weepingminotaur Posted October 27, 2010 Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 François Gagnon also wonders why we can't be patient with Pouliot on the second line, especially considering that Pouliot is the only winger we have who has at least proven that he can be productive with Gomez and Gionta (i.e. his hot start with them last season). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhamel Posted October 27, 2010 Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 I'm hoping that Pouliot will start to develop some chemistry with Eller. He seems to have the most talent (apart from Eller) of all of the players that one could consider for the second line, but when he was a part of that line it seemed to me that he wasn't developing there. He was afraid to hold onto the puck or try anything individually. He simply passed off to Gomez or Gionta too often, and then got lost. Now that he is on a lower line, he seems more willing to take things on his own shoulders and is slowly starting to learn what will work for him in this league. Eventually, he might be the answer to the missing top six forward issue, but I think he is better off on a lower line at this point in his development. I think possibly that this is Martin's plan for Benny, and that is (partly)why he still uses him in power play situations. I know that some people are now starting to say that Pouliot won't be a scorer in this league, but I'm still holding out hope. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I hope that he and Eller get the chance to work things out together, because I do think that he needs to play with talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs_Hockey_Nutz Posted October 27, 2010 Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 I'm hoping that Pouliot will start to develop some chemistry with Eller. He seems to have the most talent (apart from Eller) of all of the players that one could consider for the second line, but when he was a part of that line it seemed to me that he wasn't developing there. He was afraid to hold onto the puck or try anything individually. He simply passed off to Gomez or Gionta too often, and then got lost. Now that he is on a lower line, he seems more willing to take things on his own shoulders and is slowly starting to learn what will work for him in this league. Eventually, he might be the answer to the missing top six forward issue, but I think he is better off on a lower line at this point in his development. I think possibly that this is Martin's plan for Benny, and that is (partly)why he still uses him in power play situations. I know that some people are now starting to say that Pouliot won't be a scorer in this league, but I'm still holding out hope. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I hope that he and Eller get the chance to work things out together, because I do think that he needs to play with talent. You know, this might actually be the best solution for Lars and Pouliot while playing with Lapierre. But I wonder if JM would have confidence doing it because of the potential defensive liability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_rocket Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Oh darn! I was really hoping Benoit would stick it to Roloson last night and score on that penalty shot. Especially after Roloson got really upset about the "net crashing." He's got another opportunity on Friday and I hope he sticks it to those ugly Islanders! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rypat19 Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 57's shot from his knees had more of a chance then the penalty shot ...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weepingminotaur Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 57's shot from his knees had more of a chance then the penalty shot ...lol My sense from watching the penalty shot is that Benoit wanted to shoot all the way but didn't know how to adjust when Roloson came out to challenge him. One thing's for sure: he didn't earn himself any shootout time based on that one chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs_Hockey_Nutz Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 My sense from watching the penalty shot is that Benoit wanted to shoot all the way but didn't know how to adjust when Roloson came out to challenge him. One thing's for sure: he didn't earn himself any shootout time based on that one chance. Smacks of a player with very little confidence... when he had time to think about it he just clammed up. On the original rush that lead to the penalty shot it just happened and he made a great attempt hitting the goal post after a great deke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Bah Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Benoit is going through a learning process the way most young scoring prospects do, as Eller is doing.By the middle of the season we should see some big changes in their all round game and they should be able to step into whichever position Jacques puts them.Go Benoit and Lars Go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs_Hockey_Nutz Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Benoit is going through a learning process the way most young scoring prospects do, as Eller is doing.By the middle of the season we should see some big changes in their all round game and they should be able to step into whichever position Jacques puts them.Go Benoit and Lars Go! Lars is a new kid with little NHL experience so I would give you that. But Pouliot has been on an extended leanring curve if you truly believe what you're saying... or maybe you're just being very optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegasrick Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 BP's "slow" development is just another testimony to our coaching and management's inability to get the most out of a lot of our prospects. I'll bet if Herb Brooks or Scotty Bowman were behind the bench, we would have seen Pouliot turn into a monster already. He has size and skill, a rare combination. But no one has "beaten" the fear out of him yet. Maybe he needs to get into a knockdown-drag-out fight and carry a grudge until he proves his point. Maybe he needs to do a million shootouts until he can't miss. Personally, I'd love to see him absolutely crush Pronger or Hartnall. Right now, he's a paradox who needs to do SOMETHING to WAKE UP!