• An early but probably definitive look at Habs-Capitals matchup by Robert Lefebvre
A day off for the Canadiens following their 4-3 overtime loss Saturday night to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a defeat that sat lightly given that the point it earned finally guaranteed the Habs their spot in the postseason.
Philadelphia’s shootout win over the Rangers relegates the Canadiens to eighth place.
They will face the Washington Capitals, featuring Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, José Theodore and more. It will be the first time in the Canadiens’ 142-game NHL playoff series history that they’ll take on the Capitals.
The Canadiens return to practice Monday morning in Brossard, their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series scheduled to begin on the road this Thursday at the Verizon Centre.
Stay tuned for more details in the days ahead. Lots to come from Monday’s practice.
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See! we did not have anything to worry about! ;-)
We predict pretty similarly lol.
Yeah, there are a lot of stars actually… Metro, Gorges… Darche… amazing since we’e not actually THAT good. LOL
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Not signing or trading Pleks = yet another missed opportunity.
San Jose, Chicago, Vancouver, Detroit. I know I know, not very bold picks, but the first round doesn’t look too exciting in the west. LA/Van and PHO/DET could be exciting, but if Chicago or San Jose lose in the first round, heads will roll in their respective cities.
Colorado in 6-7, San Jose’s very reliable for choking.
Chicago in 6, goaltending will cost them at least two but Toews will lead his crew to victory.
Canucks over Kings, Kings lack playoff experience, Sedins are going to power the team through in 6 or 7.
Detroit in 5-6, massive playoff experience over an opposing team that got to where they are through a ridiculous # of shootout wins.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Don’t remind me!!!!!
‘Somebody please turn on the lights so the cockroach Maple Leaf fans will scatter’
Colorado defeats the infamous Sharks. 6 games.
Chicago defeats Nashville in 5.
Van takes it in 7.
Detroit takes it in 6.
Then who belongs in the playoffs over them?
Cause everyone beneath them aren’t deserving of even hitting the links.
Western Conference playoff match ups are all confirmed:
San Jose vs. Colorado
Chicago vs. Nashville
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles
Phoenix vs. Detroit
What are your picks?
I nominate Gio for Habs MVP.
Pleks COULD
be up there but he really let up since the Olympic break. He had great
numbers this year and I want him back for 20 more but Gio is a guy who
never gives up. When you think he’s invisible one game, he comes back
and scores.
He’s got the heart of a lion and he is fearless. He’s
always in the dirty areas of the offensive zone and he is ALWAYS trying
to get the puck.
What a warrior and I am proud to have him in a
Habs uniform.
It’s fair to say that Halak could definitely be the
MVP aswell…but I don’t know his motives yet. We’ll see when he starts
making the big bucks.
Hate Philly. Go Rags.
Red Wings pop the OT winner to deny the Blackhawks the Western Conference Title, Hawks will now face off against 7th seed Nashville, Detroit jumps to 5th-seed to face Phoenix, Canucks will spar with the LA Kings, Sharks draw the Avalanche.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Whos gonna be the hero?
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
The Flyer and Rags. Two other teams that have no business being in the playoffs. Yawn.
Imagine if we didn’t get that one point and the rangers won in OT.
We all knew that perfect storm was brewing.
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
LOL the game has gone to OT.
If the Habs wouldn’t have gone to OT yesterday, we would have been screwed – big time!
Jesus H…..look how close we came to being out of it….
Oh man, OT, winner goes to the playoffs, great hockey
Rob, Metro brought something to the table this year that is foreign to the K brothers and the group of floaters from last year. He has brought a lot heart and sole.!
I am consent with your 3 stars list.
Gill and Gorges are unsung heroes though. They are very under rated.
Id hate to see this end in a shootout. Should be Playoff OT, lol.
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
I’d rather play Buffalo, but since they’re playing Lalime theres a good chance NJ will get 2nd, and I’d much rather play Wsh over NJ, so go flyers I guess…
Imagine the Rangers win in OT, that one point we got would be so big…
you just know that Boucher is gonna let that softie in…
In Guy Boucher I trust.
I PVR’d the HNIC 30-minute pre-game episode. It featured a long segment with Cammalleri about his practice habits and life in Montreal. Great item. And Cammi seems to be just an awesome guy. 100% what he seems – eats healthy, lives well, enjoys and respects the situation he’s in, the history, etc.
I know Cami has had trouble recovering his form from his injury but from what I hear that’s typical of that kind of injury.
So my HABS 3 STARS of REGULAR SEASON 2009-2010 are:
1. Plekanec
2. Cammalleri
3. Halak
(Honourable Mention: Brian Gionta)
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Not signing or trading Pleks = yet another missed opportunity.
We can and we will take Washington in 6 games. So I am hoping for Philly. DAMN
We do not match up against N.J. at all. We are dead in 5
Buffalo is a split with a slight edge to Buffalo. Better coach and defence.
That 1 point we got last night is looking awful important, not surprised if this one ends up 2_1 Rangers in a shootout the way the King is playing
Go Flyers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here you go TIMO—Rangers and Philly–it is 1 to 0 Rangers
ATDHE.Net – Watch Free Live Sports TV
TIED UP NOW
Flyers tie it up in the 3rd 12:00 min left
1-1 Rags-Flyers, Lundqvist isn’t invincible.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Woot woot!!!
Philly scores. 1-1
http://www.justin.tv/theblanetwork4
I havn’t seen any sustained success from the Habs this year
Bang-on except the clubs aren’t dusty. They use them six months a year!
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Not signing or trading Pleks = yet another missed opportunity.
Just saw the highlights of last nights game as I was on a flight to San Fran. Looks like we took it to the leafs but Halak was extremely weak on two of the three regulation time goals. Halak has looked extremely tired since the back to back SO. He better get it together fast otherwise we should go with price by game two or three. Martin should put his ego away and start rolling four lines as that has been our only formula for sustained success this year.
Radio feed also available:
http://rangers.nhl.com/club/RadioPlayer.htm?id=2009021223
Can you believe that it was MAB’s goal that sealed the deal for the Habs? WOW!
nhl network here in canada
http://www.justin.tv/moneybags2010#r=28WuDXk~
2nd period intermission right now.
Shots are 30-13 in favour of Philly but the King Lundqvist is saving the Rangers’ season!
http://atdhe.net/17197/watch-new-york-rangers-vs-philadelphia-flyers
http://atdhe.net/index.html
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Dave, Just read your Annie and Jeff piece in the Calgary Herald. Had no idea there was such a cult following. My only concern is Jeff could be losing an affection gal like Annie over what I think is the worst beer brewed in this country even when ice cold.
I was at the Shamrock aweek ago seeing Wild-T and my buddy asks for the worst beer in the house for me ( he was trying to get me mad). The barmaid produces a Coors light.
Final game of the season: Hapless Toronto Maple Leafs 4. Even more hapless Montreal Canadiens 3.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
If New Jersey loses in OT/SO, they will still remain in 2nd place because they have more wins than Buffalo so whatever team that ends up 7th will play them as long as they get at least one point vs Buffalo.
For once, I agree with you.
How did JM destroy OBY? What was he doing before JM was his coach??
Sorry, I meant to post this as a relpy to BJ’s comment below.
Should be a great series, I really hope MAB doesn’t play D, because there’s no way he’ll survive those Wsh forwards. If we can get on Theo early theres a good chance for us since his D isn’t great at protecting him, plus we all know Halak loves 40+ shots and I have a feeling he’ll be getting them.
This is JM’s big chance. He might even play SK for one shift.
My biggest reason for bringing PK up is it is a no lose situation…Everyone will expect the Habs to be a speedbump for the Caps…PK will really have no pressure and it will be good experience if this organization is serious about him…
No way MAB can hold the blueline against the Caps…OB is doing well but he is still a work in progress..
“Power to the Turtleneck!”
Holy cow, if I painted my wall now, it would dry faster than Sabres-Devils game…
right on .nail noskill gill to the bench if habs want any chance to advance.
funny, I thought the same thing waiting in the virtual waiting room.
that exciting, eh?
JM on the radio, “We know how to shut Ovechkin down, but do we have anyone on the roster who can do it?”
That’s why the Rangers r in the playoffs? Not. Last time we played him he got pulled DUDE
We have to call up PK Subban – Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom and 500 other 20 goal scorers they have on that team will race by O’Byrne. There’s no way MAB can be a defenseman against that team.
JM on SK, “All the players are starting the post season with a clean slate. That’s why Sergei will be in the pressbox.”
Crosby did it, No. 51 for him, but Stamkos has time left to tie or best him.
For one season anyway, he tops Ovechkin for goals.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
what’s that smell? it’s the odor!
at least we get to see some exciting hockey. this habs team plays better as underdogs.
You don’t seriously blame the loss on a goalie who stopped nearly 50 shots are you?
I’m a huge Habs fan but if your picking them over Washington in five or six your dreaming. Have you seen the last three games? No offence and poor defence won’t win a round. I’m happy to play Washington over New Jersey for the entertainment factor that it.
Really, how can you blame Lundqvist. He is not the reason they didn’t make it. In a game to make the playoffs Lunqvist played 10X better than Halak did. Halak choked last night, and most of last week. But your probably right, Lundqvist choked but I wish he were playing for us. Oh yea genius, Lundqvist got pulled the game in MTL, the last time we played the rags was in NY, a 3-1 win for us so your wrong on all accounts.
“It’s not an obsession, It’s a way of life..”
Buffalo or Washington are actually decent match-ups for the Habs based on head to head play during the season. However, playing Washington has the added advantage of absolutely no pressure for the Habs. All the pressure will be on the Caps. Now, if we could only get JM to see the light and bench the players who really suck! No disrespect for Halak, but I think you start Price in this series and come back with Halak at home if Price drops the ball. The playoffs are no time to get sentimental.
OV played 8 less games than Crosby
That got a chuckle out of me ……
“The Rangers’ season rests in the hands of Ollie Jokinen!”
I’m sorry, I just can’t stop gigglin.
I wanna read Larry Brooks’ next article the SECOND it comes out, yo.
See, Rags had their “reasons” for not using their 7.5mil-dollar man who carried their WHOLE offence all season, ok? They had their “reasons”. Not up to us to judge them.
But we can laugh at them though. Nothing wrong with laughing at them.
Ridiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
they will also race by gill, aka the pylon.
Man someone needs to replace MAB or O’Byrne – If not PK Subban then heck sign Patrice Brisebois but MAB cannot be a D against that team.
That pussy!
9, but who’s counting? Besides me of course.
4 of those games off were his own fault with suspensions, he missed 6 games this year due to injury when he was on that torrid scoring stretch where he looked like he might get close to 50 in 50, the upper-body injury threw him off when he was producing at his best rate, had he gone for another 3 weeks at that pace the scoring race wouldn’t have been close this year.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Gill was alright; saved their hides a few times, more recently his body laid on the puck during the dying seconds on one game.
I would rather have Hamrlik in the box if I were to pick one of the Ds if PK comes up.
Distractions with the oppositing players on breakaways are dead giveaways that Hamrlik’s not playing any younger.
CODE RED!
