Hi there.

Well, it’s been an emotional little week hasn’t it?
To start, the boys unexpectedly took the Heritage Classic in Vancouver. Yep, victorious in a highly anticipated afternoon road game broadcast on CBC. Also unexpected: Ottawa having nicer uniforms than their opposition! I, myself, picked one up. I’m sorry but when felt numbers come callin’ you GOTTA accept the charges!
Then Ottawa got lit up by Ales Hemsky in Edmonton. Then they acquired Ales Hemsky. Then they got lit up by Calgary. THEN Hemsky lit it up against Winnipeg.
Wow, lots of stuff got lit up, yet here I am distancing myself from mup jokes.
The atmosphere surrounding the team following that embarrassing game against the Flames was maybe the most morose it’s been all season but at least the team managed a .500 record for the week in the end. Come…move forward with me! *shooting star* 

Tonight they face a Nashville team who are all but out of the running in last place in the mighty Central Division and riding a 4 game losing streak. Typically I would advise Ottawa to HACK THE BONE on a vulnerable opponent but taking advantage of opportunities placed before them DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THEIR STRONG SUIT (See: Recent losses to Edmonton and Calgary). Never the less, this, like all of the games for the remainder of the season practically, is a must win thanks to recent complacency (See also: Recent losses to Edmonton and Calgary).

Nashville is playing so horribly right now that I’m almost worried they’re due for a win like Ottawa was against Winnipeg (See also: Recent losses to Edmonton and Calgary). The always offensively tepid Preds have managed 3 goals in in their last 4 games (Spoiler: ALL LOSSES!).Slump breakers that they can be, Ottawa will have to play much better than they did in the 3rd period against the Jets.
I don’t know if it’s a deliberate strategy thing but I’ve noticed that when Ottawa has a 3rd period lead on the road MacLean appears to make the team hang back and trap up to protect their lead. The only thing is, is if this is the case, they don’t appear to be very good at it! I mean, they still won the game but that’s a more stressful 3rd period than you want to see; even if up by two.
Anderson really saved their bacon as the Jets piled on the dangerous attempts putting up 49 shots. You’re not going to get away with that very often but great to see Andy get in the zone and lock down a win for the club. Something you think he wouldn’t have to do when the Sens have scored 5 goals.
With Nashville’s 2nd highest goalscorer in Mike Fisher and his 16 tallies on the year (Pfft, who is this guy? Jazon Spessa?), hopefully, Nashville will carry on having difficulty putting points on the board tonight.
It wont be easy for the Senators to run up the score either as they will face a delicious bowl of Pekka Rinne (served with complimentary unlimited salad and the Olive Garden’s signature bread sticks). Since returning from a serious medical scare, despite being winless in his last two starts, Rinne has been terrifyingly good posting a .948 save percentage and a 1.53 goals against average. Imagine this team could score? Yowzer.
Anderson will get the start for Ottawa because Lehner has been blacklisted or something.
For serious, 4 games last week, all on the road, including a back to back and zero starts. I don’t even know when he’ll get his next shot. Put on a pot of pig’s blood its gunna be a long night for Lehnny.

One thing Ottawa will have to do tonight is be disciplined as Nashville has a surprisingly strong power play for a defensive minded team. Life hack: Have Shea Weber on the point.
9 of his 15 goals have been with a man advantage. His Olympic performance fresh on my mind, I sincerely hope that zero players I like will try to block his shots.
So let’s go out there and play some good clean hockey, think you can handle that boys?
*Chris Neil, Zack Smith, Eric Gryba, Jared Cowen and Matt Kassian all unison* “YESSSSSS JAAAAAAAAAAAAMES”
Good.

Now this:
Get well Clarke MacArthur Get well soon we wish you to get welllllllllllllllllllllll! 
You never want to see a guy who I describe as “a perfect hockey player” go down with an injury and miss any time. Luckily for the Sens, Mike Hoffman filled in and had a huge game against the Jets on Saturday, scoring his first NHL goal but also registering just an unreal Ovechkin style assist on Platinum Angel Kyle Turris’ glorious 21st goal of the year.
Platinum Angel Fun Fact: Turris is currently on pace to score more goals this year than he has put up total since being traded here in late 2011. The kid’s really found a groove here.

Cool so… 
Ales Hemsky has as many assists in 2 games as Peter Regin did LAST SEASON for Ottawa. That’s even after having credit for one of them taken away after Saturday’s game. Regardless of how this whole Hemsky thing shakes out it will be entertaining to have an actual top 6 player playing in our top 6 for at least the balance of the season. Couldn’t ask for more of him in his last game let’s hope he can build on it.

Game Note: Cowen and Gryba scored last game. If that’s not getting a roll going I don’t know what is.

Huge two points up for grabs. Go Sens….

Hi everyone,

It was the Hemsky of times it was the Phillips re-signing of times.
Well, we’ve had lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of fun with this trade deadline bologna and here we are. One Ales Hemsky richer and one Phillips…here-er…for two more friggin years-er.
Well, it’s been tough focusing on tonight’s game what with the whole “not knowing what the teams are going to look like” thing surrounding it. Very crafty PR move by the Senators to have the Trade Deadline be today in order to distract from BEING SWEPT IN THE FUCKING SEASON SERIES AGAINST THE EDMONTON OILERS RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Karma from sweeping the Blues? Anyway, surely Ottawa can beat the frigging Calgary Flambés tonight, right? I don’t know anything about anything anymore. Speaking of which…

This is the part where I talk about Ales Hemsky!
So, welcome, Ales Hemsky. Ima come clean, like Bobby Ryan before him, this is a trade that Ottawa’s been rumored to be in on for a minute that I’ve been hoping would get done. I think they got him super cheap too. It’s admittedly pretty fucked up that the Sens playoff chances are super slim after last night’s disappointing loss so the decisi–
OOH! A telegraph came in, its from…why, it’s from YOU!
You:

James <stop>
Hemsky’s a UFA at the end of the season <stop>
If Ottawa doesn’t make the post-season, what’s to be gained by this? <stop>
Need your optimistic guidance, Boo <stop>

Page me sometime. <stop>

*10 minutes pass with me in The Thinker position* 
Okay, I thought of something!
Entertainment value. *Everyone quietly closes their browser window* Hey, even if duder is just a rental (LIKELY!!) at least we’ll have a winger playing with Spezza who’s trying to earn his next contract. With no 1st round pick this year, might as well play spoiler for the rest of the season. Who knows, maybe he’s a great fit and we re-sign him.
Anyway, if the Sens don’t make the playoffs it’s not like I’m going to stop going to games (FINICKY!!!) so I’ll be happy to watch this top six for the rest of the season:
MacArthur – Turris – Ryan
Michalek – Spezza – Hemsky.

