Post-Game Talk: Flightless birds destroy the lowly Canadiens

[Lafleurs Guy]

I only saw the first two periods but I agree with you, Matheson did not play well. But he is not the only problem on D. They're overplaying Hutson. He needs to stay within the 15-16 minute per game. Everyone is raving about his play but I just don't see it. Dach has the worst +/- on the team. Guess who has the second worst? Yeap, Hutson. As for his assists, more than half of them he is just leaching off of another player's goal with a secondary assist. He may look impressive with his jitterbugging and dipsey-doodling but most of the time it either leads to nothing or a breakout for the opposing team.

I know I gonna really get it from the fan boys for that last bit about Hutson, so I'm bracing myself.

Hutson’s been awesome. Agree he’s been playing too much.

Plus minus really isn’t something to pay attention to. He’s one of our most played players and we’re a bad team. Tons of those minuses come with our net empty too. It’s meaningless.

There are a bunch of crazy stats that have been posted that show him among the league leaders. It’s from last week but I’ll try to dig it up. Hutson’s the real deal and is the story of the year for us in 24/25. He’ll probably get a Calder nom in a really competitive year.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I agree with both of you, personally. I think we'd be in a better position if Laine wasn't injured from the start, but it is what it is, still didn't expect us to reach playoffs this season, thought we'd be bottom-10, perhaps even reach 'bubble' state, but now I expect bottom-5 and it's alright with me.

That said, last season we did lose pretty often, but at least the effort was there, team was fun to watch, now ? It's damn painful. Losing if the team works hard at least is honorable...

Won't blame everything on MSL, but he's lost, and he has no one to turn to, coaching-wise, cause nepotism is rarely productive.

Til HuGo do something about it, it'll likely remain painful til the end of the season, sparkled with some surprisingly inspiring games in-between.

I'd just shoot MSL out of a cannon this off season , don't see why we still need him , I wanna tank next season too but we probably shouldn't

 

[Habs Icing]

Hutson’s been awesome. Agree he’s been playing too much.

Plus minus really isn’t something to pay attention to. He’s one of our most played players and we’re a bad team. Tons of those minuses come with our net empty too. It’s meaningless.

There are a bunch of crazy stats that have been posted that show him among the league leaders. It’s from last week but I’ll try to dig it up. Hutson’s the real deal and is the story of the year for us in 24/25. He’ll probably get a Calder nom in a really competitive year.

And yet with this Calder nom on defense the Habs have the second worst GA/GP. His defensive play leaves a lot to be desired. But to be honest, he has played better than I thought he would but it still doesn't warrant the amount of ice time he is getting.

I'd just shoot MSL out of a cannon this off season , don't see why we still need him , I wanna tank next season too but we probably shouldn't

So you're going for the opposite results of the 60s and 70s.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

And yet with this Calder nom on defense the Habs have the second worst GA/GP.

Given the icetime on a bad team, this is to be expected. It’s the same as looking at plus/minus.

His defensive play leaves a lot to be desired. But to be honest, he has played better than I thought he would but it still doesn't warrant the amount of ice time he is getting.

He’s a work in progress defensively but better than you’re giving him credit for. He will always have limitations. He’ll never be able to clear the crease well for example.

I think his ice time is warranted but I also don’t think it’s a good idea to play him this much.

 

[Habs Icing]

First of what they said is they wanted to be in the mix, not that they would be. Also the mix, doesn't mean playoff contention, it just means meaningful games later in the season compared to last. That particular ship hasn't sailed yet.

You're playing the semantics game which is never a good look. Even if they said they wanted to be in the mix, it means they thought they had set up their team where it was capable of doing it. Aside from the bottom 4-5 teams, they're not capable of competing with the rest of the league. As for that ship not having sailed, speak to me at the end of January when we'll be discussing which junior to draft with our top 3 draft pick.

 

[HabbyGuy]

You're playing the semantics game which is never a good look. Even if they said they wanted to be in the mix, it means they thought they had set up their team where it was capable of doing it. Aside from the bottom 4-5 teams, they're not capable of competing with the rest of the league. As for that ship not having sailed, speak to me at the end of January when we'll be discussing which junior to draft with our top 3 draft pick.

Look forward to it, you may be right, I guess we'll see. Just sayin' the season is far from over.

