Sens Game Report - ATL@OTT - 4.3.06

That’s how you win a debate.

The Balance in the Bank:

Final Score: Ottawa wins 6-4
Ottawa goals: Heatley (44) on a one-timer from just inside the blue line, Spezza (19, pp) walking in down low on the 5-on-3, Eaves (17, pp), same powerplay on a naughty little setup pass from Meszaros, Heatley (45, pp) banking in a shot of Lehtonen on the 5-on-3, Smolinski (16, GWG) on a 2-on-1 with Schaefer roofs it over a fallen Lehtonen to open the third, McGrattan (2, Pizza) on a tidy backhander over Lehtonen on the odd man rush.
Making Sens(e): Emery, Heatley, Neil, Smolinski, Pothier, Meszaros, Spezza, etc.
Not much Sens(e): Vermette (wasn’t bad, but took a stupid double-minor)
It was over when: After going up 4-2, we killed off Vermette’s double-minor to close out the second period and had much shots during that span than Atlanta.
It was definitely over when: McGrattan iced it and put us up by four – even after Atlanta put up a pair in the third, a comeback was never an option for the Thrashers.
Message in a Molson bottle: Three straight games where we play defensively sound – this time some of our shots made it through. Special teams determined the outcome (each team with three PP goals) and we continue to show that depth wins hockey games in April.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=260403014

Grab a Timmy’s double-double and listen to what really happened:

Name that Senator
Who are these guys? The team we iced tonight resembled Margaret Phelps’ spring training roster for the Indians in Major League – “this guy here is dead!.....Cross him off, then.” Anyway, the Filip Novak Era, the Brad Norton Experiment, and the Rebirth of Denis Hamel are all taking leaps forward as our injury list grows larger than the Baton Rouge list of rib sauces. This was our first captain-less game as Alfie wisely took his flu-like symptoms out of the building before it infected the rest of the locker room. In the meantime, we continue to find ways to win with solid backchecking, tight attacks, and great goaltending. The difference between Jason Spezza of 2006 and the Jason Spezza of 2003 (for instance) is that he understands the difference between an October game and an April game. The game has tightened up and there is additional responsibility on each and every man out there. This statement is only multiplied when considering we have many more All-Stars out of the lineup than we do in it! Oh, and by the way, Arnason was ploughed over by Exelby and needed help getting off the ice. Can’t wait to see the ever-powerful line of Martins/McGrattan/Hamel on Wednesday! Feels like an expansion year.

“How to score a powerplay goal,” by Bryan Murray. Foreward by Dany Heatley
I’ve been nervous about making this statement seeing as how I have never scored an NHL goal, but here goes it: We must score a goal on 100% of the 5-on-3’s we are given. Not 50% or 75%, but every single one of them. There is no excuse not to score with this much of an advantage and to be honest, I’m visibly disgusted if we don’t put one in. We did it twice against New York last week and we did it twice tonight. Ahh, I will sleep well tonight. Coach Murray has the fundamentals in check on the PP right now – 5 on 4’s are about getting traffic in front and setting up the point shot, while 5 on 3’s are about getting the puck down low to Spezza and letting him will the puck into the net with a shot, pass to Heatley, or setup pass to a pinching defencemen. What makes this all work is that the team buys into it and executes well. Scoring three powerplay goals usually leads to a win – it did tonight for us and didn’t work tonight for Atlanta. Heatley looks so comfortable wearing the third ‘A’ tonight, too, and showed us some great leadership – this is why we traded for him, people. On a side note, I’ve painted Heatley with the title of The Future of Canadian Hockey and given that status, I’d love to see him in Ottawa for years to come.

