It’s official – we’re lazier than Tyler Arnason
The Balance in the Bank:
Final Score: Colorado wins 2-1
Ottawa Goals:
- Heatley (1), yay, scores his first on a wrist shot on a pass from his boyfriend
Making Sens: DMac, Corvo
Lacking Sens: Spezza, Heatley, Alfredsson, Fisher, Schaefer, Phillips, Redden
It was over when: Colorado scored shorthanded and reminded Ottawa fans that a powerplay for us typically means a goal for them.
It was definitely over when: Spezza and Phillips took back-to-back penalties in the third, negating a powerplay and keeping us shorthanded until just a little over two minutes were left.
Message in a Molson bottle: I don’t make guarantees anymore. We skate like a five-year old on the Rideau Canal and expect to win battles for pucks when in reality the puck is already in the next zone by the time we coast over. We didn’t deserve to be in this game as Colorado outplayed us for 60 minutes, mostly by skating harder than us. It amazes me that a team as talented as Ottawa can continue to phone in the game from their homes.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261019014
Next Game: Saturday hosting New Jersey. Can we change that to a road game?..
Grab a Timmy’s double double and listen to what really happened:
The Good
- Dean McAmmond was our best forward once again and actually was our second best defenceman, too. This guy is the best third liner in the league, bar none. He is the fastest guy on the team (I don’t guarantee it, but I’m curious how he’ll stack up against Vermette at the skills competition when we pretend to be fast for a few hours), and works all three zones better than anyone on the ice. He actually blew by a defenceman to get a great scoring chance, skated around and picked up a rebound and setup another scoring opportunity, and then was the second guy backchecking on the ensuing Colorado rush. Maybe he should tell his secrets to Spezza. And Heatley. And Alfredsson, Fisher, Schaefer, Vermette, Neil, Kaigorodov, Hamel, Kelly, and Eaves. And Schubert for good measure. And then to Spezza once more.
- Joe Corvo is going to get 45 points with this team and be awesome. I’m thrilled that he’ll be here for four years. His shot is awesome, he’s fast, skates hard, is smart with the puck, and is all covered in tatts. Great stuff. He isn't as big as I thought, but his speed and shot will make him an oustanding player for us; a dynamic type of defenceman that we've never had before. Maybe he'll like BBQ ribs!
The Bad
- The Fisher/Schaefer/Vermette line looks like hell. Fisher has been a total non-factor in six games this year in his “breakout season”, Vermette moves great in the neutral zone but completely pulls up in the offensive zone, and Schaefer just skates around in the corners and keeps looking for Havlat streaking in front of the net or something. This line produces ZERO scoring chances because their forecheck never gets out of the corner. As I said last game, I know that it is solid forechecking and it keeps the puck in the opponent’s zone, but the objective is to also open up scoring chances. That part hasn’t happened and as a result, this line has become frustrating to watch. My thinking is that Neil is a far more suitable player here because he can keep up with Fisher and Schaefer and has the tenacity to get in slots and high traffic areas. Meanwhile, Vermette is better suited with McAmmond because they'll skate fast and look for flashes of greatness, relative to a third liners skill. Just a thought...
- Whoever said Wade Redden would be a good captain should watch a tape of tonight’s game. When your team is down, you need to become more aggressive and pinch and try and get back in the game. If you’re Wade Redden, you tone down your intensity and make sure your cruise control is still working. As was the case last season when Alfie was healing his ribs (not BBQ), Redden wasn’t a vocal leader or an exemplary leader. He’ll wear the ‘A’ for the rest of his career, wherever that will be. I hope it is in Ottawa, but rest assured that he won’t be a captain. I love the guy, but what you see is what you get from Redds, so I hope you like what you see.
The Ugly
- Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley haven’t skated hard in six games. As a result, they get booed in their own building. Of course, they are 0-4 in their own building, so what do you expect? I don’t question the talent of these two, but I certainly question their work ethic and their attention to detail and responsibility. Maybe the gravy train has pulled into the station after its final run and now these guys need to manufacture goals instead of just lollygagging their way through to 100 points. Regardless of what the answer is, these two haven’t found it. They'll get their 90-100 points, but it will involve a lot more effort.
- Chris Phillips is playing like shite and to be completely honest, I’d rather have Schubert out there right now and have Philly as our #7 defenceman. Maybe his defensive coverage means that we only ever notice him in his own end so we miss everything he does everywhere else, but I seem to notice him botching plays in all areas of the ice. The time to adapt to the “new NHL” was the first 40-50 games of last season. If, as a professional hockey player, Phillips can’t find his game after over 100 games under the new rules, then I don’t know how he can ask for a raise next summer. Is Brian Lee almost ready?
Overtime
- The shot count (36-27) tells a story that we lost battles in our own end all night.
- Gerber played quite well, but sees his record drop to 1-3. Watch out for Don Brennan's inevitable article this weekend calling for Muckler's head for signing Gerber.
- Scary statistic of the week: Ottawa’s powerplay has produced one goal and allowed three. To say that we want to decline a powerplay isn’t that much of a joke anymore.
