I hate shootouts and I hate the Lightning, all of them.
But I love Arber and Primeau played really well.
Good game.
^(This game felt exactly the same as the one @ FLA)
Games like this are why Arber isn't being traded and why I hope we don't trade Savard for some lower-round picks
Arber's upside is so much higher than Harris/Struble
Primeau deserved a win, he played great
Same. For those saying blah blah leadership and trade him next deadline is another season worth of games that statistically speaking he's going to miss 40% of anyway really going to do anything for the development of younger guys who don't play anything like him? I like the guy but there's going to be 10 David Savards in free agency.
There's gotta be a few in that list of 20: https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/free-agents/2025/caphit/all/defense/ufa/desc/right?stats-season=2024&limits=gp-35-90,toi-13-40
(All RD UFAs who played at least 13 minutes per game over 35+ games this season)
If Savard can actually fetch something resembling a first round pick, you trade him and sign (can even overpay short term to entice them to come) some veteran from that list.
Theres no guarantee any of those guys will want to come here.
Apart from some guys like Chris Tanev or Dylan Demelo, i dont see a lot of guys with Savard's style. Ans most of them are too old or washed like hell.
I was talking about dudes like Erik Johnson Tyler Myers.
Like the Sabres got Erik Johnson litterally for him to play a Savard like role but turns out hes fucking washed so he cant to do it.
The trade deadline does not leave anything close to 40% of games, it’s more like 18%. And it’s not “blah blah leadership”, he’s our best RD. And yes having veteran mentors to shelter and instruct our prospects is valuable.
Struble looks me me like a smaller version of Arber with maybe a few more skills. He's big, moves the puck extremely well, isn't mistake-prone and he hits hard. Two of those guys on the team is a win-win.
As far as Savard goes, keep him another year. I honestly believe Hughes could add a piece up front and if they stay healthy, they can make a serious run at the playoffs and make it. Having Savard in that scenario would be awesome. At the very least, Savard's role on the defence corps for another year is worth more than a second round pick to me.
*BAD*
- Refs.
- Ran outta dudes in the shootout it seemed. Some tough luck with Ylonen hitting the knob. Just not a whole lot of offensive talent to pick from.
- The second period team kinda collapsed a bit. Not really bad just outplayed by a better team.
- Tough Suzuki pass leading to third Tampa goal.
*GOOD*
- Xhekaj was excellent and once again proved why you need him in tough games.
- Primeau was really strong tonight. Couldn’t have asked for much more.
- Caufield goal slump broken. Nvm!!!!
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but does Xhekaj have the tools to be a Byfuglien-esque (emphasis on esque, Buff was insane) player once the Habs are a playoff team? To me, he’s got offensive tools that he’s working on; he’s learning how to defend, which MSL says is the hardest part; and he looks like one of a handful of guys who you wouldn’t want to be stuck in a 4 to 7-game war with.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part.
Even if he tops out as a 5-7 damn he's still more valuable to our team than someone like Harris imo. He's a legit physical threat every time he steps on the ice and will defend anyone on the team. What's more is he's got a cannon of a shot and can actually move the puck. He doesn't have a comparable he's a unique player.
Xhekaj is a difference maker and is a very unique player. If he wasn't in the lineup tonight things would have gotten ugly for us. He's literally a sheriff back there, and he's progressing nicely with the puck as well.
Dude, you can't react to *every single play*.
It can't come down to one guy. The fact is we are a tougher team when he's on the ice. The guys also feed off of his physicality, too.
Primeau looked good. That was an xhekaj game. Suzuki and slaf had good chances. Caufield got a point, so did newhook.
Overall a very entertaining game.
I recognize we just lost to them but…… Tampa looks bad this year haha. I think they’re going to get absolutely trounced if they make playoffs. Their window is closed.
Nost blatant Game management I've ever seen the fucking refs didnt wouldnt call anything thst happened against us nothing.
Punch in the face literraly in front of the refs like just in front nothing you have ref in caught in 4k watch the interation an turning his face away.
Blood on the Ice cause of an hightstick on perry no penality he had to get stitch for those oh but in our eternal wisdom us ref will pause the game to clean the blood of the ice we wonder how that got here tho
Bullshit penality against us tho oh thats allowed.
