A very, very wise woman once described Ovi to me as "Handsome Shrek"

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there! Still reading? Great. Welcome to this blog post. I’m your host, me.
There’s a whole world of pastabilities brewing up going into tonight’s match, let’s why not chat about them. One team looks to carry on their surprising run and gain a better foothold on the top 8 in the East while the other tries curtail their surprising run of being what might be the most underachieving team in the NHL. Try to guess which is which!
Now, don’t get me wrong here, 10th in the East (with games in hand I might add) is not a terrible place to be a little past the halfway point, IF YOURE NOT THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS. This is hockey, a lot can happen in the next couple months but God, you guys. It was not long ago when George McFee was being heralded as the supreme kommander of offseason signings turning his powerhouse team into a serious, serious contender. I know I can rag a lot on Washington this season but as a fan of a team that saw some perennial contender, scoring dynamo years I can’t help but think to myself, “Hey Caps, you might want to make it a little deeper in the G/D playoffs right quick as that mighty lineup you have there, t’aint gunna last forever.”
Especially with sluggabeds like future KHL Superstar Alex Semin in the lineup -Heyyy, ever hear the one about the guy who makes almost 7MM on a stacked team and has 3 more points than Nick Foligno? No? It’s a really good great one. Okay, a thing I like to do sometimes when I think about other teams (technical term is Imagineering but I’m not going to hold you over the coals for it…THIS time) is I take their entire roster and put them in Sens uniforms and say, “Hey, how are we feeling about your Fake Ottawa Senators?” Hot holy Moses Malone, I think this is the lineup vs performance I’d be most frustrated with. Anaheim a close second for those keeping score (score = Voodoo dolls of me with many, many pins in its face) at home. You take that line 2010-2011 lineup in Washington and add to it Joel Ward, Roman Hamrlik – call him old all you want but bro has all the experience in the world and is playing about 20 minutes a night. Add to that (and you have you knew this was coming) off season prize Tomas Vokoun and this is what you get? Coach firings, sitting below the Jets WHO I NEED NOT REMIND YOU ARE THE ATLANTA THRASHERS WITH A DIFFERENT NAME in the standings, and blowouts at the hands of teams like the Hurricanes? As a fan I would be…I would be…making angry blog posts and tweets! That oughta right the ship!
Anyway, I know the Caps have dealt with some injuries this season but if you consider just one season ago, their best comparable was Pittsbarf the injury thing only kind of shines more of a light on the season they are having.

So, now that I’ve talked a serious gang of shit, let’s move on to our beloved Senators. The Sens have really found their legs again after quite the slide. Seems like that was a long time ago now eh? It wasn’t but with three straight decisive wins, onward and upward. Aside from that drubbing that they handed to Florida, I have a feeling that tonight’s matchup against the Capitals will be their biggest challenge in a while. They are facing an opponent with a ton of excellent players who just suffered a public depantsing and there is a good chance they could come out of the gate guns a blazing. Expect a heap of shots in the first period. That said, the Sens ain’t exactly a bunch of lay about Skylars of late.
Let’s get right to him, Erik Karlsson was in full beast mode on Long Island only fanning the flames of hype surrounding him. 5 points in his last 2 games yo. FIVE. What I loved about Karlsson’s game against the Islanders was that he wasn’t necessarily trying to do the fanciest thing on earth but was rather throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition (a thin, thin line to tread but can take a team out early if done properly by the right player). This style of play can characterize Jason Spezza at his best. It says I can burn you in many different ways and I think I will. Speaking of Jason Spezza at his best, Jason Spezza is currently at his best. Well on his way to eclipsing his career best of 34 goals, perhaps if Spezz can keep these multi point games humming he can get back into the 90 point range. We needn’t spend much time talking about those dudes though…
Now, this isnt a criticism of his play lately, as I think he’s been really working but man, who else would like to see Turris put one up tonight? He’s been great in both zones, in the faceoff circle, hitting posts, etc. All he needs is to do is get a sweet goal and hopefully heat himself up for the homestretch. Ottawa’s gunna need him.
On a related note, despite his fantastic hustle and 1st NHL goal, will Ottawa need Jim “Giv’r Deaner, DEANER” O’Brien come September training camp? Look, I’m happy Jim has finally cracked the line up after years of trying, call it Dogman style. Sidenote: Dogman was awesome last game! The thing working against J.O.B. is that he needs to light it F up but quick while he’s still got a clear opportunity on the roster as he will be in tough come training camp. There’s the obvious kids that come to mind like Zibanejad and Silferberg who’ll be ready to bite someone’s arm off for a spot but don’t forget that Jesse Winchester  and (let’s not be complete assholes and completely count out) Peter Regin wanting their jobs back. That’s not even considering any dark horse shit happening. Take a look at last years picks like Stefan Noesen (65pts in 52) and Shane Prince proving he has fully graduated from the OHL at 77pts in 48…how team USA didnt put that kid on their team…I’ll never know. Indulge me one further and consider the solid years his Binghamton teammates such as Andre Petersson, Rob Klinkhammer, Mike Hoffman, Pat Canonne, and Stephan Da Costa (lest we forget) are having…The Sens are looking like they have some good problems on their hands at camp. Light it up for WTYKY, Jimmy!

Well, I done took up enough time sort of talking about the game. This would be a huge two points for Les Boys. Full two points. Dont let these swine get that mercy point!

Anderson is in against Vokoun, apparently Ovi is a game time decision! OOOO La LAA!

Enjoy the game! (Puck drrrrrrroOOOOP is at 7 not 7:30)