A Dose of Optimism

Nil d · Guru

A Dose of Optimism

barry33 · Guru

Nil d wrote:

Have all of you forgotten that the Habs had one of the 2 or 3 best records in the entire NHL since the Olympic break last year? And this with a team that was not quite as good as the one they have now (assuming Saku is good to go), and with all the young'uns with a year more experience.

So how much did they have to improve, I ask? The second half of last season must count for something - I say bring along the kids and keep getting primo goaltending, and we could be right up there with the best teams of the league.

OK guys and gals - tell me I'm a dreamer.

BTW ~ we haven't heard from Mrs. Hab in a while, so someone has to be the optimist!

Nilesy- you could be right As overly optomistic as you sound, I know I am guilty of being too pessimistic at times. I suspect that the reality lies somewhere in the middle. Much will depend on Koivu. Next to goaltending, center is the most important position on the team, especially in the new NHL. If we lose Koivu and he is half as valuable to the habs as many here say he is, it will be a long year. Remember how people claimed that teh reason we lost to Carolina was that Koivu went down? Well now we may have a whole season of Koivu being down.

Ando · Guru

barry33 wrote:

...Remember how people claimed that teh reason we lost to Carolina was that Koivu went down? Well now we may have a whole season of Koivu being down.

Small correction Barry33...but crucial....we may have ANOTHER whole season of Koivu being down.

(I guess Cam Ward's Conne Smythe netminding had diddly squat to do with the demise of the Canadiens playoff aspirations last season...it was all about Saku!!! Honestly folks...too much! The injury certainly caused the Habs to sputter, as it certainly exposed one of the thinnest centre ice's in the NHL...but the Canes beat 3 other teams that were wayyyyyy better than Montreal to win the Cup!!!)

Nil d · Guru

Ando wrote:

barry33 wrote:

...Remember how people claimed that teh reason we lost to Carolina was that Koivu went down? Well now we may have a whole season of Koivu being down.

Small correction Barry33...but crucial....we may have ANOTHER whole season of Koivu being down.

(I guess Cam Ward's Conne Smythe netminding had diddly squat to do with the demise of the Canadiens playoff aspirations last season...it was all about Saku!!! Honestly folks...too much! The injury certainly caused the Habs to sputter, as it certainly exposed one of the thinnest centre ice's in the NHL...but the Canes beat 3 other teams that were wayyyyyy better than Montreal to win the Cup!!!)

Quit hijacking my post, you Saku-bashing, glass-half-empty, negativity-propagating, one-note-singing grinch!

Ando · Guru

...oh sorry Nilsey!

YEAH!!! 2nd best record in the NHL post-olympics! Future so bright that we gotta wear shades!!!

...how's that?!?!?!

Nil d · Guru

Ando wrote:

...oh sorry Nilsey!

YEAH!!! 2nd best record in the NHL post-olympics! Future so bright that we gotta wear shades!!!

...how's that?!?!?!

.......dripping with sarcasm...........

I don't know why the fact that the Habs had a better record than 28 teams in the most recent hockey played (prior to the playoffs; don't jump on me for that) doesn't give you any sense of hope.

Ando · Guru

Cripes Nilsey...And-o was just trying to put your optimistic train back on the rails!

macneil · Guru

and-o do you think carolina would have beaten the habs if saks didnt get hurt ?

AB Habman · Guru

macneil wrote:

and-o do you think carolina would have beaten the habs if saks didnt get hurt ?

I hope you don't mind my two cents. The only reason we were up in that series was because Canes started out with horrid goaltending. We would of lost with or without Saks. The difference was all Ward!

macneil · Guru

dont mind at all , but i disagree , yes ward played well , so did huet , i believe we lost 4 1 goal games , during the first 2 games brindamour was playing against koivu , when saks was hurt they soon realized they didnt have to worry about his line anymore and concentrated on kovy shutting him down . with a healthy saks we have 2 lines to worry about , did you see kovy in the first 2 games , he even made a comment that he had all kinds of room on the ice when he scored his goals , but he was shut down once they only had to worry about him . i feel we would have won game 3 and the series if not for williams .dont forget ward got pulled later in the playoffs so its not like he was invinceable .

-- Edited by macneil at 23:11, 2006-09-06

barry33 · Guru

macneil wrote:

and-o do you think carolina would have beaten the habs if saks didnt get hurt ?

One word..yes. As soon as carolina got goaltending the series turned around. End of story. Had they continued to receive AHL caliber goaltending as they did in the first 2 games, Montreal would have beaten them without Koivu AND Kovalev.

steevo · Member

Ando wrote:

Cripes Nilsey...And-o was just trying to put your optimistic train back on the rails!

beware of people that speak of themselves in 3rd person

-- Edited by steevo at 11:05, 2006-09-07

steevo · Member

barry33 wrote:

macneil wrote:

and-o do you think carolina would have beaten the habs if saks didnt get hurt ?

