Go Habs Go!

[Doc Holliday]

Craig Berube has announced that the Leafs will be going with the same lineup as last night against the Habs. The only change will be that as expected Joseph Woll will be between the pipes for the Leafs as Toronto never plays the same goaltender in back to back games. As for the Habs with an extra day’s rest Sam Montenbault gets the start. He shutout the Leafs 1-0 in their home opener in which was by far his best game this season. Toronto badly outshot the Habs in that game but Monty was literally a brick wall.

Expect Arber Xehkaj to get into a fight with Ryan Reaves who will be looking forward to avenge his close loss to the Mtl player in last year’s opener. I expect they’ll wait for a goal or two to be scored before going toe to toe in order to use a needed change of momentum as an excuse for their fight.

Xehkaj will also be playing in front of friends & family so he likely ended up having a hard time sleeping last night. The last thing he wants is to embarrass himself in front of his loved ones & at the same time wants to prove to coach MSL that he can be a reliable defenceman when he’s inserted into the lineup.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Expect Arber Xehkaj to get into a fight with Ryan Reaves who will be looking forward to avenge his close loss to the Mtl player in last year’s opener.

 

[Doc Holliday]

One thing about their one & only fight which happened a year ago: Ryan Reaves was at the end of a shift when he accepted Xehkaj’s challenge. Right away i thought “No! Wait until you’re rested, Reavo! Never get in a scrap when you’re at the end of a shift!” And then during the scrap Reaves was pushed into the back of the net & was tripped by the net. This time Wifi likely won’t have the same luck. I expect them to discuss the upcoming fight prior to the start of the game during the warm-up & plan the right moment for it to happen. Should be fun!

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

I don’t mind the fight following a dirty play or such but, personally, the agreed fights prior to a face off are so useless for the game and only brings a touch of ridiculousness. Maybe they should just fight in the corridor leading to the changing rooms, so the game could go on! Lmao

 

[EagerBeaver]

The fight I want to see is Arber vs. Matt Rempe. I am hoping Rempe will be back and we will see this fight when I go to MSG to see Habs-Rangers November 30.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

The fight I want to see is Arber vs. Matt Rempe. I am hoping Rempe will be back and we will see this fight when I go to MSG to see Habs-Rangers November 30.

Damn! You really don’t like Rempe!!! Lmao

 

[Doc Holliday]

The fight I want to see is Arber vs. Matt Rempe. I am hoping Rempe will be back and we will see this fight when I go to MSG to see Habs-Rangers November 30.

Since Arber got pummeled by the likes of Tanner Jeannot & Nicholas Deslauriers last year i’ll be surprised if Rempe wouldn’t throw him around like a rag doll! I doubt Arber would fight him.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I don’t mind the fight following a dirty play or such but, personally, the agreed fights prior to a face off are so useless for the game and only brings a touch of ridiculousness. Maybe they should just fight in the corridor leading to the changing rooms, so the game could go on! Lmao

Most of the fights today are predetermined but i share your opinion. Predetermined fights are a joke & the league is an even bigger joke for tolerating them since they penalize players for playing without a helmet or penalize hits to the head in order to avoid head injuries.

 

[gaby]

....et c'est 3-0....just like that...lol.....

 

[EagerBeaver]

The season is going south on the Habs very quickly. Action needs to be taken to stop the bleeding.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

The season is going south on the Habs very quickly. Action needs to be taken to stop the bleeding.

Yeah so far it’s getting uglier than last year!

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

I doubt Arber would fight him.

I don’t think Xhekaj would back off from any players in the league. Losing a fight doesn’t mean you will lose the next one, except for Rempe.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

Winnipeg setting a new league record for best start of the season ever 14-1!

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

Ouin ben y a pas d’quoi écrire à sa mère! Lol

 

[Doc Holliday]

Easy 4-1 win for the Leafs but the Habs played much better in the third period which was pretty much garbage time since the final outcome was already a done deal. Lots of ice time for the third & fourth lines for the Leafs tonight. That’s the most ice time i’ve seen Ryan Reaves get in a game this season & he played really well! No fight with Arber however had he fought him & the Habs would have gained momentum from the fight then Reaves likely would have been benched for the next three games! In other words there was no opportunity for a fight nor were they ever close to fighting. Lots of critiiscm for Suzuki throughout the game. Caufield looked like a passenger again. So was the extremely disappointing Kirby Dach. I really liked Lane Hutson’s game & Brendan Gallagher whom in my opinion has been the top habs player all season long scored the Mtl goal on the powerplay.

