which is why he did not start tonight.

[ACC90]

A lot of players have a weak preseason also : Armia, Drouin, Domi, Chiarot, KK, etc
I know some of them are veterans and we can't over-analyze their performance, but I hope we will see a full lineup soon.

[tweetdrivr]

I’ve been most disappointed with Kotkaniemi and Drouin. I just don’t like Drouin. I hope he turns a corner this year. I know he is still young but he’s got great skill and terrible hockey IQ and effort. Bleh. Kotkaniemi looks like he could use a month in the AHL to remind him this isn’t a given and he needs to work hard every shift. Some of the veteran malaise has rubbed off on him and he’s not there yet.

[evans334]

I’ve been most disappointed with Kotkaniemi and Drouin. I just don’t like Drouin. I hope he turns a corner this year. I know he is still young but he’s got great skill and terrible hockey IQ and effort. Bleh. Kotkaniemi looks like he could use a month in the AHL to remind him this isn’t a given and he needs to work hard every shift. Some of the veteran malaise has rubbed off on him and he’s not there yet.

Wow, that's a pretty harsh damnation of a player...this is why I don't watch pre-season games lol

[tweetdrivr]

Which one?

[evans334]

I’ve been most disappointed with Kotkaniemi and Drouin. I just don’t like Drouin. I hope he turns a corner this year. I know he is still young but he’s got great skill and terrible hockey IQ and effort. Bleh. Kotkaniemi looks like he could use a month in the AHL to remind him this isn’t a given and he needs to work hard every shift. Some of the veteran malaise has rubbed off on him and he’s not there yet.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying, but it sounds like you're saying that he's playing like he's entitled and isn't putting in effort and that's now his new norm.

That's a pretty big leap to take based on a couple pre-season games, no?

That's why I don't care about pre-season because it's a given he's making the team, so why bust his ass to prove otherwise and risk getting injured.

Especially against a TO team that was specifically iced to prove whether or not they belong on the team.

[tweetdrivr]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying, but it sounds like you're saying that he's playing like he's entitled and isn't putting in effort and that's now his new norm.

That's a pretty big leap to take based on a couple pre-season games, no?

That's why I don't care about pre-season because it's a given he's making the team, so why bust his ass to prove otherwise and risk getting injured.

Especially against a TO team that was specifically iced to prove whether or not they belong on the team.

That’s exactly my point. He’s 19. There are some kids in camp looking really good thus far. He should not take his roster spot for granted. I’m not saying he needs to play with reckless abandon, but he looks behind the play a little bit. It may just be that he’s getting used to skating with the muscle he put on over the off season. But at 19 years old and with guys like Poehling and Suzuki in camp your attitude can’t be “it’s the pre-season”. Ignoring the preseason completely is a bit myopic. There are important things to be seen there.

[evans334]

That’s exactly my point. He’s 19. There are some kids in camp looking really good thus far. He should not take his roster spot for granted. I’m not saying he needs to play with reckless abandon, but he looks behind the play a little bit. It may just be that he’s getting used to skating with the muscle he put on over the off season. But at 19 years old and with guys like Poehling and Suzuki in camp your attitude can’t be “it’s the pre-season”. Ignoring the preseason completely is a bit myopic. There are important things to be seen there.

I guess that's where we disagree then, but I understand what you are saying.

I have no issue with lackadaisical play from players we know are going to be on the team.

Most players are very vocal about how long and useless preseason is and for me those games are no indication as to how that players is going to be, specifically for known entities.

[ACC90]

I guess that's where we disagree then, but I understand what you are saying.

I have no issue with lackadaisical play from players we know are going to be on the team.

Most players are very vocal about how long and useless preseason is and for me those games are no indication as to how that players is going to be, specifically for known entities.

A lot of veteran think like that and that could be really frustrating for kid trying to obtain a spot in the lineup.
A player like Armia who doesn't prove anything in NHL and played in a third line, how he can told himself "Yeah I'm a veteran and my spot is locked"

[tweetdrivr]

I guess that's where we disagree then, but I understand what you are saying.

I have no issue with lackadaisical play from players we know are going to be on the team.

Most players are very vocal about how long and useless preseason is and for me those games are no indication as to how that players is going to be, specifically for known entities.

I totally agree on guys like Domi or Dannault. And the preseason is absolutely too long. And maybe Julien has indicated to Kotkaniemi that his roster spot is safe but that wouldn’t make sense. I just want the season to start.

[evans334]

A lot of veteran think like that and that could be really frustrating for kid trying to obtain a spot in the lineup.
A player like Armia who doesn't prove anything in NHL and played in a third line, how he can told himself "Yeah I'm a veteran and my spot is locked"

Pre-season games should be used to asses players we don't know much about at the NHL level.

Armia has 200+ games under his belt, we know what he is.

Kotkaniemi played 79 last year, we have a good idea what he is.

That's just how I look at it, feel free to disagree.

[ericdaoust]

It's possible for both "camps" to be right. It's true that Drouin and Kotkaniemi have not been very good and should be better. It's also true that it means nothing because it's still September.

[ACC90]

I totally agree with all of you, it's a pain in the ass for veteran to play these games.
Even if Julien said it's not a big deal, he really want to find good lines combinations during pre-season and it's not really conclusive at this moment

[ericdaoust]

In fairness the team is 4-1 in preseason so the current line combinations are actually working