Pay up time - it's a bitch!
Here comes five serving of crow. I ought to make these bets with Flyers fans only.
Yup, the Habs took a 4 - 0 beating by the surging Canucks, continuing their play in disarray. Zanstorm's right about bad stretches and bad breaks. The Canadiens, while working harder tonight, I thought, cannot create their own breaks, and have no bounces going for them. The way things have been, if any shots had beaten Luongo, they'd have hit the post.
While Montreal outshot the Canucks 30 to 22, scoring chances were slim to none as vancouver coach Alain Vignault has the team playing a tight defensive style. It has evidentally been working for team. hard work and basics is where every good team begins.
It's lesson Montreal is relearning.
Carbonneau keeps shuffling the deck looking for winning line combinations and it has rendered zero goals in two games. I'm not sure what recipe he's looking for, but nothings cooking. Perhaps he's trying to make a point with certain players. Maybe he should stick it out with what worked best.
I've often seen teams flounder in this manner. It's like a confused search for identity lost. The upside is that when teams come out the other side somewhat intact, the benefits hang around quite some time. Often when analyzing teams overall depth and strength, you realize the issues are about compatibility and trust in the coaching staff and teammates.
I continue to believe the elements currently in place are strong enough to build upon. While the Canadiens presently appear to be a dysfunctional group, what worked earlier in the year was not accidental and will be drawn upon to put the team back on the right track.
Sometimes unexpected success throws teams off as much as losing streaks do. It might be no coincidence that the Canadiens season peaked right before it plummeted.
It may later be seen as a good thing it hit at the 40 game mark and not the final season stretch.
7 comments:
why on earth do you keep making these bets? and have they ever yet worked out in your favor?
"I continue to believe the elements currently in place are strong enough to build upon."
I agree.
I think the Habs will peak right at the correct time this season: right before they go into the playoffs.
Unloading Samsonov before that time is crucial methinks.
Samsonov rarely harms the team, he's just unable to help it. Kovalev eats puck time and space from all linemates. Kovalev is the true issue here. It's like he gives you this, but you pay for that! He's a maddening enigma and hardheaded talent. He should be one of the best players in the game but he'd rather be it's most mysterious magiciain.
E - I make these bets cause it's fun even when I lose. I get to go in a different direction for a bit while the winners get to brag about it on their site. On occasion it makes new friends.
I don't go insane when they lose if they have a good team, or as is the case, an underperforming one. It is mildly frustrating at present, but the season is long.
I almost feel sorry for you.
I expect a post on the greatness of Jiri Slegr.
Jes - you got your Slegr post! It may only be semi-serious!
Poor Carbo!!! It's not the last of many fits for him to come. 2 high price passengers on a team desperate for scoring. I won't be shocked if those 2 spend winter in a press box. Bring in the farm boys- Lapiere, Grabovski, and Kostitsyn. Samsonov wont learn from the above because he's got a plane ticket out in July anyways. The Habs will rebound eventually, they just need a few reminders.
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