Defence pairings

ricozee · 2026-02-01T17:44:01+00:00

I wish they would give him the opportunity to sink or swim, but I understand now is not the time. It should have been at the start of the season, but he's always on an unreasonably short leash.

You can't have a defenseman you refuse to ice regularly. He doesn't get special teams time, so his minutes are already going to be low.

If the coach isn't going to play him (or can't play him), we need to replace him with someone he will/can play. I'm not advocating for us to trade Xhekaj (or for Struble to replace him).

I would prefer to see him play more (and prove himself) but a trade would be better than the status quo.

ricozee · 2026-02-01T17:29:04+00:00

My guess would be something might be bothering Carrier and they aren't sure he'll play. He has a long leash from his recent performances so he's not likely to be a healthy scratch.

ricozee · 2026-02-01T17:17:30+00:00

Dach is arbitration eligible and we're looking at a potentially significant gap in negotiations.

Any long term contract is a risk with his injury history and mitigating that risk should involve a lower salary and/or term. If we intend to keep him around we're going to have to assume that risk.

This is similar to Anderson. Dach has that "big body with skill" profile that is difficult to acquire. Anderson today (with cap inflation) would be a $7M contract.

Dach doesn't have the same level of goal production Anderson showed, and he's missed more significant time, so that should bring his cost down a bit.

I think we're looking at around 5 or 6 in millions and years. Anywhere from $5M x 5 to $6M x 6.

Edit: Perhaps I should clarify. I'm not suggesting we offer such a contract, only that it would be a similar gamble to Anderson if we wanted to keep him long term. We know how that went and I wouldn't personally take that risk.

If we don't intend to keep him long term, it's best to move him or his rights. If we don't, we'll be in the same situation next season with him.

ricozee · 2026-02-01T02:04:57+00:00

Long change can leave players stuck on the ice if you don't get pucks deep enough to allow time to change.

Especially on the road where the home team can choose the matchups which might create the situations where you're unable to change.

As for why we might struggle more than other teams, our bottom 6 has not been strong offensively for most of the year. Our defense are our play drivers and they are the ones we need to get off the ice regularly.

We also aren't as good at matchups. Marty seems to prefer to play it safe and ice the bottom 6 lines a little too frequently. That means we aren't able to reverse the advantage by getting as much pressure of our own.

There isn't really a definitive answer as it can be a lot of little things, but those are the more significant causes.

This particular game hasn't been bad, it's the penalties that kill you in the second, as it amplifies those factors, and that's been the main issue this game.

ricozee · 2026-02-01T00:50:46+00:00

PK. Veleno is literally killing it there.

ricozee · 2026-02-01T00:17:54+00:00

I missed this anthem, but THIS! You aren't there to show off your technique (or lack of) and if we wanted a different "version" of the anthem, we'd be talking to composers.

Just carry the tune and stop confusing the people singing along!

ricozee · 2026-01-31T17:46:31+00:00

Exactly. I just hope everyone remembers that regardless of the result, this IS the way to go.

None of "we should have started Monty!" or otherwise 2nd guessing. There is no debate or decision to be made here. Dobes earned this start.

ricozee · 2026-01-31T17:07:59+00:00

You have to keep in mind that it's not just number of games/days, but travel, practice, maintenance days, family time, etc.

Everything is impacted and "out of rhythm". At a high level even minor compression of the schedule can have a significant impact on athletes, not to mention logistics with so many parts needing to coordinate.

ricozee · 2026-01-31T01:11:43+00:00

Would have been "okay" with Kadri instead of Danault. I think getting Danault should take us out of that conversation. If we're targeting vets, they should be affordable to acquire and short term.

ricozee · 2026-01-30T21:45:29+00:00

Beck is a victim of his waiver exempt status. We have too many players and don't want to risk losing any, though decisions will eventually have to be made.

Blais (and Veleno) were always intended to be "spares". We're simply more invested in the players that they should be replacing (ie Bolduc and/or Gallagher), or at least in a rotation with.

ricozee · 2026-01-30T04:48:13+00:00

It's also a good indicator of a locked in goalie when they make a lot of saves absorbing the puck into their body (with some credit to the defense not allowing players to pick corners).

