Pre-Game Talk: Habs vs Kings

[Trenbohabs]

Sorry, but like someone said, it's not only the D guys, it's a unit, and the forwards involved are vets. But what I see is absolutely NO PRESSURE along the boards, the other team are skating at will in our zone without any challenge, it looks like a constant PP for them. It's simply atrocious to watch.

This is 100% on coaching. Heck, I've seen a rookie defense of Svoboda/Chelios/Kurvers/Lalor back in the days doing well, why because yes there were a few veterans but there was also a veritable system in place (the trap).

Well we are in a rebuild my man, our forwards are trash. Demidov and Hage will put that pressure
We are very lucky to have MSL as a head coach, its the best thing that could happen to developp young talent and give confidence to the guys

 

[Paddyjack]

Well we are in a rebuild my man, our forwards are trash. Demidov and Hage will put that pressure
We are very lucky to have MSL as a head coach, its the best thing that could happen to developp young talent and give confidence to the guys

I'm not against MSL per see, what I'm saying is that he needs help on systems, a real strategist. Development is not just getting players to play in the NHL, they have also to learn to play hockey at a higher level. We laughed a lot here about the comments from previous managements "players have to know what to do when they don't have the puck", but it's absolutely a true statement. Right now, I don't see it, players seem lost.

 

[waitin425]

I am hoping for a better effort

I just hope both teams have fun.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

We have to aim for win here. They will play in Toronto the night before and their defense looked horrible without Doughty against Sens.

As did their goaltending. That was an insane 8-7 game with Ottawa. No D or goaltending on either side. Rittich is starting against Toronto.

I still can't believe they gave Joel Edmundson 4 years @ $3.85m per. Damn.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1846526855517556780

I'm not a huge fan of JFresh and his models but this is pretty bad.

Pittsburgh and Toronto games really hurt us. Montembeault had something like 6 goals saved above expected against Toronto. They definitely won the 5 on 5 battle, but we got a PPG and they didn't.

Pens game we got slaughtered at 5 vs 5.

Our specialty teams are much improved, but our 5 on 5 play, which was a positive last year is a disaster.

Forwards aren't helping out. Too often we have a 3 man forecheck & when the other team breaks it, it's odd man rushes the other way. We need to keep a player high for defensive purposes.

Plus, some people are just brain dead like Anderson.

It's a team wide issue.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Kings are a big nasty team, throwback to the Melrose era, I expect a physical game... our end of the ice could be a crime scene

They have gotten the cringey Danault tribute video out of the way already right?

They definitely are not a big, nasty team. Lol

 

[The Real Timo]

They definitely are not a big, nasty team. Lol

They miss PLD

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

The only reason Matheson is "needed" on the line-up is to be a vet defensively to the kids, and so far this season, he's a big FAIL at it. His offensive minutes can be shared to Hutson, Guhle and Barron. Habs shouldn't have any issues trading for a cheap NHL level 3rd pair defensive dmen to eat some defensive minutes (technically that should be Savard, but since he sucks too).

So who's playing on the top pairing with Guhle? Because that cheap 3rd pairing caliber dmen you are saying to acquire is definitely not going to do well playing on the top pairing.

It does when that player is coming up for contract and isn't in our long term plans. Moreover, we have Huston ready to go and need help on the right side.

Matheson still has 2 years left, and the habs are past the assets accumulating phase. Winning is more important than getting assets now. If Matheson gets traded, it should only be at next year's tdl, and only if the habs are not close to a playoff spot.

You'd want to hope that a team has rose-colored glasses on and a bad pro scouting department and use Matheson to get a guy like this coming back. Maybe a team wants a bit more offense in general/from their backend and is willing to trade someone more defensive to do it.

I've made this point countless times on this board but just because he plays 25 minutes a night does not mean he should be or that he deserves to. A coach could, in theory, play a guy 60 minutes a night. Doesn't mean it's the right choice or that the player is playing well during that whole time. He plays 25 minutes a night and we have one of the worst D in the league, with him leading the way in chances against/60 in the whole league. Make of that what you will.

I'd be fine with keeping him around until his contract is up but under no circumstances do I want him re-signed.

Doesn't matter if he deserves those 25 mins or not. He's still logging those minutes, and it's extremely hard to find players capable of logging those minutes and do well at it, which is what you guys are asking the habs to acquire for cheap.

 

[McGees]

Personally I'm a big fan of holding onto stocks until they go to $0.
Me and Kent know what's up.

