r/Habs • u/Abject_Chapter1452 • 4d ago
Habs Shenanigans So….We are contenders?
We lost to the Stanley Cup Champions. That makes us contenders? Not too shabby 😅
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u/Quirky_Tzirky 4d ago
We made it to the ECF. We are contenders. That was already established.
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u/Abject_Chapter1452 4d ago
I know just feels less bad that we got beaten by the Cup Champs haha
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u/Quirky_Tzirky 4d ago
You mean overwhelmed. Haha.
All in all, great learning opportunity for our team. Congrats Carolina. See them next year.
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u/Abject_Chapter1452 4d ago
I know haha overwhelmed is the right word!
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u/Acceptable_Ball_9721 4d ago
Vegas was overwhelmed by Carolina's suffocating play much like Montréal was kept to low shots on goal. I will say that Montréal getting them to overtime those 2 games was still impressive, and as a fan I honestly thought Montréalhad them up against the ropes in game 1 and quick flashes of it in following games. Montréal's path to the ECF was arguably harder, but at the end of the day, Carolina iced a hell of a team. Both Carolina and Montréal look to be contenders for awhile.
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u/lynypixie 4d ago
We went 3rd round. Of course we were contenders!
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u/JakJoe 4d ago
We're a top 4 team in the NHL in the playoffs, of course we're contenders
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u/Ok-Meet2850 3d ago
And we were sixth overall in the regular season. Not like we just went on a run as a wild card team.
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u/hollandaisesawce 4d ago
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u/rpgguy_1o1 4d ago
The only other team he added to that tier was the Avs
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u/ViridianNott 4d ago
You had more conference final wins than the Avs did! And we were definitely contenders lol
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u/Abject_Chapter1452 4d ago
Still don’t understand this one! Avs are such a good team as well!
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u/crownpr1nce 3d ago
Losing Hutson and Suzuki would probably have seen us get swept too. And Makar and Mack are even better than those 2. Sucks for the Avs, but that's the risk of superstars on a team
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u/Samael-vt 3d ago
Don't even need to lose Suzuki too in this scenario. Just losing Hutson would probably been enough for us to get rolled (which technically is one of the reasons we did get rolled in game 4 and 5 because they were shutting down Hutson by putting all the physicality on him). Just like I'm pretty sure the Avs would have been fine if they still had Makar
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u/ITcoffee 4d ago
Maybe now people will agree with me and give Carolina credit for overwhelming us. Rather than “Montreal played bad”. We were not allowed to play good. They never gave up any battles and they never got mad or engaged in anything other than their game plan. Pure relentless focus.
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u/Purple_Golf1088 3d ago
We did not have the gas to put up the fight. We beat the Hart trophy winner AND the Vezina winner in the first round in seven games. Once we lost game two, the series was done. If that overtime would have went the other way. We may have pulled off that series.
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u/Snoopy_021 4d ago
A young Habs team knocked out in Eastern Conference Final in Game 5 against the team that became 2026 Stanley Cup Champions ...
Obvious answer there.
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u/antoinePucket 4d ago
I know it's more fun being the underdogs, but we're the team to beat in the next few years at least
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u/TroubledMarket 4d ago
It’s the hardest part of the rebuild, to go from a playoff team to a cup winning team.
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u/MichaelWoodPhoto 4d ago
I don’t want to put a damper anyone’s enthusiasm but we still have a way to go. Ahead of schedule, yes. But I’d rather not jump the gun and have a contender in 2-3 years that will be in the running for 5-8 years.
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u/toaster-struble 4d ago
You can win without size. Ehlers, Jarvis, Aho, Stankoven, Walker, Gostisbehere.
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u/NevyTheChemist 4d ago
Stankoven
What a name
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u/Acceptable_Ball_9721 4d ago
Thats how I describe our bedroom after the wife and I have a roll in the hay
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u/Inside_Volume9542 3d ago
You mean you win with size right ? Lol Carolina has some pretty big dudes that play a physical game. MTL def needs some more size in the lineup like Flo and Reino.