Here’s the part where I talk about Chris Phillips.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you that not only would Big Rig not be traded but he’d be re-signed for more than one year – my assholish column here 

Okay that’s sorted.
Craig Anderson gets the start in goal for the second straight game. I mean it’s worked in the past right? What’s that? Hasn’t worked for Andy or Lehner? Hm’kaiihee.
You know Lehner has looked bad when he can’t even get a start in the second game in a back to back against the Flames after the other guy just lost to the Oilers. YEEEEEAAAAASH. THIS SEAAASON HAS BEEN FRUSTRATING.
Joni Orito *shrug* will get the call in net for Calgary. It is his 2nd NHL game, his first being a 2-0 loss to LA.  I shouldn’t feel as nervous as I do, slump breakers that we are.

Obviously the big story tonight is getting to see Spezza play with a quality winger. No disrespect Colin Greening *laugh track* …until something goes wrong and Paul MacLean moves Hemsky down to Smith and puts Neiler back where he belongs, with a cerebral playmaker like Spezz.
Seriously though, I’m really excited. Hemsky’s a bit of a confusing move because of his UFA status at the end of the season but we’ve each and every last one of us wanted to see an improved top 6 and for at least for a minute we’ve got one.
Hemsky will get no more than a pre-game skate to adjust to his new centre so expectations are WELL managed but at least he knows Michalek from Czechoslovakia (source Wickedpedia.biz). Really looking forward to it.
Here’s hoping that MacArthur – Turris – Ryan are kept together tonight because I LOVE when the Sens win games.
Calgary will have a couple of newbies in the mix tonight calling up Corban Knight and Max Reinhart from the AHL. Yep that’s what’s new with Calgary on trade deadline day because they didn’t move Mike Cammalleri, Chris Butler or Lee Stempniak because rebuild. Bryan Murray had better watch out because Burkie will be WELL RESTED tonight.

Hmmmmm what elllllllllllllllllllllllllllllse?
Oh yeah Erik Karlsson came ever closer to uh…my goal of scoring 20 goals on the season with his 17th last night. He’s on pace for 22 and as I mentioned earlier Joni Orito is starting so…
Hey, want to know something else neat about EK? Okay, well, he’s got 19 points in his last 19 games because he’s fucking incredible.

Enjoy the game and GO ALES AND THE SENSKYS!

Everybody’s hatin’ on me, I can’t hear the garb they’re sayin’ onlyyyyyy the echo’s of “U mad bro?”

Hey there! Thank you for remembering that this website exists!

Well, we had lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of fun during the Olympic break. Medals were won, Dufour-Lapointes were crushed on, Sochis were …not blown up. A complete…Winter Olympics were had you could say.
Congratulations to Erik Karlsson on his silver medal and his unbelievable performance leading the tournament in points and to Milan Michalek for his participation ribbon and for not getting injured. Not even once! Welcome back.

 The Hoff Man Commeth (I know…but…whatever I haven’t done this in a while)
The phrase “Coming in Hot” doesn’t get thrown around all that often [except for when it’s thrown around at every opportunity] but you can’t ask for a call up to arrive in the capital more “middle goo of a Pizza Pop” hot than Mike Hoffman. His 67 points in 51 games in Binghamton is simply astounding. Good for 2^nd in the entire American Hockey League and only 4 back of the overall lead.
Hoffman has had a couple of chances with the big club but more or less in a checking role (Life Hack: Give your players that weigh 176 pounds checking roles!). At first a lot of reaction I heard to  Hoffman’s games with Ottawa was that he looked “really good despite not getting on the score sheet.” This has changed to mostly a “this guy’s gotta get on the score sheet” feel. Not a wrong position considering Hoff’s in a contract year and though not old at 24, his development time is likely starting to run out with the organization. He’s got to show and prove and that time is now.
In fairness, however, showing off your offensive skills can be pretty tough to do when you’re getting about 8 minutes a game, even tougher when you get healthy scratched!
Pointless in a mere 7 career NHL games, the pressure is on for Hoffy to make an impact right quick following impressive auditions from fellow forwards Mark Stone and Stephane DaCosta. I mean, shit, even shutdown defender Mark Borowiecki notched a goal in his 13 game stint.
Now, it seems a little much to expect given that the guy’s only had 3 games to prove himself so far this season but this is the reality of a farm with more beasts on it than…*thinks of a farm renowned for its dense population of beasts, gives up*.
Hoffman was a goal scorer in the QMJHL once winning league MVP, he is enjoying an all star campaign in his 4^th year in Binghamton (winning fastest skater at the all star game!) and now he’s got to show he can do it on the highest stage. This time around it looks like coach MacLean might give him the boost he needs.

The Hoff will start the game on a line with Bobby Ryan, centred by Mika Zibanejad (or Za-bin-a-jad if you’re an out of market play by play person). I suppose Hoffman’s opportunity on this line will depend not only his performance but the whole team’s. If the Sens come out looking like a bunch of ugmos things could go back to “normal” pretty quickly. Considering we’re 60 games into the season and the coach has been more gun shy about playing Bobby Ryan with Jason Spezza than he has Erik Condra if the money ain’t right, it’ll be back to the top line for BR. There’s something enticing about this line on paper. Hoffman has great speed, Ryan’s got smarts and brawn and Ziba’s got speed, smarts and brawn! Not so enticing is that despite just getting two weeks off Ryan has missed a couple of practices due to an disclosed nagging injury he suffered before the Olympic break…so that’s…umm…Get well get well soon we wish you to get well. *wink, tear*
Sniper Erik Condra moves to the top line (?) while Spezza will anchor a trio with Greening and Michalek.

Return To The King
Oh what’s that? Mike Babcock intends to employ with Detroit the strategy he used with Team Canada to smother the opposition’s defense? Good LUCK trying that …against….our…guys.

Marc Methot moves back up to the top pairing with King of Sweden Erik Karlsson. I am pretty happy to see this pair reunited as I’ve found their chemistry to be better than EK and Jared Cowen’s (doi). Methot brings the same physical and responsible dimension as Cowen except that he’s more experienced OH and is much, much…MUCH faster (much). Cowzie (have to assume he’s called that in the dressing room, well, that or Giant Seinfeld) will line up with Eric Gryba. That Gryba-Methot duo was pretty good. I never thought I’d say this a couple years back but I hope Grybs can float Cowen through the game. What a world.
Lastly, Ceci will be paired with a now healthy Chris Phillips. Joe Corvo will be providing anti-depressants for himself and Patrick Wiercioch in the press box.

