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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 26, 2015 20:12:47 GMT -5
... Pittsburgh Penguins Vs Montreal Canadiens ... ... Monday, September 28, 2015 ... Centre Vidéotron, Québec
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 11:13:29 GMT -5
The lineups for tonight:
/photo/1
One forward and one defender will have to sit. Hope Scherbak gets some action in, as it would be good to see him play before being sent to the AHL. This is a pretty decent Habs' lineup tonight for a change!!
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 11:28:00 GMT -5
The game is on RDS at 7:00pm ET. First NHL preseason game in Quebec's new barn.
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Post by CentreHice on Sept 28, 2015 11:28:50 GMT -5
One would think a Penguins' lineup missing Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, and Kessel would be in for a pasting tonight, considering we have mostly roster players suiting up.
One would think…..
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Post by seventeen on Sept 28, 2015 12:10:01 GMT -5
If you look at the game against the Hawks, they dressed very few regulars and we had a good number of our normal roster players dressed. That one didn't turn out so well.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 18:16:40 GMT -5
Some really dominating shifts to start the game.
Eller off for tripping.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 18:32:36 GMT -5
Chucky swats one in out of the air. 1-0.
Edit: Semin's goal.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 18:38:21 GMT -5
Weise ties it up on his own net on the PK.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 18:48:01 GMT -5
PP in these meaningless preseason games was at 5.9% before this dud. JJ is way better than Lacroix lol.
End period with another PP heading into the second (a very short 5 on 3 to start the period).
DD centres the second PP wave rather than Pleky. Typical MT.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 19:07:24 GMT -5
Larry tap in on the PP. Double minor, so another two mins of PP practice.
Serious sweet pass by the General.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 19:11:22 GMT -5
Wowza, Chucky's line almost popped another five on five.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 19:44:16 GMT -5
2-1 after two. Price made a couple of mid-season nice saves in the second half of the second. With these lineups, that seems too many.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 20:07:26 GMT -5
Flynn might have touched it as Fluery bobbled it. Assists to Subban and Markov who blasted on net.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 20:14:33 GMT -5
Gally flies through the crease a la Orr. Shocking.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 28, 2015 20:36:43 GMT -5
Dutch Gretzky into EN. 4-1.
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Post by seventeen on Sept 29, 2015 1:40:24 GMT -5
Another site (shudder) said that Hudon looked really good and somewhere else I read that Scherbak was all over the ice (don't know if that's a good thing or a bad one). How did those two look? Also I gather the SEGa line was pretty good all game long (against minor leaguers of course, but at least they were noticeable). Are those reasonable impressions?
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 29, 2015 7:41:53 GMT -5
Hudon is a smart player. He will get his chance this season at some point.
Scherbak looked nervous at first, but settled in as the game progressed. Good enough showing for a 19 taking his first shifts of the season. Look forward to seeing how he does in a long AHL season.
The Semin Galchenyuk Eller was the best line on the ice, quite easily. The DD line with Weise and Fleischmann were noticeable too. Pleky, DLR and Gallagher were mainly used as the traditional third line. Pleky seems to conserve energy in the pre season, and that line will be much different once Pacioretty returns.
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Post by BadCompany on Sept 29, 2015 7:55:17 GMT -5
I thought that while Hudon was okay, I thought Scherbak was all over the place, but not in a good way. He seemed to be a little bit lost out there, and wasn't quite sure where he was supposed to be. I had high hopes for him, but I was fairly disappointed. He also looks top-heavy, in a Pierre Dagenais kind of way; needs to fill out some.
Having said that, it was clear that this was an exhibition game, and many of the veterans were treating it as such. If there was a hit thrown, I must have missed it. Subban spent most of the night practicing his "behind the back, through his legs" move at the blue line, and once I even saw Eller try to flip the puck up onto his stick to flip it over a defender (it didn't work). Did Plekanec play? Petry and Markov were a step behind the play all night, I thought. Mark Barberio though, looked like he gave-a-damn, which I suppose isn't surprising given his spot on the depth chart.
As for other players in the "veterans who tried" category, the Eller-Galchenyuk-Semin line was clearly the best, in my opinion. The Desharnais line, with Fleischmann and Weise, looked like they were having fun playing a little pond hockey, but there is no way they get that much open space to make those pretty passing plays in a real game. Weise doesn't look out of place on that line, and who knows how well it will work, but I'm still surprised that spot wasn't given to Kassian; seems to me he will be wasted playing with Mitchell and whoever.
