Tonight’s lineup against the Red Wings and some random thoughts

Rick Stephens

16 years ago

Habster:

Below is the lineup versus the Red Wings according to RDS:

Forward lines:

Alex Kovalev – Robert Lang – Max Pacioretty

Guillaume Latendresse – Tomas Plekanec – Sergei Kostitsyn

Tom Kostopoulos – Maxim Lapierre – Matt D’Agostini

Gregory Stewart – Kyle Chipchura – Mathieu Dandenault

Defense (I’m not sure of the pairings though):

Patrice Brisebois

Mike Komisarek

Josh Gorges

Francis Bouillons

Ryan O’Byrne

Yannick Weber

Goaltender: Carey Price

It should be a fun lineup to watch (the game’s on TSN). We’ll see what Max Pacioretty can do with two highly skilled players like Lang and Kovalev on his line……let’s just hope AK-27 passes the puck to Pac-man!!! Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this will be the first time in pre-season Lang has played with Kovalev on the same line and game.

I’m also anxious to see Latendresse’s new and improved skating stride along side two speed demons like Sergei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec. God knows he’ll get a ton of pucks passed in his direction with two great playmakers on his line.

I know I’ve been somewhat critical of Guillaume’s game (especially his lack of foot speed) and the way the Canadiens handled his development when he still had junior eligibilty left two years ago. I still believe he should have been sent back to the Q but with that being in the past, I really think playing with better linemates like Lang and/or SK-74 during the regular season will produce more goals/points from the big power forward. Add into the equation his improved skating (we’ll see tonight??!!) and this could be a breakout year for Latendresse.

Another aspect of the game to watch will be the battle of fourth liners: Gregory Stewart who I wouldn’t be surprised taking Steve Begin’s place next season, Kyle Chipchura who is still in a dog fight for the potential two reserve forward spots (depending what Carbo does with his starting NHL roster) and Matt D’Agostini who has been very impressive in his pre-season games (though he is more of a second or third line guy)……sorry for the run-on sentence!!!

Will Mathieu Dandenault’s versatility be his saving grace even at a cap hit of $1.75 million? Gainey has been reluctant to waiver players and has never sent a veteran down to the farm to bury his salary (once again correct me if I’m mistaken here??!!).

I certainly feel for Dandenault as he is caught in the numbers game this season. He did perform admirably last season when Carbo used him exclusively at the forward position and to his credit, didn’t complain when he sat in the press box for 22 games.

Are you getting the impression that Yannick Weber is this year’s version of Guillaume Latendresse and/or Carey Price? If the Swiss grenade launcher can continue his strong play in the next 2-3 pre-season games, who’s to say that Guy Carbonneau and the coaching staff don’t decide to keep him on the roster to start the season. The Habs could keep Weber for the first 9-10 games to see what he can do against real NHL rosters.

The coaching staff is downright drooling at the thought of having Weber’s hard, accurate shot manning the powerplay point. You can also add his creativity, great in ice vision and skating ability to the mix.

With that said, we have to be realistic and understand that Weber just turned 20 years old with only junior/WJC games under his belt. There are still aspects of his game which need some polishing, something he probably needs to develop at Hamilton for a season. If the Habs’ PP does falter, then Weber is only a phone call away.