- Chalk up Colorado’s second goal, the shortie, to Dany Heatley for coasting back into the zone and watching Richardson wire it over Gerber’s glove. All Heatley had to do was put his stick out and he could have broken it up. Instead, he watched the winning goal from two feet away. Awesome.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
The View From Below - a heartfelt rebuttal
The media is said to capture the true pulse of its city. They put together their story through their respective media outlets that "really capture the spirit of the thing." I have the privilege, either fortunate or unfortunate in this case, of being neither a part of the media nor living in the city. This should hopefully lead to an opinion free from the bias of papers and radio and the general masses. It is with this straight-shooting and unbiased mind that I offer my opinion in response the Williams post of the past weekend, as well as general thoughts on what I read in the Ottawa Sun over the past few days.
Let me start by making a personal vow from now until the end of eternity. Never again will I ever utter the expressions, "panic button" or "sense of urgency". I have used both expressions in the past and have grown sick of them. What is a panic button? What does it do? Seriously, what does it mean to push a panic button and what do we expect to happen? Does the rest of the league say, "uh oh, everyone, the Sens pushed the panic button so watch out for them." I'm done with it. And having a sense of urgency - why can't we just refer to that as playing to our potential? We are a very talented team that wins games and loses games and the season is full of ups and downs. Is there point in a game or in a stretch of games that we need to have a sixth sense, a sense of urgency, where all of a sudden our game just becomes that much better? "Oh boy, the Senators seem to have discovered a new sense, move out of the way and let them by" If there is a series of other levels that we can raise our game to, then why were we playing so poorly in the first place? No more sense of urgency. Mr. Williams wants you to have a sense of urgency about our Sens and he wants you to push down with two hands on this magical panic button that makes public all our team's problems. I beg you - resist the temptation and stay the course. Here's why:
1. The goaltending controversy of our minds.
Martin Gerber makes a lot more money than Ray Emery. Ray Emery had a better training camp than Martin Gerber. The comparisons need to stop there. John Muckler paid what he had to in order to get us a bona fide goaltender in Gerber and he paid what he had to in order to retain the services of Emery. The only controversy between these two is the one fabricated in your morning newspaper, my friends. Do you think Ray Emery and Martin Gerber fight over a sew-on patch that says #1 Goalie every day at practice? Of course not, silly. These guys are both fierce competitors and they both want to help their team win games. Whether or not we the fans want to give out a title of #1 goalie is irrelevant. They are both capable of being the go-to guy for extended periods of time and our coach is going to start which ever one has the best chance of helping us win that specific game. Has Ray Emery stolen the job? What is there to steal? He is going to play in games so long as he gives us a chance to win games. Take a look at last year's final four: Buffalo's Martin Biron rattled off twelve straight wins as the backup to Ryan Miller, Carolina's Cam Ward sat on the bench all year and flipped that around to a Stanley Cup MVP when Gerber went down sick, Edmonton reopened its hearts to Jussi Markannen when Roloson got hurt in the Finals, and Anaheim went back and forth between Giguerre and Byzgalof throughout the postseason. My point is that from October through June, the coach's job is to put in nets the guy that will give your team the best chance to win. There is no lost job and there is no controversy in Ottawa; all that is happening is that Emery has played two solid games in a row. This will only make Martin Gerber a better player. It's the circle of life. I'd also like to add that it was funny how the Sun's Don Brennan wrote after last year's season that Muckler had let us down at the trade deadline by not acquiring a goalie to replace Hasek, but writes over the weekend that Emery should have been named our outright starting goalie. This isn't fantasy hockey, guys.
2. Oh Captain, My Captain
"Daniel Alfredsson's career in Ottawa has hit a wall". Bite your tongue, Ottawa, and believe me I'd rather be using much harsher words. Your loyalty to your beloved captain runs no longer than a minority government, it seems. There is a difference between a passionate fan that wants your team to win and being a crazy fan that wants to blow the roster up after each loss. Daniel Alfredsson is the consummate professional that we rarely see anymore, not just in hockey but in professional sports. He is one of the most respected guys among the league's players and has more class and integrity than just about any other captain in the NHL. Write that down. Whether you believe it or not, he puts more effort into his game and more pressure on himself than anyone else in that dressing room. Has he failed to deliver a Stanley Cup even though he has been the captain of great teams? Absolutely. Have dozens and dozens of other captains (Canadian and European alike) failed at the same goal? You bet. This guy is highly respected in the dressing room and will be vindicated at some point in his NHL career - and I just hope that is in Ottawa. Considering how we treat the guy in the papers and in our own building, it is amazing that he still wants to be our captain. We play a home game and he is showered with boos. We travel to Montreal where we don't really even have a rivalry and all you heard when he touched the puck in the first period: "le booooooo. le hisssssssss." I think the Sun's Erin Nicks was in one of these crowds, planning her next article that rang similar to a Brennan-esque travesty demanding drastic measures be taken after our horrifying 2-3 start that has no doubt ruined our season.
