I know, I was listening to Brunet and it was totally obvious Stewart misplayed the pass and he is saying Chip...that guy is awful to listen to and you would think being a former player would have a better feel and understanding of the game.
To be an analyst you need to be able to properly analyse, to properly analyse you need to be smart and from what's coming out of his mouth, Brunet's IQ (and hockey IQ) is probably lower than average.
Montreal played well in the first and the third period, but that second period was pretty tough.
Gionta-Gomez-Cammaleri was our best line tonight. It's fun to see skilled players that will battle hard for the puck. They create turnovers and use their speed and stickhandling to get the puck to scoring areas. They could have scored one or two more goals. Great top corner shot by Gomez on his goal. Treating them as one since they were all as good offensively.
Plekanec: Good game for him, he had a lot of spunk and he was using his speed. Scored a beauty of a goal.
Kostsitsyn: When he turns on the jets and decides to use his body, he looks like an all-star. He had good sequences of play tonight and some scoring chances. He needs to keep his feet moving and his energy level up.
Pacioretty: He looked very hesitant during the first and the second period. He gets outmuscled too often going to the puck. He needs to use his speed more and to hit the other team's defense. He played better in the third and was more dangerous, getting a prime time scoring chance but he shot on Kipper's logo. He needs to start playing more like he did in the third period otherwise he will find himself going back to the AHL. Need patience with the younger players. He has to win more one on one battles and to be more assertive.
Latendresse: He played with more energy and that's how he is effective. I think having a guy like Moen on his line shows him how he needs to play the game. He needs to keep it up and start being more consistent every game.
Lapierre: The perfect third center. Exploits his skating ability very well to apply pressure on the forecheck. He plays well in the defensive zone. Generates some offense without being an offensive wizard. Played his best game so far.
Moen: A very good and dependable grinder. Plays with energy every shift, knows where to go on the ice to give a hard time to opposing defense. So far he is also effective at creating offense. He can fill in on any line when needed. I'll take him over Kostopoulos any day of the week.
Stewart: Got bloodied, didn't play with enough effort. He has to successfully clear the zone as a 4th liner. Needs to use his speed more and deliver crushing bodychecks. I think he doesn't play tomorrow.
Chipchura: Nice to see him dropping the gloves, as he can throw a punch with any middleweight. He won all his faceoffs. Need to see him more to get a better feeling of his game, but he ain't a threat to Metropolit unless he really improves.
Laraque: He is skating better this year. Gave a few hits, was around the action when he was on the ice.
Spacek: Made some good outlet passes. He usually knows when to apply pressure on the puckholder and when to go. I would like to see him provide more offense.
Hamrlik: He used his larger frame to stop Calgary's attackers. He is still a bit rusty on offense but defensively he was very steady.
Gill: For a guy that's not all that good with the puck, he overhandles the puck too often. Otherwise he was okay as long as he dumped the puck along the boards. The good news for him is that MAB will soon make him look like a defensive specialist.
Gorges: He had his moments but he needs to be more consistent. He will play one great shift and then play two average and a bad one.
Mara: He probably had his best game so far and in general he was strong and steady. At times his positioning was really off and it created chances for Calgary. He is starting to make better decisions with the puck.
Weber: He got progressively better as the game went on. At first, he seemed hesitant to make play and get burned so he was staying too much behind the play and not stepping up when he should have. As the third period rolled on, he played with more poise and took better decisions with the puck. He was used every two shifts late in the third which was probably the coach's way to approve his improved play in the third. He played about 7 minutes out of his 17 minutes of ice time in the third. While I think he can be much better on offense, he didn't look out of place for a first game.
Halak: He didn't do what Price did the first two games and gave an average performance which might not cut it with this team. He needs to raise his play level much higher than his play tonight if he ever wants to become a starter in the league.