Spezza vs. Kovalchuk – I’ll take the Spezz Dispenser
Geoff, are you nuts? Yes. But that’s neither here nor there. What is important, my friends, is the different environments in which they have developed. For the sake of argument, consider that Atlanta is still in the playoff hunt. Kovalchuk and the Thrashers have never EVER played a meaningful game (of hockey) in April and it is a glaring flaw. Spezza has been a part of enough playoff drives and playoff games to understand what is at stake. Make no mistake, Kovalchuk is an incredible player and definitely one of the three most talented players in the NHL. But as the Thrashers broadcaster perfectly described after Ilya took a stupid retaliation penalty on Neil’s wrist, “Kovalchuk is looking like a 22-year old that has never played a crucial game down the final stretch.” He can break a game open, but he gets frustrated easily. As Muck Muck said after the 2003 run to the Conference Final, you have to lose the big games before you can win them. You have to understand how terrible it felt to be on the wrong end of a Conference Final Game 7 to know and to play hard enough to never let it happen again. Spezza knows that feeling, Kovalchuk hasn’t even considered its existence. I repeat: I’ll take the Spezz Dispenser.

Loblaws Express Lane – 10 items or less
1. Ray Emery is the goaltender of the future. The way he has played since March 1st, are we sure he isn’t the goaltender of the present? I don’t think it has reached the point of controversy (although my blogging counterpart disagrees), I will definitely agree that it is worth the debate.
2. Hoping Arnason is okay and can come back soon. On that note, can anyone remember the last time a deadline trade of substance actually paid major dividends?
3. What was Vermette thinking late in the second period when he hauled down Slava Kozlov in the Atlanta end and in the ensuing delayed penalty time, he hauls down Kozlov again the Ottawa zone? I guess he was thinking that we should just burn off a couple of penalties and the momentum would be enough to carry us through the third. Great thinking, Vermie.
4. Eleven 20-goal scorers update: Smoke is four away, Spezza one away, Eaves three away, and late blooming McGrattan a mere eighteen away. C’mon guys, make me a hero!
5. I don’t like Bob Hartley. Neither does Pat Quinn. My similarities with the soon to be unemployed coach end there.
6. The ‘A’ was sported by Smolinski, Pothier, and Heatley tonight, and they all played like it. If Alfie isn’t healthy in two days, I’m starting a petition to let Smoke wear the ‘C’ as he steps up when he needs to. I flip flop on Smolinski, don’t I?
7. My uninformed injury update with anticipated return times: Hasek – start of the playoffs, Havlat – late next week, Fisher – Saturday, Chara – Saturday, Redden – no guess, Phillips – Round 2 (he is working on hailing a cab in the meantime), Alfie – whenever he finishes his matzah ball soup and gets healthy.
8. Don’t forget to check this site daily – http://www.northeasthockey.blogspot.com/.

Upcoming Games
Wednesday, 7:00 at Buffalo
Thursday, 7:30 vs. Montreal
Saturday, 7:30 vs. Buffalo
Next week: Montreal, Boston, Florida, Toronto

Dominik Hasek: July 2004 – April 2006

R.I.P

It is with profound sadness today that I announce the loss of one of the great goalie’s in the history of the NHL. Drafted in the tenth round by the Chicago Blackhawks, Dominik was overshadowed in his early years by Crazy Eddie Belfour. It wasn’t until his arrival in Buffalo that he began his super-human performances that left anyone who played him frustrated beyond words. From 96 – 99 I feel comfortable saying he was the best goalie of all time. He doesn’t have the career of Patrick Roy or the consistency of Marty Brodeur but he was, for all intents and purposes, an absolute stud.

It may turn out that my report is premature and the "Dominator" will grace us with his presence in the post-season – but that scenario is looking more bleak every day. Remember seven weeks ago when the strained adductor muscle was "day to day"? I do, and here we are now wondering when he will muster up the courage to put on his equiptment. I believe that he can clear himself before the playoff’s but not with enough time to start. If Emery keeps winning you absolutely have to go with the hot hand. You cannot switch horses mid-stream and expect success.

Dom will need at least 5 games before the post-season to prepare himself, which would mean he is playing next week – not going to happen. I think it’s time for us all to accept this loss and throw our support behind Emery. If that scares you remember two names: Kipper and Jiggy.