We have a Code Red Alert! Infidel leaf under the wire! This is not a drill! Code Red! Enemy leaf on the grounds! Full-Sector Search Protocol activated! All Partisans to comply with Officers of the Flannel! Code Red Emergency! Nemesis leaf has bypassed defences! Sanitization Protocol activated! Code Red Alert! Immediate Retrieval and Removal Priority One! Code Red! This is not a drill! Alert, Alert, Alert! Jealous leaf through the Gate! Purification Protocol activated! You have 2 minutes to reach Minimal Safe Distance before the indiscriminate spraying of leaf-melting carbonic acid! This is a Code Red!
1:58, 1:57, 1:56…
CODE RED EMERGENCY!
Ridiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
obviously you didn’t watch the game last night.
JM is cheese, more worse than blue cheese.
So, do you ever cheer for the HABS?
Don’t get your Panties in a bunch. Halak got us in the playoffs even with a shakey performance last nite. Don’t be so sensitive. Relax, I hate the Rangers …dude
Read my post, just read it. Did I mention BLAME anywhere in my post? Relax
It’s better for his development to play for and have a very legitimate shot at winning win the Calder then to roll the dice with Habs in Round 1. He’s a leader on the Bulldogs and should have that experience with his team.
C’mon Bugzed! The guy has been on HIO for a week!! Isn’t his commitment (e.g., “I’m a big fan”) self-evident?
————————
“There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge….”
–Hunter S. Thompson
Maybe OV should stop hitting people from behind so he doesn’t have to miss so many games to suspension.
In all honesty we managed to grab two points in spite of Halak, not because of him.
Sorry, I hate the Rags tooo, but I can appreciate a solid goalie when I see one and thats how I see Lundqvist. I just disagree wiyth you saying Lundqvist choking, I dont think he did.
“It’s not an obsession, It’s a way of life..”
Im happy we got the Caps, the way we finished backing in, we should have to play the best team
“It’s not an obsession, It’s a way of life..”
This is the moment of truth, boys and girls.
This is what Bob got all these past playoff champs for. We will need clutch players and from previous playoff performances, we have em.
I knew Lumpqwest would choke. Bye Bye Ranger loooosers. Hello DC
I still remember how Ovechkin and Semin skated pass MAB as if he didn’t exist. Now that our !@#$ coach has destroyed O’Byrne, we’ll be in for another MAB horror show.
Bring up PK. Need speed and skill.
Habs over Caps in 6!!!
I wanted the rangers so there chance at buffalo could still be alive (so I could drive down to buffalo and catch a game, but I’ll just wait for a later round now)….but maybe it’s better that we don’t tempt the fate of Marty and have him end up playing us somehow. So i’ll take my chances with washington. I can’t wait to see all the media and so called experts picking the caps in 4 straight. Man are they in for a surpise! Bring’em on thursday night. Metro you okay yet?
Shaker
Glen Sather must be done his career as GM There is no way he keeps his job – and who the hell would hire him. Horrible.
caps in 4. 5, if one of the goalies steals one, or if theo gives one away. RIP 2009-2010 habs. blame this mostly on very weak D, except for gorges and markov. JM is not to blame.
Let’s assume that PK is called up. Who would you play him with? I don’t think it’s fair to him to immediately give him top minutes, however I didn’t see those two philly games so I don’t know how he preformed. I would definately consider playing him on the second pp wave, his shot can’t be any worse than Spacek’s.
_________________________________________________________________
Audere est Facere- To Dare Is To Do
Dude, he hardly choked, hes better than anything we’ve got
“It’s not an obsession, It’s a way of life..”
Why is OB is everyone’s doghouse? I like having the MAB threat at even-strength, but you want him on the ice when Boudreau has last-change — with Gill of all people?
Scratch Pyatt. Markov/OB, rotate MAB.
Markov dang well BETTER be our best player out there.
I got my eye on that bastich.
idiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
Lose Boucher and be stuck with Ears? Nightmare. Unless JM pulls-off something really amazing, I’d hand the keys to Boucher next season.
I don’t think we have a prayer, but I live in hope that the boys will leave it on the ice.
Do you think our great success of making it into the playoffs ensures JM’s position for another year?
3 more years of the system? And young players staking steps backwards in development? God I hope not.
You’ll have to excuse me. I’m just voicing displeasure. This is the first season in a very, very long time, that I have actually been bitter and annoyed at how this team has played. That would explain the part about how they suck.
However, they have given the Caps some tough competition in the four games they’ve played this season. I’ve actually changed my mind about them getting swept. I think this’ll be a pretty good series. The goaltending has to be better than it has the past few games though.
I’d rather spend the next couple of weeks watching the most exciting player in the game rather than whatever schlock Jersey is putting out these days.
Have faith.
Bring ‘em on. Doesn’t really matter who we play in the first round. It’s the second round that worries me.
RJ Umberger on the Caps:
“I don’t think any team in the West would be overmatched by them,” Umberger said. “They play the wrong way. They want to be moving all the time. They float around in their zone, looking for breakaways and odd-man rushes.
“A good defensive team is going to beat them (in the playoffs). If you eliminate your turnovers and keep them off the power play, they’re going to get frustrated because they’re in their zone a lot.”
Say what you will, but I think we match up well with the Caps..I know I said earlier that I didn’t wanna draw them, but it is what it is and now we got ‘em…
Habs in 6…Screw it..lol
————– BRING THE JETS BACK TO WINNIPEG!!
100% ageed… although it is a dillema…if MAB is going to play D i think the oddman out should be Spacek (very unlikely b/c of his salary) eventhough MAB has played well on D for the last few games it makes me wonder if he can hold his ground against the speedy caps and whether spacek’s experience is more important…
That storyline has crossed my mind… I have faith Halak will step it up though. Either way, I don’t think goaltending is going to be our issue, it’s getting the snake-bite kits for Cammy, Pouliot, and AK46. Oh, and hopefully SK won’t be Michael Ryd-ing the pressbox this series.
Are we a good defensive team though? Not to mention the amount of turnovers.
Let’s keep our hopes on the positive side anyways.
Ali B.
JM keeps his job unless he moves to the front office. The habs have Carbo under contract still and are required to pay him for another year. I can’t see them firing JM and bringing in another coach (Boucher) and therefore paying 3 guys multi-millions to coach 1 team. If JM becomes GM then he is paid for something at least and a new coach can be brought in. Otherwise I can’t see a new coach for the Habs at least until Carbo’s contract is up at the end of 2011. Looks like we better get used to the score-1-goal-then-hang-on-for-the-win method.
Thanks. You were some p—ed when writing that post.
He’s not in my doghouse, just JM’s…..I want Gill, MAB, Hammer, Spacek and O’byrne all rotating. I liked Gorges with Marky for some reason when they were together last year. And I like Pyatt over Lapierre, but they can switch from game to game!
Shaker
Better defense starts with a goalie and our two are much better than their two.
no one to instill fear in cammy or gio?
what about john erskine, 6’4 220lbs or league leading +/- Jeff Schultz a whopping 6’6 227lbs.
anyways i’m not scared of cammy or gio being scared…i’m scared for our resident little girl.
- We’ve gotta beat the beat, and fist pump our way to victory!
MAB is not the top two/four defensive player but he certainly is faster than Spacek any given day, besides he can shoot and score unlike Spacek.
Ali B.
Pyatt on the Plek line? When was that ever good?
we’ll see what happens, to be honest i can’t tell what JM has on mind…will we come out firing? playing boring hockye? i have no idea what he’s planning to do…but i just hope we don’t get embarrassed.
- We’ve gotta beat the beat, and fist pump our way to victory!
Varlamov was already back in the line-up, IMO Theo is a question mark right now
Ali B.
The Capitals are a high risk team whose shortcomings a smart coach should be able to exploit. But, we have Martin, so Washington in six.
This match-up was the nightmare for the Habs. People are citing Umberger a lot, but not everybody is seeing the important thing in his quote.
“A good defensive team is going to beat them (in the playoffs). If you eliminate your turnovers and keep them off the power play, they’re going to get frustrated because they’re in their zone a lot.”
Montreal spends more time in its own zone than the Capitals do. The Habs struggle to get on the power play themselves, but do tend to take a lot of hooking and holding penalties against speedy forwards with size. The Capitals have a surplus of such players. And the Habs turn the puck over like they are trying to win the NHL’s team award for generosity.
I hope all the optimists are right. But looking at that roster, with seven 20-goal scorers at forward and the incomparable Mike Green on defence, their offence obviously scares the heck out of any opposing coach.
But their much-maligned defence only gave up 9 more goals than the Habs this season, and perhaps most suprisingly of all were the third best team at 5-on-5, with only New Jersey and Phoenix giving up fewer 5-on-5 goals. If you don’t get to the power play against the Capitals, you are sunk. In the playoffs, getting to the power play is generally much more difficult than the regular season, and the Habs weren’t exactly drawing penalties at a frenetic pace this season.
Add in that Boudreau, a long-time AHL coach that earned his NHL coaching gig by taking the very long and difficult path, is unlikely to get dramatically out-coached by Martin and you’ve got the makings of a very tough series.
Whether the Habs can pull off the upset will depend on the quality of the goaltending that the Capitals get from Jose Theodore and/or Semyon Varlamov. And I can’t get over how we worry every year about French-Canadian goalies giving the Habs fits but don’t see the particular peril of a determined Jose Theodore coming home to play. We all KNOW that Theodore has the potential to absolutely stand on his head or lay an egg. But you have to think he will want this series really, really badly.
The keys to the series for me are whether the Habs can contain Laich, Knuble, Fleischmann and Fehr. Ovechkin and Backstrom are going to run amok…nobody in the NHL can completely neutralize those two. And Semin has shown that he is a playoff performer over his short career.
But if Knuble, Fehr and Laich turn into this year’s R.J. Umberger, something they are very capable of doing given their size, strength and mindset, this series is going to be short and ugly for Habs fans.
Thanks.
Andrew, never say never. Canadiens’ management is known to have made very stupid decisions in the last 15-20 years.
I certainly hope that Boucher is given the coaching duties in Montreal next season and JM gets a “consulting” job in the management.
Ali B.
One could make the argument that Montreal’s management hasn’t been much better…Edmonton has actually made the finals once since 1993.
And they have more Stanley Cups since they joined the NHL than we do.
However, at the moment they are an incompetent organization.
You weren’t bitter with last year’s team? That’s not meant as an attack, you’re free to dole out your bitterness as you see fit. For me, though, I went into last year thinking we were a cup contender. Then, the way they all just gave it up at the end made me sick. I was glad to see the house cleaned.
For this year, I thought we were a 7-10 seed. Then, when we lost Markov, last place for sure. The mini-collapse at the end doesn’t have me overjoyed by any stretch, but it’s not even close to the way I felt about last year.
In the playoffs?
Link, please.
Ridiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
Well Ovechkin and Gonchar are very good friends, so judging by the past I’m guessing Ovechkin tries to injure Markov.
Firing Martin is pointless. Promoting him to GM is even worse.
What needs to occur is a total overhaul of the player recruitment and development process.
There’s no reason Montreal can’t have the best scouting system in the NHL.
LMAO! We have Martin. aaaaaaaaah.