 

[FrankMTL]

I know they were talking about being in the mix, but most us knew this team was going to be a bottom 3rd team....They're probably slightly worse than I thought as some key players we were counting on haven't been producing, but in the end finishing 10th last or 3rd last, i'd rather finish 3rd last and have a chance at another top player in the next draft.

I know it sucks, but we still have a couple of years of pain.

 

[WeThreeKings]

That 3rd period was comical.. some of the goals were just hilariously lucky and totally a microcosm of what can go wrong will go wrong.

 

[pvanders21]

The Primeau and St. Louis experiments are over. It’s time to start making moves.

Can include Hughes too

 

[HabbyGuy]

Can include Hughes too

You guys are the best...

 

[BergevinBurner]

Pretty disappointed with Slaf lately, he's a complete non factor if he's not with Suzuki/Caufield. He doesn't have the talent required in any aspect of the game to drive his own line.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

You're playing the semantics game which is never a good look. Even if they said they wanted to be in the mix, it means they thought they had set up their team where it was capable of doing it. Aside from the bottom 4-5 teams, they're not capable of competing with the rest of the league. As for that ship not having sailed, speak to me at the end of January when we'll be discussing which junior to draft with our top 3 draft pick.

The biggest reason we haven’t been as good as expected is Dach shitting the bed. Maybe we should’ve known better there. We obviously expected too much from him after that layoff and I don’t thing anyone was expecting him to be this bad. That has really messed up the whole club.

I think we expected the team to take a step forward this year but even there few expected the playoffs. Dach going down seriously screwed thongs up.

 

[sampollock]

Panic attack

sad part is
PL heard the ugly side of the Bell centre

 

[Habs13]

Pretty disappointed with Slaf lately, he's a complete non factor if he's not with Suzuki/Caufield. He doesn't have the talent required in any aspect of the game to drive his own line.

Yet... he's 20 years old. Probably seems to be mental with him. Dach too. Primeau too. I keep asking myself why St-Louis isn't putting him back on the top line and I think the reason is because he needs these guys to figure it out - and because long term, that's Demidov's spot. And, to be fair, if that does work out and Slafkovsky and Dach figure it out, and Laine returns to his former self - we have a pretty good top six right there.

 

[pvanders21]

Are there any Marty Saint John defenders left?

If so, why?

I understand that you can’t make chicken soup out of chicken shit, but you could try to improve the flavour slightly.

Watching this guy make mistake after mistake, being completely outclassed and out coached every game isn’t funny anymore. At some point, even the bosses that gave him carte Blanche have to hold him to account, don’t they?

His love affair with Mike Matheson is Therrien-esque, reminiscent of the better forgotten David Desharnais dog days of not so long ago. He keeps trying to push the round peg that is Matheson into the square hole that is the number one defenseman spot… and it’s not a fit. Nor will it ever be.

Marty Saint John is one of many in the long line of great hockey players that do not have the ability to coach the game. You shouldn’t be regressing so dramatically, in your third year of the rebuilding process. But here we are.

The Alex Newhook no assist season lives on! The only positive I can take from tonight’s debacle. The poor guy would probably dial 912 in an emergency, just so he couldn’t get any assistance.

At least Therrien was winning some games.

 

[Habs13]

The biggest reason we haven’t been as good as expected is Dach shitting the bed. Maybe we should’ve known better there. We obviously expected too much from him after that layoff and I don’t thing anyone was expecting him to be this bad. That has really messed up the whole club.

I think we expected the team to take a step forward this year but even there few expected the playoffs. Dach going down seriously screwed thongs up.

It's mental. When I blew my knee out the first time, I was terrified to have it happen again - also took years to fully recover.

I'm a New Orleans Saints fan, and a few years ago we have a quarterback named Teddy Bridgewater that was a promising kid - but he suffered a nasty knee injury and after that, he was visibly afraid to get hit again. Mental. I think Dach is the same way.

 

[eklund the clown]

The biggest reason we haven’t been as good as expected is Dach shitting the bed. Maybe we should’ve known better there. We obviously expected too much from him after that layoff and I don’t thing anyone was expecting him to be this bad. That has really messed up the whole club.

I think we expected the team to take a step forward this year but even there few expected the playoffs. Dach going down seriously screwed thongs up.

I find it hard to believe that Dach gets the blame for this team underachieving this year.The guy is coming back from major surgery.Give it time.I already find him getting more physical and his speed has improved.

If he isn't the scapegoat it's poor Matheson.I don't want this response to drag out but if someone wants to put a chart out of the players performance rating this year compared to even last year i think 90% are worse than last year including the goalies.