Sens Game Report - NYR@OTT - 3.30.06

A depth win

The Balance in the Bank:

Final Score: Ottawa wins 4-1
Ottawa goals: Neil (16, pp) sitting in front of the net on the 5-on-3 to bang in a rebound, Eaves (16, pp) in front also on the 5-on-3 hitting in a rebound from Spezza’s shot, Heatley (43, pp) set up from Pothier, Schaefer (19) hitting in a rebound after Schubert’s slapshot came back off the glass
Making Sens(e): All defencemen, Neil, Alfredsson, Heatley, Arnason
Not much Sens(e): I guess Spezza for underachieving a bit
It was over when: Heatley’s PP goal restored the two-goal lead and we went into shutdown mode.
It was definitely over when: Schaefer iced the win banging in the puck just past the midway point of the third.
Message in a Molson bottle: You gotta be proud of this group for shutting down the league MVP while missing our three top defencemen and #1 goalie (and two of our top forwards, if you’re counting). This was an old-fashioned game that was centered around backchecking forwards that helped out the young and inexperienced defensive corps.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=260330014

Grab a Timmy’s double-double and listen to what really happened:

The Meszaros Release Party
Two days after what was probably his toughest game in the NHL, Meszaros came out on top as this time as he was given two dubious tasks. The 20-year old had to first replace 6’9” Zdeno Chara, and second had to fill the role of shutting down Jaromir Jagr. Just another day at the office, I suppose, because Meszy was awesome. Jagr managed an assist and five shots on goal, but the fact that he was going against a rookie instead of a massive ogre with BBQ rib sauce foaming at his mouth made that easier. This battle goes to Meszaros as he blocked shots, tied up his opposing superstar, and kept him away from Emery.

12 Selke Candidates
For those that don’t know, the Selke Trophy is awarded to the league’s best defensive forward. After this game, we can nominate just about all of our forwards as the name of the game was backchecking. Arnason played better defence than just about any of the Rangers – when you think of Arnie, don’t just look at how he hasn’t scored a goal, but follow him on the ice and see where he plays. He spends a lot of time backchecking and that holds him up from getting down the ice for goals. Anyway, even Heatley broke up a goal in the third by coming back and helping out Emery. It is just so comforting to know that our coach can change a game plan for a night or two and immediately, everyone in the room buys into the plan and executes. This is why we have clinched a playoff spot and some other teams haven’t (let’s not name names). Great team win through defence first and then capitalizing on opportunities.

Special Teams are Special
If you can’t score on a 5-on-3, then you really hurt yourself in two ways. One is that obviously you didn’t make good from the opportunity, and two is that the other team gathers a lot of momentum from shutting you down. Tonight, Ottawa had two 5-on-3’s and scored on both. Again, that is why we have clinched a playoff spot – for the most part, we have excellent special teams. We finished the night 3 of 9 with the man advantage, but don’t lose track of the other half to the special teams. We killed off six more penalties tonight and again, did it without three of our top four defencemen. Think about how the Rangers would normally put their Jagr Unit out there and we’d counter with Kelly, Vermette, Chara, and Phillips. Now sub in Meszaros and Pothier there. That is a very different looking penalty killing unit, but it still performed at the highest level. Being able to score on the PP with regularity and being able to shut down the opponent on the PK consistently will lead to a lot of postseason games.

Loblaws Express Lane – 10 items or less
1. Emery was solid again, making the big saves at the big moments. The goaltender of the future is here now and playing with a ton of confidence.
2. McGrattan gave Orr a nice little round
3. I hate to be mean, but I was happy not to see Varada out there much this game. His play recently hasn’t been up to par with his linemates and the rest of the team.
4. The Filip Novak Era is quickly joined by the Brad Norton Experiment. Quick, tell me, who is Brad Norton? Apparently, he is our sixth defencemen right now and racked up nine minutes of ice time. Not bad.
5. I didn’t mean that Spezza had a bad game, he just wasn’t playing his best out there. The burden of high expectations, I suppose.
6. News is that Chara and Fisher will be back soon. Havlat is out until April 10th, Phillips until at least the start of the playoffs, and Hasek…take a wild guess. I had heard the plan was to get him in there for the final four games of the season, but what do I know?
7. Don’t forget to check this site daily – www.northeasthockey.blogspot.com.