I don’t mind playing the Caps we played them pretty much even all year.I am still not sold on their goaltending.Anything can happen in a 7 game series.
Might as well get rid of the best right away .After that the rest is a piece of cake. Drive for 25!
WOW
When Crosby wants to take it up a notch he sure as hell can do it.
I live 20 minutes from the Verizon Center, grew up watching the Capitals, my family had season tickets to the Caps since their inaugural season.
I’ve watched more than my fair share of Caps games this season.
We can beat the Caps.
The playoffs are mainly about riding a hot goalie — and the Caps’ goaltending is suspect. Theo has not stolen games for the Caps, he does not enjoy the full support of the fans here (he gets taunted and jeered). One of his nicknames here was/is Jose Three-or-More. To be sure, the Caps rode Varlamov last playoffs, but he’s come off of injury this season and is not the same naive rookie he once was. He, just today, lost 4-3 to Boston.
Second, the Caps’ D is suspect. Mike Green was a no-show during last year’s playoffs. Their upgrade on D at deadline is Joe Corvo, another offensive defenseman and guy who notoriously is averse to pressure (think about his tenure in Ottawa). Poti is servicable, through not dangerous. Morrisson is a 5-6 D man, though they have promising young John Carlson on their backline too. In short, there’s no one who can truly instill fear into our smaller guys like Cammy, Gio. They don’t have a Chara or true, gritty shut-down defenseman.
The key to the Caps, of course, is their O. But we have fared well against Ovy.
The Caps are a tremendous offensive team, but have not proven they can play real playoff hockey. They also haven’t proven they have the goaltending to steal games or shut down the opposition.
The Caps aren’t a complete team. They’re a one-trick pony reliant exclusively on compelling speed and offensive skill.
We have a chance. Believe.
Go Habs Go!
4 really good series in the East. Matchups are set up well for some upsets.
For Mtl, this is what I would ideally like to see come game 1 for the line-up:
Pyatt-Plek-Cammalleri
Pouliot-Gomez-Gionta
SK74-Moore-Ak46
Moen-Lapierre-Bergeron
Markov-OB
Hamrlik-Subban
Gorges-Gill
Well aware this will never happen, but I see no way Bergeron can play D against the Caps the wya their forwards rush up ice, and I also don’t care much for having two old guys like Spacek and Hamrlik together. They looked revived after the Olympic break but are starting to look tired again. PK is the perfect player to fit in against a team like washington. He can skate, he can hit, and he’s not afraid of making mistakes. I left Gill in over Spacek because he’s bigger and plays the penalty kill better. Spacek would rotate in as needed. Up front, I like having darche or pyatt up front with Pleks for energy. They have both done well in that role this year and AK46 needs to bust out of his slump before he gets any minutes. His play in the last few weeks was so uninspired and lacking in creativity. I would hope a chance to play with his brother might kickstart both the K brothers. Tough call to keep bergeron in the lineup over Darche, who I think will be a gritty playoff performer, but Bergeron’s shot on the pp is needed and the pp started to look better last game. We will need our special teams to work so bergeron’s in for game 1. i would not hesitate to come back with Darche for game 2 depending on who plays well in game 1.
Jose Three-or-More. Love it.
I wish you replace JM. He may bench the K brothers and O’Byrne and roll with 3 lines only. The way JM handles young players, he’ll destroy PK also. One mistake, he will be benched for the rest of the game.
a few thoughts – please remember that everyone is allowed their opinion on this site:
1) AK and SK are busts; habs just can’t admit it YET – AK And SK MUST be delt while they still have value – these guys are LOST SOULS – drifting in the wilderness – the money has overwhelmed them – SK makes $800,000 and AK makes $3,000,000 + -average salary in Belarus is $139 per month
2) OB has potential – if we’re patient, he will be a top 4 defenceman; not a #1 or #2, but he could be a #4; and he’s damn big, he fights, and he has a little mean streak in him
3) Subban is a stud – hands down, the best pick the habs have made since they picked markov.
4) Louis Leblanc will be a great player – there is no doubt in my mind. Future captain of the habs.
5) Thimens, PG and JM should all be let go….eventually. if they last the 2011 season, the 3 will be gone before 2012
6) Jeff Molson is a smart, avid hockey fan. He is the real deal, He will be an excellent owner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbfLphHZ4WQ&feature=related this is the moment that carey price stopped being an amazing goalie…when josh gorges shows him up with this glove save…carey lost all his confidence.
- We’ve gotta beat the beat, and fist pump our way to victory!
I always get caught on YouTube when someone puts a link on here. LOL!
Anyway, check out the vast majority of these saves and ask yourselves where is our defense? Granted, some of them were shoot-out saves, but just a small percentage of them were.
So, goal support? How about including defensive support?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or3Rob4e9uE
Ultimate Die-Hard Since 1986. T.
F. Tom Pyatt. he should stay as far away from the top 2 lines as possible! i would prefer darche or maxwell ahead of pyatt with pleks and cammy!
- We’ve gotta beat the beat, and fist pump our way to victory!
Small typo there — you have our first & second lines reversed, & Moen mistakenly on the fourth instead of the third line.
No way PKS can hack the playoffs until he improves. And his disasterous failure might ruin his hope of progress to the NHL level.
The backhands and out of the air stuff are what made me fall in love with the guy, wish he’d come back to form and silence all the haters
Good post. I havent watched as many Caps games as u, but i also think Ovy’s passion hurt the Caps last playoff. His shifts are too long, and his D got worse. Also i question Semin’s heart, KHL in the near future i think. I belive!
You’re either joking or trolling. Either way, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
–
You’ll have to speak up – I’m wearing a towel.
My thoughts exactly.
Ultimate Die-Hard Since 1986. T.
he’s going to cam ward it…you heard it here first. halak 0-2 then pricey’s going to lead the way
- We’ve gotta beat the beat, and fist pump our way to victory!
Win or lose, this series should be fun to watch. Glad it ain’t New Jersey.
Martin should be moved up to an assistant GM or VP or something and bring Guy Boucher up from Hamilton before some other NHL team offers him a head coaches job.
I know one thing, this may be the best match up in terms of excitement..Both teams can skate and play an up tempo game…
————– BRING THE JETS BACK TO WINNIPEG!!
Carey Price lost his confidence at the All Star game in Montreal last year.
He was ON FIRE, absolutely SIZZLING the first half of last season.
They put him in the “young guns” game and he got burned for about 10 goals (not sure how many, but it was a lot).
He has struggled until just after this Olympic break,
it will happen – just be patient – if not this summer absolutely next summer.
I met Jeff Molson – the guy is as big a fan as anybody on this site.
to much analysis, stats, player breakdowns, team by team analysis. i would just like your opinion on this series robert.
habs were 30th in the league scoring 5 on 5 – we may play up tempo, but we can’t score 5 on 5. DEAD LAST.
I also live 20 minutes from the Verizon center. If the Habs take game one, lets meet so you can help me shut the rest of this city up……..By the way, when all my friends here who didnt really like hockey 4 years ago, when the Caps sucked, talk about it if they win the Cup… The response should be, welcome to the GREAT level of teams who have 1 Cup, youre as good as………..HURRICANES, LIGHTNING, and The DUCKS……..
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey…
This one is pretty funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG-ZX28Bcm8
1980-1981 Season. Habs finish 3rd overall with 103 points and play the 14th seed Edmonton at 74 points. We lose in the first rounds 3 games to none. Anything can happen.
Habs in 7. We’ve played Washington tough all year. why would that stop now?
Go Habs Go!! “I don’t have a copy of Georges’ code, I don’t know what it is,”. “I think the code is that you’re here for your teammates. It’s not your code, it’s our code.” – Bob Gainey
Wait, I thought you lived in Brossard.
….and, can’t keep the puck out of our net lately!
For those of you who missed it, here’s Evander Kane knocking out Matt Cooke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW9Sp-WndwA
ed’s watching too much don cherry!
The latest from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:
“[Interim
coach Claude] Noel is considered a legitimate candidate, but the Blue
Jackets will interview six to eight other candidates, possibly more,”
wrote Portzline.
“Names to keep in mind: Kevin
Dineen, a former Blue Jackets player, currently coach of the AHL’s
Portland Pirates; Paul MacLean, an assistant coach in Detroit; Brent
Peterson, an assistant in Nashville; Kevin McCarthy, an assistant
in Philadelphia; Scott
Stevens, an assistant in New Jersey; Jim Playfair, former coach of
the Calgary Flames; Craig
MacTavish, former coach of the Edmonton Oilers;
Guy Boucher, coach of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs; and Bob
Boughner, coach of the junior-level Windsor Spitfires.
Oilers had Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Kurri, Anderson.
Guy Boucher?! Noooooooooooo – we have to keep him in the organization.
KARMA
Great post
Go HABS Go !!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, Eastern Conference Matchups.
Caps Meet Canadiens
Devils Versus Flyers
Sabres Versus Bruins
Penguins Versus Senators
I have to go with Montreal, so I’m saying Canadiens in 6-7
Devils win over Flyers, Boucher will be executed despite Brodeur’s declining post-season play, it’s freakin’ Boucher, 5 or 6 games.
Sabres knock the Bruins down, Miller is better than Rask and the Sabres have some scoring now that Vanek is back, 5-6 games.
Penguins take the Senators in 5, Alfie and Spezza will choke as per usual, Pens will bomb Elliott out of nets.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
We’d better make Boucher our top man in Montreal rather than let him go off and run another team while this one struggles along with Martin. Hopefully, he’s much more interested in coaching Montreal than running a basement expansion squad.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
F’N BEAUTY !
I can’t wait to see the reaction Theodore gets in Montreal.
I remember going to games after the lockout, before everyone jumped on the bandwagon, where there were 9k fans and whole sections of the arena empty.
Now everyone in the area “Rocks the Red,” but probably can’t identify a single player on the street aside from Ovy and Green.
Case in point, I went to a Redskins game where Ovy and Backstrom were present at one of the club level bars — the crowd swarmed around Ovy, and Backstrom was walking around as if he was an ordinary guy — no one went up to him, except for me.
I have seen Ovy and Green out and about in the city many times — one wonders whether they will exhibit any personal discpline during the playoffs. Their partying ways likely put SK74 to shame.
No way the Canadiens will let Columbus hire Boucher. Not a chance in hell.
We still finished way ahead of them and they did’t come close to winning the Cup. Upsets happen all of the time.
It’s a good thing Kane was holding onto Cooke’s jersey when he fell, or he could have really hurt himself when he fell to the ice. A player from my home town (Whitby Dunlops) died last year in a semi-pro league after that happened. Hate Cooke all you want, but that could have been scary.
Buzz kill aside – that was a beauty of a punch.
_______________________________
The Habs are making me Bi-Polar.
Maybe he will party with his buddies and screw up. Do we know for sure if he is starting?
Since I’m a Johnny-come-lately to this discussion, I haven’t read all the posts, so forgive me if I’m repeating what’s already been said….