Chips, MaxPac and Stewart made some mistakes, but that's to be expected. So long as they learn and improve. Martin is known as a coach to be very hard on rookies, and young players. He'll bench quickly (as we saw tonight) and make you watch from the rafters. They want ice time, they will have to earn it by not screwing up. It's old school and exactly what this team needs. Halak was a little weak on 2 of the 4. Alltogether a good game, save the 2nd period. The system is starting to sink in. If we can escape from this 5 game road trip with 7 points, it will be a real good start.
2nd period was brutal! Personally I found Halak great, chips and paccs were decent. But the team needs to work on puck possession and D to O transition (or dumping the puck).
We're having a lot of hard time controlling the puck and getting out of our zone. I don't think it has t do with size. Just coordination and smart thinking.
I liked Halak, the first line, BGL and how some of the new comers played ( in enjoyed Weber, chips and Paccs tbh. Pleks and Kostitsyn were playing really good on O!
I only got to see the third. However, I think we'll win against the Canucks. Price is rested and focussed, where Luongo is struggling and I think Vancouver's desperation will cause penalties (unless the same refs as tonight are working) and turnovers, causing us to swarm the offensive zone. Hopefully metro could play, if not, chips better get up to game speed. I hope AK gets it together and pleks keeps playing like a man. Also I liked weber tonight from what I saw, and I hope Moen keeps being the beast he is.
Chips, MaxPac and Stewart made some mistakes, but that's to be expected. So long as they learn and improve. Martin is known as a coach to be very hard on rookies, and young players. He'll bench quickly (as we saw tonight) and make you watch from the rafters. They want ice time, they will have to earn it by not screwing up. It's old school and exactly what this team needs. Halak was a little weak on 2 of the 4. Alltogether a good game, save the 2nd period. The system is starting to sink in. If we can escape from this 5 game road trip with 7 points, it will be a real good start.
Sounds good to me, our rookies have a lot to work on
--> Dagger, Stewart and MaxPac.
I only got to see the third. However, I think we'll win against the Canucks. Price is rested and focussed, where Luongo is struggling and I think Vancouver's desperation will cause penalties (unless the same refs as tonight are working) and turnovers, causing us to swarm the offensive zone. Hopefully metro could play, if not, chips better get up to game speed. I hope AK gets it together and pleks keeps playing like a man. Also I liked weber tonight from what I saw, and I hope Moen keeps being the beast he is.
I'm worried for the Canucks. They are going to be very hungry for a win tomorrow night. Losing 3 straights so far this season, they are disappointing a lot of fans and the pressure is turning up. Expect them to come out flying!
[QUOTE=SuperUnknown;21468708]Montreal played well in the first and the third period, but that second period was pretty tough.
Gionta-Gomez-Cammaleri was our best line tonight. It's fun to see skilled players that will battle hard for the puck. They create turnovers and use their speed and stickhandling to get the puck to scoring areas. They could have scored one or two more goals. Great top corner shot by Gomez on his goal. Treating them as one since they were all as good offensively.
Plekanec: Good game for him, he had a lot of spunk and he was using his speed. Scored a beauty of a goal.
Kostsitsyn: When he turns on the jets and decides to use his body, he looks like an all-star. He had good sequences of play tonight and some scoring chances. He needs to keep his feet moving and his energy level up.
Pacioretty: He looked very hesitant during the first and the second period. He gets outmuscled too often going to the puck. He needs to use his speed more and to hit the other team's defense. He played better in the third and was more dangerous, getting a prime time scoring chance but he shot on Kipper's logo. He needs to start playing more like he did in the third period otherwise he will find himself going back to the AHL. Need patience with the younger players. He has to win more one on one battles and to be more assertive.
Latendresse: He played with more energy and that's how he is effective. I think having a guy like Moen on his line shows him how he needs to play the game. He needs to keep it up and start being more consistent every game.
Lapierre: The perfect third center. Exploits his skating ability very well to apply pressure on the forecheck. He plays well in the defensive zone. Generates some offense without being an offensive wizard. Played his best game so far.
