Depressing photo of victorious Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara by Brian Snyder/Reuters
Say this for the Boston Bruins:
They’ve showed up and played hard for six games of the Stanley Cup final.
Vancouver on the other hand …
How many Cup winners have had their goaltender yanked twice (and counting) in the finals?
How many have been stomped three times on the road?
How many score eight goals in six games?
On the other hand, a Canadian team has never lost Game 7 at home in the finals.
• Pierre Lebrun: Cup winner needs an asterisk
• Scott Burnside: Is this the Luongo legacy?
• Tough series takes toll on Canucks
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Sign up….here…..Montreal Morons
Boston Inbreeders….come on and sign up along with your brother/uncle, sister/wife,dog/mistress.
Man the bitterness/jealousy/whining is going to reach epic proportions should the bruins win game 7.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Indeed. But then again, maybe the Nucks sneak this one out and we can all go home knowing the Bruins won’t likely make it back there for a good long while. Positive thoughts… Positive thoughts…
“To be irreplaceable, you have to be different”.
Andy Warhol
Go PK Go!
Even worse,the whining about the whining from fringe/fairweather fans.
pk…i hope you’re reading this so that you can learn the proper way to (ahem) “respect” other players.
the only good thing about this guy is that you can cut off the front of a froot loops box and (voila!), you have his rookie card!
BOSTON — Brad Marchand kept punching and punching and punching.
And Daniel Sedin stood there and kept taking punch after punch after punch. Did Sedin wonder how many punches it would take for Marchand to get a penalty?
“Maybe after the fifth. But I took six. What can I do?” said Sedin, clearly agitated after being Marchand’s punching bag in the third period.
An emotional Sedin said something afterward to referee Kelly Sutherland.
“I asked him why he didn’t call the penalty. He said he was going to,” Sedin said.
Marchand just shrugged off the moment.
“It was just heat of the moment, that stuff happens,” the rookie said after Game 6.
Did Sedin say something to provoke Marchand?
“No, he didn’t say anything before. He was just right there. … He didn’t say anything, he was just kind of taking it,” the Bruins winger said.
Why did Marchand keep punching him then?
“Because I felt like it,” Marchand said.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/9275/daniel-sedin-a-punching-back-for-marchand
Reffing is pretty abysmal, in football, speaking of the real deal, not american carry with hands but call it FOOTball none sense, a player will receive a penalty from a review after a game, so they think twice about getting away with bullshit, and there is an external ref that will point out anything the center guy might miss.
That seems like such a simple solution to discourage neanderthals.
I don’t think it’s a matter of missing something. No one in the building missed Sedin getting punched 6 times in the face and just standing there….although apparently everyone but the refs missed the part where he did something worthy of a 10 minute misconduct.
If the NHL wanted blatant and egregious penalties called, they would be.
Four Canucks seemed to have missed it. Sedin did the right thing (to a point) but four other Canucks stood by and watched it happen. Completely gutless team. The Canucks will slash you behind the play or after the play is over, bite you in the corner, but when confronted, they fold up like deck chairs.
hdcase
Um I seem to remember a play on Patch’s by Chara and not one Hab player confronting him. If we are going to pick on the Nucks for having no balls against them we sure as hell can’t say a whole lot either.
Don’t let the door hit yer arse on the way out, hillbilly. Bon debarras.
‘nucks are doomed. If AV had the nuts God gave Phil Kessel, he’d go with Schneider tomorrow night. Luongo will be done by the 10:00 mark of the first period.
Of course the last time he gave Luongo the start after getting shelled in Boston, Luongo had a shutout
Sure but he’ll go with the big contract guy and bet the house his boy will step up. Sure will be interesting either way.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
That’s why I still believe the Habs will be the next Canadian team to hoist the Cup!
*insert phil kessel nuts/cancer joke here*
You know what, guys…
Gomez got blasted here for last season but he would NEVER allow getting punched in the head like the twin…
I miss Canadiens
…he would have taken a dumb retaliation penalty and not taken the other guy with him.
My most favorite retaliation is Kovalev on Darcy Tucker. It was ART of a high order. YouTube it, I swear to you it’s brilliant.
I only wish Kovy would have worked out better for us.
Oh hell yes, that was a thing of beauty. He nailed him right in the kisser. All legit which is even more sweet.
It’s too bad Tucker didn’t work out as he was a hell of a leader in Kamloops.
Yep. It’s painful to look back sometimes at how certain guys didn’t work out. The list is painful, Kovy, Tucker… I was so excited when I first saw Shayne Corson… … hockey really plays out like Greek tragedy sometimes, as one of the other posters was referring to earlier. I guess that’s why we like it.
I hope tomorrow night is clean and the goals are clean.
I don’t really have a dog in the fight. I don’t like Vancouver and I sure hate Boston. Living here in LA I’m maybe more sensitized to how hockey looks to Americans (aside from the hard core fans). I see dozens of young families at the rink every weekend, and every time there’s a shameful display like Chara or the hit on Raymond, man, I just freaking cringe.
Go Habs!
Has any of the crazy stuff in the NHL filtered down yet to the young kids your way, and they’ve started aping the ape and his ilk? A lot of fine role models on these two teams.
It might be best in the future if they limited viewership of the NHL to 18 years and older. Wouldn’t want to influence impressionable young minds with acts of violence that go unpunished.
Tucker worked out! It was a bad move to get rid of him. Just like Claude Lemieux worked out and they got rid of him.
I’m with you MD … Gomez would Never take that and it is never a stupid penalty to defend yourself.
Anyone here who thinks the referee’s are going to bite the hand that feeds them are kidding themselves.
The too small to soft Habs would fight back.
In my book that’s grit.
NorthTOHab
In other words NHL directive was and is to have the bruins win the cup this year. Garbage.
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said on Tuesday his wedding this weekend has been canceled because his 25-year-old fiance, a Playmate from his magazine, changed her mind.
I guess that just lowered my chances of ever snagging Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The real reason (I live in LA, so I know this stuff) is that when he was undressing her he found staple marks on her belly. He was SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED!
Seriously, a bunch of people got some weird legionaires-type disease at the mansion earlier this year. My next door neighbour went to an event there, and he said it has never been renovated, so it’s probably a bit disgusting. Sorry.
Might make Bill Maher stop from going…
Hugh Hefner naked or Chara lifting the cup?
Which would you rather see?
They are equally gross. How about a naked (top half only) Hab lifting the cup?
Both would be hard on my tired old eyes. LOL
NorthTOHab
As distasteful as it might me to see the Bruins win the Stanley Cup, I take heart in that it means that the Habs are really not that far away from another of their own.
Duno, I dont want the dufuses at RDS to start claming we need to sacrifice the farm, house and earth every time we beat boston so that we can make a push for the playoffs.
Im happy of having a team that plays with heart. Has charisma, drives young kids to want to play hockey…
Had they been healthy and been able to manufacture just one OT goal against the Bruins, we could be looking forward to watching them tomorrow night. Maybe not, they would have already wrapped it up!
I’ve been thinking the same thing. If Roman Hamrlik doesn’t try to embellish that stick to the face, Kelly doesn’t score and the Canadians win the seventh game and the series. The Finals would have turned into a diving competition though.
hdcase
What a lousy day! I am fed-up of hockey!
Fed up of the bush league officiating.
Fed up of the incredibly one-sidedness of punishment. It may just be coincidental but how come Rome is sitting for 4 and Boy??chuk goes scot-free. How come Sedin gets a penalty and Marchand doesnt.
Fed up of the name-calling between the teams and the “oh i am so innocent” when they are called on it.
Fed up of the ‘hard to like’ Luongo and the ‘hard to stomach’ Thomas.