At first glance, it sucks that they draw Washington in the first round. HOWEVER, had they finished in 6th or 7th they’d be playing either the Devils or the Sabres, which means Brodeur or Miller. Need I say more? Although I think R.J. Umberger is a bit of a doof, I think he hit the nail on the head when he said that Washington’s style won’t work as well in the playoffs. And we know from experience how reliable Theodore is.
My other point, which I know has been said many times over – FOR GOD’S SAKE, put the ‘C’ on Gionta’s sweater for the playoffs!!! The guy is 5’7″ and plays like a giant. Always in the corners and in front of the net. Plays his guts out every night. It’s CRIMINAL that he’s not wearing it already.
Agreed.
ya… all this talk would suck if he didn’t play at all…
http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/opponent/Washington-Capitals
“While the Capitals, who made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1997-98,
have been around for many years, the Canadiens have yet to cross paths
with the Caps in the postseason.”
Interesting, no?
This is gotta be the lineup vs the caps thursday night…..notice that Metro is in there……long live the hyperbaric chamber……..
Poully/Gomez/Gio….AK46/Pleks/Cammy….Moen/Moore/Sk74….Pyatt/Metro/Darche
Laps in the presser, but I won’t mind getting AK46 up there if he sucks on Thursday.
Markov/Gorges….Gill/MAB and Hammer/Spacek
O”byrne gets left behind I guess, even though I want JM to use 7D and 11 forwards.
If I got my wish Laps and Pyatt would be the odd men out and O’Byrne would rotate with MAB for the pairing with Gill, but ideally MAB, Gill, O’Byrne Hammer and Spacek would all rotate with eachother to make up the last sets of D pairings. Gorges and Marky would be the only D seeing regular shifts/minutes, everyone else would be interchangeable.
Jaro starting obviously (Did I even have to post it?)
Shaker
I dont even think Guy would accept the job even if it was offered. I think everyone knows and even Guy that he was hired to be groomed to be the next Habs Coach, JM is signed for 3 more years, we will soon go upstairs and give way for Guy, but I think it going to take some time.
Edmonton let Montreal talk to and sign Julien a few years back when he was the new hotshot coach in the league.
If there is no succession plan for Martin to become the GM of the Montreal Canadiens and Guy Boucher the new coach, something that nobody here knows is a certainty, it is equally unlikely that the team would not at least allow another team to talk to Boucher.
It was a best of 5 series, 1st 2 games in the Forum. I was at both the games. Final Gretzky 10- Lafleur 1. Andy f. Moog.
Yep. Watched it on TV as a 17 year old. Almost as bad as watching Rick Monday’s home run off Steve Rogers.
These clowns, who call themselves the 2009-2010 Montreal Canadiens suck!!! So does the coaching staff.
Having said that though, they have actually played the Caps well this year. This could actually go 7. The Caps are probably a better match up than the New Jersey ” we’re lucky to draw 10000 to our home games when we’re not playing the Rangers” Devils. Those guys with their life-sucking, drop-dead boring play.
Hockey justice. FU Bettman and Colin Campbell.
He did land the 2nd punch BTW. Effin’ beauty. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Could you re-write this post . Not sure what the hell you are saying.
With exception to Halak, our most important player in this series may be Andrei Markov. It’s well known that he and Ovechkin are good friends, and it will be interesting to see how Markov steps up his game when matched-up against OV.
All i can say is he had it coming sooner or later!! Nice TKO
Edmonton’s management generally makes Gauthier look like Sam Pollock.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
7D and 11 forwards = loss.
Habs need to roll 4 lines and 3 D pairings meaning if MAB plays it HAS to be on D. If MAB is a forward the Caps win in 4.
Pleks needs to realize that this series will really be the deciding factor for his contract next year also. If he realizes that, he will be the Pleks we expect him to be.
I expect Cammy to come out firing on all cylinders. Last game against Toronto he was absolutely scorching, he just needs to find the back of the net. The small rest period will help.
Agree…If Cammy and AK46 gets going Plek will be fine…he does best feeding pucks to guys who can finish…
“Power to the Turtleneck!”
I actually miss Cube…Gorges is an unsung hero and I think he will come up big…
Caps like to take chances so JM needs to use Plek and Gionta to exploit that for break aways when they pinch in Green…
“Power to the Turtleneck!”
Any predictions for the series?
I say Habs in 7.
http://blog.fagstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/main.jpg
Capitals in 5. Hope you are closer to being right than me!
A stunning upset. Habs in 4.
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Looking at Robert Lefebvre’s overview of the season series between Montreal and Washington, what strikes me is how relatively quiet Ovechkin was in terms of scoring; also, the overall equality, not just in victories, but in goals scored. Leaving aside the Caps’ shootout winner, the two teams scored exactly the same number of goals. The series may not be such a mismatch as it appears at first sight. Apparently Washington fans are dismayed at the idea of playing the Habs, partly because the Caps’ penalty kill is terrible against us.
Something else interesting, in all the matchups in the Eastern Conference, the underdog either had the upper hand or was tied in the season series. We tied with the Caps, Ottawa and Pittsburgh tied, Boston beat Buffalo 4-2, and the Flyers beat the Devils 5-1.
Unfortunately, as Habs fans discovered in 2007-08 against the Bruins and Flyers (against whom they went 12-0 in the regular season), the regular season head-to-head goes out the window now.
This series will be about match-ups and coaching, and I’m not entirely sure Montreal’s has the upper hand in either way looking up and down the rosters.
Spatch and Hammer effectivelt shut-down #8 in the 4 games this year. They will need to do the same in the play-offs for any hope. Also it wouldn’t hurt if the\caps played Theo, I think even our paltry scoring can light him up
Somebody remind me. Was the Bell Centre not built entirely with private money?
Billionaire Daryl Katz, wants the city of Edmonton to pay for his new arena, so he can proceed to gouge and screw the fans even more with exorbitant ticket prices. Ahh, the world of sports.
Gee, I wonder why he’s doing that. Maybe so he can privatize the profits and socialize the debt? That’s one way to get rich.
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
So, one of those stupid hockey-with-breakfast deals this weekend, I guess?
Can’t believe Torts didn’t use Gaborik. Another coach likely to be fired in NYC.
I couldn’t stop laughing when I found out that Olli Jokinen was the Rangers’ third shooter hahahahah.
I figured he must have been hurt. Shocking
No Gaborik or Drury? I thought Martin wrote their SO sheet! Those guys had good stats on the SO, but those shots were awful. Huge mistake.
Jokinen was 5/10 on shootouts this year wheras Gaborik was only 1/5. I’m sure he still had him lined up as #4 in case it got there…
I am very happy the Habs are playing the Caps instead of the Devils and I do believe are chances of winning the series went up by 50%….GO HABS GO
if we beat the caps it will the greatest upset in nhl playoff history…we need the greatest goal tending performance and one of the worst goaltending performances by the caps..we need to score on almost all pp chances and allow almost no pp goals….based on these stats from a couple of days again this task looks unbelievable
laich height 6-2 25 goals
It’s like, I heard this before or something. Hmmm. Deja vu or something. Weird.
The Habs need to beat them 5 on 5 if they’re to win. All the Caps need to do is play a gritty shut down game and the Habs are screwed. If the Caps try to run and gun it could go six games.
Fun fact, in 2004 Robert Lang was traded from Washington to Detroit for Thomas Fleishmann and a first-round draft pick. That pick ended up being Mike Green.
sweet. Fleischmann is a great young player and of course so is mike green
That is how you build a team. You trade veterans that are going to be UFA for young players and draft picks at the trade deadline. Something that Bobo Gainey failed to do in all of his years here aside from the Rivet trade.
This is funny coming from the HIO’s biggest troll.
Posting In Habsentia
hab
lifer
Habsynthe
blue blanc et rouge
guru
They call me Shane
unfortuntely that’s not Jussi Jokinen
maybe we’ll go to extra shooters.
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
Richards should have noted Briere’s move, best way to beat Lundqvist is glove high.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
PA Parenteau who the F is that ????
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Cammy > Lundy
Bring on the Caps
Oh crap so it’s Washington!
Well boys I’ll see you in Washington…
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
Montreal Versus Ovechkin and Friends, well at least it’ll be entertaining.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
got jokinen?
Where the hell was Gaborik?
dammit… so much for my hopes of a first round upset. Make me eat my words habs, please make me eat my words… Habs, not commentators here
Fonzie puts Jokinen in for the shootout?
Holy cow. That was stupid. That was a given he would choke.
….I don’t think I like this. Washington is going to MURDER the habs
double post
jokinen? more like chokinen har har har
Slumpquest is a loooooser. Goodbye Rangers
Bring on open door Theodoor!
Crap!…Caps
Habs and the Verizon Center are not a good combination…
“Power to the Turtleneck!”
WOWOWOW Philly wins, I don’t get how you guys think we can beat Wash,
its going to take alot of hard work and luck, I’ll take it but that team
can score at will, u guys remember when we had that 5-2 lead going into
the 3rd and they came back at easy.
We’re gonna lose soooooooo bad to washington, i mean we’re gonna get manhandled….. I hoped that wouldnt be the situation but oh well. WHY NOT PUT GABORIK IN THE SHOOTOUT IN A KEY MOMENT.. Instead they put chokinen
lol Rangers season on the line – who comes up? Olli Jokinen what a joke.
No Dubinsky or Gaborik in the SO.
Well…- Ovechkin get ready to lose!
i know right? lol
We beat Washington 2 out of 4 times this season. I’m worried, but I’m not as worried as I would’ve been if we faced Jersey. I think we have a shot against the Caps.
And Lundqvist freaks out on his lousy team and smashes things. Good job Torts!
All jokes aside (not yokes), he is a GREAT breakaway specialist. No blame for using him there.
Torts should be fired on the spot. Don’t even let him talk to the media….
Christiensen, Parenteau and Jokinen ?????
It’s like Bowman letting Lafleur, Shutt and Cournoyer on the bench….
In Guy Boucher I trust.
If this game means your life, patience and skill can really make a sweet goal.
Well, Philly have won, and now the Habs are facing the Caps.
Sweet!!!
You know what’s awesome? At the beginning of the year everyone was saying the NYR would go all the way and that we were screwed when Markov was injured.
Now the habs are in and the rags are eliminated. You like bannans TSN? How do you like them bananas?
Habs will light up The Odour. Caps will probably light up Halak/Price, too. This isn’t going to be as lopsided as all the pundits will say.
That’s the spirit!
Well, bring on Ovechkin.
Philly wins in a SO
Oh man….I want to see the Torts post game interview…
ok… well bring on the Caps then… call me crazy but i really like our chances of making an upset against the caps… well atleast way WAY WAY more than against New Jersey…
GO HABS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
seems appropriate that the best team in hockey, Wash plays the worst team in hockey, habs.
I will enjoy Ovechkin scoring at will for 4 games.
thanks JM for your passive system.
1 thing is constant: habs never finish higher than 8th place.
what a joke this organization is.
Horrible take. Garbage.
Records mean nothing – this is Ovechkin’s best chance to get the cup and you think he’ll let the habs win? Imagine if Martin attempts that third period defensive nonsense with the best offensive player in the LEAGUE on the ice. We’re doomed man….doooooooomed
You’re seriously not a Habs fan, are you? What’s the point of bringing your garbage opinion over here? Nobody likes you, unfortunately, for it.