Moen: A very good and dependable grinder. Plays with energy every shift, knows where to go on the ice to give a hard time to opposing defense. So far he is also effective at creating offense. He can fill in on any line when needed. I'll take him over Kostopoulos any day of the week.
Stewart: Got bloodied, didn't play with enough effort. He has to successfully clear the zone as a 4th liner. Needs to use his speed more and deliver crushing bodychecks. I think he doesn't play tomorrow.
Chipchura: Nice to see him dropping the gloves, as he can throw a punch with any middleweight. He won all his faceoffs. Need to see him more to get a better feeling of his game, but he ain't a threat to Metropolit unless he really improves.
Laraque: He is skating better this year. Gave a few hits, was around the action when he was on the ice.
Spacek: Made some good outlet passes. He usually knows when to apply pressure on the puckholder and when to go. I would like to see him provide more offense.
Hamrlik: He used his larger frame to stop Calgary's attackers. He is still a bit rusty on offense but defensively he was very steady.
Gill: For a guy that's not all that good with the puck, he overhandles the puck too often. Otherwise he was okay as long as he dumped the puck along the boards. The good news for him is that MAB will soon make him look like a defensive specialist.
Gorges: He had his moments but he needs to be more consistent. He will play one great shift and then play two average and a bad one.
Mara: He probably had his best game so far and in general he was strong and steady. At times his positioning was really off and it created chances for Calgary. He is starting to make better decisions with the puck.
Weber: He got progressively better as the game went on. At first, he seemed hesitant to make play and get burned so he was staying too much behind the play and not stepping up when he should have. As the third period rolled on, he played with more poise and took better decisions with the puck. He was used every two shifts late in the third which was probably the coach's way to approve his improved play in the third. He played about 7 minutes out of his 17 minutes of ice time in the third. While I think he can be much better on offense, he didn't look out of place for a first game.
Halak: He didn't do what Price did the first two games and gave an average performance which might not cut it with this team. He needs to raise his play level much higher than his play tonight if he ever wants to become a starter in the league.[/QUOTE]
I thought Halak had a very good performance; it could easily have been 6-3 instead of 4-3 IMHO. With that said, maybe Price would have stoped 1 one those 4 and made this game go to OT. Who knows. Let's just hope we pwn tomorrow
I'm worried for the Canucks. They are going to be very hungry for a win tomorrow night. Losing 3 straights so far this season, they are disappointing a lot of fans and the pressure is turning up. Expect them to come out flying!
Price won't disappoint in front of his hometown fans
Might be why Martin dressed Halak today instead of tommorow.
I'm worried for the Canucks. They are going to be very hungry for a win tomorrow night. Losing 3 straights so far this season, they are disappointing a lot of fans and the pressure is turning up. Expect them to come out flying!
I know that we have to be careful not to be back on our heels. But like i said they are desperate, and probably overly aggressive. I think "The Legion of Zoom" will do well against that mentality, especially cammalerri causing turnovers for us.
The Habs didn't play badly on the road against a strong Flames team, except that the line of Stewart-Chipchura-Laraque couldn't match the Calgary 4th line. I saw some good signs and I particularly enjoyed Plekanec's goal. I think Price can tame Vancouver.
That shift they scored from the point Stewart missed on two passes to get it out, how can you not say he was responsible for that?
If you really wanted to press the issue you could argue that Weber's pass was behind him and that Stewart was moving towards the boards as the pass was coming towards him. (Probably thinking the puck was going to be swung around the boards and out the zone.) That's probably a stretch, and Stewart did struggle to get the puck out at times, but things aren't always black and white in this game.
Either way, I'm just saying that hockey is such a complex and fast sport that barring the Khabibulin-style giveaway in the waning minutes of a game, it's incredibly unfair to blame one individual for everything. Everyone had a ton of defensive miscues this game, all 4 lines as I said, it just so happened that against our 4th line they ended up in our net.
