Habs @ Leafs - Oct. 7th, 7:00pm - SN, Fan 590

[bustaheims]

I don't understand the Bernier hate. Yes the first goal was awful. But he rebounded and made some huge saves to keep it tied for a long time.

But, how many times in the past couple seasons have we said basically the exact same thing? He'll play well for the majority of a game, but he also gives up a lot of questionable or bad goals. That's basically what average goalies do.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I don't understand the Bernier hate. Yes the first goal was awful. But he rebounded and made some huge saves to keep it tied for a long time.

But, how many times in the past couple seasons have we said basically the exact same thing? He'll play well for the majority of a game, but he also gives up a lot of questionable or bad goals. That's basically what average goalies do.

That's usually a mental thing and honestly, the Mandela jokes aside, when listening to him talk he seems like one of those caricatures of a dumb athlete.

Whenever anyone asks him anything he has to think about in an interview he does one of two things, either gets this weird smirk on his face like he doesn't know what to say or just kind of glazes over.

The guy gives me douche chills in all honesty.

 

[Boston Leaf]

I don't understand the Bernier hate. Yes the first goal was awful. But he rebounded and made some huge saves to keep it tied for a long time.

But, how many times in the past couple seasons have we said basically the exact same thing? He'll play well for the majority of a game, but he also gives up a lot of questionable or bad goals. That's basically what average goalies do.

Oh I agree in the long run he is an average goalie.. I just thought he played pretty well last night..

 

[bustaheims]

Oh I agree in the long run he is an average goalie.. I just thought he played pretty well last night..

I don't think he was bad last night, but he was also saved by pucks get favourable bounces of the inside of the post on at least 2 occasions, Gardiner making a big save, and, on the goalie interference goal, I don't know if he actually would have been able to recover to get into position had Eller's stick not hit him in the face. He was pretty far to the side of the net and the play happened fairly quickly. The score very easily could have been much worse without his game having changed at all.

 

[Bullfrog]

My favourite part is when they start talking about how the mere continued presence of Carey Price causes players to screw up.

Never look directly into his eyes.

 

[Bullfrog]

Oh I agree in the long run he is an average goalie.. I just thought he played pretty well last night..

I don't think he was bad last night, but he was also saved by pucks get favourable bounces of the inside of the post on at least 2 occasions, Gardiner making a big save, and, on the goalie interference goal, I don't know if he actually would have been able to recover to get into position had Eller's stick not hit him in the face. He was pretty far to the side of the net and the play happened fairly quickly. The score very easily could have been much worse without his game having changed at all.

The habs also hit the post at least two or three times.

 

[herman]

Small sample size, but

Good to see:
- a large number of OZ faceoffs, indicating the possession and control we had in the game
- Kadri on PP1 immediately yielding results
- JvR playing assertively again; caused some deep turnovers leading to chances
- Evenly distributed minutes on the back end, and to a lesser degree the front (4th line played ~10 min but with a lot of hustle)
- Spaling's line effective in bringing the game into Montreal's end and forcing OZ faceoffs (classic Winnik)
- Skating game was strong, thanks to short shifts and supported play

Not so Good:
- Bernier's opening softie; lots of lucky later on, but also some nice saves, so it's a wash
- Bozak's line seemed to turn it over fairly regularly when it's on Bozak or Lupul's stick (dump and change, mostly); Matthias is carrying the load there
- No finish yet; lots of tightly gripped sticks putting low-percentage shots on Price's pads, or Jason Blake shots from beyond the circles with no net-front presence
- Mistakes and momentum changes the wrong way seem to go straight to the Leafs' heads and they spiral for a bit

I'd like to see:
- Holland in place of Bozak with Lupul and Matthias; Holland makes more space out there and holds the puck longer

 

[riff raff]

Observations/questions (no answers)

1. Leafs were competitive but were out-goaltendered. (To be fair, they were out-goaltendered by Carey Price who, as we were reminded repeatedly during the broadcast, won a ton of prizes last year. If they get out-goaltendered by Pinky McFivehole, we'll have something to really complain about.)

2. How good a team is Montreal? If we swapped goalies would they be competing for a playoff spot realistically? In other words, was the Leafs' "competitive-ness" anything to brag about?

 

[pmrules]

Wow - what a difference a great coach can make.  A noticeable difference from the past few years of crap hockey.

Kadri, JVR, Gardiner, Matthias, Winnik all caught my eye.  Even Hunwick and Harrington surprised me.

Once "the skill" arrives over the next few years, this will be a great team...looking forward to it.

 

[Frank E]

I guess I thought that this was as good as I could have expected in terms of the players not making glaring errors leading to goals against.

As has already been pointed out, there is most definitely a lack of finish with this team, but I expect that to be the case all year.

 

[herman]

As has already been pointed out, there is most definitely a lack of finish with this team, but I expect that to be the case all year.

Fortunately for the tank, you can't coach scoring the way you coach structured team defense. If this system and its game flow builds consistency (and our goalie starts playing above average), the foundation will be set for Nylander, Marner, Kapanen, Brown, Johnson, et al. to take the team to the next level. I could not have said the same for Carlyle's rope-a-dope Hail Mary 'strategy'.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

2. How good a team is Montreal? If we swapped goalies would they be competing for a playoff spot realistically? In other words, was the Leafs' "competitive-ness" anything to brag about?

The Habs with average goaltending are a borderline playoff team. Most smart Canadiens fans will even agree with that. And they're often out-possessed, not as bad as the Leafs would be but it's still an issue for them. I wouldn't exactly take anything away from Toronto's performance last night, but I wouldn't start hanging up any 'Mission Accomplished' banners just yet either.

 

[rdowdall]

2. How good a team is Montreal? If we swapped goalies would they be competing for a playoff spot realistically? In other words, was the Leafs' "competitive-ness" anything to brag about?

The Habs with average goaltending are a borderline playoff team. Most smart Canadiens fans will even agree with that. And they're often out-possessed, not as bad as the Leafs would be but it's still an issue for them. I wouldn't exactly take anything away from Toronto's performance last night, but I wouldn't start hanging up any 'Mission Accomplished' banners just yet either.

The Detroit game should be interesting.  Not as good in the goaltending department, but a better offence.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Wow - what a difference a great coach can make.  A noticeable difference from the past few years of crap hockey.
Kadri, JVR, Gardiner, Matthias, Winnik all caught my eye.  Even Hunwick and Harrington surprised me.

Once "the skill" arrives over the next few years, this will be a great team...looking forward to it.

Thought so too.  In fact, that is the first noticeable difference, coupled with a difference in system play. 
Just the way Babcock immerses himself with his players is a difference in itself as compared to the past.  Positive start in this directon and category at least.