Experience, we kick their ass,,, skill, we come nowhere close… Theres no way in hell Halak should be put in even for a second against the Caps… Thats the only team Halak should not be alowed to play. I love Halak and all i think hes great, but he will get manhandled by the Caps..
Christiensen was like 50% in shootouts, and Parenteau was also very good.
Jokinen I don’t know about. Maybe he played a strong game.
_______________________________
The Habs are making me Bi-Polar.
Ok leaf fan – where is your team again?
Olli “the joke” Jokinen. Thats quite a nickname!
__________________________________________________________
Audere est Facere- To Dare Is To Do
Aren’t you supposed to be golfing with burke and co.?
Whatever but not putting in Gaborik ???? What you’re keeping him for the 6th round ????
He fluked off a Stanley Cup, nothing more.
In Guy Boucher I trust.
i cant believe the number of habs fans that believe we are going to beat the caps..i dont mind the optimism, and hell the summer would start off awesome if we can beat the caps.. but we shouldnt be over confident..
.::moen for captain::.
We’re gonna beat their butts.
And laugh at’em while we do it.
They got Theo fer petessakes, c’mon.
4 outta 7 against Theo? I’ll take dem odds.
Ridiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
I just noticed the habs are the only team in the playoffs (east or west) that is in the negative for goal differential…
Nope, the Sens are also minus, and worse than the Habs.
ottawa?
———–
”Playing goal is like being shot at.” – Jacques Plante
The playoffs always come down to the goalie. Given the choice of THEODORE, BRODEUR, MILLER or FLEURY I’ll gladly take my chances with the CAPS. There’s always a surprise in the first round and I’m willing to place a wager it will be with our beloved HABS this round.
This one will be HABS in six games. Count on it.
– I will not apologize for being a delirious HABS fan! –
in the post-lockout era goaltending has played only a secondary role with cup winners. goaltending doesn’t have to be stellar to win in the new NHL, which is why despite Mtl having better overall tenders than Wash, the firepower of the Caps will likely prevail. but, I’m hoping this will be a good series to watch and not a blowout.
could you imagine how much of a heartstopper the ranger-philly game would have been for habs fans if the habs would have lost in regulation yesterday?
We would’ve die of heart attacks.
It was hard to watch with it meaning nothing, if it actually meant something, I would have been freakin out
“It’s not an obsession, It’s a way of life..”
At least the Bell Centre crowd will be entertained. Much better than facing the Devils. Yawn. Every time I think of the Habs playing the Devils I get sleepy.
Well, Congratulations Montreal…Backing into the playoffs gets you a front fow seat to watch the Best team in the NHL…3 chances to beat non-playoffg teams, no wins…What’s in store against the Caps? The way the Habs have played all year I have absolutely no idea….
With Regards from FuzE_gus
Because CBC got to pick 2 matchups and TSN picked up the Habs
CBC went with Pens VS Sens and Knucks vs Kings
Crapitals going down for so many reasons
The rally monkey is here, Habs take down Caps in 6!
Well, facing the Capitals will be far more exciting hockey than facing the Devils. I hope Chris F. Lee is not making too many appearances for this series.
Montréal has the ability to win this series, in my opinion. Some food for thought;
All I know is that I am very excited, anxious, nervous, hopeful for the first round.
A BELIEVER in this team,
GO HABS GO!
AHH… This is the best possible time. The old season gone, the new one about to begin, and anything can happen. A new hope.
It’s the MIGHTY caps versus the LOWLY habs. Perfect. What a perfect matchup. Bring ‘em on, baby dolls!
TarikElBashir
Caps play Thursday-Saturday in Washington, then Monday-Wednesday in Montreal. All games at 7.
4 minutes ago via UberTwitter
Chris Lee has only reffed 4 playoff games in his 11 years as official in the NHL. He is not up to the job because he is incompetent and even the NHL knows that. Here is a picture of Lee for your dartboard. You can also read his bio if you are having a tough time sleeping tonight.
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Maggie the Monkey says the Caps in 4.
Don’t blame Bob. It’s hard to get the best available coach when language is such a huge factor. The coach ”HAD” to be french-speaking. That kind of limits your choices
Here’s my best Pierre Boivin/Pierre Gauthier impression.
“It’s the most….wonderful time…..of the year”!
Reasons why this weekend was SUCH a win for Habs management.
1. Millons of dollars were made with the playoff berth.
2. Either goalie could stink it up in this series and their trade value doesn’t go down, hell, it’s the Caps. But the goalie that plays in this series gets traded if we don’t win it.
3. They don’t get lambasted in the media for not making the playoffs, and by them, I mean Jacques Martin. Making the playoffs this year makes his hiring look good and probably buys him another two years of coaching.
4. They avoided the Devils! At the end of the day, losing to the Capitals will be ok for them, losing to Jacques Lemaire wouldn’t have been good, everyone remember the last time that happened?
5. Small, and I use that term loosely, vindication for Bob Gainey. The wholesale changes which featured maturity, leadership and playoff performance in lieu of up and coming talent has resulted in no worse than an equal performance than last years team. And all of this with a rash of significant injuries and a host of new faces in a new place. Year one of the new whatever year plan is a success regardless of the outcome of the playoffs.
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one.
My prediction?
The team goes toe to toe with the Caps for 6 games but Theo ultimately does us in. Sounds outrageous I know, but he’s going to have a rather large chip on his shoulder.
Patrick Roy would have brought a lot more excitement to the team than Jacky Martin and he is french speaking.
Spank the monkey!
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
I will never forgive or forget that b@stard Chris F Lee.
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Patrick Roy hasn’t had a single game of professional coaching experience and it will be difficult for professional hockey players to respect him after the the incidents that have transpired during his playing and coaching career.
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
Schedule is up:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=524941
GAME 1 APRIL 15th 7PM
I like it. 7PM starts every other day. No wierdness.
Patrick Roy has a presence about him, is a proven winner and would already have everyones respect the minute he walked into the dressing room. He would add some fire and passion into the team that Martin never shows.
With Patrick Roy at the helm, we are destined to be a great team instead of a good one.
Agree 100% but until there is a change of corporate culture within the organization where the season objective is satisfied by being 16th best team in the league nothing will change.
Time for the Dominos to fall; out Boivin, out Gauthier, out JM and bring in people (real hockey people) who set the bar much higher and challenge the management team to overachive.
The appointment of Boivin to run hockey operations is/will continue to be an ongoing disaster resulting in little to no on-ice success.
“The three stars as selected by Red Fisher of the Montreal Star:
1st star: Henri Richard
2nd Star: Doug Harvey
3rd Star: Jacques Plante
Final score Detroit Red Wings 5 Montreal Canadiens 3″
HAHAHA…ooder…too funny! ”omg the refs helped out the penguins what a shocker.. someone alert CNN”…good one.
Yes, let this be the last of the video, btw. Now irrelevant. Although, we would be facing NJ right now…
When is that primate scheduled to be sent into orbit around Uranus anyway?
Someone light the fuse already.
Ridiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
haha thanks…
——————
“I like what I’m seeing right now,” assessed Markov. “We’re not perfect, but we’re trying to be.”
No Bob Cole? WTF! Have to listen to Pierre McCrap. Booourns.
I guarantee you that NHL players would respect Patrick Roy, even if nobody else does (except me).
i thought maggie retired
——————
“I like what I’m seeing right now,” assessed Markov. “We’re not perfect, but we’re trying to be.”
Don Lever was in immersion courses…what happened to that guy?
Oh right, winning the AHL West Division with Chicago Wolves (105pts)
A presence? If by, a presence you mean that no player would feel comfortable due to the inevitability that they would be shipped out of town because they didn’t play a perfect game, then yes, that’s a presence.
Patrick Roy being hired as this team’s coach would be the low point of the organization’s history.
Great goalie, okay junior coach, terrible human being.
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
No, she’s back on TSN. She just goes by a different name now: Pierre McGuire.
How exactly can you guarantee that?
You expect them to respect a man who has conducted himself as an overzealous child on and off the ice since he was playing for this team?
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
Habs and Bulldogs have the same schedule. Lame.
Nothing wrong with having a coach with high expectations. If you expect the players to play well and not make mistakes, then eventually they won’t. What is wrong with expecting AK46 to earn his 3.5 million dollar salary every night instead of just 20 games a year.
With Patrick Roy at the helm, we are destined to be a great team instead of a good one.
Yeah but…..I have a bad feeling my schedule will be WIDE open to go to a 2nd round bulldogs home game……:(
I can guarantee it because I am amazing and awesome.
Also he is amazing and awesome.
And if you don’t respect him, YOU GOIN DOWWWWN mudda fudga!
Jm is not a great coach, but a very good one who does make his share of mistakes. I don’t think too many other coaches could have done much better with the team he’s been saddled with. caps in 4, maybe 5 if price or halak could possibly steal 1.
Huh. I had forgotten ALL about that. Funny how it works out yes?
Wait a GD minute isn’t it written that the Habs and bruins must meet if both teams qualify to play in the post season?
must mean that both of those teams will beat their first opponents.
The leafs certainly deserved that.
However, IMO, our team and management needs a similar unbiased evaluation and critique.
It’s good to look at the mirror once in a while without expecting the mirror to tell us who’s the “fairest in the world”.
Just saying.
Ali B.
no toronto no CBC
I think if the Caps take a 2 -0 lead 5 minutes into game 1, Gauthier should come down from the GM’s box and fire Martin right then and there.
Up until Saturday night, Andrei Kostitsyn was playing like he didn’t care. The rest of them were playing like they cared too much. Way too nervous, and if they’re that way with Martin, can you imagine how tense they’d be with Roy? Assuming of course that they would actually respect him?
It’s easy to yell and scream at a bunch of kids who are dependent on you to make a living or career out of hockey, it’s much different getting men who don’t have to listen to your bull to buy into what you’re teaching. And let’s be serious for a second, is Patrick Roy even a qualified candidate? We have an AHL coach who is more qualified, and there are several other coaches out there who won’t make a mockery of the franchise that are more qualified than he is.
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
I saw our sched here a minute ago but when I refreshed it was gone!!!!!……spoooooky…..like the internet.
Cherry chose to cover Boston instead.
That’s probably the best impression of him you could have done.
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
cherry runs the CBC?…..quel suprise
So I guess I wear my Mike Green T-shirt under my Cammallerri T-shirt when I go to the game on Thursday?
congrats but new eposide of Simpsons is on…gotta go!
No.
You take a hanger, one of those nice wooden ones often used for suits. Then, you carefully hang your Mike Green t-shirt onto it. Proceed to open you closet door and hang up the t-shirt. Keep it there until October…
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
..or you can give it to me because I need to take a dump and I’m all outta toilet paper..
————– BRING THE JETS BACK TO WINNIPEG!!
I have to burn about 4 recycle boxes full of cardboard tomorrow. I’m sure I could find room for it though.
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
You wouldn’t put it next to your Philly gear?
More McGuire? Seriously?
Let SK take over. He’ll probably be wearing a suit anyway.
Thanks for the civil suggestion
I think Boivin made it clear the Canadiens will be Quebecois(e).
