|
Post by Boston_Habs on Apr 13, 2014 18:45:40 GMT -5
What are we, like 3-6 in our last 9 home playoff games? I would have taken home ice, but I'm not all that broken up about it. We seem to start a series better on the road.
|
|
|
Post by HFTO on Apr 13, 2014 19:06:41 GMT -5
Big advantage for Tampa who are way better at home ...still doubting Therrien and his mad genius personnel decisions....IMO comes down to Price and hope we get enough offense. Tampa is a very well coached team which IMO will make up for the extra depth the Habs may have....guess we'll see if MT's magic continues. Obviously I hope it does but for it to be truly beneficial going forward hope it includes big roles by PK and some of the kids.
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 13, 2014 19:06:48 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Willie Dog on Apr 13, 2014 20:32:27 GMT -5
No saturday game for the habs.... thats bizarre They are showing pens v columbus
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 13, 2014 20:43:57 GMT -5
No saturday game for the habs.... thats bizarre They are showing pens v columbus I have no idea what's also scheduled at both facilities. I like that we're playing every other day, with 3 days between 5 and 6. No back to back affairs. CNBC is airing games. They air games on Sunday and I wonder if that had an impact.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 13, 2014 21:25:15 GMT -5
No Saturday games is weird, but the barns may be booked already. Glad there are no afternoon games to accommodate certain southern networks and fans.
|
|
|
Post by folatre on Apr 13, 2014 22:02:55 GMT -5
Well, ok, so we know where and when.
Price holds the key. He needs to be as good or better than whoever Tampa has in net.
If not, hello 2013 playoffs.
|
|
|
Post by Tankdriver on Apr 14, 2014 11:27:49 GMT -5
Monday's practice lines
Forwards: Pacioretty - Desharnais - Vanek Brière/Bourque - Plekanec - Gallagher Prust - Eller - Gionta Bournival - White - Weise Parros
Defence: Markov - Emelin Gorges - Subban Bouillon - Weaver Murray - Tinordi
Hmm guess we know who the bottom pairing is on defence now.
|
|
|
Post by Willie Dog on Apr 14, 2014 11:43:21 GMT -5
Nice to see Prust practicing again.
On paper, out of the 3 D pairings, 4 out of 6 are defensive defensemen... but MT has successfully converted PK to a defensive defenceman, this means Markov is our only offensive D man.
I wonder how many points will be generated by the D this series? That would be a good poll question.
|
|
|
Post by franko on Apr 14, 2014 11:49:11 GMT -5
Monday's practice lines Forwards: Pacioretty - Desharnais - Vanek Brière/Bourque - Plekanec - Gallagher Prust - Eller - Gionta Bournival - White - Weise Parros Defence: Markov - Emelin Gorges - Subban Bouillon - Weaver Murray - Tinordi Hmm guess we know who the bottom pairing is on defence now. not surprised to see Brière the playoff specialist move up. as long as he performs, I guess . . .
|
|
|
Post by Polarice on Apr 14, 2014 12:15:37 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 14, 2014 13:01:42 GMT -5
Hmm guess we know who the bottom pairing is on defence now. Booboo has nine lives with MT. Tinordi would be a much better choice, but that biased vision of things gets in the way again. Guess the wait until Frankie's first Booboo on the ice is not that long now. Yeah!
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 14, 2014 13:08:27 GMT -5
Well, Booboo would have been in the lineup in 2004 when they beat us. He knows all their tricks. *rolls eyes*
|
|
|
Post by Bobs_HABit on Apr 14, 2014 13:13:25 GMT -5
I'm not big on the whole game 7 at home idea. It sounds good on paper but personally i don't think it's the edge that talking heads make it out to be. The home team has won 60% of the time through history but I bet they've been favored in 90% of those games because after all the home team is supposed to be the better team. The last two seasons, game 7's were 4-4 but of the 4 home team wins, 3 are by the number 1 seed. In 2011, the home team was 5-2; in 2010, the home team was 0-4. Add to that, Tampa really isn't known as a home ice fortress. All I'm trying to say is if this gets to a game 7 and the Habs lose, it wont be because they had to travel to Tampa.
Now all that said, my big worry is still MThead and I know I'm not alone.
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 14, 2014 14:52:36 GMT -5
Looking at the standings, we're the lowest scoring team in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Only Minnesota in the West has scored fewer goals. The flip side to that is, in the East, only Boston and New York have given up fewer goals (by a wide margin in Boston's case). The complete line of DMV has offset the plummeting of our power play.
The power play needs to find something. Put a forward on the point, put Prust in front of the net, something different. That's on Gallant. He's responsible for it. If they want to play chip and chase, leaving DMV together won't succeed. They're not a chip and chase trio.
Prust is now listed as day-to-day. They won't say/commit to whether or not he'll be available for game one. I think he will be though. Tampa isn't a ground and pound team, so my hope is he'll be able to get in and be effective even if he isn't 100%. He was practicing on a third line with Eller today. I like that. They've worked well together before.
