Preseason Game 4 Montreal @ Ottawa Saturday Oct 1 @ 7 PM ET

[Disgruntled70sHab]

 Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators
Saturday Oct 1st @ 7 PM ET
Networks: TSN5, TSN2

         

Radio (Français): 98,5 fm Les Amateurs de Sports

Radio (English): TSN 690

Canadiens net four goals in dramatic comeback
Montreal 5 Ottawa 4 (OT)
15 March 2014 Box Score

* Logos courtesy SportsLogos.net and TSN.ca

[Willie Dog]

I wonder if Axe will play because you know the Hens will play Watson

[Disgruntled70sHab]

[Cranky]

Drouin is a changed man. He's now going to be a power forward and will start by pummeling Watson to watery pulp.

(Yes, i made that up and blame it on early drinking)

I wonder if X is playing.

[folatre]

I cannot recall where I read it, but my understanding is Xhekaj and Pezzetta will both be in the lineup.

[Willie Dog]

Sept 30, 2022 15:38:01 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Drouin is a changed man. He's now going to be a power forward and will start by pummeling Watson to watery pulp.

(Yes, i made that up and blame it on early drinking)

I wonder if X is playing.

Contract year... hope HuGo aren't fooled

[Willie Dog]

Sept 30, 2022 16:04:05 GMT -5 folatre said:

I cannot recall where I read it, but my understanding is Xhekaj and Pezzetta will both be in the lineup.

Hope Guhle is playing... boy has a bit of a mean streak as well

[Cranky]

Sept 30, 2022 16:14:18 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Sept 30, 2022 16:04:05 GMT -5 folatre said:

I cannot recall where I read it, but my understanding is Xhekaj and Pezzetta will both be in the lineup.

Hope Guhle is playing... boy has a bit of a mean streak as well

A bit? He's probably taking bets on who will do the most damage between him and X.

My money is on X...but Guhle is a faster skater so he can line them up better.

I also saw Harris do a " me too" in hitting.

[folatre]

Guhle can dish out pain because he is a hitter and, moreover, he enjoys that element of hockey. But I certainly do not want to see him fighting.

I know Xhekaj is not going to be scared of anyone in the AHL, but I would really have liked to see management get the Rocket a mean fourth line winger who likes to punch people. When Baddock got dealt to the Wild, it left a void. With more skilled young guys in Laval, I would like to see an additional deterrent on the roster.

[NWTHabsFan]

Given who is left in camp, this is a pretty weak lineup tonight. It does look like a bunch of guys who should be bound for the Laval camp soon.

Weird that four of the five remaining preseason games are against the Sens. The two teams will hate each other soon. A nice carryover from all the animosity that Xhekaj generated from the Baby Sens in the rookie tournament.

[habsorbed]

Not one top 6 in the line up. I agree Marty and Co must be having one last look at the youth. Hope Beck has another strong game.

[Willie Dog]

Watch the Hens put out baboons tonight

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Sept 30, 2022 15:38:01 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Drouin is a changed man. He's now going to be a power forward and will start by pummeling Watson to watery pulp.

(Yes, i made that up and blame it on early drinking)

I wonder if X is playing.

Watch Drouin carefully. He may not be healthy in the lineup again this year.

[seventeen]

I'm going to take an optimistic approach to Drouin. Without Bergie there, I think a lot of the Sergachev trade baggage has diminished. I think he's going to have an excellent year. WE have gotten used to the premise that centres are the playmakers and wingers the finishers. That's not necessarily so (eg. Panarin, Gaudreau, Mark Stone). Drouin's style of play, IMO, works best with a centre who is shoot first, ask questions later type. Monahan and Dvorak are both that type and Suzuki can certainly score as well. Dach, I think is more a playmaker so a guy like Caufield should work best with him. Drouin was terrific in Juniour with MacKinnon (a goal scorer) at centre. Drouin just looks like he should be a centre because he is a very good play driver, but does it from the wing. The improved mental health situation, new management, a coach who appreciates offensive talent and teammates better suited to his skill set, make for an ideal year for him.

Yup, going all in on Drouin this year.

PS. But that doesn't mean he's getting a max extension next year. If someone offers up a first rounder for him at the TDL, I could be all in on that too.

Signed

Cool heart Luke.

