After game thoughts
 

1st 2nd 3rd Total
--- --- --- -----
Washington 1 0 0 1
Montreal 2 3 0 5 Final


1st Prd: Mon - Andreas Dackell 1 (joe Juneau) 6:00
Mon - (pp) Yanic Perreault 1 (michael Ryder, Donald Audette) 16:05
Was - Robert Lang 2 (alexander Semin) 16:45

2nd Prd: Mon - Yanic Perreault 2 (donald Audette, Michael Ryder) 0:19
Mon - Stephane Quintal 1 (unassisted) 9:15
Mon - Donald Audette 1 (yanic Perreault, Patrice Brisebois) 14:53
3rd Prd: None

Power-play Conversions: Was - 0 Of 6, Mon - 1 Of 3.

Shots On Goal: 1st 2nd 3rd Total
--- --- --- -----
Was 5 4 8 17
Mon 10 11 9 30

Goalies: Was - Sebastien Charpentier
Mon - Jose Theodore

We rule! Woot! :bow: :handclap:

Too early? :dunno:
:lol:

Well, they Habs played a very sound game allround, but the fact that we faced a goalie like Charpentier might have helped us. On the other hand, we barely shot twice as much as the Caps, and that's something really nice to see!

I'm very pleased with the way the team bounce back after a rough first game against the Senators!

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wooooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Great game by the Habs. Everybody played well. Ça sent la coupe :joker:

hmm... we are allowing twice as many shots in the 3rd period than the second...

but, seeing that we allowed only 4 shots in the second, I won't complain too much :D

Thoughts...

- Ribeiro line wasn't at their best, save for a 1:30 span at the 17:00 minute mark of the third. The cycle was working beautifully and Zednik nearly buried a couple.

- PK Duo of the Future : Chris Higgins and Jason Ward

- Yanic Perreault was far from slow.

- Koivu, Ribeiro, Perreault, Kilger, Juneau, Begin. Who's out?

- Hainsey should make the big club permenantly, and will hopefully steal a few of Rivet's powerplay minutes.

- What's with Perreault and Audette? Is Michael Ryder really that much of a sparkplug?

- After Ribeiro was crunched by Doig, Souray and Zednik stormed Doig looking completely pissed off. Did anyone catch the look in Seldom Seen Sheldon's eyes? Ouch.

- Perreault was great on the faceoffs, which could eventually lead to him winning the 3rd line spot over Juneau, despite Joey's chemistry with Jan and Andy.

- Zednik would be great on a line with Ribeiro and Ryder.

- Who plays with Saku? Where does Kilger play? It's hard to envision the forward lines if our veterans continue to play this way. Where does Langdon fit in? Begin? Sundstrom?

- Jose Theodore is the man.

- And, completely off topic, Montreal has beautiful women.

- Possible Forward Combos :

Bulis - Koivu - Kilger
Hossa - Ribeiro - Zednik
Ryder - Perreault - Audette
Sundstrom (Bulis?) - Juneau - Dackell
Landon - Begin - Ward

You figure out the order. In essence, the Begin line would be a nice fourth, energy line. The Perreault and Juneau lines are both decent third lines. What to do!

So I think, people who were saying that we will be in the "front runners" to draft Ovechkin... are beginning to be optimistic.

Go Habs Go

Yeah but they went back into full prevent defence and really didn't spend any time in Washington's zone compared to the first two periods. They also kept most of the shots to the outside, Theo was never really tested, but was solid positionally when needed.

We need to see Ward play more, other then that good game, who does Saku play with when he comes back??

Tough call

Unbiased Canadian

Thanks to Perrault, he helped a few of my fantasy teams today.:D

I followed the game, sounded like the Habs dominated. See you Thursday.:)

Looks like it was a good game. I only got to see the last 12 minutes because I was at my neices birthday party. Oh well they won. :handclap:


GO HABS GO



There is 75 people in this forum right now. 40 are guests but there is still 75 people. :handclap: :handclap:


EDIT: 92 peploe now. :D

This team seems to be really buying into Julien's "NJ" style D, and like NJ this strong D is creating scoring chances the other way with their strong play...strong Goaltending by Theo and our 4 lines look even more solid when Koivu and kilger come back, sweet.

