I'm glad other people noticed Ellis as well. He looked like a season vet...almost like it was easy for him. Defensive awareness is high as well as his hockey smarts.
Looks like he can be a solid #5 guy with #4 defensive potential.
I would like to use your wisdom and crystal ball to speculate money in stock markets please !
If he has a good season with more involvement in the defensive zone I can see him getting a contract.
Gallagher was amazing, and find Ellis and Archambault solid, I like the fact that Blunden seem to be able to kill penalties it could be a huge plus for him to be the 13th forward. Also, would like to note that Yemelin has way more skills I thought, like protecting the puck, passing and puckhandling, plus some abilities to move the puck. He should have been more physical tonight though.
On another note am I the only one completly tired of earing about RDS 2 ? they're really putting it down our throat.
I'm glad other people noticed Ellis as well. He looked like a season vet...almost like it was easy for him. Defensive awareness is high as well as his hockey smarts.
Looks like he can be a solid #5 guy with #4 defensive potential.
With solid development he can be a 2nd pair Gorges type taht kills penalities, makes a good first pass and plays against top lines.
What bothers me is that we are not even playing units of 3 together or d-pairs. What is up with that?
We have three games left, and we are not playing the below lines:
Cammy/Plek/Cole
Pacioretty/Gomez/Gionta
I know Eller, Desharnais, White all injured affect our bottom two lines, but we are unable to form chemistry. What is the point of playing Cole with Enqvist, or Plekanec with Palushaj? Come on JM...I imagine tomorrow will be another terrible line-up to watch, which only gives us 2 games.
Maybe the coaching staff wants to see what these players can do when they play with NHL talent. It is easy to look out of place if you are on the bubble and your linemates are minor leaguers.
I was sort of hoping Budaj's stats were due to the Colorado defence. I guess that may not be the case.
As if Auld is or ever was any better than Budaj. They're back-up goalies for a reason. Besides that, it was a bad game with a depleted squad. We'll see what's what when Budaj faces the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Also guys remember that our better offensive prospects have all been out this pre-season and they have all been offensive two-way centers which would have given the entire pre-season a different feel. I'm talking about Leblanc, Desharnais, Eller and Bournival.
Also, let's not forget the injuries to Nash, Markov and Subban(latter two are not prospects, but would have given the defensive side of the game some structure) which would have given some of these lineups a little more structure and not as errant and lost. There was one or two defensive verterns every game. Defense will be sloppy when that happens.
Very true. JM's been using the games so far to go heavy on prospects/AHLers and light on his roster. Not only does that make us less than fully competitive, but with Leblanc, Eller, Bournival, White and Nash missing entirely and DD and Subban playing one apice, of course our youth is going to look awfully wanting. The org isn't that deep, and those names are a significant chunk, if not the majority, of our best pro-level prospects and recent grads. The absences as a whole are significant. At center, they're huge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Tricolore
Pre-season games aren't about fun games. They're about evaluating talent and getting the veterans in game shape.
Agreed, that's why I applauded the coach for putting the team before the fans enjoyment. But the fan's enjoyment pays a price. Same as when you hire Martin or Lemaire as your coach. Will you be competitive? Yes. Will you be fun to watch?.....
I'm honestly drooling at the thought of a Gallagher-Eller-Kostitsyn.
You can drool all you want... If Eller and Desharnais are ready to go on day one, there is no chance Gallagher makes it and if Eller is not ready and Desharnais plays center, i doubt they would put them together on the 3rd line
if Desharnais is not ready to go.... then, we might have something....
im not reading too much ---> which is surprising considering this is the habs board.
hey, stanley-cup winning rosters versus a mix of juniors and ahl'ers, what did anyone expect?
in fact, i couldn't care less if martin keeps a lineup like this until opening day. people complain we don't give rookies a chance, well there you go. beat the champs.
How did Avtsin and Beaulieu do today? How did each fare in the game and what were their strengths and weaknesses? Sorry couldnt watch the game, was working.
which is surprising considering this is the habs board.