————————
“There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge….”
–Hunter S. Thompson
I agree with most of what you said, except that this vindicates Gainey. You did say “small and loosely” though. If the Habs do go on to lose to the Caps, this will just be another same old year of squeaking in the playoffs and bowing out quickly. Gainey’s M.O. Only this time it’s the next 5 year plan, which is exactly the same as the last 5 year plan, except there is no money left to improve. This is definately further proof of how unsuccessful Gainey was, as a GM, for this team. There is no way this year can be called a success. (if they do lose in the 1st round of course). Just the same loser garbage we’ve seen for years.
I think the real question about the Capitals is this.
In 18 months, when we find out that 6-10 of the Capitals were using Ped, will the NHL strip them of a Stanley Cup(should they win it)?
With Jacques Martin at the helm, we are doomed to be a good team instead of a great one
National Post article rippin the leafs a new hole.
Ridiculously overhyped, call me
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
HEY! Who let you back in here!?!?!
JK…all is forgiven.
Cherry runs all of English-speaking Canada, FYI.
I try!
Mcguire instead of Bob Cole, can’t win without losing.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
You mean definitivement.
how come not cbc?
19th best this year.
at least the draft pick is better
The Habs will take the Caps in seven. Four of the games will go into overtime. Halak will have to be at the top of his game. Cammalleri and A. Kostitsyn will have to start scoring.
Beauty!
“The three stars as selected by Red Fisher of the Montreal Star:
1st star: Henri Richard
2nd Star: Doug Harvey
3rd Star: Jacques Plante
Final score Detroit Red Wings 5 Montreal Canadiens 3″
NHL brass watched the Cole and Millen disaster on HNIC and had enough!
“The three stars as selected by Red Fisher of the Montreal Star:
1st star: Henri Richard
2nd Star: Doug Harvey
3rd Star: Jacques Plante
Final score Detroit Red Wings 5 Montreal Canadiens 3″
Alex Ovechkin apparently loves the nightlife in Montreal.
Club promoters and Chez Paree strippers should work extra hard to distract him.
Oh and there’s also our secret weapon, Andrei Markov.
http://www.fanatique.ca/images/_profils/image/44_ovechkin-markov.jpg
LOL wow.
Ayan_SB: Great image! I wonder whether those women are their wives, or “unrestricted free agents?”
————————
“There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge….”
–Hunter S. Thompson
looks like Ovie over did it on Red Bull!
On the positive side, look at today. The Bruins held OV pointless, and they won!!!
“Should the Rangers win, the Canadiens will take on the winner of the 5
pm ET game between Buffalo and New Jersey.”
If Buffalo wins in OT, New Jersey would still finish 2nd due to a tie in points but more wins. Buffalo needs to win in regulation if they are to finish 2nd.
Well done Habs! We have maneuvered ourselves into a great position – against the Caps. I bet Ovi is shaking in his skates about the possibility of trying to get around Hamrlik or Gill.
I don’t pretend to be an expert; just a die-hard Habs fan passing my opinion
hammer will get his act together and stop Ov most of the time. gill just doesn’t have the skill or speed to stop him. replace him with pk to have a chance.
Make sure you choose a lot of Capitals for your playoff pool.
Matt Moulson, a former Penguins draft pick has a 30-goal season on the basement Islanders, imagine what he might do for the Pens. Their inability to develop scoring wingers for their top 2 centres is insane.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
My gut tells me that Theodore or Varlamov will be the downfallof the Caps in their drive for the Cup.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Just wondering – Habs will most likely get a 13th overall pick this year right? (They are 18th in the league) Hmm.. not a bad pick.
Nope, Picks 1-14 are reserved for the teams that don’t make the playoffs. The rest of the draft order is decided by how you finish in the Finals.
For example, if, say the Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup final, they pick 30th, despite the fact that the Caps won the President’s trophy.
/\\ike
GO HABS GO!
If the Habs continue to draft 5’9″ centers and wingers with “pre-existing medical conditions,” then you may as well have the 30th pick overall for all the good it will do.
————————
“There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge….”
–Hunter S. Thompson
GOOD—WE AGREE!
My take on the Habs-Caps series in a quick research I did. Hope you guys understand the notes:
NOV 20 — HABS 3 CAPS 2 @ WAS
Notes: Neuvrith – Price in nets
AHL Goalie –> Game should have been a lot easier, Habs outshot 34-22
NOV 28 — CAPS 4 HABS 3 SO @ MTL
Notes: Varlamov – Price in nets
Gionta, Gomez and Markov missing
JAN 05 — CAPS 4 HABS 2 @ WAS
Notes: Neuvrith – Price in nets
Habs
outshot 43-26. Should have taken advantage of the Caps’ open defence
but instead get badly outshot. Not to mention Ovechkin blanked on the
scoresheet.
FEB 10 — HABS 6 CAPS 5 OT @ MTL
Notes: Theodore/Neuvrith – Price in nets
Cammalleri
and AK46 were missing and the Habs snapped the Caps’ 14-game win
streak. Gainey had just resigned. Theo pulled after giving up 4 in the
2nd.
Habs: 5/8 pts
Caps: 5/8 pts
MY
OPINION: The Habs never played Halak against the Caps during the
season. If he is indeed the starter in the playoffs, it would be
interesting to see how it plays out. Also, they faced Neuvrith twice as
a starter. However, the Habs were missing key players (Cammalleri,
AK46, Markov, Gionta, Gomez) at some of the games. I think the Habs
could win in the playoffs as long as they get solid goaltending. In my
opinion, the Capitals’ goaltending is average but their defence has
many holes and the Habs must capitalize (pardon the rotten pun). I
think what I’m saying is, if all goes well… Habs in seven.
I just watched the recap of all the games, Price came up with alot of big saves in all the games but he also let in a few soft ones. I think our Wingers have to outwork thier Wings, specially our RWs since OV plays LW, look for Moen to play a big role. As for the goalies, lets give Halak game 1 and take it from there. I will be very tough, they are just an offesive powerhouse, we lead is safe, so it’s going to be very very hard to watch these games, I rather watch a boring game vs the Sabres or the Devils as opposed to going mentally crazy vs the Caps.
Zepphead, although based on where he plays it’s natural to assume that Neuvirth would give us an easier game, he has better stats this season than both Theo and Varlamov.
Any team except New Jersey PLEASE!!!!!!!
______________________________________ Lets name a Captain…..or does it even matter anymore?
You’d rather NJ over Washington?
Boring hockey against the Devils yes, but I’d like our chances better.
Game one L 2-1 with 2:26 to play
Game two: L 2-1 (OT)
Game three:W 3-1
Game three: L 4-2 (4th goal was EN with 10 seconds left)
___________________________________________
Ya! The Habs Rule! now on Twitter!
OvenChicken: “Oh, God, Halak? not again!”
Hah, Olympic memories – “that slovakian goalie – we lost 2-1…i hate this – dasvidanya nhl” lol
Huet
and gave it back with Moore
That was not Gainey
No, you’re right. That was PG’s statement trade.
I don’t see WHY they don’t bring up PK. Right now they use Bergeron as our offensive D-man. PK is 30x the player he is on both sides of the ice. If a forward gets injured we can even use PK there – since he’s offensive minded anyway. There’s zero downside here.
The habs will not kill Washington so why not go full force? Don’t bring up this “gel” BS either because as we’ve seen the last while the entire team has played like crap. Without Halak getting those back to back shutouts we’d be in a far worse mood right now.
To be honest, I think I would rather play the Caps as opposed to the Devils or the Sabres. We have a decent record this year against the Caps ( just going from memory….which may or may not be bang on) and they have spotty goaltending at best. Not sure I would want to face Marty Brodeur in a series..he is a beast against the Habs.
And although I am a Halak fan and have advocated giving him the starting role for some time, I think I would start Price in the first game. Price has played very well since the oympic break and his stats are very similar to Jaro’s…..however Jaro seems to be a in a bit of a funk right now. He has lost 3 straight, been marginal, and has a save % under .890 in those games. Let Price play game 1…if he wins, great, if he doesn’t, it just means that Jaro gets a night off and he goes game 2.
We have two good goalies…lets utilize our strength.
Crosby has about half the game to get another 3 points to tie Henrik Sedin. He already has 5 in the game lol, ridiculous
Anyone watching what Sid is trying to pull off? 6 minutes left in the second period and he has 5 points….3 more to tie Sedin. Unreal.
Pens will start backing off I think, Bylsma isn’t going to keep his two superstar forwards out there when he can rest them for playoff games, risks injury in a game that’s been won and Crosby can smirk over his biggest rival he beat him for goals in a season.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Whatever predictions you want to make , I think this is going to be a very exciting series.
Regular season series (Series tied 2-2)
Nov 20, 2009 Montreal 3, Washington 2
Nov 28, 2009 Washington 4, Montreal 3
Jan 5, 2010 Montreal 2, Washington 4
Feb 10, 2010 Washington 5, Montreal 6
It is EPIC stuff but the Pittsburgh commentators are REALLY hard to stomach. They’re probably my least favourite play by play team ever.
15 points in last 4 games – “HOLY MACKINAWWW”
The System doesn’t waste energy fighting with non- playoffs teams. It is very smart and saves its energy and effort for playoff teams.
Only team in the playoffs with a negative goal differential. Lovely.
Also, Sidney Crosby has something to prove. Of course he’s trying to destroy the islanders.
uhhum
Ottawa
Senators are -13. Worse than the Habs.
roloson just robbed Sid for the hat-trick….hard not to be pulling for the Kid
Buffalo commentators are worse…
Also, Nashville Predators aren’t exactly in the positive +/- category either.
Funny how Price started all games vs Caps this season. Halak with no experience this year vs Ovi and the team. Hmm. The record I think is 2-1-1 so we do have a little advantage but that has nothing to do with anything anymore. Anytime the Habs face Washington it’s a show. I’m sure Caps fans remember when we broke their 14 game win streak back in Feb. I know it’ll be tough and we’ll likely lose the series but I can’t wait.
It’s funny to watch them cry when they loose. It’s funny to see how little they know about the game.
…talk about a giant nemesis …it must drive Ovi nutz to always have Sid one-step ahead of Him
…Junior World’s Gold, scoring leader, Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold, this year’s Rocket Richard
…going to be interesting if Ovi can be the Conn Smythe these playoffs leading a loaded Capitals’ team and at least survive longer than the Penguins, because He will have to be dealing with a lot of second-guessing
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
So I might be jumping in late here but I take it that with Philly OT win we would have been out if not for the single point last night?
No one reminds NJ that they lost the season series to the Philly 6 – 0.
Is that the guy who says something like “Top shelf where mommy keeps the cookies!”?
There are a lot of people talking about this series like we have no chance. I would by no means call the Habs the favorites in this series, but let’s identify a few key points that show the series is not as much of a mismatch as some are making it out to be:
1) Habs and Caps split the season series. The Habs also won one in Washington, so a road win is possible.
2) The Habs beat the Bruins a few years ago as an 8 seed. The Bruins almost beat us when we were a 1 seed. The Caps are just as liable to fall to this. They are still a young team and that group has never made it to a Stanley Cup inal.
