The Great Weal
Phil's Pizza
- Jan 15, 2015
- 52,926
- 77,977
Fortunately getting one of the 4 could also mean trading for one or signing one at some point in their careers. Hughes please don't let me die.
Official Tank Thread
- Thread starter the
- Start date
No More Subban
GHG
- Apr 28, 2010
- 17,838
- 7,957
Pretty sure whoever they pick at 16th will be a full time NHLer. Thats how much I trust this management.
HabbyGuy
Registered User
Not bumping to troll. I have a legit question.
What made the difference?
I think it's five things:
1. Laine energizing the PP
2. Carrier shoring up the D
3. Hutson improving quickly
4. the veterans are producing
5. Dobes upgrade over Primeau
Thoughts?
- Jan 18, 2022
- 6,997
- 14,642
Yes, though I would order it as such:
1. Hutson gradually takes Matheson’s deployment (incl. PP) and is a spot upgrade (and the new pairing with Matheson in it better than it was previously)
2. Laine on the PP massively improves productivity where Dach, Newhook, and Slaf were unproductive — a moneyball style improvement
3. Carrier replaces the awful Barron for 6D and pushes Savard down and takes the 4D spot, a spot upgrade twice over
4. Dobes over Primeau wins valuable points, another spot upgrade
5. Depth players go on hot streaks in unusually valuable spans of games
Underneath it all Suzuki and MSL kept the team working hard and injuries were for the most part few and far between (Dach was irrelevant to our success all season long).
In short: Hutson and Laine were super valuable additions to the roster but rookie Hutson needed time to bloom and Laine needed to recover enough to play through his unfortunate injury. Hughes cut Barron loose and acquired a player who took Savard’s spot from him, a massive upgrade itself.
Another undeniable factor is how badly the other teams in the East fell apart. BOS, NYR, and NYI… BUF and PIT… MTL came back from 31st in the league through 30ish games, an astonishing performance since early Dec.
MarkovsKnee
Global Moderator
They were playing better before that, but those 4 things definitely helped the 2 pushes in December/January and post 4 Nations.
They got hammered by Seattle 8-2 in a late October game. The type of game where you want the team to show pride & play hard the next game. They did not.
Instead, they went on a 5 game losing streak & played awful. This was allowed to stay up after that 5th loss, which was against Toronto. 4-1.
They were defensively awful. They didn't seem to understand the defensive system at all. The neutral zone was a freaking runway, and they couldn't score.
We beat Buffalo the next game 7-5 in a wild game. Imo, that game was a bit of a turning point. The team continually fought back & refused to lose that game. The #1 line dominated. Suzuki turned his game around big time after that game. He had a 4 point night.
We still had a couple awful games left in us, but also started to see some really good efforts like the 3-0 win over Edmonton.
It didn't help that Primeau & Dach were awful. Dach couldn't step on the ice without a goal against. Montembeault struggled with the workload which often had him play back-to-backs because Primeau was getting crushed.
Dobes allowed us to rest Montembeault more. Laine helped with our PP & secondary scoring. Carrier allowed us to move Savard to #6 D instead of top 4, where he was playing.
The 4 Nations break also helped a lot, too. The team looked tired & broken the last 2 weeks of January - even Hutson.
After the break, the team came back rested, and ready to fight for a play-off spot both mentally & physically.
Hutson & our #1 line absolutely started dominating & the Dvorak line got hot and stayed hot. It's been a fantastic final quarter.
WeThreeKings
Habs cup - its in the BAG
Heineman providing speed, physicality and heavy shooting also helped. When that line got together and then when it wasn't, two different teams.
MarkovsKnee
Global Moderator
Yes, the Evans line really helped with the December-January push. They provided a ton of secondary scoring particularly Heineman & Evans.
After 4 Nations, it's been the Dvorak line doing that.
Ezpz
No mad pls
- Apr 16, 2013
- 15,037
- 12,884
I think it was winning games can't confirm tho.
Our goal differential isn't any better than everyone beneath us also though.
So I guess it's 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and 100% reason to remember the name. Does is matter that this adds up to 200%? I don't know; Ask Mike Shinoda.
All of the above, and I would also add that the team has avoided catastrophic injuries compared to the 3 previous seasons.
