Jennifer B Cutler: Habs Frustrations Bubbling Over & Game Preview vs Nashville The Montreal Canadiens hope to rediscover their winning ways starting tonight against the Nashville Predators. Also - 5 Questions.

The good news is rinne is not having a great season...

outside of the Randy Cunneyworth catastophe, can't recall a stretch this putrid in more than a decade. doesn't say much for the guys on the roster.

1- Hm, no... But I think he'll create more opportunities, don't know if that counts!

2- I have a feeling they will. I think this will be a blowout, and then they'll score 2 tomorrow.

3- I think they will change, depending on who has a good night and who hasn't, but probably juste one pair of wingers swapping places, and an odd turn here in there for another "hot" winger.

4- Habs.

5- Yup, don't really care for the Habs prospect anyway. I mean, if they play, great, I try to keep an eye on them, otherwise, I just enjoy the great hockey!

As for the blog, I agree with you, again, on line composition. I really don't get why Therrien doesn't try out Carr or McCarron in Gallagher's place, leaving the other lines as they were before his injury. That keeps the chemistry almost all the forwards, and the 1st line has a new winger that has a similar play-style to the injured one, it shouldn't be too hard to adapt. But go figure, we're going gong-ho on the whole line-up and expect things to gel in less than a game. And when it doesn't, we mix it all up again...

And why is Andrighetto out exactly? Wasn't he the reason we bought Semin out, because he was doing the job and made Semin expendable? I don't seem to recall the 2nd line working since he's been taken out. And no offence to McCarron, I think he should keep developping in the AHL while Andrighetto plays, as he is much more NHL ready.

You generally can't argue with the results Therrien get, but sometimes, he's hard to follow. And with the team down their #1 goalie and 1st ine RW, he seems to be nervous and slightly not confident in his team. I think that shows in the players' game, and he's also just getting them confused with all the changes and it shows in the results. The players have to simplify their game, but so does the coach.

And, on a side note, if we want to win the Cup, we're still missing a 1st line winger, and that's the GM's job to help his coach out. And that winger would be really helpful right about now...

Therrien needs to stop shuffling his lines every five minutes and maybe, just maybe the players could develop a sense of chemistry AND stability.

outside of the Randy Cunneyworth catastophe, can't recall a stretch this putrid in more than a decade. doesn't say much for the guys on the roster.
- DoubleDown

#GreatLeadership.

Therrien needs to stop shuffling his lines every five minutes and maybe, just maybe the players could develop a sense of chemistry AND stability.
- habfanforever

Therrien is not the problem here.

Lack of top 6 players that can score is the issue...that and the Captain needs to get his head out of his ass

Therrien is not the problem here.

Lack of top 6 players that can score is the issue...that and the Captain needs to get his head out of his ass
- WaterBoy

the captain, his assistants.....they all suck

the captain, his assistants.....they all suck
- Symba007

Yup.

But lets blame the coach.

Jennifer B Cutler: Habs Frustrations Bubbling Over & Game Preview vs Nashville
The Montreal Canadiens hope to rediscover their winning ways starting tonight against the Nashville Predators. Also - 5 Questions.
- Jennifer B Cutler

the canadiens are unwatchable right now. can't watch a full game even if i'm drinking. having said that, as the old saying goes, they're not as good as they were when they got off to that great start and they are not as bad as they are now. what bergevin better figure out though is if he really has a team that can contend. if you subscribe to the theory that having price in goal alone gives them a "shot" then that's fine assuming he can stay healthy. however, it always comes back to the lack of scoring ability with this team and that is what has been lacking ever since bergevin took over and he has not fixed that problem. all he does is put Band-Aids on it. with regards to McCarron, I just don't get this coach at all. the kid is only here until the ice dogs get back from their Christmas break, why not give the him a chance to prove his worth. putting him out on the 4th line? really? I just don't know about this therrien character. still lots of question marks about this team and personnel.

I'm not blaming Therrien alone. I find that Pacioretty has been really bad since the beginning of the season, his 14 goals don't show his real impact on the team. How many of those are empty netters? He seems mostly invisible most nights. How about PK? I think he's just trying waaay too hard to wake this team up, and that leads to waaay too many turnovers. Markov is being overworked and he's getting tired and it shows in his game. Eller is... Eller, 6 points in 2 games, and then 2 points in 16 games. Galchenyuk is still young and learning. Third and fourth line shouldn't be expected to get us out of trouble every night, and with the non-existant danger from the top two line, they just aren't as effective anymore because they are being countered (whenever they are together).

Of course the coach isn't the only one at fault, the players have their fair share of blame to take. But it's the coach who should help them out, and at the moment, I think he's hindering more than helping.

I love how much Habs fans are over reacting to a losing streak. Fire him, Our top 6 sucks blah blah blah. Could it be that they are what they are, a good team who will make the playoffs and go as far a Price takes them but they are NOT a great team who is truly a cup contender. I think most of you were saying there wasn't enough added in the off season to take this team to the top so why are you all so surprised?