Fed up the Sedins making me feel racist because right now I would cuss a blue streak if PG were to pass up a Canadian born and bred for a Sedin import.
Fed up of the haughtiness of Julien and the blandness of Vigneault.
Fed up of thinking that PG wont make the dramatic decisions so we can kick Bruins arse from DAY 1
Patience, we have at least 2 uncontested star players on our team, we haven’t been able to say that for a LONG time. Im happy, and I can wait for a cup, one won by champions with heart.
Most people here would still love the habs if they played like the bruins, I wouldn’t. How you win is just as important as winning.
I think that’s unfair. Most of us agree with you that we want to win with class and skill – and toughness as necessary. Sure there are some yahoos that might welcome some Boston style, but I’m sure they are a minority.
I’m teaching my kid to play clean, elbows in, use his hips and shoulders to get body position (they’re not allowed to hit) — and especially to protect the small players (he’s big for his age). He popped an even bigger kid with his shoulder and got a penalty but he was playing the puck and I told him he made the right choice.
Yeah it’s a nuanced thing, and it needs to be taught from the ground up. I can’t imagine deliberately hitting a guy’s head like Chara on Pax. Where the * does that come from?
This place is turning into hockeygritsizeout.com
Hmmm, wonder where everyone got that idea from…
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
This place has been obsessed with size and grit and ethnic origin for as long as I have been posting- since late 2006. Other obsessions have come and gone (key words: Lecavalier Sundin centre power forward drafting Gainey Carbo Kovalev Kostitsyn sisters trade sign re-sign bad signing horrible contract Gomez Leafs Bruins Philly cheap dirty Bettman Campbell…. and so on… you could make a fridge magnet HIO board with those words).
hahahaha.
NorthTOHab
I’ll jump into this fray and say that I hope Mason Raymond has a speedy recovery. I posted a little while back that the worst thing that could happen this week is that Boston wins game 6 and then wins game 7 in a controversial way, for example seriously injuring a Vancouver player or by a goal that should have been disallowed. I spoke a bit too soon it seems because they’ve already seriously injured a Vancouver player.
The feelings I have on the nonsuspension are exactly those that I had after MaxPac’s injury. I just hope Raymond does not become paralyzed or something. It was unfortunate that the trainers did not realize he had injured his vertebra. The Vancouver staff need retraining.
And I just wanted to ask something of everyone who is saying “Boston is deserving” and others cheering on Boston for the Cup:
Would you still be cheering on Boston if, on March 8, Max Pacioretty had died?
Would you be advocating the addition of a Max Pacioretty Memorial Trophy?
I’m finding it hard to believe you love the Habs if you are cheering on this year’s edition of the Bruins. Had Zdeno Chara received the same punishment as Maurice Richard the Bruins would not be in the Stanely Cup Final.
Please, do respond. I’d love to hear what you have to say.
___________________
The drive for 25 is alive!
Very nice post, and i fully agree, but what seems characteristic of todays day and age, 2 seconds attention span, 0 patience, only asking What, never understanding the WHY… etc
And last but not least a bunch of bruins fans posting on our website…
Thank you!
It seems these attention problems also exist in the NHL. They forget they’ve set examples with supplemental discipline in the past while dealing with current infractions. I’m surprised with the all these people with legal backgrounds running the show it’s come to this. Guess there are only a bunch of lousy lawyers with no judges.
And these Bruins fans seriously need to find something better to do. :/
___________________
The drive for 25 is alive!
Thumbs up, Sir. Our prayers are with Raymond, and Horton, too, for that matter. The blame rests firmly on Buttman for not creating and enforcing a clear, fair and consistent policy that deliberate head shots and blindside hits will not be tolerated.
Yes there will be collisions, some of them will be bad. Hockey is a fast and chaotic game, that’s why it’s exciting. We should be playing on Olympic ice, but that cow left the barn 20 years ago and she ain’t coming back, unfortunately.
There had better be some clear direction coming from Shanahan for the new season, and some re-training of the refs, or next year is going to be more of the same. And someone is going to get paralyzed or killed and then we’ll create a rule.
Thanks Gary. You’re an ********* (insert favorite insult here)
Well put. I will never cheer for the Bruins. The Canucks make me sick but no way in hell will I cheer for the Bruins…especially after all the crap they’ve gotten away with this year.
Funny how Nathan Horton with his severe concussion made the trip to Vancouver.
What bothers me more is no media people are speaking out about this…they sort of agreed with Recchi when he called Max out on not having a severe concussion… I get the feeling the media just hates the Habs cuz it’s rare that you see anyone outside of Montreal say anything positive about em….I mean, look at the PK Subban situation and all the media coming down on him… So PK gets vilified for chirping but Marchand is allowed to show up opponents, take cheap shots (supsendable), punch an elite vet in the face multiple times…and it somehow flies under the radar.
Great post Habulous
According to this page all the habs need is size an grit size and grit.
Tempered with a few Goons.
NorthTOHab
Yes, and yes.
Checking in: No. 2
The habs better not do anything too big this off-season as they will have to pay carey price 6 million a season next year and prob subban 3+ -unless an RFA offer comes in from another team on these players which could mean more.
sorry but Price is not worth 6M unless he has a better season than he just did which is doubt ful
is scott gomez worth 7.5 million? is any player on any team worth what they are paid? hardly. price was the only reason the habs won games on many nights and for that he is in for a big raise. you better stop dreaming that montreal can resign him for much less than 6 million. if you were a gm would you offer price 6 million as an RFA? you bet you would. nothing like having a great goalie locked up for a number of years while he is still young and producing. i hope Van wins tonight because luongo is a canuck for the next 100 years at a huge salary – just as his skills are being called into question.
g
b
I read people wanting to Laich.. I wouldn’t want to pay such a high price, likely $4 mill or above for him.. he is similar to Ryan Malone in size, stats, and playoff success.. and they both became UFA in years where UFA talent is low… Malone got 5.5 long term… yikes!
And a “Lucic type” in the words of the NFL Countdown crew C’MON MAN!!!!!!! Lucic has had countless EPIC giveaways in every series, makes bad decisions, and has not made any impressive plays.. he is OVER RATED!
We need to wait for some bigger draftees to develop into those roles for much less $$ and spend the big $$ on talent.
It’s fitting this fiasco will be known as the Homer series. The idiocy on both sides rivals the lunacy on the animated sitcom; unfortunately, without the laughs.
Can Luongo salvage his reputation tomorrow night or will he once again portray another famous Homer character from a different time who had a fatal flaw: Achilles. (It’s always the feet; Luongo, they say, loses the puck in his feet. He’s not so hot with high shots either.)
Achilles had a fatal flaw, but the Greeks still won the war, torched their city, killed all the men, and did unspeakable things to the women. So maybe the Canucks can win despite Luongo’s flaw …
Full Breezer 4 Life
Boy, and people complain when Montrealers do a little bit of rioting. We’re so much more civilized now. Still, I can see Vancouverites doing tomorrow night what the Greeks did — win or lose
What do they do? Bite each other? Flop on the ground like they’ve been shot?
hdcase
And do speakable things to women.
Um, yes, but not exactly a fair fight. The Greeks had help from the Gods. I always felt Hector was more admirable than Achilles.
And then there is Gary Bettman playing Agamemnon
One thing’s for sure, Vancouver being the NHL’s best team this season has turned out to be a myth. The Sedins might want to summon the spirit of Odin, the Bruins making them Thor has done nothing for the team. If they don’t win, it’s going to be one Valhalla summer for the Canucks (just not the one they imagined).
What do you think could happen if the Beans walk all over them in game 7?