 

[Captain Mountain]

So who's playing on the top pairing with Guhle? Because that cheap 3rd pairing caliber dmen you are saying to acquire is definitely not going to do well playing on the top pairing.



Matheson still has 2 years left, and the habs are past the assets accumulating phase. Winning is more important than getting assets now. If Matheson gets traded, it should only be at next year's tdl, and only if the habs are not close to a playoff spot.

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Doesn't matter if he deserves those 25 mins or not. He's still logging those minutes, and it's extremely hard to find players capable of logging those minutes and do well at it, which is what you guys are asking the habs to acquire for cheap.

I've been defending Matheson, but I wouldn't say that Matheson should only be at next year's TDL. A Matheson trade would/could be similar to the Petry trade that brought Matheson to Montreal - a hockey trade that fits Montreal's situation better. Matheson was cheaper and younger than Petry, which made more sense for Montreal at the time. Now the situation is different.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

So who's playing on the top pairing with Guhle? Because that cheap 3rd pairing caliber dmen you are saying to acquire is definitely not going to do well playing on the top pairing.

I'm not talking about getting a cheap 3rd pairing RD. We already have that.

Matheson still has 2 years left, and the habs are past the assets accumulating phase. Winning is more important than getting assets now. If Matheson gets traded, it should only be at next year's tdl, and only if the habs are not close to a playoff spot.

Okay, two years instead of one. Still a good time to deal him.

I think we need help on the right side. That's what I'd focus on. A veteran presence who could help stabilize things on that side and mentor the kids. Savard isn't bad but he's not here for long either.

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Doesn't matter if he deserves those 25 mins or not. He's still logging those minutes, and it's extremely hard to find players capable of logging those minutes and do well at it, which is what you guys are asking the habs to acquire for cheap.

Ghule and Hutson can combine for those minutes. Simply moving Guhle back to the left would fix that problem. Right now we have him on the right. Not ideal. I'd much rather shore up that side and move Guhle back. Reinbacher going down puts more pressure on us there. He was supposed to be able to come in at some point and eat some minutes. Now we've got Guhle, Savard and Barron... that just doesn't make sense to me. Even if Mailloux comes in it's still a little wonky as he doesn't have the defensive acumen that RB supposedly does.

It's not that I don't like Matheson. He's got skills and is a fantastic skater. But I don't see him here long term. Moreover, his value's at it's peak.

 

[OldCraig71]

But we have no defense? Idk whats up with guys that complain about this team having problems defensively, look at the ages of our d men jesus.. next year we will have a young Reinbacher also, until Barron Matheson and Savard are gone we will tank. Our best d man is Guhle and hes 22 with under 150 NHL games under the belt. We needed Reinbacher to be healthy to jump in fresh in march to help the poor squad with no skills

Did you read what you just wrote and think it was a sensible reply? You just said our D squad was young, we wont be better till we get rid of some of our experienced guys and things would have been better if we added a guy with even less experience than the rest of them.

I don't mean to reply rudely, and English might not be your primary language, but you just managed to score on your own net with that reply.

 

[OldCraig71]

Sorry, but like someone said, it's not only the D guys, it's a unit, and the forwards involved are vets. But what I see is absolutely NO PRESSURE along the boards, the other team are skating at will in our zone without any challenge, it looks like a constant PP for them. It's simply atrocious to watch.

This is 100% on coaching. Heck, I've seen a rookie defense of Svoboda/Chelios/Kurvers/Lalor back in the days doing well, why because yes there were a few veterans but there was also a veritable system in place (the trap).

It was I good sir. The Pens walked out of their zone on Monday night with the kind of ease they should have only expected against a group of 14 year old kids. It has very little to do with the age of our D group but the poor style of defending we are employing as a group. This was brought up dozens of times last season and it looks exactly the same this year. The opposition is coming at our "green" group of defenders with ease hence the reason we are giving up so expected goals.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Ghule and Hutson can combine for those minutes. Simply moving Guhle back to the left would fix that problem. Right now we have him on the right. Not ideal. I'd much rather shore up that side and move Guhle back. Reinbacher going down puts more pressure on us there. He was supposed to be able to come in at some point and eat some minutes. Now we've got Guhle, Savard and Barron... that just doesn't make sense to me. Even if Mailloux comes in it's still a little wonky as he doesn't have the defensive acumen that RB supposedly does.

It's not that I don't like Matheson. He's got skills and is a fantastic skater. But I don't see him here long term. Moreover, his value's at it's peak.

