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| quote: | Originally posted by Spin Laden
^^ very good, thorough post. Keys to me are goaltending, a committment to team defence (ie forwards playing both ends), and players who won't wilt offensively when going gets tough (and goals are hard to come by).
Some Habs players became perimeter players (Plekanic?) against Boston and Philly. This can happen to even the most talented teams during the typically physical, tight-checking playoffs (see Ottawa, San Jose, Pittsburgh until 07-08, even Detroit from 2003-2007). Which is why some critics say the Habs may be lacking one or two players that can thrive under those conditions offensively. Having a Georges Laraque certainly allows those players to play "bigger".
In any case, you can expect Montreal to beat most teams rather easily during the regular season. This team is stacked offensively. |
it's really lame to be quoting oneself but I did it anyways 
Against a bruising team like Boston, Laraque needs more backup, imo. Chara, Thorton, Lucic, those are some tough dudes and Laraque is lacks the intimidation/mean streak for that role, imo. Pittsburgh did better to replace him with Godard at only half the salary.
In any case, it's only at the quarter point of the season. Detroit is playing up and down as well, but both Habs and Wings are getting their points so that's a good thing.
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