Pre-Game Talk: Game 1 Preseason Habs vs. Philadelphia (Monday Sept. 23 – 7PM ET) RDS

[Paddyjack]

everyone looked good. Kap def getting more looks

Except Barron

 

[Vachon23]

Except Barron

He did a good job, he’s not losing his spot for Mailloux as now

 

[Team_Spirit]

Timmins finally got some good draft just before getting fired

Thanks TT

 

[red devil]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838410015058632900

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838410557948403876

 

[Rapala]

As much as I wish we could get rid of Donkey and Gallagher, I think Dvorak or Evans are getting dealt soon. I've said this for awhile.

Don't expect something big in return but that's beside the point. We simply need to free up some spots.

I'm itching to see how Beck plays tomorrow. Oliver threw down the gauntlet.
Honestly we could probably use both of them this season and not loose a beat.
As I'm watching Kapanen I keep thinking we should be looking to graduate one center this year.
We sure as heck are going to have two new centers next season.
Looking at our depth I have absolutely no use for Pezzetta or RHP as of now.

 

[Paddyjack]

He did a good job, he’s not losing his spot for Mailloux as now

He was bad in his zone, I remember a sequence in the third where Wifi didn't know where to go because Barron was doing weird passes behind the net. But anyway, only one game.

 

[overlords]

we need an update @Colezuki. Did you give her the ol' Rusty Laine?

 

[Rapala]

He was bad in his zone, I remember a sequence in the third where Wifi didn't know where to go because Barron was doing weird passes behind the net. But anyway, only one game.

Not true Barron was putting the puck into safe areas instead of turning it over.
They handled the fore check very well from my point of view.
People making up shit about Barron as usual.
If that's our third pairing I'm pumped.

 

[branch]

Watching tonight from Gatineau. Kapanen really impressed me

 

[Adriatic]

Flyers were awful but we played really well. Lane is an absolute wizard with that puck...what a player. Some thought he was gonna start the season in Laval lol. Gonna hard to keep him under 20 minutes some nights . Good to know Kapanen is 100% an nhler. Also Tuch will be a tough sob to play against.

 

[Paddyjack]

Not true Barron was putting the puck into safe areas instead of turning it over.
They handled the fore check very well from my point of view.
People making up shit about Barron as usual.
If tha's our third pairing I'm pumped.

I actually never talk about Barron, but tonight for me he stood out in a bad way. But let's agree to disagree

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Mailloux looks like a scuffed version of Hal Gill

 

[Canadienna]

Haven't seen @MarkovsKnee around here this training camp.

Hope all is well. He'd have enjoyed that game.

 

[Andrei79]

Man Poehling sucks. What a brutal draft pick that was. Dumb on the ice. Dumb off the ice. I can't believe some thought he could replace Plekanec like basically at the time of the draft.

 

[the]

Except Barron

I thought he looked good? I don't get it. Let's give him a chance.

 

[SwiftyHab]

I think you can pretty much stop evaulating Hutson and pencil him in the lineup now

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838384061665984878

 

[behemolari]

About 5 guys will not have a good night sleep tonight with Kapanen coming out of nowhere.

its actually a thing

 

[SwiftyHab]

@KevSkillz4 Laine’s fiancé IG post tonight bides well for your hope that he resigns here at a lower AAV

 

[HabzSauce]

What a cool game. Can't say anything too bad about anyone.

Xhekaj was really physical. God I'm glad he's back and healthy.

Dach's skating looked better than I expected. Was way more physical than I expected too. Some nice passes.

Newhook looks like he's continuing his upwards trend. A few of us commented how he improved his hockey IQ down the stretch and it seems he's still adding parts to his game.

Laine is super skilled. Damn.

Hutson had magical moments. His one big issue is getting beat by speed. He'll need to adapt his gap to his weaker straight away speed. He's relentless though. I really want him on PP1.

Mailloux needs to polish his game. It's still rough around the edges. He could work on his agility as well.

Roy is smart and has great puck skills, but man his skating is not where it should for a high end player. It speaks volume to his hockey IQ that he's able to produce without many of the skating skills most top 6 players have.

Looking forward to seeing how Tuch develops this year. Skating, strength, positioning are there. He'll be a good fit with all the big players on the team if he makes it.

Barron looked better than his usual tire fire self. A few bonehead mistakes but not as bad as previous years. Didn't shy from physical play, which is very important for him.

Anderson wasn't bad at all tbh.

Heineman has NHL upside but it's tough to know how high. The physical tools are there. He's a north south player with shot and physicality which I like quite a lot. He's not very smart offensively though which I think will limit him.

My coup de coeur was by far Kapanen though. Holy shit is he smart. High IQ and absolutely relentless. Beautiful punch turns as well used to great effect to create space for himself and others. If he plays more like these he needs to stay.

Easily the best training camp we've in like a decade up to now. Man I still remember the absolute disaster that was the 2021-2022 training camp. Were more at a point where management will have to make really tough decisions at every position.

Even goaltending will be a problem potentially as soon as next year. Primeau is going to be sick this year. Finally starting to look confident and I think he takes a big step forward. Montembault will be also be solid. Dobes still needs work but he has a crazy toolbox, compete and size. Could push as soon as next year. Then fowler and volokhin around the corner too my god.

We are so deep everywhere except RD lol. And everyone is coming up at the same time

 

[calder candidate]

That was a below avg Philly team and meaningless preseason but it is still great seeing all these positive.

Dach - look dominating early seem more hesitant later but confident that he is a100%
Laine - displayed is skills and we already won the trade…
Kapanen- best / most consistent player on the ice.
Hutson - ready to have a impact in the NHL.
ABB / Heineman look better with every shift especially ABB
Roy - lot of good flashes
Newhook, Dvorak, Anderson, Savard, Xhekaj - less urgency some flashes nothing to bad
Barron / Mailloux didn’t separate them self which is good, not to many mistakes.
Engstrom- some flashes maybe struggled a bit more but still promising.
Tuck, Davidson, Condotta - good game but probably no good enough to really stay in the mix…

 

[Ozmodiar]

Kapanen - excellent at finding space with and without the puck. Patient and confident with the puck.

Heineman - showed off that release.

Hutson - he’s doing the whole “forcing the GM to make the decision” thing. HuGo has no choice.

Line 2 - some rust and unfamiliarity showing. A few times they were heading to the same ice to get open. They are gonna be good tho.

 

[Rapala]

Just watched the first period again on Canadiens Express.
One of the better D plays was Justin Barron supporting the rush.
The worst plays were indeed Mailloux and Engstrom who gave up a 2 on 0 while playing 3v2.
The Bulk of the 4 minute penalty at the end of one was killed by Barron and Xhekaj.

 

[HabsMD97]

Barron was good, pretty much everyone looked good or at least decent. Engstrom and Mailloux will need some time in the A.

 

[vokiel]

He did a good job, he’s not losing his spot for Mailloux as now

Barron looked like he was practicing keeping things simple, which worked against a team half-full of AHLers

Mailloux looked better, not by much.

 

[Rapala]

Watched the second period again and the pairing giving up most chances was Mailloux and Engstrom AINEC.
Barron Xhekaj had smooth clean exits for the most part and the uglier ones were still effective.
So once again what exactly is going on with the smack against Barron?