Roundtable of Death: Football In Groin Edition?

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Yeah. I’m saying it. Maybe it’s just me but I feel like I am used to the post season berths being sorted out by this time. With improbable statements being tossed about like, “The Islanders have taken control of 6th place in the East” or “Toronto has clinched a playoff spot (The Street Cred Columbus Bluejackets!)” or “The New York Rangers are neck and neck with the Jets for the last playoff spot” I find myself starting to brace for the possibility of something really shitty to happen. My nerves hurt.
As a fan of a team that often makes the playoffs but as of late just barely I happen to hate this time of year as it forces one to to pay attention to every game’s outcome in a confusing mess of arms and teeth and fingernails heading toward the regular season finish line. Sure it’s great that the team has been playing with house money given how this season’s gone. Every positive outcome is just gravy and life is precious and God and the Bible but I think we can all admit that with a week left in the season we’ve all gotten a bit used to the Binghamtottawa Senators as a playoff team. What happens though if our mighty hearts are broken? Hey, it’s a question I hate to ask but crazier shit has happened than a team slipping from 7th to 9th.

JAMES Says: 
Right off the hop, deflating as this outcome would be the last thing one could ever be is disappointed with the team. I wont spend too much time waxing on this element but I think so many teams would have turned into dust if the same circumstances unfolded for them. Look no further than watching the New Jersey Devils a couple of weeks ago short Kovalchuk and Bryce Salvador . They were a shell of themselves. Also what’s Carolina’s excuse? I look at that roster and think, so what makes this team all that different than the Washington Capitals? Totally fine with me that they stink but weird. Again, without spending too much time on just how much this season was defined by injury, losing just Karlsson and Spezza? Forget full out points how many shots does that put you down a game between the two of them? 5 or 6 on a cold night? Not to mention losing your world beater goaltender and having to say, “To you from failing hands we throw the torch…now off you go, two rookie goaltenders.” Oh, and you’ll playing behind stars like Eric Gryba and Andre Benoit! What do they do? Obviously, they manage to give up fewer goals than the Berlin Wall Bruins. That’s insane. And I’m not trying to rip on Grybes and Benoit in fact it leads me to my next point…

How insanely well built did this team become? 
Does anyone else remember what it used to be like when Ottawa would call up a player? Yeah me neither because it would be completely unmemorable like, “Cody Bass registered 0 goals, 0 Assists, and a 0 +/- in flabitty blabbity minutes.” Now we have guys like Jean Gabriel Pageau who’s what the 11th call up of the year putting up points and taking key defensive zone draws?  That’s without even touching on how Binghamton remained a playoff team without getting reinforcements like Cody Ceci and Matt Puempel until a couple of days ago with their spot already clinched. Speaking of those guys, crazy to think Ottawa poached nearly the top two tiers of Binghamton’s offense, defence and goaltending and still guys like Prince, Noesen, and Cowick haven’t even seen one NHL game. I never thought I would say this but with this kind of depth I’m almost at a loss as to what the Ottawa Senators lineup will look like in 3 years.

I dont use the word heroes very often but when something as important as small market sports is at stake…
The rookies did an admirable job not looking at all like rookies this year but Daniel Alfredsson and Sergei Gonchar really went above and beyond for the team this season. Consider that heading into it, this was supposed to be an easier version of last year for these two vets. For all the talk about how Alfie looks like he’s lost a bit of a step can a get soul clap for the guy who was pretty much supposed to play designated hitter on the power play putting up 20 minutes a night and going top 5 in points all season long on a young team? Anyone who saw the 40 year old captain  turn over the puck to Semin last week, pull a U turn and get it right back like nothing every happened knows that Alfie helped keep this team alive AGAIN and deserves one last proper season.
Gonchar faced even more of an uphill battle, really. Not exactly revered by fans going into the season Big Tin Tin (copyright) changed the discussion surrounding him from “what can we get for him at the deadline?” to “what are you comfortable resigning this guy for at age 39?” Cray. Just look around the league, offensive defenseman is a young man’s game but Gonchar has really made me appreciate the thoughtful, smooth style his experience and talent gives the Senators. If this guy comes back to SBP on another team in the future, give him the standing O he deserves for filling in for Erik frigging Karlsson at 39 years old.

