Read on Twitter
Good morning #habs fans. Here's your first Call of the Wilde for the 2020-21 season from @BWildeMTL and I'll pick up where I left off with Lori Answers the Call. https://twitter.com/BWildeMTL/status/1349556966788620292
I agree with @BWildeMTL - there was a lot to like in this #habs first game. But I would say there are still some wrinkles to iron out. This was to be expected with so many changes and no pre-season. The problem, however, is that some wrinkles are old wrinkles.
Josh Anderson. 2 goals in his debut. But as Brian says, the treat about Andy is what he's doing when he's not scoring. He's throwing hits and creating space and being tough to play against. When was the last time you saw the #habs drive the net like a legit power forward?
Nick Suzuki picked up where he left off, and was far and away the #habs best C last night. Dangerous in the offensive zone, and playing the full 200 ft to break up plays in the d-zone. Give me a decade of that kid.
Jonathan Drouin had a strong game. It's too bad the ref had to get in the way of that late-game clearing attempt, because otherwise he was in on the offence and, as Brian says, you didn't notice him otherwise... which means he wasn't muffing up on D. #Habs
I can't imagine anyone would disagree that the Suzuki like was the #habs best line of the night. They have the skill to be potent night after night.
I also enjoyed the Kotkaniemi line. KK looked good, Toffoli had some great chances and Armia is still a puck hound. But they're still finding chemistry and we'll need a few games to see if this trio is a long term fit. #Habs
I thought the Danault line was invisible for most of the night. With the assignments they get, that's allowed. But if Julien's rolling four is going to work, they'll need to look more dangerous 5 on 5. There were flashes but not a lot sustained. #Habs
The 4th line was disappointing. Keefe exploited Evans with match-ups and the kid had a rough night. He'll grow. But I expected more from Lehkonen and Byron. Neither showed much last night to match the claims they belong anywhere but the 4th. But it's early. #Habs
It's one game, and for the most part, the forward group was better than we've seen in years. I would argue they were the better team last night and didn't deserve the loss. But let's talk about D. #Habs
Alexander Romanov. Holy shit. That kid looked so good. The skating is just beautiful. The confidence. The vision. That pass to Tatar! No wonder #habs leadership were comfortable singing his praises before he'd ever played a game. I'll take a decade of that.
Joel Edmundson looks like an emu on skates.
But it's early. And like @BWildeMTL says... we need to give him some time to adjust and hope he improves like Chiarot did. #Habs
But it's early. And like @BWildeMTL says... we need to give him some time to adjust and hope he improves like Chiarot did. #Habs
We were all so focused on Eddy's brutal outing that no one seemed to notice that Shea Weber had a pretty rough night. And I'm being kind. Just like the start of last season, the rust was real. And with 56 games, the grace for that is small. #Habs
If Brian Burke is right and Bergevin did bring in the 2nd Joel to play 3rd pair because he saw Romanov as top 4, they should waste no time making that happen. The simple move is to just switch 27 and 44, but that still leaves that icky pair of Chiarot-Weber. It's early. #Habs
The #habs had some power play success last night. Passing in the o-zone was much better. Romanov will help. But the zone entries need work - my God, lose the drop pass - and there were a couple of dumb passes to Weber when better options were open. But there's potential here.
I suspect the #habs coaching staff saw last night it's that the PK has to be better unless they intend to never take a penalty. There are some potent power plays in this Scotia division. They face another in game 2.
It is truly tragic that when the #habs play a decent game like they did last night and get the team to overtime that Claude Julien does not seem to have a click or a clue of how to coach a 3 on 3. That display was just awful last night.
3 on 3 is about winning. You already have the loser point. Leave your shut down guys on the bench. And it's also about speed. The flat footed should be spectators. Not one of you can give me an ounce of justification for #habs fans seeing a second of Weber in the 3 on 3.
Growing up there was an older kid who would show up to play hockey with the younger kids. He looked really skilled compared to us. He was usually stoned. He would have made a better move on an OT breakaway than Phil Danault did last night. #Habs
So the #habs have some things to iron out... and it's possible their success this season depends on the coaching staff getting there. But this is an exciting team that is still fast, but bigger and with more finish. There is a ton of potential here. And it's early.
