...and monkeys will fly outta my butt...

Ottawa Senators 4 - Buffalo Sabres 2


Well, holy shit, and shove me in it.

Raise your hand if you thought the Sens would pull this one off.

Liars.

Well, I certainly didn't, and I couldn't see much of the game either as the ol' life occasionally gets in the way of hockey-watching (damn life). What I did see amounted to a bunch of Sens pressure in the second period, a shot off the post that deflected right under Marty Biron's ass (nice save, ass). Moments later, the play goes the other way and badda bing, badda boom, it's in the Sens' net. True to form, I thought, the luck is shining through once more. That made it 2-1 Buffalo heading to the third, then I had to go do "stuff"...and was utterly shocked to return home and see a 4-2 scoreline run across the screen.

In favour of Ottawa!!!

Against Buffalo!!!

I needed to lie down.

So, as I didn't see much, I can't really say much besides:

Thank the hockey gods, Ray Emery is back. Now Bryan Murray has to put away his goalie rotation clipboard and ride the Razor for as long as he can. He's proving start after start that he's up to the task of being the Number One. The team plays with more confidence in front of him. His GAA is the best in the freakin' league...and they WIN when he plays. So take a seat Mr. Gerber...and get comfortable.

From what I understand, the effort was exceptional throughout. It's about bloody time! Here's hoping it doesn't take a match against the consensus "best" team in the NHL to get that level of commitment out of the team. The same Sabres visit The Bank on Saturday, so Ottawa best have a short memory and go at 'em just as hard in round three.

Next Up: Thursday, New Jersey in the swamp

pick a cliche...

Montreal Canadiens 6 - Ottawa Senators 3

Just when it looks like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel...it turns out to actually be the train.

I confess, it's been difficult to write about the recent tribulations of the Senators simply because with every new, heartbreaking loss, the apathy meter seems to reach a new high. That's the most frustrating thing as a fan: to simply see the team roll over and play like they just don't want it. Every night.
Following tonight's tilt with the Habs, I couldn't be quiet anymore.

I don't know what it is, but this year's Senators keep finding ways to lose. Generally, they start games strong, often scoring first and playing with desire for the first period. Then something happens between periods and they mail in the rest. Tonight, versus Montreal was no different. Despite a flicker of drive and determination after falling to a 4-1 score early in the third, bringing the game back to 4-3, said effort was all for naught when - as if on cue - Martin Gerber (who had been surprisingly good throughout) played a near-impossible shot by Mike Johnson like a bag of hammers and gave away any chance Ottawa had of finding that elusive equaliser they didn't really deserve in the first place. I didn't expect this post to be a rant on the present-day whipping boy Gerber, but those goals just cannot go in if the Sens have even a prayer of righting this quickly-sinking ship. They just can't.

But...game after game...after game...they do.

It's almost become comical - beyond the point of anger and sadness to simply pathetic - that one can almost call the shot as it's taken: "This one's going in". Inevitably it does. We, the fans, shake our heads in disbelief, then Gerber gets another start and the cycle continues...

It's interesting as the dust settles on another shit game, amidst all the rumours and armchair-GMing in Sensland, that many people seem to think that Zdeno Chara's absence is really to blame for this year's misfortunes. There is truth to that, without question, but let's not forget how crap Big Z was when it counted last spring. I would argue that more than just one piece is missing (and being felt) by this year's club:
1) The aforementioned defensive presence and ability to play big, shut-down minutes of Chara. I would have argued that someone like Chris Phillips could rise to the occasion and fill Big Z's boots, but Philly has looked nothing short of average way too often this season, sometimes even completely outclassed. I would have argued that a defense-by-committee arangement that seems to work well in most other NHL cities, would also work in Ottawa. Wrong again. The team has the talent back there, but they're playing like strangers. Injuries have been a factor, but they always are, so that's no excuse - blowing lead after lead, night after night, isn't solely the responsiblity of Gerber; many nights, he's been hung out to dry by this defense. They seem to have forgotten everything that made them successful last season - with or without Chara...but maybe that's really the next point.

2) The mojo and presence of wack-job Dominik Hasek. I was happy to see him go, don't get me wrong, but there is certainly something to be said for the confidence he provides the team in front of him. We've all seen the alternative with the likes of Lalime, his predecessors, and now Gerber; the team is simply shitting themselves on defense - afraid to make even the slightest error because of the near-certain fact that it'll be in the net before Don Cherry can pronounce "Kaigorodov"...which actually could take a long time, so perhaps that's not the greatest analogy...

3) The offensive spark of Martin Havlat. Again, I wasn't overly concerned when Ottawa sent him packing. He's a hell of a player, but not "The Man" as he wanted to be christened. He was heading into Alexei Yashin territory putting himself before the team in terms of self-worth, and I still think he, as a locker room influence, is better off gone. He, as a goal-getting offensive spark, however, that's another story. Sure, he missed most of last season and the boys put up big numbers without him, but he really took the pressure off guys like Peter Schaefer and Mike Fisher. His presence on the 2nd line made those guys better at their respective jobs, and fooled most of us into thinking they were 2nd-line-calibre players. Without him, teams are keying on the predictable "creative" habits of Spezza, Heatley & Alfredsson, preying on the current fragile psyche of the team in general, and waiting for the Sens to be their own worst enemies...and it's working like a charm.