Speaking of whoever, I thought Brian Flynn had a strong game. Interestingly he took a lot of faceoffs (seemingly) and while I can't find any stats on it this morning it seemed like he was winning more than his fair share (again, seemingly). Coupled with him getting a shot (literally) in the shoot-out the other day (and apparently he's not bad on shoot-outs) it would seem like they are testing him out as a possible specialist. Be interesting to see if he gets any penalty killing time in the next few days.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 29, 2015 8:09:34 GMT -5
I thought that while Hudon was okay, I thought Scherbak was all over the place, but not in a good way. He seemed to be a little bit lost out there, and wasn't quite sure where he was supposed to be. I had high hopes for him, but I was fairly disappointed. He also looks top-heavy, in a Pierre Dagenais kind of way; needs to fill out some. Having said that, it was clear that this was an exhibition game, and many of the veterans were treating it as such. If there was a hit thrown, I must have missed it. Subban spent most of the night practicing his "behind the back, through his legs" move at the blue line, and once I even saw Eller try to flip the puck up onto his stick to flip it over a defender (it didn't work). Did Plekanec play? Petry and Markov were a step behind the play all night, I thought. Mark Barberio though, looked like he gave-a-damn, which I suppose isn't surprising given his spot on the depth chart. As for other players in the "veterans who tried" category, the Eller-Galchenyuk-Semin line was clearly the best, in my opinion. The Desharnais line, with Fleischmann and Weise, looked like they were having fun playing a little pond hockey, but there is no way they get that much open space to make those pretty passing plays in a real game. Weise doesn't look out of place on that line, and who knows how well it will work, but I'm still surprised that spot wasn't given to Kassian; seems to me he will be wasted playing with Mitchell and whoever. Speaking of whoever, I thought Brian Flynn had a strong game. Interestingly he took a lot of faceoffs (seemingly) and while I can't find any stats on it this morning it seemed like he was winning more than his fair share (again, seemingly). Coupled with him getting a shot (literally) in the shoot-out the other day (and apparently he's not bad on shoot-outs) it would seem like they are testing him out as a possible specialist. Be interesting to see if he gets any penalty killing time in the next few days. Good post, BC ... I liked the Mark Barberio signing from the begining ... he's a proven NHLer from the Tampa Bay system ... as for Zack Kassian, maybe the trade is turning out the way it sounded; a 4th liner for a 4th liner ... however, it's possible that Kassian may excel on the 4th-line if he gets the match-ups ... not saying this will be, but I can't see him doing any worse than Brandon Prust (that's not a slight on Prust) ... was listening to TSN690 (here and there) on the way into work and they were extremely impressed with Galchenyuk's prep for this season ... anyway, we're close to another long season ... here's hoping my temperment holds out ... Cheers.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 29, 2015 9:51:06 GMT -5
BC, I too am puzzled why Kassian is not getting a fair shake on that third line with DD. From all accounts of those that have followed his game closely before the trade, he has skill and performs best when in a top nine role. He is not an energy or goon player, despite his big frame. I guess MT cannot see past that yet, but it will be up to Kassian to earn that spot that clearly one of MT's faves has the edge on right now.
The RDS love fest for both DD and Barberio was in mid-season form. Not entirely surprising. Given MT's praise for Barberio the other day in the scrum...Tinordi has to start wondering if and when. The Berg added some decent depth in Barberio, but may have a tough decision to make even if he decides to keep eight Dmen up in Montreal. Some guy will have to move in all likelihood, and we know the Berg likes his depth. Tinordi has not clearly won that eighth spot with his play to date. Rather sad to say the least.
It will be interesting to see what they do with Fleischmann. He has looked good on that DD line against a bunch of kids and AHLers. If that line plays more of a traditional third line role against good lines on the road, they may not look nearly as comfortable. They may be hemmed a lot in their own end.
A lot of the forwards were cheating on the defense all night, not keeping a tight gap. This forced a lot of bad passes and turnovers, and the dreaded chipping off the glass. Some proper practices with established lines should help that.
Markov looked slow last night, and I expect he will get over-used during the regular season. Both Petry and Beaulieu look poised to take on some of those additional responsibilities and allow the coaching staff to better manage Markov's ice time. We shall see what really happens.
Interesting to see Eller take some of the faceoffs on that line, especially on the PP in the offensive zone. This gets both skilled guys in Chucky and Semin into more dangerous positions.