FUN KORNER:
Remember that sic snipe Gryba had against Detroit back when he was beardless?!
http://youtu.be/d3kSLlvoiHE

Looks like someone didn’t take two weeks off of making Blood Sacrifices!
Robin Lehner’s fortnight of incantations has paid off as Mani the Norse Moon Goddess has made it her bidding to see that the birth of Craig Anderson’s second child has coincided with the first game back.
Note to Craig: Mazel tov, a second child will be a blessing upon your house!
With the call up of Binghamton goaltender Andrew Hammond to back up The Lehner we shift the “PLEASE DONT GET HURT” feelings/wishes/prayers we directed at Karlsson over in Sochi to Lehner. Go out there and have fun and do some extra stretches and be careful! Would love to see Lehnny get some help to improve his 7-10-3 record. He’s played much better than that and with time running out on the season it would be a shame to see him finish with a losing record…that and it would mean more Sens wins…which is also pretty important.

With Daniel Alfredsson’s Red Wings (…………………………….f…………………) having played last night in Montreal I would regularly say Ottawa has an opportunity to take advantage of playing a good but fatigued team that’s battling injury but this season it has been next to impossible to predict how they are going to play, well, accept in the afternoon! Truth be told, Detroit has had a chance to shake the rust off once and Ottawa’s going to have to come out clean and swinging. Let’s hope those new line combos are good ones.

Enjoy the game, thanks for reading, it’s great to be back, pray 4 Hoffman.

GO SENS (obviously)! 

Les hateurs jusque la gauche, SVP!

What up tho?

Tremendous.

So let’s get right down to it. Our playoff bubble team (flattering!) plays back to back road games against Stenchburgh and St. Louis…3 of 4 points collected. Naturally. Called it. You can read more about these games in my upcoming book “WHY I DO NOT BET MONEY ON HOCKEY: One Special Little Girl’s Journey”
Welp, Buffalo played last night, got thumped by the Pens and are playing in our building so…logic says Ottawa will lose 4-1, all goals scored in the first period? Lone goal for Ottawa a puck bouncing off of Cory Conacher’s neck to cut the deficit to 3?
I don’t really know if I’m kidding. I’ve spent much of my valuable time [Ed Note: Since when, guy who writes about hockey to nobody for free?] writing (flattering!) about how hard it is to get a read on how the Senators are going to perform game to game.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that they seem to bring an extra gear to their games against the best teams in the league because if they make the playoffs they’re definitely going to have to play one of the best team’s in the East. But they have dropped some of their most slam dunk games of the year, which has REALLY hurt them and put them in the must win position they now find themselves in.
This will be an interesting game to see if Ottawa can finally HACK THE BONE when it comes to taking advantage of opportunities to move up the standings. Standings that have thus far not been friendly to them but not like the Sens didn’t get themselves in this spot. Also, who told Carolina (not the name of a US state) that they could even be in the conversation?

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Turns Out Erik Karlsson Is Amazing At hockey! 
I declare tonight to be the beginning of the march to a new milestone.
WTYKY Presents Erik Karlsson: Road To The Twenty Goals Classic.
Who’s comin’ with me?
He got ever so close to the plateau in his Norris winning campaign of 2011-2012 with 19. He is shooting so much this year (a team high 177) I think he can do it. 25 games remain for him to put up the 6 goals needed to hit the mark. No small task for a defenseman but we know that our special little guy (SLG) is more than great coats. He has an hilarious 12 points in his last 11 games. Comedy gold, how good this guy is.

Jason Spezza Is Trolling The Post-Game Call In Show At This Point
With the recent cooling off of Clarke MacArthur and Robert Ryan, the captain has crept into 3rd in points on the team. This is the ultimate Spezz troll, even defenders of him like myself were at their wits end so what does he do? puts up three points against one the best teams in the NHL, scores an absolutely huge goal in the game, oh and to top it off FuCkInG pUlls OfF THiiiiIIiiissSssssS:

Spezz Captain and the Whirl of Tomorrow (you may now close down your browser and come find me and kill me).
He did that against the St. Louis Blues, a team coached by Ken Hitchcock, across their entire D zone…and it worked. Hockey. So this week he was the goat of the Stenchburgh game, the hero of the Blues game…tonight…let’s see him be I don’t know…I would settle for a creamy middle like “extremely competent in his role” against the Sabres.
He’ll be playing between the much improved of late Milan Michalek and Mika Zibanejad OR AS EVERY PLAY BY PLAY GUY CALLS HIM ZA-BIN-A-JAD. It was rumored that Ziba might miss the game thanks to an infection to his hands caused by wearing absolutely filthy mitts in the shootout. The shootout moves, this guy.

DaPpreciation Korner:
Stephane DaCosta deserves a ton of credit for keeping the skills competition alive after Lehner gave up two goals to Oshie and Steen. The Senators sent a pretty big message to SDC by returning Mark Stone to Binghamton today. I didn’t hate his getting called up seeing as DaCosta went back to Bingo and did everything the Sens told him to, but I will admit my stock on him had gotten quite low. I felt like: The kid can definitely complete the bajeezuz (?) out of a pass but…always with the getting rag dolled off the puck.
I think many of us have learned from the Bobby Butler heritage jerseys of the past to be measured in our excitement about call ups but DaCosta has a multi-goal game, the lone goal against the Pens and a huge shootout goal against the Blues and no one can deny that. Of note on his shootout attempt: First at the NHL level…whiiiiiiich was a do or die situation against a guy who just won a Jennings trophy. Im sure MacLean just told him to go out there and HAVE FUN.
Anyway, frere has been very impressive during an important stretch of games. If he can keep it rolling until the Olympic break (is team France in the Olympics? I cant muster enough fucks to look that up) he could very well play the rest of the year with the big club.