[habsorbed]

Oct 1, 2022 13:21:01 GMT -5 seventeen said:

I'm going to take an optimistic approach to Drouin. Without Bergie there, I think a lot of the Sergachev trade baggage has diminished. I think he's going to have an excellent year. WE have gotten used to the premise that centres are the playmakers and wingers the finishers. That's not necessarily so (eg. Panarin, Gaudreau, Mark Stone). Drouin's style of play, IMO, works best with a centre who is shoot first, ask questions later type. Monahan and Dvorak are both that type and Suzuki can certainly score as well. Dach, I think is more a playmaker so a guy like Caufield should work best with him. Drouin was terrific in Juniour with MacKinnon (a goal scorer) at centre. Drouin just looks like he should be a centre because he is a very good play driver, but does it from the wing. The improved mental health situation, new management, a coach who appreciates offensive talent and teammates better suited to his skill set, make for an ideal year for him.

Yup, going all in on Drouin this year.

PS. But that doesn't mean he's getting a max extension next year. If someone offers up a first rounder for him at the TDL, I could be all in on that too.

Signed

Cool heart Luke.

Been down this path way too many times before. Drouin is who he is - and it ain't a good hockey player. Way too many warts to compensate for the limited skills he has. Enjoy the pain. Not me!

[Willie Dog]

Oct 1, 2022 14:16:19 GMT -5 habsorbed said:

Oct 1, 2022 13:21:01 GMT -5 seventeen said:

I'm going to take an optimistic approach to Drouin. Without Bergie there, I think a lot of the Sergachev trade baggage has diminished. I think he's going to have an excellent year. WE have gotten used to the premise that centres are the playmakers and wingers the finishers. That's not necessarily so (eg. Panarin, Gaudreau, Mark Stone). Drouin's style of play, IMO, works best with a centre who is shoot first, ask questions later type. Monahan and Dvorak are both that type and Suzuki can certainly score as well. Dach, I think is more a playmaker so a guy like Caufield should work best with him. Drouin was terrific in Juniour with MacKinnon (a goal scorer) at centre. Drouin just looks like he should be a centre because he is a very good play driver, but does it from the wing. The improved mental health situation, new management, a coach who appreciates offensive talent and teammates better suited to his skill set, make for an ideal year for him.

Yup, going all in on Drouin this year.

PS. But that doesn't mean he's getting a max extension next year. If someone offers up a first rounder for him at the TDL, I could be all in on that too.

Signed

Cool heart Luke.

Been down this path way too many times before. Drouin is who he is - and it ain't a good hockey player. Way too many warts to compensate for the limited skills he has. Enjoy the pain. Not me!

Contract year... he'll work hard because it's a contract year then he'll get an extension and then pout for the rest of the contract.... If they do extend him, he won't take less than he got from MBHead... is he worth an AAV of 6M+??

he's gotta go at the TDL

[Andrew]

Evans, Armia, Pitlick could be a really solid fourth line, rotating in Pezzetta on a regular basis.

[folatre]

That is irritating. Literally three or four different Habs lost puck battles in their own in the lead up to DeBrincat's goal.

[folatre]

Oct 1, 2022 19:11:03 GMT -5 Andrew said:

Evans, Armia, Pitlick could be a really solid fourth line, rotating in Pezzetta on a regular basis.

Yeah, I agree. Evans and those three wingers rotating in and out are really the only Habs who make sense on the fourth line.

If the Habs are mostly healthy up front, then one of the skilled low-energy wingers (Hoffman, Drouin, Dadonov) should be sitting in the press box.

[folatre]

A lot of PKs around the league are out of tune at this super early point in time. But man the Montreal penalty kill is crazy passive and weak. Montreal's goalies will have a hard time finding any traction this season if we are talking about yet another bottom five PK.

Aside from the Devils game and a ten minute stretch in the third against Winnipeg, according to the analytics and the eye ball test the Habs are getting cratered 5v5. I know that Suzuki has not even played a shift yet, but it is a little worrisome nonetheless. It is not that Montreal is devoid of skill guys. I think it may have more to do with team defense weakness in terms of not having enough puck hounds who recover the biscuit.

The Evans line looked good. Guhle and Barron showed a lot of promise.

[madhabber]

Our defense is a little green to get the offense started. Ok a lot green. Usually a good D will kickstart the O and the way it is currently constructed, we can't expect much. Sure no Suzuki, no Monahan, Drouin was in mid-season form (might as well be injured for all his accomplishments). Our D is so thin, we are going to need all hands on deck just to keep afloat.

Well at least, they scored 7 goals in the last 2 games as opposed to 1 in the first 2. Always a bright side.