Upcoming Games
Saturday, 7:00 vs. Washington
Next Monday, 7:30 vs. Atlanta
Next Wednesday, 7:00 at Buffalo
Next Thursday, 7:30 vs. Montreal

Sens Game Report - NJD @ OTT - 3.28.06

Photo: (AP PHOTO/CP, Fred Chartrand), espn.com

Winning shootouts is overrated.

Also, why can’t we solve the trap when we used to do it for the Jacques years? On the topic of the trap: the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The Balance in the Bank:

Final Score: New Jersey wins 3-2 in the shootout
Ottawa goals: Heatley (41) on a powerplay shot from the point that made it through, Heatley (42) tipping in Pothier’s point shot with 31 seconds left and Emery on the bench.
Making Sens(e): Arnason, Emery, Pothier, Schubert
Not much Sens(e): Spezza, Heatley, Alfredsson, Meszaros
It was over when: Alfie was stopped as the third Ottawa skater in the shootout.
It was definitely over when: we read the rules again and it states that if your team doesn’t score a single goal in the shootout, it is much harder to win
Message in a Molson bottle: Getting a point out of a game that we had no business getting a point in is always a good thing. This point belongs to Emery since he is the only reason that we even had the opportunity to tie it up in the last minute. If we can’t find a way to beat the trap in the playoffs….you know what? Let’s just find a way to beat the trap in the playoffs, okay?
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=260328014

Grab a Timmy’s double-double and listen to what really happened:

Stale Pizza
You may have noticed that Heatley scored our only two goals but still found his way onto the not much sense list. Why? Because he and his linemates stunk tonight. Their passing was terrible, their shots didn’t get through, and their stickhandling made McGrattan look like a potential shootout sniper. But as the broadcasting team of Brown and Galley pointed out, each of these three guys are so talented that they can change the outcome of a game in one shift. For those keeping track at home, we call them gamebreakers. Heatley was a gamebreaker tonight being able to miraculously tip in Pothier’s shot with 31 seconds left. Heatley can coast all night, not backcheck and not hustle at all, but it takes one flick of his stick and Joe Fan falls in love all over again. I love the fact that we have so many gamebreakers on our team. I hate the fact that we have to discuss how they can suck for 59:58 and then shine for two seconds. This game was in the hands of the Devils from the drop of the puck and our heroes on the pizza line did little to change that course.

Black and blue on the blue line
It isn’t enough that Volchenkov is still stiff and in the Kremlin of his mind after Boguniecki’s hit, and Chara’s hand is still the size of a full rack of ribs after reshaping Cairns’ face. We are already getting to experience the beginning Filip Novak Era here in Ottawa and now we’ll see if there is anyone else to call up after Phillips left the match in the first with a knee injury. He twisted up with Parise behind our net and there was mention of a hyperextension. Moreover, Wade Redden was a little slower with a bad hip or whatever it was that was bothering him and he favoured it all night with decreased mobility. And finally, for those that didn’t see the game and the number of shots that Meszaros blocked, let’s just say that he doesn’t have to worry about babies for a little while. Yowzers!

What’s in a line?
There are eleven games remaining before the second season begins and we are far from knowing how our lines will roll out. Coach Murray said that he wanted to get a firm idea of which lines we will use going into the playoffs and set them for the last 7-8 games. Obviously with the number of key injuries we have right now, it isn’t easy to do, but at least we are learning which lines we DON’T want to keep together. First off, I don’t think we should have Varada on a line with any bona fide scorers. Sure he is a gritty player, but he gets in too many situations where he has to stickhandle along the boards and out into the slot. Secondly, I think the Pizza Line must be put together and kept together. It is nice to spread out the offence at times, but when Havlat and Fisher are back, then we should have enough secondary scoring to allow these three dudes to play together. The Fishing line was great (Fisher, Neil, Schaefer), but is that really the best option when everyone else is back? After the Pizza Line, try your hand at sorting out three other lines with this group: Fisher (C, W), Smolinski (C, W), Arnason (C), Kelly (C), Vermette (C, W), Schaefer (LW), Varada (LW), Havlat (RW), McGrattan (RW), Eaves (W), Neil (RW), Schubert (LW, D). Good luck. To make it easier, count on McGrattan and Schubert being on the shelf. But you will still need to decide who sits between Varada and Eaves. A good problem to have, though, eh?