Sedins are certainly valuable – if you only care about the regular season, like San Jose. Luongo would be un-moveable, even more so than Gomez.
I don’t know their cap situation, but you’re right, it could be a very, very long summer.
My biggest grievance is how lousy the hockey is for young American kids to watch – the ones we are trying to bring to the game young.
Barf.
As a few have mentioned, I as well have changed my opinion and actually want Boston to win. Yes folks, my 2nd least favorite team in all of sports (after the Leafs) to win the cup for one reason and one reason only: Tim Thomas. The one person on the ice that deserves this thing. Vancouver doesn’t deserve it.
And I just want it over with. The fact that I am watching the Ryder vs. Lappierre Stanley Cup finals is so lame. Let’s get it done with so we can talk about really exciting and fun stuff…. like who is gonna play with Moen next season.
Tre
This has been the most unpleasant, exasperating final in my lifetime. I cannot recall a final series where both teams were so unworthy- such a huge change from last year’s awesome, exciting finish. Say what you want about the Philthy Flyers, they put the bullshit aside and brought their a-game to a great final last year. This year, the Bruins have continued to play a crap, boring, violent game– and the Nucks have sunk to their level instead of building on their strengths. SO I agree, I want this shitty horrible series over with so we can move on to next year.
On both sides there are many individuals who deserve the win, and many who don’t. Ryan Kesler hasn’t been himself since the San Jose series and has shown a great deal of heart and grit playing injured. Malhotra came back from a serious injury, showing toughness and a competitive spirit. Luongo, for all his horrible play in Boston, showed the tenacity and confidence to rebound and shut out the Bruins after letting in twelve goals in two games.
Moreover, both teams have shown the ability to collectively persevere in the face of losing players (the Canucks only have four top six forwards at this point and have a depleted blue-line).
I could go on, rattling off individual and collective displays of heart and will on both sides (and giving many examples of the exact opposite) but to say that Tim Tom is the only guy on either team deserving of the win is a vast overstatement.
I do have to agree with your final conclusion, however. I’ve had my fill of Habs-less hockey for the year. Let’s get on to the entry draft already.
“like who is gonna play with Moen next season.” Frankly I dont give a darn who the Manitoba Falcons put on Moen’s line….. after the trade…
And if Luongo wins Game Seven with a shutout it will be *very* difficult not to give a man who wins the Cup with 3 SOs in a 7 game series the Conn Smythe.
What a weird series.
Thomas has the Smythe regardless.
Mike Boone
Hockey Inside/Out blogger
Gazette City columnist
mboone@montrealgazette.com
I dunno, they usually give the Smythe to goalies from the losing team when that goalie brings a team that is far less talented to the Cup (like Hextall and Giguere).
Not sure that Thomas fits that mould (mold?). Boston was the 3rd seed in the East – not the 8th.
If…IF Luongo wins with a shutout (and only a shutout IMHO) then I could seem him getting the nod.
” mold? ”
No. Scum.
Slimy filthy scum.
Even if Bruins fire 45 plus shots at Vanc. and Vanc. only fires say 25 at Thomas… and Luongo steals the game?
I think, if Luongo steals game 7.. which no goalie in the finals has so far… (in fact has any goalie in this year’s playoffs really ‘stolen’ a game a la Halak).. Luongo WINS the Smythe. Anything else happens Thomas wins it.
How many asterisks would THAT be worth. Holy cow!
TorontoHabsFan – Crozier, Hall and Hextall.
Trust me, Thomas is a lock. He’s been the best player in the world since Christmas. Hab fans need to get over it and give the man credit for a fantastic year.
Also Giguere in 2003 and Leach (the only non-goalie) in 1976.
I don’t deny that Thomas has been Hasek-like (otherworldly) this season. I’m just saying I’d be pretty surprised if (IF) Luongo puts up another Shutout in Game 7 and he doesn’t win the Conn Smythe.
3 SOs in a 7 game SCF is pretty rare in the modern (post-expansion) era…oddly enough, the only one to do it was Brodeur…in 2003 – when Giguere won the Conn Smythe…
nevermind
any team that is outscored 17-2 in one building and then squeaks by with a 4-2 edge in the other does not deserve the cup. sorry to say but vancouver’s dismal effort in this cup final is pathetic and i kind of hope they do not win. despite the depressing alternative of seeing chara hoist the cup, i am no longer rooting for canucks. they kind of suck.
a win is a win.
Dr. Recchi says Raymond is embellishing his broken back.
In what world wasn’t the Boychuk hit on Raymond NOT interference? Raymond never touched the puck, and Boychuk pushed him into the boards in a completely defenseless backward position.
In what world? This one apparently.
I’m astonished that there’s been not a peep about the fact that he was injured on a penalty and as such Boychuk should be suspended.
(just because it wasn’t a board-rattling hit doesn’t mean it wasn’t still a penalty)
CBC on line is running a survey on what people think should be done with Boychuk. Last I looked, majority want a suspension.
Yeah, I just saw Mirtle’s article in the Globe and Mail – still it’s odious that Boychuk escapes suspension.
But hey, Burrows didn’t get suspended for biting a gloved finger…so Even Steven right?
This league becomes more of a farce with each passing day.
It did rattle the boards. Listen to the audio on the YouTube clip … which also includes those imbeciles booing.
Mike Boone
Hockey Inside/Out blogger
Gazette City columnist
mboone@montrealgazette.com
Mr. Boone
I too was taken back by the response of the crowd in Boston to that incident and also many others this playoff. That’s the type of hockey their media and god knows who else likes to promote in Boston I guess?
Have the Boston fans always been so rowdy and disrespectful? I’ve been watching the Bruins Vs Canadiens in the playoffs going back to the early 80s and I never remember them being this disrespectful.
I swear that their home announcers and the coverage the team gets in Boston is directly responsible for the total lack of good judgement and the idiotic attitude of their fans today.
TSN were interviewing some lameass commentator in a Merican flag suit and a bruins shirt yesterday, and he was going on about feeling safe in Vancouver, because Van fans are friendly… he contrasted that with Bruins fans who “wanna throw down with you” if you’re not one of them. He was proud of it- they all are. The only way to shut them up is to beat them.
Lyndon Byers
Excuse me? I’ve been attending and watching Bruins v. Canadiens games since the early 70s and the Montreal fans have as many bad actors as one would find in Boston. The crap one had to put up with outside the Forum on a Saturday evening back in the day was far, far worse than anything that I’ve seen or heard of in Boston.
We’ve had no hockey-related riots in Boston to date. And we don’t run to the police when players are hurt in the course of a game.
As for the local media, the Bruins are fourth in coverage and interest behind the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. Not much there, even when they’re winning. The press in Montreal has ONLY the Canadiens, and they miss no opportunity to stir the pot.
I’ll take the hard-nosed, straight-ahead brand of hockey the Bruins practice any day over a team full of drama queens flopping on cue and taking every cheap shot available- the eastern equivalent the Sedin Sisters’ Canucks.
Have fun with your Habs, kiddo. Next year they’ll get rolled again.
The injury to Raymond might end up being worse than the one to Horton. If he has compression fracture of a vertebra it could end his career.
The guy was rammed into the boards with no way of protecting himself and nowhere near the puck.
The only reason there is no suspension is that the guy who did it wears a B on his chest.
This league is a disgrace.
In Bruinese, it was a hockey play.
The boards in Rogers Arena are poorly constructed in that they go all the way around the ice surface. If the boards were not there, Boychuk simply would have pushed Raymond harmlessly around the ice.
@HabFanSince72
Been saying that for years.
Yes the Bruin uniform will bring in money for the hot dog salesman.