On the heels of one of his best performances of the year, Craig Anderson gets the start against former Buffalo Sabre (just warming up for the future) Ryan Miller.
Should be interesting to see how Miller performs tonight. He has been his impressive self despite playing on the Buffalo Sabres. If and when he is dealt, I hope it is in a division far, far away as Ben Bishop has taught us the dangers of good goaltending on teams that otherwise struggle. Rebuild-shmeebuild, I’m looking forward to playing the new look Jhonas Enroth Sabres at least for a bit.
Miiller’s impressive numbers on the season aside, he’s winless in his last two with a goals against average of 6.00 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) including a 5 goal beat down from the Pingus last night. Seeing as this is Buffalo’s final game on a back to back before the Olympic break, let’s hope Ottawa catches Miller day dreaming about Olympic Silver and the sunny shores of some other team.

Puck drop is scheduled for the beginning of the game. GO SENS! 

Key to victory: Bobby Ryan has to fill the St. Louis net.

Hi how’s everyone’s Chinese New Year going so far? Great, mine too, mine too. Very new, very Chinese.
We are currently in the middle of celebrating what our friends to the East call The Golden Week…and with four games this week before the Olympic break it’s going to have to be one for Ottawa.
The Senators have their work cut out for them facing some very good competition and the Buffalo Sabres.
Last night, we put game 1 in the books. An overtime loss (naaaaaaaaaaaturally) to the Penguins (who I haaaate but children loooove). It was a game in which Ottawa wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible, spent too much time in the box and didn’t take advantage of power plays…I would say it was the perfect encapsulation of their season except for one element: Craig Anderson kept the score very flattering  while being pelted mercilessly with 48 shots and allowing only 1 in regulation in an outstanding performance.
I don’t know about you Eddy, but that loss stung big time. For me I think it was because the morale boost of absolutely stealing a game away from the conference’s best team on the road would have been perfectly timed. It’s the kind of thing where it could have been worse but you still find yourself pissed off and frustrated. The people who are saying “that’s a huge point against a great team” are totally right but in the moment, deep down, I can’t help but be concerned about how down the line if the team indeed can make it into the playoffs it would be by dragged along by overtime loss points. I believe famed football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant Jr once said, “Loser points win championships.”
Ottawa sits 4th in the NHL in OT losses and while I acknowledge that earning a point in a loss is a fundamental reason behind why Ottawa’s even in the hunt, I still find it pretty concerning that they have a really hard time getting it done in the extra five minutes. Let’s try to look at this positively. That game was one highlight of the night glove save away from 2 points and tonight they are playing another excellent team they fairly recently beat in overtime, the Blues.

Zibreciation Korner
I was frankly stunned to see that Zibanejad had only (I know right? ONLY) 5 shots last night. It seemed like he made something happen on every shift. As a fan, I must say it feels really good to have such good young forward on the team. We endured a very shite season to draft this kid and I think for a 20 year old (!!!), he is developing beautifully. He is currently on pace for 17 goals but it’s games like last night that show me if he can just bury his chances a tad more I have no doubt he can be a 25+ goal scorer one day, and soon. He deserves a bounce or two to go his way because goddamn is the kid working for it. Michalek too to a lesser extent. Has been noticable and hard working and really, reeeeeeeeeally needs to pull ahead of Neil and Smith if he wants to sign another NHL deal.

Heyyyyyyyyy speaking of 25+ goal scorers…
Hockey is like life, there’s ups and downs and I told you ’bout equality and it’s true either you’re wrong or you’re right but if you’re thinkin’ bout my baby (?) it don’t matter if you’re black or white…but also, here’s a list of the players who have scored for Ottawa this month:
Chris Neil
Colin Greening
Chris Neil
Stephane DaCosta
…so attention top 6 forwards, you’re free to exit this low and point the ship toward the sunny shores of another high at any time. TONIGHT FOR INSTANCE! This team has been carried on the offensive output of the Turris-Ryan-MacArthur line all season (adoi). That line has slowed down, however breifly, and the team is winless in their last two as a result. That’s the pressure associated with being a top line. You let your foot off the gas every so briefly and the seas get choppy almost instantly. It’s akin to when Karlsson has a bad game. It’s pretty rare that the story following a victory is “team manages 2 points despite poor play from Karlsson.” It can happen…but let’s not bank on it. The only key player the team has been able to win despite their occasional poor play has been Craig Anderson. Kind of a bummer that he put on a goaltending clinic and a lousy two goals would have got him the much deserved win.
The articles are starting to get written and a point in the season has come that I feared since October. Knowing that he’s a 30 goalscorer coming in…must think of a temperature related word here…whatever, to Ottawa, it was clear Bobby Ryan would have the odd dry spell. He’s played very, very well, picked up assists, hell, even had a goal against Tampa but his scoring drop off coinciding with being left off the US Olympic team, even if just coincidence, has the makings to become a big, distracting and unnecessary story. I’ve been saying for a minute Bobby’s due for a big game and I am still saying it. He was a Blues killer during his time with the Ducks, not as useful these days but tonight would be great to see some of that to put an end to the narrative that’s developing.
Seems kind of harsh to tell Ottawa’s best line to pick up the pace after two games without a goal but I just think that’s the kind of season it is.

Hockey, Am I RIGHT? Part 3 of an Infinity Part Series: 
I still find it fucking MENTAL that since Brian Elliot was traded to Colorado for Anderson, and played so poorly for the Avs (2-8-1) that he was let walk was then picked up by one of the best teams in the league and has since been an All-Star and won a Jennings IN THE WEST. It doesn’t stop there either, he has only 4 regulation losses in 23 starts this season. Senators fans know that he has one skeleton in his closet though: He’s. Actually. Not. All. That. Great. Hey, he has had some great seasons and as much as it pains me, could win a goddamn Stanley Cup this year but having watched Ells play for years he is not the brooding, mysterious western superpower he would seem if he’d never played for Ottawa. We know this guy is beatable which is very handy considering that Jaroslav Halak will get the nod in net tonight *catapults self into the surface of the moon for making you read all of that* Funny (and by funny I mean not funny) to think that Halak has had the “worse” season of the two with a 2.22 GAA and .915 save %. If Ottawa is going to win this game it’s going to be by filling the net. No easy task considering that St. Louis is 3rd in the league in goals for but hey AT LEAST THEY ARE ONLY 2ND BEST IN GOALS AGAINST SO JUST GO OUT THERE AND HAVE………………FUN. I gotta wrap this up and as of this time can’t find any info on who’s starting for Ottawa (THANKS FOR SKIMMING!), regardless of who gets the start they have to play out of their goddamn head tonight.

MUPDATE (1:27pm, EST): Robin Lehner will get the start for Ottawa, he will have to play out of his goddamn head tonight.

This is amazing:

“HIYA FOLKS!” – You, coming home to your parents’ house, pretending you’re not high.

