Thoughts on Habs after spending the last 10 days in L.A.
I was on a holliday trip nearby L.A and i got to watch 5 games on Foxsports west, where i decided that for that time i would root for the Kings as if i was a life long fan with the rest of the familly. 1st thing i notice is if we took our biased point of views aside. 2 arguments for this thread.
We are one hell of a boring team!
Argument A
When the Kings were flat and nothing was going on, Murray would send his bottom 6 lines ( real bottom 6 lines) of Clifford-Handzus-Simmonds and Richardson-Lewis-Westgarth and those would straight out destroy everything that moves. For the 1st time in a very long time i felt like i was watching a hockey game instead of a Jacques Martin chess game. Who shakes the team when nothing goes well? Nobody!!!!!! I don't care that Martin brought us to the Eastern conference finals last season, this team shows 0 emotion, 0 hits, 0 fights, nothing...
Argument B
Now that i've made a case for the bottom 6 and the toughness part of the game let's talk about top players and talent. Of course some will probably start pointing out that we don't have a Doughty or a Kopitar on the Habs, and with both they would be right. BUT, one thing they do have that don't is freedom, it's fairly obvious that they don't play in a so tight system like we do. For a team that has system where puck control is important, we sure get rid of the puck fast compared to them, they don't skate so damn close to each other and when it's time to push forward for a shot or better yet a goal, they don't do it half way so that their back-checking doesn't suffer, and it makes it A LOT more exciting to watch.
I was on a holliday trip nearby L.A and i got to watch 5 games on Foxsports west, where i decided that for that time i would root for the Kings as if i was a life long fan with the rest of the familly. 1st thing i notice is if we took our biased point of views aside. 2 arguments for this thread.
We are one hell of a boring team!
Argument A
When the Kings were flat and nothing was going on, Murray would send his bottom 6 lines ( real bottom 6 lines) of Clifford-Handzus-Simmonds and Richardson-Lewis-Westgarth and those would straight out destroy everything that moves. For the 1st time in a very long time i felt like i was watching a hockey game instead of a Jacques Martin chess game. Who shakes the team when nothing goes well? Nobody!!!!!! I don't care that Martin brought us to the Eastern conference finals last season, this team shows 0 emotion, 0 hits, 0 fights, nothing...
Argument B
Now that i've made a case for the bottom 6 and the toughness part of the game let's talk about top players and talent. Of course some will probably start pointing out that we don't have a Doughty or a Kopitar on the Habs, and with both they would be right. BUT, one thing they do have that don't is freedom, it's fairly obvious that they don't play in a so tight system like we do. For a team that has system where puck control is important, we sure get rid of the puck fast compared to them, they don't skate so damn close to each other and when it's time to push forward for a shot or better yet a goal, they don't do it half way so that their back-checking doesn't suffer, and it makes it A LOT more exciting to watch.
We need change.
very nice read , very interesting and 100% true.We need to fire his ass before 2011 = tonight after the game
Funny...you'd figure that with a team like LA who has Kopitar and Doughty in their lineup they would have more than...45 pts.
As a matter of fact, im willing to bet that if the habs had those two guys in their lineup (with JM as coach) the habs would be first in the conference.
Im not sure what you're asking if this isnt about winning/losing.
You just want to watch an exciting team that hits but isnt much better than the habs? So a team that loses spectacularly as well?
THe Kings are just starting to find themselves again after Doughty's injury. THey definitely have more grit throughout the lineup, especially in their top 6. Definitely a team on the rise. Dustin Brown is busting out.
I wonder if you'd have the same opinion if you visited LA in late November, just after the Habs won 5 of their last 6, to witness the Kings lose 7 of their next 8 games (one loss to the Habs 4-1 btw).
Except... Despite our massive fail streak, we're still 1 point away from the Kings. If you think the Kings are so much better than us, you're fooling yourself. We're in a slump, but this team has the potential to beat some of the best teams in the league in a best of 7 (and we actually did last year). Also, our bottom 6 is actually good.
I was on a holliday trip nearby L.A and i got to watch 5 games on Foxsports west, where i decided that for that time i would root for the Kings as if i was a life long fan with the rest of the familly. 1st thing i notice is if we took our biased point of views aside. 2 arguments for this thread.
We are one hell of a boring team!
Argument A
When the Kings were flat and nothing was going on, Murray would send his bottom 6 lines ( real bottom 6 lines) of Clifford-Handzus-Simmonds and Richardson-Lewis-Westgarth and those would straight out destroy everything that moves. For the 1st time in a very long time i felt like i was watching a hockey game instead of a Jacques Martin chess game. Who shakes the team when nothing goes well? Nobody!!!!!! I don't care that Martin brought us to the Eastern conference finals last season, this team shows 0 emotion, 0 hits, 0 fights, nothing...