I still have questions going forward…
One of the uglier things I’ve found myself questioning is the long term durability of Jason Spezza. As much time as I’ve spent talking up Spezza’s value over the years, (and one need not look past a kid as talented as Turris having a bit of tough time filling his shoes for proof) I must admit watching Spezza miss time year after year is getting really concerning as he ages. Now that this season has signaled that the rebuild is quite well underway I really want Spezz to be part of what I anticipate to be future glory. It was awesome to see him suit up for 80 games last season. It was only the second time he’s reached that mark in his 9 season career. But how chronic IS this back stuff and what if this happens again? As much as Zibanejad is looking like he’s going to be Some Kind of Monster (copyright) I don’t know if the kid’s ceiling is first line centre. I mean, crazier shit has happened but examine for a moment the pedigree. Spezza, a 2nd overall draft pick and retired baby model put up353 points in 228 OHL games and 171 in 123 AHL games. That is the pedigree for a point per game first line NHLer. Zibby had 52 total games in the SEL and less than a season in the A. Neither even close to Spezza’s output. Different player really. His development would have to be exponential from here to get into that conversation.
As many great players Ottawa has in their system the still very young Kyle Turris is the closest thing Ottawa has to a Spezza. His audition has gone respectably but luke warm thus far. With Ottawa being a competitive team even in a year like this a top 3 type pick does not seem likely going forward. That is unless of course a humongous move is made. Do I want that? I dont know. A draft pick a gamble and Spezza is proven. Is a gamble what this team needs? Personally, I dont know what I want Ottawa to do here. What I do know however is that perhaps the biggest decision of the near future will surround Spezz. Last year he showed he was heir apparent to the captaincy but this year has been a reminder of how quickly a chronic injury to a star player can change the course of an entire season.

I’ve found myself thinking in a series of “What if’s” this season. As awesome as the playoffs are, what if this this year is just the sneak preview and is next season the REAL show?”
What is that 89-93-33 line going to look like getting breakouts from Erik Karlsson?
What if Erik Karlsson?
Will Kyle Turris EVER get the opportunity to play a full 82 game season? Sub question: Is this kid going to light it up with a full year as second line centre?
How awesome is Marc Methot?

What if Erik Karlsson?
Now that Robin Lehner has secured his spot on the roster will he choose to learn from his Vezina quality counterpart or will he feast upon his heart?
Peter Regin, right guys?
Jim O’Brien…….you guys?

I dont want to be that guy talking about how insane training camp is going to be when the team is still very much in the playoff hunt but Ifuck it ‘m saying, worst case scenario Training Camp is going to be insane. Even if Ottawa does make the playoffs we’ve seen over the past few years how just making it in by the skin of your teeth puts you in an extremely tough position. I am very much looking forward to heading into future post seasons as more than the potential upsetters. Come what may.

VARADA says: 

Hiiiiiiii guuuuuuuys,

I think you hit the nail on the head. Ottawa, perhaps benefiting a lil’ bit from the shortened season and without an opportunity to regress, surprises yet again by probably making post-season. And if they don’t it’s not like any of us are in a position to say heads should roll. We’ve been spoiled by more playoffs than not over the years, and with all the adversity this year we’re just lucky to have watched some competitive hockey. Remember that this is the sixth lowest payroll in the league, and that’s when we aren’t missing $20MM on IR with Spezza, Karlsson, and Michalek out. No substantive changes need to be made if the team misses the playoffs. We’ve been in gravyland since February.
How close are we to missing the playoffs anyway? I’ve been looking at SportsClubStats every day, and I can say with absolute confidence that I have no fucking idea. It says here (*checks Apple Newton*) that Ottawa has a 95% of making the playoffs. But it also says over here (*checks yesterday’s newspaper*) that Ottawa is three points up on 9th. They’ve got a game in hand and blah-di-blah, but they’re also playing some good teams and bling-bling-bloo, and they’re at home where they’re pretty good unless they’re playing Toronto or Boston and shoo-bop-de-bop…so, yeah, I have no fucking idea what’s going to happen, and if the universe winds up and takes a crap on us over the final four games of the season I’m going to chalk that up to us not actually living in a movie.
Speaking of depth, can I take a moment to hate on Chris Neil? We give Matt Kassian a lot of shit for not being able to play hockey very well, but I feel like it’s the pests rather than the enforcers we need to spend more time scrutinizing. Kassian fights Toronto’s version of Kassian, they both go to the box for five – fine, whatever. You’re pumped up, or you think it’s a waste of time and Twitter collectively yawns – I’m over it. I don’t want to debate enforcers. They will die out soon, but until then Ottawa felt the need to spend a draft pick on Kassian, and I’m not in the dressing room. Maybe the players are just more comfortable having that tool in their box (metaphor picked after much thought).
Chris Neil, on the other hand, is just driving me crazy out there – should we really be giving him those 14 minutes a night? Are they really not better served by an enthusiastic prospect who doesn’t take more penalties than he draws and have mediocre possession numbers against other teams’ third line? His numbers aren’t bad for a pest (credit where it’s due: 3 of his whopping 4 goals are game winners) but at this point I feel like the guy gets a pass for always outperforming terrible expectations. Anyway, I can’t believe we have three more years of this guy making almost $2MM per season with all that forward depth down in Bingo. It just seems like a real waste of ice time.

