Post-Game Talk: Habs blow it against the Islanders in OT

Some observations
Monty is not making it easy on not labeling him as a tandem goalie. He's already at 50 GS and it's already showing it's the most he should play in a season. Unsure if better conditioning in his case would help.

Newhook definitely looks better at C.

I like that Struble and X are a little more willing to try things with the puck.

The Evans line hasn't been necessarily bad but they are not at the level they were playing in January.

Great stuff from Gally, when I saw Reilly fall on his ass I was like this is it.

Good game by Roy and Slaf was physical last night.
 
Reading the comments and it dawned on me that this fanbase doesn't deserve neither this team, nor the playoffs.

Emotional maturity of a toddler.
The Habs have gotten a point in all but one of their past 10 games. Coming off of a huge win against the Sens, going by the pre-game comments most people were expecting a loss, and frankly so was I. And yet they came back from a 2 goal third deficit to salvage a point against one of the best goalies in the league and against one of the hottest teams in the league, and in their barn.

Sure, it is disappointing to have lost that 2nd point. I don’t blame Sens fans for whatever complaining they are doing after getting blown out at home; or Ranger fans for complaining because at least they are used to playoff hockey and their team is blowing it big time.

For all the Habs fans complaining so much, here a news flash: Montambeault is nowhere near as good as Sorokin, Hutson is still a rookie prone to mistakes, Laine is slow, Dvorak doesn’t smile, etc, etc.

The Habs are an average team playing above their heads and are battling as hard as I’ve seen this team play since that playoff run and they are doing it night after night after night. They are exceeding the expectations of the entire league right now. Let’s put things in perspective.

Final note: it was truly great to see Gallagher score the tying goal. I know nothing of his family background, but Gallagher is a special player considering his size and I have no doubt his mother was a big part of the reason for him being that.
 
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Yeah yeah it's always easy to blame the Goalies all the time (tho we did need at least ONE save on goal 1 or 3)

But Matheson taking that stupid ass penalty which led to their goal and his Defense on the 3rd goal was lmao

Hutson with an ill advised play in OT
But we'll take the bad with alllll the good with him
The fact we have another one of those in Matheson cannot happen anymore tho
You trade him for a shutdown RD ASAP who won't get mocked 1 on 1

But coming back 2 goals down in the 3rd and lose in OT is not 'blowing' it...
The 'ultra' fans are going back to being greedy much too fast looks like lol..
 
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Yeah yeah it's always easy to blame the Goalies all the time (tho we did need at least ONE save on goal 1 or 3)

But Matheson taking that stupid ass penalty which led to their goal and his Defense on the 3rd goal was lmao

Hutson with an ill advised play in OT
But we'll take the bad with alllll the good with him
The fact we have another one of those in Matheson cannot happen anymore tho
You trade him for a shutdown RD ASAP who won't get mocked 1 on 1

But coming back 2 goals down in the 3rd and lose in OT is not 'blowing' it...
The 'ultra' fans are going back to being greedy much too fast looks like lol..

As a goalie myself, I will only blame a goalie when it's warranted.

He has to stop 1 and 3. Non negotiable. You get into a match up against Sorokin and you have to make the routine saves. You can't give them freebies.

He gave them two. He made no big saves. He was a limiting factor last night.

This is sadly common with Monty, the more he works, the more his mental game declines and he lets in absolute laughers.
 
Yeah yeah it's always easy to blame the Goalies all the time (tho we did need at least ONE save on goal 1 or 3)

But Matheson taking that stupid ass penalty which led to their goal and his Defense on the 3rd goal was lmao

Hutson with an ill advised play in OT
But we'll take the bad with alllll the good with him
The fact we have another one of those in Matheson cannot happen anymore tho
You trade him for a shutdown RD ASAP who won't get mocked 1 on 1

But coming back 2 goals down in the 3rd and lose in OT is not 'blowing' it...
The 'ultra' fans are going back to being greedy much too fast looks like lol..
The first goal too.

On the PK, Matheson gets the puck all by himself and skates down the ice. Rather than dumping it in at the redline and coming back (legit the most safe, obvious play) he tries to beat 4 Isles 1 on 4. Gets caught, pucks comes back down the ice the other way. Isles get the zone, Matheson eventually makes it back (but is scrambling) and loses Duclair. 1-0.

Fans when discussing him often never bring these types of plays up and it's really irritating. They claim we LOOK for mistakes to criticize him. No. He makes the mistakes, we just point them out.
 