What more is there to say about the week that was other than:

Sharing the laughter and loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove.
But it wasn’t all hipchecks betwixt dudes that we’re traded for each other since the “Bolts” (cool nickname!) last met the “Sens” (much cooler nickname).
We’ve seen solid goaltending, weak goaltending, Stephane DaCosta with his trademark multi-goal game and Platinum Angel Kyle Turris with his very own DaCosta-like two goal game in a losing effort against the Canes…what else? Jason Spezza is good again, I’m really starting to like Eric Gryba, ummm Bobby Ryan, Jared Cowen and Turris all missed an open net while in the attacking zone (Life Hack: Just pass it to MacArthur). Anyway, a solid road win and an ugsome afternoon loss…basically an encapsulation of the season.

Let’s focus on Tampa. The biggest plus I took from the last game against them was, yes, it was great to see Ottawa battle back 3 times but to me what was important was that they scored on Ben Bishop just in general. I still trip out over the fact that on skates his waist is at the same level as the crossbar. He looked huge all through the beginning of the game and was getting in the way of everything Ottawa was throwing at him. Spezza, Turris, Michalek (back from the dead?), and Spezza combined for 17 shots that game and none of them finished the game with a goal. Despite losing in the shootout, a reminder for tonight: do NOT go up against Bishop in the shootout!, I was very happy to see them make him look human and get a few past him. Especially late in the game. Last thing this team needs is a monster division rival goalie (THANKS Brybama!) who can get in our boys heads.
Honestly, Tampa Bay reminds me a lot of Montreal, a team that is not devoid of good players, in fact some great ones are in the mix, but if that goaltending falters? Not that intimidating. It’s teams like the Lightning (14th in the East last season) that make me confident that if Ottawa could just get some shit [goaltending / defense] to really click on a consistent basis they could do some damage. Come talk shit with me!

I guess no better place to start than…continuing to talk about goalies.
The gap betwixt games has given coach MacLean the opportunity to ride Anderson in net and its worked out pretty well. Ottawa is a surprising 5-2-3 in their last 10 and Anderson has been a huge part of that. I found against the Jackets he was his trademark combination of great positioning, timely acrobatic saves, and straight up good luck. Not even hating with the luck comment. You have to have a bit of that to succeed.
This is all we need from him here on out: Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency.
Anderson is a pretty impressive 6-2-3 against Tampa with 3 of those wins shutouts. I know, when did THAT happen?
After this morning’s skate Paul MacLean announced Robin Lehner has been upgraded to “bread, water and 1 hour of yard time” so…pretty good progress there.
Bishop is a perfect 3-0 against the Sens since being traded to the Lightning so…this brings me to the next item of business:

Hood Pope Cory ChronicHerb 
What? It’s his rap alia$. Anyway, I’m not even bringing him up to pick that trade apart. What’s done is done. I can see taking a Calder candidate over the Oilers offer of Ryan Jones (?) for Bishop. I’m aware that he’s not riding shotgun with Stamkos anymore (welcome to your playing with DaCosta on the fourth line years!) but Conacher can you please choose a time to become a “Lighting killer”?
RANT: Maybe it’s that our team is heavily built ‘in-house’ but do we have any “<Insert team> killer” guys on this squad? Sure Anderson plays really well against his former Panthers club but does that REALLY count as an NHL team? You’re telling me I had to watch JOE CORVO score a hatty against Ottawa when he was a Hurricane for NOTHING? I’m not expecting the world from Conacher but he has 6 goals in 63 games here. He is playing with DaCosta tonight who’s gotta be feeling pretty great about himself right now but on the 4th line it’s hard to expect a lot of output. You know what? Just go out there and HAVE FUN……………………………but seriously score some fucking goals.

Karlsson Korner: 
The Glamours Child looks to continue is just supreme play (now featuring hard hits!). It’s funny as I feel like EK is pretty consistently heralded as one of the best players in the game yet I still think he is underrated. It’s called being a homer, its probably not in the dictionary LOOK IT UP. Anyway, Karlos the Jackyl had an outstanding game the last time the Sens took on the lightning with a goal and an assist. He has 9 points in his last 7 games and I for one would be in favor of his extending this streak. Its crazy to think that the Senators have 4 forwards currently on pace to score between 20 and 30 goals and Karlsson has at least a 9 point lead on all of them. Hail.

Factoid of the day: Karlsson currently trails Chris Phillips for second in all time scoring among Ottawa Senators defensemen by 70 points. He has only 836 games to catch up though.

We in the club like: 

Executive Producer: Ken Burns

Hey there, hi there.

Let’s start this off in the Konfession Korner:
I have never previewed an Ottawa-Columbus game of any import before today. I hope I don’t screw this up! What’s that? Hard to screw up when your standard is “Refried Garbage”? Well, looks like we’re BOTH in luck then! Come away with me…

I don’t know how many more times they will be allowed to hit “Continue” by the grace of the Toilet Bowl Conference but the Sens once again get another shot at…well, at this point I’m going to describe it as “taking steps toward” a Wild Card spot. Sure, only three points separate Les Boys and Detroit, but you have to be a bit humble to the fact that Ottawa does have three additional teams separating them from the Wings. Heyyyyyyy including The Columbian Blue Coats. HOLY FREEDOMY BELLS OF FREEDOM THEY ARE PLAYING EACH OTHER TONIGHT! #bellletstalk about it!

One of the main reason’s Ottawa’s even in the hunt still? These chaps: 
Platinum Angel Kyle Turris and Clarke “Underrated Flow” MacArthur. These guys! Turris is quickly becoming lauded as the best trade of Bryan Murray’s tenure here in Ottawa. It hurt when the trade went down but Turris is going from “Solid acquisition” to “maybe best bang for the buck player in the NHL”. Is it just me or does he seem to improve with each game? With Jason Spezza having a spotty go at a season with high expectations, how much heat has Turris taken off the captain by seamlessly sliding into the top centre position. Much as I respected him as a player, this is something Mike Fisher could never have done.
If Turris is perhaps Murray’s best trade, is it safe to say that MacArthur is fast becoming his best FA signing? I’ve been saying since the off-season (no reference needed WHAT IS THIS WICKEDPEDIA?) that MacArthur would surprise Sens fans….but ahh…I did not expect 2nd in points on the team at any point in the year. Just outstanding work. MacArthur is right up there with Bobby Ryan on my list of “Operation: Give All the Monies To Re-Sign” players. The unbelievable roll the 16-7-6 line has been on has been keeping Ottawa in some games they don’t even deserve to be in. Thanks fellers!
A big night for Bobby Ryan is on the horizon. I mean it has to be. He’s in a bit of a goal slump yes but he’s still a factor game and game out and he’s actually still been wracking up points. He’s a 30 goal scorer not an 82 scorer. There’s going to be the odd dry spell. 