I will say this for Stewart though. He went out right after a goal was scored against and dropped the gloves, probably knowing his eye wasn't fully healed and with a tough kid in Prust who has a lot more fighting experience than Stewart. People here immediately call him a terrible fighter when in reality he was excellent in the AHL last year and solid in the NHL last year.
I also noticed a nice little bit of defensive awareness in the first where Weber came pinched from the point and Stewart immediately went to cover the point for him. Obviously it's a basic play, but it's the type of fundamentals that you like to see in your fourth line and it's not something everyone does, even at the NHL level. To be clear I'm not saying he had a great night or didn't make any mistakes; he clearly struggled clearing the zone which usually stands out when you're on the 4th line. But I am saying that people blaming this game on him are off base.
Anyways this is getting to be a long post but my point was that dumping this on the 4th line and Stewart and Chipchura in particular is a bit unfair and doesn't allow for much detailed analysis. I think Stewart probably sits tomorrow but I don't think his career as an NHLer is over because of a sub-par outing. I still like what he brings to the table and I think that as he gets more experience and confidence he'll round into a very solid energy guy for this team.
I'm worried for the Canucks. They are going to be very hungry for a win tomorrow night. Losing 3 straights so far this season, they are disappointing a lot of fans and the pressure is turning up. Expect them to come out flying!
You'd think so, but I figured the same thing before the Columbus game, and the Canucks proceeded to fart around until they were down by three.
This is the first and last time JM will allow a 4th line enforcer in the NHL like Nystrom will score a hattrick on us. BANK IT SON!
We are only as strong as our weakest link (4th line) if we are to make the playoffs, make a resilient run at the Lord Stanley's Cup we need our 4th line to be much more efficient with the defensive aspects of the game, Zonal/Man coverage etc.
The first 10....15....20...Games is a phase of adaptation...we will see more clearly the benefits of JM 2009 SYSTEM and style hockey as the first quarter of the season progresses.
They really need to do something about this pathethic reffing or the season's going to be long.
Why it's not like football or basketball?
Hockey reffing = atroce,mediocre.
it's untrue that i don't see some worthy habs penality .Sometime i'm like woahh ... That could have been a penality for us!! It's was close ..
But when someone his cross checked in the face and they just gave a pp to the other team..You better do something bunch of reftard.Plus that early whistle.I swear if i see that guy on the street i'm going to make him eat his whistle.
They really need to do something about this pathethic reffing or the season's going to be long.
Why it's not like football or basketball?
Hockey reffing = atroce,mediocre.
it's untrue that i don't see some worthy habs penality .Sometime i'm like woahh ... That could have been a penality for us!! It's was close ..
But when someone his cross checked in the face and they just gave a pp to the other team..You better do something bunch of reftard.Plus that early whistle.I swear if i see that guy on the street i'm going to make him eat his whistle.
Completely agree on that. I was soooo pissed when Gomez got crosschecked in the face. I was already dreaming of a powerplay montreal with Bouwmeester in the penalty box.
Come on .... 1 penalty in 1 game.... its impossible
Come on .... 1 penalty in 1 game.... its impossible
I have seen games with no penalties and no fights...
I normally do not complain about hockey referees...their job is alot easier than soccer referees because they have to cover more ground and use less technology. Furthermore the officiating in the NHL has improved compared to the 90s...and early 21st century...
Their may have been non calls for both sides tonight but clearly today we got the short straw...NO DOUBT ABOOT IT.
Sportsnet not very specific. They keep flashing this stat about Kiprusoff being 5-0-0 against the Habs all-time. Uuuh, yeah at the Saddledome. They neglect to add the "at home" to that stat. Anyone who knows anything can recall we've beaten him before (two times for sure: Last year, 2007 and I think he was back from an injury and they lost to us in 2004 with Kipper in). I just hope we don't make it a ludicrous 8 straight winless visits to Vancouver tomorrow.