3) Washington’s goaltending, despite its numbers, is pretty suspect. Look at Tim Thomas’ numbers last year when the Bruins were at the top of the league. Everyone knew he wasn’t as good as his numbers and look how he has regressed to his mean this year. Theo is not that good. Varlamov has not shown enough yet. These goalies are beatable.
4) The Washington D is also suspect. Mike Green has a lot of offensive capability, but people who know hockey (i.e Yzerman and the Hockey Canada officials) left him off their team because of his defensive play. The other D are not household names. In fact, I would argue the Habs’ D, albeit older and slower, is a deeper group. I tend to agree that PK Subban would make this group even better, and if the Habs feel OB is not good enough, I’d rather have him as a right-handed shot than playing Bergeron on the wrong side of the ice against the caps offense.
5) The caps point total is inflated by the fact that they play in the weakest division in the league. Florida is awful. TB is awful. Atlanta is awful. Carolina played well below what they can do all year and only turned it up in the last 6 weeks. The Habs, on the other hand, play in arguably one of the tougher divisions in the league and the only division to qualify 4 teams to the playoffs. The only team that didn’t make it, Toronto, always picks up its game to play against us. Again, not saying the Habs are a better team than Washington, but the point difference is likely a bit of an exaggeration of the actual differences between these two teams.
6) Montreal had key injuries to almost all its top players. Markov for most of the year. Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri, AK46, Bergeron for considerable portions. The players were all new this year and with so many key players missing, it was likely tough to get in sync. That being said, you look at other teams and see them do much better in response to injuries (look at Boston!), but even teams like Detroit were slowed greatly by injury this year. The Habs are healthier than they’ve been all year, so their chances are as good as they can be to take out a top team.
I would still favor Washington to win the series, but don’t count out an upset altogether. I think any of the 16 teams in the playoffs this year is capable of winning their first-round series, especially when you look at the inexperience of many of the goalies involved. It’ll come down as usual to goaltending, injuries, home ice fan support, and luck/momentum. If the Habs can pressure the Washington D and force them to take penalties, they have a serious chance of pulling off the upset.
Just watched highlights of the last MTL-WAS game – Feb 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eji6wdZlNOo&feature=fvw
Sergei was a star. Hopefully he can get out of JM’s doghouse and get into the lineup.
Nope we still would have been 8th place (Tie-breaking procedure – Habs won the season series against NY 3-1)
I think that’s Dallas.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
not the match up NJ wanted…wow
Really? 6-0?
Interesting stats:
Flyers are 5-1 against New Jersey this season.
Bruins are 4-2 against the Sabres this season.
Okay guys. In honor of both the Habs and Flyers squeaking in with a very modest 88 points, I decided to crunch a few numbers to see the lowest mathematical number a team could make the playoffs with. I’m sitting on the answer here, let’s see if anyone else could come up with it.
I’ll update with the answer at 10pm.
Aaaaaand… go!
5-1
Posts like this make it worth wading through all the cr@p on HIO. Thank you.
5-1 but they really lit up Brodeur this year.
AH…wasted a point
JM is unveiling The New System for the series against the Caps. It requires only minimum gell time!
That is a very complicated problem. Being a CS guy, I’d love to hear how you’re going to do it.
we get to see what Halak can do against the Caps, as Price has played all the games this season against the caps and had a winning record against them……. need I say more!!
“To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be it yours to hold high.”
Legit sim in NHL ’10:
Montreal defeats Washington in 5 games.
Game 1: Mtl wins 4-1.
Game 2: Mtl wins 4-3.
Game 3: Was wins 5-2.
Game 4: Mtl wins 4-1
Game 5: Mtl wins 4-3
MVP of series: Gionta with a whopping 6 goals and 3 assists
Other notables: Both Gomez and Pouliot finish the series with 1 goal and 6 assists
Cammalleri-Pleks and A.Kost combine for 11 points. :/
O’Byrne leads team with +4 differential. Pleks worst with -5 but has a shorthanded goal under his belt.
Gionta with 2 game winning goals and leads the team with 26 shots on goal.
Spacek and Pouliot lead the hit dept. with 16.
Halak solid with a 2.48 gaa and a .910 save %
Ovechkin held to a measly 2 points. 1g 1a.
Varlamov was the netminder with a horrid 3.48 gaa and .893 save pct%
Go Habs Go!
Question?
If the Habs are the worst team offensively 5 on 5. Which team is the best?
This makes me happy, because I HATE watching the Devils. Hopefully Boucher can stand on his head and the Flyers can win, and then be eliminated in short order the next round.
Thanks, Ted, for your detailed letter of encouragement. As someone reminded me earlier today, after I posted an untimely post-mortem on our team, we are still in it. I will add this other slender slice of optimism, and others today have mentioned it – a couple of our boys, namely Poulio and Cammi, look just about ready to shift back into high gear. Go Habs!
Throw stats out the window come playoff time, Westy!
Buffalo beats Boston in 7.
Philly beats NJ in 6.
Pitts beats Ottawa in 5.
I agree with that but I am curious and I don’t know, was it WASh?
We give them trouble. 2-1-1, 3 1-goal games against the most dominant team in the league. It’s exciting for a Habs fan.
Other intersting stats:
- Washington outshot Montreal in the season series 138-111
- Ovechkin had 2 goals and 3 assists; Plekenec had 4 goals and 1 assist
- In the 6-5 victory that ended th eCaps 14 game winning streak SERGEI Kosititsyn was first star of the game with 3 assists.
- Washington has let in 10 more goals (233) on the season than Montreal (223); outscored them by 101 goals.
Uh..
nice weather today, eh? I know, beautiful indeed.
You got it, Buffalo..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF48VxULU8A
Not going to bother looking up the info I need to get a final answer (how many games per year vs other conf & games vs own div and conf) but I would approach it like this:
teams 1-7 win all their games against 8-15. No loser points.
teams 8-15 split all games between themselves evenly (assuming even number of games) again no loser points
teams 8-15 lose all games to west conf with no loser points.
teams 8-15 finish tied with goals differentials probably determining position.
Bottom line is theoretically you could make it with only winning about 17 games.
So I will say 34 points
I think the harder question would be highest point total you could get and MISS the play-offs.
Here’s what the Habs need to be successful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_veymcgI2s
Great post Ted!!
not so much here, bleak and only 3.
But I think I got my answer.
We’re 2-1-1 against the Caps.
Ottawa is 2-2, outscored 15-13, and all the games have been very one-sided.
If the Sabres don’t score in the next minute, all the Eastern Conference matchups are all very exciting!!!
It is written.
So we’ll play Buffalo in the 2nd round
Beautiful.
Gave me goosebumps.
I know you follow the Rangers as well as the Habs, what do you think of Torts’ future? I’m thinking he’s done there. What are the chances of the Rangers making a good move and hiring someone like Dean Blais?
It was even better seeing it live at MSG in ’86. I still remember Ray Scapanello taking out James Patrick as the puck left the Habs zone in OT with Claude Lemieux and I think Mike McPhee going down on the Beezer 2-on-0. Man, the Ranger fans were pissy leaving the building that night!
You can blame Fox Sports Net for hiring these loosers. Most of them held jobs as local weathermen, feature reporters, used car salesmen, dishwashers etc. Most of their experience comes from attending a hockey game. I usually watch the game on Direct TV, shut off the sound and listen to CJAD. Awesome comentary and at least you know there are two teams on the ice.
This is the best match up for the Habs. We will take the Caps and let t5he others beat up on each other for our second round opponents. Could not have worked out better for us.
That video gives me the chills. Let’s go HALAK / PRICE!
Torts is always going to be a short-term coach wherever he goes because of his personality. I can’t see the Rags making a good decision like hiring Blaise because they will never commit the time required to build a really good team. I also think Blaise is way too smart to take a job like the Rags. He’s the sort of guy Lou Lamoriello would line up. The Habs finally have someone just like him in the system, not to be confused with The System, coaching in Hamilton. It’s just a matter of time before Count Jacques is brought out into the sunlight.
I wonder if he winked at Tomas Sandstrom after that save?
Look at where Roy was standing.
Come out and make yourself big. If Price came out half as far and just stood up, you’d never beat him
TRICK QUESTION! you actually can make the play-offs in 3rd seed with only 24 points! but wold need more for 8th! Lose all non-division games. All 5 teams in deivision split games so 5 way tie at 24 points.
Wheres the official video of this? Seems to be taking it’s time to show up
Denial is no longer just a river in Egypt.
It has been on several times down here on NHL Net in the States.
I remember that game, very exciting.
Nicely done. The goal differential would be the tie breaker in the case of a 5 way divisional tie at 24 points. I like your counter question about the most points culminating in missing the playoffs. I think I’m going to work on that.
I agree with you about the Rangers, unless Sather is FINALLY let go, they have no chance of improving. As for Martin, I think he can try to prove us all wrong in this post season, and then be named assistant GM in the offseason to allow Boucher to move up.
Please see every single thread since he came up. If you disagree that it’s worth sacrificing the year of employment then it would be interesting to see you or someone put some $ figures comparing revenues from the marginal revenue from home games this playoffs, ie he will get us further, compared to the lost value of that YEAR when he is older and more mature.
Is PK the next most boring topic on HIO?
I love your attitude!
Oh – thanks for the clarification, Mikey!
don’t forget all the college and high schoolers from Minnesota!
Maurice Richard had “pre-existing medical conditions”
He was also 5’10.
Probably our best chance to move on…
______________________________________ Lets name a Captain…..or does it even matter anymore?
good thing the Habs are one of the worst 5 on 5 teams in the NHL and the Capitals are by far the best
Flyers stinking it up already
That’s a good guess, maybe Torts just assumed this late in the season that Gaborik was in LTIR with a groin tear as usual.
Good link for Rangers/Philly
http://www.justin.tv/theblanetwork4
Here’s what would have to go right for the Habs to win the Stanley Cup:
Nothing
Because it’s not going to happen. The Canadiens are too small and too soft. They’re not talented enough to outscore teams and they don’t have a centre that can match up with any centre who is taller than 6’1″.
Some will argue that the Canadiens have tremendous goaltending. They do. Unfortunately that goaltending is the only thing the Habs are truly good at and even with two excellent goaltenders the Habs barely got into the playoffs by the skin on their teeth.
Some will say the Canadiens have great speed. It’s true, but it’s tough to use when an effective forcheck has rarely been seen and you spend most of the time in your own zone.
And the ignorance of Canadiens management on addressing the lack of size in the forward ranks will haunt this team for another post season.
Go Habs GO
I have only one comment about your post…..Sir Patrick!!!!!!!!
I’m not saying they will win, all I’m saying is in 86 & 93, Roy stole the cup, so, it can happen!!!
Lundqvist is playing his heart out. The King is back!
Argh, want a series with the Capitals, don’t feel like having the Jersey Devils put me to sleep in the Playoffs.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
The Burger King maybe.
two things fellow hab lovers today the rangers are my favorite team, also at the draft we should make a trade with the flyers as the waterboy is no goalie: we trade pleks and price to the flyers for parent and carter let me know what you think
The regular season is over and I now make my annual Laff rant for my buddies here in Toronto who for some strange reason think the Laffs won the Cup recently or soon will. I know they all check this site regularily as they wish they had our history. Many have been to the Forum and now the Bell Centre to watch thier Laffs play our Habs. I have not been invited to join them for a number of years as I believe they are tired of me counting out the 24 banners. They can count to 11 but seem to have trouble with 24.
