Post-Game Talk: Caufield scores OT winner to beat the BJs

[Habssince89]

Can't imagine the team trading X

 

[Scriptor]

Maybe loosing Savard for 6 weeks will provide the management a good overview of what it would be if we traded him at the deadline. But seriously if we where to be stuck with Matheson, Ghule and Xhekaj on the left side it would not be the end of the world. Similarly on the right side we can only hope that Reinbacher, Barron and Mailloux makes it to the next level. So really the decision will be how ready will that group be when Hutson is ready to join this group... enough to get rid of Matheson?

One guy that does not get talked about at all is Struble. All games I watched for the Rocket he was by far the most stable on the back end.

As a D that can play both the left and right side, Struble could conceivably become a cheap, but reliable piece that closes out the D-Corps of the future.

In four or five years, when we are ready to challenge for a longer playoff run, if not a Cup run, Kovacevic, for one, likely won't be around anymore for that depth role.

 

[The Great Weal]

I'm sorry but you cannot use "paced for" to try to win arguments lol.. I'm sorry but we just cant
I wont go further into it because obviously "we'll never know how it really would of went"

I can’t wait until Suzuki produces more playing with legit talent. It’s mind boggling how posters completely dismiss linemate quality.

 

[dinodebino]

This great PGT turned awful reeeeal quick boy..damn

You guys couldn't do this elsewhere eh lol

We won an exciting game, right? Right?

 

[Redux91]

We won an exciting game, right? Right?

 

[Forum93]

I loved how Jackeye got right up and started throwing them after he was boarded.
It cost the team an extra 2, but sends a clear message don't f*** around when he's on the ice, there will be repercussions.

 

[bonneaug]

I hope they show Barron how to tie up a guy in front of the net cause that first goal was basic defensive stuff that needs to be cleaned up for him to be a top 4

He was confused for half a second who was his guy, you can see him look at the slot, then scan the other side, by the time he sees who he has to tie up, the pass is made.. A little poor awareness on the play, mistakes happen. Also hell of a feed by Gaudreau

 

[Redux91]

I loved how Jackeye got right up and started throwing them after he was boarded.
It cost the team an extra 2, but sends a clear message don't f*** around when he's on the ice, there will be repercussions.

You should of heard the Columbus announcers my god it was f***ing hilarious
"Oh boy, I'm not sure Xhekaj knows who he's dealing with right there tho he-... oh..."
LMAO idiots

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

He was 66 points playing WITH Caufield.

It would be one thing if he were pacing for 100 points with him and the dropped off but that wasn’t the case.

He played around 450 minutes with CC at ES last season, which is the equivalent of around 30 games.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

I would prefer newhook on line 1 and money with Slaf and ylonen

I personally don't think their styles match well. They need a player who's good on the boards, in pick battles, has high IQ and is a bigger body. That line would unfortunately be a bit too small. Plus Newhook needs a grinder type on his line, Suzuki and Caufield like Newhook play a finesse type game.

 

[morhilane]

Looking at the Moneypuck standings graph, if the Habs can avoid a "December" collapse like last year after losing Monahan, they might manage to avoid a bottom 10 finish.

Also, the team has a top 10 goalie tandem, because the defensive advanced stats are good for bottom 5 in the league...

 

[Forum93]

You should of heard the Columbus announcers my god it was f***ing hilarious
"Oh boy, I'm not sure Xhekaj knows who he's dealing with right there tho he-... oh..."
LMAO idiots

I was watching it on RDS so didn't hear that. It's awesome we have someone on the team who could take care of business when needed!

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Dach was looking like our best player. If he'd kept up his dominant play he would've been a legit #1C.

I'd love to see him long enough to back up that statement.

It's not because he looked great as 2C that he'd do better than Suzuki as 1C. It's a possibility, but in no way does that make him better than Suzuki for now. How many points would Suzuki get playing the exploitation line instead of first line duty?

Looking at the Moneypuck standings graph, if the Habs can avoid a "December" collapse like last year after losing Monahan, they might manage to avoid a bottom 10 finish.

Also, the team has a top 10 goalie tandem, because the defensive advanced stats are good for bottom 5 in the league...

Their 4 wins so far were against the 20th place last year, or worse. We beat 4 teams that were around 20th last to 31st last.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Harris wore down Columbus by getting ran over all game. Columbus fwds were tired by the third period of taking turns all game on him.

As opposed to the steadfast game played by Xhekaj who last night was caught out of position repeatedly and turned over the puck promiscuously.

 

[Redux91]

As opposed to the steadfast game played by Xhekaj who last night was caught out of position repeatedly and turned over the puck promiscuously.

Yet
Boxscore has 2 giveaways for Harris and 0 for Xhekaj

 

[Mudz]

I think this was the first really bad game Slaf had this season. I think in the third period you could see the frustration and I guarantee that he was thinking about the points in that period and that affected his play in a negative way.

What I really don't understand is that Marty has a 1OA pick on his team in the most demanding market and he knows that this kid is being roasted everywhere for not producing.

And Marty wants to fix that by playing him 13 minutes per night with Anderson? Anderson cant even get a point while playing PP1, 4vs4, OT and 18 minutes per night with Suzuki and Caufield.