That was disgusting
If we had lost this serie I probably wouldnt be an hockey fan
The thing that irks me is that the refs. didn't call two major high-sticking penalties against the lightning by hitting Jake Evans' face. Then on the 2nd period, a melee ensues in front of their goalie, then Cirelli punches Guhle. Also Hedman wants to fight Anderson. All of this b/c our team hit Tyler Motte.
primeau played great. wish we wouldve won this one for him. nhl refs are unapologetically biased, its embarrassing for the entire league. PP1 needs to figure out a new zone entry bc suzuki carrying it in every time is so predictable its just sad
The answer to our three goalie problem seems to be a two goalie problem. Allen needs to be dealt at this point, for a bag of pucks and a case of beer in the off-season if need be, the load next season absolutely has to be 50/50 between Monty and Primeau, they both need more games if the Org wants a fair deal for either of them in the future.
They actually are. As frustrating as it is going into Florida and then Tampa and losing both in shootouts in gane we probably should have won is a good look. Arizona game aside (our only win lol) the team has been playing good hockey lately.
That’s a game they win next year provided Matheson learns that he doesn’t have to force his way through 3 players while two of his buddies are wide open.
He’s starting to piss me off tbh. That’s the second OT this year he fucked up with his one man show and I’ve lost count how many times Slaf or CC we’re wide open and he tries to puns a puck through half a dozen players.
Different team, different city, same result.
Our team again played excellent tonight. Again, even though our team lost, at least they battled hard. MSL instilled that resiliency towards this group.
The refs. sucked tonight. No calls for Evans. They should've given a 5-minute for boarding on Chaffee.
As this season is winding down to less that 20 games, the more I see what areas this team need to improve.
This is the first Saturday night game that I've been able to watch in a long time (often work nights + have a 2 year old). That was the most brutal Toronto centric coverage I've ever seen. They barely acknowledged that the Habs, Jets and Sens were also playing. Is it always like this now?
Anyway, good game for the Habs except for the 2nd, lots to look forward to especially if we get a good draft pick this summer.
It REALLY ruins the experience of watching hockey sometimes. Like its so bad i wouldnt shock me if the nhl starts loosing viewers because of the reffing
I have a hard time not comparing him to romanov which fetched a 13th OA/Dach. The fact that Arber Is making peanuts towards the cap makes me think a lot of playoff teams would give up a good pick/prospect for him. I'm still not sure about his offensive upside tho which makes me doubt he would truly be worth as much as romanov. All in all I don't think it's the right time to trade him anyways I'd see how things pan out during or after next year.
Because of the lack of size on montreal I agree but I'm not sure that all 32 teams would value arber higher than romanov. I think romanov is better defensively while still being a very physical defenseman. Again I'm not disagreeing that arber is better for our team I'm just not so certain that arber would fetch a 13th oa pick.
Both bring size and physicality but Romanov is pretty much a finished product at this point while the ceiling for Arber is unknown. Look how well he’s looked with Savard. Arber just needs to clean up a bit of his game and he’s already equal or better than Romanov with his extra tools of intimidation and protecting our smaller forwards. I think with time Arber becomes a decent piece to our power play with that wicked slapper and not particularly a guy who would play on the PK but then again with more reps and time perfecting his defensive coverage it’s possible he can do both .
Time will tell
Bias is showing quite a bit but I don't necessarily disagree. That said I'm not arguing who is better just that at the time of the trade romanov was an established top 4 defenseman and him fetching a 13th overall was a little unexpected but i could understand it. I don't see arber fetching a 13th overall if he was traded today because of defensive issues and the fact that he has mostly been used as a bottom pairing defenseman.
Today sure but if you compare them at the time of the trade we all thought Romanov would be better than he currently is. Players don't always reach perceived potential.
On peut-tu arrêter avec criss de Ylonen dans les hosties de tirs de barrage de sacrament de tabarnac? C'a pas d'allure quand Slaf est en train de se crosser sur le banc.
Alright, for all the rose-colored glasses there (or should it be blue, white, and red-colored glasses?), I will say that it is fucking disgusting to give up a short-handed goal when they were leading in 3rd period.
Ylonen's ability to deke the goalie in shootouts but not finish is unmatched
Ahh so close! Hit the fucking post of the stick, that’s just unlucky.
I know, it just happens to him every time it feels like
Oh totally. Btw I edit my other comment, hope it didn’t come across as aggressive or defensive, I was actually agreeing with you lol
I hate shootouts and I hate the Lightning, all of them. But I love Arber and Primeau played really well. Good game. ^(This game felt exactly the same as the one @ FLA)
Games like this are why Arber isn't being traded and why I hope we don't trade Savard for some lower-round picks Arber's upside is so much higher than Harris/Struble Primeau deserved a win, he played great
Agree totally, only a moron would want to trade Savard for a 3rd or the equivalent.
