Game Thread | Habs vs. Ottawa | 01/26/06

SpiderManNL · Guru

Game Thread | Habs vs. Ottawa | 01/26/06

SpiderManNL · Guru

SpiderManNL · Guru

Jedah · Guru

I pray you're right and Huet is playing. He seems to have Ottawa's number! And against the best team in the NHL, good goaltending is essential. Considering Theodore is the weaker of the two at this point in the season, save him for the much weaker Toronto Maple Leafs!

Jonny G · Senior Member

Jedah wrote:

I pray you're right and Huet is playing. He seems to have Ottawa's number! And against the best team in the NHL, good goaltending is essential. Considering Theodore is the weaker of the two at this point in the season, save him for the much weaker Toronto Maple Leafs!

Which can be used to build his confidence. Not to mention that it still gives the "No. 1 Guy" the HNIC Saturday night start.

Desi · Senior Member

Starting Crystal-Ball seems like the only sensible thing to do. Yeah, he looked a little nervous/shaky in the first period last night, but that may only have been because it was such a big game for Les Boys and he knew how much they needed the win. Maybe getting a chance to play back to back games at this point in the season against tough teams will help him gain some confidence. And, maybe the team will have more confidence in him and be able to go on the attack a little more than they have in games past.

That having been said, I hope Theo is putting his nose to the grindstone in practice and that the coaches are doing whatever they can to help him regain his lost form. We all know how much talent the guy has. We've seen it over and over in the past. Could all that skill have just evaporated? Could getting new equipment make that much of a difference? Can the loss of self-confidence really lead to such a horrid downhill spiral?

In fairness to Theo, the whole team dropped the ball, not just him. Some of the goals against him were the result of sloppy play in front of him and especially by the Habs' defense. But many of those goals were of the kind that Theo would've stopped three years ago. And there were plenty of soft goals, too, in the mix. I can't fault anyone for getting down on him -- you need your goalie to make the big plays, especially if he's one of the players getting the big bucks.

More than anything, though, I want to see Theo come back and be the big-game goalie he used to be. With the kind of hustle the team showed last night, and a great backstopper in net like the Theo of old, and a little more intelligence on the part of our D'men, we'd have a pretty fair team after all.

Whenever Theo gets his next start, I hope he shows us that he's still got it. In the meantime, let's pray that Crystal-Ball gets off to a good start vs. The Sens.

Les Canadiens Sont La

Caper_hab_fan · Veteran Member

Maybe if Huet can keep winning against these big teams and get his nerves out of the way, he can get us to the playoffs, and well, ya never know in the playoffs do ya.

Jedah · Guru

What I think should be done with them is like what Therrien did a few years ago with Theo and Hackett. Theodore was faltering, and so they both became the #1 essentially. I like the idea of them having to share the role and whomever comes out on top will get to play more.

Jonny G · Senior Member

Caper_hab_fan wrote:

Maybe if Huet can keep winning against these big teams and get his nerves out of the way, he can get us to the playoffs, and well, ya never know in the playoffs do ya.

If all players earned the same paycheck, I would totally agree. But how do you justify a $4.5mil/yr backup?

I hope that Theo regains his form. Remember that he had a much less talented team in front of him the year that he won the Hart and Vezina!

Jedah · Guru

There's no doubt about him being able to regain his form. I figure if he did it once, he surely has the ability to do it again. Just right now he is not playing too well, and Huet is. We need points desperately, and we have to play the goalie who is winning.

barry33 · Guru

Jedah wrote:

What I think should be done with them is like what Therrien did a few years ago with Theo and Hackett. Theodore was faltering, and so they both became the #1 essentially. I like the idea of them having to share the role and whomever comes out on top will get to play more.

What peeves me off is not the fact that Theo is faltering..that happens. What bothers me is his lack of accountability and his attitude. If you watch him on EVERY single goal, he looks at his defenceman as if to say "you screened me" or "that as YOUR fault, not mine". As soon as the puck goes in he is looking for someone to point the finger at. And he will NEVER improve that way. Same as when he gets yanked. When I played and got pulled (which was wayyyy too often), I stormed off..maybe broke my stick (when someone else was paying for them) and was really upset. Theo just stands there with this little smirk on his face. I just do not think the kid cares.

Figaro · Guru

Couple comments

- Why don't they play Bulis, Ryder, Plekanec on the second line? Nice reward for these 3 who've been scoring most of our points lately.
- I don't think it likely that Huet will start, although, you have to hope he does. We'll surely see Emery again. Theo needs to sit and watch with Rollie pointing out all the right moves that Heuy makes. "See, Jose, that's what you need to do..."
- What can Gainey do to send a message to Kovalev that he needs to show up every night? Star player, no point and -3 in past 3 games? Gotta be kidding me. Maybe Kovalev only wants PP time with Ribs? Or how about he loses his spot to Bulis for a period?
- I take back what I said about Bonk. He won't score 10-12 goals this year. Lucky if he gets 5...non-factor tonight vs. OTT.

