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Post by Willie Dog on Mar 6, 2015 13:38:56 GMT -5
Was this a midnight start for you? Yeah, the game was a 10:30 eastern start ... so midnight here. But I could have sworn that I was flipping back and forth with the NL-QUE curling game ... must have been the pre-game I guess The 2nd half of the game was fun to watch. It was nice to see them lay the body on the kings and to see eller and weise pick up their game. It would have been great to see Larry score in the shootout but he had quick beat and hit the cross bar.
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Post by Boston_Habs on Mar 6, 2015 14:20:55 GMT -5
The 2nd half of the game was fun to watch. It was nice to see them lay the body on the kings and to see eller and weise pick up their game. In some ways the Habs need to wake up to the type of team they can be. We've been the smurfs, a rope-a-dope finesse team, and now a pop-gun offense that relies too much on the goalie. But we've got some big bodies now that can play a punishing, physical style: Eller, Prust, Weise, DSP, Mitchell, Pacioretty is a big guy, Galchenyuk is big/strong, Subban is built like an ox. I think the Habs were probably a bit intimidated early on against the "big bad Kings" but then realized they can hang with those guys from a physical standpoint. The game against the Coyotes is big. They found their stride in the 2nd half against LA and now they need to sustain that and drop the hammer against Arizona. Gotta get the 2 points and salvage the trip.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 6, 2015 14:50:52 GMT -5
This most recent incarnation of Petry and Gilbert (and against a tough, Western team) helps me miss Tinordi, Pateryn and even Emelin (for far too many of his games this season) a lot less. Weaver is a different player than last spring. What a slide. result of the concussion after the cheapshot hit in Dallas last December by Ryan Garbutt? Could well be. Zednik was never the same.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 6, 2015 14:53:33 GMT -5
The game against the Coyotes is big. They found their stride in the 2nd half against LA and now they need to sustain that and drop the hammer against Arizona. Gotta get the 2 points and salvage the trip. Fully agree. I am sure going into this trip the goal was not to only get three points out of eight. Right now, three of eight would be a moral victory.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 6, 2015 15:00:57 GMT -5
I woke up and checked the box score and saw Eller got the penalty where the Kings tied it up (less than a minute !! ... Arrrgh ... We seem to do that a lot) And Eller missed his shootout attempt. Thought I'd come in and read people thrashing him ... Good to see he played well. Eller did what he's been doing all year, which is to drive possession but not produce. He was one of only 3 Habs forward with a 50% Corsi (Pax and DSP were the others). The high stick was kind of flukey and it was nice to see MT use him in the shootout. Of course he hit the post... I saw the high stick and it was totally unintentional ... it had to be called, I suppose, but it was the result of working hard ... loved that goal by Brent Burns Tom Gilbert ... Cheers.
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Post by HFTO on Mar 6, 2015 17:57:29 GMT -5
Two things this team has to work on in this last quarter and they will have a good measuring stick with their biggest foe Tampa 3 times down the stretch
1.First Periods these slow starts can't continue 2. PP unless they can turn this around significantly....major trouble
Tampa can score and last years playoff aside we struggle with their massive D. And can not beat Bishop going back to the Ottawa days fall behind there us no comebacks
Should they finish 1st I believe they can beat Boston.... If it's Otawa I'd be worried a bit more just because of recent history but they should prevail.
If they finish 2nd and have to play Detroit only reason I'd be worried is Babcock he will out coach the hell out of MT Head...price would have to win this series
This team is good but they have to step up another level collectively to match their goaltender to get to the finals and then it maybe another level to get to the promised land.
I think a step back is coming and it may not be a bad thing no matter how painfull there is major internal growth coming.
I' m prepared for a major fall I won't be happy but I think it's coming until this team matures.