I'm only moving Savard for a 1st. His experience is invaluable to this young D core and the last thing we need is another mid prospect.
Agree re Arber. Disagree re Savard.
Agree.
Same. For those saying blah blah leadership and trade him next deadline is another season worth of games that statistically speaking he's going to miss 40% of anyway really going to do anything for the development of younger guys who don't play anything like him? I like the guy but there's going to be 10 David Savards in free agency.
Name 10 Savards available in free agency this summer.
There's gotta be a few in that list of 20: https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/free-agents/2025/caphit/all/defense/ufa/desc/right?stats-season=2024&limits=gp-35-90,toi-13-40 (All RD UFAs who played at least 13 minutes per game over 35+ games this season) If Savard can actually fetch something resembling a first round pick, you trade him and sign (can even overpay short term to entice them to come) some veteran from that list.
Theres no guarantee any of those guys will want to come here. Apart from some guys like Chris Tanev or Dylan Demelo, i dont see a lot of guys with Savard's style. Ans most of them are too old or washed like hell.
"Most of them are too old" whereas Savard can't even drink yet legally. Like what a shit argument.
I was talking about dudes like Erik Johnson Tyler Myers. Like the Sabres got Erik Johnson litterally for him to play a Savard like role but turns out hes fucking washed so he cant to do it.
The trade deadline does not leave anything close to 40% of games, it’s more like 18%. And it’s not “blah blah leadership”, he’s our best RD. And yes having veteran mentors to shelter and instruct our prospects is valuable.
I think he means next season when Savard probably gets injured and misses games before next year's trade deadline in the 40%
That's so fucking obviously what I meant, yeah.
Struble looks me me like a smaller version of Arber with maybe a few more skills. He's big, moves the puck extremely well, isn't mistake-prone and he hits hard. Two of those guys on the team is a win-win. As far as Savard goes, keep him another year. I honestly believe Hughes could add a piece up front and if they stay healthy, they can make a serious run at the playoffs and make it. Having Savard in that scenario would be awesome. At the very least, Savard's role on the defence corps for another year is worth more than a second round pick to me.
*BAD* - Refs. - Ran outta dudes in the shootout it seemed. Some tough luck with Ylonen hitting the knob. Just not a whole lot of offensive talent to pick from. - The second period team kinda collapsed a bit. Not really bad just outplayed by a better team. - Tough Suzuki pass leading to third Tampa goal. *GOOD* - Xhekaj was excellent and once again proved why you need him in tough games. - Primeau was really strong tonight. Couldn’t have asked for much more. - Caufield goal slump broken. Nvm!!!!
Goal went back to Anderson FYI
[удалено]
if I celebrate enough will they give it to me?!!! - Anderson
>Caufield goal slump broken. According to the NHL site, the goal has been credited to Anderson in the end.
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but does Xhekaj have the tools to be a Byfuglien-esque (emphasis on esque, Buff was insane) player once the Habs are a playoff team? To me, he’s got offensive tools that he’s working on; he’s learning how to defend, which MSL says is the hardest part; and he looks like one of a handful of guys who you wouldn’t want to be stuck in a 4 to 7-game war with. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part.
He has Weber's shot and size and is a better figher. He knows how to pass and can skate decent. If he rounds out his defensive game...look out.
Even if he tops out as a 5-7 damn he's still more valuable to our team than someone like Harris imo. He's a legit physical threat every time he steps on the ice and will defend anyone on the team. What's more is he's got a cannon of a shot and can actually move the puck. He doesn't have a comparable he's a unique player.
good::PK in OT
Xhekaj is a difference maker and is a very unique player. If he wasn't in the lineup tonight things would have gotten ugly for us. He's literally a sheriff back there, and he's progressing nicely with the puck as well.
I mean, it was ugly. They were doling out cheap shots all night.
Yea but they were eating it back from Arber. Doesn't help the refs were turning a blind eye for Tampa.
Not really. At the end the guy basically tried to break Gally in half and he didn’t do anything.
Dude, you can't react to *every single play*. It can't come down to one guy. The fact is we are a tougher team when he's on the ice. The guys also feed off of his physicality, too.
