Concerns

barry33 · Guru

Concerns

Jay1982 · Guru

barry33 wrote:

Our Goals For/Goals Against ratio is not pretty 165 Goals for/183 Goals Against.

yeah it looks bad, but alot of those Goals Against were weak ones that theo let in.

However, something does need to be done about the scoring, we need a guy who can shoot from anywhere.

barry33 · Guru

Jay1982 wrote:

barry33 wrote: Our Goals For/Goals Against ratio is not pretty 165 Goals for/183 Goals Against. yeah it looks bad, but alot of those Goals Against were weak ones that theo let in. However, something does need to be done about the scoring, we need a guy who can shoot from anywhere.

We need a guy who can SHOOT..period

Chris68 · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

in order to be successful, you need to put more pucks in the other guy's net than they put in yours.

nice said .... That's the philosophy of the game, isn't it?

Unfortunately I could not watch anything of the game (it was not broadcasted in Europe), but the number of shots simply is not sufficient vs. other teams. Next will be the Panthers (another team outshot each night) who scored 8 goals out of 22 shots, pretty impressive. There's another need win on Thursday however.

Key Lime · Guru

barry33 wrote:

Jay1982 wrote: barry33 wrote: Our Goals For/Goals Against ratio is not pretty 165 Goals for/183 Goals Against. yeah it looks bad, but alot of those Goals Against were weak ones that theo let in. However, something does need to be done about the scoring, we need a guy who can shoot from anywhere. We need a guy who can SHOOT..period

We definately need a sniper...

What's funny is that the at the beginning of the season the critics said that 2 things would be crucial to attain success in the new NHL.

1- Solid Goaltending

2- Teams need to have success on Specail Teams.

Last night we were outshout but we did have a solid performance by Huet, who actually kept the game and we did capitalize on our PP. Do I agree with the critics remarks before the season? That theory seemed true in last night's game but in the long run, when your team gets outshot so badly, you'll get burned.

This is why I keep repeating how important the transition game is. Get the puck out of your zone safely and quickly to the offensive zone. The Habs are one of the worst teams I've seen in the transition game. We always seem to be fumbling in our zone. WANTED - Mobile Defenseman à la Neidermeyer. Yes, I'm still dreaming!

barry33 · Guru

Key Lime wrote:

barry33 wrote: Jay1982 wrote: barry33 wrote: Our Goals For/Goals Against ratio is not pretty 165 Goals for/183 Goals Against. yeah it looks bad, but alot of those Goals Against were weak ones that theo let in. However, something does need to be done about the scoring, we need a guy who can shoot from anywhere. We need a guy who can SHOOT..period We definately need a sniper... What's funny is that the at the beginning of the season the critics said that 2 things would be crucial to attain success in the new NHL. 1- Solid Goaltending 2- Teams need to have success on Specail Teams. Last night we were outshout but we did have a solid performance by Huet, who actually kept the game and we did capitalize on our PP. Do I agree with the critics remarks before the season? That theory seemed true in last night's game but in the long run, when your team gets outshot so badly, you'll get burned. This is why I keep repeating how important the transition game is. Get the puck out of your zone safely and quickly to the offensive zone. The Habs are one of the worst teams I've seen in the transition game. We always seem to be fumbling in our zone. WANTED - Mobile Defenseman à la Neidermeyer. Yes, I'm still dreaming!

Well put Key Lime

Key Lime · Guru

barry33 wrote:

Key Lime wrote: barry33 wrote: Jay1982 wrote: barry33 wrote: Our Goals For/Goals Against ratio is not pretty 165 Goals for/183 Goals Against. yeah it looks bad, but alot of those Goals Against were weak ones that theo let in. However, something does need to be done about the scoring, we need a guy who can shoot from anywhere. We need a guy who can SHOOT..period We definately need a sniper... What's funny is that the at the beginning of the season the critics said that 2 things would be crucial to attain success in the new NHL. 1- Solid Goaltending 2- Teams need to have success on Specail Teams. Last night we were outshout but we did have a solid performance by Huet, who actually kept the game and we did capitalize on our PP. Do I agree with the critics remarks before the season? That theory seemed true in last night's game but in the long run, when your team gets outshot so badly, you'll get burned. This is why I keep repeating how important the transition game is. Get the puck out of your zone safely and quickly to the offensive zone. The Habs are one of the worst teams I've seen in the transition game. We always seem to be fumbling in our zone. WANTED - Mobile Defenseman à la Neidermeyer. Yes, I'm still dreaming! Well put Key Lime

Besides Neidermeyer, is there a defenseman that we can trade for that has these qualities? It seems like there's a lack of smooth skating, good stick-handling, quick and mobile defenseman. Streit showed signs of that at the Games but reluctant to say that he can ever do that in the NHL.

wright · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

Fist of all I am thankful for the win last night. 2 points are two points and we need them badly. But being habs fans, we need to anylize things and see where we are heading. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, we are still in very deep trouble as a team. Let us examine last night's game for instance. One again. we are outshot...badly. We managed to muster a whopping 22 shots on goal last night compared to the 35 that the Islanders peppered Huet with. We had 4 shots in the first period and in spite of 9 Power Plays (inlcluding a 2 man advantage) we only managed 9 shots in each of the second and third periods. I would love to sit here and say that we won last night because we outworked the Islanders, but it is simply not the case. The reasons we won are as follows: Very shaky goaltending, especially from Snow Very solid goaltending from Huet. This guy's GAA average is 2.40 and his Save % is a VERY respectable 9.25. Where would we be in the standings right now if not for Huet stepping up and standing on his head when Gainey finally pulled the plug on Theo? I venture to say that we would not even be near a playoff position 3-9 on the PP. Adequate (one was a 2 man advantage) Again. not to rain on the parade. I enjoyed the win and the positive is that we found a way to win. But the habs right now are a very mediocre team with a very hot goalie. Our Goals For/Goals Against ratio is not pretty 165 Goals for/183 Goals Against. Now I am not a brain surgeon, but I have coached enough hockey to know that, in order to be successful, you need to put more pucks in the other guy's net than they put in yours.

Despite the increased role of the younger players like Higgins,Perezhogen,Plekanec and the fact that a total of 10 players that were on the Habs roster when they were eliminated by Tampa in the last playoffs, this is still a team that relies way too heavily on great goaltending to bail them out. Now it's Huet having to be brilliant to give the team a chance to win, just as Theodore had to be excellent in previous years. Constantly out shot in games is not a workable scenario for success.

Despite personnel changes, this team still plays too soft with a so so work ethic. Why do the same deficiencies on this team despite coaching changes, personnel changes keep showing up over the last 5 years?

Once again this year, it will be above average goaltending that will be required for the team to sneak into the playoffs as the seventh or eight seed, and probably get eliminated by no later than the second round, at best. Certainly the future looks potential good, but in many respects this team seems to be a carbon copy of all Montreal teams through 2000 to the present: weak goal scoring, lacking grit, a very average defence corps, offset by very good goaltending which of course masks these deficiences to some extent. Very frustrating!!!!