I'm not blaming Therrien alone. I find that Pacioretty has been really bad since the beginning of the season, his 14 goals don't show his real impact on the team. How many of those are empty netters? He seems mostly invisible most nights. How about PK? I think he's just trying waaay too hard to wake this team up, and that leads to waaay too many turnovers. Markov is being overworked and he's getting tired and it shows in his game. Eller is... Eller, 6 points in 2 games, and then 2 points in 16 games. Galchenyuk is still young and learning. Third and fourth line shouldn't be expected to get us out of trouble every night, and with the non-existant danger from the top two line, they just aren't as effective anymore because they are being countered (whenever they are together).

Of course the coach isn't the only one at fault, the players have their fair share of blame to take. But it's the coach who should help them out, and at the moment, I think he's hindering more than helping.
- YodaOldBoy

So, you want Therrien to lace'em up and skate on the first line as a RW ?

I love how much Habs fans are over reacting to a losing streak. Fire him, Our top 6 sucks blah blah blah. Could it be that they are what they are, a good team who will make the playoffs and go as far a Price takes them but they are NOT a great team who is truly a cup contender. I think most of you were saying there wasn't enough added in the off season to take this team to the top so why are you all so surprised?
- coolehmon41

They have been losing for 10 games. This is something else. Depth was not an issue at the beginning of the year with 4 good lines. Yes, they miss Price, but they also miss Gallagher as well.

I don't expect much from Tinordi since he did not play for the whole year. I guess he won't see much ice anyway.

They have been losing for 10 games. This is something else. Depth was not an issue at the beginning of the year with 4 good lines. Yes, they miss Price, but they also miss Gallagher as well.
- deadpoulet

Understand, but still not enough top end talent to be a true contender. There is still a few pieces that need to be added until the Habs are a true contender.

So, you want Therrien to lace'em up and skate on the first line as a RW ?
- WaterBoy

No, I want him to trust his players and revert to what the lines were (or mostly) before Gallagher got hurt. Let them play, don't change everything now. And if he does change then, he should stick to it for a few games to let them develop chemistry. He seems in panic mode right now, and that reflects off of the players' game.

No, I want him to trust his players and revert to what the lines were (or mostly) before Gallagher got hurt. Let them play, don't change everything now. And if he does change then, he should stick to it for a few games to let them develop chemistry. He seems in panic mode right now, and that reflects off of the players' game.
- YodaOldBoy

HE did let them play and they can't score for poop... so that's why he's changing them up.

Seriously...this team has no firepower.

HE did let them play and they can't score for poop... so that's why he's changing them up.

Seriously...this team has no firepower.
- WaterBoy

The leaders aren't producing, until Pacs, Plek, Galchenyuk and DD start producing again, this team will lose more often then not. MT is trying every line combo possible but guys like Plek and Pacs haven't produced regularly since early November.

The problems with this team lie in many places. Player mismanagement and love affairs are causing MT to put horrible line combinations together, and for once in this circumstance, Desharnais is not actually the biggest problem when it comes to MT's love affairs.

While considering the original chemistry of the players who started the year together, the biggest issue is Eller. In 35 games, he has 11 points on the second line. I don't rely on plus/minus, but if Eller is on that line as the defensively responsible player, then why is he a -3, while Galchenyuk is at least even at 0. Galchenyuk has shown himself to be capable of holding his own when it comes to playing two way hockey but is constantly playing 3rd line minutes with non offensive players. Semin was a failure and now the right wing is playing a rotating door. If you ask me, the first player who needs to be sent upstairs is Eller in the greater scheme of things, all things considered.

The destruction of the third line has been another bone headed move. Weise is a proven 3rd liner at best, based on his talents. If he stays where he started the season, that's fine.

MT needs to stop falling back on the Pacioretty - Desharnais tandem. Chemistry requires something new come the playoffs.

MT needs to stop babying the kids. If they have the talent and are being groomed as a top 6/9 forward, then let them play in that role. Stop protecting them by putting them on the 3rd and 4th lines so that they can make less gaffs with less ice time. They're going to screw up once in awhile anyway, but let them play to their intended role. You'll never have kids come out of nowhere and become stars and prove themselves by doing this. As an example, I doubt this is how the triplets came out of Tampa. It's how we made our lineup better when MB took over, by throwing 2 rookies in Galchenyuk and Gallagher into the fold, it was the first time we had more than 5 top 6 players in our lineup in years.

MT also needs to stop putting proven bottom 6 veteran players on the top lines, keep them where they belong and stop slowing the development of the kids. Roll your lines to let the bottom lines of defensively responsible vets take the tough assignments as much as you can.

MT needs to have the balls to actually take a chance on the kids and put the right line combinations together for the sake of offense, not defense for a change.

Considering chemistry, keep Pacioretty and Plekanec together and for now, without Gallagher, considering the kids that are up right now and who will most likely bring the kind of game needed to replace Gallagher, use McCarron on the right side.

For the second line, I don't really know who played with who the most in the AHL, but Carr, Hudon and Andrighetto have all played decently in terms of two way hockey. In this situation, because Eller doesn't belong in this role, build this line around the chemistry developed in the AHL to work around Galchenyuk instead and at least give him more offensively skilled linemates. You never know what may happen. This is the biggest risk but could have the biggest gain. Worse comes to worse, Andrighetto had some success playing with Plekanec last season, so swap Andrighetto and McCarron and build the Galchenyuk line around Hudon or Carr and McCarron.

