GAME DAY: Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators - 7:30pm ET - Mon. Feb. 25th, 2013

Gryba playing against a fast team like the Habs and holding his own was important IMO... showed he can play in any type of game. He's going to be around for a long time.

Turris is fine BTW. I see all those posts about him being awful not scoring goals etc. As long as he's getting the puck I'm not worried.
Plekanec with Markov is one of if not the best shutdown tandem in the NHL. Gotta give them credit.

tim1_2 wrote:I was at the game last night. I don't know what to say. Bishop was the man, and he yanked one back from the jaws of defeat.

It's funny comparing this team to those of the early 2000s. Back then we had all the talent and just not enough will to win...right now, we're pretty devoid of talent, but keep willing ourselves to victory. It's quite something.

Thought Benoit played well last night...he had a couple key blocks.

Yeah, such a different mentality now than there was when we were a powerhouse. I love skill personally, it trumps everything, but you need players who "need" to win - and those teams didn't have enough of those. Now...we have a team that needs to win, and let's face it, our goaltending is miles better than it's ever been with the exception of Hasek - and even with him, look what happened, Emery wasn't ready at all, nor was the rest of the team to insulate him (until the Finals year).

I think, as fans, we all appreciate what Murray and co. has done. I like seeing call ups come up and actually look good - ie DD, Grant, Da Costa, Gryba, Benoit, Wiercioch. It's a lot of fun.

LeKing wrote:Turris is fine BTW. I see all those posts about him being awful not scoring goals etc. As long as he's getting the puck I'm not worried.
Plekanec with Markov is one of if not the best shutdown tandem in the NHL. Gotta give them credit.

Turris was pretty bad last night though but I loved how MacLean threw him right back out there despite mistakes and just bad luck. MacLean doesn't give up on his players.

That said, Turris needs to get a goal just to get some confidence back... something has to go his way.

SpezDispenser wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:I was at the game last night. I don't know what to say. Bishop was the man, and he yanked one back from the jaws of defeat.

It's funny comparing this team to those of the early 2000s. Back then we had all the talent and just not enough will to win...right now, we're pretty devoid of talent, but keep willing ourselves to victory. It's quite something.

Thought Benoit played well last night...he had a couple key blocks.

Yeah, such a different mentality now than there was when we were a powerhouse. I love skill personally, it trumps everything, but you need players who "need" to win - and those teams didn't have enough of those. Now...we have a team that needs to win, and let's face it, our goaltending is miles better than it's ever been with the exception of Hasek - and even with him, look what happened, Emery wasn't ready at all, nor was the rest of the team to insulate him (until the Finals year).

I think, as fans, we all appreciate what Murray and co. has done. I like seeing call ups come up and actually look good - ie DD, Grant, Da Costa, Gryba, Benoit, Wiercioch. It's a lot of fun.

No it doesn't. A team trumps everything meaning that the right balance, coach, and system is how you win. Not with skill alone. There is no question that again, a guy like Shultz is a better player than Gryba but who is going to slot in better on the right side behind Karlsson? Don't think it's really a question in terms of how winning teams are made up.

shabbs wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:Wow. All these long faces watching the game with me. I heard "1st in the east" al night. Ya but the sens with 4 of their most valuable players out of the lineup and still you can't win. There's alesson that won't sink in.

Not many teams, if any, can keep winning after losing their top forward, top d-man (in the nhl), top goaltender (in the nhl) and a handful of others... pretty incredible what we're seeing here right now.

I think the full list is:

- Top center
- Top goal scorer
- Top shutdown defenceman (Cowen -- everyone seems to forget him)
- Top defenceman overall (in the league, as you said)
- Top goaltender (in the league)
- Third top-six forward in Latendresse
- two top prospects (fair to say Hoffman and Stone were the next callups at the forward position, and not Dziursynski and Grant)
- Not sure where to slot in Regin (plus he's back)

Two words: Un. Real.

Turris isn't a 1C, that's what's hurting him right now. He's not insulated as a 2C.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:I was at the game last night. I don't know what to say. Bishop was the man, and he yanked one back from the jaws of defeat.

It's funny comparing this team to those of the early 2000s. Back then we had all the talent and just not enough will to win...right now, we're pretty devoid of talent, but keep willing ourselves to victory. It's quite something.

