GDT: Last Preseason Game - Habs B squad vs Sens Goons - 7pm EST

[BLONG7]

Laine's injury really impacted the pre-season plan. After his injury, our coaching staff was scared of losing another key player.

The PP will be an issue again this year. Burrows is gone but we play the exact same way. It will never work with the current setup and strategy. Never. Hutson may help a bit but our pp problem is deeper than a lack of talent at the point.

Over-passing..............and no one knows how to one timer the puck.
Embarassing......

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Most people did not have Reinbacher making the team, so one roster guy, for about 3 months.

I didn’t either. But he still got knocked out for the season. The injuries we’ve had over the last few years are inexplicably bad.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Laine's injury really impacted the pre-season plan. After his injury, our coaching staff was scared of losing another key player.

The PP will be an issue again this year. Burrows is gone but we play the exact same way. It will never work with the current setup and strategy. Never. Hutson may help a bit but our pp problem is deeper than a lack of talent at the point.

There is much truth to this.

Such is the current state of this team's overall depth. Most teams' fortunes would be adversely affected by the loss of a key player. On a team like Montreal, whose talent depth is paper thin, the loss of a key player means they become a lottery team.

 

[morhilane]

I thought the same. Gally was the only player I noticed making any kind of play and also thought that can’t be a good thing.

It’s hard to read the posters saying Anderson might still rebound, he went from looking useless, to detrimental, to a farce over the last years. Not sure how he gets worse other than injuring his own team mates.

Didn't that almost happen last year?

 

[zx81]

Over-passing..............and no one knows how to one timer the puck.
Embarassing......

What pisses me off is that they didn't make the pp issue a priority.
Our PP is a huge issue. How many losses could have been wins with just a decent pp last season?

No adjustment was made. They hardly practiced it. No new strategy attempts. No new transition game. Still the same setup in the o zone. Still only one D at the point. Nothing is tried except for praying it will magically start to work. This screams incompetence to me.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Well one conclusion is becoming evident- we were under the illusion that this team would be in the mix....as long as we have several dead weight contracts, this team will be a bottom 5 team.
Molson should be embarrassed at his tenure as owner.
This so called rebuild is far from over.
Send Kapanen back and allow him to play real hockey and not play for a bottom feeder.

That will be another year of tanking. Another year of bad PP and bad PK. The top 6 isn't strong enough and we still have 3 horrible contracts to end. I don't care if Kapanen is sendt to his team in Europe, he will have plenty of ice time and will return even better next year.

I find the coaching a bit deficient and out of solutions. There is no system of play, each line plays differently, each line on the ice improvise according to the situation without a real system that works.

 

[Hins77]

We can’t start next year with Gallagher and Anderson on the caphit. Sorry, but one of them need to be buyout. It gonna be time to clean the house. Clean the dead wood and put the players on the good chairs

 

[Tyson]

That will be another year of tanking. Another year of bad PP and bad PK. The top 6 isn't strong enough and we still have 3 horrible contracts to end. I don't care if Kapanen is sendt to his team in Europe, he will have plenty of ice time and will return even better next year.

I find the coaching a bit deficient and out of solutions. There is no system of play, each line plays differently, each line on the ice improvise according to the situation without a real system that works.

MSL is a wise man and says many profound things but I am starting to question him and his staff....they don't seem to be able to get over the hump.

 

[StCaufield]

I wish preseason was all practices and inter squad games. Focus solely on chemistry and measuring development or lack there of. It’s just been a bunch of gooning which doesn’t happen nearly as often in the regular season

 

[CHwest]

It’s preseason. Completely irrelevant, every minute of it.

It is not irrelevant at all, staff need to see their young players against NHL players. Not sure why teams play young goons looking to make a name though. I still think there should be a rule where the last 2 preseason games you need to be dressing a high percentage of your opening night roster, somewhere around 75%. By the last 2 games you should have a pretty good idea of who is close and who needs to go down.

 

[Deebs]

I wish preseason was all practices and inter squad games. Focus solely on chemistry and measuring development or lack there of. It’s just been a bunch of gooning which doesn’t happen nearly as often in the regular season

Thing is for most of the league it hasn't been. It seems us, the Sens and Leafs have led the majority of stupidity this preseason.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

That will be another year of tanking. Another year of bad PP and bad PK. The top 6 isn't strong enough and we still have 3 horrible contracts to end. I don't care if Kapanen is sendt to his team in Europe, he will have plenty of ice time and will return even better next year.

I find the coaching a bit deficient and out of solutions. There is no system of play, each line plays differently, each line on the ice improvise according to the situation without a real system that works.

That all tends to happen when, y'know, you're carrying a bunch of AHLers and prospects.

 

[morhilane]

What pisses me off is that they didn't make the pp issue a priority.
Our PP is a huge issue. How many losses could have been wins with just a decent pp last season?

Not many since the Habs mostly lost games because of the godawful PK (3rd most goals against in the league).

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Nah. We’ll be better than last year.

The addition of Lane Hutson alone will change the make-up of this team. What he'll bring, we've been missing for quite some time and will help increase the top 6's production. Maybe significantly so.

