I have once again been negligent to this poor old blog of mine. Let it be known that I still love my Habs, warts and all, but, life, maybe a touch of the writer's block, and hell perhaps a case of the what the hell is there to say, have prevented me from posting lately.
Lets get down too it then. is it just me, or do the Habs circa 2006-07, give off the same odor then that of the Habs 2005-06 team? Once again they explode quick out of the gate. They zoom all the way up to 4th in the Eastern Conference, then egad, and shite, guess what, the wheels start to fall off.
What does it all mean? How come? Lets start with the positives. The Habs have 3 of the best defensemen in the Eastern Conference right now. No one can blame Markov, Hamrlik, or Komisarek for their play thus far. The powerplay (which has disappeared the last 3-4 games) has not missed Souray one bit. The goaltending has been above average, no complaints there. Last year's whipping boy Alex Kovalev is playing his best hockey as a Hab. Kovalev's linemate Thomas Plekanec just keeps getting better and better, he has been the Hab's best forward many a night this season. Have I missed anything? Um, Higgins, well he has also had periods of brilliance, but to this point, I'd have to give him only a C+, he has to be great every night, he is that important.
Right, so now the bad news. As good as the Habs big 3 on defense have been, the bottom 3, or 4, Brisebois, Streit, Boullion, and Gorges have been really soft. I will reserve judgment on Gorges, he sees the least amount of playing time, and except for one brutal giveaway this year, he has been ok. Brisebois, what can I say, he might be my least favorite Habs player of all time. Why Bob Gainey brought this waste of space back I will never understand. Mark Streit, this kid was the best Hab during the pre-season, he was solid in the first ten games of the season, but he seems to be squeezing the stick now, he will be fine. Finally Bou Bou, oh poor Bou Bou, I know its not easy being a smurf, this guy is out of his league, there may be a spot for him on a TimBits Hockey squad.
Lets talk offense, or the lack of there in. This team, like last year's team, and well any Habs team for say the last ten to fifteen years can not put the puck in the net 5 on 5. It starts with the fact that the Habs 'sniper' Michael Ryder has been God awful all year. The '1st' line of Saku, Higgins, and Ryder have been non-existent for the last ten games, and well, how they go the Habs go. The Habs need some help up front, how that is going to happen, I have no clue. My only hope is that Gainey sees what I see, and finally makes this happen. Trade Huet, trade Ryder, dangle some picks, this team is in drastic need of scoring.
Thats it for now, seems I had a lot to get off my chest. Lets hope that the Habs can get their act together, it pains me to think that I am watching a rerun of last year. Yuck!
Lets get down too it then. is it just me, or do the Habs circa 2006-07, give off the same odor then that of the Habs 2005-06 team? Once again they explode quick out of the gate. They zoom all the way up to 4th in the Eastern Conference, then egad, and shite, guess what, the wheels start to fall off.
What does it all mean? How come? Lets start with the positives. The Habs have 3 of the best defensemen in the Eastern Conference right now. No one can blame Markov, Hamrlik, or Komisarek for their play thus far. The powerplay (which has disappeared the last 3-4 games) has not missed Souray one bit. The goaltending has been above average, no complaints there. Last year's whipping boy Alex Kovalev is playing his best hockey as a Hab. Kovalev's linemate Thomas Plekanec just keeps getting better and better, he has been the Hab's best forward many a night this season. Have I missed anything? Um, Higgins, well he has also had periods of brilliance, but to this point, I'd have to give him only a C+, he has to be great every night, he is that important.
Right, so now the bad news. As good as the Habs big 3 on defense have been, the bottom 3, or 4, Brisebois, Streit, Boullion, and Gorges have been really soft. I will reserve judgment on Gorges, he sees the least amount of playing time, and except for one brutal giveaway this year, he has been ok. Brisebois, what can I say, he might be my least favorite Habs player of all time. Why Bob Gainey brought this waste of space back I will never understand. Mark Streit, this kid was the best Hab during the pre-season, he was solid in the first ten games of the season, but he seems to be squeezing the stick now, he will be fine. Finally Bou Bou, oh poor Bou Bou, I know its not easy being a smurf, this guy is out of his league, there may be a spot for him on a TimBits Hockey squad.
Lets talk offense, or the lack of there in. This team, like last year's team, and well any Habs team for say the last ten to fifteen years can not put the puck in the net 5 on 5. It starts with the fact that the Habs 'sniper' Michael Ryder has been God awful all year. The '1st' line of Saku, Higgins, and Ryder have been non-existent for the last ten games, and well, how they go the Habs go. The Habs need some help up front, how that is going to happen, I have no clue. My only hope is that Gainey sees what I see, and finally makes this happen. Trade Huet, trade Ryder, dangle some picks, this team is in drastic need of scoring.
Thats it for now, seems I had a lot to get off my chest. Lets hope that the Habs can get their act together, it pains me to think that I am watching a rerun of last year. Yuck!
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4 comments:
1) Look at most teams' defense and you'll find a similar problem; After the top unit, or 3 guys it gets scary
2) Hey, no Samsonov to worry about! Also, BG has a couple decent trade chips in Harlock and Ryder he could use to bolster the team if he chooses.
3) However we agree this team resembles last year. The differnce, if Huet gets hurt this season they probably won't fall apart making the post season more likely.
If by Harlock you mean Halek (Harlock was a no named dman a few years back I believe???), sure, although I'd rather see BG move Huet, as I think the return may be better.
1) Sorry yes Halek. Harlock was a journeyman defenseman.
2) Are you comfortable to see Price become the #1?
Price sure, the kid is only going to get better..there might be some bumps in the road, but that is to be expected. I think you hold on to Huet until the deadline, and hope that there is a team out there that needs help between the pipes, then depending on where you sit in the standings, you either get some scoring depth for a run in the playoffs, or you pick up some prospects (with size and grit) and picks.
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