I don’t see the Habs going on lenghty losing skids this year; a good thing as I’m sure we’ve all seen enough of those over the past 10 years. The premier coaching staff, dedicated team leaders, and overall team cohesion will allow the Habs to bounce back sooner than other teams in their division have, ie. Tor/Ott.

I’m still anxious to see the second line pick up their game. Carbo was experimenting with lines in the Tampa game, but I haven’t been able to envision any decent combinations.

For the Habs to get out of their ‘slump’, their special teams will have to get going aging. They’ve gone 1-13 on the PP in the last four and they’ve given up a few PP goals on the other side.

The first line will need to get going again(Higgins, Ryder), cause the second line may never get going and I don’t think it will. We’ve been waiting for Sammy and Kovy to get going for the entire season so don’t get your hopes up, especially with Plekanec as they’re centre. He’s not cutting it. They need a big, gritty guy to centre them and go into the corners and stand in front of the net like Shane Doan. He’d fit perfectly with this squad and screw whatever the french media would say about him.

Oh, and Huet needs to break out of his own personal little slump.

I say lets make a trade.
Shane Doan has never been in my list. But now, I think he should be the player to target!
“Habs#1″ I do not know how you came up with with this player. Great way of thinking though. We should target Shane Doan. What will give up for him?
I say lets give up first of all, all the garbages: Murray, downey, add Plecks or Bonk ( I know alot of you guys are not going to agree* after all it is just an opinion), and a fist rounder or a prospect.

Sum= Habs: Murray, Downey, Plecks(or Bonk)and a prospect(Or a fist rounder)* and maybe throw Aebisher in the list

Phoenix: Doan *and maybe a 2nd rounder

Those lines make a lot of sense. Higgins was a big reason for Souray’s early success on the PP — he would take a beating in front of the net, screening the goalie. He’s not big, but he’s strong on the puck.

Plekanec is a feisty player, great on faceoffs and a good skater. Having him centre the 4th line would be ideal, almost turning it into a second checking line.

Gainey has come back to work! That’s good news, mostly because he needs to keep busy. It will also keep him from thinking about his terrible loss, and hopefully focus on the habs, and what changes or improvements need to be made. I sincerely hope he will realize that it’s important to bring Lapierre back up, and keep him with the habs the rest of the season. Garth Murray and Downey belon in the minors. They are just a waste of money, and their are other bodies more talented, who could replace them. As well, Plekanec belongs on the 4th line, no higher. Which means,try and rid ourselves of Ninnimaa and another forward, for a center. BTW, Nedved, a center, was just picked up off waivers.Too bad it wasn’t us, because we wouldn’t have had to give up a player to get him.

We won, but lucky to win, because our defence was brutal. Did someone forget to tell Souray that Xmas is over? because he kept giving TB presents all night. I thought our skating was slow, and our passes weren’t crisp, but we’ll take the win. But we’ll have to play better on Thursday,to win in Washington.

What in the name of hockey are you talking about?
We dominated 95% of this hockey match. I think that was our best match thus far! I was into the game from the first second to the final second! Gotta admit I was quite frustrated at Huet for leaving the softy, 1st goal of the game. Other than that, it was an impressive match.
Great job guys!
*P.s.: Am I the only one here thinking that was the first match, every player in every combo put in a 100% effort eventhough everyone didn’t score?
BTW: Plecks deserved the first star of the game. Every time he would be on the ice, I was ready to celebrate for a goal!

Pleks! Pleks! Pleks!

2nd line dominates, thank goodness (sigh of relief)
Give credit where credit is due.

We played a stellar game all around. Even though it was tight in the 3rd 5-2 was a fair score. Anyone who thinks we were lucky obviously does not understand the game of hockey.

Good to have you back Jack Thornton.

Rivet still scores me when he touches the puck. He is trouble.

Habs #1:

Can you say what you said about the second line and Plekanec before every game? It sure seemed to work for them tonight.

PS. Shane Doan???

yeah, our defence was horrible. Souray’s still celebrating Xmas. How many giveaways did he have?

Better yet lets get Ribeiro’s evil twin Mike COmrie. Im sure he is the guy who will get Kovy and Sammy playing to their best abilities. HAHA

Let’s not get to excited.
Samsonov scored 2 goals 3 weeks ago and has been scoreless in 10.
We need to see consistancy first.
Plekanec is one of my favorite Habs I hope he can turn it around.
His heart and determination is matched by only a few.

What the hell is up with Michael Ryder?
He loses the damn puck everytime he’s in the offensive zone.
He’s worse than Latendresse when it comes to holding the puck.
Brutal!
Hope he turns it aroung next game

Go Habs Go!

