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Sunday, January 11, 2015

The Flaw in Picking the All-Star Teams

9:17 AM Unknown 3 comments

How does one decide who is worthy of playing in the NHL All-star game. Do you go by individual stats, popularity, or the strength of teams?

Popularity rules when it comes to picking the starting line-ups, as the starters are determined by fan votes. Largely, you see the same players year after year, such as Sidney Crosby or Patrick Kane. Occasionally, you will see a less popular player get voted in if they are having a stellar season

For the rest of the line-ups, GM's and other NHL executives pick the players. Of course, a big challenge is representing all 30 NHL teams. A lot of times, players that should make the team due to individual stats are left off the roster because of the need to pick players from other teams. For example, PK Subban was not picked for the 2015 all-star game. In my hometown of Vancouver, the Sedin Twins were left off the roster. Looking at this issue from a team performance standpoint, 1st place Montreal has only goalie Carey Price going to the all-star game. On the other hand, Columbus, currently in 12th place has three players playing in the all-star game. Yes, I recognize that Columbus is hosting the all-star game this year. However, that should not be reason enough to send three players to the all-star game. I think individual stats and position of team in the standings should carry more weight than merely hosting the game.

There is still a chance Subban could be added to the roster if a player (defenseman) pulls out of the game due to injury, personal reasons, or simply needing to recharge the batteries. Congratulations to Carey Price for making the all-star team. He is a great choice to represent the Habs based on another outstanding start to the season. Price has been the MVP of the team, allowing the Habs to win games they should have lost.

#GoHabsGo

A Habs Fan blogging from BC

Game 41: Canadiens vs Penguins

10:44 AM Unknown No comments

#MTLHockey Preview

Match Up

The Canadiens (26-12-2) wrap up the first half of the season Saturday night when they host the Penguins (24-10-6). The game starts at 7:00 and will be broadcast on TVA and CBC.

This is the third and final game this season between the Habs and Pens, they've played a game each in their home building already this season. After losing 4-0 in Montreal, the Habs got a measure of revenge last week when they beat the Penguins 4-1 in Pittsburgh. Max Pacioretty and Tom Gilbert each had a goal and an assist in that game.

What to Watch

Carey Price had an off night Tuesday against the Lightning, allowing four goals on 16 second period shots, but the Habs netminder is having a career year this season. With 22 wins in 33 games, a 2.20 goals against average and a .927 save percentage, Price is on pace to match or set personal records in each of those categories.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are always players to watch when the Penguins come to town. The duo has 88 points between them, 45 for Malkin and 43 for Crosby, that's more than the top three scorers combined for the Canadiens (Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and PK Subban combine for 86 points so far).

What's at Stake

The Habs and Pens are both chasing top spot in their division after falling behind the Lightning and the Islanders respectively. The Canadiens are four points behind the Bolts with three games in hand while the Penguins trail the Isles by a single point and have played one game less.

Who's Out

P.A. Parenteau (head) is skating on his own, but doesn't appear ready to rejoin the team yet. Special mention as well to Jarred Tinordi who was injured in a fight Friday night while playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Pens are missing Patric Hornqvist (lower body), Olli Maata (upper body), Blake Comeau (wrist) and Pascal Dupuis (blood clot).

What Else

Not only did Montreal's seven game win streak come to an end Tuesday night against the Lightning, their perfect streak of wins after scoring first was broken as well. The Habs went into Tuesday's game with a perfect 16-0-0 record when scoring the first goal, but after they opened the scoring, four straight goals from the Lightning ended that streak.

The Question Mark

What are your thoughts on fighting in professional hockey and do the Habs need more muscle in their lineup?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Kosta Papoulias and Rob Elbaz for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show as we go live at 6:00 to preview the Canadiens and the Penguins.

The Canadiens' Lack Of Depth At Forward Is Bound To Hurt Them

1:15 PM Fred Poulin 5 comments

The Montreal Canadiens have been playing fairly well in recent games going 8-2 in their last ten games and currently sitting second in the Atlantic Division, only two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and with two games in hand.

Currently in the midst of a span of only two games in ten days, the team will be well rested to host the powerful Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. I don't know if it's the water they drink, but the Canadiens are currently 30th in the NHL with only 34 games lost to injury this season after 40 games.

Compared to other teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets (249 games lost) and the Anaheim Ducks (241 games lost), we can obviously say that Montreal has been fairly lucky to avoid the infirmary so far in 2014-15.

On defense, the Habs have been able to keep their core healthy with Alexei Emelin being the only regular rearguard to miss games (2) as Tom Gilbert missed two games but that was as a healthy scratch. Only veteran Mike Weaver missed more time due to an injury, but his impact has been minimal on the team this season being a regular healthy scratch in recent games.