NorthTOHab
Gauthier seems to be having a tough time signing Gorges and Markov! He just may pull the string elsewhere! What a loss that would be!
how do you know this ian.
I do not know anything! Just thinking it is taking a long time to get those two signed. Big loss if we do not.!
Looks like these two might test the free agent market in a couple weeks.
I would think they don’t want to announce anything big until the cup is over. And Gauthier is very stealthy about all his signings.
Now should we get to June 29th… I might start to sweat a little.
Ian. Gorges is an RFA. He is guaranteed to be signed. Markov. That depends on the term and cap hit. Relax buddy.
and what do you mean by “What a lose!”?
Georges will be signed. as for Markov ive said it all along that its time to move on. Pk Is the new markov only way better. i would like to go after Weber, Bieska, Erhoff, or Brewer. any one of the those guys would be great.
Little early to worry about that Ian, not even halfway through the month until tommorow.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Continuing the DD discussion started with Robert below:
It’s a key dilemma for the team. I’m not sure what to do about it, but I am sure that you don’t want to give up a player with the unknowable long-term potential of DD at this point in time. It would be one thing if he’d stayed in Hamilton and scored 100+ points last season, but he came up to the show and adapted quickly, gelling with Pouliot, and putting up over 0.5 PPG with 3-4th line minutes as a rookie. That’s huge.
What to do? I’d wait it out a bit with Pleks, Gomez, Eller and DD as the 4 centres to start the season. If Gomez isn’t having a bounce back season, by sometime in Nov, and DD continues to prove himself toiling away in the bottom 6, I’d get bold and demote Gomez to #4, and bump DD or Eller to #2. Whoever is at #3 will get to play with Pouliot, hopefully, and maybe AK or another skilled forward if we pick up a UFA like Laich.
Either way I think we can expect our third line to put up some serious points this coming season, and it would’t surprise me if DD was at the centre of that
This & your previous post are excellent — very enlightening perspective.
ty for the compliment. a rare thing here abouts
I think Eller will likely center the third line, and DD would not be a good fit for a fourth line center.
That fourth line is usually your energy players, your scrappers etc… And while DD is definately gritty, he gets tossed around alot.
Unless he plays wing, I think the Habs will need a new center on the fourth, be it a free agent, trade or a call-up.
I hear you. But that’s orthodoxy talking. DD has been an exception his whole career and this is no exception. The situation calls on PG and JM to be creative.
I guess that PG knows he has to find a way to make it work with DD and Eller in the line up. LeBlanc is two seasons away. Gomez might be washed up. DD and Eller are two gifted, young up and coming centre men who bring very different skillsets and upsides to the team.
Maybe it’s my suggestion above, maybe DD plays wing until the Gomez story plays itself out (i.e. rebound season, demotion to 4th line, or trade next summer to a team trying to make the cap floor), or maybe some other approach.
My point is that I think DD has taught the Habs not to underestimate him, and we should learn that lesson too.
I think Leblanc’s going to end up on the wing rather than at C from some analysis I’ve read about his game translating to the pro level.
Issue is with DD is the team has to arrange things a bit for him to succeed, big wingers so he can be protected and be freed up from chasing the puck and going for it in the corners and the wingers have to be able to finish so his playmaking ability can be effective. Problem is that’s taking bodies away from Top-6 lines (and I think Gomez will bounce back next year) and that reduces their effectiveness. I just don’t see at present a way to fix the lineup so DD can play to his best.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
You may be right Robert. In this case, I hope not.
Interesting about LeBlanc as a potential winger. And Bournival?
Like I’ve said before this season, I have nothing against DD. I love the small players who gut it out in the bigs (Gallagher’s still my hero in the prospect system) but I don’t see him fitting into the lineup with the way the team is currently constructed and how it is projecting forward.
I haven’t read a ton about Bournival (Newer prospect, less coverage), he may shift to the wing as names like Nattinen, Engqvist are ahead of him for checking line C but he could end up in that role depending upon his growth as a player.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Gomez bounce back??? whats its gonna take? a new season? and whats he gonna bounce back to? a 50 point season? cut the loss, he is finished, simple as that, move Eller to the second line and play DD on the 3rd. Get a big tough center to play on the 4th line.
Eller will not be put on the 4th line for an extended period. Somebody will be moved before the season starts. Eller proved capable of at the very least being a 3rd line centreman late in the year. Desharnais proved his worth also but the upside with Eller is considerably larger.
I like Desharnais cojones. It’s our job (while, the Goat’s job) to put some size and toughness on his wings to buy him room to be creative. Henri Richard was small. Mats Naslund was small. Martin St. Louis is still small…
Creativity in today’s game is at a premium, and I think it’s worth some juggling to keep DD in the mix. Sooner or later Gomez will slink back to Manhattan to spend his money and we’ll have some flexibility. Hate to lose DD.
Not sure where to put Eller. I love his industry and toughness on the boards (and he’s still growing!) but his numbers don’t show that he has that much offensive upside yet (17 points in 77 games) compared to DD.
Eller’s younger than Desharnais though and his size gives him a notable advantage in being able to make a lot of plays that small players simply can’t manage, I like our small guys but I’m tired of seeing these guys always lacking reach to grab a loose puck, have the size to win board battles or just physically power past a defender.
First year in the A, Eller had 18G, 39A in 70GP and it was his first time playing on NA ice. DD had 24G, 34A in 77GP as well, very similar first-year numbers but Eller had mononucelosis to start that season. I think Eller’s size and talents make him a better mainstay for the club.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Wouldn’t disagree with you comment. Although I would note that DD has “a notable advantage in being able to make a lot of plays that bigger players simply can’t manage.” Kidding.
A team can’t carry that many small guys, no matter how big they play.
For me the issue is we already have 4 under-6′ players in the Top 6 and 3 of those players are the team’s leading goal scorers (Pleks, Cammy, Gio). Need some big-body men who can hold the puck and win the battles so the team can better control the puck in the offensive zone and Eller is far more capable of projecting into that role than DD. Fine to have small players who can play their roles, but they need the bigger bodies to help them out and DD has the bad luck of playing on a team where there are more skilled small players than him.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Agreed. If Dasharnais is centering the 2nd line….we have a huge problem. I like him but would move him elsewhere. He doesn’t fit anywhere.
SF09 … Why can’t Ian Schultz come up from to play on a line with White and Moen,a fourth line,and what about Avitsin with Pleks and Pacioretty,Thay leaves Gomez-Gionta and Cammy,a small line but the Ducks have one,
NorthTOHab
Eller will get a chance on the top two lines in the pre season and early on. I suspect we’ll have a good idea of where he’ll remain after the first month.
I BLEED BLEU BLANC ET ROUGE!!!
well said
this only works if plecks and gomez can win key faceoffs not meaningless ones that pad their stats…we are terrible at winning draws at the start of our pp and very poor at winning draws in our zone at key times…if the scenario you mentioned happens that means there is only one opening available at forward for white,pyatt,moen,halpern,…and there is no room for anyone from training camp to make the team…i have a feeling pouliot is gone…
First let me admit that I am kinda rushing and havent thoroughly read the posts on this theme. But it does seem that the general mood is that the team as it stands now… meaning the players from last year… are all full of promise and potential and the team is OK.
Do not make any decisions but manipulating line combiinations.
I am afraid I dont agree.
Some decisions have to be made on some players not ad-hoc as we did we Lap and Lat and SK but in a general assessment of what the team needs to be . on par with Boston or better.
Is DD really one of the answers?
I don’t think he is.