Why do people dislike Daniel Alfredsson? Why do people love Mats Sundin? What the hell is the difference? Have either made it to the Stanley Cup Finals? "Oh, but Sundin scored in overtime on Saturday and he is the true leader of that team when they need him the most." Didn't they need him the most when they played Carolina in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002? Where has he been when they needed him the most? Does that mean he doesn't have leadership qualities after all? Who the frig are we to measure intangibles like that, anyway? If our ship wrecked on a desert island and me and ten others had to vote on who would be our leader to help us get off the island, and our choices were Sundin and Alfie, why would I be the only one choosing the smaller Swede? I mean, for all we know, Sundin might go off to the other side of the island and build himself a mansion and not let us in, because he's the private type, you know. How do we really know that one is a better leader than the other when they play in two completely different environments and neither have succeeded in winning a Cup? My end point on this ridiculous tangent is that Alfredsson is our captain and he is an amazing leader that works his ass off out there and faces the music each and every time we come up short. He WILL lead this team to a title. If you still want to trade him away and take on a fresh look, ask Mike O'Connell how that worked for him in Boston when he traded Thornton, the face of the franchise, for a new attitude. Long story short - Daniel Alfredsson will never wear a different jersey in his NHL career and we should be thanking our lucky stars.
3. We're in a freefall and there is no sign of the end
Alright, it's time for review. What did we say in April and May earlier this year about the season? We said, "the regular season doesn't mean anything, the playoffs is all that counts." Now fast forward to Friday morning and Sunday morning and today and tomorrow. What are we saying now? "This team is struggling and we need a major shakeup if we want to win games." Now go back and read what we said in April again. Now back to yesterday's comment. What am I getting at, you ask? How can our city be so disheveled over a 2-3 start in the regular season when mere months earlier we swore that the regular season was a waste of seven months? Does anybody really think that this team won't make the playoffs? Does anyone really think Heatley will finish the year with no goals? Does anyone really think Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer won't score and that Martin Gerber won't see another game? It's time to take a step back, focus on what we need to tweak, and enjoy the opportunity to watch this season's team work through its growing pains. I'd rather Heatley be scoreless now than later, for instance.
I absolutely agree that it is the right of each and every fan to express their concerns and to demand more of their star players. Heck, I do the same after every single game. But to put a full-court press on management and the players and say that Muckler and Murray's jobs are on the line and trade winds are blowing through the capital is just silly. What bothers me so much about it is that it is that very same attitude that our foes down the 401 possess. How can we make fun of their chaotic demeanour if we've taken on the same persona? These Ottawa Senators have NOT let us down at every turn, as my co-blogger wants you to believe. They have been one of the most successful teams of the past decade, showing amazing skill and talent and taking us on an amazing ride. There is one more thing we want to accomplish with our gang and rest assured that in the near future, if you are still waving our flag, you can come and celebrate a Stanley Cup with us. This team, led by Daniel Alfredsson and backed by solid goaltending, will find a way to win the trophy that we dream of. Have patience and learn to appreciate the amazing team that we have here in Ottawa. The stars will be stars and the role players will fulfill their roles and the defencemen will be defensive and the goalies will stand on their heads. If the regular season means nothing to us, then just sit back and enjoy watching this group learn together and soon excel together. Just don't judge an 82-page book by its first five pages.
I end by restating Mr. Williams' closing arguments for the amusement of the crowd:
- Alfredsson has been mediocre at best
- Heatley is invisible
- Gerber has lost his swagger
Five games, guys. That's all we've played so far. Someone tell Mr. Williams to get his hand off the panic button.
-Cheeko
Let me start by making a personal vow from now until the end of eternity. Never again will I ever utter the expressions, "panic button" or "sense of urgency". I have used both expressions in the past and have grown sick of them. What is a panic button? What does it do? Seriously, what does it mean to push a panic button and what do we expect to happen? Does the rest of the league say, "uh oh, everyone, the Sens pushed the panic button so watch out for them." I'm done with it. And having a sense of urgency - why can't we just refer to that as playing to our potential? We are a very talented team that wins games and loses games and the season is full of ups and downs. Is there point in a game or in a stretch of games that we need to have a sixth sense, a sense of urgency, where all of a sudden our game just becomes that much better? "Oh boy, the Senators seem to have discovered a new sense, move out of the way and let them by" If there is a series of other levels that we can raise our game to, then why were we playing so poorly in the first place? No more sense of urgency. Mr. Williams wants you to have a sense of urgency about our Sens and he wants you to push down with two hands on this magical panic button that makes public all our team's problems. I beg you - resist the temptation and stay the course. Here's why:
1. The goaltending controversy of our minds.
Martin Gerber makes a lot more money than Ray Emery. Ray Emery had a better training camp than Martin Gerber. The comparisons need to stop there. John Muckler paid what he had to in order to get us a bona fide goaltender in Gerber and he paid what he had to in order to retain the services of Emery. The only controversy between these two is the one fabricated in your morning newspaper, my friends. Do you think Ray Emery and Martin Gerber fight over a sew-on patch that says #1 Goalie every day at practice? Of course not, silly. These guys are both fierce competitors and they both want to help their team win games. Whether or not we the fans want to give out a title of #1 goalie is irrelevant. They are both capable of being the go-to guy for extended periods of time and our coach is going to start which ever one has the best chance of helping us win that specific game. Has Ray Emery stolen the job? What is there to steal? He is going to play in games so long as he gives us a chance to win games. Take a look at last year's final four: Buffalo's Martin Biron rattled off twelve straight wins as the backup to Ryan Miller, Carolina's Cam Ward sat on the bench all year and flipped that around to a Stanley Cup MVP when Gerber went down sick, Edmonton reopened its hearts to Jussi Markannen when Roloson got hurt in the Finals, and Anaheim went back and forth between Giguerre and Byzgalof throughout the postseason. My point is that from October through June, the coach's job is to put in nets the guy that will give your team the best chance to win. There is no lost job and there is no controversy in Ottawa; all that is happening is that Emery has played two solid games in a row. This will only make Martin Gerber a better player. It's the circle of life. I'd also like to add that it was funny how the Sun's Don Brennan wrote after last year's season that Muckler had let us down at the trade deadline by not acquiring a goalie to replace Hasek, but writes over the weekend that Emery should have been named our outright starting goalie. This isn't fantasy hockey, guys.
2. Oh Captain, My Captain
"Daniel Alfredsson's career in Ottawa has hit a wall". Bite your tongue, Ottawa, and believe me I'd rather be using much harsher words. Your loyalty to your beloved captain runs no longer than a minority government, it seems. There is a difference between a passionate fan that wants your team to win and being a crazy fan that wants to blow the roster up after each loss. Daniel Alfredsson is the consummate professional that we rarely see anymore, not just in hockey but in professional sports. He is one of the most respected guys among the league's players and has more class and integrity than just about any other captain in the NHL. Write that down. Whether you believe it or not, he puts more effort into his game and more pressure on himself than anyone else in that dressing room. Has he failed to deliver a Stanley Cup even though he has been the captain of great teams? Absolutely. Have dozens and dozens of other captains (Canadian and European alike) failed at the same goal? You bet. This guy is highly respected in the dressing room and will be vindicated at some point in his NHL career - and I just hope that is in Ottawa. Considering how we treat the guy in the papers and in our own building, it is amazing that he still wants to be our captain. We play a home game and he is showered with boos. We travel to Montreal where we don't really even have a rivalry and all you heard when he touched the puck in the first period: "le booooooo. le hisssssssss." I think the Sun's Erin Nicks was in one of these crowds, planning her next article that rang similar to a Brennan-esque travesty demanding drastic measures be taken after our horrifying 2-3 start that has no doubt ruined our season.
Why do people dislike Daniel Alfredsson? Why do people love Mats Sundin? What the hell is the difference? Have either made it to the Stanley Cup Finals? "Oh, but Sundin scored in overtime on Saturday and he is the true leader of that team when they need him the most." Didn't they need him the most when they played Carolina in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002? Where has he been when they needed him the most? Does that mean he doesn't have leadership qualities after all? Who the frig are we to measure intangibles like that, anyway? If our ship wrecked on a desert island and me and ten others had to vote on who would be our leader to help us get off the island, and our choices were Sundin and Alfie, why would I be the only one choosing the smaller Swede? I mean, for all we know, Sundin might go off to the other side of the island and build himself a mansion and not let us in, because he's the private type, you know. How do we really know that one is a better leader than the other when they play in two completely different environments and neither have succeeded in winning a Cup? My end point on this ridiculous tangent is that Alfredsson is our captain and he is an amazing leader that works his ass off out there and faces the music each and every time we come up short. He WILL lead this team to a title. If you still want to trade him away and take on a fresh look, ask Mike O'Connell how that worked for him in Boston when he traded Thornton, the face of the franchise, for a new attitude. Long story short - Daniel Alfredsson will never wear a different jersey in his NHL career and we should be thanking our lucky stars.
3. We're in a freefall and there is no sign of the end
Alright, it's time for review. What did we say in April and May earlier this year about the season? We said, "the regular season doesn't mean anything, the playoffs is all that counts." Now fast forward to Friday morning and Sunday morning and today and tomorrow. What are we saying now? "This team is struggling and we need a major shakeup if we want to win games." Now go back and read what we said in April again. Now back to yesterday's comment. What am I getting at, you ask? How can our city be so disheveled over a 2-3 start in the regular season when mere months earlier we swore that the regular season was a waste of seven months? Does anybody really think that this team won't make the playoffs? Does anyone really think Heatley will finish the year with no goals? Does anyone really think Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer won't score and that Martin Gerber won't see another game? It's time to take a step back, focus on what we need to tweak, and enjoy the opportunity to watch this season's team work through its growing pains. I'd rather Heatley be scoreless now than later, for instance.