Game prediction - well, these teams like scoring 4 goals, each game was won 4 to x. So, I'm going with that for tonight. First team to score 4 wins. Montreal will have had a fire light by Bulis' uber play last night (God, please keep him in the line-up.) OTT might be well rested but they seemed to take the Habs for granted lately.

The keys for the Habs to win - restrict OTT's first line from being effective (by staying on them and out of the box.) - Defense must make simple/smart plays (like Rivet) - whoever's in goal must control the pace in his zone. Simple, right?

4-2 Habs

Saku11 · Senior Member

huet will start

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/196568.html

superhab · Guru

does anyone know who's playing for Ottawa? God i hope its emery cause he's almost been as bad as Theo recently.

AB Habman · Guru

Saku11 wrote:

huet will start http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/196568.html

That's the right move for sure! We need to grow stability and confidence in net! You have to go with the guy that has the best chance at doing that! We still don't know what Huet can do for us over a longer haul! He may get hot and consistent! If not then give Theo another chance! We can't keep losing games at the expense of justifying an overinflated contract!

Gainey needs to get this goaltending thing stabilized also to work on other problems! Many weak links out there! Only half the team is playing well and producing! Another guestion as Barry and many others brought up, is getting a functioning first line going! Gainey is addressing this by playing them alot less which is great for getting the other lines going also and finally making others feel like their part of the team! Hopefully this will help with team unity even if the first line don't like it!

Johab · Guru

if history repeats...first to 4 wins the game....!!! GO HABS GO

SpiderManNL · Guru

http://www.canadiens.com/eng/news/redirect.cfm?sectionID=habsNewsDetails.cfm&newsItemID=4693

Game Preview: Canadiens vs. Senators

OTTAWA - After storming back to defeat the Atlantic Division leading Flyers 5-3 Wednesday night in Philadelphia, another tall order awaits the Canadiens as they are in Ottawa tonight for a showdown with the Senators. Less than 24 hours removed from registering their first road win of 2006 thanks to the Canadiens’ first four-goal performance by a player in eight years, Montreal is now just two points back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Jan Bulis, who had never scored a hat-trick and whose last two-goal game dates back to almost two years ago, almost single-handedly took care of the Flyers with four goals.

Playing their fourth game of a five-game homestand, the Senators are coming off a pair of wins over the Maple Leafs, including a 7-0 blowout on Saturday and a 4-3 victory on Monday. Ottawa will look to reach the 200 goal mark tonight as well as picking up at least one point in the standings for the sixth straight game.

Tonight’s contest is the sixth meeting between the Canadiens and Senators this season. After seeing Ottawa rattle off three straight wins, Montreal has since turned the tables, posting a 4-3 shootout win at the Bell Centre on Dec. 20 and a 4-1 home-ice win over the Senators on Jan. 7.

A Jan-uary to remember: No stranger to putting up big numbers in the first month of the calendar year, Jan Bulis was at it again last night in Philadelphia, as he exploded for his first career four-goal game, bringing his season total to 12. The 27-year-old forward also leapfrogged over good buddy Richard Zednik to tie Saku Koivu as the Canadiens’ second-leading scorer behind only Michael Ryder, who leads the way with 20 goals. In 10 games this month, Bulis has 14 points, including six goals.

A January to remember II: Bulis isn’t the only one to have caught fire since the cork was popped to ring in the New Year. Craig Rivet has also heated up an otherwise chilly month. Thanks to the veteran blueliner’s pair of assists in Philadelphia, the 31-year-old now has a career-high 19 assists to his name in 2005-06. Rivet, who had all of three multi-point games over his entire 10-year career heading into this season, now has three such games this month alone! With nine points over his last eight games, the North Bay, Ontario native now finds himself only two points shy of a career-high 25 points set back in 2001-02.

Double down: The Canadiens will wrap up their eighth series of back-to-back games this season tonight in Ottawa. After their come-from-behind win over the Flyers on Wednesday, Montreal is now 4-4 in the front-end of games on consecutive nights. The club will now look to build on its 4-2-1 mark in the second half of these matchups.

Manny Almela is a writer for canadiens.com

Following his career night in Philadelphia, Jan Bulis now has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 10 games in January.