Thursday we could be 3-1, Garon gets the start here for sure against Caron because Theo will be playing Saturday against the Leafs.

Scarying thing is Riberio line didn't score or did the 4th line, yikes.

good point about garon, gotta give him 1 game here and there

very impressive game by the Habs, not many mistakes which is how it should be, but can it last is the question
i don't think i've seen them play this good all of last year
we all hope so

Who gets the checking assignment vs. Mario?

Bulis - Juneau - Dackell?

Or will it be Koivu's line. Last year we saw a fair ammount of Top Line vs. Top Line. Or was that under MT? I can't remember.

Nice to see them scoring... maybe they will get some confidence going and then who knows. :yo:

What's it gonna take to get Audette and Perreault out of the dog house?

Perreault had what 3 points tonight?

Audette has looked alot better this year than last (so far)!

I know this is an outlandish concept, but players CAN rebound from a bad year.

This is exactly what the trap does, it strengthens our defence, but at the same time, it isolates the offensive talent, and because of that, players like Audette, Perreault, RIbeiro, etc...could be very successful this year!

Souray and Rivet for sure on D, maybe Kommy gets dressed for this one...I remember Bulis shadowing Mario last season.

Whats the old saying..."a good defense produces a good offense", it works in other cities like NJ and Anaheim (last season anyway) why not here?

I still think that Audette has to be moved. If he still score its only good for gainey.

Julien looks like he's really turned these players around. Although we'll have to wait for the season to progress in order to make sure it isn't just a fluke.

But I'm really quite satisfied with the way he makes the players control themselves and the defensive-and-yet-not-boring game he's using. If we can keep it up we'll have the defensive coverage of Minnesota except with much more offense too.

But we'll still have to wait until, say, the 20 game mark before we make any serious evaluations of the team.

Do you guys think that Koivu coming back could basically go in Higgins place when he returns to give him a little time to come back to his game.

Hossa, Ribs, Zednik
Ryder, Perreault, Audette
Bulis, Koivu, Ward
Sundstrum, Juneau, Dackell

Well all that iv'e got to say is WOW! Truly if everyone plays like this every game I think alot of media people are going to look foolish. I mean did you see the perrault audette and ryder line. Truly I was amazed from what I saw. I tip my hat to the players tonight. I think the bought the system of claude julien.

Hey if the two lines are untouchebal right now maybe we could put koivu with bulis and ward witch would give us 3 strong lines. Just a tought.

I'm pretty sure Koivu will be back to the unoffical 1st line wih Bulis and either Ward or Kilger when healthy. The Ribs and Perreault lines are potential 1st lines too...when was the last time we saw that in Montreal? I think we need to make an aquistion to play offensively with Saku (or Higgins on the wing?) though, because Audette looks good with Yanick and Ryder right now.

Seems to me the Habs are going to encounter a serious problem in a short period of time, and I'll be very interested to see how they manage to work out of it.

Of course, the problem is a joyous one for the brass.

I'm not sure how many watched young Higgins that closely, or how many followed Hainsey carefully, or indeed how many watched Quintal with an eagle eye, but I forsee some seriously tough decisions in the very near future.

Despite his lack of playing time, Higgins doesn't look out of place, and in fact I thought he was the best tonight on that line with Sundstrom and Ward. He might be slightly behind the other two in development (purely an age factor) but I think he's gaining extremely rapidly. He brings far more to the table than does Ward and with just a little more confidence, could easily take Ward's place...when Saku makes it back to the lineup.

Hainsey looks stronger and stronger as we move along, and he's starting to play with some good confidence. Hopefully it doesn't go to his head like it has in the past, but one has to believe that another full year of maturity is going to wear on him quite well. At this point, he's making a strong case for remaining on the club.

Quintal, on the other hand, was directly responsible for the goal, and because he's about two steps slower than everyone else on defence, I wonder if Komisarek might be introduced sooner rather than later into the lineup. If I were Gainey, I'd be looking to see if there was a club out there interested in a mostly solid mature defenseman, who is also a leader, to help bring along a lot of kids. Quintal could, and probably should, be on the outs with Komi ready to step in.