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I disagree. I really hope he will choose his spots better as he progresses (and I am sure he will because he is a smart guy and has already adapted to a lot of situations). He rushed in alone 1v3 and tried to deke his opponent in a low percentage play when he could have simply passed back, kept possession, completed changes and kept going.

It was a dumb play. He's a rookie, it will happen. Hopefully he reads those situations better in the future.
That’s fine. I said it was a mistake but doesn’t change my opinion he shouldn’t keep trying this and by this I mean take chances, try to create.

OBVIOUSLY, skating into a 1v5 or 1v3 in OT is usually going to result in a turnover at this level so yes, hopefully he learns to pick his spots, but I want Lane to keep being Lane.

That was the point of my statement. Dynamic, creative and exciting offensive defencemen don’t score without having the puck on their stick and making things happen. Sure, sometimes he’ll get pick pocketed walking the blue line, other times he’ll setup a beauty or score himself.

While I’m sure Marty told Lane to pick his spots better in future, I do feel his response/feeling towards McGuire’s question was sincere. Basically, shit happens but that’s the tradeoff when you play the style Hutson plays.
 
Some observations
Monty is not making it easy on not labeling him as a tandem goalie. He's already at 50 GS and it's already showing it's the most he should play in a season. Unsure if better conditioning in his case would help.

Newhook definitely looks better at C.

I like that Struble and X are a little more willing to try things with the puck.

The Evans line hasn't been necessarily bad but they are not at the level they were playing in January.

Great stuff from Gally, when I saw Reilly fall on his ass I was like this is it.

Good game by Roy and Slaf was physical last night.
Newhook is looking like he'd fit perfectly replacing Dvorak for next year
 
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Great to get the point.

Gally…..legend mode my man!

Monty needs a game off for rest. But if we’re gonna lose, that’s the fashion!
Good game boys, cheers.

ps ref’s???
I feel that Monty should not play more than two games in a row, he should rest on the third. If they did this, he'd still play 66% of the remaining games, and he'd be rested for his next start, especially if the games are closely spaced.
 
That’s fine. I said it was a mistake but doesn’t change my opinion he shouldn’t keep trying this and by this I mean take chances, try to create.

OBVIOUSLY, skating into a 1v5 or 1v3 in OT is usually going to result in a turnover at this level so yes, hopefully he learns to pick his spots, but I want Lane to keep being Lane.

That was the point of my statement. Dynamic, creative and exciting offensive defencemen don’t score without having the puck on their stick and making things happen. Sure, sometimes he’ll get pick pocketed walking the blue line, other times he’ll setup a beauty or score himself.

While I’m sure Marty told Lane to pick his spots better in future, I do feel his response/feeling towards McGuire’s question was sincere. Basically, shit happens but that’s the tradeoff when you play the style Hutson plays.

Lane is going to attack. It's in his DNA, and one way or another, it's going to open up the overtime and chances are either the Habs or the opposition will have a great chance at ending it.

It wasn't a great decision, and as frustrating as it is to basically give charity to the opponent, this is what 3 on 3 essentially boils down to. You have certain guys who are waiting for mistakes to counter attack, and you have guys who have the mentality to create something. Hutson is in the latter category.

When you don't have the hutson types in 3 on 3, that's when you get the laughable overtimes when guys are just skating around doing absolutely nothing other than playing keep away.
 
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Slaf led the team in both shots (5) and hits (4). He also added one block and you might have noticed his work on Laine goal. Which game have you been watching?
I'll take your word for it - maybe I missed those hits, as I was half asleep while watching the game. But on occasions when I did look up, there was Oct - Nov Slaf.
 
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Hutson will learn from this. His IQ is too high for him not to That kind of play may have worked in the USHL but it doesn't fly in the NHL. But that ok. It's part of the learning process
 
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You lose a game that you dominated, got goalied, these things happen in a season. We have won our share of points when Monty stood on his head.

That being said, impossible to win every game but the Habs have gotten the loser point in 3 out of their last 4 loses. This is crucial in qualifying for playoffs.

Funny that the greatest hits of scapegoats come out every time the Habs lose....Matheson. Blaming him for the first goal is crazy. He plays 25 minutes a game - how dare he take the occasional penalty or get burnt on.a rush when he's on his wrong side. The Matheson Standard should be a course offered at McGill.
 
Tough tough game to lose, the Habs dominated this one in every way other than goaltending. Sorokin also managed to pick up two assists in the game as well, tying our top point getter Patrik Laine.

