Playoffs Positivity Thread

[MarkovsKnee]

Rangers stay one point back with the loss. Montreal still with 2 games in hand.

Rangers play Friday-Saturday vs Anaheim & San Jose. Then don't play again til next Wednesday.

Montreal plays Thursday, Friday, Sunday & Tuesday, so those games in hand are being made up this weekend.

 

[zx81]

The whole "mix" lost tonight

 

[Zalos]

Rangers stay one point back with the loss. Montreal still with 2 games in hand.

Rangers play Friday-Saturday vs Anaheim & San Jose. Then don't play again til next Wednesday.

Montreal plays Thursday, Friday, Sunday & Tuesday, so those games in hand are being made up this weekend.

Rangers are like 90% guaranteed to get 4 points from those games. The Habs need 3 wins out of those 4.

Although, I'll be honest, I think the Islanders are the ones to look out for, not the Rangers who have done nothing but disappoint this year.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

I think it would be a good time to mix up the lines, Caufield might need a change of scenery and swap him with Laine. Then we can finally kill the non-stop excuses about Laine needing the greatest centre in the world to put in an effort. Heineman or Roy on the other other side of the 2nd line and you have a fast dangerous line.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

I think it would be a good time to mix up the lines, Caufield might need a change of scenery and swap him with Laine. Then we can finally kill the non-stop excuses about Laine needing the greatest centre in the world to put in an effort. Heineman or Roy on the other other side of the 2nd line and you have a fast dangerous line.

Laine will bring absolutely nothing to Suzuki. That first line should not be touched.

 

[zzoo]

NYR, Sens, Red Wings and Habs all lost yesterday, the night before NYI lost too, and not counting Flyers and Penguins, do they know that they are in PO race ???

 

[Sasha Orlov]

I think it would be a good time to mix up the lines, Caufield might need a change of scenery and swap him with Laine. Then we can finally kill the non-stop excuses about Laine needing the greatest centre in the world to put in an effort. Heineman or Roy on the other other side of the 2nd line and you have a fast dangerous line.

Good idea, then we can go from a 1 line team to a 0 line team

 

[WeThreeKings]

Worst part is Marty is almost assuredly going back to Monty against Philly.. and if they lose, he's gonna use the excuse they can't drop anymore points by playing him in the back 2 back against the Canes.

Marty created a lot of problems for himself by not resting Monty against Colorado.

 

[vokiel]

Worst part is Marty is almost assuredly going back to Monty against Philly.. and if they lose, he's gonna use the excuse they can't drop anymore points by playing him in the back 2 back against the Canes.

Marty created a lot of problems for himself by not resting Monty against Colorado.

Playing Devil's advocate, because I agree in general, I'm not sure resting only him for 1 game would have made the difference yesterday.

 

[expy]

Habs are currently in WC2, and have games in hand on only some of the chasing teams, but the schedule is rough.

Flyers
Hurricanes
Panthers x2
Bruins
Flyers
Predators
Red Wings
Senators
Leafs
Blackhaws
Hurricanes

I can easily see the Habs losing the majority of these. I don't see the Habs offense being able to bail out 3-4-5 goals against a night anymore.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Rangers are like 90% guaranteed to get 4 points from those games. The Habs need 3 wins out of those 4.

Although, I'll be honest, I think the Islanders are the ones to look out for, not the Rangers who have done nothing but disappoint this year.

Anaheim has had a decent 2nd half, although they've gone into a bit of a slump after dealing some players at the TDL. Still, they have good goaltending and Rangers aren't exactly an offensive juggernaut.

I say that's 50/50 toss-up game. SJS should be a definite win; however Philadelphia should be a definite win for Montreal.

Montreal needs to win one of the games in the home & home series with Florida for sure.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Habs are currently in WC2, and have games in hand on only some of the chasing teams, but the schedule is rough.

Flyers
Hurricanes
Panthers x2
Bruins
Flyers
Predators
Red Wings
Senators
Leafs
Blackhaws
Hurricanes

I can easily see the Habs losing the majority of these. I don't see the Habs offense being able to bail out 3-4-5 goals against a night anymore.

Flyers x 2, Bruins, Predators, Wings, & Hawks are all winnable games. That's 6 wins out of 12 games right there.

We've had Ottawa's number all year.

Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Detroit & Ottawa has potential for a 5 game winning streak.

By comparison, during that same week, Islanders are playing TBL, Minnesota, Washington & Nashville & NYR.

Rangers: Minnesota, NJD, TBL, Philadelphia, NYI.

Columbus: Nashville, Colorado, Toronto, Ottawa x 2, Buffalo.

 

[Lshap]

Worst part is Marty is almost assuredly going back to Monty against Philly.. and if they lose, he's gonna use the excuse they can't drop anymore points by playing him in the back 2 back against the Canes.

Marty created a lot of problems for himself by not resting Monty against Colorado.

Management and coaches need to choose a path.

Are the Habs developing a young team for the future? If so, you need to play Dobes regularly, the same way you need to play Xhekaj, Roy, Heineman, and Struble. You know they'll make mistakes, but they need to play in order to improve.