~~

Notes:

Theo: I can't remember the last time he's had this little work. His positioning was good, though, which helped account for why most of the Cap shots hit him in the crest. The goal was stoppable - if only barely. A-

Hainsey: His best game yet. Positionally he's infinitely better than game one, and he's starting to play a simpler game which will ultimately benefit him in the future as he matures. B

Brisebois: Another solid game playing withing his means. There was only real major gaffe, but fortunately it was outside the defensive zone. B+

Quintal: I like his poise and his strength, but he's just not able to keep up anymore. When someone fast rushes him, his passes are a mess and/or he screws up. Now, that said, he still played a solid game other than his one major gaffe. B-

Souray: As many hoped, he's moving quickly back to the point he was at in the playoffs two years ago. It'll still take a few more games, but I suspect, with the improvement he's made in such a short time, that he's going to be a solid force for the year. A pairing with Komi would be quite interesting to see. B+

Rivet: Controlled game. He's the solid defenseman that let's Markov play to his full potential. Few errors and a mean streak looks good. B+

Markov: Better and better each game. He's starting to feel comfortable and take chances - but they're carefully chosen and, for him, of a higher percentage. He needs a little more seasoning on the PP. A-

Ward: His skating is still painful to watch, but at least it's serviceable now. Didn't create as much offensively as one might hope, but he showed a good responsibility defensively. B

Higgins: Triple the ice time, and probably deserved more. Even stepped out on the PP and the PK which shows some wonderful respect in his abilities! He might be kept in Montreal and slowly worked into a third line position by the 20-25 game mark if he keeps progressing. Alternately, he could get a bucket-load of time in the AHL. Personally, I think he's ready. B+

Sundstrom: Oh how the mighty have fallen. From a second line scoring man in San Jose to fourth line ignomity. He's good defensively, but seems to have lost all offensive spark. C+

Dackell: Strong game at both ends of the rink, and the cycle on that line is looking stronger and stronger. B+

Juneau: Did a fine job against Jagr and didn't look too slow at all. Again, his intelligence comes to the fore and proves that he deserves a spot on this club - at least until Higgins gets more seasoning. A-

Bulis: He's such a sparkplug, and while many of us think he could easily be on the top two lines, I think he works brilliantly here. B+

Audette: Typical game for him; when the defense is weak (hey, do they need someone like Quintal?) he suddenly shines. A-

Perreault: Showed his fine hands again and even took some hits. He's also seemingly buying into the system and that really leaves me wondering what to do with him when Sax returns. A

Ryder: Definite keeper. I'm going to mention no names, but his play is reminiscent of another player we had a while back - who was subsequently traded. Strong, smart, and even knows how to pass the puck. A-

Hossa: Infinitely stronger game than the last, particularly on the boards. Still has to work at getting into better scoring positions. B-

Ribeiro: A good game, nothing spectacular. Creative as usual, but didn't have the same time on the ice as usual. (Which doesn't bother me at all, Julien gave the top three lines fairly equal time, and in a game like this, who can blame him.) Getting better defensively. B+

Zednik: I wonder how long it's going to take for teams to realize he isn't the only threat. Marked out specifically but still generated good chances. B

~~

The competition hasn't been fierce the last two games, but it's still nice to see the team dominate both on the ice and on the scoreboard. A big test next game when they play Pittsburgh. Do they star watch? Do they play to the level of their opponent? Or do they go out and do the same thing and outplay the Pens as they should.

The system is really coming together nicely. For I can't remember how long, I've always, when watching the game with friends, pointed out how the wingers are hardly ever there to help out the defence. Now, the defenders have two outlet passes that will more than likely be completed, plus a centre who is in front of the net and responsible for the first man in the corner with the puck. They still make mistakes and are late on assignments, but it's getting better.

I was particularly pleased to see Julien using everyone on the PP near the end of the game. It was a smart move on his part and will increase what is already a probably high team spirit.

Nice to hear the ovations at the beginning of the game - particularly for Sax. I was also pleased to hear how warmly Breezer was welcomed. I wonder if everyone realizes that when he plays within his means he can be effective - and that's why the boo-birds were quiet. Theo was also warmly applauded, and I was extra pleased to see him salute the crowd - like Sax. At least a couple of players realize the fans are extremely important. ;)

Bring on Mario.

A concerned fan.