Usually when this happens you have to look at the system and the coach.I have been saying this since the start of the season.Marty is great for the tank but the tank should be over.I mean what could go wrong hiring a guy who has no coaching experience?They had their chance a couple of weeks ago to get a real successful NHL coach and they blew it.Now it's back to the recycle bin.

 

[SlafySZN]

Pretty disappointed with Slaf lately, he's a complete non factor if he's not with Suzuki/Caufield. He doesn't have the talent required in any aspect of the game to drive his own line.

He’s 20.

Caufield just started being able to do it with his experience and he’s 24 years old.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

At least Therrien was winning some games.

You can't be serious with this comment.

Are there any Marty Saint John defenders left?

If so, why?

I understand that you can’t make chicken soup out of chicken shit, but you could try to improve the flavour slightly.

Watching this guy make mistake after mistake, being completely outclassed and out coached every game isn’t funny anymore. At some point, even the bosses that gave him carte Blanche have to hold him to account, don’t they?

His love affair with Mike Matheson is Therrien-esque, reminiscent of the better forgotten David Desharnais dog days of not so long ago. He keeps trying to push the round peg that is Matheson into the square hole that is the number one defenseman spot… and it’s not a fit. Nor will it ever be.

Marty Saint John is one of many in the long line of great hockey players that do not have the ability to coach the game. You shouldn’t be regressing so dramatically, in your third year of the rebuilding process. But here we are.

The Alex Newhook no assist season lives on! The only positive I can take from tonight’s debacle. The poor guy would probably dial 912 in an emergency, just so he couldn’t get any assistance.

the team is dog shit do you think Therrien and Julien never got blown out by 7+?

I'm not even defending MSL , he means nothing to me , but we are literally rebuilding did you guys not get the memo? Is us being bad news to you?






Do you guys not realise the impact of carey price on our teams for a decade? We had a bottom 5 roster on paper throughout 31's entire tenure with us. Did you think there was a quick fix to two decades of mediocrity?


Fit for habs fans , you probably thought those therrien and julien teams we're good , wait let me guess , we win the cup if kreider doesn't take out price right?

 

[sampollock]

he is not wrong

“I think they have to play faster. Not just in the offensive zone, but they have to play faster in our (defensive) zone when we have the puck and when we don’t. In general, they have to play faster. But you see during games, when they have their moments, they’re tough to play against. We want to see that more consistently from them.” - Martin St-Louis

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

At least Carey Price was winning some games.

Fixed

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I find it hard to believe that Dach gets the blame for this team underachieving this year.The guy is coming back from major surgery.Give it time.I already find him getting more physical and his speed has improved.

If he isn't the scapegoat it's poor Matheson.I don't want this response to drag out but if someone wants to put a chart out of the players performance rating this year compared to even last year i think 90% are worse than last year including the goalies.

I feel genuinely bad for Dach. Maybe the team should’ve had a plan in place for this scenario. I just don’t think anyone expected him to be this bad.

As for Matheson, he’s always been bipolar in his style. Great or awful.

Usually when this happens you have to look at the system and the coach.I have been saying this since the start of the season.Marty is great for the tank but the tank should be over.I mean what could go wrong hiring a guy who has no coaching experience?They had their chance a couple of weeks ago to get a real successful NHL coach and they blew it.Now it's back to the recycle bin.

The tank is over when your players show it’s over. It’s not unusual to see a season where you take a step back. Unfortunately that’s what’s happened this year.

Rebuilds take time. It doesn’t always go the way you want it to or as fast. Big picture- for now - I’d say we’re in good shape. Doesn’t mean we haven’t made mistakes but I think we’re on the right path.

 

[Naslundforever]

Pretty disappointed with Slaf lately, he's a complete non factor if he's not with Suzuki/Caufield. He doesn't have the talent required in any aspect of the game to drive his own line.

Stuck with an echl level center can’t help.

Hutson show was fun in the 1st.

 

[Tyson]

Losing is expected in a rebuild but this quitting crap is unacceptable. Losing 9-2 in your own building against an equally bad team is too much.

 

[sampollock]

Losing is expected in a rebuild but this quitting crap is unacceptable. Losing 9-2 in your own building against an equally bad team is too much.

so agree
where is this character and culture KH and the brass talk about

time for a town hall meeting with Gordon and KH and the players. or start putting guys in the press box.