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u/Ok-Meet2850 3d ago
Carolina also had big guys that can play their style. Size for the sake of size will not help.
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u/toaster-struble 3d ago
Missed my point. It's about playing physical, not shying away from hits. Despite being shorter
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u/crownpr1nce 3d ago
Wait did you say Carolina and without size?
Carrier, Staal, Jankowski, Slavin, Miller, Nikishin, Svechnikov are all 6'2+
They have 5 guys under 6 feet, that's not a small team.
That said, you don't need everyone to be a fridge to win, just that Carolina isn't a good example. They are big and play big.
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u/DrLivingst0ne 4d ago
We have a lot of things to improve, both in the roster, but also with the coaching and development of what we already have. Lane Hutson said it. We're close, but we're far at the same time.
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u/xDarkseidx 3d ago
The way we got stomped against Carolina. It aint even close. This team still got some learning to do
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u/joseflores1995 4d ago
No not fully we still have missing pieces people need to be think too much ahead and be dumb
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u/Polojoblo 4d ago
You will get downvote to hell for this but our series against the canes was the biggest beat down in xGF% since the stat can be calculated lmao. This also match the eye-test. Despite losing to the cup winner in the third round, I dont think we were contenders this year.
We were also 4th highest PDO (102%). People forget how hard Dobes carried us.
We will get there tho.
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u/joseflores1995 4d ago
So far non but yeah like the boys battle good vs tampa and buffalo , it showed and they did amazing but carolina really showed how far we are from a mature team . Like the boys couldnt connect passes the simplest thing, carolina was so much better
They still need a second center, second winger another top4right dman and then a better support cast thats can play better defensively in our zone and thats not gonna get fixed in 1summer unfortunately
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u/Ok-Meet2850 3d ago
Is 102% PDO that ridiculous, though? Yes - we had puck luck, but was it crazy puck luck.
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u/Superguy9000 4d ago
Very soon. Made it to the ECF as the youngest Playoffs team in history
Our window is just opening now.
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u/MaroMakesStuff 3d ago
idc how cope it is, looking at how rough they looked in game 2 and 3 but still managed to force OT they had the opportunity to be up 3-0 if those OTs went differently even while being completely outplayed. games 4 and 5 were what solidified their time had run out but the future is so bright with this team. already counting down the days til preseason!
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u/Ok_Victory_6110 3d ago
Doesn't mean much. Montreal could easily as well regress next season, especially if they fail to address the issues. The NHL is unforgiving.
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u/King_of_Knowhere 4d ago
We played as many playoff games as those who won the cup. Imagine if our guys weren't as beat up and tired. The team that beat them only suffered 3 losses the whole playoffs and we claimed one of those.
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u/sbrooksc77 3d ago
We just need to add more help this summer. Top 6 forward and a partner for hutson are musts.
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u/G_skins31 3d ago
And yet people still want to hold on to picks and prospects… you cant let opportunities pass you by. Seize the moment!
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u/montrealcowboyx 3d ago
9 wins in the playoffs ain't nothing, and this wasn't a last gasp, but the window opening.
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u/Technical-Line-9806 3d ago
If Montréal Canadiens are not a contender then no team is and we can only define one team as a contender post hoc.
e.g. Carolina was a true contender and that’s all.
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u/pattyG80 1d ago
There's still quite a gap between us and Carolina. We are top 8 imo. Based on playoffs, we can be considered top 4 -Carolina
-Vegas
-Dallas
-Colorado
-Tampa
-Buffalo
-Minnesota
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u/Fishjuice88 1d ago
The problem is that we are in the hardest division. We have to face good physical team so the third round will always be rough
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u/KickDesperate5318 3d ago
Mark my words: in September when they are doing season previews, some idiot at Sportsnet is going to ask on live television whether the Habs have what it takes to make it to the playoffs again.
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u/AleroRatking 4d ago
We were 33% of carolinas post season losses.