It is pre-season, it is meaningless...but the boys should have won this one easily with those lineups. The first few real games will be a much better judge on whether the team is taking a step forward, or treading water and hoping the Price is always right.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 29, 2015 10:41:55 GMT -5
BC, I too am puzzled why Kassian is not getting a fair shake on that third line with DD. From all accounts of those that have followed his game closely before the trade, he has skill and performs best when in a top nine role. He is not an energy or goon player, despite his big frame. I guess MT cannot see past that yet, but it will be up to Kassian to earn that spot that clearly one of MT's faves has the edge on right now. Looking at last night's lineup I see Alex Galchenyuk, Alex Semin and Dale Weise at the RW positions ... I think of those three the available spot might be Weise ... has Weise played better than Zack Kassian, in your opinion ... I'm wondering if he was thinking that last year ... I know a few of us here on the boards were thinking that, anyway ... The Fleischmann signing kind of reminds me of Serge Savard adding Gary Leeman back in the day ... Never a bad thing having two centres on a line ... Cheers.
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Post by blny on Sept 29, 2015 11:03:34 GMT -5
Re Galchenyuk, he came to camp in fantastic shape. The baby fat is gone. He's added muscle over the summer.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 29, 2015 11:43:22 GMT -5
Re Galchenyuk, he came to camp in fantastic shape. The baby fat is gone. He's added muscle over the summer. You can also see more confidence, especially at both ends of the ice. Hope that sticks all season, as he has the tools and now has a potentially very skilled linemate in Semin.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 29, 2015 11:52:29 GMT -5
Looking at last night's lineup I see Alex Galchenyuk, Alex Semin and Dale Weise at the RW positions ... I think of those three the available spot might be Weise ... has Weise played better than Zack Kassian, in your opinion ... I am assuming you mean Gallagher rather than Galchenyuk. As for your question about Kassian vs Weise, Kassian really has been stuck with far less skilled and experienced guys than Weise has so far in the preseason games. Weise has had the benefit of the talented DD and veteran Fleischmann who is working for a contract. I think MT has already pegged Kassian into a fourth line role at this point. Lots can change as we have seen often, but I think Kassian could be a better option for a bigger body in the top nine than Prust was and Weise can be. The other factor is that MT does like his "pairs", so if they sign Fleischmann and keep him paired with DD, MT could move guys around on that extra wing spot on that line. Maybe I am cheering too hard for a breakthrough for Zack with his new team. Nah, we are Habs fans, cheering too hard is in our DNA!!
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 29, 2015 12:22:38 GMT -5
Looking at last night's lineup I see Alex Galchenyuk, Alex Semin and Dale Weise at the RW positions ... I think of those three the available spot might be Weise ... has Weise played better than Zack Kassian, in your opinion ... I am assuming you mean Gallagher rather than Galchenyuk. As for your question about Kassian vs Weise, Kassian really has been stuck with far less skilled and experienced guys than Weise has so far in the preseason games. Weise has had the benefit of the talented DD and veteran Fleischmann who is working for a contract. I think MT has already pegged Kassian into a fourth line role at this point. Lots can change as we have seen often, but I think Kassian could be a better option for a bigger body in the top nine than Prust was and Weise can be. The other factor is that MT does like his "pairs", so if they sign Fleischmann and keep him paired with DD, MT could move guys around on that extra wing spot on that line. Maybe I am cheering too hard for a breakthrough for Zack with his new team. Nah, we are Habs fans, cheering too hard is in our DNA!! My mistake entirely, yes, I meant Brendan Gallagher (even had the link open in another tab while I was referencing it) ... cheering too hard? ... never ... Cheers.
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Post by franko on Sept 29, 2015 12:24:53 GMT -5
I think MT has already pegged Kassian into a fourth line role at this point. MT narrowly deciding in advance who will play where and not being willing to change? Say it isn't so!
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Post by blny on Sept 29, 2015 12:55:20 GMT -5
Re Galchenyuk, he came to camp in fantastic shape. The baby fat is gone. He's added muscle over the summer. You can also see more confidence, especially at both ends of the ice. Hope that sticks all season, as he has the tools and now has a potentially very skilled linemate in Semin. I don't think there's any doubt that him wanting to play center, and being told "you're playing center all year", had a big impact on his psyche. His role is defined. He's got a skilled winger with size and a shot. He's got a hard working player with size, speed, some skill, and previous chemistry too. Given what's available, you'd have to say that the club is giving him the opportunity to succeed. If Semin turns out to be a boat anchor, he'll be dumped I'm sure.
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