I know, hindsight's 20-20, and I don't begrudge John Muckler for making the moves he's made. I'm as baffled as most who follow the team as to why they suck as badly as they do right now. I don't really know what to suggest in terms of a turnaround catalyst though I'm becoming more of the opinion that maybe Muckler's time is up. His track record isn't terrible, but recently, it's been definitely up for debate. The common thought that both he and Bryan Murray may have missed the boat with the "new NHL" and are simply behind the curve of the teams fronted by staff who know what's going on these days is beginning to look more and more accurate. The longer the Senators wait, the deeper the hole gets, and as they currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, it's already a big one. Another few weeks of this and I don't care if Gretzky and Lemieux come out of retirement to play in Ottawa: we ain't gonna make the playoffs.



Next Up: @ Buffalo - of all places. As good a place as any to turn this thing around right?

battle of ontario: round 3

Ottawa Senators 6 - Toronto Maple Leafs 2

Payback's a bitch ain't it?

Looking to avenge the 6-0 pasting in their home opener to the Leafs, the Sens stormed out early and cruised to a 6-2 win at the ACC on Tuesday night. Of course, as soon as the game was decidedly out of hand, the usual suspects in blue started taking runs and cheap shots in an effort to "swing momentum" - Darcy Tucker (king of the fuckwits, pictured) jumped Patrick Eaves (somehow escaping an instigator penalty in the process), and Chad Kilger speared Christoph Schubert (somehow only getting a 2-minute roughing minor) to highlight much of the festivities. Interesting that nobody wanted anything to do with Chris Neil throughout, or that Brian McGrattan and Wade Belak got their dance done early and didn't have another chance to stir anyhting up...it was left to the little thug Tucker, who was front and centre throughout the remainder of the game performing his usual shit-disturber routine. He knowingly turned his back to Dany Heatley, resulting in a roughing(?) minor, (and that, friends, is exactly the same move he pulled during the infamous Alfredsson incident a few years ago; sees him coming, intentionally turns and eats the dasher boards, then pisses and moans about how illegal it is). He dropped as if dead when Mike Fisher combed his hair in the third, leading to a double-minor, not to mention all the subsequent penalty box theatrics that ol' Darcy is famous for. The game really became Tucker's little stage as it progressed...and here's one fan that would like a refund for that performance. Sure, it'll put butts in the seats for Thursday's rematch (and here's hoping Tucker has a nice meeting with Chris Neil early), but the sideshow overshadowed an otherwise dominant performance from the Senators, who certainly appear to have finally found their stride of late, scoring 14 times in the last 2 games.

Offsides

• The big guns have looked good over the past two games (thank god). Jason Spezza finally got the memo that his blind backpasses were soon to see him burned in effigy if they continued. He's turned up the physical side of his game as well, and is mucking it up (well, kinda) more than usual. Keep it up.
• Interesting that nobody seems to be noticing the absence of Peter Schaefer. Since he fell to injury, Chris Neil was reunited with Mike Fisher and has been a revelation. Antoine Vermette has quietly stepped up as well, and looks quite capable of playing on that line. Hopefully, Bryan Murray will see fit to leave well enough alone when Schaefer returns, and will find other places for him to play. His boardwork and puck handling skills are invaluable, don't get me wrong, but chemistry is chemistry, and shaking up lines that are in a groove is a foolish thing to do.
• Nice to see Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov get their games back. Despite losing Volchenkov late to a suspected shoulder sprain, both have picked up their games immensely. Phillips, in particular has looked far more confident since being paired with Joe Corvo, so here's hoping it continues.
• Martin Gerber...I still can't figure him out. Is he good? Is he great? Is he Patrick Lalime in disguise? The second Leafs goal sure looked like Joe Nieuwendyk...oh the horror...
  Hope it's not a sign of things to come. I'm prepared to give the benefit of the doubt here, and say that focus, when your team is up 5, might not be as sharp as you'd like...but a few more stinkers like that will surely see a rise in Ray Emery's icetime.

Next Up: Another visit by the hated Leafs, Thursday - tinfoil those knuckles boys.

and another thing...

• anybody been watching the Penguins lately? How good is Evgeni Malkin? 4 goals in his first 4 NHL games? I was tempted in my preseason predicting to call Pittsburgh champs in their division, then chickened out as I went over their roster and saw what looked like very minimal depth beyond Sidney Crosby and the hurt-at-the-time Malkin. I know it's still early, but wow! These kids look like the real deal - it'd certainly be overstatment to say something like Gretzky-Lemieux on the same team, but for the current generation of hockey stars, these two are going to light Pittsburgh up large. One would have thought that maybe it'd take a year or two, but nope. Talk about your immediate impact. If Marc-Andre Fleury can be the real deal as well, the Penguins might even be contenders this year.