To be fair, our PP started with Kovy on the left side and Markov on the right. For some special, magical reason, they decided to change what made our PP #1 the last season.
Seeing as the Koivu line started the season great, right from the 2-3rd game, they became the #1 PP unit.
Now I don't care what anybody says about Kovalev, he's a baby, he's a primadona, or wtv. This doesn't change the fact that he's on our team and we need him to perform as well as he can. So, as a coach, you have to know where your player usually excels and use him there, i.e the PP.
After last year, I thought Carbo understood that Kovy needs to feel important.
I think Carbs misused Kovy from the start. Changing the PP, meant removing what gave him close to 50pts last season..: I understand Carbo probably thought he could balance out the PP more and in the end we'd still be the #1 around the league in PP. But it didn't work (until now at least), so why not go back to what made us so dangerous last year??..
I would give him more PP time so he could find his magic back because that's what we need. Not give him 41sec of PP icetime like yesterday Kovalev needs to be on the right, and Markov has to play on that unit on the left point. Plain and Simple.
He was also never, not once, used in the shootouts so far.
You just don't do that to someone that needs and feeds off the spotlight.
I'm not putting all the blame on Carbo, Kovy should be working harder. But I feel Carbs is taking the same route he took in 06-07 with Kovy, slowly downgrading him. He made him play 41sec on PP yesterday, and put him with Lats-Lang, to make the slowest trio of the NHL.
He was also never, not once, used in the shootouts so far.
He has one of the worst shootout percentages in the league.. I think it's smart not to play him there.
As for the rest of your post, I agree he should get more PP time.. but he needs to stop turning over the puck. He could EASILY be scoring more points at ES than on the PP because other teams are watching our "#1" line right now.
He has one of the worst shootout percentages in the league.. I think it's smart not to play him there.
As for the rest of your post, I agree he should get more PP time.. but he needs to stop turning over the puck. He could EASILY be scoring more points at ES than on the PP because other teams are watching our "#1" line right now.
In 06-07 he went 4 for 9 last year he struggled going 1 for 7. Shootouts are a hot and cold kinda thing.
He has one of the worst shootout percentages in the league.. I think it's smart not to play him there.
As for the rest of your post, I agree he should get more PP time.. but he needs to stop turning over the puck. He could EASILY be scoring more points at ES than on the PP because other teams are watching our "#1" line right now.
Doesn't matter if he has a bad shootout percentage. He's still a gamebreaker. It's also a way for the coach to show that he trusts his player. This can help with confidence.
As for the ES scoring, there's no doubt, he's in a slump. But like I said, I feel his ES scoring would come back if he would get hot on the PP.
He had 67 giveaways last season, he's always going to do some. It's normal for a player that plays that style.
To be fair, our PP started with Kovy on the left side and Markov on the right. For some special, magical reason, they decided to change what made our PP #1 the last season.
Seeing as the Koivu line started the season great, right from the 2-3rd game, they became the #1 PP unit.
Now I don't care what anybody says about Kovalev, he's a baby, he's a primadona, or wtv. This doesn't change the fact that he's on our team and we need him to perform as well as he can. So, as a coach, you have to know where your player usually excels and use him there, i.e the PP.
After last year, I thought Carbo understood that Kovy needs to feel important.
I think Carbs misused Kovy from the start. Changing the PP, meant removing what gave him close to 50pts last season..: I understand Carbo probably thought he could balance out the PP more and in the end we'd still be the #1 around the league in PP. But it didn't work (until now at least), so why not go back to what made us so dangerous last year??..
I would give him more PP time so he could find his magic back because that's what we need. Not give him 41sec of PP icetime like yesterday Kovalev needs to be on the right, and Markov has to play on that unit on the left point. Plain and Simple.
He was also never, not once, used in the shootouts so far.
You just don't do that to someone that needs and feeds off the spotlight.
I'm not putting all the blame on Carbo, Kovy should be working harder. But I feel Carbs is taking the same route he took in 06-07 with Kovy, slowly downgrading him. He made him play 41sec on PP yesterday, and put him with Lats-Lang, to make the slowest trio of the NHL.
If you check the stats for the Boston game you will discover that we only had two 2 min. power plays. Hard to give anyone much pp time with those stats.
12 points in 14 games... it seems a lot of people are letting the facts get in their way in this thread.
Would be a lot more pts if Lang hadn't have missed all those open nets on the PP.
I'm not going to worry about Kovy at the moment, the D and goaltending have been hit and miss the past few games, that's what I'm worried about. The Philly game later today will show a lot about where this team's head is right about now. Hopefully Carbo can install some urgency into them.
If you check the stats for the Boston game you will discover that we only had two 2 min. power plays. Hard to give anyone much pp time with those stats.
Actually, we had 3:55 min of PP. Don't know which stats your checked but they were either wrong or you misread them.
Kovalev gets the third most PP behind Tanguay and Markov. No one can dispute those two deserving the most. But why let facts get in your way.
It's not about who gets the most Ice Time on PP. It's about organizing the PP like it was last year. Like letting Kovalev play on the right side, and as importantly, putting Markov on with him.
It's not about who gets the most Ice Time on PP. It's about organizing the PP like it was last year. Like letting Kovalev play on the right side, and as importantly, putting Markov on with him.