Bourque and Briere were rotating in and out. AFAIC, if I have to pick which of those two to play Wednesday - right now - I'll pick Bourque. I know Briere has a history of turning it up a notch for the playoffs. I know he had more points than Bourque this year. Down the stretch however, I thought Bourque was the better player. No, it didn't show on the stat sheet maybe. Rene was hustling though. He was hitting. He was engaged. He and Eller also looked good together last year before Larry got hurt. I think Lars would fit in with a bang and crash line of Prust and Bourque. He could benefit from the chances and turnovers they create.
Vanek-Desharnais-Pacioretty Gallagher-Plekanec-Gionta Prust-Eller-Bourque Bournival-White-Weise Briere.
|
|
|
Post by jerry_dog on Apr 14, 2014 15:14:17 GMT -5
Lowest scoring qualified team in the East ... over the 82 game season.
... per the TSN guys ... after Vanek acquisition ... (was mentioned prior to last 2 games) from games 66 thru 80; Habs were the highest scoring team in NHL. I will look upon that 'slightly' more favourably than the 82 game version.
Just my approach; being it of more recent vintage & inclusive of M. Vanek's inclusion and impact.
Go Habs Go!
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Apr 14, 2014 15:15:16 GMT -5
AS always, I wonder if we ice our best line-up. Sometimes I think Therrien's mantra is to be safe and sorry. I'll be very disappointed if Bourque dresses. I'd much rather have Bournival or Briere ahead of him. I don't think there's any way that Briere doesn't dress, which is fair enough, that would be my decision too. That leaves MT to decide between Bournival and Bourque. To me its a no brainer. To him, IMO, it's a no brainer too. He does give experience a huge premium. Bourque has 4 playoff points in 10 Playoff games over 8 seasons. His team made the playoffs in two of those seasons...last year and 08/09 with Calgary. He had 2 goals and an assist in 5 games last year, actually not all that bad. I don't know if the points were meaningful as I can't recall his play.
Then there's Cube. He and Therrien go back 18 years, to 1996 and the Granby Predateurs. It's unlikely he's going to sit a good friend for a cornerstone of our future defence.
Interesting observation from looking at the Granby team and the Wilkes Barre team that Therrien was coaching before being promoted to the Pens head coach. He had an .800 plus record with Granby that year (really amazing) and was 21-1-2 with Wilkes Barre. Both teams were what we'd class as goon teams. Wilkes Barre had Carcillo and Dennis Bonvie on it, who finished with 311 and 431 minutes respectively that season. Granby had 8 players with more than 100 PIM and that includes Georges Laraque, who had 'only' 125 PIM, but that was in just 22 games. Therrien does best when he can intimidate other teams. Interesting.
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 14, 2014 15:21:40 GMT -5
Jerry, yes, they've been hot. And it's made up for the PP. Secondary scoring will be crucial. Gotta find it.
17, Bournival is in. He was practicing the PK with Prust. Briere bails on every play and hasn't shown squat. In the game against the Hawks, Bourque wreaked a lot of havoc. He hit, created turnovers on the fore check and that led to scoring chances. I'm not expecting him to finish them, but if he plays like that - and he has really since being scratched - I'm going leaving a 6'2 220lb guy in there to bang instead of a 5'10 180lb shy one. Briere makes no sense on the 4th line. That line needs to create energy and swings of momentum. He isn't going to do that.
|
|
|
Post by CentreHice on Apr 14, 2014 16:02:58 GMT -5
With all due respect to Arpon Basu....he sounds like a fan-boy in this piece. The wild-card he fails to mention is Coach Therrien. Doesn't matter if Weaver bolsters the 5-6 pairing. If Tinordi remains behind Bouillon and Murray as Weaver's partner...I doubt we'll get the chance to see if Vanek and Price can be the difference. Another thing about BooBoo's game that has me worried is his penchant to take penalties lately. It's because he can't keep up....is too small....too old. Can't afford that stuff.
|
|
|
Post by Polarice on Apr 14, 2014 17:08:39 GMT -5
With all due respect to Arpon Basu....he sounds like a fan-boy in this piece. The wild-card he fails to mention is Coach Therrien. Doesn't matter if Weaver bolsters the 5-6 pairing. If Tinordi remains behind Bouillon and Murray as Weaver's partner...I doubt we'll get the chance to see if Vanek and Price can be the difference. Another thing about BooBoo's game that has me worried is his penchant to take penalties lately. It's because he can't keep up....is too small....too old. Can't afford that stuff. Did you watch the video with Mike Johnson?
|
|
|
Post by CentreHice on Apr 14, 2014 17:10:55 GMT -5
Sorry, Reaper...no....it didn't open up on my computer....
I'll try again.
EDIT: Just watched it. Basically saying the same thing as Basu.