Thought Benoit played well last night...he had a couple key blocks.

Yeah, such a different mentality now than there was when we were a powerhouse. I love skill personally, it trumps everything, but you need players who "need" to win - and those teams didn't have enough of those. Now...we have a team that needs to win, and let's face it, our goaltending is miles better than it's ever been with the exception of Hasek - and even with him, look what happened, Emery wasn't ready at all, nor was the rest of the team to insulate him (until the Finals year).

I think, as fans, we all appreciate what Murray and co. has done. I like seeing call ups come up and actually look good - ie DD, Grant, Da Costa, Gryba, Benoit, Wiercioch. It's a lot of fun.

No it doesn't. A team trumps everything meaning that the right balance, coach, and system is how you win. Not with skill alone. There is no question that again, a guy like Shultz is a better player than Gryba but who is going to slot in better on the right side behind Karlsson? Don't think it's really a question in terms of how winning teams are made up.

Obviously you need the proper makeup, but without guys who can go out there and score goals, you have the Columbus Blue Jackets. A team with a whole lot of heart that sucks like a vacuum.

NEELY wrote:

Gryba at the end of the day might be a better fit on this team just simply because he fills a pretty big role that Shultz couldn't. The Sens have Karlsson and need someone to play that shutdown role on the right side. Sometimes there is too much talent but Shultz still would have been a big piece.

Gryba was amazing again last night incase I forgot to mention that.

Yeah, you might want to wipe your mouth a bit there, in the corner.

Doesn't mean skill trumps all. I would take Brandon Prust over Rick Nash in New York right now and it's not even close. You can't win without skill but you can't win without a 3rd and 4th line either. There's only 1 puck on the ice.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Gryba at the end of the day might be a better fit on this team just simply because he fills a pretty big role that Shultz couldn't. The Sens have Karlsson and need someone to play that shutdown role on the right side. Sometimes there is too much talent but Shultz still would have been a big piece.

Gryba was amazing again last night incase I forgot to mention that.

Yeah, you might want to wipe your mouth a bit there, in the corner.

Still some cum eh?

Prust over Nash? Nah. Or do you mean because Nash is injured? That said, NY could have had both. Dumb management right there.

SpezDispenser wrote:Prust over Nash? Nah. Or do you mean because Nash is injured? That said, NY could have had both. Dumb management right there.

Nope, I mean if I was the Rangers right now I would take Prust over Nash straight up. They never needed Nash and they always needed Prust. Prust is the reason or a big one anyways that the Rangers beat Ottawa... he went toe to toe with Neil and changed game 6.

Like I said, too much talent is a problem.

I don't agree - but I know what you mean - whatever that means.

Turris was not good last night, I don't know why he keeps falling all the time and that weak pass he made picked off by galchenyuk almost cost the sens. That said, mac is still seeing a fight in him and he's working hard.

I'm hoping the return of regin gets turris going just a little more. Turris needs to improve that faceoff % though, he (and the team) was horrawful yesterday. I'm actually in favor of Grant getting in next game based solely on this.

Results speak for themselves. You can agree or disagree but the fact remains NYR isn't the same team they were last year and what's the reason? IMO it's letting Prust, Dumbinsky, and Rupp go to make room for Nash.

The Kings aren't littered with talent top to bottom but they have players who know their roles and play them well. Same with Boston.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Prust over Nash? Nah. Or do you mean because Nash is injured? That said, NY could have had both. Dumb management right there.

Nope, I mean if I was the Rangers right now I would take Prust over Nash straight up. They never needed Nash and they always needed Prust. Prust is the reason or a big one anyways that the Rangers beat Ottawa... he went toe to toe with Neil and changed game 6.

Like I said, too much talent is a problem.

......No.....way. I don't deny Prust's value but the 1 for 1 exchange point you made is just wrong. Nash is great and he's been playing well. The problem I think in NY is the environment in the locker room and johnny torts. Richards is turning into a huge bust of a UFA signing, so is gaborik and I bet both of them are unhappy with the way they're getting used. It's no different than Kovalev sulking in Ottawa.

Kings are more talented than Boston I would say. How many teams in the league have than much center depth, a N1 defenseman and a N1 goalie?
The difference in New York I think is that their players aren't very good skaters compared to Boston and LA. Or maybe they just don't feel like giving enough crap to do what the coach tells them to