Exactly... Markov and Kovalev NEED to be on the ice together during PPs....
The synergy between these two players is what makes the PP go.
Sometimes I really wonder about the coaching methods of Carbo. Then I think, we finished 1st last year, and we still have a good record so far.
But I really did not understand why he decided to break off our bread and butter last season. That is just a mystery to me.
I mean, seeing as we lost Streit, I was expecting to see some minor changes. Like adding Lats and putting A.Kost on the point since he probably has the strongest shot.
Or something of this nature.
Not switch Kovy on the other side, and letting Markov take the shots is probably the stupidest idea ever!..
How can anybody think about turning your PP QB into a Sniper??.. All this while not replacing a QB..
You even see it when Kovy plays on PP, he skates around to go back to the same position he held last year.
Kovalev gets the third most PP behind Tanguay and Markov. No one can dispute those two deserving the most. But why let facts get in your way.
In the two embarrassing games - and make no mistake, they are the reason this thread exists - Kovalev was way down the list in PP time. Against Boston, he played 0:41 on the PP, compared to Lang's 3:14 and Higgins' 2:32. Against Toronto, Kovy played 3:17, Lang 4:52 and Higgins 4:20.
You can check for yourself how that affected the players' time at even strength. The defensively responsible Lang and Higgins ended up playing way less minutes than the, let's just say less defensively responsible, Kovy in both games at evens.
It's not about who deserves PP time, it's about making the best use of the weapons available to the Habs. Carbo didn't do that in either game.
woah now folks, everyone is putting the blame and the load on Kovy's shoulders here, but the guy is still getting a decent amount of points. He'll pick it up, when guys like Pleks and Kost start to help him out.
Pleks never shoots on goal, he's always looking to Kovy. AKost is supposed to have all this speed yet he is constantly being caught from behind...he's done absolutely nothing this season.
Sometimes I really wonder about the coaching methods of Carbo. Then I think, we finished 1st last year, and we still have a good record so far.
But I really did not understand why he decided to break off our bread and butter last season. That is just a mystery to me.
I mean, seeing as we lost Streit, I was expecting to see some minor changes. Like adding Lats and putting A.Kost on the point since he probably has the strongest shot.
Or something of this nature.
Not switch Kovy on the other side, and letting Markov take the shots is probably the stupidest idea ever!..
How can anybody think about turning your PP QB into a Sniper??.. All this while not replacing a QB..
You even see it when Kovy plays on PP, he skates around to go back to the same position he held last year.
Carbo screwed up big time with this.
I think the coaching staff thought that Markov would replace Streit since they're not that different skills-wise(on the pp). And Tanguay is a great passer so put him on the left. I had no problem with that since it worked beautifully on the first match against the Leafs. You had that pairing plus Kovy at his usual position on the right, Koivu in the middle since he likes to get his nose dirty. And a right-hand man with skills in Lang on the left. This PP had so much skills it was scary and they scored easily. So why didn't they kept it impact after that? I think Plek and Andrei should never be on the PP, they're completly useless.
I just love some of your guys' reactions towards Kovy, you stick with a player through the thick and thin, the good and the bad, just like you should with the Habs. You guys who ***** and complain all day are the same ones are right back on the bandwagon a week later.
Kovy is what makes the PP go and one of the main reasons for what makes the Habs go, he needs more ice time on the PP and more icetime at even strength.
He obviously has to play better. It's his contract year, and the expectations are huge towards him this year. I'm fairly confident he'll have a decent season. However, you can see there's a trend there, and I would not give him a 3 years contract on a platter next summer. He has to earn it like every single player. However, he's got to look himself in the mirror, because even if he says "the young players have to be better", he's a big part of why his line isn't meeting the expectations this year.
If this is really the real kovalev, I think it is his last year in montreal
If he cant be usefull whenever we put him on the ice, why should we keep him?
Lets trade him to the trashers, they will have 2 kovy's and we could have Little
Exactly who is useful every time he steps on the ice?
It's funny how Koivu and Tanguay are clicking so Koivu is OK this year but last year stuck with crappy Ryder Koivu was a second line center and close to dropping to third.
Pleks has just started working and AKost has a whole 4 points and not much else but somehow Kovy and his 12 points in 14 games blows. He's off the PP time because his unit isn't clicking right now and with diminshed time comes diminished productivity.
I don't want to over protect Kovy but how guys on this board rip into him when he's the best producer on his line is ridiculous.
Exactly who is useful every time he steps on the ice?
It's funny how Koivu and Tanguay are clicking so Koivu is OK this year but last year stuck with crappy Ryder Koivu was a second line center and close to dropping to third.
Pleks has just started working and AKost has a whole 4 points and not much else but somehow Kovy and his 12 points in 14 games blows. He's off the PP time because his unit isn't clicking right now and with diminshed time comes diminished productivity.
I don't want to over protect Kovy but how guys on this board rip into him when he's the best producer on his line is ridiculous.
He keeps the puck so long... If he was not the best producer, there'd be a problem.
: I understand Carbo probably thought he could balance out the PP more and in the end we'd still be the #1 around the league in PP. But it didn't work (until now at least), so why not go back to what made us so dangerous last year??..
Kovalev needs to be on the right, and Markov has to play on that unit on the left point. Plain and Simple.