To them and their Laff butt kissing media here in Toronto such as Cherry, Millen, Cole, Farraro, Kipreos, Waters, Brophy, Doug MacLean, Landry, Stellick, Derringer, McGuire, Hogan, Joe (homer) Bowen, and the many I have left out (due space limitations) I’ll say the same thing I’ve said to you for 43 straight years………..F – O – R – E
if the sabres beat the Devils we will play them( if the Flyers win)
December 4, 2009 – Elmer Lach’s jersey took its rightful place with the Rocket’s in the rafters.
Oh, of course you want a series with the best team in hockey. Yes, absolitely. Yeah…uh huh…sure you do….That’s very believable. Why is that? Do you want to lose in 4 straight?
I thought I was the only one who made moronic comments here. I guess not.
Oh, of course you want a series with the best team in hockey. Yes, absolitely. Yeah…uh huh…sure you do….That’s very believable. Why is that? Do you want to lose in 4 straight?
I thought I was the only one who made moronic comments here. I guess not.
mr. serious fan we do not want any part of the caps in the first round we will be a sacrificail lamb in that series, we will match up good against the sabres, the devils will hurt us as martin kills us every time
With some of the worst goaltending in the NHL, TheOpenDoor is not something I’m scared of if we face him in the playoffs.
Besides, rather a glorious exit fighting the Capitals than exiting while I’m asleep while Lemaire and Martin try to out-trap each other.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
so mr. fig newton if your a flyers fan how does it feel having the waterboy playing in net for you
Out of the 3 possible teams the Habs could face, they have the best record against the Caps at 2-2 this year. Against NJ the season series was 3-1 NJ, and against Buffalo the series was 4-2 Buffalo. The Habs fall apart against tough defense and good coaching, something NJ and Buffalo both have. At least with the Caps they can trade chances.
And finally, the Caps are not the best team in hockey. They’re good, but not the best. Their point total was padded by playing in an extremely weak division.
Im sure Brodeur is gettin ready to score a few more goals against us….
I get your point and it may be true, but……NEW JERSEY! I want nothing to do with that team. If NJ meets Washington, Id take NJ to win. For no real reason I have no faith in Washington.
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
Wow, philly NYR in OT! If we had lost in regulation last night I’d be really nervous and hoping for a rangers loss, now all I want is to see the Habs finish as far from the caps as possible…
So wrong a playoff spot will be determined by a shootout. SO WRONG
whats the dif if the shoot out point is awarded now or in october. but ya shoot out suck.
Brutal, Id love to watch them play till a goal is scored…
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
Carter with an open shot at the buzzer!
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
Philly is done, Henrik will win it
Whelp maybe not! Lol!
THN article on Mtl VS Was http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/32839-Canadiens-are-playoff-longshots-but-played-Capitals-tight-this-season.html
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
It is set.
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
Can anybody shed some light on what OB has done to get himeslf nailed to
the bench at this time of year? And while we’re at it what about Sergi?
JM is really starting to fry my ham. This time of year is stressful
enough without having to deal with him. At the end of the game last
night he looked like a guy who floated a big stinky fart and was hoping
nobody was gonna smell it.
ok Kempie…that cracked me up….fry my ham?…..bwahahaha
still tied, shootout.
ahhh ya bring on the caps. shut down the top line, pepper theo ,play hard for a full sixty mins plus.rock n roll baby, get it on !!
Think Martin will have the team practicing how to beat the caps…or will he be ‘teaching’ how not to loose.
teachers are always failing these days ^^^
Crosby makes it 50, official 3-way tie for the Rocket Richard. Stamkos and Crosby each have 40 minutes left to leave Ovechkin behind.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
I say this again: Crosby is the real deal. He is the best hockey player in the world for the time being.
Everyone thought he was an offensive passer, he became a defensive specialist and a passer as well as an offensive threat. Everyone then countered saying Ovy was the better goal scorer.
Not anymore.
I respect players who are able to evolve their play style and continually improve. Crosby became an elite sniper aswell as a playmaker AND he vastly improved his faceoff abilities.
This guy is a gem and Pittsburgh is one lucky team to have him.
If this were back in the days of Gretzky… I think the kid would rival him as best player ever.
I wouldn’t dare be the player who missed the biggest chance of winning. Off with the head!
No Gaborik ????
In Guy Boucher I trust.
imagine if this game involved the habs. the whole city would be on suicide watch.
sick goal.
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
I am so ready to watch some playoff action….I actually don’t care how we got here…just that we did playoffs are another season GO HABS GO
Canadiens’ 142 game playoff history? I don’t understand. The canadiens have played way more than 142 playoff games in the team’s history. Can someone explain?
142 NHL playoff series’
um….142 rounds?
142 Playoff Series maybe ? Typo perhaps lol
I think the fact that the we playing the caps might work in our favor… we all know that they are probably the best offensive team in the league and better yet, we ALL know and he even said himself, Halak comes out big in games where he faces lots of shots… so I really like our chances if we just play full 60 mins and Martin doesnt continue with the stupid experience of MAB on attack… I think our best bet would be to sit Spacek (which i dont see happening b/c of his salary) and pairing MAB with Hammer… like that we will have four line that are going to be rolling and thats what we need to do to beat WASH…
Totally agreed on sitting spacek (see my post above), although I really think PK would be an amazing fit against the Caps. Don’t think Bergeron has the speed skating backwards to play against washington. He is slow to turn when the wingers are rushing down the wing. same thing can be said of spacek, gill, and even hamrlik of late though, but i trust hamrlik to perform like a veteran and we will need gill on the pk.
If someone were to tell you before the season that Markov would miss 37 games. Cammalleri would miss 17, Gionta would miss 21, Andrei Kostitsyn would miss 23, Latendresse, D’agostini and Lapierre would regress big time, Spacek would only score 3 goals, Gomez would only score 12, and Price would only win 13 games despite starting 39… Would you think we’d make the playoffs? Would you think we’d be even close to 8th?
I was worried that the Habs might miss the playoffs after the 1st game when Markov suffered that devastating injury.
Meh…sounds like we tanked. 1st in the draft lottery.
Habs have fought throughout several crucial and difficult circumstances – and that’s why they deserve to be in the playoffs.
you had me with Markov, Cammy and Gionta
the others are not surprises – at least not to me.
If last years team missed markov for 37 games we would have ended up with a lottery pick easily. Cammy and gio may have both challenged for 40 goals this year if not for the fluke injuries. (when was the last time that happened?) and i still think AK can be a regular 30 goal guy.
Crosby does whatever he puts his mind to, unbelieveable.
______________________________________ Gionta for Captain.
Let’s not get crazy, Crosby is having a great year but next year 50 is going to be very hard for him, teams are going to study him in the summer and see what they can do to cut off his goal scoring. Ovechkin’s best season was 65 goals but the season after teams started locking him out more, the best he’s reached since then was 56 goals in a year. Just repeating goal scoring seasons doesn’t happen that easily anymore, Stamkos’s road to 50 next year won’t be that easy either.
Ovechkin scored 50 in fewer games than Crosby this year, yes those suspensions were his own fault but he also missed a short span due to an injury from Colombus, when he was more or less on track for about a 70-goal season. He is the most gifted goal scorer in the world, he can score from anywhere much better than Crosby can. Crosby has changed his game to become a better offensive player, but he’ll have a lot more trouble next season matching this one.
And if Crosby played 20 years ago, he’d be carrying Lemieux’s jock for him.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Every game I see, I wonder what would have happened if Ballard hadn’t kneed AK46. I feel like that tear he was on would have lasted at least another 20 games.
As for last year’s team without Markov for 37 games, we might have Duchene instead of Leblanc!
AK has never gotten to enjoy his points streaks for long, remember last year when SK and Lang tore it up? Boom, Lang is out and the whole line chemistry falls apart.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
At least we’ll have four exciting games with lots of offense. Our Dmen should better stay back and play a tight checking game. I am confident that we’ll be able to score some goals against Theodoor.
Washington and Habs will be an exciting series.
We can upset them, we had no chance against the Sabres, Penguins, or the Devils in the first round.
This could be the series we put the Caps to shame or the Caps sweep us.
I smell an upset here, I’d be worried facing any of the above 3 in the next round if they go through. We know we won’t get past the second round.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Whoa, haven’t seen you make an optimistic post in awhile now.
_______________________________
The Habs are making me Bi-Polar.
Habs vs. Caps will be a barn-burner every night if it can be like the last time we played them.
We didn’t expect our guys to make it far but we have the potential to upset the best team in the NHL.
THIS will be the best hockey we’ve seen all year, not the Olympics.
Quoting Jerry Maguire to me now? Why Ed, I never knew you felt this way!
Out of curiousity, Sabres and Devils are still 0-0 in the second period. Boring hockey indeed!
vanek just scored
Well, its Habs vs. Caps, will definately be an exciting series…and we actually have a chance too P:
Biggest worry against the Caps is our D…They move so fast I don’t think we can milk Hammer and Spacek for those minutes…
Markov is going to have to play his best hockey ever for us to win against the Caps…
I have not been in the bring up PK movement but maybe we give it a shot…PK vs. Goliath…Habs will need some spark…
“Power to the Turtleneck!”
I have said repeatedly that if they don’t bring up Pk when we’re down 3 games (and we will be) then what’s the point? Either go all in with your best players or just give up now. If I see Bergeron on defense in the playoffs I’m done with this idiotic coaching staff.
Markov is superstar kryptonite. The other one we had who was explosive against them was Bouillon. I expect OB to step it up a notch and Gorges also, as fantastic as he’s been.
I agree Harditya! It’s been a stressful season, perhaps the most stressful I remember.
Rangers gave up 47 shots. They were playing our “system”.
The playoffs will not be decided by Martin’s coaching. They will be decided by our players.
This is Gomez’s chance to bury the hatchet with Washington. He almost had em last year and you know it’s on his mind this year.
This will be fun.
JM’s big chance to be outcoached by Bruce Boudreau.
If there’s one guy JM can outcoach, it’s Boudreau. I think he’s in a lucky situation. How hard can his job be? ”OK, tonight I’ll play Ovechkin for 28 minutes…”
I’m not a JM fan, but Boudreau is just an angry man.
Habs find out they’re going to face the Capitals.
Gorges: F%%^!
Gill: ….
Cammalleri: OpenDoor? YESS!
Gionta: Let’s keep some optimism here
Price: I am going to get Ovechkin so drunk – the Cup is ours!
Halak: Yes, Price!
Martin: Guys, we’re 2-1-1 against the Caps. Seems like our 3rd period, protect the lead system works well against them!
Halak won’t last a period against the Caps, watch him get pulled after first or second of game 1. I have a horrible feeling about playing halak against the Caps..
I give JM just three minutes into Game 1 before he is totally, absolutely and positively befuddled.
What’s he got to be angry about?