Boston, Washington, Philly, Pitt….and now Tampa look to be good for quite some time…
Habs need to build a team to compete with these guys. Enough with just building a playoff team. Need to start building a Stanley cup team. Need to get bigger. This team desperately needs a 1st line centerman and another top 6 winger. Pleks is a 2nd liner…Eller is a 3rd liner with 2nd line potential and Gomez is a crappy 2nd line center. 3 centermen who are/can be 2nd line centermen. And then we have DD. A lot of work left before this team can contend (for a cup, not a playoff spot).
In general, the consensus is:
1. DD needs big tough finishing wingers to be successful
2. The team is not currently structured in a way that looks like a good fit for DD and Eller is a safer bet long term.
3. On the other hand, DD’s soft skills and balls don’t grow on trees
Final answer: it depends
Some wise perspective here on this dilemma…
My opinion is that both of theses players are too talented / not scrappy enough to be 4th liners… I also don’t see the management demoting Gomez or Plekanec next year.
I see two possible answers that may allow both players to perform. Use both players on the 3rd line!
Cammaleri-Plekanec-AK46
Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta
DD-Eller-Darche
White-Konopka-Pouliot
Other option:
Eller-DD-Darche(or Pouliot)
The way I see it, DD has more offensive upside and better faceoff numbers. Eller is better at protecting the puck. Eller and Darche are bigger guys which works well for DD. Darche is a veteran who can help devellop the younger guys also.
Guy Lafleur smoked between periods. Did smoking give him the relaxation he craved before scoring so many goals?
The more I read your post, the more I am afraid that we WILL start the season as you indicate.
Some questions then.
Which benchmark season are you hoping Gomez bounces back to? I checked Gomez’s career stat on tsn website.. did you know Gomez only reache dthe 20 goal plateau only ONCE.
Pleks! Did you know that last year was his 3rd most productive?
Can you name one team that WILL make DD one of their top 6 forwards long term and if he is NOT top 6 on this team where does he play?
Eller is the ONLY one of your identified centres who can be regarded as up and coming.. and even then it is still uncertain.
So out of your 4 centres, you have no EVIDENCE of great offense.
No wonder there is consensus among experts that HABS need to augment down centre.
A bit of old news, but just came across this on the Onion. Pretty good…
http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/nhl-toothless-players-gumming-on-each-others-finge,20698/
Conversation between Sedin and Referee kelly sutherland.
*Sedin gets punched in the face 4 times without retaliating, Referee gets into the fray and pulls Marchand away from Sedin*
“Are you going to call a penalty?”
“I will”
“When? After the 5th punch?”
*Sedin gets 2 minutes misconduct*
Terrible.
And alot of people are saying Sedin should have answered, dropped em etc…
The guy is not a fighter, but beyond that, he is one of best hockey player in the league, in a battle for the Stanley Cup, why should he risk his hand on Marchant??
Bah…
Exactly, can you imagine how much Babcock and Carlyle mentally cringed when Datsyuk/Perry scrapped in a RS game? Your star players risking their mitts in the SCF would put some coachs in the hospital for a heart attack.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
That’s what seperate’s the men from the boy’s.
You will never see Perros attacking a guy who can’t fight.
No honour in that.
NorthTOHab
I agree. I don’t doubt the Sedins can get mad and I don’t think they’re afraid or weak. But think back to Gomez a few times this past regular season — when he retaliated (usually with his stick), what did most people on this site call him? “Undisciplined”, and the RDS folks were particularly critical about his perceived lack of discipline — not that they needed much encouragement to criticize him. The last thing the Sedins should do is retaliate against weasels like Marchand — it would just be playing into Boston’s hand. All they can do is to stay disciplined and hope for a fairly-called game, which they didn’t get last night. The diving call against one of them in the first period was laughable. Chara cross-checked him after he had already been knocked down a couple of times, and that was called diving? And complaining to a ref warrants a misconduct? It’s not fair to call them “sisters” and complain about their lack of pugilistic prowess — that’s not their role.
I hope karma eventually turns in favor of the Canucks, and the Sedins in particular. I won’t be able to stand the sight of Milbury gloating on NBC if the Bruins win game 7. What one Sedin said about his GM career was spot-on, not to mention what he inferred about Milbury’s attitudes to women.
I’m not sure I care for hockey if the games become another form of gladiatorial combat. Maybe we should have the fans give thumbs-up or down at then end of the games to determine who wins? That would be the ultimate in having fan involvement, wouldn’t it?
Why the NHL is a garbage league.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2OdInJOcpo&feature=player_embedded
Guy gets punched in the face a half dozen times without retorting (a league MVP BTW) and he gets called for a penalty. Earlier, he gets hit thrice by a guy twice his size (Chara) without fighting back and gets called for diving. Who was working? Two Irish Refs. Is this the best reffing this league can provide us?
What about the hit on Raymond (another broken back) without any discipline being handed out?
I’ll call things as they are, this isn’t acceptable. People need to step up especially on the media side and demand that things are different.
Yes, the Refs didn’t decide the game, yes Luongo sucked, yes the Sedins aren’t performing but someone somewhere needs to call things down the middle.
I refuse to believe there is no competent Ref that will allow these teams to play hockey without all this goonery.
This league has no BALLS.
I know, that after-whistle crap just proved the league is a sideshow. Do what you want if your team is special in the eyes of NHL Ops, but don’t you dare sneeze on the other team if you’re not.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Hey Bob,
Any plans to come to MTL any time soon?
With my probationary period at work expiring, I may have vacation time but not much, if I can I’ll schedule it for the H I/O Summit.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
They don’t even have enough integrity to make it look good. In a blowout game like that, why the hell wouldn’t they call that roughing or whatever? When I read the link to Lebrun’s article (Cup winner needs an asterisk) I honestly thought I was going to read about how the league has turned a blind eye to the B’s goonshow and allowed them to cheat and maim their way to the cup. If tomorrow night’s game is close, look for it to get even more ridiculous. The Bs will be allowed to do anything they want with impunity and the arm will go up every time anyone in blue farts or coughs. You know that’s the honest truth. What a farce.
….Both teams may deserve an asterisk, but if the Canucks win it will be in spite of the Bruins asterisk-deserving assistance from the officials. If the Canucks win, it will likely be because their goaltender makes one extra save than Tim “Conn Smythe” Thomas. I expect overtime in Game 7.
….I thought we saw the worst during the regular season, but this SCF is idiotic. After the Pacioretty mess I paused to consider whether the NHL was all that worthy of this much of our time and attention, watching this final I’m asking it again. Not like any of us will ever stop watching, but sweet merciful facktagons, it’s not pretty right now.
…The problems in Van are mostly coaching related. Never been an AV fan, not seeing anything to like these days either. Two things stand out:
1) not allowing the Sedins on the PK. Takes ‘em out of slugfest games and doesn’t allow them to contribute anything when the offence isn’t coming. Utter stupidity. Plus, who doesn’t think H.Sedin + Burrows might be responsible for a shorty here and there?
2) Being outcoached by Claude Julien. ‘Nuff said.
….As has already been pointed out, the goalie coach in Van has got to take some blame for the back-in-the-crease play. The second the D started wearing down Luongo’s deep style exposed him. Why the org didn’t consider Carey Price’s example is beyond me.
….IIRC Luongo *shaved* after the 8-1 beatdown. He also did this last year during the Chi series when the team had lost its way. Desperation move, and the hockey gods do not smile on it.
Are the Habs just waiting for Stanley before announcing more contracts? There’s a lot of business to be done these next few weeks and I am sick of reading about this mediocre SCF.
I think the original discussion about Milan Lucic began when I mentioned he would eat anyone on the Canadiens roster for breakfast if they were to get involved in a fight.
