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Habs Engulfed in Season-Threatening Slide. Seats are Getting Hot...

October 25, 2011, 2:33 PM ET [ Comments]
Habs Talk
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Sorry for checking in late, but here's what I got:

1) Bob Gainey has been here before. He's seen how quickly things can devolve--from bad to horrific in this town.

Gainey fired Guy Carbonneau, after a win in Dallas-- just when everyone thought the Canadiens were coming around and righting the ship.

A lot of people have suggested that if Martin drops the next three games, or two of the next three games, his time could be up in Montreal.

I'd suggest that the sample size has been big enough for Gauthier and Gainey to already be working on a solution behind the scenes.

Now, if the Canadiens win all three of these games, that would change everything.

Martin might even be able to hold on if the Canadiens only manage two wins in the next three.

I would suggest that if the Canadiens get embarrassed in any one of those three games, if they lose 6-0, or 5-1, or worse, that will be the end for Martin.

And Pierre Gauthier should be looking over his shoulder too...

2) It's everyone's responsibility to get this team back on track; from the coaches, to the players, to those in management--everyone, across the board.

That said, if it doesn't start with Price, Plekanec, Gionta and Subban this situation isn't going to get better.

3) Nice to see Erik Cole hit the board, and play with the kind of reckless abandon people expected from him as of game 1.

I understand the coach's role in Cole's slow start, but it seems he's transitioned from sulking in his situation towards enraged passion that culminated in a powerplay goal last night.

4) Generally, in a market like Montreal, you have to be able to ignore the rumor-mill and the constant appeals for changes.

But if I were Pierre Gauthier right now, and my intention was to keep Jacques Martin, I would be meeting with the media to dismiss some of the fodder being tossed around the market right now.

I would give him a vote of confidence if I felt he was the one to get them out of this hole.

But Gauthier doesn't really do anything the way we would, does he?

And if we're to read into his silence as some sort of admission that changes are imminent in that regard, well, we'd only be assuming.

5) Anyone else worried about what a terrible season for the Canadiens could do to Price's confidence?

He worked so hard to re-establish himself as the elite goaltender most knew him to be. To see that work undone because the team in front of him can't figure it out would be tumultuous, and it would inspire the kind of controversy Price would like to avoid for the rest of his career.

6) It seems impossible, if not completely inconceivable that the Canadiens win their next three games. But if they do, is that prolonging the inevitable until the next losing streak, or will it be cause for major optimism regarding their playoff chances?

7) I'm doing my best not to talk people off the ledge. I think people in Montreal are fully justified to be worried, bordering on panic, and hopeful that drastic change is on its way.

But, the Florida Panthers have five wins so far. Toronto has five.

Eighth-place Tampa is 3-3-2.

The Canadiens haven't missed the playoffs just yet...

8) Peter Budaj acquitted himself nicely last night. Guess it wasn't meant to be for him to be the first guy to win at the Bell Centre since game 6 of the Boston series.

9) Primary hope: That Max Pacioretty's injury isn't too severe. Naturally, we're all waiting to hear the latest on a suspected wrist injury.

Secondary hope: That by some stroke of miracle, Pacioretty can play one of two games against the Bruins this week. Not because the Canadiens need him (they clearly do) but because it'll be a travesty if he couldn't participate in the games he was most excited to play in this season.

He deserves the chance to do so.

10) Of the 35 draws Petteri Nokalainen's taken this season, he's won 23 of them for a 62.8 efficiency rating.

David Desharnais has won 46 of 117 faceoffs taken...ouch.

Lars Eller has won 21 of 47.

Gomez and Plekanec are both over 52%.

11) Bonus-- I don't think too many people have considered this, but a potential reason for the Canadiens losing as much as they have in the early part of this season is the time it takes to develop chemistry on the coaching staff.

I'm sure it's a daily process, even for coaches who are so familiar with one another, as Martin, Pearn, Cunneyworth and Ladouceur are. The chemistry on the bench has to be airtight, and the slightest lack of cohesion could lead to mistakes, which in turn, lead to goals against.
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