Loblaws Express Lane – 10 items or less
1. Emery was awesome and stole this point. That has a nice ring to it. Emery’s confidence must be at an all-time high right now.
2. McGrattan’s fight with Janssen in the first was a blast to watch, even if the punches were few and far between. Highlights of the fight were both fighters waving off the linesmen and also McGrattan sticking his tongue out at his smaller opponent.
3. Arnason must be snake-bitten. Another four shots tonight as he is now scoreless in 10 games as a Senator.
4. Too many powerplays in the first period without even a scoring chance. We’re supposed to come out early in the first and instead we sat back and let the Devils institute the trap. Yes, it still exists.
5. Alfie had an off night – no way of dodging that.
6. Meszaros the Superkid had an assist on New Jersey’s second goal on a stroke of bad luck. Trying to clear the puck out shorthanded, he fanned on it and the puck found its way right onto Gionta’s stick and the open net.
7. Not feeling great about Gomez’ goal in the shootout – it was reviewed and there didn’t seem to be anything conclusive that showed it in. But at the other end, no point in complaining about the Gomez goal when three of our best haven’t scored in years on the shootout!
8. Don’t forget to check this site daily – www.northeasthockey.blogspot.com. This time, post your playoff lines!

Upcoming Games
Thursday, 7:30 vs. NY Rangers
Saturday, 7:00 vs. Washington
Next Monday, 7:30 vs. Atlanta

Sens Game Report - OTT @ PHI - 3.25.06

Photo: (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy), espn.com

Nothing stirring this punch.

The Balance in the Bank:

Final Score: Philadelphia wins 6-3
Ottawa goals: Pothier (5, pp) on a point shot feed from Alfie, Heatley (40, pp) helping Morrison get an assist in his first game, Vermette (20, sh) in alone for his league-leading sixth shorthanded goal.
Making Sens(e): Alfie, Vermette, Morrison, Novak
Not much Sens(e): Spezza, Redden, Pothier, Meszaros, Schubert
It was over when: Philly put up another first period 4-spot and we had to pull Emery for Morrison.
It was definitely over when: Down 4-1 in the last minute of the second, Kelly’s goal to bring the game to a reasonable deficit was called back and instead McGratts was given an interference penalty. Instead of a 4-2 game going into the third (our best period), we were still down 4-1 and short-handed going into the third (and Philly scored on that powerplay).
Message in a Molson bottle: Worst defensive performance of the year, bar none. These turnovers weren’t just giveaways in our own end but were actual assists on Philly goals. Carter’s goal really could have included an assist to Pothier.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=260325015

Grab a Timmy’s double-double and listen to what really happened:

A defensive disaster
We are way too strong defensively to possibly think that we can play this poorly on a regular basis. This was as bad as our defencemen have ever played and not even Zdeno Chara with a tummy full of ribs could have stopped these shenanigans. To say that Filip Novak was our best defencemen in this game really sums up how the other five played. It wasn’t that there were a lot of turnovers because we never really had control of the puck in our zone long enough to give it away to begin with. On the bright side, Schubert is more of a forward and we might get Chara and Volchenkov back this week. Furthermore, Filip Novak is actually very strong at bringing the puck through the neutral zone, although Philly had really taken off the pressure by the time the kid got his first shift! These guys need to learn the lesson from this game that if they don’t play their arses off, then most teams will put up a four-spot in the first period.

The Importance of Being Early
This is not the first time that our Sens have given up four goals in the first period. We already accomplished that feat earlier in the season against these same Flyers and also against les Habs on Hockey Day in Canada. Perhaps it is me just being a naïve idiot, but I thought that in all three games we’ve had a chance to come back. In the last Philly game, we ended up losing 4-3. 4-1 in Montreal and had constant pressure after the first. And this time we were on that path until Kelly’s goal was waived off for McGrattan’s interference penalty. I’m not claiming to be brilliant here, but I think it would be easier to win the game if we DIDN’T give up four in the first. Now obviously we aren’t trying to put ourselves down early, but we are nearly unstoppable when scoring first and when leading after the first. When we come out strong in the first, we win the game.