That is obviously true. Does it mean that I would rather have him on my team instead of Subban, Price, Plekanec or a few other Habs…absolutely not.
Would it be amazing to have a line like Cammaller-Plekanec-Lucic…absolutely!
People seem to think on this site because our team is built for finesse and skill that the Bruins, Flyers, Stars and multiple other teams are full of goons and they play the wrong way.
Maybe it’s our philosophy that is wrong?
The Flyers made it to the finals last year with a big tough team and this year it’s the Bruins?
I think a lot of people on this site are just pissed that we’re stuck with a softer team for the next few years so they think the entire NHL should play the Canadiens style of game or it’s wrong.
Blackhawks won the Cup though, mixing skill and toughness. The issue is when a team overloads on the bully aspect of the game and gets to the Finals playing like thugs.
Habs need more solid bodies that can play tough I never dispute that, but they can do that without going into the street gang style of play like Boston does. Hell the Flyers play more respectably than the Bruins these days, at least Laviolette will bench Carcillo when he’s making a mockery of the game.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Serious I would love if the Canadiens had the same type of roster as Chicago did last year but we’re not even close to matching their physicality.
I’d be totally happy with a Blackhawks or Canucks roster. They have the ideal amount of skill/toughness.
But we all saw what happened when the Blackhawks lost their biggest/strongest/toughest player in Byfuglien…
To be honest, I doubt anyone would complain in Montreal if we brought in Perry, Eager, Konopka, Bertuzzi and the Hansen brothers and punched our way to a Stanley Cup.
Montreal’s on the path to improving physically, but as I so often say, the bodies just aren’t ready to come off the farm yet. It’ll take a bit longer than people like but the solutions are coming.
Byfuglien wasn’t their toughest player, he was just the best crease-crash man in the NHL playoffs for two straight seasons. His last two regular seasons playing forward with CHI weren’t that impressive or consistent.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
That’s another thing that gets lots in all these crazy discussions.
The difference between size, toughness, fighters…..
I consider Byfuglien “tough” for the reason you said, he’s a crease crasher and can put any player in the league on his rear end.
I don’t really don’t care about fights unless it’s absolutely necessary.
But the playoffs is a whole new ballgame and it fits Byfuglien’s style of play. Sure he wasn’t consistent in the regular season but when it counted he could be counted on and he sure was impressive doing it.
What you seem to fail to understand is the difference between small and soft. Habs are small not soft. Ps. your amazing line of Cammy-Pleck-Luci would never work because both Cammy and Lucic can’t play RW.
ok lets start splitting hairs next…
likely some of that ” pissed ” going on.
Balance, amigo-san. Balance.
Read Dryden’s book again. Bowman would adjust role players depending if we were playing Boston, Philly or Detroit or.
JM suffers from idee fixe. He thinks we should play the same way and the same guys against everyone.
JM is pretty good at designing matchups (Krejci’s been terrorizing the NHL for 3 playoff series now, JM had him neutered in Round 1). The issue is whether some want to admit or not, this is not a Contender squad. Need more grit on the back end and at least one more hardcase up front.
Yemelin is an improvement for D and I’d love to see a season of Moen and White working the 4th line together, but I still say DD needs to be dealt for a pick or a prospect for long-term interests (Or packaged as it goes) and bring in a guy that can score 10-15 and play tough. Anyone else like Tomas Kopecky out of CHI?
AK-Pleks-Cammy, Patches-Gomez-Gionta, (???)-Eller-Darche, Moen-Halpern-White would be my Starting 12.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I want to agree about DD, but it’s a bit of a tight spot. His trade value is still low, and although it is tough to fit him in the line up, he is making a strong case for himself.
The Habs might seriously regret dealing him now, before he has a season or two to prove his worth.
Issue is DD won’t be able to really show what he can in the current Habs lineup IMO, too many smaller players already and the team can’t shake the whole lineup so that DD gets the talented bigger bodies to himself so he can look good to other teams.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I agree. Eller is clearly in line for more work this season. He showed significant development late in the year and into the playoffs. I think he’ll be better than Pleks in a couple years.
Play AK wth Eller and maybe DD or Darche?
NorthTOHab
I think you are wrong about the way the team is built. I do agree that the primary focus is on speed and skill. Well, actually, I think the primary focus since June 2009 has been on high caliber, hard working players with minimal bad attitude – i.e. build a winning TEAM that plays hard for each other = priority number 1.
BG scored some amazing talent with Cammy and Gio in 2009 free agency – not often a team gets that kind of talent + support pieces like Gill, Spac and Moen all at once. It was ambitious and bold, and it did create the need to focus on balancing the line up with size and grit.
PG has chipped away at that task. Pouliot is big, even if he’s not gritty. Same with Eller, who is stronger on the puck. Both are also fast and skilled. Trading up for Tinordi. Mara, Wiz, Emelin. Promoting White and Patches (the later was obvious, obviously). Resigning AK – not only speed, finesse and skill, but a hard hitting bull. Etc.
There has been one exception in this effort to balance small and skilled with size and grit – David Desharnias. I don’t think DD was part of BG or PG’s long-term plan, but how can you deny the tenacity and productivity of such a smurfy player? 22 points in 43 NHL rookie season games. That bodes well for a Gio-St. Louis kinda future. What could be bigger than a very small player who defies the odds?
It wouldn’t surprise me to see another big tough UFA forward added (Laich perhaps), and another drafted in the first round.
In any case, I think the size and grit issue has been over-emphasized and I for one am glad that BG made the bold moves he did to make the Habs one of the fastest and most skilled teams in the league.
You’ll note that this rambling post doesn’t even mention our two future franchise players – PK and CP. This team is going to be a contender these next few seasons. They will out-skill and skate Boston into the ice, while holding their own physically.
I agree that the habs are not tough enough.
I agree. You agree. The entire league agrees. Its common knowledge.
Because we have very little toughness up front….
we RARELY RARELY score the garbage goals – the goals that come as a direct result of winning position near the opposing net.
and,
the end result: we score very few 5 on 5 goals.
Patches will be coming back next season.
he will help us tremendously in this area.
We need to teach Ak 46 that he can score 5-10 more goals a season if he is willing to take a cross check to the back while doing so.
If his Meeting with Martin was productive, then hopefully Martin mentioned how valuable AK’s presence can be in front of the other teams goalie fighting for rebounds.
Subban and Patches have added a lot of toughness to this lineup.
I am hopeful we can add 1 more tough piece up front, and I remain hopeful that we resign The Wiz to add some toughness in the back end.
I admit that I have never seen yemelin play – and I never evaluate a player unless I have seen him myself.
But it is POSSIBLE that yemelin will try and play tough – whether he can at the NHL level, I can’t say for certain.
Habs hockey is “smart” hockey – we play 5 man defence, not just 2 – we move up the ice as a 5 man unit, we back check with 5.
Yemelin plays tough Ed. He’ll haul off and cross check a guy in the face. Which I’m not necessarily in favour of. But we need a tougher presence in front of our net. So maybe he’ll be reigned in a little bit and play with limits, but still in a tough way. He won’t be bullying anyone though. He’s not exactly big. 6’2 and 210 is one of the biggest stretches I’ve seen in a player’s measurements in a long time. He’s no taller than 6’1, if he’s even that.
6’1″ and 215 is what I’ve heard and that’s not far from Anton Volchenkov, one of the more punishing hitters in the NHL.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I don’t deny that he’s physical and effective playing the body. I just found it funny that his height and weight were exaggerated to the extent that they were.
