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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 20, 2016 11:57:50 GMT -5
I haven't followed San Jose much, but I'm guessing that their goaltending's better than it's been. That helps. They got Martin Jones from the Kings. He's been steady, but not spectacular. He hasn't had to be. That was an interesting pair of trades, as he was part of the Lucic trade with Boston that also sent a first rounder to Boston. They promptly traded him to San Jose for a first rounder in this year's draft. It was highly doubtful that LA would have traded with San Jose directly. |
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Post by blny on May 20, 2016 12:22:46 GMT -5
They got Martin Jones from the Kings. He's been steady, but not spectacular. He hasn't had to be. That was an interesting pair of trades, as he was part of the Lucic trade with Boston that also sent a first rounder to Boston. They promptly traded him to San Jose for a first rounder in this year's draft. It was highly doubtful that LA would have traded with San Jose directly. Right. I'd forgotten that. Thanks. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 20, 2016 17:34:56 GMT -5
I like what I'm hearing from Joe Sullivan right now ... the team is tight ... they all get along ... easy thing to say when you're winning ... I sort of see that on the ice, too ... Phil Kessel has a bounce in his step again ... he's involved all the time ... I'd say he's been a factor ... gotta tune in tonight ... pretty good hockey and I'm okay with Pittsburgh ... what's with the friggin' Sharks, man ... they've got a good team in San Jose ... had Martin Jones in one of my pools ... I had him tagged in the HabsRus draft, but Franko took him a few spots before I could ... it would be cool to see him with a Cup ... they gave up a 1st-rounder and a prospect to Boston to get him ... Brent Burns was always a factor but, he's kicked up his game now ... don't think St Louis has an answer ... ditto Tampa Bay ... Cheers. |
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Post by CentreHice on May 20, 2016 18:59:58 GMT -5
I remember Sullivan's rookie head coaching year….Bruins 03-04. First place finish in our division.
Habs upset them in Round 1, 4-3….after falling behind 1-3 in the series on that Kovalev ouch-my-hand play in OT. Then Souray ran into Kovalev for some reason, leaving the lane open for Murray.
Theo then went into shut down mode….and Koivu and Kovalev came to life. Outscored the Bruins 12-3 in the last 3 games. I certainly didn't expect that.
Zednik the hero in Game 7 with both goals in a 2-0 win. Nothing like the Habs eliminating the Bruins in Boston!
Not many highlights since our '93 Cup….but that series was one of them….
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Post by blny on May 20, 2016 19:29:00 GMT -5
Thornton scored no points in those 7 games, with busted ribs. It was the beginning of the end for him with the haters in Beantown. Imagine, all the Bruins got for him was Sturm, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart.
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Post by CentreHice on May 20, 2016 20:27:57 GMT -5
I've noticed that Cherry has his ego amp turned to 10 nowadays.
Starts off with Mitch Marner at the Memorial Cup. Of course....he's going to be a Leaf. Let's celebrate!
A good play...."That's the way I used to do it with the Bruins...."
A good save...."I used to tell Cheevers to do the same thing...."
Hilarious about Mike Sullivan yelling at Malkin to SHUTUP on the bench. (paraphrased)
"Remember, I said you can't be doin' that! Well, somebody must've told him about Coach's Corner and what I said, because look at this the other night...he just comes over and says, That's enough, boys! Just like I said he should! I know it's tough, I remember when I first came to the Bruins, I made some mistakes. When ya come up from the American Hockey League, it's tough for the first while....but he listened to me, and if he keeps doin' that, he just might win Coach of the Year!"
I think Maclean was trying to tell him that Sullivan has been an NHL head coach before....and an NHL Assistant Coach for 7 recent seasons. He knows how to talk to players. He started with Wilkes-Barre this season and was up with the Penguins after only 23 games in the AHL.
Cherry worms his way into everything...even if he has to make it up! It's quite amazing....
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Post by CentreHice on May 20, 2016 22:44:34 GMT -5
Pens down 4-0 after two....so Sullivan goes to MAF for the third.
Pens made a 4-3 game of it....and came somewhat close to sending it to OT....but....the adage "Games are 60 minutes, boys!" comes to mind.
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Post by blny on May 22, 2016 11:55:03 GMT -5
Pens' Daley gone for rest of playoffs with broken ankle. It's a big loss for a Pens team that isn't overly deep on defense and he's been playing well. MAF is also starting tonight.
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Post by seventeen on May 23, 2016 19:38:18 GMT -5
Watching the Blues/Sharks and frustrated with Bob Cole because I don't know all the players and their numbers and he's no help at all. A Shark right winger takes a shot and there's a gap in the play by play cause Bob doesn't know the guy either. Sigh.