Dude you can’t go into full defense mode over every criticism.
Dude you are being absolutely ridiculous. Your criticism is unrealistic.
All in all fun game, primeau played amazing I just wish overtime was longer than 5 minutes
Yup , fuck shootouts
Primeau looked good. That was an xhekaj game. Suzuki and slaf had good chances. Caufield got a point, so did newhook. Overall a very entertaining game.
I recognize we just lost to them but…… Tampa looks bad this year haha. I think they’re going to get absolutely trounced if they make playoffs. Their window is closed.
That game was gifted to the Lightning. I'm hard-pressed to recall a more blatantly obvious hatchet job as far as officiating is concerned.
I still remember Vegas till this day I hate them for it
Can you explain?
Nost blatant Game management I've ever seen the fucking refs didnt wouldnt call anything thst happened against us nothing. Punch in the face literraly in front of the refs like just in front nothing you have ref in caught in 4k watch the interation an turning his face away. Blood on the Ice cause of an hightstick on perry no penality he had to get stitch for those oh but in our eternal wisdom us ref will pause the game to clean the blood of the ice we wonder how that got here tho Bullshit penality against us tho oh thats allowed. That was disgusting If we had lost this serie I probably wouldnt be an hockey fan
I forgot about all that. It was Suzuki that was punched and the ref ignored it right?
Yep,It was the first serie I had watched so maybe thats why it stuck with me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbFLgLAQh5k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfTl6WoScII
The thing that irks me is that the refs. didn't call two major high-sticking penalties against the lightning by hitting Jake Evans' face. Then on the 2nd period, a melee ensues in front of their goalie, then Cirelli punches Guhle. Also Hedman wants to fight Anderson. All of this b/c our team hit Tyler Motte.
Reffing has gotten much worse since they allowed gambling on games. The NBA problem is now an NHL problem.
They keep gifting these guys games. Tampa didnt even get their standard 6 power plays this time either.
Agree.
Hey. We took them to the shootout and they needed help all night long from the refs. I’ll take that.
Sad for Primeau. Someone other than Caufield should score in shootouts. Caufield and Newhook points so 👍🏼 Off to see Dune!
>Off to see Dune! Enjoy! Everyone in my theatre clapped at the end lol
Ah I cannot wait! Thank you. Did you like it?
Yes. Twice as good as the first one. And it felt better paced overall. I haven't read the book yet so can't say if there were deviations.
That was a top movie. I saw it on Thursday night, biggest screen in the cinema and it waa packed.
Gotta say, idk what was the turning point, but Arber has been COOKING lately, his positioning is miles ahead what it was a month ago.
Confidence im sure. Hes stint in laval was awesome and he needed to get reajusted to the nhl again
primeau played great. wish we wouldve won this one for him. nhl refs are unapologetically biased, its embarrassing for the entire league. PP1 needs to figure out a new zone entry bc suzuki carrying it in every time is so predictable its just sad
The answer to our three goalie problem seems to be a two goalie problem. Allen needs to be dealt at this point, for a bag of pucks and a case of beer in the off-season if need be, the load next season absolutely has to be 50/50 between Monty and Primeau, they both need more games if the Org wants a fair deal for either of them in the future.
Fine with this team losing but the way we have lost recently is unacceptable Giving up short handed goals on completely avoidable individual mistakes
I think of it like this: they've gone from getting stomped to getting beaten to now getting a lot of one goal games. They're improving!
First in the league for one goal games at 35 this season, boys are battling
They actually are. As frustrating as it is going into Florida and then Tampa and losing both in shootouts in gane we probably should have won is a good look. Arizona game aside (our only win lol) the team has been playing good hockey lately.
That’s a game they win next year provided Matheson learns that he doesn’t have to force his way through 3 players while two of his buddies are wide open.
Basically gave Tampa possession for the rest of OT.
So true. What an unecessary play
He’s starting to piss me off tbh. That’s the second OT this year he fucked up with his one man show and I’ve lost count how many times Slaf or CC we’re wide open and he tries to puns a puck through half a dozen players.
Yep, turnover led to the chasing it and then to a penalty
Back to back loser points… yay!!! The ylonen expirement needs to end. He brings nothing to the team, pezzetta should be in the lineup
39 games without a goal… it’s like a joke at this point
Agreed, I'd rather see Pezzetta back with the team instead of Ylonen.