I absolutely agree that it is the right of each and every fan to express their concerns and to demand more of their star players. Heck, I do the same after every single game. But to put a full-court press on management and the players and say that Muckler and Murray's jobs are on the line and trade winds are blowing through the capital is just silly. What bothers me so much about it is that it is that very same attitude that our foes down the 401 possess. How can we make fun of their chaotic demeanour if we've taken on the same persona? These Ottawa Senators have NOT let us down at every turn, as my co-blogger wants you to believe. They have been one of the most successful teams of the past decade, showing amazing skill and talent and taking us on an amazing ride. There is one more thing we want to accomplish with our gang and rest assured that in the near future, if you are still waving our flag, you can come and celebrate a Stanley Cup with us. This team, led by Daniel Alfredsson and backed by solid goaltending, will find a way to win the trophy that we dream of. Have patience and learn to appreciate the amazing team that we have here in Ottawa. The stars will be stars and the role players will fulfill their roles and the defencemen will be defensive and the goalies will stand on their heads. If the regular season means nothing to us, then just sit back and enjoy watching this group learn together and soon excel together. Just don't judge an 82-page book by its first five pages.
I end by restating Mr. Williams' closing arguments for the amusement of the crowd:
- Alfredsson has been mediocre at best
- Heatley is invisible
- Gerber has lost his swagger
Five games, guys. That's all we've played so far. Someone tell Mr. Williams to get his hand off the panic button.
-Cheeko
Sens Game Report - 10.14.2006 - Ottawa @ Montréal
A win is a win. We deserved this one in regulation, but some small child mugged Spezza before the game and dressed in his place.
Also, check back Monday night for my scathing rebuttal to the Williams fiasco currently listed below this game report. Scroll down.
The Balance in the Bank:
Final Score: Ottawa wins 3-2 in a shootout
Ottawa Goals:
Hamel (1) the hard way banging away in front of the net
Kelly (1) on a nice feed through the crease from Eaves to respond to the Higgins goal.
Shootout: Vermette scores, McAmmond is stopped, Fisher scores to win
Making Sens: Emery, Neil, Redden, McAmmond, Kelly, Eaves, Kaigorodov
Lacking Sens: Spezza, Fisher, Schaefer
It was over when: The almighty Koivu was stopped as the second skater in the shootout for Montreal.
It was definitely over when: Fisher potted the second goal in the shootout to ice it.
Message in a Molson bottle: Defensively solid and far too reliant on the third and fourth lines for spark and scoring. The top two lines need to be buying some BBQ rib dinners for the rest of the forwards for getting them out of Montreal with a divisional win. For the second game in a row, Emery showed that he deserves the time in nets.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261014010
Next Game: Thursday night hosting Colorado
Grab a Timmy’s double double and listen to what really happened:
The Good
- We officially have a great goaltending tandem. Yay. Now before you wipe that beer off your face and tell me why Gerber sucks and Emery should be our number one, let me interrupt. I completely agree that Emery deserves the ice time right now – he is playing great hockey with a lot of confidence. Coach Murray is perfectly right in playing the guy that is winning games, without a doubt. Right now, that guy is Ray Emery. But remember this, dear friend: we didn’t sign Martin Gerber for $3.7M a year to not play. He is the #1 guy and right now he is getting time on the bench while our backup is hot. Case closed. Write that down.
- I like Dean McAmmond a lot. I’ve mentioned something about his skating and his vision just about every game so far because he just seems to be our most comfortable skater out there. It’s not like I enjoy writing his name. In fact, it’s pretty annoying having to do that capital M, then the lower case c and then back to a capital A. But so long as he keeps playing well and skating hard every single shift, he’ll get air time. From now on, we shall call him D-Mac. Original, eh?
- Fourth line was great, third line was pretty solid, too. I like Eaves, Kelly, and Kaigorodov on the fourth in one of these less physical games. I feel like all four of our lines can score goals.
The Bad
- Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer are exciting hockey players. They work hard and throw their bodies around to make the play. But they spend so much frigging time cycling in the corners and working on the perimeter in regular 5-on-5 play, they rarely get any good scoring opportunities. I think it is great forechecking, but the whole point of it is to pry the puck loose and get high percentage shots on goal. It’s not like Vermette is going to park himself in front of the net and wait for their pass, so these three will just work the perimeter, which is something 29 opposing defenses are completely fine with.
The Ugly
- In my opinion, this was Jason Spezza’s worst game in the Bryan Murray regime. His passes were so far off target and so obvious that I’m not so sure they even would have worked in the OHL where Spezza seemed to belong tonight. Thursday it was Heatley, this time Spezza. Should we expect Alfredsson to phone it in on Thursday or are these three actually going to try and get a goal. If they haven’t figured it out yet, these three can’t expect the points to fall onto their sticks anymore. Spezza needs to forget this one, learn from the passing mistakes in our own end, and focus on making some magic this week.
Overtime
- Alexei Kaigorodov is pretty fun to watch, except in the faceoff circle and in the corners. And in front of the net. All in all, though, it was a decent showing for his first actual NHL game and he managed to put an assist in there on Kelly’s goal. He may not have known about it, though, since second assists are merely a campfire legend in his native Russia.
- Talk about spreading your icetime around, the shortest amount of time one of our guys had on the ice was Neil at 10:04, and that is because he had 7 minutes in penalties! That’s a team effort right there.
- Powerplay is shut down again but I liked the way they moved the puck in the third period. At any given point, we’ll start netting them at a 50% rate just to get back into the top 5 in the league. For those keeping score, we went into the game ranked 28th and then went 0-for-5.
Also, check back Monday night for my scathing rebuttal to the Williams fiasco currently listed below this game report. Scroll down.