Serge C · Newbie

Game is also shown on channel 342 on starchoice

ray · Senior Member

Figaro wrote:

Couple comments - Why don't they play Bulis, Ryder, Plekanec on the second line? Nice reward for these 3 who've been scoring most of our points lately. - I don't think it likely that Huet will start, although, you have to hope he does. We'll surely see Emery again. Theo needs to sit and watch with Rollie pointing out all the right moves that Heuy makes. "See, Jose, that's what you need to do..." - What can Gainey do to send a message to Kovalev that he needs to show up every night? Star player, no point and -3 in past 3 games? Gotta be kidding me. Maybe Kovalev only wants PP time with Ribs? Or how about he loses his spot to Bulis for a period? - I take back what I said about Bonk. He won't score 10-12 goals this year. Lucky if he gets 5...non-factor tonight vs. OTT. Game prediction - well, these teams like scoring 4 goals, each game was won 4 to x. So, I'm going with that for tonight. First team to score 4 wins. Montreal will have had a fire light by Bulis' uber play last night (God, please keep him in the line-up.) OTT might be well rested but they seemed to take the Habs for granted lately. The keys for the Habs to win - restrict OTT's first line from being effective (by staying on them and out of the box.) - Defense must make simple/smart plays (like Rivet) - whoever's in goal must control the pace in his zone. Simple, right? 4-2 Habs

Figaro i'd wrote on another post how I would love to see Bulis, Plekanec and Ryder on a line. The line will fly and give us a more balanced attack. Plekanec sees the ice very well and bulis hustles and ryder can fill the net!

ray · Senior Member

Come on Boys two in a row would be nice especially heading into Laff land. Putting my Jersey on again tonight, worked last night! At the beginning of the year I'd always have it on then stopped for awhile and things got bad. So maybe everyone can blame me for the downfall but the Jersey is back!!!!!! Go Habs Go

One other side note, usually blare " Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor while I'm putting my jersey on before puck drop, for the games against the Laffs, but maybe if I do so tonight it would also benefit the boys.

Jonny G · Senior Member

I'm with ya! Jersey and cap, baby!

Speaking of the Laffs, I'll be there on Saturday night wearing a white Habs Vintage jersey. If anyone's there, I'll be in Section 120, Row 21. GO HABS GO!

barry33 · Guru

ray wrote:

Come on Boys two in a row would be nice especially heading into Laff land. Putting my Jersey on again tonight, worked last night! At the beginning of the year I'd always have it on then stopped for awhile and things got bad. So maybe everyone can blame me for the downfall but the Jersey is back!!!!!! Go Habs Go One other side note, usually blare " Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor while I'm putting my jersey on before puck drop, for the games against the Laffs, but maybe if I do so tonight it would also benefit the boys.

I have decided to not change my underwear until the habs lose. I am wearing the same ones I had last night. I have a good feeling. May have no problem getting a seat in the lunch room tomorrow

AB Habman · Guru

barry33 wrote:

ray wrote: Come on Boys two in a row would be nice especially heading into Laff land. Putting my Jersey on again tonight, worked last night! At the beginning of the year I'd always have it on then stopped for awhile and things got bad. So maybe everyone can blame me for the downfall but the Jersey is back!!!!!! Go Habs Go One other side note, usually blare " Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor while I'm putting my jersey on before puck drop, for the games against the Laffs, but maybe if I do so tonight it would also benefit the boys. I have decided to not change my underwear until the habs lose. I am wearing the same ones I had last night. I have a good feeling. May have no problem getting a seat in the lunch room tomorrow

LOL

Caper_hab_fan · Veteran Member

How about Huet, he makes an amazing glove save, there was one goal, and a short handed breakaway by fisher, stoned him......can anybody say #1 goalie.

SpiderManNL · Guru

1-0 Sens after one period of play.

murphy · Veteran Member

Someone forgot to give the Habs their wheaties. They have a good view of the Sens playing their game. Great period by Huet.

barry33 · Guru

Shots on goal 17-3. Nice start boys. Thank God Huet is on. What I saw so far:

Gainey started the Koivu line against the Spezza line. Koivu lost his man (Chara) on the goal at the blueline and Chara beat Souray. 1-0. Gainey is now trying the Plekanecs line against the big line. May be a good move. Kovalev and Zednick are indifferent and Spezza seems to be overpowering Saks

No physical presence from Habs. Sens are throwing weight around. (Komisarek got levelled by McGratton). I would say that the hit count would be as lopsided as the shots

Once again..no life or zip at all

Caper_hab_fan · Veteran Member

Score: Ottawa 1 Montreal 0

Shots: Ottawa 16 Montreal 3

Not to mention Chara went in on our D like he was Ovechkin....not a good first period.

barry33 · Guru

murphy wrote:

Someone forgot to give the Habs their wheaties. They have a good view of the Sens playing their game. Great period by Huet.

Agreed- may as well have bought tickets in the red section. It looks like an AHL team against and NHL team out there. The Sens are just toying.

Habhead · Veteran Member

Now 2-0, with the Sens on a 2 man advantage . . . damn, now 3-0 and the Sense are still on the PP.

The only good news tonight (besides relaitvely solid goaltending by Huet) . . . Belfour just got pulled in the Buffalo/Toronto game as the Sabres take a 4-1 second period lead right in Laff-Ville.

If I had my choise, I'd rather lose in Ottawa and win in Toronto (obviously I'd rather win both games, but this is todays Habs we're talking about).