Pre-Game Talk: Habs vs Leafs (line changes)

[LaP]

Has Eller at any point looked good at wing?

NO but he never was used more than 4-5 games in a row there so ...

 

[sheed36]

Good luck guys.

Blow us out please. Excited to see Galchenyuk and Patches play

Yeah like that's gonna happen. With the way the Habs have been playing against bad teams this year and with the Leafs losing 12 straight or so on the road now your Leafs will win this game.

The Habs are great against good teams for the most part and terrible against bottom feeders. It's just the Habs way this season. Sorry for giving the Leafs 2 points and ruining the tank a little.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

I think there's a lot to work with Sekac...but at some point, he has to show more than what he has. He looks great with the puck in the neutral zone, but when he enters in the offensive zone, he's pretty repetitive, he'll take the puck along the wall, behind the net, and send it back to the D. He also has to work on getting his shot off more quickly.

When I compare Sekac to Thomas the last dozen games or so, I've seen more from Thomas than I have in Sekac. The goal that Thomas scored last night is the result of a few games of strong play.

I don't disagree with sitting out Sekac for a few...

Both Eller and Sekac have average releases. They took quite a bit of time to get the shot off compared to more gifted players in the league/habs. It's something they can both stand to improve obviously but as is, I'm not concerned. Still, Sekac needs to shoot more in general, not unlike DD. I believe they shoot the least among our forwards but have had decent success while getting it to the net.

Thomas is playing for a chance at his dream. Sekac is more going through the motions. It's a little different.

Still, will I cry if Sekac is out? Not really. He's got some upside but he hasn't done much as of late so not the end of the world. As long as the coaching staff communicates to him what he needs to watch from press box and what he needs to work on I'm certainly more comfortable with the idea.

I can only hope that during the off-season a guy like him, with impeccable conditioning, continues to add some muscle. With some extra size he can get into traffic with more ease and get more shots on net.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Oh, yeah, I agree, he is an outstanding player. I'm just saying that it didn't take much to remove Galchenyuk/Plekanec from his line so by the same logic if DD plays as bad as he did yesterday against Toronto he should be removed too. We all know that won't happen though.

Galchenyuk was getting 72.5% zone starts. With that type of usage it almost makes sense it was a trial run.

 

[Crusher117]

Not sure how I feel about the line up. Id love to see Sekac play on one of the top 2 lines when he comes back into the lineup.

 

[MTL-rules]

I absolutely hate Therrien, I wish he would be gone... but.

Sekac, although I really like him, has been making a lot of mistakes defensively while not generating much offensively... so it's kind of deserving.

As for Eller, his time is running out. He got his paycheck, yet he's not delivering... needs to get his act together and fast.

Gilbert... well good riddence, sit, enjoy the game, think a little and start playing like your job depended on it.

 

[Takeru]

Sekac has played like crap in the last 15+ games. I am okay with him missing a game as long as he's not scratched for the next 10.

Pretty much this, but with Therrien you never know...

can someone explain why this guy always signs off his posts?

Maybe he really likes seeing his name on a hockey forum.

 

[Justin11]

They way Gilbert played last night and most of the season, he deserves to be benched for the remainder of his contract.

As for Sekac, as much as I like him, he needs to start putting up points.

Not an MT fan, But I'm behind him on this one.

 

[Habs100]

If Eller's going to be on the wing, it would be interesting to see this top 6:

Patches DD Eller
Galchenyuk Pleks Gally
Sekac DLR Thomas
Prust Bournival Weise

 

[mtlhockeyfan]

If Eller's going to be on the wing, it would be interesting to see this top 6:

Patches DD Eller
Galchenyuk Pleks Gally
Sekac DLR Thomas
Prust Bournival Weise

Eller is not playing why would we give him a reward? Any way the roster is tweaked we will always lack a true first line scorer unless a trade is made.

 

[Takeru]

Eller is not playing why would we give him a reward? Any way the roster is tweaked we will always lack a true first line scorer unless a trade is made.

Our forwards needs are a #1 RW and #1C or #2LW, depending on where you play Galchenyuk. It would probably be easier/cheaper to look for #2LW though.

 

[S Bah]

My thoughts are the Habs are giving JDLR a look at center while also giving both defensive centers Eller & Malhotra a breather against some of the weaker opposition. Developing our young prospects in the time honored ways used by the Habs, should give them options for every possible opponent when the playoffs arrive. Detroit & Tampa are very much mirror images, no doubt that's due to Steve Yzerman's(Tampa's GM) influence from his days in the Detroit organization, two team's that use speed(in transition game and the possession game) to overcome stifling checking games with great results. Then there are Pittsburgh, NYI's and NYR's all teams that can match the Habs with speed, physicality, great goaltending and checking.

One other thought is Tampa(Bishop,Vasilievsky) has a very good one/two punch in nets similar to the Habs(Price/Tokarski) unlike last season, and Hedman has flourished with huge icetime this season also. The size of Tampa's defence is very hard on the smaller forwards, teams with bigger Dmen seem far easier to keep the front of their nets clear, with good reason. Look no further than Philadelphia's defence against the Habs after beating Pittsburgh & Washington yrs. ago, they were at a loss to get close to the Flyers net and score against their tight defensive system.

The development of our young energy line for the playoffs is vital in any series against either Detroit or Tampa, which seems inevitable if the Habs are to mount a serious run for the Stanley Cup this spring IMHO.

 

[CH25]

What did Sekac do to warrant being scratched for Bournival ?????

 

[Beige Van]

Guys, why are you worrying about lines when they're gonna play the Leafs..!?

Wanna check out DA RECORD against bottom feeders?

 

[Takeru]

Wanna check out DA RECORD against bottom feeders?

We usually beat the leafs, though they weren't official bottom feeders at that time. It's a coin toss I guess.

 

[David Suzuki]

What did Sekac do to warrant being scratched for Bournival ?????

He has done nothing, that's kind of he point

 

[Andy]

http://www.tvasports.ca/2015/02/13/sekac-en-trop-a-lentrainement

Sekac interview. Pretty interesting the way he sees his game.

 

[Hope Of Glory]

Galchenyuk was getting 72.5% zone starts. With that type of usage it almost makes sense it was a trial run.

For comparison's sake, what's DD's % zone start since he's back with Pacioretty? Is it similare? I honestly don't know.

 

[Whitesnake]

Insane lines...pure insanity.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Other than wanting to see Sekac in instead of Thomas or Bournival, I'm okay with these lines..

Exactly what I was going to post.

 

[Masuli]

I just think I'm gonna ignore everything 'till pos and start watching then.

 

[shamrun]

What did Sekac do to warrant being scratched for Bournival ?????

Especially considering that Bournival is having a tough season.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

For comparison's sake, what's DD's % zone start since he's back with Pacioretty? Is it similare? I honestly don't know.

In general DD gets 64.1% with max. I don't know the recent numbers, no idea where to find that without doing it manually.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

He has done nothing, that's kind of he point

Isn't Bournival's 0 points in his last 13 games also kind of the point, though? Makes no sense to play him higher in the lineup than Sekac unless it's showcase time or something.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

For comparison's sake, what's DD's % zone start since he's back with Pacioretty? Is it similare? I honestly don't know.

Both have virtually identical numbers overall. When paired with Max, DD's at about 64% and Chuck's at about 72%. Not a whole lot of difference.

Pleks with Max on the other hand is 38 percent.