Take it easy david. It's hard to get up for a game like tonight. Like I said in a previous post Habs can't catch NJ and will either finish in 7th or 8th. No big difference since both Ottawa and Carolina have a big upperhand. The boys weren't playing at full speed, they'll be ok though.

-- Edited by JohnM at 21:44, 2006-04-12

The Kahuna wrote:

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They played awful, but of course they want to be in the playoffs, that's just a silly question. The thing is, the better they play, the more likely they have to face Carolina..how well would you be playing?

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That is just plain stupid!! At the VERY least you want to go into the playoffs with good habits, energy and momentum. Just another in a long line of excuses for a sub par performance. Maybe we should just tell Carolina they can have the series by default?

barry33 wrote:

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That is just plain stupid!! At the VERY least you want to go into the playoffs with good habits, energy and momentum. Just another in a long line of excuses for a sub par performance. Maybe we should just tell Carolina they can have the series by default?

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See the smile at the end, that's what we call tongue in cheek humour. You can't call me stupid, man you're lucky they took Figs finger off the button

davidb wrote:

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Thankyou barry, I to would want to go into the playoffs on a winning note.

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Seriously David, DUH! You asked the question "Does this team really want to go to the playoffs???" don't turn this around on me because I made a joke...you asked the dumb question man!

Wow, good thing you're not a moderator, you'd have to ban yourself for being an obnoxious name calling simpleton

Say, didn't you quit in a huff figs? Man I hate people who can't make up their mind and commit


-- Edited by The Kahuna at 01:58, 2006-04-13

The Kahuna wrote:

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barry33 wrote: That is just plain stupid!! At the VERY least you want to go into the playoffs with good habits, energy and momentum. Just another in a long line of excuses for a sub par performance. Maybe we should just tell Carolina they can have the series by default? See the smile at the end, that's what we call tongue in cheek humour. You can't call me stupid, man you're lucky they took Figs finger off the button

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No buddy I was not calling you stupid (those who live in glass houses shall not throw stones) lol...just the thought that they were cruising last night and looking ahead to Boston is kinda assinine. I got the tongue in cheek humour

JohnM wrote:

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Can anyone say bandwagon jumpers.... The Habs have won 9 out of their last 11 to pretty much clinch a playoff spot. They don't show up for the first period last night and some of you guys are jumping ship. Get a grip please

how is this bandwagon jumpers???  first off they didnt show up for the entire game john, and nobody is "bandwagon jumping" here when all they are doing is simply saying they played really bad last night!! get a grip please

But the boys outplayed New Jersey, that's the thing. Brodeur robbed us in that one.

 

(Please don't respond by saying that this is just an excuse. When we win games where we are outplayed it's because of our goalie, but when we lose games where the other team's goalie is on fire apparently it's because we suck? This logic drives me nuts.)

There's no doubt that everyone on this team is well motivated (if not incented) to make the playoffs. And in my opinion, they'll make them -- with a win against Boston tonight and at least an OT loss in one of their other contests. I doubt they're going to go far in the playoffs, though, no matter who their first-round opponent is. The fact is, we just don't have the skilled players a team needs to consistently compete. Yes, we have some very good players -- a long list of them. And some promising young guys like Higgins. Yes, we have players who can dazzle at times (but look flat-footed and clumsy at others). And yes, Huet has worked some wonders in net. But all you have to do is look at some of the players who have won the games against us of late and you'll see the difference between them and us. Gionta breaks games wide open. Elias is a constant threat. Afinogenov is a wonder to behold. And Briere -- well, I only wish we had a player like him.

In days past, guys like Richard, Cournoyer and Lafleur would single-handedly win games for the Habs. Their skill was a couple of notches above their opponents'. Today, we just don't have that on this team. Kovalev is as close as anyone comes on this year's squad, but he skates at half-speed most of the time. Never saw Cournoyer do that.

With both Begin and Bouillon out, the team has lost some of its spark, and it showed last night. Our power play looks anemic because too many guys are standing around and passing the puck back and forth rather than cycling to create openings and scoring chances. Our defense has been weak in their own end all year, and only the heroics of Huet have kept us in the race. it's not all that pretty a picture.

Nonetheless, we have all seen the Habs overcome adversity before and with a little luck they'll do so again. It's the most exciting team we've had in a while, and I'd love to see them go deep in the playoffs. But I just don't see it happening in '06. There's just too much talent on other teams, and too little on ours.

Les Canadiens sont la

24 Rings wrote:

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At the end of the day, it's just nice to see them make the playoffs.  Sports writers all wrote them off before the season started.  Halfway throught the season, I wasn't sure if they would make it.  For the first time in about 6 years there is some upside to what I see on the ice.

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You know, I was thinking about this very subject. I remember the glory years of the 70's, so backing in to the PLAYOFF's every year has worn really thin on me. Clawing your way in to the playoffs to get crushed in the first or at best second round EVERY year is getting really old with me. I really like a lot of things about the team this year, but Barry is right that we've gotten kicked by the good teams this year. Hopefully we'll catch fire in the playoffs this year, but with every team now restricted by the salary cap, hopefully we'll have much more competitive teams in the future.

barry33 wrote:

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No buddy I was not calling you stupid (those who live in glass houses shall not throw stones) lol...just the thought that they were cruising last night and looking ahead to Boston is kinda assinine. I got the tongue in cheek humour

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To steal from Fish called Wanda...Don't call me stupid...or...oh no, it's Fffffffigs ccccccoming to kkkkkill me.

No doubt those teams were deep, Kahuna. Marinas Trench deep. But what I was driving at is that even with all their depth, they had go-to guys who would step up and make the big plays, score the big goals. Finishers. As you point out, we haven't had one of those in a long time, while the teams we're up against do.

I'm hoping that BG sees this and has a player or two of this caliber at the top of his summer shopping list. With a Selanne or a Sakic in the B-B&R, and an additional defenseman (or two), the nucleus this team has could go a long way.

Les Canadiens sont la

I agree.  Things are on the right track for once and you know that BG won't let it spiral out of control.  There will be some changes next season but if you think we are going to get Sakic or Selanne you are waaaaaaaay off base.  I know those were probably examples, but it takes a lot to draw a player like that.  Especially when they are comfortable in their surroundings.  We'll have to take the best thing we can get on the open market and put our trust in BG. No more Bonk's please!!!!  The problem is that some players avoid Montreal because of the media and fan pressure and the eventual possibility of getting run out of town, as we have seen happen so many times over the past dozen years.  It's coming along and there is finally some hope. I know people say that they always barely make the playoffs, but what can we do?  I wouldn't want to dismantle the team at this point, especailly when they are a winning team.

I have a feeling Salanne is going to end his career in Anaheim. He's played there before and why wouldn't he want to stay when it looks like they have righted the ship and he is the commander? 

When I say they are a winning team I mean that they are >.500% and I don't think it is a stretch because this team is not an overtime team at all. Part of them giving up more goals than they have scored was during their awful stretch where they were getting killed like 6-2 every game and Theo was a siv.  In all fairness to Theo, the team was also a laughing stock at that point.

I agree that they need a goal scorer. To call Ryder a "goal scorer" is a joke.  He just gets a lot of chances on the power play and manages to bury them into the goalies' jersey.  He only has 12 even strength goals. Money talks when trying to lure a big name sniper.  If they spend it, he will come.  Availability is another factor.