Round()table of Death: Motherfucking KARLSSON edition

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bread_jesus_karlsson

Varada

Okay, first thing’s first: we know this is a miraculous feat of healing for Erik Karlsson, and that we should obviously worship him and purchase an(other) Erik Karlsson jersey as soon as possible, but let’s take a solid minute to recognize the brilliant work of Senators team doctor, Dr. Chow, who performed the surgery on Karlsson’s achilles.

I work in health care policy, and so I know how little we celebrate the successes of health care providers; these days we talk more frequently how much they cost and what happens when they fuck up. But Dr. Chow clearly deserves our gratitude and applause here. Go ahead. Stand up from your desk and applaud. I’ll wait.

(*beat*)

Dr. Chow is one of Canada’s top orthopaedic surgeons, and one you might be familiar with from his own harrowing survival story. He’s already one of the most respected practitioners in his field, but that success hasn’t been, y’know, real success until now, as we bestow upon him The Welcome To Your Karlsson Years Prize for Excellence in the Field of Orthopaedic Surgery (Sports and Exercise, Heel Related). 

Congratulations, Dr. Chow! If Ottawa makes it out of the first round thanks to Karlsson’s contributions, I’m going to make sure I refer all of my friends to you, no matter how small or trivial their symptoms!

Now, as for Karlsson: what do we expect from him? Well, considering weexpected him to regress a little from his Norris-winning season and he was leading the league in shots and defensemen in points when he was hurt, and weexpected six freaking months of rehab and he did it in two, I can say you should take your expectations and perhaps…how do I say this diplomatically…shove them as far up your ass as you can?

In the last month or so we’ve gone from “Karlsson is still hanging around the rink, encouraging his teammates – what a guy!” to “Holy shit, Karlsson is skating” to “KARLSSON IS SKATING IN FULL EQUIPMENT” to “Karlsson…is leading stretches…in practice (hyperventilating)…and he’s not wearing a no contact jersey…(throws up all over self).”

Which is to say, I expect that he will single-handedly lead the Senators to the Cup while dabbling in research that leads to a cure for Type 2 diabetes. At the very least he will clearly play his ass off, and even if he’s not 100% at least he’s an upgrade on, you know, Benoit or Gryba or whoever whose name I just forgot because OH MY GOD IMAGINE IF KARLSSON ELIMINATES THE PENGUINS FROM THE POST-SEASON.

James

Varada, ladies and gentlemen. Please picture me as Mr. James Carville at the 1:45 mark

Okay, I must admit I do have SOME response. I believe it was Franklin Delano Zizek who said, “Who shall inherit the blogs? The insufferable.”

🙂

One would think I would be pretty used to ‘injury watch’ what with being a fan of Jason “Two 80+ game seasons in 9 years” Spezza and having sat through Pascal “The Angel of Death” LeClaire for however long that was. Heck, remember when there was all that hoopla (copyright) about Daniel Alfredsson being too soft to be team captain because of his injury problems? LOL, I’m just going to blindly blame the Ottawa Sun for starting that whole thing.