“I’d blame player 61 [for my decision to put Greening on Spezza’s wing]” – Paul MacLean
Get Well Get Well Soon We Want You To Get Well Mark Stone! Just when the kid was getting into a little groove eh? Someone on Twitter brought up a terrifying comparison of Stone to Martin Havlat. Obviously crazy early on both the performance and injury fronts but already the poor guy has seemed to suffer a setback as soon as he’s gotten something going. High praise to dole out to a guy who’s got a goal and an assist on the season but it’s as much a shame for Spezza as it is Stone. MacLean looked like he was going to keep the 19-61 combo intact for you know…A COUPLE GAMES. Again Spezza sees his linemates shuffled and Colin Greening is the latest contestant. Luckily the Sens have a line that’s really clicking as Greenzo has but 3 more goals than Stone this season despite playing FORTY-FIVE MORE GAMES THAN HIM. Ugh, I think I’d like Greening more if he wasn’t locked up until the futuristic year 2017. Michalek, who I thought was one of the Senators best players on Saturday, will complete the jazz trio. Oh and one more thing:

Chris Phillips’ Injury Is The New Chris Neil Injury!
Kinda mean? Lil mean. As much of a fan favorite as Neil is, I think it was pretty cool to get a sneak peak at the future when Neil’s injury opened a spot for M. Stone Shyamalan. Despite being only 3 goals behind Dany Heatley IN A CONTRACT YEAR, Neil’s not exactly had his best season. For me, it was welcome to see some young blood injected into the lineup tonight for a good stretch there. With Phillips’ undisclosed injury, we’ll get a glimpse at a youthful backend  some of the teams developing rearguards (much better).
One of the duos will be Patrick “Still 2nd in points among defenders despite sitting out 20 games” Wiercioch and local hero Cody Ceci. Ceci, who just got word he’d be spending the rest of this storm tossed season with the Sens *throws confetti* has been paired mostly with the defensively responsible (pointing!) Phillips. It will be interesting to see if MacLean will let these two offense-minded young pups eat ice cream and stay up to watch Saturday Night Live or if he’ll assign them each to Old Man Methot or Nightwatchman Gryba at the sign of the first mistake. Pretty exciting pairing if you ask me……………….ASK ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! … Moving on…

Craig Anderson starts after a pretty unfortunate performance by Robin Lehner on the weekend. Not even down on Lehnny, every goalie has games like that (RIGHT CRAIG ANDERSON) and he’ll bounce back. Now that he’s slowly but surely put together a 16-10-7 record and as a part of 39 of the Senators points, Craig has re-established himself as the team’s starter. Games like Saturday’s show that when Anderson has an off night we can’t necessarily expect Robin Lehner to jump in there and save the day. Truth be told the season’s hanging on a balance to the point that both guys have to rise to the challenge and it’s going to fall on Andy the majority of the time. Let’s hope that he redesigns his mask is up to the task.
Former Senator for 25 minutes, Curtis McElhinney who is luckily not a human being named Sergei Bobrovsky gets the nod for the Blue J’s.
Huge, huge two points tonight…and every other night for the rest of the season so…just go out there and HAVE FUN! …but seriously win this fucking game.
Enjoy the game! 

Hi everyone,

Should we talk about how we are living in a Frozen Crystal Daymare or just skip tha–

HOCKEY!!!

Great choix.

Man, They (?) weren’t kidding going into the season when They (??) said it would be tougher than ever to nab a playoff spot with the new divisions and the Olympic break, huh? Eastern Conference: The Relentless Stare at the Standings Continues!
After failing to GIT-R-DONE (Trademark, WTYKY) against both Montreal and New York the Eastern Conference AGAIN has #blessed our boys in Red, White, Black, Some Sparkly Gold Trim and occasionally Off White with an opportunity to not just advance in the fight over the playoff Wild Card but potentially into a legit (and tenuous!) playoff spot. Goddamn! This season is like a video game with unlimited continues!
With some of our closest competitors ‘Lumbus (vs. LA), New Jersey (vs.St. Lou), Toronto due for a loss (Side note: TO currently riding their first 5 game winning streak IN SEVEN YEARS…god no wonder their fans are so miserable) against some tough competition, tonight could prove to be a profitable one for the Sens…that is of course if they caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.
What? Not an unreasonable concern after Saturday’s rotten egg against the Rangers. Woof, Methot (Heyyyyyyy who I just found out is hurt)’s goal early on only made things worse. After watching them go up 1-0 less than four minutes in, I sat up straight all, “HERE we go. Ottawa’s finally going to bring it during one of these afternoon games WHERE THEY ARE ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE AT AN ADVANTAGE!!!” My bad. Whatever these things happen, after all, Pittsburgh lost 5-1 to Florida last night, so, circle of life?
Anyway, there’s stuff to talk about…tonight’s game for instance!

Please Welcome Stephane DaCostco Who’s Been Called Up To Address Ottawa’s Needs At Centre!
With Binghamton’s only winger Mark Stone suffering an injury in practice yesterday, the Senators have recalled one of their dozens of centres to fill his spot. Not saying I am mad at the recall of DaCosta, bro has been tearing up the A (really, really sorry) of late and an injury call up to reward him is not unreasonable. What’s that? He’ll be pivot to Greening and Neil on the fourth line? Okay, what is unreasonable is to expect points from him. The impression that I get is that a lot of people are extremely low on SDC as the memory of his uneventful early season shot is apparently still fresh. I am definitely realistic to the fact that there likely isn’t room for him in the lineup going forward but I don’t think I’m ready to give up on the guy entirely. Actually, looking back at his numbers, I’m pretty impressed that he finished with a +1 considering how brutally bad the Sens were out of the gate. Anyway, he went back down and kept a point per game pace with the B-Sens. Good on him, hope he does well and if it’s a showcase for a trade well…let’s hope he helps the Sens and himself.

Turns out Paul MacLean is a man of principles but even he has his limits.
What am I talking about? Well, if a player from the team YOU coach was having sex with YOUR wife would you let them play? This is clearly what’s been going behind the scenes. What else could explain signing a player to 3 year contract only to play him in 6 more games than Matt Kassian? Either way, an injury to Marc Methot in practice yesterday has forced Coach to put the philanderer back into the lineup. He’ll play on the 3rd pairing with Eric Gryba. So we’re all caught up on our defensive 3rd pairing news.