Sorry Snake, but Ottawa already snapped up Comrie. What a dissapointment.

And what do you know. The second line steps up, the Habs win. Shocker. Now if they can do it consistently the Habs could be the best in the east.

And did anyone else watch Carey Price’s game against the States? In one word:Phenomenal.

How come Ottawa gets Comrie, and we don’t bother trying to get him, or Nedved, or Perreault? Gainey and Carbo keep saying we need a 2nd line center, but they do NOTHING! I give credit to Edmonton, and Ottawa, because they needed help in 1 area, and they went out and got their man, unlike us! So before you guys start saying, “look at their record”, please wait until the end of the season, and subsequently the playoffs, because you might want to eat those words. And if they go farther into the playoffs, it’s because those teams made changes, and we stayed pat!

Michake Ryder is the only player I can think off that didn’t put a 100% effort.
Was he a fluke? MMmmmmmm… I’m not sure about it, but I can assume one thing.
He is a scorer and sometimes an enforcer. If you guys woul have been more careful, in what is presently happeneng in the Canadiens roster than you would understand why he isn’t produce as he was 1 year ago.

Point 1: :Last year we didn’t have as many scorers as we have this year.
Jan Bulis+Zednik = Johnson, Bonk(he is a total new player this year), Perezoghin(now he knows where he belongs) and Samsonov(isn’t producing but has lots of potential)

Point 2: LATENDRESSE!!!!!!!!!!: If you guys chekc carefully his style of play, it is almost identical to Ryder’s. But note these following aspects of his: He is more energetic, is bigger, Is more of an enforcer, has way more potential, He is a better scorer, is a better passer*Hits EVERYTHING he sees on the ice.

PROOF: When Latendresse joined Saku Koivu’s line in the beggining of the year, he wasn’t producing quite well. When Higgins was injured, Koivu was smart enough to notice Latendresse was a better player than Ryder so he kept passing to Latendresse, and that made everyone understand Latendresse was ready for NHL.

* Now I’m comming up to my point, Ryder learning Latendresse palys the same style of hockey as him, and has more potential, is stronger, younger, mopre appreciated by the fans, THEN THERE IS NO PLACE FOR HIM in the team.

I just want to make sure you guys understand I don’t want Ryder to leave the team, but that’s just wahat I have noticed. Some can say it is bias, and some can take it to serious

Jack

Hab Heaven:

You sound like a real optimist in live.

Snake hit that one bang on. Perreault is a huge risk at his age and could shut it down at any moment like he did in MTL, Nedved is 35 has 1 goal and 10 assists and is -20, and if you live in Edmonton you know the can of worms you’ll get if you have Comrie on your team. He’s like a womannizing version of Ribeiro, not even his own teammates wives are off limits.(Most people around here know that he he had a thing with Tommy Salo’s wife and was a terrible teammate, MacT and K-Lowe were heard in public saying it).

You have to give something up to get something good, those three centres aren’t exactly what you’d call quality pickups.

Don’t knock Michael Ryder-this guy is one of the few natural goal scorers that we have. He has soft hands, decent size and works hard. He’ll be a 30 or 40 goal scorer for years to come.
I think that Kovalev and Samsonov should be separated. They both hold on to the puck for extended periods(Kovalev more effectively mind you). Maybe Sammy can move to the 4th line where Mark Streit’s strong defensive play would counter Sammy’s darting around like a water bug:) Maybe have Kovalev play with Saku and Latendresse or with Saku and Ryder. Higgins could play with Plekanec and one of Latendresse/Ryder.
Latendresse is for real-they say that although he has Power Forward Size he likes to play more of a finesse game than the usual power forward game.

By the way, SNAKE, Comrie, who you call MEDIOCRE, scored 30 GOALS LAST SEASON! so much for mediocrity. How many goals does our 2nd line center have? 4?HA HA HA HA! what a joke. you should check stats before making such a idiotic comment. And they got Comrie for next to nothing. Who cares what he does off the ice. He can score, and that’s all we care about. So we missed the boat, AGAIN! another opportunity to get a quality player, GONE! and you wonder why in the past 13 years, we can’t get beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs. Because we don’t make the necessary moves,and obtain players who will help us. Ottawa, great job! You have a GM who cares about your team, and who’se not afraid to take chances. I like Gainey, but he is way too conservative. we need to be aggressive, and take some chances. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Ottawa didn’t have a 2nd line center, so they went out and got one. But us,now waiting since training camp, have done NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING,to help our cause. People, don’t whine when we’re eliminated early from the playoffs. Just blame our front office!

hab heaven, Comrie has 7 goals this year. A far cry from the 30 he scored last year. He’s scored 30 only twice in his career and he’s a locker room menace. He devides the room and teammates, kind of like the Terrel Owens of hockey. He isn’t worth the trouble and he’s brutal in his own end. I watched him for years in Edmonton, he’s not worth it.Why do you think he’s only 27 and has been traded by three different teams? Plus he’s UFA at the end of the year. Ottawa just gave up a promising, although troublesome, player for a guy who may not contribute anything and probably won’t be back at the end of the year.