MSL said about Monahan a few weeks ago that even when he has bad game, he's still good.

Slaf has his worst game of the season so far. You could see he was frustrated about his execution mistakes.

But still, he had a few really high level plays. His read to send Anderson to a breakaway is high IQ stuff. I really liked one of his play late in the third. Won the 50/50 behind the net, brought the puck back up and did a nice seam pass. His passing is so underrated right now. Not only his vision but the quality of his passes.

Obviously a few points would help but I'm pretty sure he's in a good place right now

Mark my words for review. It won't be Xhekaj. He's not just a 3rd paring guy who can fight. He's a born leader and character guy. Those intangibles will make him indispensable, IMO. And just think how much better he will get in the tangible areas (defense, offense) considering how young he is.

Would you trade Xhekaj for Zegras? For Lafreniere?

 

[WeThreeKings]

MSL said about Monahan a few weeks ago that even when he has bad game, he's still good.

Slaf has his worst game of the season so far. You could see he was frustrated about his execution mistakes.

But still, he had a few really high level plays. His read to send Anderson to a breakaway is high IQ stuff. I really liked one of his play late in the third. Won the 50/50 behind the net, brought the puck back up and did a nice seam pass. His passing is so underrated right now. Not only his vision but the quality of his passes.

Obviously a few points would help but I'm pretty sure he's in a good place right now


Would you trade Xhekaj for Zegras? For Lafreniere?

No.

 

[the]

Something to keep in mind regarding Nick Suzuki last season is that his production dipped once Sean Monahan went down. He was above PPG before Monahan went down with 28 points in 25 games.

After the first line we had nobody else to bring secondary scoring. Monahan was bringing the rest of the offense alone on the 2nd line playing with spare parts.

It became much easier for our opposition to focus on Suzuki once Monahan got injured and by default have our secondary scoring become nonexistent. It was a short sample but I still think it’s relevant to believe that Suzuki would have done better if he had that extra support.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Yet
Boxscore has 2 giveaways for Harris and 0 for Xhekaj

Maybe. But it was Xhekaj’s worse game by far this early season. He overhandled the puck, looked indecisive and lacked confidence. Just a bad game overall. And he’s a growing favourite of mine.

 

[Ozmodiar]

Something to keep in mind regarding Nick Suzuki last season is that his production dipped once Sean Monahan went down. He was above PPG before Monahan went down with 28 points in 25 games.

After the first line we had nobody else to bring secondary scoring. Monahan was bringing the rest of the offense alone on the 2nd line playing with spare parts.

It became much easier for our opposition to focus on Suzuki once Monahan got injured and by default have our secondary scoring become nonexistent. It was a short sample but I still think it’s relevant to believe that Suzuki would have done better if he had that extra support.

The team already leans on Suzuki a lot so the extra load doesn’t help.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Something to keep in mind regarding Nick Suzuki last season is that his production dipped once Sean Monahan went down. He was above PPG before Monahan went down with 28 points in 25 games.

After the first line we had nobody else to bring secondary scoring. Monahan was bringing the rest of the offense alone on the 2nd line playing with spare parts.

It became much easier for our opposition to focus on Suzuki once Monahan got injured and by default our secondary scoring dried up, It was a short sample but I still think it’s relevant to believe that Suzuki would have done better if he had that extra support.

that's the thing, Suzuki is great but he isn't the type of superstar who can just go out and create for himself with physical traits and skill like blazing speed etc. so his production is going to take a hit when he doesn't have talent around him.

He's a really skilled player don't get me wrong, but he's just not the kind of player who can put up ppg regardless of who is on his line, and he may never be which is fine.

The key will be to not need to be so reliant on suzuki. On the flip side of the above, Suzuki is really able to bring out the best in his linemates if they are skill and have a high IQ, which is a very important skillset. His IQ allows him to really utilize those around him.

 

[Redux91]

Maybe. But it was Xhekaj’s worse game by far this early season. He overhandled the puck, look indecisive and lacked confidence. Just a bad game overall. And he’s a growing favourite of mine.

I'm also not petty enough to disagree with that
Was a rough one but I will continue to believe he will get better with time AND obviously we have to find THE partner for him
A rookie reinbacher would do wonders for him whenever he takes the step

 

[Runner77]

I hear you. And maybe Xhekaj will be one of the many D traded. But I like having Xhekaj given we have some small stars like Cole, Suzuki, Newhook, and hopefully Hutson. Nice to have an enforcer that can be on the ice 20 minutes a night. That puts him in the unicorn category.

Not liking the fact that as a D, his trips to the box have far greater impact on player deployment than if he were a forward. Ideally, a 7th D who can play forward on a 4th line would allow Xhekaj to do his thing without overly taxing his teammates’ shifts.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I'm sorry but you cannot use "paced for" to try to win arguments lol.. I'm sorry but we just cant
I wont go further into it because obviously "we'll never know how it really would of went"

How can you argue that it would be different if the pace was the same though? I mean… how else can you measure it?

 

[Redux91]

How can you argue that it would be different if the pace was the same though? I mean… how else can you measure it?

RE: "because obviously "we'll never know how it really would of went""