One word..yes. As soon as carolina got goaltending the series turned around. End of story. Had they continued to receive AHL caliber goaltending as they did in the first 2 games, Montreal would have beaten them without Koivu AND Kovalev.

sorry i disagree .....saks line to me was the more consistent as far as continuous pressure and when he went down it was like wind was totally let out of the sails.....yes WARD was outstanding but we were not out of the series yet and we were also getting the same calibre goaltending..when Bonk steped up he was a total joke actaully played better on the 4th line imho....i guess we will see

Nazarreth · Newbie

Didn't the Canes GM say that the toughest team to beat was Montreal? That they had all the right components to the team and that we'll be a team to watch in the near future?

So Some of us are not the only ones that have some optism for this team...

Yes, things do hinge on Saku being at least semi healthy... but I told myself last year that I would give this team 3 years to become real cup contenders...

This is year 2 and I believe the experience that we will get (ironicly even more so if Koivu is down for a majority of the season) our young guys will develope into a contender if we keep our Core in tact...

Naz

barry33 · Guru

Nazarreth wrote:

Didn't the Canes GM say that the toughest team to beat was Montreal? That they had all the right components to the team and that we'll be a team to watch in the near future?

So Some of us are not the only ones that have some optism for this team...

Yes, things do hinge on Saku being at least semi healthy... but I told myself last year that I would give this team 3 years to become real cup contenders...

This is year 2 and I believe the experience that we will get (ironicly even more so if Koivu is down for a majority of the season) our young guys will develope into a contender if we keep our Core in tact...

Naz

Naz- I agree that I think this year will tell alot about where this team is and where it is heading. Undoubtedly they need to finish higher than 7th in the division and make it past the first round to be considered as having imrpoved.

Mad Habber · Member

I think the series with Carolina would have been a lot more interesting if not for Williams high stick. I do think we would have won. Mtl was leading 1-0 and on the powerplay when Koivu moved in to tap in a pass a couple of feet away. It may not have gone in. There would have been a scramble. Anyways, if you give Mtl the 3rd game, then Carolina is all but done with Mtl leading 3-0 in the series. If Carolina wins the 3rd, and Koivu is still around, then Mtl is still strong enough offensively to compete when we saw that they were strong enough defensively without Saks. At worst it would have gone 7 games I think. That's all opinion tho.

And speaking of opinion, Mtl started like gangbusters last year, being first after the month of October. Then second after the Olympic break. So it's just Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb that screwed us. Part of the blame has to do with Theo's horrid goaltending. Julien (tho I liked him) has shoulder some of the blame also. I think that the players having lost all confidence in Theo played a large part in this also. They just knew that Theo wasn't going to stop anything for them and they played scared and got discouraged early when proven right on the first shot of the game. So confidence has a lot to do with it, and they had it when Huet was in goal, and even more when they knew Theo was gone for good.

I expect a better season than last, at least a more consistent one. Maybe not the best in Oct and second best in March and April, but a good season for a team on the rise. The D is fine as long as there aren't too many injuries. Goaltending is fine because we have 2 guys who can do the job. If injuries hit, Danis can backup, he's ready. The offense should be more potent than last year. We replaced Zednik with Samsonov (upgrade), Bulis with Johnson (upgrade), Sundstrom with Rookie (upgrade). I look forward to the season and I just can't wait for the puck to finally drop.

Muller93 · Guru

Mad Habber wrote:

I think the series with Carolina would have been a lot more interesting if not for Williams high stick. I do think we would have won. Mtl was leading 1-0 and on the powerplay when Koivu moved in to tap in a pass a couple of feet away. It may not have gone in. There would have been a scramble. Anyways, if you give Mtl the 3rd game, then Carolina is all but done with Mtl leading 3-0 in the series. If Carolina wins the 3rd, and Koivu is still around, then Mtl is still strong enough offensively to compete when we saw that they were strong enough defensively without Saks. At worst it would have gone 7 games I think. That's all opinion tho.

And speaking of opinion, Mtl started like gangbusters last year, being first after the month of October. Then second after the Olympic break. So it's just Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb that screwed us. Part of the blame has to do with Theo's horrid goaltending. Julien (tho I liked him) has shoulder some of the blame also. I think that the players having lost all confidence in Theo played a large part in this also. They just knew that Theo wasn't going to stop anything for them and they played scared and got discouraged early when proven right on the first shot of the game. So confidence has a lot to do with it, and they had it when Huet was in goal, and even more when they knew Theo was gone for good.

I expect a better season than last, at least a more consistent one. Maybe not the best in Oct and second best in March and April, but a good season for a team on the rise. The D is fine as long as there aren't too many injuries. Goaltending is fine because we have 2 guys who can do the job. If injuries hit, Danis can backup, he's ready. The offense should be more potent than last year. We replaced Zednik with Samsonov (upgrade), Bulis with Johnson (upgrade), Sundstrom with Rookie (upgrade). I look forward to the season and I just can't wait for the puck to finally drop.

Ya know, that was a well crafted, knowledgable post.

Mad Habber · Member

Well I like the way you think Muller93.

barry33 · Guru

"If ONLY"