NHL 2016 - 2017 Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

Flyers 7 in a row. Woo Hoo.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

And they'll be lucky if Price doesn't get suspended for that little fracas.

There is no way he'll be suspended for that. I actually thought it was good of Price to step up for himself. He's been getting run at all season, and Palmieri bowled him over. That is exactly how his knee problems began, when Kreider did something similar in the Eastern Conference Finals a couple of years ago. I do not think the refs were even going to call goaltender interference on the play until Price reacted -- neither ref had his arm up. He'd also been ran into a few minutes earlier on New Jersey's first goal, and nothing was done.

Anyway, even Palmieri blew off the play as not a big deal. Price got penalized 4 minutes, and that will be the extent of his punishment. The media is blowing it out of proportion, as usual. Had a defenseman stepped in and done the same thing to Palmieri, we wouldn't even be talking about this right now.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I do not think the refs were even going to call goaltender interference on the play until Price reacted -- neither ref had his arm up. He'd also been ran into a few minutes earlier on New Jersey's first goal, and nothing was done.

I didn't see the earlier hit, but Palmieri was trying to cross in front of the crease and got pushed into the net. That's not interference.

I looked it up -- technically, he should've been ejected for punching a prone opponent, but you have to do that three times before you get automatically suspended.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I didn't see the earlier hit, but Palmieri was trying to cross in front of the crease and got pushed into the net. That's not interference.

I looked it up -- technically, he should've been ejected for punching a prone opponent, but you have to do that three times before you get automatically suspended.

The contact with the Habs defenseman was not enough to knock Palmieri into Price. And the rule regarding ejecting a player is at the referee's discretion. In any case, as I predicted there was no suspension. Price did not even get a call from the league office. I guess the NHL saw it just as the players from both sides did - a hockey play that wasn't a big deal.

We have another edition of Habs - Bruins tonight. Montreal is coming off a 10-1 route of Colorado, while the Bruins have lost two straight to 2 of the league's worst teams -- the Avs and Leafs. I expect Boston to come out on fire and angry -- the Bruins always seem to play the Habs tougher in Montreal (where tonight's game is being played) than in Boston. Hopefully the Canadiens will not be complacent after two straight easy victories.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I wouldn't worry too much. . .Tuukka is slumping and they couldn't find the net against the Avs or the Leafs.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Hopefully you were able to watch last night's game, Aaron. It was one of the best games I've seen this season -- lots of good skating up/down the ice, lots of solid checking both ways, and two elite goaltenders battling it out. Rask played very well, while the Bruins goal in regulation was one Price should have saved. The only thing bad about the game is that the wrong team won. The Habs just are not good at the 3 on 3 overtime, especially with Galchenyuk out of the lineup.

One bizarre thing about the NHL's new goal review and coach's challenge was demonstrated over Montreal's last two games. In OT last night, a Bruins goal was disallowed on the ice and then reviewed. Both whether the puck entered the goal (it did) and goaltender interference were reviewed by Toronto and the refs -- no coach's challenge was required. Yet against Colorado on Saturday night, there were two reviews (one by each team) where first Toronto/refs reviewed whether the puck went in properly, then the coach challenged goaltender interference, which required a separate review. These two reviews took 6 minutes and 20 seconds each -- that's over 12 and a half minutes of review time added to the first period!

I see no reason why Toronto / refs cannot review goaltender interference during the initial review as they did last night in the Habs - Bruins game. It would speed up the process a great deal. That first period on Saturday took over an hour to play. Hockey is supposed to be a fast flowing game, and these reviews are turning it into the NFL!

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Sadly, I was not able to watch, but at least I got to see the Patriots game, which was very exciting (for both good and bad reasons!).

The Bruins have had an absurd number of goals called back over the past couple of seasons. Not incorrectly, for the most part, but it's still annoying. I especially hate the ones where they call off a good goal because there was a missed offside a minute before. There oughta be a limit to how far back they can go!

Six minutes for a review is nutty. But I can see how a coach might want to wait on the official review before risking his coach's review. Not sure how to mitigate that, other than for the officials to maybe pay more attention the first time they look at it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Habs injury list continues to grow. Andrew Shaw and Andre Markov are now out, adding to the list that includes Galchenyuk, Desharnais, Pateryn and Andrighetto. Galchenyuk, Shaw and Markov are the ones that really hurt, but the others would be depth with the other injuries. Hopefully Shaw (concussion) and Markov (knee) will be shorter term absences.

Last night's Montreal - Anaheim game featured three players I watched play with my old hometown OHL team, the Plymouth Whalers. Chris Terry was filling in on the fourth line for some of the injured Habs, while Rickard Rakell and Stefan Noesen (both former first round draft picks) played for the Ducks. Rakell is a very talented center and was drafted by Anaheim, but I did not know that Noesen was playing in the NHL with them -- he was originally drafted by Ottawa and had been injured quite a bit. Terry got his first goal with the Canadiens (he played for Carolina last year) in the Habs 5-1 victory.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

The Bruins are in town tonight, but I don't think I'll have the energy to go. At least it's on TV.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Habs lost two more players last night in their OT win at Dallas -- Brendan Gallagher (broken hand on a 98mph slap shot from Shea Weber) and Paul Byron (concussion on a check to the head from Patrick Sharp). Gallagher's been in a season-long slump, but Byron has been a pleasant surprise this season (he was claimed on waivers last season from Calgary).