Argument B
Now that i've made a case for the bottom 6 and the toughness part of the game let's talk about top players and talent. Of course some will probably start pointing out that we don't have a Doughty or a Kopitar on the Habs, and with both they would be right. BUT, one thing they do have that don't is freedom, it's fairly obvious that they don't play in a so tight system like we do. For a team that has system where puck control is important, we sure get rid of the puck fast compared to them, they don't skate so damn close to each other and when it's time to push forward for a shot or better yet a goal, they don't do it half way so that their back-checking doesn't suffer, and it makes it A LOT more exciting to watch.
We need change.
Good post dude. I like the Kings the last few years too.
But I especially like how we kicked the sh-it out of them from 1967-1980.
The Kings are entertainment in a town that likes entertainment. Win or lose Jack Nicholson shows up in shades and a fedora, for some much needed distraction.
They don't have to win dude, though I think it would be great if they won a cup. There's so much cash and free time in LA, it's beyond belief. They'd be toast of the town and go to amazing parties all summer. It would be great for hockey.
Meanwhile we HAVE to win. There's so much more pressure on our players, coach and GM than in LA. You can't compare.
BTW I'd love to do 2 weeks in LA. I hope you coked it up and slept with at least one second rate wannabe actress dude.
Except... Despite our massive fail streak, we're still 1 point away from the Kings. If you think the Kings are so much better than us, you're fooling yourself. We're in a slump, but this team has the potential to beat some of the best teams in the league in a best of 7 (and we actually did last year). Also, our bottom 6 is actually good.
I will agree however that JM sucks.
i think his point is moreso that the way we play is not entertaining...
it's one thing to be boring and win, it's another thing to be boring and be average.
the habs are an average team with an average roster. Maybe Martin's system is actually helping us be a little bit better than we should be, maybe not, but there's no denying that it doesn't equate to exciting hockey.
if we are going to be an average, fight for a playoff spot, team, might as well do it "guns' a blazing", then wimper in the way we normaly do.
Kings are a really young team and yes they are an exciting team to watch. The West is a different game and Martin plays a get a point mentality. Habs have been boring for many years, not just with Martin, we have been relying on our goalies for so long, makes it boring especially offensively
I was on a holliday trip nearby L.A and i got to watch 5 games on Foxsports west, where i decided that for that time i would root for the Kings as if i was a life long fan with the rest of the familly. 1st thing i notice is if we took our biased point of views aside. 2 arguments for this thread.
We are one hell of a boring team!
Argument A
When the Kings were flat and nothing was going on, Murray would send his bottom 6 lines ( real bottom 6 lines) of Clifford-Handzus-Simmonds and Richardson-Lewis-Westgarth and those would straight out destroy everything that moves. For the 1st time in a very long time i felt like i was watching a hockey game instead of a Jacques Martin chess game. Who shakes the team when nothing goes well? Nobody!!!!!! I don't care that Martin brought us to the Eastern conference finals last season, this team shows 0 emotion, 0 hits, 0 fights, nothing...
Argument B
Now that i've made a case for the bottom 6 and the toughness part of the game let's talk about top players and talent. Of course some will probably start pointing out that we don't have a Doughty or a Kopitar on the Habs, and with both they would be right. BUT, one thing they do have that don't is freedom, it's fairly obvious that they don't play in a so tight system like we do. For a team that has system where puck control is important, we sure get rid of the puck fast compared to them, they don't skate so damn close to each other and when it's time to push forward for a shot or better yet a goal, they don't do it half way so that their back-checking doesn't suffer, and it makes it A LOT more exciting to watch.
We need change.
Like always I am agree with you.
And it's not only the Kings. All other teams have a physical bottom six who can change the momentum. My brother is a Colorado fan and I watch a lot of their games. When tthe other team take the lead, McLeod go on the ice, hit everybody and seek someone to drop the gloves. You have to change the momentum ! And McLeod is not a ''goon', he scores 15 goals 2 season ago.
And for the offensive, we make bad choice maybe. Our 4 best forwards cost 23 M$ !!!! In Colorado their entire top 6 make approximately 12 M$...
Oh and let's face it, The Senators are a lot more exciting than us !!!
EDIT : And my dad is a Bruins fan, I never want to sleep when I watch a game with him ! With the Habs it's an other story
