Here is the church, and here is the steeple...
- hscesq

My cousin dragged me out of the Oiler/Kings game, Oilers up by 1 with about 3 minutes left.

I think there was about a minute left when Gretzky tied the game and broke Gordie Howe's scoring record.

We listened to OT on the way home, Gretzky scored the winner.

I could have (frank)ing killed him with my bare hands.
- pete26

you left a game early with gretzky in the line up..

I won a coffee.

Of all the live sporting events I have ever been to - the game Saturday night tops the list - what an atmosphere inside the Bell Centre
- MTL1

It was my 2nd ever game there (Boston on Wed was the first). We had lower bowl seats for Boston and Greys for Ottawa. Unreal atmosphere.

It was my 2nd ever game there (Boston on Wed was the first). We had lower bowl seats for Boston and Greys for Ottawa. Unreal atmosphere.
- Puckers

Was up in the Greys as well on Saturday

Was up in the Greys as well on Saturday
- MTL1

318 AA for me.

I also did the Bell Centre tour, agree with your comment to EE, was neat to see the press area.

We went drinking then at the Bier Markt, great beers, food and band (we went 2 nights while we visited).

318 AA for me.

I also did the Bell Centre tour, agree with your comment to EE, was neat to see the press area.

We went drinking then at the Bier Markt, great beers, food and band (we went 2 nights while we visited).
- Puckers

Please tell us all about grades 3 through 6.

Lenher never had control of the puck, btw. Nor was it under his pad.

Eric Engels: A Habs Weekend to Remember
- EricEngels

How cool is John Lu? What's his snack of choice during a game?

How cool is John Lu? What's his snack of choice during a game?
- Crimsoninja

Dumplings, obviously.

Lenher never had control of the puck, btw. Nor was it under his pad.
- Pecafan Fan

For real? I never saw a replay where the puck could be seen.

Dumplings, obviously.
- hscesq

steamed or fried?


edit: ??????????

For real? I never saw a replay where the puck could be seen.
- hscesq

A friend of mine was at the game. his company tickets are in the 20th row. for feet ahead of the goal line where the habs shoot twice. He said the puck was sitting there and he never had control of it.

A friend of mine was at the game. his company tickets are in the 20th row. for feet ahead of the goal line where the habs shoot twice. He said the puck was sitting there and he never had control of it.
- Pecafan Fan

Interesting. The feed never really showed it, which I thought was odd.

steamed or fried?


edit: ??????????
- Crimsoninja

Depends on the day.

A friend of mine was at the game. his company tickets are in the 20th row. for feet ahead of the goal line where the habs shoot twice. He said the puck was sitting there and he never had control of it.
- Pecafan Fan

rds had a replay that showed the puck next to Lehners pad...never under it. He never had the puck covered.

CBC feed

rds had a replay that showed the puck next to Lehners pad...never under it. He never had the puck covered.
- Pea-Brain

Voilà.

rds had a replay that showed the puck next to Lehners pad...never under it. He never had the puck covered.

CBC feed


- Pea-Brain

Can't see a thing. That was the feed I had.

Eric, you wrote a good blog, but I strongly disagree with your assessment of Therrien's performance so far.

-The EGG line was on fire at the beginning of the season, and he dismantled it, leading a formerly productive player (Eller) into a massive slump
-He used Murray (one of the worst defensemen in the NHL) for nearly the entire season, at times having him play 20 minutes or more, and playing him over productive players like Beaulieu, Tinordi, and even Weaver
-He destroyed Subban's confidence until recently by constantly punishing him and chiding him like a child for any mistake he made, despite others making the same mistakes without the same punishment, and despite him being the reigning Norris Trophy winner (i.e. best defenseman in the league last season)
-Moreover, he constantly lambasted Subban for his supposed "defensive deficiencies," refusing to back his bid for Olympic team membership until the last minute, and then proceeded to take the credit when Subban made the team
-He totally mismanaged Briere, who is second on the Habs roster in goals/60 mins of ice time (now he's third with Vanek on the team), using him on the fourth line at times
-He at times played Parros instead of infinitely more productive players such as Bournival, Weise, etc.
-He constantly shuffled his lines and pairings, seemingly at random and without any discernible method or rationale, even when certain lines/pairings were doing well (and yes, he recently got lucky with the current setup, but how can you mess up with so much talent in the top-9?)
-At least 3/4 of the lineup is having a worse season possession-wise than last season
-The team is in the bottom-5 in the league for puck possession
-The above two points happened because he switched from a highly-successful puck-possession system to a disastrous dump-and-chase system, which is objectively worse, as per recent studies (if you want, I'll find you the link to the article I'm thinking of)
-His success is highly dependent on ridiculous goaltending from Price and Budaj for most of the season, and the team has gotten better only very recently (past 3 games)

Also, the following points you listed are the result of more random line jumbling and incoherent coaching, as Therrien had the opportunity to take those measures all season (indeed, he should have) but didn't:

-Scratching Bourque.

-Reuniting the kids to give them a chance.

-Scratching Murray.

-Letting Subban loose.

-Sticking with Briere.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. The team has been succeeding in spite of Therrien, not because of him.

#FIRETHERRIEN

Also, the following points you listed are the result of more random line jumbling and incoherent coaching, as Therrien had the opportunity to take those measures all season (indeed, he should have) but didn't:



I could go on, but I think you get the point. The team has been succeeding in spite of Therrien, not because of him.
- MrData

so with another coach, they would be higher in the standings?

highly doubt it

Bournival sent down (conditioning stint)

Bournival sent down (conditioning stint)
- stinger67

good, let him get back in shape.

so with another coach, they would be higher in the standings?

highly doubt it
- Pea-Brain

that roster screams best team in the NHL, Therrien clearly just hinders them.

Holy (frank)...

DAta's corrupted here.