Would the real Philadelphia Flyers please stand up?
The articles following this game were all about how the Flyers are healthy and are once again Stanley Cup contenders. Does a couple of decent games do that? What many analysts have failed to identify all season long is that Philly is built with slow defencemen and suspect goaltending. We’ve already established on numerous occasions that Cup winner’s are built from the net out. Meanwhile, Bobby Clarke says he doesn’t care who he has in nets so long as they score goals. This team can score goals alright, but Antero Nittymaki cannot win a Stanley Cup and defencemen that slow and lethargic (including newly signed Denis Gauthier, another sign that the game has passed Clarke by) defencemen will get burned time and again. Best case scenario for the Sens right now is that the Flyers get the Sabres in the first round and Buffalo just wears them down for six or seven games and we sit back and wait. Summing up, I agree that Philly has shown us and others this season that they are talented and experienced. But I just don’t see them as a legitimate contender with such shaky goaltending. Bank this – they get Buffalo first round and lose.

Loblaws Express Lane – 10 items or less
1. Emery wasn’t good but he wasn’t all that bad. The guy must have been exhausted and his blueliners should have just saved the time and put it by him themselves.
2. Morrison looked very solid filling in. Unfortunately for him, I’d imagine that Emery is back in Tuesday and holding onto the starts until Hasek gets back or we have another episode like this.
3. Spezza was brutal. Those passes don’t even work in Binghamton. His one-timer shots also showed why he is the assist guy on that line. Speaking of which, the Pizza line was reunited in the second half of the game to no avail.
4. Vermette becomes our fourth 20-goal scorer. Seven more to go. Sorry to Antoine and his family for once suggesting that he pack his bags and leave.
5. Eaves and Phillips were the only ones not have be a minus on the night – they were even.
6. Don’t forget to check this site daily – http://www.northeasthockey.blogspot.com/.

Upcoming Games
Tuesday, 7:30 vs. New Jersey
Thursday, 7:30 vs. NY Rangers
Saturday, 7:00 vs. Washington – Capitals versus Senators on a Saturday night, I wonder if that will make it on the Hockey Night in Canada schedule. Thanks, Bettman.

Sens Game Report - Ottawa at Buffalo - 3.24.06

Photo: (AP Photo/David Duprey) espn.com
After further review...

The Balance in the Bank:

Final Score: Ottawa wins 3-1
Ottawa goals: Alfredsson (39) on a feed from Arnason who had worked hard to get in front of the net, Vermette (19) on the touch pass from McGrattan, Eaves (15) showing a mean ole wrist shot from the slot.
Making Sens(e): Alfie, Arnie, Spezza, Redden, Meszaros, Pothier, Schaefer
Not much Sens(e): Heatley, Powerplay
It was over when: A 5-minute review of Grier’s non-goal in the opening minute of third overturned the call on the ice, preserving Ottawa’s 2-1 lead. (It wasn’t a goal, by the way)
It was definitely over when: Eaves shelfed one about four minutes later to restore the two-goal lead in the third. We don’t blow two-goal leads in the third.
Message in a Molson bottle: Evenly matched game and a playoff atmosphere, this one was fun to watch. Emery did his job of keeping his team in the game and the forwards did the job of putting the puck in the net when we had the opportunity. We’re clicking right now and depth is evident with the number of injuries we have.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=260324002

Grab a Timmy’s double-double and listen to what really happened:

Report: The Filip Novak Experiment
Recently an AHL All-Star, Novak made his NHL debut last night filling in for the banged up blueliners (Chara and Volchenkov) and while his icetime was limited to less than McGrattan’s, he finished with an even plus/minus. As we have seen with most players from the hockey hotbed of Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia, Novak was nervous. But the real kudos here needs to go out to the entire defensive group for filling in so well in the absence of its stars. Think about the fact that Chara grabs about 28 minutes of ice time each game and Volchenkov is a solid 5th blueliner that also sees around 12-14 minutes a game. Take that away and all of a sudden, guys like Pothier (20:40), Phillips (24:16) and Meszaros (team leading 25:18) are going to see a lot more of the ice. They were awesome. And Novak gets to see another day in the big leagues. The Filip Novak Era has officially begun in Ottawa – how long will it last? Ask Chara’s hand or Volchenkov’s head…A more important question would be to ask if Zdeno’s hand can still grip around a rack of ribs.

