|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 16, 2017 14:07:18 GMT -5
Rocket play again later today.
The Good: Scherbak returns to action after a long layoff.
The Bad: The Team has lost 10 of its last 11.
The Ugly: Sly and Carriere Jr still have jobs.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 17, 2017 16:12:18 GMT -5
Saturday was a 3-1 loss to Charlotte, and today was a 7-5 loss to Charlotte. The Rocket gave up the last three goals in the third after taking their only lead of the game about four minutes into the third. Juulsen had a goal and an assist (both AHL firsts for him), Terry had three assists, McCarron with 1+1, and Scherbak with two goals.
Scherbak had an assist last night too on their only goal. He now has points in every AHL game he has played in this season. 12 points in 8 games.
The Rocket have now lost 12 of their last 13. Lindgren has lost his last 11 AHL/NHL starts. He was/is not getting much help in front of him.
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Dec 17, 2017 21:10:46 GMT -5
Good thing Lefebvre is such a great coach. If he weren't, think of where the Rocket would be. Out of the playoffs for sure. Hmmmmmm.....
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 18, 2017 10:31:04 GMT -5
Juulsen was putting up great "defenseman numbers" in juniors heading into this season. Looks like he is already picking up where he left off, despite not playing in so long due to injury and also playing in the AHL now. He is very good at controlled zone exits, breaking up zone entries, and showing good gap control in his own end. With Juulsen injured early on and Mete's great camp and early season, all the talk about our defensive prospects have started and finished with Mete. I still think Juulsen is the better overall prospect, although he brings very different things to the table than Mete.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 18, 2017 10:34:12 GMT -5
What is even tougher on McNiven and Fucale is that Sly has been playing Lindgren all the time. The other two need to get some action in soon. Why not send one back to Brampton on a rotational basis to keep them playing and fresh? Odd player management.
|
|
|
Post by blny on Dec 18, 2017 10:48:02 GMT -5
I really believe that Juulsen will end up being a Bouwmeester-lite. He'll put up the sort of points that Jay puts up now, be a smooth presence at both ends, use his size and skating ability well, etc. Not enough offense for a traditional first pair guy maybe, but definitely top 4.
|
|
|
Post by CentreHice on Dec 18, 2017 12:02:49 GMT -5
Are we in the process of ruining Lindgren now?
Seems as if nothing's working out for Berg & Friends....
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Dec 18, 2017 13:26:44 GMT -5
You hire incompetent people and they make incompetent decisions. It's a law of nature. Usually it leads to Darwinism and I hope that comes true in this case as well. Adapt or die.
|
|
|
Post by Tankdriver on Dec 18, 2017 14:50:37 GMT -5
Serious question. What needs to happen for Lefebvre to lose his job? A racist derogatory comments? Sexual Harassement? The guy seems bullet proof.
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Dec 18, 2017 15:20:54 GMT -5
Bergevin getting replaced will immediately remove Lefebvre. Who else sits around waiting for a failed coach to not get any offers from other NHL teams before rehiring him? Our stellar GM, that's who. Did that not scream out that Lefebvre has no talent that other teams consider valuable? He's a buddy of Marc's and that's good enough. ONce Marc is gone, Sly is gone.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 19, 2017 16:03:03 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 20, 2017 21:25:34 GMT -5
Scherbak keeps getting points. A goal and two assists so far tonight.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 20, 2017 22:44:45 GMT -5
Rocket beat Syracuse 5-2. Terry with four pounts, Scherbak and Cracknell with three. Lernout with 1+1 and a call up right after the win.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 21, 2017 10:45:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 21, 2017 10:55:20 GMT -5
How is Nikita Scherbak doing, you ask?
Since returning from injury recently, he has 6 points in those 3 games (3g, 3a). He has points in all 9 games he has played in the AHL this season: 15 points in 9 games. And this is on a team currently outside looking in to the AHL playoff picture.