The current infirmary report:

Alex Galchenyuk (#1 C)
Gallagher (top 6 winger)
Byron (top 6 winger)
Andrew Shaw (3rd line winger)
Andre Markov (top 4 D)
Greg Pateryn (3rd pairing D)
David Desharnais (useless hobbit)

The team has really played well through these injuries so far, but you have to wonder how many more players they can lose and still be competitive. One bright spot during this injury siege has been Philip Danault. He was moved to one of the top center roles with Galchenyuk and Desharnais out, and the youngster has really played well. The team may have found their 2nd line center. Not a bad trade last year, getting him from Chicago for Dale Weise and Fleishman.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I'll miss Claude, but. . .something positive seems to be coming out of it. I can't remember the last time I saw the Bruins pummel the Habs like that.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'll miss Claude, but. . .something positive seems to be coming out of it. I can't remember the last time I saw the Bruins pummel the Habs like that.

I wish the Habs would follow Boston's lead and dump Michel Therrien. I hated the decision to re-hire him in the first place, and have seen nothing since then that's changed my mind. His "dump and chase" system is aggravating to watch, he gives too much ice time to inferior players (Desharnais being the best example), and the team's been terrible for the past few months.

I wouldn't mind seeing Julien back for a 2nd run in Montreal. He's certainly a much better coach than Therrien, and he meets the team's criteria of speaking French.

On a very sad note, Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch passed away last weekend. While I'm not a Wings fan, I still had immense respect for Mr. Ilitch as an owner and person. He's also done a great deal for junior hockey, and has been a driving force behind rebuilding downtown Detroit. This region will really miss the man.

My uncle actually knew Mr. Ilitch when he was first starting out, as the 2nd Little Caesar's restaurant the Ilitch's ever opened in Westland, Michigan was right next to the gas station my uncle owned at that time. He had very nice things to say about Mr. Ilitch -- he would actually bring extra pizzas over to my uncle sometimes. My uncle was a huge Red Wings fan even before Mr. Ilitch bought the team, and even more so afterwards. He was actually buried in a Red Wings sweatshirt and hat, as my aunt said that was what he always wore, so she wouldn't think of burying him in a suit.

BTW, the very first Little Caesars Pizza restaurant was in the town I grew up in -- Garden City, Michigan. That was also the home to the very first K-Mart store.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Well, I got my wish today. Therrien is out and Julien is in as head coach for the Habs. I am very happy.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

From your mouth to the Habs' ears!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

From your mouth to the Habs' ears!

The irony is that Julien was also hired to replace Therrien the first time Montreal fired him. It was Claude's first head coaching job. He inherited a pretty bad team that first time. This go around, there is a lot more talent for him to work with.

The other odd fact is this is the second time Therrien has been fired on Valentine's Day. Pittsburgh canned him on the same date and went on to win the Cup that season. I bet this has become Therrien's least favorite holiday.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Did Bruce Cassidy simply walk into a meeting and say "you guys have to play hard for three periods, not just one or two?" Did he start tazing slackers in the locker room? Whatever it is, it seems to be working!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Just about all the teams that made coaching changes are playing better -- Boston, the Islanders, and St. Louis. It's too early to tell with Montreal, as they have only played two games under Claude Julien. However, Cary Price looks like his old self under the new coach, and their style of play looks better to me. They need to correct some lapses on defense, but I attribute that as getting used to Julien's system.

One thing I really like about Julien over Therrien is his complete opposite viewpoint on developing players. Last year, when asked about some of the younger players struggles, Therrien said "the NHL is not a development league". Basically, Therrien's entire tactic for young players is to punish them with less ice time whenever they make a mistake. When Julien was asked recently about the Habs young center Alex Galchenyuk, he said "it's my job to make him better". Hopefully, Claude can restore some confidence to some of the younger Canadiens, such as Galchenyuk, Lehkonen, Beaulieu, McCarron and Pateryn.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I'm not sure whether to comment on last night's Bruins-Ducks officiating here or in the "What Annoys You" thread.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Habs have now beaten the Leafs 14 consecutive times.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

A couple of odd /interesting trades went down over the weekend, with the trading deadline drawing near.

1. Arizona sends Martin Hanzal and Ryan White to Minnesota for 1st and 2nd round draft picks, plus a conditional 2nd round choice. That's a lot to give up for a rental 3rd line center (Hanzal) and fourth line player (White). Montreal was rumored to be interested in Hanzal, but I am glad they passed at that price. Hanzal is not much of an improvement over Plekanec and Danault at center for the Habs.
2. Tampa sends Ben Bishop to the Kings for Peter Budaj and defenseman prospect Erik Cernak. I'm not really sure how this helps either team. Jonathan Quick is back in net for LA, and Bishop is a rental who will be gone in the offseason. Tampa was probably going to lose Bishop anyway, but you would think they could have gotten more from a team more desperate for a goalie. Budaj will be gone after the season, and Cernak is projected to be no more than a 3rd pairing defenseman.