What’s next? Let’s see here, Ah, *puts on tiny reading glasses* “Talk About the Third Line”… *Takes off tiny reading glasses, shuffles through papers, puts tiny reading glasses back on* Oh, okay, Smith-Spezza-Condra…….mmhmm…yeah that sounds like something that would happen.
Is that maybe the weirdest line in a season of weird lines? A defensive minded,  physical centre, a point per game play making first line centre and a penalty killer. Okay, Smith and Condra may not be a couple of Johnny Muplighters but they are pretty competent linemates. Also, they are at home on third line. My focus is on this question: Is there any excuse for Jason Spezza to not fucking shred his competition tonight? Presuming he faces the 3rd pairing at some points he’ll be deking his way past John Erskine and Connor Carrick (Side note: Congrats on your 11th NHL career game tonight, Brometheus!). I don’t know, some sources are reporting this is the second line (Ed note: Perhaps even weirder to have that as your 2nd line?) but I’m thinking MacLean rolls his lines and this Spezza combo is a 2B. Is it too much to expect that if he even gets a sniff of that bottom pairing of Erskine-Carrick that he should make it look like a powerplay?  No some disrespect to the Caps but this is a guy, a team captain, whom I’ve seen get assigned Sidney Crosby in multiple playoff series (with less than sexy results but I digress!). It’s easy to say here that the mighty have fallen but with the emergence of Turris and the steady play of Zibanejad the idea of Spezza playing in the bottom six presents him an opportunity to skate circles (OR WHO KNOWS WHAT SHAPE(s)!) around lesser players. The price tag for such an opportunity however…is…let’s talk about something else!

Please See National Geographic Photo Above Before Reading
After what I feel, frankly, were two turds against Montreal and New York, Craig Anderson gets the start again tonight for some reason. I don’t know who MacLean is trying to get in the head of more here, Andy or Lehner. Look, I’m not going to pretend that I’ve already forgotten the Anderson just helped Ottawa through its strongest stretch of the season but has anyone else felt like he’s had that shaky look to him the past couple of games? I really hope Paul MacLean’s apparent policy of “right the good ship Anderson at all costs” pays off tonight. And hey if all these Anderson starts contribute to Lehner playing angry down the line. I am INTO it.

Enjoy the game! 

Hi welcome to this website!

Let’s calmly and quietly discuss tonight’s match up.

Hey, Ottawa has stopped playing like microwaved used garbage bags and pointed their ship toward the sunny shores of winning more games than losing! They are now a mere two games over .500 and you know what you Lucky Duckies? That’s, pathetically, enough to be in the post-season hunt in the Eastern conference! Only two points separates their 11th spot from Philadelphia’s 7th place. Which is nice.
Here’s the bad news, 1 point is the difference between 11th and 13th place. Eeep. It is awesome that Ottawa’s been winning but thanks to frankly a blown opportunity in December the Sens have to just keep going strong all the way up to the Olympic break.   Also, a lot of other teams have to do very poorly…which Ottawa can’t really control…which is….LET’S MOVE ON.

Fathers Lock Up Your Sacrificial Goats Robin Lehner is Starting Tonight! 
Remember this guy? He’s back! Tonight will be his first game of 2014(!) and a lot’s changed since Lehner’s last start, which was a disappointing 5-0 blowout at the hands of the Bruins. As a result of that asskicking, Anderson got the nod for all 6 of Ottawa’s games since and won 5 of them and still managed to help get the team to overtime in his only loss.
Here’s an interesting thing: How bad was Anderson early on? He’s gone 6-0-1 in his last 7 starts with a 2.11 GAA and .932 save percentage which vastly improved his record to 15-9-5. Lehner has a losing record of 5-9-3 and STILL has a better goals against average AND save percentage on the year than Andy…by a pretty fair margin too! What am I trying to say? I guess that it’s been a rough ride for both goalies so far this year…also LEHNER IS GOOD! I think the greater challenge was on Anderson to turn his record around too. Some solid spot duty from Robin could see his record level out. The goaltender typically gets the most blame for a loss despite the fact there is only so much they can control in the game but of course they are also very often central pieces of a victory. There’s no doubt that there rests upon Lehner a lot of pressure to be a star tonight for the Sens.
Minnesota has a goaltender named Darcy Kuemper which is the funniest name since Matt Puempel. I have no idea if he’s starting tonight, THANKS FOR READING!

Milestone Night?
(Disclaimer: I am never going to get tired of making fun of Dany Heatley…no, not even years and years later).
With his HOTTT play of late Dany Heatley looks to jump ahead of offensive dynamo Zack Smith in goal scoring.
Sure the guy you’re supposed to compare Heatley to is Michalek (who still has more points than him despite being maybe the most disappointing player on the Ottawa roster this season) but wow, that production drop off is getting positively Cheechooian™ at this point. Still hasn’t hit the double digits in goals more than halfway through the season. This is a guy who’s worst season in Ottawa was 39 goals! Imagine that trade never happened? In a cash strapped situation like Ottawa’s in now it would be more depressing than that awful summer where he requested that trade and everything seemed to be going wrong for the Sens. If Heatley was still here and potentially neck and neck in scoring with a role player like Smith who makes less than $2MM? We’d be wishing he’d request a trade. Michalek’s been pretty lukewarm overall for Ottawa as a whole but we never had those 50 goal glory days with him so it doesn’t burn quite as bad if he doesn’t do that well. I think Heater’d be our Scott Gomez if he was still here. He scored the fugliest goal last time the Wild and Sens met. Let’s uhhh hope he doesn’t do that again…oh and if Zack Smith could score that would be amazing for this dumb scoring race I just made up.

Busted Stuff
Taking advantage of opportunities has not exactly been Ottawa’s strong suit so far this season but they REALLY need to capitalize on a depleted Minnesota roster. There are still some very good players in their lineup but missing from tonight’s game are Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Josh Harding.
Ottawa has a rare injury as Chris Neil remains day to day with a pulled hammy. I don’t hate Neil but bro can take his time coming back if only to extend Mark Stone’s call up. I’ve really enjoyed watching Stoner do his thing, he’s been a real spark. Goal aside, I don’t know what the kids been eating (I’ll put money on chicken parm) but his call up has been much stronger last year’s which is very encouraging for a few reasons perhaps the biggest being the DEARTH of scoring right wingers on the team aside from Bobby Ryan. Get well wheneverish, Chris Neil!
Speaking of Ryan, not at all unhappy with his game of late but you gotta feel pretty bad that his drop off in goal scoring has coincided almost perfectly with his US Olympic roster snub. Not saying those things are connected but if he doesn’t start scoring soon, out come the questions about it day after day until he can turn it around and no one wants that. Ryan’s due for a big game, let’s hope it’s tonight.