Keep Fleischmann, Desharnais and Weise together and use Byron, Mitchell and Flynn on the 4th line.

Based on who we have right now, Forward lines should look like:
Pacioretty - Plekanec - McCarron/Andrighetto
Carr/Hudon - Galchenyuk - Andrighetto/McCarron
Fleischmann - Desharnais - Weise
Byron - Mitchell - Flynn

Then MT just needs to get the team back to playing high octane hockey and stop with the dump and chase nonsense. Let them play the game that they were successful at scoring with at the beginning of the season. If the other team scores a goal, so what? So long as we can score a few too, we may actually win a few.

We're in the middle of the season and looking for chemistry is a hard thing to allow to create itself, but rotating the lineup every game won't work. Let the lines play together for a few games before trying a new combination. I would rather us lose 2 or 3 games while developing chemistry if it will turn things around as opposed to losing 8 out of 10 while line juggling every game and confusing the crap out of everyone.

It's just very interesting to think that what seems like the most obvious set of line combinations that would provide this team with an opportunity for success also seems to be the one combination that MT refuses to try.

The problems with this team lie in many places. Player mismanagement and love affairs are causing MT to put horrible line combinations together, and for once in this circumstance, Desharnais is not actually the biggest problem when it comes to MT's love affairs.

While considering the original chemistry of the players who started the year together, the biggest issue is Eller. In 35 games, he has 11 points on the second line. I don't rely on plus/minus, but if Eller is on that line as the defensively responsible player, then why is he a -3, while Galchenyuk is at least even at 0. Galchenyuk has shown himself to be capable of holding his own when it comes to playing two way hockey but is constantly playing 3rd line minutes with non offensive players. Semin was a failure and now the right wing is playing a rotating door. If you ask me, the first player who needs to be sent upstairs is Eller in the greater scheme of things, all things considered.

The destruction of the third line has been another bone headed move. Weise is a proven 3rd liner at best, based on his talents. If he stays where he started the season, that's fine.

MT needs to stop falling back on the Pacioretty - Desharnais tandem. Chemistry requires something new come the playoffs.

MT needs to stop babying the kids. If they have the talent and are being groomed as a top 6/9 forward, then let them play in that role. Stop protecting them by putting them on the 3rd and 4th lines so that they can make less gaffs with less ice time. They're going to screw up once in awhile anyway, but let them play to their intended role. You'll never have kids come out of nowhere and become stars and prove themselves by doing this. As an example, I doubt this is how the triplets came out of Tampa. It's how we made our lineup better when MB took over, by throwing 2 rookies in Galchenyuk and Gallagher into the fold, it was the first time we had more than 5 top 6 players in our lineup in years.

MT also needs to stop putting proven bottom 6 veteran players on the top lines, keep them where they belong and stop slowing the development of the kids. Roll your lines to let the bottom lines of defensively responsible vets take the tough assignments as much as you can.

MT needs to have the balls to actually take a chance on the kids and put the right line combinations together for the sake of offense, not defense for a change.

Considering chemistry, keep Pacioretty and Plekanec together and for now, without Gallagher, considering the kids that are up right now and who will most likely bring the kind of game needed to replace Gallagher, use McCarron on the right side.

For the second line, I don't really know who played with who the most in the AHL, but Carr, Hudon and Andrighetto have all played decently in terms of two way hockey. In this situation, because Eller doesn't belong in this role, build this line around the chemistry developed in the AHL to work around Galchenyuk instead and at least give him more offensively skilled linemates. You never know what may happen. This is the biggest risk but could have the biggest gain. Worse comes to worse, Andrighetto had some success playing with Plekanec last season, so swap Andrighetto and McCarron and build the Galchenyuk line around Hudon or Carr and McCarron.

Keep Fleischmann, Desharnais and Weise together and use Byron, Mitchell and Flynn on the 4th line.

Based on who we have right now, Forward lines should look like:
Pacioretty - Plekanec - McCarron/Andrighetto
Carr/Hudon - Galchenyuk - Andrighetto/McCarron
Fleischmann - Desharnais - Weise
Byron - Mitchell - Flynn

Then MT just needs to get the team back to playing high octane hockey and stop with the dump and chase nonsense. Let them play the game that they were successful at scoring with at the beginning of the season. If the other team scores a goal, so what? So long as we can score a few too, we may actually win a few.

We're in the middle of the season and looking for chemistry is a hard thing to allow to create itself, but rotating the lineup every game won't work. Let the lines play together for a few games before trying a new combination. I would rather us lose 2 or 3 games while developing chemistry if it will turn things around as opposed to losing 8 out of 10 while line juggling every game and confusing the crap out of everyone.

It's just very interesting to think that what seems like the most obvious set of line combinations that would provide this team with an opportunity for success also seems to be the one combination that MT refuses to try.
- Elfward

This doesn't make any sense.

Well done.