Having at least one line chipping in at any given time has been key. That and the other two lines staying on an even keel for the most part. I've been harping on +/- all season long and have been continually scolded for it.
If people can't equate where we are with the 33 goal swing in our Captain's game and the remarkable numbers Lane Hutson has put up coming out of the Four Nations break I'm speechless.
Hutson has replaced Matheson's production while giving up 23 goals fewer.
These type of stats take on a heightened meaning in the post season where a bad line or D pairing can get exposed in a 7 games series.
Sure, but we PASSED twelve teams now beneath us. Our goal differential since Dec 17th is strong over the 28-14-6 run.
Dagistitsyn
Registered User
I don't know, Mesar was a first round bust, although he was picked at 26. I hope you're right. Anything out of the top 10 is starts to be a long shot.
Dagistitsyn
Registered User
Heinemen absolutely was a big difference maker before the car accident. Hasn't been the same since he's returned at all unfortunately
LaP
Registered User
1. Lane that's pretty much the only difference with last year's lineup. Laine did not do better than Monahan did last year.
2. Laine. He made our PP middle of the pack since his return and it's vital for a team with only one offensive line.
3. Carrier. Not so much Carrier himself but mostly Savard playing less. Carrier is not really better than any other legit 2nd pairing RHD in the league so himself did not move any needle. But Savard was dogshit in the top 4 and him losing this spot was crucial and Barron was not gonna steal it from him.
4. Dobes. Primeau at the beginning of the year had among the worst stats for 10+ games season in the history of the NHL. He was not only dogshit he was historically dogshit. I still believe in him. I still think that at one point he can figure it out and be a good NHL backup. He got the skills he just have to find the mental.
5. Some flower
6. The sun
7. Spring
9. Rabbits
9. Anything else whatever whenever all at one point
10. Vets. The vets are only in for the ride. Those are the same vets of the last 3 years. The same players. They are not magically better. You don't get better past 30 it simply doesn't happen. If you move those vets with any of the bottom 5 teams and move 5 of their vets with us that bottom 5 team will still suck and we will still make the playoffs. If you move Hutson with any bottom 5 teams you make then a bubble team instantaneously and we return in the bottom 5. Let's not repeat the same mistake of the last 30 years and attribute the progress of a young team to vets like we did in the Carbo years. This team progress because of the kids and the vets are just there for the ride. None of them should be extended beside maybe Anderson if he a accepts a deluxe 4th line contract with short term. The vets are playing well. But this is a product of them being able to play a lesser role behind Suzuki, Hutson, Caufield and Slaf while still being paid a more than a very decent amount of money for depth players. They got the money without the pressure that should go with it. Our "4th" line of Anderson, Dvorak and Gallagher is clearly playing without any pressure and having fun while they are still being paid like a 2nd line should be and while they are playing well the production doesn't match the salary and a 2nd line. It's not a problem cause we have a young team with lot of team friendly contracts. But makes no mistake put the pressue on them to be a 2nd line and do 50 points and it all crumble in a instant. They are not better than Toffoli, Grandlund, Wennberg, Walman and cie from SJ.
Last edited:
Why are people so adamant about closing this thread? lol
I'm so happy the Habs look to be making the playoffs. My stance on the tanking thing was I wanted either a top 3-5 draft pick or to make the playoffs. I thought anything in between the 2 would be disappointing.
I'm so happy the Habs look to be making the playoffs. My stance on the tanking thing was I wanted either a top 3-5 draft pick or to make the playoffs. I thought anything in between the 2 would be disappointing.
George Lebay
Registered User
expy
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2010
- 15,662
- 19,071
Yep, keep starting games with 0.750 -> 0.800 save% constantly, it's not good.
It's weird. This isn't really a tank thread anymore, more like a "playoff reality" thread.
I think if they miss the playoffs, it'll be much easier for Hughes to clean up a bit during the off-season since the blow of missing the playoffs for the "positive" fans will still hurt while he makes the necessary roster moves.
Users who are viewing this thread
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
GDT: Eagles @ Ducks | 8pm MT | Let’s Get This Over With So We Can Get to Playoffs (53 Viewers)- Latest: Arch angel
-