With Weaver as the #7 defenseman in Montreal, the Canadiens decided earlier this week to demote veteran defensman Bryan Allen to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. Jarred Tinordi and him make nice insurance policies in case injuries happen to the team's defensive corps.

The problem for Marc Bergevin and the organization is by acquiring Allen and Sergei Gonchar for two forwards (Rene Bourque and Travis Moen, respectively), is that the team's depth at forward has basically vanished. Now with the injury to Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, the team's lack of depth is even more obvious.

Michel Therrien is forced to mix his assets and Tomas Plekanec is now playing with a natural center at left wing in David Desharnais and a grinder at right wing in Dale Weise; that will not be a very effective offensive line in the long term. Should PAP miss an extended period of time, the Canadiens will dearly miss his contribution on the ice and especially in the shootout.

The team lacks a true talented prospect ready to contribute when called upon as the group composed of Drayson Bowman, Eric Tangradi and Sven Andrighetto has combined for 2 goals and 1 assist in 20 games this season. Moreover, the team announced it has called up another small forward, Christian Thomas, from the Bulldogs last night. While Thomas was very efficient and surprising during the training camp, he has been less than stellar this season. Thomas has only 9 goals and 5 assists for 14 points in 29 contests in the AHL this year, nothing to write home.

The team's best prospect in camp, Jacob De La Rose, just finished playing for Sweden at the World Junior Championships in Toronto and Montreal, but his tournament, along with his season in the AHL, have been disappointing to say the least. In 27 AHL contests, De La Rose has only 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points.

The only team prospect that is doing fairly well in Hamilton right now is winger-turned-center Charles Hudon, who is also scoring at a point-per-game pace with 33 points (10g, 23 a) in 35 games. The caveat with Hudon is that the organization just asked his to adapt to a new position and unless more than one injury occurs to the team's centermen (Galchenyuk, Eller, Plekanec, Malhotra and Desharnais), there is no point to call him up and ask him to move back to the wing... Hudon will be best served by playing a full season in the AHL for his development.

With the lack of size and talent on the wings, which impending UFA winger would you like the Habs to acquire before the NHL trade deadline on March 2nd, 2015?

Jaromir Jagr? Chris Stewart? Jordan Nolan? Erik Cole? Jiri Tlusty? Drew Stafford? Kyle Brodziak? Curtis Glencross?

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Follow me on Twitter @FredPoulin98

Lucky or What ?

4:19 PM Unknown 14 comments

How long can the Habs luck holdout?

Hello my fellow HabAddicts. As much as I love the Habs, I am really worried that the wheels are going to fall off real soon.
We have been very fortunate with the injuries so far, and those late game rallies in the first 15 games put us into a false sense of 1st place holders.

Our defense is very weak. Watch any game and our defense is running around in our end trying to get the puck back from the opposition. Then you watch the opposition's defense and they waltz out of their end unopposed. Very frustrating to watch.

Our power play used to be feared and very deadly. Now the opposition takes liberties with our smaller players because they know the power play will not result in a goal. And so they continue to punish our smaller players. I don't know how much more Gallagher can take.

Our puck control is non-existent. It drives me crazy watching our team always chasing the puck and never controlling it. You need puck possession to win. What I do not understand is how our coaching staff can not adapt to playing conditions. No matter what is happening in a game Therrian and staff can not change strategy to beat the opposition's game plans. Look at our power play, everyone knows the key is Subban's power blast from the point, but no one has been able to come up with a strategy to overcome that and still utilize your best weapon. And why do we keep putting little guys like Gallagher, Plekanec and Desharnais in front of the net. Guys like Weise and Eller should be allowed to crash the net on the PP.

The only real bright spot this season has been our goaltending. It has been the key to our success so far, but how long can we allow 35-45 shots on our goalie every night. Why is Tinordi still in the AHL? He needs to be playing now in the NHL, the AHL cannot teach him anything new. And speaking of teaching, I liked JJ.D as a player but as a coach he has no idea what needs to be done on the ice or adapt to playing conditions. Our defensive game plan needs an update also. (Why did we ever let Mr. Robinson get away?)

We need a new game plan to control the puck. We are not built for the dump and chase game; we need to control the puck because once we lose it we don't get it back.

Bottom line the coaching staff have let us down on not adapting to the changes in the game, we are not utilizing the strengths of our players and too quickly punishing mistakes by high potential players (ie. Sekac).

Tonight begins a new year for our team, Hopefully the staff have NEW ideas to keep us near the top, otherwise get ready for a long painful descend out of the playoffs.

What do you think, are we in need of new ideas or should we just continue to ride on Lady Luck's coattails?

Game 40: Canadiens vs Lightning

10:48 AM Unknown 3 comments