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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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    Montreal Canadiens

    jedi17
    jedi17
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     Montreal Canadiens  Empty Montreal Canadiens

    Post by jedi17 Mon 20 Feb 2017, 9:56 pm

    Habs hope to regain their self-confidence under Julien
    February 20, 2017, 10:34 AM ET [98 Comments]
    Jennifer B Cutler
     Montreal Canadiens  Mon Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
    Much to the chagrin of some Montreal Canadiens fans, the recent coaching change did not result in an immediate win for the club in Claude Julien’s debut against the Winnipeg Jets Saturday afternoon. The Canadiens looked very much like other teams who have come off of their bye weeks with losses, slow and rusty. While the bye week appeared to be the perfect time for general manager Marc Bergevin to make the coaching change, in fact it was likely more difficult as the players only had one practice to familiarize themselves with their new coach on top of getting back into game shape.  

    One noticeable change in the Julien era though is that there is already a noticeable air of optimism from the players. A weight has been lifted from some of their shoulders as Julien has brought a breath of fresh air with him. He is determined to remind them that they are a talented group, that they are in first place for a reason. They must not look behind at the teams that are catching up to them in the standings. That they must focus on themselves, reinstill their self-confidence and the results will follow. February cannot end soon enough for the Canadiens:




    A player who has already regained his confidence is Carey Price. Without his outstanding play against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon, the score would have been much more lopsided in the Jets favour. He stopped 30 of 32 shots in the Canadiens loss but more than that he looked like the Price of old. He was calm. He kept his movements small while making himself big. His focus was on from the moment the puck dropped. If anything, Price’s teammates should gain some of their own confidence back knowing that their goaltender is seemingly back to playing at his usual level of play. Unfortunately, he cannot solve the Canadiens goal scoring problems and this will be Julien’s greatest challenge.




    Alex Galchenyuk did not last long after being reinstated on the top line, centering Max Pacioretty and Alex Radulov. While he made a strong play and pass on what led to Andrei Markov’s goal in the first period, Galchenyuk was still making too many defensive mistakes. Perhaps though by taking Galchenyuk off the first line midway through the second period, Julien was attempting to create balanced scoring and get another line going. At the Bell Centre practice on Sunday in front of thousands of fans, the revised forward lines were:




    Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher have a long history of playing with one another and more often than not the duo have been quite successful. Is Paul Byron the best option as the second line left winger though? Despite recording 14 goals and 29 points thus far this season, Byron’s last goal game January 31st. In fact he only has two goals in 2017. However, it is not as if Artturi Lehkonen has performed any better offensively as of late. Perhaps the Canadiens best option if a trade for a top six winger is not in the cards, is to call up Charles Hudon from the St. John’s Ice Caps. Hudon has been on a tear as of late, recording 12 points in his last ten games. On the season he has 32 points in 34 games. In his brief time in the NHL over the last two seasons, Hudon has contributed four assists in six NHL games. The Canadiens cannot afford to continue going without their other lines scoring.  

    On Tuesday night the Canadiens visit the New York Rangers. It will certainly be a big test for them. Julien will have had two more complete practices with the team. The players cannot afford to come out flat against the Rangers. One time coming out of their bye week is understandable. Now is the time to reward their new coach by showing him on the ice that they are able to and will compete hard for him.

    Cheers and follow along!

      Current date/time is Fri 08 Nov 2024, 7:34 am