These are two hot teams looking to you know…not lose the game (NARRATIVE!). Even one point tonight would make for a very solid road trip. A win for Ottawa, however, would definitely mean a lot in terms of making a statement that things could really pick up for the latter half of the season. It starts with playing well in front of Lehner.

Enjoy the game and be sure to check out the latest episode of the the Scotchcast if you have yet to!
Song about my life: 

Hi Everyone,

How about that Solar Vertex AAM I RIGGHT LADIESYGHtjbnlkgbja’dgg? Breaking News: Winter b WINTERY! Also, Womyn B shoppin (for Winter gear during winter, smart move womyn)!

It feels pretty surreal but the Sens are looking to extend a four game winning streak! Their longest of the year. I don’t know if that’s very good as far as the league goes (See: Fellow fugly ducklings Carolina currently riding a 4 game winning streak as well) but given how this season has been going, I have to admit I’m pretty over the moon about it.

The headline for the Sens going into tonight’s game is the potential of the return of captain Jason Spezza (651pts in 650 games, 52 pts in 56 playoff games, 2 time all star) hurting the team’s chemistry. We all know the old saying: you don’t go point per game for 10 seasons without making a few enemies!
While it’s been extremely welcome that Mika Zibanejad has continued to perform well in an increased role and Kyle Turris carrying on his glorious reign over the Republic of my Heart, you might want to find room in the lineup for your captain. The projected lines for tonight are:
Greening – Spezza – Stone
MacArthur – Turris – Ryan
Conacher – Zibanejad – Michalek
Kassian – Smith – Condra
Extras: Pageau, Neil.

While we’re on the subject of the first line I’d like to address a rumor. I have been romantically linked to Mark Stone’s goal on Carey Price. I’d like to say we are just friends at this time though this could change if he is willing to keep the door open to additional goals. Would love to see if Greening, who I’ve noticed has been far more physical of late, can create some space for Spezz and Stone to do the whole “getting points” thing. Now go out there and HAVE FUN (but seriously, produce immediately).
Fantastic that the Ziba line is kept together. What a difference a Neil injury makes. If Lil Z  can help to keep 9MM and 89CC going that’s a lot of fire power for an already offensively able forward group.
Interesting to learn that Pageau has been having sex with Paul MacLean’s wife as that’s the only reason I could see for him potentially being healthy scratched. Life Hack: JGP, stop having sex with your coach’s wife!!! Look, the air is thin in Denver and the Avalanche are a young team, naturally you want to ice your slowest skater and sit the player Luke Richardson has described as “not even out of breath at the end of a shift” because infidelity.

Colorado will be without character from the HBO prison drama Oz, Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly hurt his shoulder while hugging. An injury I have sadly never known *sad Charlie Brown Music*. Also missing the game is player I’ve never heard of Nate Guerin. Nathan MacKinnon is 18 years old and has 9 more points than Milan Michalek. The NHL is frustrating sometimes.

Projected defense the pairings had me all like: 
Cowen – Karlsson
Phillips – Ceci
Methot – Gryba
Wiercioch – Corvo

Is it just me or if Cowen can keep getting his shit together bit by bit that’s shaping up to be an alright 3 pairings? I don’t know. Complaints with Gryba have been pretty minimal. Phillips and Ceci have been quiet but steady. Pretty good. Wiercioch hasn’t even played 30 of the teams 44 games because THAT’s the way you start off a three year contract! Starting to get weird all the scratching.

La Vie En Goal
Craig Anderson gets the nod in goal for his 4th straight game. He’s 5-0-0 with a 1.99 GAA in his last 5 and has been a big part of all those victories. His game hasn’t been perfect and no player’s ever will, but he’s given the team a chance to win in those games which is pretty much all I really expected of him this year. Hooray for meeting expectations! No seriously, 4 straight wins is genuine hooray territory!

Much as it sucks for Robin Lehner to take the backseat to this degree, it is far more beneficial to see things stabilize in net. Things were getting a little “win and you’re in” for my liking. Lehner will now actually have to compete with a goalie who’s doing well to get more starts rather than one who makes far more money and has more experience. Andy’s improvement has for now stalled the awkward “So Robin, how does it feel to be markedly better than the starting goalie” kind of questions he was having to start to dodge game in and game out. That said, the biggest feather Lehner had in his cap up until a couple of days ago was that he had won a team high 3 straight games. Andy’s now won 4 straight, on the back of a pretty shaky Lehner performance to boot! C’est la vie d’un gardien de but. Hardest job in hockey. With the games spaced out how they are over the next few, could be late next week before Lehner gets another start. You have to love that he’ll have to make the most of it as coaches tend to have short memories when it comes to performance.
So what I’m saying here is congratulations Craig Anderson, you’ve played so well that I’ve spent most of this section talking about Robin Lehner. I hope Andy can bring it against his old team. The only other time he faced the Avalanche went…inelegantly.
Starting in goal tonight would be Patrick Roy if he had his way. Just kidding, alleged piece of shit Semyon Varlamov will get the start for the Avs.

When a team is in the midst of their longest winning streak of the year (even if it is a modest one) it’s tough to expect the victories to keep coming. That said, a win tonight according to friend of the blog and friend of statistics Travis Yost:

“Victory in Colorado on Wednesday puts Ottawa into a points-tie with Toronto”

So that would be pretty awesome if only for the the fact that they are a divisional rival who are ahead of us in the standings. Okay and that they have a load of dickhead fans in Ottawa who’s sad makes me happy. IT’S CALLED ME BEING “M-A-T-U-R-E” LOOK IT UP IT’S IN A BOOK CALLED “SPELLING WITH SPEZZA” BY BOBBY RYAN (Forward by Toni Morrison, available from G.P. Putnam and Sons a division of Penguin Publishing).

A late start to this one (9:30ishhh pm EST) THANKS A LOT LEGALIZED MARIJUANA. If you’re looking for something to fill your time inbetween I highly recommend this:

GO SENS GO! ENJOY THE GAME!