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColRouleBleu Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Oh darn! I was really hoping Benoit would stick it to Roloson last night and score on that penalty shot. Especially after Roloson got really upset about the "net crashing." He's got another opportunity on Friday and I hope he sticks it to those ugly Islanders! Run into Di Pietro's pink pads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noob616 Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 nice goal tonight. I want to see Pouliot given a proper chance (10-15 games) with Gomez-Gio before we put him on the fourth line again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuniorSTLB Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 nice goal tonight. I want to see Pouliot given a proper chance (10-15 games) with Gomez-Gio before we put him on the fourth line again. I agree... he's the only suitable player we have to play on the second line. It's obviously not Moen or Pyatt's spot. Eller still needs more NHL experience and work his way up and I doubt Lapierre is the answer (then again, it could work since he likes to shootlol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cup_crazy88 Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Oh darn! I was really hoping Benoit would stick it to Roloson last night and score on that penalty shot. Especially after Roloson got really upset about the "net crashing." He's got another opportunity on Friday and I hope he sticks it to those ugly Islanders! you called it!!.. nice rip by Benny, exactly the kind of opportunity he excels at, taking that powerful shot of his from the slot. Put him back on the 2nd line.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTed3 Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 you called it!!.. nice rip by Benny, exactly the kind of opportunity he excels at, taking that powerful shot of his from the slot. Put him back on the 2nd line.. I was very happy to see Benny stick it to Roloson, who should have been penalized for smacking Benny around after he was hauled down into the crease. There was absolutely no way Benny could have avoided contact with the goalie and he did nothing to throw in anything extra. It was just a pure over-reaction from Roloson, who I consider one of the dirtiest goalies in the league. Benny's been giving some good efforts and he has more scoring touch than the other guys who've been getting the chance on the second line, so it was doubly sweet for him to score and show both Roloson and JM what he can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MkGee Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 well he now has 5 points more then the rest of the second line...so now they need to wake up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Bah Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 I believe Jacques Martin is doing a good job with the youngsters, Guy Lafleur took three years to learn and he was a great player.Pouliot was thrust into the 2nd line after riding the pine in Minnesota with Lemaire as his coach. He did well and now the Habs can take there time with him,Benoit will prove it was worth the exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rypat19 Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 well he now has 5 points more then the rest of the second line...so now they need to wake up not just the 5 points he is playing better than all of them as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_rocket Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 well he now has 5 points more then the rest of the second line...so now they need to wake up Which line is... Really the 2nd line!? ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weepingminotaur Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 I believe Jacques Martin is doing a good job with the youngsters, Guy Lafleur took three years to learn and he was a great player.Pouliot was thrust into the 2nd line after riding the pine in Minnesota with Lemaire as his coach. He did well and now the Habs can take there time with him,Benoit will prove it was worth the exercise. Lafleur was one of the greatest wingers of all-time who played in a different era under different rules for a different coach on a different Habs team. The basis for comparing his situation to Pouliot's is so minimal as to be almost nothing at all. What worked in the NHL of the '70 has little to no relevance to what works today. It's why Red Fisher should have retired from being a sports journalist about a decade ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Bah Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 Lafleur was one of the greatest wingers of all-time who played in a different era under different rules for a different coach on a different Habs team. The basis for comparing his situation to Pouliot's is so minimal as to be almost nothing at all. What worked in the NHL of the '70 has little to no relevance to what works today. It's why Red Fisher should have retired from being a sports journalist about a decade ago. It sounds like I ruffled your feathers a little, my opinions are mine not that of Red Fisher or anyone else, as or yours. You are entitled to your own opinion last I looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weepingminotaur Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 It sounds like I ruffled your feathers a little, my opinions are mine not that of Red Fisher or anyone else, as or yours. You are entitled to your own opinion last I looked. I know your opinions aren't that of Red Fisher. I only mentioned him because he's a perfect example of someone whose opinion was worth something in a different era, but not today. I'm not ruffled at all by your comments. I simply fail to see the basis for comparing a superstar from another era to a talented but completely unproven prospect in 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeanCountingHab Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 One of our best players last night IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts