Mon Lars Leads Pens Past the Habs 6 3

Yeah as a die hard since watching Beliveau hoist the cup in 1971 I still want them to do well but the mediocre product the past 30 years has made me not expect a whole lot.
Maybe this management team has a plan that will work but I honestly don't see them much better than last season.
You can expect a physical beat down against the Kings which I won't watch.


Xhekaj is a fish out of water on this team and probably would do much better in a different organization.
As far as Barron goes he has to play better because he couldn't get much worse.
Didn't watch the third but liked what I saw from Arber in the first two ,when he came in we were desperate for some toughness and got a bonus with his decent shot and pp time,now that we have other options on the pp,people need to relax his presence is greatly needed to keep other teams in check,that in itself is priceless! Still think he brings a little more than Struble.
 
Lane generates so many chances per game that I won’t crap on his defensive mistakes especially cause he’s brand new to NHL and still learning what works.
The reason I crap on Barron is because he generates very little offense, questionable defense and overall quite soft…despite being around a while now so if that’s the case, you can’t be making 5 errors a game.
 
Honest question- is this team good enough to be in the mix?

You think the Boston and Pits game are the norm?

Many of the issues steam from lack of video reviews and practices to correct things. Habs had 4 games in 6 days and a single practices beside morning skates in those 6 days. Not much time to work on flaws.

Pits just exploited a problem (fancy/cute play at the blue lines) that was very visible back in the 1st game of the season. Their coaching staff just did a very good job for their game plan.

Also, I don't think anyone expected Savard to look that bad at the start of the season. Or how Matheson become severely exposed when moved away from Guhle (and people were telling me I was exaggerating last season when I kept saying Guhle was babysitting Matheson).

Without Savard and Matheson being able to eat hard D minutes, the teams has to rely on Xhekaj and Barron, two Ds who always had issues in their own zone who haven't yet hit 100 NHL games yet.


And on top of the D issues, well the team seems to have forgotten everything they learned at the end of last season about consistant efforts... The forwards are so lazy.
 
Pits just exploited a problem (fancy/cute play at the blue lines) that was very visible back in the 1st game of the season. Their coaching staff just did a very good job for their game plan.
They did but it almost cost them a goal against once or twice in the game. When Crosby pressured Hutson at the blue line and hutson passed him like a hot kinfe in butter the end result was a weak shot but Hutson likely because Hutson si young and was probably like "WTF man i just deked Crosby did you see that". A more experienced Hutson would have likely converted that missed pressure at the blue line to a scoring chance.

Many of the "problems" we saw yesterday are the product of a lack of experience. One of the most esxperienced team in the league against one of the least experienced team.
 
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They did but it almost cost them a goal against once or twice in the game. When Crosby pressured Hutson at the blue line and hutson passed him like a hot kinfe in butter the end result was a weak shot but Hutson likely because Hutson si young and was probably like "WTF man i just deked Crosby did you see that". A more experienced Hutson would have likely converted that missed pressure at the blue line to a scoring chance.

Many of the "problems" we saw yesterday are the product of a lack of experience. One of the most esxperienced team in the league against one of the least experienced team.
I don't think Hutson was a problem last game. He is inexperienced, but he was hardly the main reason with the team poor play at the blue lines.

Newhook/Armia not being able to enter the ozone more than 2 seconds is a more serious problem for example.
 
Dach did not look great last night :( I hope we see a spark out of him soon and he starts carrying the play more. I think he's going to suffer with Newhook he is going to get screwed out there on the second line.
I am giving Dach a very generous 25 games. He had a couple of good physical presences last night, but other than that...
 
Didn't watch the third but liked what I saw from Arber in the first two ,when he came in we were desperate for some toughness and got a bonus with his decent shot and pp time,now that we have other options on the pp,people need to relax his presence is greatly needed to keep other teams in check,that in itself is priceless! Still think he brings a little more than Struble.
He should work on his defense. If he become a reliable stay at home and a punishing pk player, there is room for him. But right now, we already have better offensive options and he's lost in his zone. He needs to be more than an enforcer.
 
Yeah, feels like Savard is right for Xhekaj not Hutson
All of a sudden Hutson-Reinbacher makes a lot more sense for the future

The real problem will be, Guhle is obviously gunning for that LD#1 spot with his tremendous play, a spot that currently holds someone who is not a LD#1 in Matheson

So Guhle - Mystery man
Hutson - Reinbacher

Would ge GREAT to flip Matheson and + to get a RD#1
I like Mailloux but I'm just not sure it will be him jn the long run
 
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The line makeup just isn't good. Armia will never be an adequate forechecker on a top line.
You won't find much success when you have a winger who can't be an effective F1 or F2 in your top 4.
If Anderson could make the simple play he'd be a better fit alas...
It would be nice to see Armia off that line for good. He's just not a top 6 forward....never has. Gally, Andy, Heine, Kap....whoever, give someone else a shot.

What's tough though is I think Gally and Andy in the bottom 6 is great for them and the team. So Heine or Kap ideally
 
I am giving Dach a very generous 25 games. He had a couple of good physical presences last night, but other than that...

Yeah true enough, 25 seems reasonable that's why I was somewhat pleasant about his game. He's good in the corners though, needs someone to pass to very soooooon besides Newhook or Armia
 
Yeah true enough, 25 seems reasonable that's why I was somewhat pleasant about his game. He's good in the corners though, needs someone to pass to very soooooon besides Newhook or Armia
Yoel needs to play center :D
 
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I think so, but theyll need to clean up their game without the puck. The good thing is the wildcard teams last year were bad, very bad. The bad thing is the division is very competitive.
Habs, Bruins and Lighting after 4 games: all playing for .500 (2w-2L).
 
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Some players said they were not READY for the game !!!!… How come this team is ready about one game out of two or three since ages. Isn’t it the job of the coaching staff to make sure they are ?

Dach is not in game shape and won’t be before a while. Maybe MSL could use Kapanen with Newhook and Armia for a few games ???
 
Some players said they were not READY for the game !!!!… How come this team is ready about one game out of two or three since ages. Isn’t it the job of the coaching staff to make sure they are ?
To quote Guhle:
If you wanna win consistently in this league, you shouldn’t have to be motivated to come out and do the right things on the ice, especially in the first 10 (mins). I think that’s probably, if not the most, important part of the game. We didn’t come out ready tonight.

In other words: the guys fails at self-motivating themselves. It probably point at a lack of leadership in the locked room...
 
They need to hire a veteran coach, as an assistant, to help implement a defensive system that works. It’s clear Marty has no idea how to coach that side of the rink.
 
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I don't think it's necessarily because teams tighten up. It has as much or evenmore so to do with accruing injuries and not having the depth to replace those players.
Teams defensively tighten up every year after the first couple of months. But you make a good point that the injuries do play as much of a factor. Either way, we’ve been getting hit by both of those things.
 
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They need to hire a veteran coach, as an assistant, to help implement a defensive system that works. It’s clear Marty has no idea how to coach that side of the rink.
The goal where Grzelcyk came up the ice, the issue wasn't the system, it was misreads by inexperienced players (Slaf and Caufield). I thought Matheson didn't read the play well either, but to improve, the solutions should be for the right problem. They need better reads all over the ice and I find the GM is more at fault in that regard, 1. Because the team is young and it chose a rebuild (which I'm fine with). 2. Because the roster really lacks quality veterans, including players that play well defensively, which is entirely managements fault. They've prioritized other things and other types of players. We'll see if it was the right choice.

This is also the reason why "defensive" type coaches don't play the younger players. These players don't have the experience to make reads, so they get benched. Another coach won't change that.

I don't think it's necessarily because teams tighten up. It has as much or evenmore so to do with accruing injuries and not having the depth to replace those players.
Very good point.

Reinbacher is. It's really unfortunate he was injured. He would have made the team, but that's the future pairing. Hutson - Reinbacher.

Savard is too slow & made some poor decisions last night. He was the one that created the 3 on 1 for Hutson to contend with. Hutson isn't supposed to be covering for Savard, which is why it got switched.

I believe Struble can play RD, so Matheson-Guhle, Hutson-Struble, Xhekaj-Savard could work.

Savard played LD on a few shifts, as we put out a Savard-Barron pairing. The D was seriously messed up. They need far better help from the forwards.

I thought Savard was brutal. I don't recognize him this year. He was much, much better last year and before. He might be starting his decline.

Well, the reason we are leaking chances is because the forwards have been shit defensively. It's not all on the D.

The 2nd line is our worst line by far and were giving the puck away at offensive blue line all night. Every time they were on, it was cringe worthy.
Another good point and my read as well. I saw some really brutal decisions and coverage by the forwards. I remember plays where the weak side winger was basically near the puck battle, giving a huge amount of space on his side. Really bad decision making all around.
 
To quote Guhle:
If you wanna win consistently in this league, you shouldn’t have to be motivated to come out and do the right things on the ice, especially in the first 10 (mins). I think that’s probably, if not the most, important part of the game. We didn’t come out ready tonight.

In other words: the guys fails at self-motivating themselves. It probably point at a lack of leadership in the locked room...
Of course, Guhle won’t blame the coaching staff……. They had many, many leaders in the last 5 years, but showed up flat most of the time for the beginning of games.
 

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