Game Thread | Montreal vs. Wild | 12/17/05

SpiderManNL · Guru

Game Thread | Montreal vs. Wild | 12/17/05

heet_150 · Guru

I see that Theodore is scheduled or expected to play. When is Huet going to get some minutes. I'm afraid that there is going to come a time when they need Huet, and he will be about as effective as putting Rolie the Goalie out there.

Figaro · Guru

I think this might be a good game to slot Huet. It only gets worse after this game starting with the Sens. And isn't Kovalev expected to start? Montreal can't afford to lose this game. I predict a 4-1 for the Habs and Koivu will be prominent on the score sheet.

My lines would be

Zed-Koivu-Kovalev

Ryder-Higgins-Perezhogin

Plekanec-Murray-Begin

Kastitsyn-Bulis-Sunny

Huet

Souray - Markov

Rivet - Komisarek

Dandy and who's left? Oh yeah, Bouillon

I think Ribs needs to sit with Dags up with Gainey and be lectured all night - "See, boys, that's how you hussle." As for the rest of the lines, think it's time to set the rookies on fire and let them burn the house down! And if Theo really is hurting, we have to rest him.

Thrice · Member

I think Ribs and Dags should play and have Zed sit up next to Bob and have him say "See Zed, that's how you keep 2 hands on ur stick and hustle."

Nil d · Guru

I must say, I absolutely love the Wild's logo. Whoever figured out how to turn a wild outdoor scene of trees, river, etc. into a wild cat's head is a pure genius. I must admit, it took me a while before I actually noticed the double - identity. Out of curiosity, had any of you not noticed?

-- Edited by Nil d at 08:13, 2005-12-17

Jedah · Guru

Nil d wrote:

I must say, I absolutely love the Wild's logo. Whoever figured out how to turn a wild outdoor scene of trees, river, etc. into a wild cat's head is a pure genius. I must admiy it took me a while before I actually noticed the double - identity. Out of curiosity, had any of you not noticed?

I'll admit, I only noticed it a couple months ago, and I couldn't believe it when I did. It has got to be the most well thought out logo I've ever seen.

Figaro · Guru

Nil d wrote:

I must say, I absolutely love the Wild's logo. Whoever figured out how to turn a wild outdoor scene of trees, river, etc. into a wild cat's head is a pure genius. I must admiy it took me a while before I actually noticed the double - identity. Out of curiosity, had any of you not noticed?

I noticed it right away and always thout it was really cool. Very artistic yet cool enough to sell, though the jersey colours are a little suspect.

brooklynhabfan · Guru

Figaro wrote:

Nil d wrote:
I must say, I absolutely love the Wild's logo. Whoever figured out how to turn a wild outdoor scene of trees, river, etc. into a wild cat's head is a pure genius. I must admiy it took me a while before I actually noticed the double - identity. Out of curiosity, had any of you not noticed?
I noticed it right away and always thout it was really cool. Very artistic yet cool enough to sell, though the jersey colours are a little suspect.

i'm gonna side with figaro on the colours - enough to make your head spin!

But not as bad at the explosion in a hot dog van these guys had -

plouf · Guru

Watch out for the Wild. I watched them lose (undeservedly) to Boston the other night, and they looked good. All three Boston goals were total flukes (one bounced strangely off the backboard, one tip off the hand, one tip off the body) while Raycroft denied several huge chances (one from daigle). Of course the NESN guys kept going on about well the Bruins were playing, but honestly I thought the Wild were all over them for a lot of the game.

Johab · Guru

Another one of those "must win" games the habs seem to screw up. My prediction is Wild 4-2 WITHOUT KOIVU AND KOVALEV.....WITH Koivu....habs win 3-1. By the way....the sens are in a slump themselves at the moment...so it would have been perfect timing for us to make a run this past week and then shove it in their face on monday....but hey....life isnt perfect.

ray · Senior Member

Whats the word Saku and Kovy in or out, I'm going to Buffalo for the Pens vrs Sabres then the Bills vrs. Broncos games so I'll miss the game but will tape it, while I'm freezing my a## off. Man i hope they're playing, we need too win and get on a roll.