The Balance in the Bank:
Final Score: Ottawa wins 3-2 in a shootout
Ottawa Goals:
Hamel (1) the hard way banging away in front of the net
Kelly (1) on a nice feed through the crease from Eaves to respond to the Higgins goal.
Shootout: Vermette scores, McAmmond is stopped, Fisher scores to win
Making Sens: Emery, Neil, Redden, McAmmond, Kelly, Eaves, Kaigorodov
Lacking Sens: Spezza, Fisher, Schaefer
It was over when: The almighty Koivu was stopped as the second skater in the shootout for Montreal.
It was definitely over when: Fisher potted the second goal in the shootout to ice it.
Message in a Molson bottle: Defensively solid and far too reliant on the third and fourth lines for spark and scoring. The top two lines need to be buying some BBQ rib dinners for the rest of the forwards for getting them out of Montreal with a divisional win. For the second game in a row, Emery showed that he deserves the time in nets.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261014010
Next Game: Thursday night hosting Colorado
Grab a Timmy’s double double and listen to what really happened:
The Good
- We officially have a great goaltending tandem. Yay. Now before you wipe that beer off your face and tell me why Gerber sucks and Emery should be our number one, let me interrupt. I completely agree that Emery deserves the ice time right now – he is playing great hockey with a lot of confidence. Coach Murray is perfectly right in playing the guy that is winning games, without a doubt. Right now, that guy is Ray Emery. But remember this, dear friend: we didn’t sign Martin Gerber for $3.7M a year to not play. He is the #1 guy and right now he is getting time on the bench while our backup is hot. Case closed. Write that down.
- I like Dean McAmmond a lot. I’ve mentioned something about his skating and his vision just about every game so far because he just seems to be our most comfortable skater out there. It’s not like I enjoy writing his name. In fact, it’s pretty annoying having to do that capital M, then the lower case c and then back to a capital A. But so long as he keeps playing well and skating hard every single shift, he’ll get air time. From now on, we shall call him D-Mac. Original, eh?
- Fourth line was great, third line was pretty solid, too. I like Eaves, Kelly, and Kaigorodov on the fourth in one of these less physical games. I feel like all four of our lines can score goals.
The Bad
- Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer are exciting hockey players. They work hard and throw their bodies around to make the play. But they spend so much frigging time cycling in the corners and working on the perimeter in regular 5-on-5 play, they rarely get any good scoring opportunities. I think it is great forechecking, but the whole point of it is to pry the puck loose and get high percentage shots on goal. It’s not like Vermette is going to park himself in front of the net and wait for their pass, so these three will just work the perimeter, which is something 29 opposing defenses are completely fine with.
The Ugly
- In my opinion, this was Jason Spezza’s worst game in the Bryan Murray regime. His passes were so far off target and so obvious that I’m not so sure they even would have worked in the OHL where Spezza seemed to belong tonight. Thursday it was Heatley, this time Spezza. Should we expect Alfredsson to phone it in on Thursday or are these three actually going to try and get a goal. If they haven’t figured it out yet, these three can’t expect the points to fall onto their sticks anymore. Spezza needs to forget this one, learn from the passing mistakes in our own end, and focus on making some magic this week.
Overtime
- Alexei Kaigorodov is pretty fun to watch, except in the faceoff circle and in the corners. And in front of the net. All in all, though, it was a decent showing for his first actual NHL game and he managed to put an assist in there on Kelly’s goal. He may not have known about it, though, since second assists are merely a campfire legend in his native Russia.
- Talk about spreading your icetime around, the shortest amount of time one of our guys had on the ice was Neil at 10:04, and that is because he had 7 minutes in penalties! That’s a team effort right there.
- Powerplay is shut down again but I liked the way they moved the puck in the third period. At any given point, we’ll start netting them at a 50% rate just to get back into the top 5 in the league. For those keeping score, we went into the game ranked 28th and then went 0-for-5.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Greetings All,
Well folks, it has been a highly disappointing start to the season for Sens fans. Embarrassed by the Leafs ,beaten by the Sabres and stifled by the Flames. Our 15 million dollar top line can't score and our defense looks completely lost. We also now have a full blown goaltending controversy. Great.
Geoff Cheek and I have been jarring at each other for a few days now about the mentality of Sens fans and the direction of the team. Mr. Cheek believes that Sens fans are foolish to be critiquing the team at this juncture and need to calm down immediately. I on the other hand, believe that Sens fans have ever right to rip the team, chide Alfreddson and question Gerber.
Geoff would be right if this was any other team. It is early in the season and there are many games left to figure this out. But this is not any other team. This is the Sens. The perennial choke artists of modern day hockey. This is a team that has disappointed their fans at every turn. We have every right to question Muckler's moves (see the top three scorers and top scoring defencemen, you may recognize some of the names). We have every right to wonder why Alfy is still here and we definantly have every right to express concern over nearly every facet of this team's play. That is what being a fan is all about. Praising the team during the good times and getting on them during the bad times. It just so happens that we have never really enjoyed any good times.
I don't care what their record is right now, but I will say that Alfy has been mediocre at best and that Heatly has been invisible. Ill also say that Gerber looks like a goalie who has lost his swagger.