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Post by Boston_Habs on May 24, 2016 8:03:47 GMT -5
What I notice in the case of San Jose and Tampa is the important guys on those teams are getting the job done. Guys like Pavelski, Couture, Thornton, Burns, and Ward in San Jose and Kucherov, Johnson, Killorn in Tampa. Not always the big stars, but guys who have a role and playing their roles to tee. In contrast, Tarasenko has been quiet in this series and even Crosby and Malkin haven't been huge factors. Both series can still go either way, but you always like to see your best players at their best.
I can't believe Bob Cole is still calling hockey games. Time to pass the torch.
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Post by blny on May 24, 2016 9:10:30 GMT -5
I don't think HNIC has Cole calling games because they necessarily want him to. There's a huge void in terms of young talent capable of play by play. I've seen enough highlight packages of this year's draft eligible players to know that the pickings are slim at the junior level. They go from bad to down right horrible.
Guys like Cuthbert, Hughson and Romanuk aren't young either. They're all 55-60 years of age. Networks are quick to hire young, fit, attractive men and women to fill roles in the studio, but live on air talent has fallen by the wayside.
....................................................................................................
Back to the games.
I was more than surprised to see MAF in net for the Pens. I think that was a panic move by Sullivan, and a bad one. MAF was not good in the OT loss in game 5. He consistently looked small in net, and allowed several pucks passed him that he shouldn't have. I'd be going back to Murray. I don't know what to think about game 6 tonight. I think the Pens did a pretty good job making up for not having Daley. They won't have the benefit of the last change tonight.
The Blues showed that when the game becomes a track meet they can't keep up. They have to slow things down and grind it out. The Sharks seemed to rebound from a poor game 4. Given the Blues stole one in the first game, this series should likely be over. It's going back to SJ, and my gut tells me that the Sharks will close this one out at home.
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Post by seventeen on May 24, 2016 12:00:09 GMT -5
I think Sullivan was trying to reward Fleury for a very good regular season, and hoping he'd rise to the occasion. Fleury, unfortunately has shown a tendency to do the exact opposite at key times. He has a difficult time with the pressure. I still cringe thinking of that WJC goal against him that cost Canada the trophy. Nice bank shot off Coburn into his own net. Sheesh.
Murray was first on the ice for the morning skate, usually an indicator of who is starting in net tonight.
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Post by CentreHice on May 24, 2016 22:05:01 GMT -5
Hedman caught pressing to try to tie the game....Rust with the breakaway....4-2 insurance. 5-2 empty net. I swear Hughson et al have been cheering for Tampa Bay all night. Funny, I usually find myself rooting against the team they favour....  I've been pulling for the Pens since the playoffs started....my only question was their goaltending...as they were using their third stringer when the playoffs started. Ah, to have that kind of depth to withstand goaltending woes. Or even to have that kind of goaltending depth. Habs used to have the latter in spades. |
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Post by jkr on May 25, 2016 7:04:57 GMT -5
I think Sullivan was trying to reward Fleury for a very good regular season, and hoping he'd rise to the occasion. Fleury, unfortunately has shown a tendency to do the exact opposite at key times. He has a difficult time with the pressure. I still cringe thinking of that WJC goal against him that cost Canada the trophy. Nice bank shot off Coburn into his own net. Sheesh. Murray was first on the ice for the morning skate, usually an indicator of who is starting in net tonight. Wonder if Bergevin is taking note. Tampa or Pitt will make the Finals with a backup goalie. Hitchcock switches again like Dallas had to & still has a shot at the Finals. SJ has Jones who was a backup with the Kings. No stars on that list but one of them will win the Cup. |
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Post by blny on May 25, 2016 7:18:00 GMT -5
I don't know that anyone will be following the Dallas model. They've overpaid for two inconsistent goalies who both wilted. They have more committed to goalies than any other team, and I don't see anyone trading for one of Niemi or Lehtonen. The Stars went into the playoffs with the most goals against of any playoff team. They also scored more than anyone else, which masked their goalie problems for 82 games.
Allen would have been the Blues starter for the playoffs, but he was injured. Elliot came in and played well to start. I don't think Allen has done anything remarkable since getting a chance.
