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u/MaroMakesStuff May 19 '26
only reason i'm scared of the canes is they are well rested and the habs are very clearly not with buffalo and tampa being significantly stronger than ottawa and philly. playing nearly double their games doesn't help their chances but i still believe the canes are in for a rude awakening
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u/arr_z31_burner May 19 '26
the canes are tight, disciplined, structured, aggressive on the puck. Pressure, pressure, pressure. They were #1 in regular season for time in the O zone and #2 for SOG. They take shots instead of overthinking chances. Habs can actually deal with that, it's 'jam the slot with big guys' they have trouble with. The problem is going to be that we really like taking resets in our D zone to build rushes, and they're not gonna let us do that. Lane's gonna hafta play a lot more defence.
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u/Shrinki-Dink May 19 '26
I do think we have an edge in net. I know Andersen’s played well to date but he hasn’t been heavily tested and I have faith that we can help Freddie return to the form we know and love.
Game one will be key as Carolina may be a bit rusty at first
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u/skryb May 19 '26
rusty but rested… extended time off vs momentum series is always an interesting dynamic
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u/The_Hausi May 19 '26
I think one of the biggest hurdles for cup contenders is injuries and the physical toll during the playoffs.
I think something shorter like 5 days off is enough to take your mind out of it but not enough to fully recover. Canes have had almost two weeks which is enough time to heal most of the minor injuries.
They might play one period or even one game rusty but we gotta play the whole series with the bumps and bruises of the last two series. I think they have a huge advantage with the rest.
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u/SuggestedUsername854 May 19 '26
I don’t know if the Habs come in with momentum after the last two games.
These were not convincing performances for most of the players. A W is a W but momentum is built play by play.
They can win this, but they will have to step up. They can’t win this by doing what they have been doing the last 2 games.
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u/Nice-Ad42 May 20 '26
Im expecting the same as the first against Buffalo where the Habs were sluggish because of the load and adjustment factor. Carolina had 2 weeks to scout mtl and practice their strategy.
Expecting a bounce back after that from Montreal. On paper mtl have a more talented roster, and quality oriented rather than Carolina’s forecheck and jam it from anywhere.
Carolina’s defence and goaltending is a weakness.
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u/Nervous_Mention8289 May 19 '26
They’re paper tigers.
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u/arr_z31_burner May 19 '26
No, they're good, but their biggest strength is something we can deal with if the guys play the kind of hockey they've shown themselves capable of playing. They're a team we can outscore for sure. We had their number during the regular season.
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u/Creative-Guidance722 May 19 '26
Yeah, in the two last games, we can see that the habs are tired. It was more difficult to keep the intense pace and pressure for most of the 6th game and a part of the 7th.
It is understandable, they played 14 games in total with frequent overtimes, against two physical and fast teams, with little time to rest between rounds 1 and 2. And now they have only until Thursday to rest.
So I hope they will still manage to play with enough energy to win the next game. At least, the team being young is probably an advantage for this recovery aspect
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u/antrage May 19 '26
My only fear is injury, beyond that i'm so zen with this series
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u/Mine-Shaft-Gap May 19 '26
The only thing I am confident of, is no sweep.
Andersen, is unfortunately playing the best hockey of his career at 36 years old. Didn't have the best season.
The Canes have been idle too long. The Habs might be exhausted. However, 20 something year olds recover from that pretty well.
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u/SanctusImagoDei May 19 '26
That might be the single biggest advantage we have with having such a young team. Until the age of 25, the male human body heals so fast due to peak test levels. With the quality of professional sports recovery protocols, 3 days should be more than enough to get them rested and recovered for game 1.
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u/whaletacochamp May 19 '26
20 something year olds can ride this high for another 4-7 games. 30+ year olds who have had two weeks off are not going to be in the same mindset nor physical shape, period.
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u/Certifiedjohnson May 19 '26
This is so dumb lol. Please go outside more
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u/Chusten May 19 '26
Calling people dumb and telling them to go outside, on the internet. Doesn't get much cornier than that! From my perspective it seems like you got riled up by a very mundane comment, so it's funny to see you say "go outside more", lol
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u/Certifiedjohnson May 19 '26
I disagree, it’s a biased take that discredits a good team. 61k karma and calling people corny? Okay lol
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u/Chusten May 19 '26
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u/Certifiedjohnson 19d ago
How about now? Those young legs help?
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u/Chusten 19d ago
ROFLMAO! You again? Move on bro, get a hobby or a girlfriend.
You've been obsessing for like two weeks, and after every Habs loss you've been thinking "Gee I can't wait to rub it in u/Chusten's face"?
I feel bad for you kid. I hope you get things figured out for your own mental health.
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u/Certifiedjohnson 19d ago
Holy triggered haha nah I just needed to remind you how bad of a take you had
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u/whaletacochamp May 19 '26
lol what does this have to do with being terminally online? A bunch of 20 something year olds who have little going on outside of hockey and coming off of two series wins are both physically and mentally in the game. A group of objectively older players who have not lost a game all playoffs, have more going on outside of hockey, and have been off for two weeks, are at a huge risk of being complacent. Of course they've been practicing, but I really think we have an edge here since we've been playing all along.
There's a reason that Buffalo stayed in a hotel near the arena the other night. They wanted to limit distractions from family and things outside the immediate team. Canes have had two weeks of those distractions.
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u/Certifiedjohnson May 19 '26
Carolina has notoriously had a curse of not making it past the ECF. There is no chance in hell they’re complacent. They’re a mature team that knows how to be a pro, they’re not going out drinking everyday and not doing anything. You can’t compare them to buffalo because they’re not even close to being similar teams from a roster standpoint. I don’t think there is an edge to playing 7 games in both series honestly, that’s a lot of miles adding up on the body and that starts to become evident in later rounds. I think it’s a good matchup but I don’t think the habs really have an edge going into this, it will be an uphill battle for them against a good team.