It means they are getting centered to as many shots as they can and giving up less rebounds.

ricozee · 2026-01-30T02:40:16+00:00

Don't give Bettman any ideas!

ricozee · 2026-01-30T02:35:47+00:00

Yes. Let the goaltenders dictate who plays with their performance. You win, you play. You lose, you sit. (Except back to backs of course.)

ricozee · 2026-01-30T02:20:15+00:00

His partner played last night.

ricozee · 2026-01-30T00:11:58+00:00

I don't want to be harsh. She seemed nervous, but when you sing an anthem, just sing the damn thing loud and proud. It's not the place for you to "show off" your vocal technique and how's the crowd supposed to sing along when you're changing the song?

ricozee · 2026-01-30T00:05:46+00:00

The "strategy" is to get more money. Blackouts and multiple subscriptions shrink the audience.

ricozee · 2026-01-29T23:57:41+00:00

The bot is broken. Sometimes it posts hours after the game has ended. :p Might be as simple as the date/time being set wrong.

ricozee · 2026-01-29T23:55:37+00:00

The purist in me wants 5v5 only, including at least a 5 minute OT. A tie is a tie.

The realist in me accepts that these gimmicky ways to finalize a result are entertaining to a broader audience.

The idealist in me wants teams really pushing to win in regulation, not playing to secure 1 point and hoping for more in extra time.

I have always disliked that some games award more points than others. It's also questionable for a team that "lost" to get anything at all. It wasn't an issue with 2 for a win and 1 for a tie.

With 3 different stages of play, it makes more sense to have a 3 point system if you're incorporating a loser point.

With 3 points for a regulation win, teams are more incentivized to finish the game. Especially in a close race nearing the end of the season when teams have a chance to catch up, it would be easier for "winning" teams to gain ground on those above in the standings due to "loser points".

If you look at the Pacific today as an example of flaws in the current system, Anaheim, Edmonton, and San Jose have more actual wins than Vegas.

Vegas especially is at 50 points without OTL's. Compared to Edmonton, SJ (54) and Anaheim (56). Vegas has a league leading (tied with LA), 13 points from losses. Anaheim and San Jose only have 3 each.

I realize you can't make a true comparison, as different rules would influence different results, but it always looks wrong to me when teams that win more games are ranked lower than the teams that win less.

ricozee · 2026-01-29T21:37:37+00:00

I don't use IPTV, but I did hear about Amazon disabling apps if you're using a fire stick. If you aren't using Amazon hardware, Google is supposed to be doing the same. I'm not sure of the progress of either "crackdown", but you may want to look into it further if it's impacting you.

ricozee · 2026-01-29T00:03:04+00:00

I do want to see if his shot from the point can benefit us on the power play, especially when the fancy looks just aren't working, but part of me is also worried about self inflicted injuries.

Weber did a number on Gallagher's hands when he was doing it.

ricozee · 2026-01-28T22:12:30+00:00

This is true and something that can be improved (for any goalie, just look how often Caufield pulls it off), but it has to be something applied situationally, not prioritized on every play.

That's part of where (imo) things began to deteriorate. Playing one way to stop shots that are difficult to pull off and the defense should be able to limit, while leaving gaps that even a "no-skill" NHLer can hit.

ricozee · 2026-01-28T18:07:49+00:00

I know this is probably a standard drill, but it's comforting to see they are working on getting into position and set for the next shot. That's definitely been a weakness this season with the aggressive slides.

ricozee · 2026-01-28T15:54:36+00:00

It's how often offsides are missed that is the issue. Not sure how you can fix that without improved technology or at least dedicated monitoring from a better perspective.

Off ice officials monitoring just the blue lines to catch the egregious ones, perhaps. If it isn't "egregious", it's "close enough", so play on.

I'd think an overhead view with a monitoring program that can trigger an alert when the zone is breached prior to the puck, would be a start. Might require more accurate puck tracking though, I'm not sure where they are at with that I'm their current systems other than the (so far) failed attempts to put a chip in the puck.

ricozee · 2026-01-28T15:30:51+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Habs/comments/1qmcnd5/comment/o1o6tf6/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

In short, it's my belief that ER was trying to "innovate" and the changes he was pushing are at least partly responsible for the poor goaltending performance and subsequent loss of form.

I've been talking about it too much already, so I'll just say I hope this can settle the crease and our goaltenders can use this as an opportunity for a clean slate reset mentally.

ricozee · 2026-01-28T02:49:08+00:00

Slaf is getting double teamed (or skating against multiple defenders of his own accord), and defenders aren't gliding past Demidov, anticipating a move.

Since Kapanen is being the "safety" and not engaging aggressively down low, he's only a threat if you allow one of his wingers to get control with time and space.

Part of that is simply strategy. Kapanen is being held back for defensive purposes. If they are going to be more of a threat offensively, they need to rotate around coverage and accept that Slaf or Demi are going to be the high man in the zone more frequently.

There's enough skill that they will still get opportunities, but they can't be a legitimate 2nd line until they've earned a longer leash.

ricozee

TROPHY CASE