Are the Habs trying to win-now? If so, why didn't they trade for a veteran backup goalie and a couple of veteran D-men a month ago?

It looks like they're not fully committing to either direction.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

The only notable game tonight is Vancouver @ NYI. That's a must win for Vancouver with both St. Louis and Calgary winning last night.

Islanders can pass Montreal with 2 points but Montreal will have a game in hand. Habs can gain WC2 back with a win against Philadelphia on Thursday.

Canucks are also @ CBJ on Friday, so they can be a big help in Montreal's drive for WC2.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Rangers are like 90% guaranteed to get 4 points from those games. The Habs need 3 wins out of those 4.

Not really. You can never guarantee points in this league. These lousy teams do win games, sometimes against much better teams. Nashville beat the Jets about 10 days ago.

Sharks in their last 10 have beaten the Leafs, Hawks, Bruins and Sabres.

In their last 11, Ducks have beaten the Oilers, the Isles and Preds twice and took the Stars to OT.

In their last 10, Rags have been defeated by the Sens, Jackets, Jets, Oilers, Flames, Leafs and Kings. They are NOT doing well.

 

[Benstheman]

Anaheim has had a decent 2nd half, although they've gone into a bit of a slump after dealing some players at the TDL. Still, they have good goaltending and Rangers aren't exactly an offensive juggernaut.

I say that's 50/50 toss-up game. SJS should be a definite win; however Philadelphia should be a definite win for Montreal.

Montreal needs to win one of the games in the home & home series with Florida for sure.

We definitely need to win 1 game against Florida and Carolina and beat Sens. If we do that, we should be ok.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I'm expecting us not to make it , will be funner if we do , finishing 9th or 10th place is still a relatively succesful season.

I just wish we shipped out Matheson and Savard

 

[DuncanMacpherson]

Which match up do we want between Washington, Florida, Toronto and Tampa?

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Which match up do we want between Washington, Florida, Toronto and Tampa?

Do you even need to ask this?

You take the guaranteed Toronto 1st round exit every damn time.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Which match up do we want between Washington, Florida, Toronto and Tampa?

We want Florida

 

[vokiel]

We want Florida
..

I'd take Florida boot their butts out of the playoffs and grab Bennett on the UFA market afterwards. A potent declaration of hockey war

 

[WeThreeKings]

Playing Devil's advocate, because I agree in general, I'm not sure resting only him for 1 game would have made the difference yesterday.

It's not about making the difference yesterday, it's about making the difference in future starts. I also somewhat disagree, Monty let in more bananas and the 3rd goal which was absolute trash, was a complete killer and took their knees out.

They've put themselves in a situation now where they may feel the 2 points are too important against the Flyers to not go with Monty, but if they don't win that game, they will push Monty into a back to back situation. Where he's beyond fatigued and looks very weak, especially on long shots.

Management and coaches need to choose a path.

Are the Habs developing a young team for the future? If so, you need to play Dobes regularly, the same way you need to play Xhekaj, Roy, Heineman, and Struble. You know they'll make mistakes, but they need to play in order to improve.

Are the Habs trying to win-now? If so, why didn't they trade for a veteran backup goalie and a couple of veteran D-men a month ago?

It looks like they're not fully committing to either direction.

They've sent the message that since they are in the playoff picture, they are going to push for the playoffs. The problem is that Marty is being stubborn with Monty. Talking about 'sending messages' and that 'Monty got us here' is all irrelevant if you look at the body of his work and talk to his goalie coach. He's fatigued. His play is suffering from being fatigued. So you need to manage the starts better and Marty hasn't, by doubling down with these nonsense quotes and firing Monty out there like he's prime Carey Price.

He's created a mess with his net management and is destined to compound the problem now by being short sighted with his decisions back in Colorado.

 

[vokiel]

It's not about making the difference yesterday, it's about making the difference in future starts. I also somewhat disagree, Monty let in more bananas and the 3rd goal which was absolute trash, was a complete killer and took their knees out.

They've put themselves in a situation now where they may feel the 2 points are too important against the Flyers to not go with Monty, but if they don't win that game, they will push Monty into a back to back situation. Where he's beyond fatigued and looks very weak, especially on long shots.

The entire formation looked like bananas in the first, that's all I remember.

I think they all need some kind of positive energy to avoid the slide, not just a goaltender change.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I think it would be a good time to mix up the lines, Caufield might need a change of scenery and swap him with Laine. Then we can finally kill the non-stop excuses about Laine needing the greatest centre in the world to put in an effort. Heineman or Roy on the other other side of the 2nd line and you have a fast dangerous line.

Don't touch the first line. Whatever Laine does is a bonus. For now he's a PP specialist and that's fine.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Worst part is Marty is almost assuredly going back to Monty against Philly.. and if they lose, he's gonna use the excuse they can't drop anymore points by playing him in the back 2 back against the Canes.

Marty created a lot of problems for himself by not resting Monty against Colorado.

He should just play Dobes in Philly. Problem solved.