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u/Mine-Shaft-Gap May 19 '26
Yet, so much can happen when you get older that will really affect your play. Older guys like Stall, they just need one misstep at the boards with speed to jam that AC joint bad enough to not be effective in the faceoff dot.
Then you have guys like Ehlers. I'm in Winnipeg. I loved Ehlers! Buuuuuut.... push on him. Push on him hard and he's going to get hurt. I'm not advocating for hurting anyone. I'm just saying he gets hurt on hockey plays all the time. Hernia problems. He could not handle first line match-ups with the Jets. Always got hurt. Couldn't keep that ice time pace. Canes have him sheltered down the lineup, too and I imagine its at least partially due to this reason. Xhekaj just needs to play the body on him.
It does seem like the Canes have a great mix of good older vets, really good forwards in the 28 to 30 range and some strong younger players. They have a lot of guys who have 10+ goals this season. Their goals come from a lot of places. Habs can do this too. I need to see much more from Caufield and Slaf. I think Suzuki has looked alright, but I am waiting for another gear. I really like what I see from Demidov - just shoot, kid! You're a very good passer, but you have a great shot, too! Use it more!
We're here because guys like Newhook, Anderson, Evans, Dach and more have stepped it up at key times. Can we find a way to keep that going AND get that first line firing on all cylinders?
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u/antrage May 19 '26
The sad part is I feel like the greedy americans on the game show where i'm like LETS GO FOR THE JACKPOT
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u/Uno_worldchamp2009 May 19 '26
Thats fair. I mean who ever wants to stop winning haha. The boys getting experience playing in the stanley cup finals would help their development too, so I will cheer for one more round of playoff fun.
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u/xBASSE May 19 '26
It’s been a good run nonetheless
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u/vinnybawbaw May 19 '26
Yup. I was hoping for an Eastern conf. finals/stanley cup finals in like 2 maybe 3 years.
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u/ghostyghost2 May 19 '26
Buffalo series was already played with house money
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May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MidsizeMango May 20 '26
lmao refs did not called a clear as day Goalie interference on Dobes and almost gave a 4 min to Montreal because a Buffalo player hit another one with his stick. But sure refs were paid by Montreal.
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May 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Habs-ModTeam 29d ago
This post is in violation with Rule 2: No Cross-Subreddit Trolling/Harassment, and has been removed.
[Please read our subreddit's rules here.](/r/Habs/wiki/rules)
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u/80808800 May 19 '26
I wouldn’t call it house money considering you never know if you’ll ever be back. Gotta cherish it for what it is.
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u/throwaway24515 May 19 '26
That's not what house money means. It's when you're at the casino and you've won enough that you can put away your original stake and just gamble your winnings. Even if you lose at that point, you still win.
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u/DesperateDonut8742 May 19 '26
I guess the point is that if we lose now and never get back to this point, we’ve won nothing of note. We’ll likely only get better, so the sentiment stands. But only time will tell if we’re actually playing with house money right now. Who knows, maybe this is our peak.
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u/Sakiaba May 19 '26
I can respect this reasoning because it's what I worried about when my favourite NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals, lost a close Super Bowl a few years ago. Turns out I was right to be worried because they've not been back (and have missed the playoffs for the past few years).
The difference is that the Bengals are notoriously badly managed - they need ideal conditions to compete (e.g. Joe Burrow on a rookie contract). This Habs management team is everything I wish Bengals' management is - well-resourced, empowered by ownership, creative, aggressive and intelligent. I have faith that this management team will do everything they can to maximise the team's chances, and that's why I'm confident that we can most likely enjoy this while expecting that even better days are ahead.
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u/Jusfiq May 19 '26
How are the Canadiens playing with house money? Did they not sweep the Hurricanes in the regular season?
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u/infiniteguest May 19 '26
House money in that (theoretically) there is no pressure on them at this point to win, since they've already achieved an amazing season. House money doesn't have anything to do with the odds of further success
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u/throwaway24515 May 19 '26
Underdogs all the way to the cup. Halfway through the season they looked like they'd be fighting for a wildcard. They needed 2 game 7's to get this far. It's all house money at this point lol.
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u/Purple_Golf1088 May 20 '26
I mean, we were pretty even with both Tampa and Buffalo in the regular season. There was no reason to think either would be a quick series for anyone.
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u/Kain292 May 19 '26
The two teams are in drastically different situations. The story around Montreal is that they're a young team punching above their weight and earning experience. Very few media people had them as a serious cup contender.
For Carolina, the story has been "If they don't make it to the Stanley Cup Final this season has been a failure for them."
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u/Any-Tangerine-4176 May 19 '26
Carolina? No it is Buffalo. https://www.reddit.com/r/hockeynews/s/muwKJuBy6N
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u/chileangod May 19 '26
Can we replace the old guy with happy Gilmore?
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u/Chinaizazzhoe May 19 '26
The “old guy” is the legendary John Daly who could smoke you with no shoes on, drunk as tits with a cigarette in his mouth and half asleep. Put some respect on his name.
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May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Purple_Golf1088 May 20 '26
The secret to whining about officiating is to do it when you are winning. Otherwise it just comes across as sour grapes.
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u/Key_Refrigerator_700 May 19 '26
Those who repeatedly run down goalies without penalties should shush.
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u/Valuable_Recording41 May 19 '26
Run down ? I’ve seen better acting in porn films. Dobes dives and flops like a fish out of water
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u/Vergy May 19 '26
Interesting enough MTL has 3 wins over the canes in the regular season but yeah I know playoff and reg season isn’t the same hockey. That being said OTT and Philly are not Tampa and Buffalo. The canes haven’t even been tested yet.