Feel free to express your frustration in the comments box below. Sens fans deserve it.
Well folks, it has been a highly disappointing start to the season for Sens fans. Embarrassed by the Leafs ,beaten by the Sabres and stifled by the Flames. Our 15 million dollar top line can't score and our defense looks completely lost. We also now have a full blown goaltending controversy. Great.
Geoff Cheek and I have been jarring at each other for a few days now about the mentality of Sens fans and the direction of the team. Mr. Cheek believes that Sens fans are foolish to be critiquing the team at this juncture and need to calm down immediately. I on the other hand, believe that Sens fans have ever right to rip the team, chide Alfreddson and question Gerber.
Geoff would be right if this was any other team. It is early in the season and there are many games left to figure this out. But this is not any other team. This is the Sens. The perennial choke artists of modern day hockey. This is a team that has disappointed their fans at every turn. We have every right to question Muckler's moves (see the top three scorers and top scoring defencemen, you may recognize some of the names). We have every right to wonder why Alfy is still here and we definantly have every right to express concern over nearly every facet of this team's play. That is what being a fan is all about. Praising the team during the good times and getting on them during the bad times. It just so happens that we have never really enjoyed any good times.
I don't care what their record is right now, but I will say that Alfy has been mediocre at best and that Heatly has been invisible. Ill also say that Gerber looks like a goalie who has lost his swagger.
Feel free to express your frustration in the comments box below. Sens fans deserve it.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Sens Game Report - 10/12/2006 - Calgary @ Ottawa
It was too bad someone had to lose this one. Even worse because it was us that lost.
The Balance in the Bank:
Final Score: Calgary wins 1-0
Ottawa Goals:
- Shutout for the second time in four games
Making Sens: Alfredsson, Volchenkov, Neil, Emery
Lacking Sens: Schaefer, Heatley, Preissing
It was over when: Schaefer crapped out and gave up the puck in his own end, with the ensuing turnover winding up in our net in the last period.
It was definitely over when: Our powerplay continued to stink and we couldn’t convert on back to back advantages late in the third..
Message in a Molson bottle: Lots of hits, lots of forechecking, and a hell of a lot of backchecking and goaltending. This was, for the most part, a fundamentally sound game, and perhaps all that backchecking cost us some odd man rushes going through the neutral zone. Oh yeah, they also played Kiprusoff and he’s known to win games. This was a goaltender’s duo that went the way of the Finn.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261012014
Next Game: Saturday in Montreal after dropping all there at home..
Grab a Timmy’s double double and listen to what really happened:
The Good
- The Pizza Line only had two of its three toppings tonight that played properly and they managed to create some chances and hold on to the puck from time to time. Alfredsson was our best forward and our best backchecker, like he should be. Spezza had his usual idiot passes but has undeniable chemistry with his captain.
- Volchenkov and Phillips both looked 150,000% better, to quote an impossible number that Melnyk used recently. They used the body, made strong outlet passes, and on the whole, looked much more comfortable on all ends of the ice.
- We have three solid PK units. Kelly and Vermette just move around a lot, Fisher and Schaefer move around a ton, and Alfredsson and McAmmond are just very strong players.
The Bad
- Peter Schaefer was a moron for the better part of the night. Hey buddy, we get it, you’re good with the puck along the boards. Where we don’t need to see this 190lb wonder trying to work his magic is in our end. In a tie game. In the third period. In a game where Kiprusoff is in the other net. Add up these variables and you get a loss tonight. Thanks, Schaefs.
- The only day of the year that Vermette is our fastest player is during the Skills Competition. If this guy doesn’t start using his speed and moving his feet, then I can’t imagine he’ll see the playoffs in a Sens uniform. Yep, I’m starting the Vermette trade rumours again.
- Tom Preissing looked terrible tonight, coughing up the puck, looking far too tentative, and playing like the $600K defenceman we don’t want him to be.
The Ugly
- To say that Dany Heatley had a disappointing game tonight would be an understatement. This guy’s floating makes a rubber duck look like the Tasmanian devil. It’s going to be hard for him to score 60 goals when he hardly skates past the blue line. His stickhandling is arguably worse than Spartacat’s and I’m pretty sure Brad Marsh could have skated circles around him. He can get a head start on the beer and hot dogs at the Centrum because he didn’t work up any kind of sweat tonight. Heatley’s shot was so far off tonight that some kid selling a Ralex watch in an alley in Kuala Lumpur said through a translator, “hey, you’re timing is a little off.” Heatley’s stickhandling was so slow and obvious that even Sheldon Souray would have managed to keep his clothes on. Magnus Arvedson called Heatley after the game and commended him on his total lack of physical play. Long story short, Heaters needs to get much, much better.
Overtime
- I started to think that Phaneuf was a real tough guy for the first hit but then always seemed to skate away from the ensuring melee, but then he sent Hamel into the 12th row of the lower bowl with a crushing hit. Too bad Stephen Harper doesn’t come to our games, or else he and Hamel could have had a neat conversation about Quebec language laws. Harper has decided to cheer for Toronto. At least we have Dalton McGuinty and Matthew Perry, right?
