Playoffs Positivity Thread

[zx81]

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.

Go Nucks Go. Elbows up

 

[WeThreeKings]

He should just play Dobes in Philly. Problem solved.

They should.. but I have a feeling that Marty is going to view that as a must win.

 

[The Great Weal]

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.

I think we’re in the same position regardless. I do think that we should take the gamble to play Dobes however because a tired Monty isn’t really helping us anyways. Have him rest up before another crucial stretch.

 

[dinodebino]

Monty is not the most fit goalie in the league. Fatigue has always plagued him in the past.

If Marty has no confidence in Dobes, then they should have found a decent backup at the deadline. You can’t ride a 1-b for 55 games a year.

 

[vokiel]

I think we’re in the same position regardless. I do think that we should take the gamble to play Dobes however because a tired Monty isn’t really helping us anyways. Have him rest up before another crucial stretch.

Yes, but then do you rest the other players on the roster? It feels like the Habs are headed to a slide like they did before. I hope they can kick this out of their system and come back strong against the Flyers, but...

That's the thing with no system is best system. You can never blame it for your shortcomings afterwards, so it's easy to see when the effort is not there.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I'm hoping Montemblow will not become our Stu Skinner, holding on to him because he does the job on some stretches and is from the province.

I just don't get how Dobes hasn't been used more. His stats aren't bad. I hope when the time comes, they ditch Monty. I don't see us winning a cup with him. Way too irregular and inconsistent.

 

[salbutera]

Monty is not the most fit goalie in the league. Fatigue has always plagued him in the past.

If Marty has no confidence in Dobes, then they should have found a decent backup at the deadline. You can’t ride a 1-b for 55 games a year.

Or… HuGo want to evaluate Monty since this is the first time in his career he’s playing meaningful late season games in his NHL career….

Forest from the trees - the most significant aspect of “in da mix” is evaluation of what HuGo & MSL actually have in the young players, how many of them have what it takes to play high intensity meaningful games at the NHL level?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

They should.. but I have a feeling that Marty is going to view that as a must win.

They're all must wins.

The smart choice is to play Dobes against the weaker teams. He should be able to beat those lesser clubs and we save the better goalie for the tougher starts. That's what we almost always did with Carey Price.

 

[sandviper]

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 really like 5 days rest though. I agree that maybe the outcome yesterday with Dobes, or Thursday vs Philly (whatever that outcome is) may not change, but Monty has clearly been struggling for the past week and a half.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

They're all must wins.

The smart choice is to play Dobes against the weaker teams. He should be able to beat those lesser clubs and we save the better goalie for the tougher starts. That's what we almost always did with Carey Price.

I would play Dobes against Philadelphia then Sunday @ Florida.

Montembeault gets Carolina on Friday.

That Sunday game is at 1 PM. The Friday game at 7 PM. 2 games in less than 48 hours is rough.

 

[Lshap]

I would play Dobes against Philadelphia then Sunday @ Florida.

Montembeault gets Carolina on Friday.

That Sunday game is at 1 PM. The Friday game at 7 PM. 2 games in less than 48 hours is rough.

One way or another, Philly & Florida / Carolina sounds like the probable division of labour. The only question is which goalie gets which assignment. Hopefully, last night made it clear that Montembeault needs a break.

 

[expy]

Monty is not the most fit goalie in the league. Fatigue has always plagued him in the past.

If Marty has no confidence in Dobes, then they should have found a decent backup at the deadline. You can’t ride a 1-b for 55 games a year.

Naw, there was no need to get anything at the deadline, this isn't the year to push and Hughes knew that.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

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.

Dobes has looked like an nhl goalie and will most likely be the nhl backup next season. There was no reason to acquire a veteran goalie.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

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.

They already confirmed Dobes will get 1 of 2 starts.

 

[vokiel]

They already confirmed Dobes will get 1 of 2 starts.

So we're positively bracing for Monty tomorrow.

 

[LaP]

So we're positively bracing for Monty tomorrow.

That would be stupid.

Dobes against Flyers and Monty against Carolina.

 

[LaP]

Naw, there was no need to get anything at the deadline, this isn't the year to push and Hughes knew that.

Getting help at the deadeline would have cost picks. Picks that could be used to get a 2nd line center or top 4 RHD at next draft.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Getting help at the deadeline would have cost picks. Picks that could be used to get a 2nd line center or top 4 RHD at next draft.

Yup. Habs are about to do a massive overpay (which i agree with) for a legit 2C. Their main priority is finding Demidov a centre. They have the capital to do a potential overpay while not sinking themselves. No one in FA is appealing imo. It's gonna be an interesting summer/draft

 

[GrandmaCookie]

They're all must wins.

The smart choice is to play Dobes against the weaker teams. He should be able to beat those lesser clubs and we save the better goalie for the tougher starts. That's what we almost always did with Carey Price.

Samuel being a better goaltender than Dobes is debatable. I would say Dobes get so few starts his confidence and game shape might not be at its best, then it makes sense to play him against weaker opposition so I agree.

 

[Lshap]

Dobes has looked like an nhl goalie and will most likely be the nhl backup next season. There was no reason to acquire a veteran goalie.

Yes, Dobes looks like a future NHL goalie, but the Habs obviously aren't fully confident in him yet, which is why they've been overplaying Montembeault. That decision has created a lose-lose situation where we're not getting the best from either goalie. We're overworking Montembeault and underworking Dobes, which doesn't help either of them.

If the goal of this season was the playoffs, then getting a veteran backup would've given the team a more confident option, allowing them to rest Montembeault when it's best, instead of only when they have absolutely no choice.

To be clear, I'm NOT saying we should've gotten a veteran goalie. The playoffs may be the immediate goal, but they shouldn't be sacrificing the greater goal – longterm development and progress. Which is why I think they should play Dobes, mistakes and all, so that he'll become a better goalie next season and beyond, when we really need him.

 

[WeThreeKings]

They already confirmed Dobes will get 1 of 2 starts.

They did not confirm this when I posted it.

 

[ZUKI]

I'm hoping Montemblow will not become our Stu Skinner, holding on to him because he does the job on some stretches and is from the province.

I just don't get how Dobes hasn't been used more. His stats aren't bad. I hope when the time comes, they ditch Monty. I don't see us winning a cup with him. Way too irregular and inconsistent.

Before yesterday game, Habs were the best NHL team since the 4 Nations Tournament. It doesn't match your brilliant assumption"
Because he's from the province" bullshit. If the management went that way, it would be by playing Roy, Dauphin or Lavalagher, instead of Pezzeta, or another 3rd or 4th liner. Not by playing the most important player of the team.
Really ....

 

[HabsMD97]

Unless there's a massive collapse Habs are making the playoffs.
Up divided the league into 3 segments; top 10 teams, middle 12, bottom 10. Following is our record vs the 3 categories:

TOP 10: 9-9-3 .500pts%
MID 12: 13-10-5 .554pts%
BOT 10: 11-7-1 .605pts%

Games remaining VS:

TOP 10: 5
MID 12: 1 (Ottawa)
BOT 10: 6

Assuming percentages remain the same and we sweep OTT, that gives us 14 points and 89 on the season. NYI, NYR, CBJ and DET all have harder schedules in my eyes and I don't see any of them topping 86 points on the season.

By all accounts they should make the playoffs.

 

[Tuggy]

Come on Canucks, do us a solid!

 

[BergevinBurner]

Come on Canucks, do us a solid!

Hopefully they come out with more urgency than we did last night.

Us losing put them 5 points out of a wildcard spot(with 2 games in hand), so they cannot afford to drop this one if they want to keep up with the Blues.