How many board battles does he win? Who cares!!
|
|
|
Post by blny on Dec 21, 2017 12:10:53 GMT -5
Injuries are the only thing that's held him back to this point imo. Would love to see him called up after a regime change. He may get it otherwise. We need goals. He's scoring them. He gets to openings on the ice and shoots accurately.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 21, 2017 12:21:35 GMT -5
Injuries are the only thing that's held him back to this point imo. Would love to see him called up after a regime change. He may get it otherwise. We need goals. He's scoring them. He gets to openings on the ice and shoots accurately. Absolutely right. To build on this, I would keep him in Laval for a big chunk of the season too. He has only played 9 AHL games and 2 NHL games this season. He needs to play, get lots of ice time, and play in a role to which he is suited. IMO Laval is a better place for that than Montreal right now. He is still only 21 (for another week!) and is showing the most promise this season of his three professional seasons to date. He needs to keep building on that and proving he can do it more consistently than he has in the past. Top line ice time in Laval is likely the best place for that to happen...for now.
|
|
|
Post by blny on Dec 21, 2017 13:18:55 GMT -5
Injuries are the only thing that's held him back to this point imo. Would love to see him called up after a regime change. He may get it otherwise. We need goals. He's scoring them. He gets to openings on the ice and shoots accurately. Absolutely right. To build on this, I would keep him in Laval for a big chunk of the season too. He has only played 9 AHL games and 2 NHL games this season. He needs to play, get lots of ice time, and play in a role to which he is suited. IMO Laval is a better place for that than Montreal right now. He is still only 21 (for another week!) and is showing the most promise this season of his three professional seasons to date. He needs to keep building on that and proving he can do it more consistently than he has in the past. Top line ice time in Laval is likely the best place for that to happen...for now. Agreed
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Dec 21, 2017 14:09:38 GMT -5
Injuries are the only thing that's held him back to this point imo. Would love to see him called up after a regime change. He may get it otherwise. We need goals. He's scoring them. He gets to openings on the ice and shoots accurately. Absolutely right. To build on this, I would keep him in Laval for a big chunk of the season too. He has only played 9 AHL games and 2 NHL games this season. He needs to play, get lots of ice time, and play in a role to which he is suited. IMO Laval is a better place for that than Montreal right now. He is still only 21 (for another week!) and is showing the most promise this season of his three professional seasons to date. He needs to keep building on that and proving he can do it more consistently than he has in the past. Top line ice time in Laval is likely the best place for that to happen...for now. I will respectfully disagree, NWT, (one of those rare occasions we don't see things the same way). The reason is the guy behind the bench, though I'm not sure it would be much better in Montreal. While a lot of ice time would help Scherbak, I wonder if he's got anything left to prove in the AHL. Although he hasn't played that many games, his PPG is the highest in the league....at 21 years of age! Secondly, I'll pass along Grant McCagg's opinion on a different player, Noah Juulsen and how Sly is handling him and we can factor that in. BTW, as everyone's aware, the journalism landscape is changing so quickly. Things we used to get for free are now subscription only or pay per view. I subscribed to both The Athletic and Recrutes (Brian Wilde's and Grant McCagg's endeavour). IMO both are worthwhile, especially if you take advantage of their sales. Please excuse my sales pitch here guys. I've posted a few articles from both those sites so maybe they're owed a little quid pro quo. Ok, back to Sylvain Lefebvre and Noah Juulsen. Some facts....Juulsen's advanced stats are very solid defensively. He is the best defenseman, by far, on the Rocket at gap control, preventing clean zone entries and moving the puck out. Where he needs some development work, as others have alluded to, is on the offensive side, to improve his production. His skills set that way isn't bad, but he needs opportunity to work on it. Getting some PP time, for example, would be a good way to develop Mr. Juulsen. The bias in both Laval (St. John's/Hamilton) and Montreal has been to play veterans at the expense of youngsters. It's well documented, with Pacioretty's failures on the first PP unit as exhibit A. In Laval, who gets trotted out consistently on the 2nd PP unit? Eric Gelinas. Grant McCagg sees more than a few Laval games and one can't argue that he isn't a knowledgable judge of talent. He thinks using Juulsen on the 2nd PP unit makes a lot more sense than Eric Gelinas. Gelinas has a Rocket of a shot, when he gets it through (rarely). He also can't think his way out of a wet paper bag and is terrible at distributing pucks. In other words, he will never make the Habs, and he has little or no chance at all of ever returning to the NHL. If he wasn't a local boy he probably wouldn't have been signed by the Habs either. He is a waste of a contract. Juulsen on the other hand, is part of Montreal's future, is he not? Would it not make sense to use him on the PP, and develop his already good passing and puck distribution? McCagg says Juulsen is good at finding gaps in the defense and getting his shot through from the point. So, to summarize, Juulsen would be more effective on the PP than Gelinas, it would give him development time in an area where he needs it, and it would likely result in more wins for the Rocket. Better development, more wins. Duh. Yet, Sly keeps tossing out Gelinas. Do we need to wonder any further why Levebvre has a consistent record of missing the playoffs? He keeps hanging himself with mind boggling decisions. None of which are related to hockey skill. This is why its so critical to purge the existing management. Some things other than hockey are more important to them than improving the teams. Can you see it any other way? I can't. Now, to get back to bringing Scherbak up to Montreal. On reflection you may be right, not because he doesn't deserve to be there, but because of Julien's infatuation with his fourth line. Lehkonen will be returning soon. Who sits? My money is on Galchenyuk. Julien isn't crazy about his defensive work, and he isn't about to touch that fourth line, which will be the cornerstone of future Stanley Cups for the Habs. If he has trouble finding space for Lehkonen, there's no way Scherbak has a chance. Me, since I've written off this season already, I'd have a 4th line of Carr, McCarron and Scherbak. Time to find out if McCarron has what it takes and to give Scherbak some exposure at the NHL level. Lefebvre can go suck his thumb.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 21, 2017 20:50:11 GMT -5
17, debate and differing views is what makes discussion on this board so interesting.