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Post by Boston_Habs on May 25, 2016 7:32:04 GMT -5
I think Sullivan was trying to reward Fleury for a very good regular season, and hoping he'd rise to the occasion. Fleury, unfortunately has shown a tendency to do the exact opposite at key times. He has a difficult time with the pressure. I still cringe thinking of that WJC goal against him that cost Canada the trophy. Nice bank shot off Coburn into his own net. Sheesh. Murray was first on the ice for the morning skate, usually an indicator of who is starting in net tonight. Wonder if Bergevin is taking note. Tampa or Pitt will make the Finals with a backup goalie. Hitchcock switches again like Dallas had to & still has a shot at the Finals. SJ has Jones who was a backup with the Kings. No stars on that list but one of them will win the Cup. Great point. All 4 teams have been getting solid goaltending, but nobody has been lights out. And that's OK because those teams are all getting solid play from the forwards through the D. The Sharks have never looked deeper and their best players have been awesome (Thornton, Pavelski, Couture, Burns), the Pens are still a dangerous team after Crosby and Malkin, the Bolts are just a tough group to handle and the fact that they have gone this far without Stamkos and Bishop is amazing, and the Blues are deep and balanced as well. I love that we have Price and he gives us a little extra margin, but it's interesting that none of the 4 teams are winning because of a hot goalie. I'd say Vasilevskiy is probably the closest to stealing a series that has otherwise been controlled by Pittsburgh. |
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Post by BadCompany on May 25, 2016 9:10:21 GMT -5
In a round-about way it brings up that old argument of whether we should have drafted Price in the first place. Is it better to have an elite goalie and say a good center, or an elite center and a good goalie? Were we right to have drafted Price? He may have been the best player available... but is he the best thing to build a team around?
It's an argument that is still pertinent today, because in the not-too-distant future we may have to make a decision on what the team needs to look like. Do you give a goalie $10 million? Or would we be better off trading him, for say a $7 million center?
If the Oilers come calling, offering McDavid and Talbot for Price, do we take it?
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Post by blny on May 25, 2016 9:43:18 GMT -5
In a round-about way it brings up that old argument of whether we should have drafted Price in the first place. Is it better to have an elite goalie and say a good center, or an elite center and a good goalie? Were we right to have drafted Price? He may have been the best player available... but is he the best thing to build a team around? It's an argument that is still pertinent today, because in the not-too-distant future we may have to make a decision on what the team needs to look like. Do you give a goalie $10 million? Or would we be better off trading him, for say a $7 million center? If the Oilers come calling, offering McDavid and Talbot for Price, do we take it? I would, but I don't see the Oil making that offer. Connor just became the youngest player in history to earn a U18, U20 and WHC gold. |
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Post by seventeen on May 25, 2016 13:05:11 GMT -5
If the Oilers come calling, offering McDavid and Talbot for Price, do we take it? I'd do it too, but the Oil won't. |
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Post by Skilly on May 25, 2016 14:12:34 GMT -5
In a round-about way it brings up that old argument of whether we should have drafted Price in the first place. Is it better to have an elite goalie and say a good center, or an elite center and a good goalie? Were we right to have drafted Price? He may have been the best player available... but is he the best thing to build a team around? It's an argument that is still pertinent today, because in the not-too-distant future we may have to make a decision on what the team needs to look like. Do you give a goalie $10 million? Or would we be better off trading him, for say a $7 million center? If the Oilers come calling, offering McDavid and Talbot for Price, do we take it? It could also bring us back to Price vs Halak. Remember Price lost the starter job that year as he was very shaky. Halak was publicly named the starter just prior to the playoffs. After the season was over the Habs knew they were going to have a goalie controversy unless one was traded. Management felt that Price's pedigree was the deciding factor and traded Halak and got Eller and Schultz in return. I saw on TV recently, that a few GMs called and asked what would it take for Montreal to trade Price. One GM (I believe it was Armstrong) called multiple times and Montreal asked what would they give for Halak. Price may have been having some issues back then, but he was highly sought after and the return would have been more than Eller. But would we have been better off? Somehow I doubt Halak would our goalie today though. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 25, 2016 15:15:44 GMT -5
... missed this last night ... a nice tribute to The Tragically Hip's front man, Gord Downie, who was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor ...
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Post by CentreHice on May 25, 2016 15:56:13 GMT -5
Terrible news…you just never know….
Another reminder to carpe diem, boys…..
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Post by seventeen on May 25, 2016 17:55:17 GMT -5
Carp time. Not quite the same as Miller time.
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Post by blny on May 25, 2016 20:43:52 GMT -5
Bob Cole just called the Sharks the "North Stars". lol
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Post by Skilly on May 25, 2016 22:46:22 GMT -5
The deck was really stacked against Ken Hitchcock. In the history of the NHL, only three coaches have won a Cup on multiple teams (Tommy Gorman, Dick Irvin, Scotty Bowman). People always say they want a Cup winning coach (a la Babcock) , but the probability is greater that we will win with someone like Therrien.
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Post by blny on May 25, 2016 22:55:56 GMT -5
Strong comments from Jumbo supporting DeBoer. Joe saying that from day one the message to the players from the coach was that he believed they were good enough to win it all.
In the end, the Sharks skill level was just too much for the Blues. The score flattered the Blues imo. Whoever the Sharks face will be in tough.
