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Montreal Goaltending


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With the way that Halak had been playing in goal, why make the move back to Huet for the most important game of the year? I understand wanting to go back to the #1 goalie for the team, but Halak has been quite impressive in the last month. The decision to go back to Huet after having missed 21 games was a tough decision to make and I realize that coaches are paid quite a bit of money to make those decisions, but sometimes you have to wonder about those decisions that they make.

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I didn't quite understand it either. Halak had looked pretty good in his recent starts; even in the Rangers game when he got pulled, the three he let in really weren't worthy of him getting yanked. Wasn't he something like 7-1 in his last 8 games? Frankly, I think Carbonneau had made up his mind that he was starting Huet against Toronto even during the Rangers game and THAT was why Halak was yanked when he was. The rest of that game was tuning for Huet. I have a feeling that regardless of the score at that point, Huet was going in the game to get ready for the Leafs. It definitely backfired on him AND the Habs. He should've stuck with Halak.

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It was a tough call. Halak had played great lately in general, but has been somewhat shakey in some big road games. In NY, the first goal was really weak, and seemed to deflate the Habs right away. When they were scored on late in the 2nd in NY for the third goal, it opened the door for Carbonneau to test Huet in the third period. He seemed to be on his game, though he only faced 8 shots as the Rangers were protecting their lead. I believe Carbo chose Huet for the Toronto game because he had the experience in the big games, and generally is very cool under pressure. He has also played very well against the Leafs in the past. On the other hand, he hadn't played in 7 weeks, and was in the midst of a slump of not winning a game in 3 weeks prior to going down with the injury on Feb 14th, so it wasn't like he was playing great when he last played. I think if Carbo went with Halak and he played nervous and had a bad game, the fans would have crucified Carbo more than the reverse - as Huet is considered a saviour by most Hab fans. You really have to go with the veteran in that situation I think. In the meantime, Huet faced 23 shots in the first period last night and gave up only one goal as the Leafs outshot the Habs by an astonishing 23-9 margin through the first. He kept them in the game, and allowed them to rally to a 5-3 lead by the end of the second. Then Carlo Colaiacovo scores a fluke goal that floats over Huet's head after being deflected at the blue line and the Habs take some really dumb penalties (Begin and Koivu) and the Leafs capitalized on the opportunities. Although Huet didn't play great late in the game, he was really let down by his teammates. And where was Kovalev? Once again, he was invisible when the team needed him most.

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And where was Kovalev? Once again, he was invisible when the team needed him most.

Heh...take it from someone who knows...this will only get worse as time goes on. Kovalev only plays when he wants to and even then it's not that great sometimes.

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And where was Kovalev? Once again, he was invisible when the team needed him most.

Heh...take it from someone who knows...this will only get worse as time goes on. Kovalev only plays when he wants to and even then it's not that great sometimes.

Kovalev flaming out? Big suprise there. I agree with CW's perspective. Huet is your NO 1 and if he is ready to go, he starts. That being said, he should have knocked the rust off in another game, not one of that magnitude. What I would have given to be there for that one- the place must have been going crazy....

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