I am really torn on Scherbak. I see both options on him as being flawed. You know where I stand on my assessment of Lebebvre, so it must seem odd that I would pick Laval as a better option for now for Nikita. The thing is, he is getting top ice time. That is good for his development and confidence. Now, is it because they have so few offensive options? Maybe. Sly has made some real bone headed choices about how he has deployed Scherbak in the past two years. If he has a bad game, could this happen again? With Sly, you just never know.
The Montreal option would help him get his game to the next level; however, Julien still defers to more experienced players. He is no Therrien, but he is a tad over-obsessed on a player’s defensive play. I would hate to see most of his ice time on the fourth line or in the press box because he does not back check enough or does not win enough board battles. Julien still runs this team through a very risk intolerant manner. #safeisdeath. Scherbak brings something this team sorely lacks. I just hope they let him do so without too many strings attached.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 24, 2017 11:39:16 GMT -5
I had to laugh. I know this is the season of giving and good tidings and all, so I had to share a chuckle. Sorry Sly!!
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Dec 24, 2017 17:01:36 GMT -5
Marc (Santa) Bergevin.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 27, 2017 22:19:53 GMT -5
Rocket with a rare win, beating the Amerks 3-1. Lindgren with the win. Goals by Eisenschmid, Scherbak (GWG), and Terry. Scherbak with points in 11 of his 12 AHL games this season. Rock on Scherby! He was also the game’s first star. Here are the highlights. m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=138&v=nulhQimsN5M
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 31, 2017 10:17:45 GMT -5
Don’t look now. The Rocket beat the Amerks 4-2 last night and have a modest three game winning streak. They are now tied with Utica for the fourth and final playoff spot in their division...all while boasting a barely mediocre 500 record. Yup, it pays to be in a sucky pool. Extend the coaches! Sly is a genius! Cracknell and Terry led the way with three points each. Birthday boy Scherbak had two helpers and Lindgren got the win.
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Jan 5, 2018 10:55:09 GMT -5
The Rocket are back in action tonight after falling to the Marlies earlier this week. They play Utica who holds the last playoff spot in their weak division.
Just to give you an idea on how Scherbak's play has been improved this season, and not just in the better offensive numbers:
|
|
|
Post by Willie Dog on Jan 5, 2018 18:47:02 GMT -5
Keep Scherbak in Laval until berg is gone
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Jan 6, 2018 0:23:14 GMT -5
Utica 5 Rocket 2. Scherbak with one of the goals.
He will be great with the Habs next year!!!
|
|
|
Post by NWTHabsFan on Jan 10, 2018 22:54:24 GMT -5
Another one against Utica tonight. That is the team that the Rocket are chasing for the last playoff spot in their division.
Not good. 5-1 final for the bad guys. Goal by Terry, Scherbak with the assist.
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Jan 11, 2018 0:38:34 GMT -5
Another one against Utica tonight. That is the team that the Rocket are chasing for the last playoff spot in their division. Not good. 5-1 final for the bad guys. Goal by Terry, Scherbak with the assist. Lefebvre syndrome.
|
|
|
Post by The Habitual Fan on Jan 11, 2018 8:28:45 GMT -5
Scherbak and Hudon carried the Ice Caps last year and had great chemistry on the ice together. I would suggest bringing Scherbak up to Montreal and putting him and Hudon on the 3rd line for the remainder of the year and they could probably develop into a good 2nd line next year for the Habs.
|
|