Every league and team does that. Most players get that 1/2-1″ boost in their profile, David Desharnais magically grew from 5’6″ to 5’7″ this season. Martin St. Louis has been listed for 5’9″ when he and Gionta are practically the same height. Hell even the tall players in the draft get a half-inch boost sometimes.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Yemelin is also able to box guys out in front of the net.I was impressed with his play at the worlds.
I can’t believe he would have signed however if Markov was not to be a part of the team?
NorthTOHab
ManApart:
For the fun of it, I went over to hockeyfights.com to see if your statement about Lucic was accurate.
Here’s what I found:
2010-11 3-2-2 (Won-Lost-Draw)
vs John Erskine DRAW
vs Brandon Prust LOST
vs Jay Harrison DRAW
vs Jim Vandermeer LOST
vs Eric Brewer WON
vs Cody McCormick WON
vs Jay Rosehill WON
2009-2010 2-2
vs Jay Harrison WON
vs Jared Boll LOST
vs Adam Mair WON
vs Colton Orr LOST
2008-2009 8-1-1
vs Mike Komisarek WON
vs Nick Boynton WON
vs Brandan Witt WON
vs Eric Boulton LOST
vs B.J. Crombeen WON
vs Tim Wallace WON
vs Mike Brown WON
vs Chris Neil DRAW
vs Phil Oreskovic WON
vs Josef Melichar WON
2007-2008 9-3-1
vs Raitis Ivanans LOST
vs Nick Tarnasky WON
vs Ben Eager WON
vs Mark Bell WON
vs David Clarkson WON
vs Jared Boll WON
vs Barret Jackman WON
vs John Erskine LOST
vs Wade Brookbank DRAW
vs Tim Gleason LOST
vs Jarko Ruutu WON
vs Matt Bradley WON
So, he fought quite a bit in his first two years and has cooled down in the last two. If we look at his record against the guys you mentioned (Orr, RoseHill, Neil, Vandermeer, Boulton, Eager, Boll, Ivanans), it is a not-so-sterling 2-5-1.
You also see him taking those types of guys on less and less in the last two years. I get the feeling Lucic wanted to make a name for himself early as a fighter, and then when he saw that he couldn’t actually hang with the big guys, he decided to pick his battles to maintain his good record. That’s just the way I see it.
facts? man apart does not like facts.
thank you for sharing your research!
ps. i just re-read my comment and realized that judging the winner of a fight is a tricky business and sometimes there’s not a big difference between the winner and the loser, while sometimes it’s a pounding. so, i retract my statement, and anything else nasty i have ever ever ever said about man apart
Those results at hockeyfights are also voted on by fans, so it’s not like there is an official score board for hockey fights..
There is in Boston, sort of.
Watch any broadcast that originates there and you’ll see ‘ tale of the tape ‘ visuals accompanied by ‘ ringside ‘ bell audio.
It demeans the game, but they love hockey, whatever that means …
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
Point is, any team’s fan can go there and skew the result.
A fight can also vary wildly in significance. Late in a lop-sided game, what does it mean? Or a guy is winning and trips and the loser falls on top of him. Very hard to judge.
But in a close game where it wakes up one team it can mean a lot. In a close game where it buys real estate for your star players, it’s worth diamonds.
The best fights are the ones that never need to happen. When you have a Chris Nilan or John Ferguson, just a look from the bench can deter someone. Dryden makes fun of Larry Robinson for just poking his finger in guys’ faces, but hey, who wanted to fight Larry Robinson?
And about last night. Someone should have taken out Marchand after he prison-f*cked their star Sedin.
That no one on Vancouver stood up for a Sedin pretty much tells me they are done and Boston will win the cup.
Not that I like Vancouver much, I don’t but I really don’t want to live all next year with Boston as Cup champs. It’s going to make a long year.
I posted the same thing he can’t hang with the big boys.
NorthTOHab
How many of the so-called wins were after jumping someone from behind or started with a sucker punch?
Luchicken never takes on someone face to face its always from behind or with an official in between.
Gutless puke!
… the fans of the Boston Bruins now have lost forever any right to complain that “the league” is out to get their team, and that the Montreal Canadiens have some kind of pull inside the NHL home office.
Charles P. Pierce – Boston Globe
this will cheer us up:
http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/nhl-toothless-players-gumming-on-each-others-finge,20698/
If Boston wins game 7 tomorrow,here is the order of how the Stanley Cup will be presented:
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will present it to Captain Zdeno Chara;
Chara will pass it on to NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell;
Colin Campbell will pass it on to his son Gregory Campbell.
Referees down on one knee, front and centre, for the traditional team photo at centre ice?
Alos joining will be PJ Stock, Mike Milbury, Don Cherry, Garry Gally…
“It’s too much for one guy to shoulder. For us, we’re going to do it as a group. It’s about sharing that responsibility win or lose.” – Mike Cammalleri
Hilarious, both you guys.
Damn, it will make Don Cherry even more insufferable.
The hot dog salesman will get help with his debt.
NorthTOHab
LOL great comment!! The NHL officiating is a disgrace compared to other leagues. During the last game of the NBA final superstar Duane Wade was called a charging foul as he was driving to the basket, he just looked at the official, made a stupid remark and was assesed a technical. The NBA officials do not care who the player is when a foul is committed, it could be the first game of the season or the last game of the final. When will we ever see this in the NHL??? Never, because buttman and the league owners do not want it. The game is sold on violence in the US. Don Cherry who played a couple of games in the NHL is given free reign to spew his crap on a weekly basis. The CBC hires idiots like him and Milbury because they care only about ratings. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME!!! My rant is over, as a habs fan the finals are irrelevant, enjoy the weather and bring on the draft!!!
CBC reporting that Mason Raymond is out for 3 months, add that to the 3 or so that Max Pac was / is out and you have a 1/2 dozen.
Maybe it takes a baker’s dozen, or at least a year’s worth before the hammer comes down on goonery in Buttman’s NHL.
It’s interesting that the ‘ late-hit ‘ interpretation that put Rome on the sidelines did not apply last night, I mean, how long did it take to steer Raymond into the boards, and where was the puck at the time of that contact.
It becomes increasingly clear that the NHL head office requires more than a simple ‘ colinoscopy ‘. That’s right, COLINoscopy, you saw it here first
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
i did not see anything wrong with the hit..it was not cheap or late or vicious. raymond slid awkwardly into the boards after being taken out..
It was late.
And when push came to shove, the NHL hung its hat on the lateness of the Rome hit on Horton.
Comme on dit en français : deux poids, deux mesures …
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
this was hardly a hit that was punishable….he was just unlucky it happens all the time in hockey.
its been weird sometimes dumb , crazy final and one that will mercifully end tomorrow night.
It was late – period.
Rome got 4 games for hitting late, in open ice, and withOUT holding his opponent in a vulnerable position like Boychuk did.
By the way, Mason Raymond did NOT slide into the boards : he was on his feet and held in a bent-over position by Boychuk over a distance of approx 20 feet.
Yet Boychuk got nothing, not even 2 minutes for the blatant interference. Check the rulebook and you’ll see that, sure enough, interference IS punishable in hockey.
So, to summarize today’s hockey lesson, Rome got 4 games and Boychuk got nothing. Why ? Because, essentially, the NHL is run by a bunch of morons and cannot, or will not, get its head (office) out of its Butt(man).
Or do you not see THAT either …
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
You are kidding I hope?
NorthTOHab
Wow….just…..wow
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/canucks-raymond-suffers-vertebrae-fracture-in-game-6-hit/article2060262/
Ladies and Gentlemen, your potential Stanley Cup champions…what’s the point? Either the Bruins win after playing filthy, disgusting, shameful hockey, or the Canucks win despite being horribly outscored the entire series…can’t say I’m impressed
Anybody else think that Rollie Melanson is finished in the NHL as Goalie Coach?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Luongo was inconsistent before Rollie got to Vancouver.