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Post by franko on May 26, 2016 6:02:37 GMT -5
we will win with someone like Therrien. you take that back! oh . . . someone like . . . I get it. someone signed by the Habs. |
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Post by Boston_Habs on May 26, 2016 8:02:24 GMT -5
Strong comments from Jumbo supporting DeBoer. Joe saying that from day one the message to the players from the coach was that he believed they were good enough to win it all. In the end, the Sharks skill level was just too much for the Blues. The score flattered the Blues imo. Whoever the Sharks face will be in tough. This. I'm totally down with the Sharks, who pretty much dominated 5 out of the 6 games. Again, the depth. San Jose was always a top heavy team with shaky goaltending in crunch time, but now they are getting production up and down the lineup and Jones has been good enough. Not great, but he doesn't need to be. San Jose top 9: Thornton Marleau Pavelski Couture Ward (UFA) Hertl (2012, 1st round) Donskoi (unsigned UFA) Tierney (2012, 2nd round) Karlsson (undrafted UFA) Pavelski and Couture have been good for a while, but it's the production down the lineup that made the Sharks the #4 scoring team in the league. They picked up Hertl in the 2012 draft, but where the Habs appear to have whiffed on every pick after Galchenyuk (fingers crossed on Hudon), the Sharks got Chris Tierney in the 2nd round who has been a solid role player. Watching the playoffs I've been more convinced that the biggest failing so far of Bergevin is the inability to find productive secondary scoring either in the draft or in UFAs. Joel Ward scored a ton of big goals for the Caps and he's been a great fit in San Jose. He also has a very nice 3-year, $3.275m contract. Meanwhile, Berg continually cycles through marginal players like Mitchell, Flynn, Semin, Briere, Parenteau, Danault.... None of those guys came at great cost, but nothing has worked yet either. I'm happy to keep seats warm for guys like Andrighetto, Lehkonen, and Hudon but one of those guys is going to have to emerge next year as real player. |
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Post by blny on May 26, 2016 8:33:34 GMT -5
Strong comments from Jumbo supporting DeBoer. Joe saying that from day one the message to the players from the coach was that he believed they were good enough to win it all. In the end, the Sharks skill level was just too much for the Blues. The score flattered the Blues imo. Whoever the Sharks face will be in tough. This. I'm totally down with the Sharks, who pretty much dominated 5 out of the 6 games. Again, the depth. San Jose was always a top heavy team with shaky goaltending in crunch time, but now they are getting production up and down the lineup and Jones has been good enough. Not great, but he doesn't need to be. San Jose top 9: Thornton Marleau Pavelski Couture Ward (UFA) Hertl (2012, 1st round) Donskoi (unsigned UFA) Tierney (2012, 2nd round) Karlsson (undrafted UFA) Pavelski and Couture have been good for a while, but it's the production down the lineup that made the Sharks the #4 scoring team in the league. They picked up Hertl in the 2012 draft, but where the Habs appear to have whiffed on every pick after Galchenyuk (fingers crossed on Hudon), the Sharks got Chris Tierney in the 2nd round who has been a solid role player. Watching the playoffs I've been more convinced that the biggest failing so far of Bergevin is the inability to find productive secondary scoring either in the draft or in UFAs. Joel Ward scored a ton of big goals for the Caps and he's been a great fit in San Jose. He also has a very nice 3-year, $3.275m contract. Meanwhile, Berg continually cycles through marginal players like Mitchell, Flynn, Semin, Briere, Parenteau, Danault.... None of those guys came at great cost, but nothing has worked yet either. I'm happy to keep seats warm for guys like Andrighetto, Lehkonen, and Hudon but one of those guys is going to have to emerge next year as real player. Ward and Brouwer are similar players. Speed, size/strength to play hard, and a knack for timely goals. Neither is a player I'd consider the perfect second liner, but you can put either on a skilled line and they won't look out of place. I had hopes for PAP. He'd shown the ability to produce with skilled players in NY and Denver. He had a decent season with the Leafs. Whether it was his fault, or Therrien's, he never seemed to fit. |
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Post by CentreHice on May 26, 2016 8:44:11 GMT -5
I heard Thornton's comments about DeBoer.
First thing out of his mouth when asked about the main difference this year.
From Out of Playoffs to Stanley Cup Finals...
I know there are other factors involved as mentioned above….but coaching DOES make a difference. Tone at the top….you can see that the whole team is performing with primo confidence in itself. I'd have to think that DeBoer devised a system to shut down Tarasenko. Sure he got a couple after the Sharks built a 4-0 lead…but those were his only 2 pts. of the series.
What a deflection by Ward for the 2-0 goal. He's come up big in big games before...eh, Bruins' fans?
Gotta feel good for Doug Wilson, too…
He didn't win the Cup as a player…but this is his best shot! His Blackhawks never made the Finals. Ironically, Chicago did make the Finals the year Wilson went to San Jose, 1991-92.
BTW, does that guy ever age? He's going to be 60 next year.
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