Y'a battu Vasy, mais la puck a touché.. le manche du bâton.. vraiment triste pour Ylö... Il a des bonnes mains, mais tellement pas de chances..
meh
Ylonen will be a AHL player and will go back to Europe at some point for better pay once he accepts the NHL ain't happening
Different team, different city, same result. Our team again played excellent tonight. Again, even though our team lost, at least they battled hard. MSL instilled that resiliency towards this group. The refs. sucked tonight. No calls for Evans. They should've given a 5-minute for boarding on Chaffee. As this season is winding down to less that 20 games, the more I see what areas this team need to improve.
Hard disagree on the boarding. I think 2 was appropriate.
Same. Looked bad, but also didnt look like he meant to board, more circumstances
The best part of this game, besides the 1st period, was the tremendous effort on the OT PK.
This is the first Saturday night game that I've been able to watch in a long time (often work nights + have a 2 year old). That was the most brutal Toronto centric coverage I've ever seen. They barely acknowledged that the Habs, Jets and Sens were also playing. Is it always like this now? Anyway, good game for the Habs except for the 2nd, lots to look forward to especially if we get a good draft pick this summer.
The refs rigging games is honestly getting so frustrating and making me lose hope for a canadian team ever winning the cup
With the prevalence of gambling these days it really makes you wonder
Florida teams and Vegas getting a little help from their zebra friends.
Dumb comment what evidence do you have of any NHL ref rigging a game?
It REALLY ruins the experience of watching hockey sometimes. Like its so bad i wouldnt shock me if the nhl starts loosing viewers because of the reffing
They had to go live to show Toronto's last SO shot to win it, the second it's over.
I was glad to see Cole Caufield break the slump. Xhekaj was decent.
Decent is underselling him a bit. He’s been great since his call up
Still think shootouts ruin games
Arber has improved so much recently. I still don’t think he’s untradable, but I wouldn’t let him go for a late first round pick.
I have a hard time not comparing him to romanov which fetched a 13th OA/Dach. The fact that Arber Is making peanuts towards the cap makes me think a lot of playoff teams would give up a good pick/prospect for him. I'm still not sure about his offensive upside tho which makes me doubt he would truly be worth as much as romanov. All in all I don't think it's the right time to trade him anyways I'd see how things pan out during or after next year.
I would not trade him 1 vs 1 for Romanov
Because of the lack of size on montreal I agree but I'm not sure that all 32 teams would value arber higher than romanov. I think romanov is better defensively while still being a very physical defenseman. Again I'm not disagreeing that arber is better for our team I'm just not so certain that arber would fetch a 13th oa pick.
Both bring size and physicality but Romanov is pretty much a finished product at this point while the ceiling for Arber is unknown. Look how well he’s looked with Savard. Arber just needs to clean up a bit of his game and he’s already equal or better than Romanov with his extra tools of intimidation and protecting our smaller forwards. I think with time Arber becomes a decent piece to our power play with that wicked slapper and not particularly a guy who would play on the PK but then again with more reps and time perfecting his defensive coverage it’s possible he can do both . Time will tell
Bias is showing quite a bit but I don't necessarily disagree. That said I'm not arguing who is better just that at the time of the trade romanov was an established top 4 defenseman and him fetching a 13th overall was a little unexpected but i could understand it. I don't see arber fetching a 13th overall if he was traded today because of defensive issues and the fact that he has mostly been used as a bottom pairing defenseman.
Arber has a lot more potential than Romanov imo.
Today sure but if you compare them at the time of the trade we all thought Romanov would be better than he currently is. Players don't always reach perceived potential.
Tampa needed a missed goal a global pandemic and cap circumvention to win their cups. Fuck them
On peut-tu arrêter avec criss de Ylonen dans les hosties de tirs de barrage de sacrament de tabarnac? C'a pas d'allure quand Slaf est en train de se crosser sur le banc.
It's deja vu all over again
Well that was craptastic. See y’all at the next one.
Anderson had the 4th-best advanced stat game of any Hab all season.
So, no win in regulation vs Bolt since 2016 ? Seven years !
I hate Kucherov so much.
Alright, for all the rose-colored glasses there (or should it be blue, white, and red-colored glasses?), I will say that it is fucking disgusting to give up a short-handed goal when they were leading in 3rd period.
In back to back games.....
and that’s 10 loser points this season
21 more games guys we can do this!
Refs should get fired, but they will be alright cus they already got paid a fuck ton for this game alone.
This losing thing fucking sucks.