- Emery was great in nets and I’m sure some ridiculous journalists will find a way to push a goaltending controversy around practice tomorrow.
- Eaves’ ice time took a major hit. That’s a wakeup call. He didn’t do much with the time he did have on the ice, even playing with offensive juggernauts Chris Kelly and Brian McGrattan.
- Spezza goes 14-2 in the faceoff circle. That’s an amazing start to the play considering he and his linemates are at their best when they have the puck in their possession.
- Redden and Meszaros played together tonight and combined for 9 blocked shots. Those aren’t Jay McKee numbers, but that’s pretty good
- 0-for-6 on the powerplay. This is bad. The Flames just sat on Heatley each time, but we should still find a way to score goals considering Alfredsson, Spezza, and Redden are also on the ice.
The Balance in the Bank:
Final Score: Calgary wins 1-0
Ottawa Goals:
- Shutout for the second time in four games
Making Sens: Alfredsson, Volchenkov, Neil, Emery
Lacking Sens: Schaefer, Heatley, Preissing
It was over when: Schaefer crapped out and gave up the puck in his own end, with the ensuing turnover winding up in our net in the last period.
It was definitely over when: Our powerplay continued to stink and we couldn’t convert on back to back advantages late in the third..
Message in a Molson bottle: Lots of hits, lots of forechecking, and a hell of a lot of backchecking and goaltending. This was, for the most part, a fundamentally sound game, and perhaps all that backchecking cost us some odd man rushes going through the neutral zone. Oh yeah, they also played Kiprusoff and he’s known to win games. This was a goaltender’s duo that went the way of the Finn.
Courtesy Boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261012014
Next Game: Saturday in Montreal after dropping all there at home..
Grab a Timmy’s double double and listen to what really happened:
The Good
- The Pizza Line only had two of its three toppings tonight that played properly and they managed to create some chances and hold on to the puck from time to time. Alfredsson was our best forward and our best backchecker, like he should be. Spezza had his usual idiot passes but has undeniable chemistry with his captain.
- Volchenkov and Phillips both looked 150,000% better, to quote an impossible number that Melnyk used recently. They used the body, made strong outlet passes, and on the whole, looked much more comfortable on all ends of the ice.
- We have three solid PK units. Kelly and Vermette just move around a lot, Fisher and Schaefer move around a ton, and Alfredsson and McAmmond are just very strong players.
The Bad
- Peter Schaefer was a moron for the better part of the night. Hey buddy, we get it, you’re good with the puck along the boards. Where we don’t need to see this 190lb wonder trying to work his magic is in our end. In a tie game. In the third period. In a game where Kiprusoff is in the other net. Add up these variables and you get a loss tonight. Thanks, Schaefs.
- The only day of the year that Vermette is our fastest player is during the Skills Competition. If this guy doesn’t start using his speed and moving his feet, then I can’t imagine he’ll see the playoffs in a Sens uniform. Yep, I’m starting the Vermette trade rumours again.
- Tom Preissing looked terrible tonight, coughing up the puck, looking far too tentative, and playing like the $600K defenceman we don’t want him to be.
The Ugly
- To say that Dany Heatley had a disappointing game tonight would be an understatement. This guy’s floating makes a rubber duck look like the Tasmanian devil. It’s going to be hard for him to score 60 goals when he hardly skates past the blue line. His stickhandling is arguably worse than Spartacat’s and I’m pretty sure Brad Marsh could have skated circles around him. He can get a head start on the beer and hot dogs at the Centrum because he didn’t work up any kind of sweat tonight. Heatley’s shot was so far off tonight that some kid selling a Ralex watch in an alley in Kuala Lumpur said through a translator, “hey, you’re timing is a little off.” Heatley’s stickhandling was so slow and obvious that even Sheldon Souray would have managed to keep his clothes on. Magnus Arvedson called Heatley after the game and commended him on his total lack of physical play. Long story short, Heaters needs to get much, much better.
Overtime
- I started to think that Phaneuf was a real tough guy for the first hit but then always seemed to skate away from the ensuring melee, but then he sent Hamel into the 12th row of the lower bowl with a crushing hit. Too bad Stephen Harper doesn’t come to our games, or else he and Hamel could have had a neat conversation about Quebec language laws. Harper has decided to cheer for Toronto. At least we have Dalton McGuinty and Matthew Perry, right?
- Emery was great in nets and I’m sure some ridiculous journalists will find a way to push a goaltending controversy around practice tomorrow.
- Eaves’ ice time took a major hit. That’s a wakeup call. He didn’t do much with the time he did have on the ice, even playing with offensive juggernauts Chris Kelly and Brian McGrattan.
- Spezza goes 14-2 in the faceoff circle. That’s an amazing start to the play considering he and his linemates are at their best when they have the puck in their possession.
- Redden and Meszaros played together tonight and combined for 9 blocked shots. Those aren’t Jay McKee numbers, but that’s pretty good
- 0-for-6 on the powerplay. This is bad. The Flames just sat on Heatley each time, but we should still find a way to score goals considering Alfredsson, Spezza, and Redden are also on the ice.
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