Guhle and Hutson can't combine for the minutes Matheson is logging. Both are already averaging 21+ min per game. An RD that can play Matheson's minutes and do well will cost a lot, and even if we acquired one, the habs should still keep Matheson until the end of his contract since that would make the habs a much stronger team.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Guhle and Hutson can't combine for the minutes Matheson is logging. Both are already averaging 21+ min per game.

Guhle is doing that on the right side with Hutson. Yes, they can eat those minutes. We'd need somebody on the right to absorb it.

An RD that can play Matheson's minutes and do well will cost a lot, and even if we acquired one, the habs should still keep Matheson until the end of his contract since that would make the habs a much stronger team.

We have a lot to trade with. As the quote you just posted said, we've spent the last few years acquiring assets and picks... we can leverage those along with Matheson to get a vet.

 

[WatchfulElm]

Let's f***ing go.

I worry about Byfield and Brandt Clarke. Don't want to see their young guns look better than ours.

Before the season start, I thought Clarke and Hutson were the dark horses for the Calder. I actually picked Clarke in 3 of my pools. Maybe they've now graduated from dark horses to front runners.

Edit : Clarke is not even eligible because he played 9 games 2 years ago. Stupid rule.

 

[HabzSauce]

You can't compete in this league without a competent defensive system, teams are too fast and talented and the numbers don't lie. There is no excuse to be doing that poorly and we all see the team getting hemmed in for 1-2 minute stretches, it is a joke to watch. If this continues till the 20 game mark it wouldn't be a shock to see a shakeup behind the bench. Yes, we are rebuilding but one would have to think the powers that be are expecting improvements both on and off the ice.

I think it will be extremely difficult for Habs to fire MSL. He is buddies with Hughes

 

[Habs]

They definitely are not a big, nasty team. Lol

I was going by their last couple games, pretty good tilts etc. They seem to include their grittier guys as regulars , they aren't spare parts

 

[Rapala]

Sorry, but like someone said, it's not only the D guys, it's a unit, and the forwards involved are vets. But what I see is absolutely NO PRESSURE along the boards, the other team are skating at will in our zone without any challenge, it looks like a constant PP for them. It's simply atrocious to watch.

This is 100% on coaching. Heck, I've seen a rookie defense of Svoboda/Chelios/Kurvers/Lalor back in the days doing well, why because yes there were a few veterans but there was also a veritable system in place (the trap).

Uncontested ice just ain't nice to watch and will always always always lead to the SOFT comments we see on this board.

 

[the]

I think it will be extremely difficult for Habs to fire MSL. He is buddies with Hughes

That's why we got Jeff Gorton overseeing the operations. He's here to make those big executive decision if he feels the ship is not being steered straight.

 

[morhilane]

So who's playing on the top pairing with Guhle? Because that cheap 3rd pairing caliber dmen you are saying to acquire is definitely not going to do well playing on the top pairing.

That 3rd pairing dmen won't be playing on the top pairing, the top pairing is Hutson/Guhle and it's already better over 200 feet than Matheson/Guhle over the last 3 games where they played quite a bit together.

What is needed is a defensive partner for Barron and/or a defensive partner for Xhekaj. Struble can fit into one of those two spots if he can play RD. But Matheson has shown he can't fill that role each with Barron in the last 3 games. And Savard looks done at this point...

 

[OldCraig71]

I think it will be extremely difficult for Habs to fire MSL. He is buddies with Hughes

I am not suggesting that Marty gets fired but the Habs are not looking better defensively, like which one of the 4 lines is a checking line? Every team has one but we seem to have 4 lines that look very similar defensively. We don't have the talent to win games 6-5 so it is necessary to play better without the puck.

 

[HabzSauce]

That's why we got Jeff Gorton overseeing the operations. He's here to make those big executive decision if he feels the ship is not being steered straight.

Thats a great point actually

 

[morhilane]

I am not suggesting that Marty gets fired but the Habs are not looking better defensively, like which one of the 4 lines is a checking line? Every team has one but we seem to have 4 lines that look very similar defensively. We don't have the talent to win games 6-5 so it is necessary to play better without the puck.

Well, the 1st line is basically a shutdown line with how much time they start in the dzone and get stuck there...

 

[OldCraig71]

Well, the 1st line is basically a shutdown line with how much time they start in the dzone and get stuck there...

People are talking about Suzuki getting off to a slow start but well, he's the only guy that is trying to play a two-way game out there.