Predictions for the weekend; Broncos 31 Bills 13, Pens 4 Sabres 2, Habs 3 Wild 2 only if Koivu and Kovalev are playing, if they're not I don't want to think about it. Have a good weekend everyone, cheers!

Nil d · Guru

ray wrote:

Whats the word Saku and Kovy in or out, I'm going to Buffalo for the Pens vrs Sabres then the Bills vrs. Broncos games so I'll miss the game but will tape it, while I'm freezing my a## off. Man i hope they're playing, we need too win and get on a roll. Predictions for the weekend; Broncos 31 Bills 13, Pens 4 Sabres 2, Habs 3 Wild 2 only if Koivu and Kovalev are playing, if they're not I don't want to think about it. Have a good weekend everyone, cheers!

Have a great time in Buffalo, ray. I'll be toasty warm sitting in front of the TV watching that 3-2 win.

Figaro · Guru

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=147282&hubname

I've read a couple places and one says Koviu in, one says he's out. Both thought Kovalev was out.

Nil d · Guru

Nil d wrote:

Have a great time in Buffalo, ray. I'll be toasty warm sitting in front of the TV watching that 3-2 win.

I stand (sit) corrected - the game is not on SRC tonight.......................

SpiderManNL · Guru

http://www.canadiens.com/eng/news/redirect.cfm?sectionID=habsNewsDetails.cfm&newsItemID=4583

Game Preview: Canadiens vs. Wild

ST. PAUL – Following their first loss when leading after 40 minutes Thursday in Edmonton, the Canadiens (16-9-5) will look to snap a six-game road slide when they visit the Minnesota Wild tonight. It’s the second game of a quick two-game road trip, which opened up with a 5-3 loss to the Oilers two nights ago.

The Wild (12-15-4), for their part, dropped a 3-2 decision to the Boston Bruins Thursday night in St. Paul. It was the third straight home-ice loss for Jacques Lemaire’s crew, who is now 7-6-1 at the Xcel Energy Center this season.

Tonight’s contest is just the sixth all-time between these two clubs since the Wild joined the NHL just prior to the 2000-01 season. Montreal and Minnesota have split the previous five meetings, with the Canadiens and Wild each winning twice and a tie. Claude Julien’s troops won the last meeting, a 3-2 final in Minnesota on January 29, 2004.

Brotherly Love: Saku Koivu, who will be returning to the Canadiens’ lineup tonight, will face his younger brother Mikko for the first time in his career. The elder Koivu missed the last five games with a groin injury before being sidelined with the flu. The Canadiens’ captain still leads the team with 26 points. Mikko, in his rookie season with the Wild, has scored four goals and added five assists in his first 16 NHL games.

Habs history: The Wild have four former Canadiens among their hockey personnel, all of whom played with Montreal during its dominant years in the 1970s. Head coach Jacques Lemaire, Assistant Coach Mario Tremblay, General Manager Doug Risebrough and Amateur Scout Guy Lapointe won a combined 23 Stanley Cups with the historic franchise. The Canadiens also count on former players within their hockey personnel, with GM Bob Gainey and Assistant Coach Doug Jarvis having also been a part of the 1970s dynasty. Gainey and Jarvis combined for nine championships over their careers in Montreal.

Flavor of the month: With the return of NHL hockey to Minnesota in 2000-01, the Wild introduced a new tradition whereby a new team captain would be named each month. Having shown his leadership qualities in November, defenseman Willie Mitchell was given the honor of the “C” on his jersey for December.