Yes but he did nothing to really improve Luongo, after he worked pretty hard at undoing Carey Price.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Yep.
“Anytime anyone shoots high glove-side, go down on your knees. That way… well, never mind, just do it.”
—Hope Springs Eternal—
i posted that yesterday, saying how melanson has no idea how to work with big goalies.. it seems that he just tells them stay back in your net and hope the puck hits you, as opposed to tracking and fighting for it.
because the first marchand goal was shades of CP when melanson was first working with him
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Gomez: 36 and counting!
Would a different goalie coach make that much of a difference for Luongo?
Pierre Groulx with Price, Versus Rollie Melanson with Price. Went into pretty much Vezina form after Groulx fixed all the crap Melanson injected into Price’s head.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Sure, but it’s not like Bobby Lu had a bad season, though he is letting a ton of softies in now. Gotta think the depleted D did not help him out in yesterday’s game either.
Issue is that Luongo’s game works a lot better if his D is in position because of how deep he is in nets, with substitutions in the D group he gets beat more often. The Melanson style seems to depend a lot on defencemen perfectly boxing out the opposition.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
If Luongo has Boston’s D, he probably has 4 shutouts. Although Luongo has not played well…the loss of key pieces on D is really hurting him.
As soon as Thomas makes a save, you see both D drop to the ice taking up space and forwards boxing out. Boston’s defensive coverage is awesome.
Yeah, that’s what I see as well, Boston’s d is so much better at covering their goalie, and helping him out when he’s flopping all around.
He should dress. He’d be a safer bet.
I don’t know about being finished in the NHL, but considering that Luongo’s kid brother is the goalie coach that Luongo goes to…I’d say that Rollie is not Roberto’s goalie coach much longer.
Mike, you say:
“Say this for the Boston Bruins:
They’ve showed up and played hard for six games of the Stanley Cup final.”
It’s true. Furthermore, they’ve done what you always have to do to win in any sport — stop your opponent from playing their game. Boston has annihilated Vancouver’s offense, including the League’s no. 1 powerplay, and destroyed their starting goalie.
Think of past Stanley Cups, Superbowls, World Cups (soccer, rugby) etc — playing hard and undermining the other guy is what the winners have always had to do. And we admire them for it.
But we can’t, we mustn’t admire the Bruins for it, because their method of taking away Vancouver’s game has no honour to: it’s by playing dirty. By which I don’t mean “physical” — physical is good and beautiful, always been part of the game. Contrary to Mike Milbury’s ignorant (add also xenophobic and even misogynist!) commentary, the Sedins have been in the league 10 years and are WELL capable of thriving irrespective of the physical attention of d-men. However, Milbury’s subtext is that the Sedins can’t take dirty play.
And there he’s probably right. The whole Canucks’ offense is built on speed and skill, more than the Bruins can handle within the rules of the game. So Boston has no choice — if they really and truly want the Cup, which of course they do — but to go outside the rules.
And our embarrassing League allows them. Whether it’s a conspiracy (win one for Campbell; keep the Cup in the US; reward an Original Six team; or whatever — all tempting to run with, but in the end only pub talk), or whether — which I think is more likely — that the League upper offices are extraordinarily low on competence, vision and integrity, and are so fixed on markets and profits that they fail to see how their inability to move with the times (for eg. player safety) or how their ambivalence to violence is actually damaging everything to do with the game (including markets and profits).
To Boston trolls who’ve laboured through this unending post: your Bruins are to be commended for surviving two Game 7s, for coming back from 2 games down in the Finals, for their margins of victory at home, for your incredible goalie, your outstanding (if utterly unloveable!) rookie, for playing through the awful Horton hit, and for a coach keeping them on task.
I won’t deny or begrudge what may prove to be your moment on Wednesday night. But I am troubled — as I honestly would be were it my own team — by what’s contained within that cliché, “they did what they had to do”, and that what they had to do was dirty, and the fact that the League supported them in that.
So that in the end, while the Canucks (as Damian Cox observes) are very hard to love, I cannot hope that the Bruins will win.
Many apologies for length. It’s been a while.
Good post. Exactly the way I feel.
Dunboyne Mike…nice post…stop your crying about Campbell and the Hab crap on here…we know your Habs are the cleanest , the most
classiest team ever to play hockey…..conspiracy? You dummy
Hey B9 (Benign?!). Either I wasn’t clear or you don’t get me. While conspiracy theories are often fun, tempting, I rarely buy them. Nor do I think any team, including my own, the Habs, are guilt-free. I’m not even blaming the Bruins for doing what needs doing to take the Cup. I’m blaming the League for its inability to control its UFC-envy and for hedging on dangerous play. League ambivalence has led to horrifying injuries to Crosby, Horton, and Pacioretty and others. And League ambivalence has allowed your defensemen to hack and cross-check the NHL’s best offense. If the Bruins can’t win without doing that, then I don’t want them to win.
That said, this may be your time. So enjoy. And if you do take it, all the better for our long, long rivalry.
Cheers
LOL, Mike you were plenty clear, anyone with a brain can understand what you meant.
B915 is a Bruins fan who trolls this site on the days after the Bruins win. So his response shouldn’t surprise you, and there’s no point in trying to further explain yourself to him.
Cheers Halifax. I don’t mind trolls so much, and B915 didn’t seem to object to much else in the post….
While you’re there! Where does support lie in NS? Isn’t there quite a strong connection with Boston teams? Or is there a mix? If so, what’s the mood like?
good post Mike.
NorthTOHab
Don Cherry Coaches Corner segment June 15, 2011
Don: “Now the Bruins have this player, what’s his name, Merchant
Ron: ” It’s Marchand”
Don: “Whatever, now this young guy, don’t get me wrong, I like how he plays and everything, but you don’t go around punchin a seasoned veteran like Sedin, who is an all – star. ”
Ron: nods
Don: “You have to show some respect, you can’t go around punchin veterans in this league.
Ron: “Yes it wasn’t pretty”
Don: ” Now don’t go reading between the line here, but during the 2nd or 3rd period, somebody may just go and hurt him.
Ron: “But the referee…”
Don:” Will you let me finish, when I coached the Bruins, I didn’t let Wensik go after Lafleur during his rookie season, I let Jonathan or Milbury try to whack him”.
Ron: nods
Don:” I told Wensik, after he played a few years, that he could now go tell Lafleur he will cut his ears off if he comes on Boston ice
Ron:” Didn’t Milbury just say the other day, that if biting were allowed, he would have ate Lafleur.”
Don: ” That’s why we didn’t win any Cups, we weren’t smart enough…
Well done!
As funny as it is, it’s the exact opposite of what he’s going to say. PK’s cocky, and Marchand’s an effective agitator.
I suspect I’m not the only one to point this out, but….
Remember when Luongo was still in Florida, it was obvious that the Panthers were going to trade him, and there was talk of the Habs sending many players and/or draft picks to the Panthers to land “the best goaltender in the world”?
Sometimes the greatest trades are the ones that never happen.
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They brought their f____ing toys with them!
Jesus that was brutal. I have to say this has been the ugliest Stanley Cup final I have seen in years. It’s amazing that this is the pinnacle of our sport and the quality of hockey on display has been underwhelming to say the least. Watching the Canucks either get raped or steal a 1 goal game has left me nothing but bitter at the fact that 2 teams that can’t play hockey are in line to hoist the greatest trophy in professional sports. Last night I felt like I was watching the NAHL. Is it too much to ask for hockey that involves skating, puck movement and speed?
From failing hands…
GO HABS GO