If the injury bug hits us as much as in the last few years, I expect a record of 82 points. Anything better regarding injuries should see us finish a few games over ,500.

 

[CHwest]

Same old same. Reading the comments, you'd swear we dressed a full NHL roster every game. Bunch of drama queens always teetering on the edge of either extremes. @Habs is probably right. There are more soyboys here than I realized.

"Oh noes, season is gonna be long"

"MSL needs to go"

Don't want to sound too harsh by stating the very obvious:

WE

HAVEN'T

DRESSED

A

FULL

ROSTER

YET

You can all put down the toaster next to the bath and unplug it.

I mean, you gotta be one hell of a prognosticator and analyst to be able to predict just how bad they are going to be without even seeing the complete team together even once. And all that based on inconsequential preseason play.

it's as if having the dynamic of every line and roster players being present doesn't change anything.

Some people are just not meant to go through a rebuild. Desperate for that instant gratification.

Hey people, do you know what those game showed? NOTHING.

By the end of the month, we'll be playing 2 or 3 games above ,500 and the same bunch will think we'll make the playoffs.

 

[CHwest]

They got a morale victory.

I'm good with those until next season.

But I'd rather get a morale victory than lose the game and the fights like the Habs use to do.

Watching the sens fans try and cope is hilarious, though.

Pinto isn't scared.

Yeah he is that's why he didn't go back in the next period and challenge him.

Doesn't matter, just the fact that he didn't skate away with his head down is a good message. I'm sure he knew he was risking life.

 

[SlafySZN]

Well one conclusion is becoming evident- we were under the illusion that this team would be in the mix....as long as we have several dead weight contracts, this team will be a bottom 5 team.
Molson should be embarrassed at his tenure as owner.
This so called rebuild is far from over.
Send Kapanen back and allow him to play real hockey and not play for a bottom feeder.

Who said the rebuild was over? It takes more than 3 years. Drafting and having said players play together and gain experience, it’s a long process. Molson knew it would take years.

 

[Tyson]

Who said the rebuild was over? It takes more than 3 years. Drafting and having said players play together and gain experience, it’s a long process. Molson knew it would take years.

I never said it was over, I said it was far from over.
The tankers will embrace it soon! Habs are going to be bad again.

 

[SlafySZN]

I never said it was over, I said it was far from over.
The tankers will embrace it soon! Habs are going to be bad again.

Yep, they are!

 

[Tyson]

Yep, they are!

As a lifelong fan I am having a hard time sitting down game after game knowing they will lose more than they win. I subscribed to flohockey so I can watch Laval who I hope have a chance at success.

 

[waffledave]

Thing is for most of the league it hasn't been. It seems us, the Sens and Leafs have led the majority of stupidity this preseason.

They will never admit this but the reason is because Xhekaj is in their heads. That's the truth. I have never seen a guy completely rattle opposing players and their fans the way Xhekaj does since Lucic with the Habs. They can post their little 8th grade jokes and sad attempts at gotchas but deep down they know the truth.

The guy completely derailed the preseason for half a division.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

It is not irrelevant at all, staff need to see their young players against NHL players. Not sure why teams play young goons looking to make a name though. I still think there should be a rule where the last 2 preseason games you need to be dressing a high percentage of your opening night roster, somewhere around 75%. By the last 2 games you should have a pretty good idea of who is close and who needs to go down.

I would suggest that the insightful management teams already know before the start of the exhibition games. But there can always be some surprises. Both good and bad.

As a lifelong fan I am having a hard time sitting down game after game knowing they will lose more than they win. I subscribed to flohockey so I can watch Laval who I hope have a chance at success.

Its been a long path since the glory days.

 

[Tyson]

I would suggest that the insightful management teams already know before the start of the exhibition games. But there can always be some surprises. Both good and bad.


Its been a long path since the glory days.

You are not wrong sir.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Thing is for most of the league it hasn't been. It seems us, the Sens and Leafs have led the majority of stupidity this preseason.

Not really it's been dumb everywhere

Even Bedard and Kucherov are going at it

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842805364145668164

 

[ChesterNimitz]

MSL is a wise man and says many profound things but I am starting to question him and his staff....they don't seem to be able to get over the hump.

With the team he inherited and the long term, underperforming baggage that continues to infest/burden the team's overall performance, I don't think Dick Irvin Sr. could successfully navigate that proverbial hump. As opposed to those who were so overly optimistic about the team's immediate chances this year, I viewed this year as another down/rebuilding year. With the return of Dach and the arrival of Laine and Lane, a bit better than last, but not much. That being said, I remain optimistic about the team's overall direction. It has been decades since I saw the plethora of young talent in the pipeline or even that is now on the team currently. Patience, as the saying goes, is a virtue. In the Canadiens' case, it's a necessity. That annoying, derisive singing by Habs' fans will have to wait a few years. Demidov, Lane, Hage, Beck, Florian, Sawyer, Thorpe, Kapanen, etc. should give everyone hope.

The cavalry is coming.