The Koivu brothers will meet for the first time in their NHL careers as Saku returns to the lineup after being sidelined for five games.

barry33 · Guru

I really know nothing about the Wild. All I know is that this team needs a 6o minute effort regardless of whether it is CJ behind the bench, Jarvis, or Pamela Anderson. This team is lacking in leadership and that is painfully obvious night in and night out. If Koivu is back tonite he needs to get these guys fired up. Julien can holler all he wants and call these guys out. But it is obvious that these guys need a hear transplant. If And-O gets his wish and CJ is canned, Gainey needs to look at the players in the dressing room and see if what is there is in need of what the Tin-Man was looking for in Oz.

If these players do not have the guts or the desire to play 60 minutes in a habs sweater it is time that Gainey found someone who does. No one worked harder than Bob Gainey when he played. He was a leader on and off the ice. I admit to not knowing much about Koivu and what kind of leader he is. Do you know John M? Is he the type to go in there and give guys **** about lack of effort? I hope so because that is what they need right now from one of their own. Get 'er done Saku!

By the way. not sure if this was a misprint...but Pens lost last night under new coach Michel Therrien. Apparently poor defence and suspect goaltending. How can this be so with a new coach?

SpiderManNL · Guru

brooklynhabfan · Guru

Nice with the charts Spidey! I'm always for the info fix.

Does anyone else feel sorry for Daigle for some reason? I always want him to do well the way you root for the sickly baby elephant in a nature documentary. I have no explanation for this, it just is.

Nil d · Guru

brooklynhabfan wrote:

Does anyone else feel sorry for Daigle for some reason? I always want him to do well the way you root for the sickly baby elephant in a nature documentary. I have no explanation for this, it just is.

I do cheer for the baby elephant, but not for Daigle. He had a ton of talent (Daigle, not the elephant*), but is weak between the ears. Remember the Hollywood experience?

* Well, elephants are talented too, but not generally in hockey.

AB Habman · Guru

The Wild are a well coached hard working defensive team that can score goals by commitee.

If Habs keep it simple and capitilize on their chances, they have a chance at winning a close game. A slight chance!

Habhead · Veteran Member

Markov!!!

Nice to see the Habs take an early (00:39) lead . . .

Mtl 1 Min 0

Figaro · Guru

Habs score in first minute - Markov! 1-zip

Figaro · Guru

Begin get the game for boarding but the Wild waste the major with 2 minors of their own

Wild score 1-1. Habs outshooting Wild by a bunch. Huet is in for Montreal (as Theo took the night off voluntarily, I heard, because he was hurt last game.)

-- Edited by Figaro at 20:49, 2005-12-17

Figaro · Guru

Plekanec hurt. So that's 2 guys gone. Ribs and Dags were on the fourth, but guess that's gonna change.

Zednick scores (from 52 and 11), 2-1 with 2mins left in first.

SpiderManNL · Guru

Canadiens lead 2-1 after one period of play.

barry33 · Guru

very questionable call on Begin. Guy was off balance. Double minor at the best. But I guess it is all part of the zero contact NHL. 15-4 shots on goal. Lets hope teh team does not go into its sleepwalk now. For those wanting Ribs and Dagenais riding the pines and getting a message I think the 4th line would send that message but now Julien has no choice but to play them. CJ cannot win. Even when he TRIES to send a message circumstances do not allow it. Anyone notice that Zednick has joined the team now that Koivu is back? I still feel that he "quit" the team when his linemates were hurt. And in all fairness to you Theo bashers, lets hear it for Huet "gong down way too early" on the goal. I do believe in equal opportunity bashing.

Habhead · Veteran Member

Hmmmm, I didn't know Huet was also making 5 mil a year . . .

Habhead · Veteran Member

Sens are now leading the Laffs 7-2 late in the third. Mtl could really use two points tonight, Go Habs!

SpiderManNL · Guru

The 2nd period come to a end and the score is tied at 2-2.

Habhead · Veteran Member

2-2 after 2 . . .

Shots - Habs 20 Wild 18

Ottawa beat the Leafs 8-2 . . . C'mon Habs, just win the third period!