2016-17 State of the Habs

[H_T_L]

I am disappointed by the production of a few of our veteran guys, but the biggest one to me is Shaw. I saw little of him when he played in Chicago and he's done nothing to impress me so far. Good game against the Hawks but pretty much a non factor every other game. If he has another gear, then he's doing a great job of hiding it. That 6 year deal is really looking like an albatross at this point.

[Regis22]

18 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

Just about at the quarter-way mark, so these are my grades for the players thus far:

Goalies:

- Price: A+... the team is zilch without him 

Yup , still time to vote

 

[BigTed3]

11 hours ago, Habs_Hockey_Nutz said:

Plekanec: D...  a little harsh IMHO. (B)
 

I don't find it harsh at all. I've usually ranked Plekanec pretty highly in these sorts of evaluations, but we're talking about a guy who has scored 20 or more 7 times in his career and who ended up with 14 goals despite playing 82 games last year. The only times he's failed to hit 20 in full seasons otherwise were his rookie year and the disastrous 2011-12 year when everyone played poorly and he still ended up with 17 goals despite lining up next to the likes of Mike Blunden. Plekanec has been a rock throughout his entire career, up until last year when he finally showed signs of decline. He has a grand total of 10 goals in his last 95 games, so this isn't a short slump.

This year, he has one goal in 19 games, putting him on track for less than 5 goals over the entire season. That's not even good enough for a decent 4th liner. Sure, his defensive play has been decent as usual but he's been average on face-offs and his offensive play is simply unacceptably low for a guy getting big minutes from the coach and getting decent wingers most of the year. I think he's played well below the standard he's set for himself and as such, to me, he gets a D.

[Habs=stanleycup]

4 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

I don't find it harsh at all. I've usually ranked Plekanec pretty highly in these sorts of evaluations, but we're talking about a guy who has scored 20 or more 7 times in his career and who ended up with 14 goals despite playing 82 games last year. The only times he's failed to hit 20 in full seasons otherwise were his rookie year and the disastrous 2011-12 year when everyone played poorly and he still ended up with 17 goals despite lining up next to the likes of Mike Blunden. Plekanec has been a rock throughout his entire career, up until last year when he finally showed signs of decline. He has a grand total of 10 goals in his last 95 games, so this isn't a short slump.

This year, he has one goal in 19 games, putting him on track for less than 5 goals over the entire season. That's not even good enough for a decent 4th liner. Sure, his defensive play has been decent as usual but he's been average on face-offs and his offensive play is simply unacceptably low for a guy getting big minutes from the coach and getting decent wingers most of the year. I think he's played well below the standard he's set for himself and as such, to me, he gets a D.

Good call on the D IMO BT.

[jeff33]

just got back from montreal. real fun game on saturday. real not fun drive home in that blizzard.

 

takeaways:

1. we all know price is the best bla bla but seeing him live is crazy. I had seen him before but he's on Yoda level now. barely even had to move. it looks like he's playing with kids. that has to be discouraging, that's a big mental factor for us and against any team...it really must feel like you are never gonna score and if we miraculously go up by 2 it must be almost impossible to not feel like the game is over.

2. we have chuck and we have radulov, and then there is everyone else. and its not close. actually radu was my pick for the best player on the ice on both teams.  if our intrepid coach would actually just accept this fact and coach accordingly we might score a few more goals and win a few more games.  when you think DD-Shaw-Patch is just as good, your just lost in the mist. way to much of those guys on saturday. and heres an article to substantiate my observations 

http://awinninghabit.com/2016/11/20/montreal-canadiens-alex-galchenyuk-2/

[kinot-1]

42 minutes ago, jeff33 said:

just got back from montreal. real fun game on saturday. real not fun drive home in that blizzard.

 

takeaways:

1. we all know price is the best bla bla but seeing him live is crazy. I had seen him before but he's on Yoda level now. barely even had to move. it looks like he's playing with kids. that has to be discouraging, that's a big mental factor for us and against any team...it really must feel like you are never gonna score and if we miraculously go up by 2 it must be almost impossible to not feel like the game is over.

2. we have chuck and we have radulov, and then there is everyone else. and its not close. actually radu was my pick for the best player on the ice on both teams.  if our intrepid coach would actually just accept this fact and coach accordingly we might score a few more goals and win a few more games.  when you think DD-Shaw-Patch is just as good, your just lost in the mist. way to much of those guys on saturday. and heres an article to substantiate my observations 

http://awinninghabit.com/2016/11/20/montreal-canadiens-alex-galchenyuk-2/

Thanks Jeff, a good read. Here's the takeaway that we should all (MT included), be looking at.

" Galchenyuk has developed into one of the best scorers in the world. If his coach would take notice and play him like a superstar, he could lead the NHL in points this season. "

 

Bold is mine. 

[Regis22]

The infamous November / December fall to normality  is starting to happen

[PuckPundit]

A one line offensive team, with the occasional Weber/Markov goal contribution.  

Defence is cringe-worthy.

Scariest thought: the worst is yet to come.

[BigTed3]

5 hours ago, PuckPundit said:

A one line offensive team, with the occasional Weber/Markov goal contribution.  

Defence is cringe-worthy.

Scariest thought: the worst is yet to come.

We have two top-6 players playing well: Galchenyuk and Radulov.

We have several bottom-6 players playing well: Byron, Danault, Mitchell.