[seventeen]

They've been playing a LOT of kids and AHL guys, so I don't put a lot of weight into these early preseason games. Toward the end of the nonsense schedule, when they have to start actually preparing for the season....then that will be a bit more enlightening. Having said that, it could very well be that HuGo are doing a stealth tank. Man, it's hard to stomach losing, but the thought of a Bedard, or Michkov or Fantilli in the line-up for the next 10 years (Ok, Michkov would be delayed 3 years unless the KHL craters but you get the drift) kinda gets me salivating. Is it worth it? Do chickens have lips? Do cows fly over the moon? Of course it is!

Still sucks, though.

[folatre]

For sure, it is worth it. Montreal's prospect pool is deep, but kids who truly project to be difference makers at the NHL level are always in very short supply. I know Chicago and Arizona are going to be a different level of dreadful, but I would be elated to grab a kid like Fantilli. It is early of course, but it could be argued that there are four or five kids in the 2023 draft who would have gone in front of the top 2022 kids.

Yes, management is executing a stealth tank in my estimation. They have some good veteran leaders (Allen, Edmundson, Gallagher) who are solid examples of hard work and professionalism for the kids. But those same vets are not high end performers themselves. So effectively there is not enough fully developed hockey talent on the roster to avoid being a bottom 5-7 type team in a tough league.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Oct 1, 2022 13:21:01 GMT -5 seventeen said:

I'm going to take an optimistic approach to Drouin. Without Bergie there, I think a lot of the Sergachev trade baggage has diminished. I think he's going to have an excellent year. WE have gotten used to the premise that centres are the playmakers and wingers the finishers. That's not necessarily so (eg. Panarin, Gaudreau, Mark Stone). Drouin's style of play, IMO, works best with a centre who is shoot first, ask questions later type. Monahan and Dvorak are both that type and Suzuki can certainly score as well. Dach, I think is more a playmaker so a guy like Caufield should work best with him. Drouin was terrific in Juniour with MacKinnon (a goal scorer) at centre. Drouin just looks like he should be a centre because he is a very good play driver, but does it from the wing. The improved mental health situation, new management, a coach who appreciates offensive talent and teammates better suited to his skill set, make for an ideal year for him.

Yup, going all in on Drouin this year.

PS. But that doesn't mean he's getting a max extension next year. If someone offers up a first rounder for him at the TDL, I could be all in on that too.

Signed

Cool heart Luke.

I liked Drouin. In junior I didn't understand why he was ranked behind MacKinnon who he statistically outperformed. I had terrible judgement on that one and i now admit it. My two biggest drafting mistakes were Drouin and Corey Locke. Fortunately my errors don't appear in the newspapers.

[habsorbed]

A "stealth like tank" is kind to this roster. The fact is this roster is not very good and can tank quite well without any design or intent.

As you say, the vets are pretty weak. Our goaltending is probably the worst in the NHL and paid accordingly. Is there a team that has a lower cap hit for their goalies? After Eddy, who is a stay at home decent top 4, our NHL D are Savard, Matheson and Wideman: no top pairing there and one could argue no top 4. The vet forwards are really a bunch of misfits who, altho each have some talent, have issues which prevent them from being a top 6 on any contending team. Is there a team that has a group of anemic forwards likes of Drouin, Hoff, and Armia?

So this team is all about the kids and the future. Our d looks to be amazing. I don't recall a training camp when we've had 4 D (Harris, Barron, Guhle, X) who could all be legit top 4 (maybe top 2) in a year or two - and then there is also Malhoux. And some really exciting forwards, altho some have been "underwhelming" this pre-season. The future is bright but is ain't this season.

So a tank will not be necessary, it will be the natural order of things.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Oct 2, 2022 12:11:20 GMT -5 habsorbed said:

A "stealth like tank" is kind to this roster. The fact is this roster is not very good and can tank quite well without any design or intent.

As you say, the vets are pretty weak. Our goaltending is probably the worst in the NHL and paid accordingly. Is there a team that has a lower cap hit for their goalies? After Eddy, who is a stay at home decent top 4, our NHL D are Savard, Matheson and Wideman: no top pairing there and one could argue no top 4. The vet forwards are really a bunch of misfits who, altho each have some talent, have issues which prevent them from being a top 6 on any contending team. Is there a team that has a group of anemic forwards likes of Drouin, Hoff, and Armia?

So this team is all about the kids and the future. Our d looks to be amazing. I don't recall a training camp when we've had 4 D (Harris, Barron, Guhle, X) who could all be legit top 4 (maybe top 2) in a year or two - and then there is also Malhoux. And some really exciting forwards, altho some have been "underwhelming" this pre-season. The future is bright but is ain't this season.

So a tank will not be necessary, it will be the natural order of things.

If I was playing tennis against Serena Williams, it wouldn't be necessary for me to tank to come in last.