Price, ("won at every level"....the Olympic Gold mentioned....which was behind absolute world-class defense, which he doesn't have in Montreal)
Emelin-Markov (I'm not convinced they're as great a pairing as Johnson asserts);
Subban ("one of the great offensive defenseman"...well, it remains to be seen if that part of his game is rekindled);
Vanek. (Sure...he, Max, and DD are great when they're rolling....but my opinion remains that they can be neutralized come playoff time when things tighten up. Will they have the resolve to work through the focussed checking they'll see?)
Maybe it's just me...but this stuff sounds too Leafy for my liking. There's no way we're as deep as Boston or the best in the West. Yes, we usually have some psychological advantage when it comes to the Bruins...but you can't count on that. If we get past the Bolts, we may meet the Flyers, who certainly have the same advantage over us.
IF we win, it'll be Price as the hands-down Conn Smythe winner....because with BooBoo and Murray, the other team is gonna get great looks. And it's not as if the other four guys are complete shut-down, stifling defensemen.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 14, 2014 17:16:20 GMT -5
Another thing about BooBoo's game that has me worried is his penchant to take penalties lately. It's because he can't keep up....is too small....too old. Can't afford that stuff. Booboo's penalties of late have been bugging me too. When you throw him into a tougher second season 7 game series, he is going to wear down faster. At their home games, Cooper will be trying to get Stamkos out against Booboo's pairing. Yikes.
|
|
|
Post by franko on Apr 14, 2014 17:36:39 GMT -5
If we get past the Bolts, we may meet the Flyers, who certainly have the same advantage over us. that'll mean we made it to the semis and one series win away from playing for the Cup, so I'll be OK. beat the Bolts. beat the Bruins. Beat the Flyers. Beat the West. 16 Ws to go!
|
|
|
Post by CentreHice on Apr 14, 2014 17:57:27 GMT -5
I didn't know the new playoff set-up, franko. I now take it that each division plays amongst itself (wild-card excepted) until Round 3.
It's no doubt the past two decades of failure have guarded my expectations....but I also see too many weaknesses to get to the Grail.
Anything can happen when you get a ticket to the dance...I know that...(1971, 1986, 1993).
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 14, 2014 18:16:23 GMT -5
I think that Apron/TSN piece came across as let's do one for each team and "Why they'll win." Think of it as a different way of saying "keys to success."
While I don't really care for the complications from the new format, I think the ultimate goal is to create new match ups instead of the same old ones. They've achieved that to a degree - though having Detroit and Columbus in the East certainly aids in that. Detroit and Boston haven't faced each other in the playoffs since the 50s! (if I heard that right earlier)
|
|
|
Post by franko on Apr 14, 2014 18:56:14 GMT -5
I didn't know the new playoff set-up, franko. I now take it that each division plays amongst itself (wild-card excepted) until Round 3. ya, it's a whole new ball game to get used to I think I've said elsewhere that the stars have to align . . . but I'm channeling my inner "Bones" 2014 . . . just rolling it around my tongue. like the feel of it. it could happen . . .
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 14, 2014 19:54:06 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by habsorbed on Apr 14, 2014 22:33:55 GMT -5
It would be a most interesting article if he provided a history of how his formula has worked in the past few years. Instead he refers to one series where it did not work and blames the goaltending. And this passes for journalism at TSN. Although I certainly admit that it is a step up from all the TSN hype of the Shanahan presser. Did anyone expect anything of note to come out of that PR job Leafs fans are being sold (and soaking up)?
|
|
|
Post by blny on Apr 15, 2014 6:43:24 GMT -5
It would be a most interesting article if he provided a history of how his formula has worked in the past few years. Instead he refers to one series where it did not work and blames the goaltending. And this passes for journalism at TSN. Although I certainly admit that it is a step up from all the TSN hype of the Shanahan presser. Did anyone expect anything of note to come out of that PR job Leafs fans are being sold (and soaking up)? I've never seen a series broken down this way, and if he's never done it before he wouldn't have data to support it. Puck possession can be a useful tool, but what this attempts to do is bypass that for something more related to actual goals for and against. How many shots for and against do teams get, factor in their save percentages (and you could even factor in shooting percentages if you wanted), and get an idea for what we can expect to see for production. Possession is only useful if it creates scoring chances. There are plenty of teams that can hold onto the puck and cycle it, but how many legitimate scoring chances does it create? A simple, unobstructed, shot isn't necessarily a scoring chance imo. Meanwhile, counter attack teams, that focus on speed and plays off the rush, who many not hock the puck, generate - typically - high quality scoring chances. For me, that's where analytics falls into a big grey area. Intangibles are really hard to quantify.
|
|
|
Post by Doc Holliday on Apr 15, 2014 9:20:09 GMT -5
As many have said, biggest intangible is the coach.
Therrien CAN absolutely get his team to quite. Remember the epic collapse of 2002? Therrien has a huge ego and has no problem puting himself above the team. He's done it before.
|
|