And in the new NHL with a cap, it’s like the NFL. You don’t throw away draft picks or young players. They’re like gold. You make a key free agent signing or trade here or there, but the smart teams build through the draft(i.e. New England Patriots, Phenoix Suns, St.Louis Cardinals, New Jersey Devils, all continuesly contending teams).

Has Gainey made a disastrous trade yet? Did he ever really make one in Minnesota/Dallas?(Some might argue that trading Iginla for Niewindyk was bad but that was when Joe was in the prime of his career and helped them win the cup.) But that trade brings up the point. Do you really want to trade Higgins, Lattendresse, Lapierre, Halak, Price, Chipchura, Fischer, Carle(leading all QMJHL D-men in scoring), Maxwell, or Komisarek? That’s what teams would want. If any one would be available it would be Ryder because I just get the feeling that he’s not one of Bob’s favorites.

I for one would not be happy to see Gainey mortgage the future on a veteran player who will probably be UFA at the end of the year and might not contribute anything. Gainey’s to smart to do that.

I don’t think beating TB builds confidence, because they are below 500. On the other hand, losing to Florida and TB destroys confidence. But having said that, I think we are all in agreement that we need a 2nd line center, DESPERATELY! You know, you can win a few games with 1 line scoring, but in the long run, it will catch up to you, and the opposition will counter on the 1st line, and then you’ll have nobody scoring. Is that what we want? Even tho Plekanec scored 2 goals,his 2nd goal was a fluke,(lucky). he’s not a goal scorer. he is a defensive player, and belongs on the 4th line. what’s going to happen when Begin comes back? hopefully, tweedle dee dee and tweedle dee dumb(Murray and Downey) will be demoted to the minors, because they certainly don’t belong in the NHL. Latendresse should play on the 1st line instead of Ryder, and move Ryder to the 2nd line, and move Samsonov(the terrible), to the 4th line. Agree?

WOW…….Two things guys……and you can jump on me if you like….only my opinion after all. I read in the above posts that someone believes Ryder has soft hands…listen up guys….this guy has hands of stone….if the pucks not placed on his stick by hand he’s not gonna handle it…next is Streit being a hit & miss?…this guys turned into one of the better journeymen on the team that can play defense…forward and last night I saw him throw a couple of hits in the offensive zone that left his victims laying down and sucking for wind…..he played a phenominal game. Rivet played much better and has simplified his game ( around the boards high & hard to get it out ) since his recent mental breakdowns started about a month ago.The coaches know he is a better player than he’s shown of late and are simplifying things for him until he gats back on track.
I know you’ll think I’m crazy but Ryder is the one who’s going to go, and when he does I’ll be saying I told you so..lol..he has good value, but doesnt fit with the philosophy of the team right now, which is speed, speed, oh, and more speed.You cant stop or hit what you cant catch.He needs to be somewhere with two forwards so fast that they can circle the opposing teams defense and place the puck on a golf tee 2 feet in front of the open cage, and they will have to render the goaltender unconscious as well.
Honestly, this guy couldnt hit a cow in the *** with a shovel right now.

I didnt say I dont like him…not at all…some of my best friends are from newfoundland and one of them even played junior with him. Great, stand up people, with morals to boot!….but soft hands???….Jesus, Joseph and Mary NO!!

K….you can jump on me now…

Izzy

Why is it that every opposing goalie is so hot against the habs? Players like Ryder should be shooting the puck and not so much playmaking,habs got tons of playmakers that don’t have ryders shot,they should set up the shooters.samsnov playmaker, kovelev playmaker, koivu playmaker, habs defence playmakers and more ,when the goal scorers arn’t shooting the puck ,the opposing goalies look hot.

What would you guys want to aquire for Ryder, Aebisher, Niniima, Murray, and maybe samsonov?

I say a good 2nd line centre or a great right winger

possibilities:
1. Jonathan Cheechoo ( he’s struggling right now, perfect time to aquire him)
2. Shane Doan
3. Rick Nash
4. Simon Gagne
5. Alexander Semin

I swear i we can’t aquire any player better than Milan Michalek.
MILAN MICHALEK!
(I know I’m dreaming big, but he is the perfect player to fill up the hole)
Sharks: Samsonov+Niinima+Murray
Canadiens: Milan Michalek