But we're still missing Plekanec, Pacioretty, Gallagher, Carr, Desharnais, etc. Can't have all of these guys slumping and still make it work, especially if Carey's not going to be a super-human goalie.

[ChiLla]

2 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

We have two top-6 players playing well: Galchenyuk and Radulov.

We have several bottom-6 players playing well: Byron, Danault, Mitchell.

But we're still missing Plekanec, Pacioretty, Gallagher, Carr, Desharnais, etc. Can't have all of these guys slumping and still make it work, especially if Carey's not going to be a super-human goalie.

November stats:

 

Plekanec: 1G/1A in 11 games

Pacioretty: 2G/4A in 11 games

Gallagher: 0G/3A in 11 games

Desharnais: 1G/1A in 10 games (more like 1 game, as he scored both of his points in the same game vs. FLA)

 

We're slightly above .500 in November, but it's sorta difficult to rack up Ws when half your Top 6 goes MIA for an entire month or longer.

[Habs_Hockey_Nutz]

2 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

We have two top-6 players playing well: Galchenyuk and Radulov.

We have several bottom-6 players playing well: Byron, Danault, Mitchell.

But we're still missing Plekanec, Pacioretty, Gallagher, Carr, Desharnais, etc. Can't have all of these guys slumping and still make it work, especially if Carey's not going to be a super-human goalie.

The problem is that only Galchenyuk and Radulov playing together makes sense lately.

10 hours ago, Regis22 said:

The infamous November / December fall to normality  is starting to happen

Fast starts happen each year rolling 4 set lines... things go downhill once Therrien gets more involved making changes and playing favorites.

7 hours ago, PuckPundit said:

A one line offensive team, with the occasional Weber/Markov goal contribution.  

Defence is cringe-worthy.

Scariest thought: the worst is yet to come.

Looks familiar, so... what changes can make a difference this time around?

[RyderRocks73]

4 hours ago, Habs_Hockey_Nutz said:

The problem is that only Galchenyuk and Radulov playing together makes sense lately.

Fast starts happen each year rolling 4 set lines... things go downhill once Therrien gets more involved making changes and playing favorites.

Looks familiar, so... what changes can make a difference this time around?

Recognize it and pick up the players to complement the rest of the lineup before the deadline.

[BigTed3]

10 hours ago, Habs_Hockey_Nutz said:

Looks familiar, so... what changes can make a difference this time around?

I think getting Lehkonen back adds another dimension/option to the top 9. However, the biggest problem is the lack of a 2nd line center right now. Plekanec is playing like an average 3rd line center. Desharnais is playing like he no longer belongs in the NHL. Mitchell is a great 4th line center but not a solution to our problem. Barring a trade, we have young guys like Hudon and McCarron who could be promoted into the top 6 to give the line-up some life. Hudon hasn't had a real chance yet and McCarron hasn't had a chance at all this season. Something like

Lehkonen-Galchenyuk-Radulov

Pacioretty-McCarron-Gallagher

could hopefully get the top 6 going again.

[Habs=stanleycup]

This week's Hockey Inside Out Show:

 

 

[H_T_L]

Five game road trip up next. Anybody want to venture a guess as to how many point we'll get???

[Regis22]

On ‎20‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 3:45 PM, H_T_L said:

I am disappointed by the production of a few of our veteran guys, but the biggest one to me is Shaw. I saw little of him when he played in Chicago and he's done nothing to impress me so far. Good game against the Hawks but pretty much a non factor every other game. If he has another gear, then he's doing a great job of hiding it. That 6 year deal is really looking like an albatross at this point.

Playing in Chicago with Towes and Hossa can make a lot of players look better than they actually are .

[Regis22]

Cs Carolina Thursday

 

The visitors had a 32-22 shot advantage, but Carey Price was heroic again

[PuckPundit]

5 hours ago, H_T_L said:

Five game road trip up next. Anybody want to venture a guess as to how many point we'll get???

I'll go with:

1) Red Wings - Habs win

2) Anaheim Ducks - Habs lose

3) Sharks - Habs lose

4) LA Kings - Habs win

5) Predators - Habs lose

Total = 4 points.  

 

[Habs_Hockey_Nutz]

8 hours ago, PuckPundit said:

I'll go with:

1) Red Wings - Habs win

2) Anaheim Ducks - Habs lose

3) Sharks - Habs lose

4) LA Kings - Habs lose

5) Predators - Habs win

Total = 4 points.  

 

 

[H_T_L]

I don't think we'll get shut down, points wise, with Price in net, but I don't see us getting anymore then 5 points on this road trip. My guess would be 2 to 5 points. Anything above that would be a huge success and totally unexpected.

[kinot-1]

16 hours ago, H_T_L said:

Five game road trip up next. Anybody want to venture a guess as to how many point we'll get???

I'll say 5. 

[HabsRuleForever]

I'll go with 10 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Habs=stanleycup]

30 minutes ago, HabsRuleForever said:

I'll go with 10 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Fingers crossed* 

[Regis22]

 

A mediocre team riding an All-World goaltender?

 

[kinot-1]

 

On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 2:38 PM, Regis22 said:

 

A mediocre team riding an All-World goaltender?

 

Stoopid forums!!!!

Anyway Regis,,,, you could look at it the same way as B-ball teams have Lebron James,,, or Shaq, or football teams have their star quarterback like Manning, or you could look at Tavares, or Kane, Cros. It seems that every (or most) teams have a star player on their team. In our case, we just happened to have our star player in the position of "the last line of defense".