The Power went out
Not literally, but fundamentally. Our powerplay was atrocious, and we can’t keep writing off problems to the injuries because Fisher is on the second unit, Chara is on the second unit, Volchenkov doesn’t play on the PP, Hasek is a goalie, and Havlat hasn’t been in the lineup since the 90’s, it seems. I hope that this game’s powerplay problems were a one-time thing since we have had recent successes on the first unit by sticking the fire hydrant out in front of the net. We just didn’t get it set up this time around and I wouldn’t be surprised if Buffalo had more shorthanded shots than we did powerplay shots. Every team has a different defensive setup to counter our PP, so we just know now that we need to try something new against the Sabres, who we play twice more this season.

Speed sans Keanu Reeves
These guys are fast. Both teams showed what the NHL has become and that is one of timely hitting, defensive discipline, and a ton of speed. If you look up and down Buffalo’s lineup, they don’t really have a standout star, at least by Ottawa standards (ahem, excuse me). But what has made them successful is a combination of speed and playing Toronto, who they own as much as we do. Buffalo wins games against other teams because they have solid goaltending and their speed allows them to win races to the puck and create odd man rushes. Ottawa beats Buffalo because we are just as fast they are and we are better in the other departments, too. These games will always be fun to watch because the speed of both teams kind of washes out and the result is then in the hands of secondary scoring and defence. Conclusion: I wouldn’t mind getting Buffalo in the playoffs somewhere along the line. Buffalo is pretty much locked into the dreaded 4 vs. 5 matchup now as we opened a nine-point lead on them last night.

Loblaws Express Lane – 10 items or less
1. Arnason showed great skill setting up that first goal, going straight at the two defencemen and drawing them both away from Alfie. Bad things happen when you leave Alfie alone in front with someone talented enough to pass the puck to him. And a bad thing happened, if you are Buffalo
2. I was just thinking to myself that it has been a long time since I saw a shot hit off both posts and go out. Got that taken care of last night thanks to Brian Campbell.
3. Injury update: Hasek (who knows), Havlat (meeting in Cleveland on Monday to get clearance for contact), Chara (hand might be worse than we thought and it might be a couple of weeks), Volchenkov (hopefully next week), Fisher (don’t know, but I would expect still at least a week, maybe two).
4. Kelly and Vermette killing a penalty is so fun to watch because you are almost disappointed when the decide to just clear the puck instead of trying to find a breakaway shorthanded goal. This is a luxury that other teams don’t have, so let’s not take this for granted.
5. Alfie, Arnie, and Varada were a decent line that at least kept the puck in the zone. Heatley, Spezza, and Eaves have found some chemistry, too, as Eaves is the workhorse out there buddying up to the older guys like Heatley and Spezza, who are what, 24 and 22 respectively? Can this line even get into a bar? Phillips, go hail them a cab, oh wait, that one’s been taken a by a slick young man from Kanata!
7. The radio said that the 8:00 puck drop was because they like to give a chance for Canadians to make the trip down to the Armpit of America after work on a Friday. Nice guys, those Buffalans, or Buffalites, or whatever. Wait – Buffalonians, that’s it. San Diegans.
8. Don’t forget to check this site daily – http://www.northeasthockey.blogspot.com/.

Upcoming Games
Saturday, 7:00 at Philadelphia
Tuesday, 7:30 vs. New Jersey
Thursday, 7:30 vs. NY Rangers
Next Saturday, 7:00 vs. Washington – Capitals versus Senators on a Saturday night, I wonder if that will make it on the Hockey Ni