Pumped for the real season none the less
HFTO
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Post by seventeen on Mar 6, 2015 18:44:03 GMT -5
Good points HFTO. Wow, are there any weak teams one would like to face? Doesn't look much like it, at least not heading into the playoffs. In hindsight afterward, everything is much clearer. Lots of parity this year and more than a few teams that could win it all. Strangely enough, I wonder if some of the Eastern teams aren't more likely this year? We saw the Kings and they're not so frightful. Anaheim is awfully young and their goaltending may be inconsistent, especially under playoff pressure. St. Louis seems more like goons and their defence didn't look inspiring against us, not to mention their goaltending is inconsistent, yet again. In the East, the Rangers have gotten a lot better, are big and fast, Pittsburgh has improved (Fleury still questionable IMO), Tampa is well coached and has Stamkos and an underrated Tyler Johnson (Bishop not so good this year) and Detroit seems to win....somehow, with a team on paper that should be fighting for a playoff spot. It's hard to look at pretty well any team and not see some faults, but also a lot of strengths. We have age on D and are weak up the centre spot and are horribly inconsistent from one period to another, but the Habs have Price, the great equalizer. Will he continue that play in the playoffs? Will the PP be any better or kill the Habs? From what I saw of the Rangers against Nashville this past week, they looked really good. Then they lost their next game. That's another team that's questionable up the middle. Stepan, Brassard, JT Miller, James Sheppard and Dom Moore don't send women and children scurrying. I like Moore a ton, but he's their 3/4 line guy in his role. There's nothing wrong with those centres, but they're not Crosby or Malkin, so no matter how much I like the Rangers chances, that's a weak area for them, same as us.
Chicago would have been a favourite, but not having Kane forces everyone to move up a slot and I don't think they can handle the improved competition they'll have to face.
I wonder if we should have a Stanley Cup prediction thread as my simple post seems to have expanded into that territory. Anyway, a lot of teams could go all the way this year.
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Post by CentreHice on Mar 6, 2015 19:55:44 GMT -5
The Islanders are finally enjoying the fruits of last place finishes. Not an easy out.
And Trotz has re-energized Ovechkin and has his usual good system in place.
Lots of parity in the East, for sure.
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Post by seventeen on Mar 6, 2015 20:23:42 GMT -5
The Islanders are finally enjoying the fruits of last place finishes. Not an easy out. And Trotz has re-energized Ovechkin and has his usual good system in place. Lots of parity in the East, for sure. I should have included those two as well, but the list was getting plenty long already.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 6, 2015 20:28:32 GMT -5
Two things this team has to work on in this last quarter and they will have a good measuring stick with their biggest foe Tampa 3 times down the stretch 1.First Periods these slow starts can't continue 2. PP unless they can turn this around significantly....major trouble Tampa can score and last years playoff aside we struggle with their massive D. And can not beat Bishop going back to the Ottawa days fall behind there us no comebacks Should they finish 1st I believe they can beat Boston.... If it's Otawa I'd be worried a bit more just because of recent history but they should prevail. If they finish 2nd and have to play Detroit only reason I'd be worried is Babcock he will out coach the hell out of MT Head...price would have to win this series This team is good but they have to step up another level collectively to match their goaltender to get to the finals and then it maybe another level to get to the promised land. I think a step back is coming and it may not be a bad thing no matter how painfull there is major internal growth coming. I' m prepared for a major fall I won't be happy but I think it's coming until this team matures. Pumped for the real season none the less HFTO Three teams concern me ... Tampa, Ottawa and NY Rangers ... the Habs can't seem to beat Tampa or Ottawa for whatever the reason ... the Rangers have a championship-caliber blue line corps ... they have some impact players but the only way we're going anywhere is if our team plays like a team ... we may not score a lot, but when our team plays together, they don't allow a lot of goals either ... Cheers.
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Post by HFTO on Mar 7, 2015 10:21:16 GMT -5
No Doubt Dis ......we all remember Roy if any goaltender is poised to make that run it's Carey Price....this team has another level we've seen it at times let's hope I want to be down on that parade route with my Carinval Bon Homme Stick filled with bourbon.
Go Habs
HFTO
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