The positives: We outshot them badly, but ran into a buzz saw in net, and had some pucks not bounce our way. The only two forwards that didn’t have a shot were Armia and Heineman.

Nick Suzuki continues to impress. Has 19 points in 12 games since the 4 Nations cup. Had a goal called back on a breakaway.

Brendan Gallagher. Loses his mom to brain cancer and continues to play hard and lead the way. Scored a huge breakaway goal and had a handful of shots on net and a couple of penalties.

Lane Hutson. Played 25 mins. Again. As an undersized rookie. Had guys guessing all game, made some beautiful offensive and defensive plays and folks are getting hung up on his overtime play. We have the rookie of the year here. Leading rookie scorer as a defenseman and we want to shit on that guy for trying to score!!!??? Ridiculous.

Patrik Laine. Is he a one trick pony? Yup. Does that trick help us win games? Absolutely. He continues to score timely goals and pick up points to pace this team offensively when we need it desperately.

Joshua Roy. Least amount of ice among the forwards, managed to score a goal, worked hard and wasn’t a liability. Happy to see him working hard and scoring one.

The team never quits. Down a couple of goals, they battle back to tie it up. They struggle to score but they keep working, they keep coming in waves, and everyone is buying in and playing for the legendary CH on the front.

The negatives: Montembeault. Monty had an .840 save percentage tonight, which wouldn’t be good enough to win most old timer hockey games. Has to be better. We need him to be as good or better than the other team’s goalie from now on.
Good analysis. Your points about Joshua Roy in particular were spot on. He is not nor likely will ever be a 2nd line player on a good team, but he is obviously trying hard to fit in with the system and he isn’t being a liability. He does have some skill so hopefully that goal will give him a confidence boost and he can pop in a few more.

I would add one player for specific praise… Newhook. He has been disappointing to me and most others since the trade, but last night was the best game I can remember seeing him play even though he didn’t get rewarded.

The key negative is that neither we nor the coaches can expect to ride Montambeault as much as they have lately. I was a little surprised they didn’t go with Dobes last night and back to Monty on Saturday since Dobes has had more success on the road, I wonder if they thought they could ride Monty all the way to next week’s back to back.

Overall all, Isles play a pretty boring game and have to rely on Sorokin a lot, but the 3rd period comeback was exciting and the Habs got a valuable point out of it.
 
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I feel that Monty should not play more than two games in a row, he should rest on the third. If they did this, he'd still play 66% of the remaining games, and he'd be rested for his next start, especially if the games are closely spaced.
If that's the case it's not a good thing. I don't get why he gets so out of whack after 2-3 games and needs a reset. I feel like he needs some serious goalie coaching to work especially on tracking pucks. And who knows... maybe just plain good ol' conditioning?

I don't know... i get that this team is WIP and that they are supposedly playing above expectations, but just seeing guys like Gallagher, Josh and Suzuki bring it all and beyond and then having to battle from behind all the time... just can't be sustainable.
 
True..........but last night he was .840 sv % He had a tough game.....he and Dobes hopefully can hold the bridge together.
Definitely had a tough game. But that's to be expected with average goalies. Overall he's been great down the stretch. Credit where it's due.

But he's not going to lead a team to a cup. He's the kind of guy who might be 'good enough' on a great team but he's not going to carry you anywhere. You might get the odd game where he saves the day but ultimately we're average in the goaltending department now, just like every other club.

Sidenote, imagine Carey Price behind this team...
 
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The Habs played 2 very tough game va Florida and direct rivals Ottawa.
Yes the islanders was important but it was a game one can expect an energy drop .
Well no , the Habs played with non stop energy , dominated , and came back down 3-1 in the third .
That in itself is an impressive feat from such a young team.

I will add I am very impressed with newhook at center and expect him to become our elite third line center .
Newhook has upped his game but no one will mistake him for an elite third line center.
It should be evident to everyone by now he can't make plays. There is no reason he can't bring this same jam to the wing and also to the PK I might add. Like Anderson I think we need to reset his role going forward.
 
I don't think Laine being back there necessarily changes anything. Horvat beat Monty clean as a whistle.

That's just the nature of 3v3s. You really don't want to give up possession on low percentage chances.
Yup Matheson was villified last season for the same reason because he deserved to be villified as a veteran.

Hutson will learn and he won't make that play again which is why I didn't bring it up.
When you are on an island 3v3 you have to do what Suzuki did and move the puck back to your goaltender anything less is not putting your team first.
 
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