Seriously. I do not understand.
- 2 years ago we won our division and had a norris trophy winner (1st Norris in how long? won division after being almost dead last year before)
- Last year - we made the ECF!!!! Also - we had a real strong chance of going further but lost Price to injury (yeah - Rangers played great, maybe we still lose, but maybe we win - Price is our best player)
This year now:
- President Trophy winners? Nope. We lost. But we're in 2nd place!!!!
- Division winner? Check
- Vezina winner? Check (1st time in a long time)
- Hart winner? Check (1st time in a long time - and Price should be a LOT better long-term than Theodore, who most expected to be a one-time deal). (also - I know he didn't win yet, but let's be serious Price will win)
- Norris contender? Check (I don't know that Subban wins, but he's in the race)
- Top 5 goal scorer in the NHL? Check (Pacioretty - top 5 goal scorer in the NHL past 3 years - when's the last time we can say this?)
Let's get to the important stuff that matters:
- Therrien - MASSIVE Winning record since joined as coach? CHECK
- 3-0 series lead against Ottawa in round 1? CHECK
- Would you (this is you Mr Reader) have been happy 1 week and a half ago if I told you Habs would hold a 3-2 lead over Ottawa heading into game 6? CHECK
- Projected round 2 - we either get Detroit (who we are better than) or Tampa (who is playing BAD these playoffs). Beatable opponents? CHECK
Are there *any* teams in the NHL who should be feeling as good about their team right now than the habs? Maybe Rangers? Anyone else? Yet every single post and every single thread on this forum is negative.
- Pacioretty sucks - not a leader
- Pacioretty can't play in the playoffs
- Desharnais is horrible
- Therrien is horrible
- We have no system
etc, etc.
Fellow Fans - HABS will win and go to round 2 tonight. We have a VERY LEGIT chance at the Cup this year. Quit with all the negativity and start cheering!
Thank You.
We're not a contender anymore. We were a contender, before Bergevin tried to improve the roster, but ended up making it worse and knocking us out of contention.
In this league of parity, you can't worsen your bottom six significantly without seriously affecting your ability to win.
Going from Bournival, Thomas, Sekac, and Andrighetto to DSP, Flynn, and Mitchell has been a disaster.
Our best lineup this year should have been:
Pacioretty Desharnais Sekac
Galchenyuk Plekanec Gallagher
Andrighetto Eller Weise
Bournival De La Rose/Mitchell Thomas
Prust can come in for one of the small young guys if we're playing a physical team. But the most successful teams in the playoffs will be the fast teams. Just wait and see.