In other news the Sens beat the Bruins in OT on a beautiful goal by leader extraordinare Brady Tkachuk! The Bruins went almost two periods without a shot until that one dangerous shot in overtime. Great save by Ullmark considering he hadn’t faced a shot in over one hour! Speaking of the struggling Bruins…after watching them get shutout by the Leafs the other night & being dominated by the Sens tonight…THEY LOOK LIKE A SOFT TEAM!

 

[EagerBeaver]

I usually think you have to wait until the 30 game mark in a hockey season before making wholesale changes, like firing the coach or GM. But as Yogi Berra once said, "it's getting late, early." Usually line changes and defensive pairing changes are attempted first and then when that doesn't work, people start being let go. The next 15 games will determine what happens next.

 

[gaby]

Easy 4-1 win for the Leafs but the Habs played much better in the third period which was pretty much garbage time since the final outcome was already a done deal. Lots of ice time for the third & fourth lines for the Leafs tonight. That’s the most ice time i’ve seen Ryan Reaves get in a game this season & he played really well! No fight with Arber however had he fought him & the Habs would have gained momentum from the fight then Reaves likely would have been benched for the next three games! In other words there was no opportunity for a fight nor were they ever close to fighting. Lots of critiiscm for Suzuki throughout the game. Caufield looked like a passenger again. So was the extremely disappointing Kirby Dach. I really liked Lane Hutson’s game & Brendan Gallagher whom in my opinion has been the top habs player all season long scored the Mtl goal on the powerplay.

In other news the Sens beat the Bruins in OT on a beautiful goal by leader extraordinare Brady Tkachuk! The Bruins went almost two periods without a shot until that one dangerous shot in overtime. Great save by Ullmark considering he hadn’t faced a shot in over one hour! Speaking of the struggling Bruins…after watching them get shutout by the Leafs the other night & being dominated by the Sens tonight…THEY LOOK LIKE A SOFT TEAM!

Quand on compare le capitaine Brady Tkachuk à SUZUKI.....on comprend beaucoup de choses...lol.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Quand on compare le capitaine Brady Tkachuk à SUZUKI.....on comprend beaucoup de choses...lol.

I never understood what they saw in Suzuki to want to name him captain. And to be honest i wasn’t sure about granting him such a big contract so quickly. I felt the same thing with Caufield. I look at what they’re paying Gallagher & Josh Anderson & realize some organizations never learn from their mistakes.

Look. The problems started nearly three years ago when they hired a hockey agent & named him GM of the most glorious hockey franchise in history. Then they made an even bigger mistake when he hired his buddy whose highest level of coaching was coaching 11 & 12 year olds. Two seemingly great guys with hockey knowledge. But still with zero NHL experience in the jobs they were hired for in probably the biggest hockey market in the world where everything involving the team is put under a microscope. For the first few years the fans & media were blinded byntheir affection for the hometown boy who excelled as a player in the sport. They loved his deep & passionate speeches about the game. They were promised that bigger & better things would come. To be patient & trust them. But now the honeymoon period may be over & the love aftair is showing its cracks. Fans & media are now realizing that the team hasn’t improved one bit & has actually been regressing. The fans & media are starting to panic. They don’t want their team to become the Buffalo Sabres which are on the thirteenth year of their so-called rebuild & will most likely end up missing the playoffs again. The fans & media realize that having a GM & a coaching staff with no NHL experience may be hurting the team & progress. They also realize that they guy coaching their farm team is the most experienced coach in the entire organization. He alone has more experience than the entire Habs coaching staff put together! And the Laval Rockets are off to an absolutely fantastic season & they probably could beat the Habs right now!

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

He alone has more experience than the entire Habs coaching staff put together!

Without denying that Pascal Vincent is the most qualified person in the organization, I think that if Kent Hugues fires MSL tomorrow and replaces him with coach Vincent, it will send the message to his boss that, he’s in panic mode and out of solution. This would automatically place him at the top of the list of "who’s going out next".

 

[EagerBeaver]

Without denying that Pascal Vincent is the most qualified person in the organization, I think that if Kent Hugues fires MSL tomorrow and replaces him with coach Vincent, it will send the message to his boss that, he’s in panic mode and out of solution. This would automatically place him at the top of the list of "who’s going out next".

If that were true GMs across the NHL would be afraid to fire coaches. History teaches the opposite is true: that firing the coach scapegoats a lower level employee for the failures of the entire organization, and thus deflects blame away from the front office for their failed personnel moves and decisions. This scapegoating process works effectively not only in the NHL, but in many industries. It's a well accepted method of doing business in the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA.

Besides that, the team is now set and it is the coach's job to "find solutions." Changing line combinations and defensive pairings, allotment of ice time and motivating his players is the coach's job.

I think MSL should watch his neck very carefully because a blade could be coming out of nowhere to cut it and separate head from body.