Anyway, like Cowen before him, with Karlsson’s progress I find myself “mother dropping her only child off at a paintball themed birthday party” level cautious about my beautiful, beautiful babies. My expectations for Cowen in his return in Carolina, as outlined in my JDP, were: Take a glorified twirl on the ice, make sure everything feels normal and play a Borowieckian 12 minutes without getting hurt. What happens? This MF lays a hit that ends Jeff Skinner’s season, holds it down in 2 fights and plays great in the nearly 20 minutes that he clocks. Okay…so…I don’t know anything about anything (THANKS FOR READING, MOM!)

When it comes to Karlsson…I guess as you outlined above all bets are off. I feel like Ottawa making the post season and stretching the series out to seven games or even making the second round THEN you see Erik Karlsson is borderline unrealistic to me. Maybe it’s the fact that a friend of mine tore his Achilles playing soccer in JANUARY and even with regular rehab his foot flops around like a fish that Jessie Winchester is taking a #sicinstagram of in his boat somewhere in Muskoka. Now, does my friend have some of rehabilitation specialists working with him on a daily basis? Of course not he’s a normal person. Erik Karlsson is clearly a not that so I’m at a loss as to what to expect. If he came back Monday and scored a million frigging goals all over Matt Cooke’s stupid FACE I wouldn’t put it past him. If Ottawa had to run through the playoffs until June to get one game out of him that would be the goodest of problemz. If he’s not 100% and still plays I don’t know if the sky is necessarily falling. Teemu S. said he came back early and he didn’t die. I’m no Dr. Chow in terms of expertise or handsomeness, but something tells me that the fact that his Achilles injury was a laceration from a skate blade and not a 100% tear from a strain it was a bit easier to repair. Well, that and EK’s obviously ridiculous commitment to his rehab exercises.

You had me at “expected to make a complete recovery” …actually I’m only happy if he comes back tomorrow and in his first game back overtakes PK Subban for the scoring lead among defenders and forces the NHL to melt down the Masterton and Norris trophies and mold them into the 5 HOUR ENERGY XXXTREME RECOVERAWESOME DOT COM GO DADDDY AWARD 

Capital James Day Preview: Washington Capitals at Ottawa Gains

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Beat TSN to their own headline!

Beat TSN to their own headline!

Welcome to the world wide highway! Thanks for Ask Jeeves’ing yourself to our little corner of the Angelfire server! If you’ve come here to get a rundown / hype up for tonight’s game I have great news: I havent had all that much sleep this week!

Thanks to their 3 game winning streak Ottawa has a little less pressure on them to put up points for the balance of the season. That said, any remaining points they need to secure a ticket to the post-season (I think it’s 3 more according to my research shitty memory) are not going to come easy down the next stretch. 2 games against the Caps, a Saturday night against the Leafs (ugh), the Shitheels Penguins, and a Philly-Boston back to back. Damn. Really, really should not have blown those stupid games against the Buffalos and Floridas of yesterweek. Oh well.

The Washington Capitals Capture The First Annual WTYKY Award For Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Getting Your Shit Together At the Last Minute So Everyone Forgets How Hilariously Disappointing You Were Most of the Season. 
It’s been bizarro world with the Caps all year. If this game was a month ago the pre-game story line would be “great opportunity for Ottawa to pick up 2 points” and now today all I’ve read is “how will we possibly defeat the class of the East!?”
Are those articles wrong? Definitely not. As much as they sucked early in the season the Capitals are positively on fire right now winning 8 str8 (copyright). Led by Ovechkin, Backstrom, Green and Dirtbag in Chief – Mike Ribiero, the capitals recent output is a little something analysts are calling “Living up to expectations.” Am I being harsh with Washington? Yes but deservedly so. When you ice a line up like they have and play in the SouthEasy it’s a joke to be tied with a team like Ottawa for points this late in the season! When you’re hot you’re hot and one has to respect that but as Yogi The Bear famously said, “That’s why Alfie made horse races.” As Montreal have recently shown the Mighty-ish can fall quickly. If Ottawa’s going to pull this one off its going to come down to one man….

They Call Him “Andy” / He’s Quite A Maaaan / I Tried to Kiss Him / But Andy Politely Yet Firmly Said He Was Flattered and All But Not At All Interested…and Raaaaan
Ahh, Caps-Sens. You are desperate to shoot and we are desperate to save! Going to be an interesting one. A team that’s quickly moving up the table in the East in goals for against the team with the lowest goals against in the conference (2nd lowest in the NHL!). It’s tough on the old ticker to rely on outstanding goaltending game after game but Ottawa’s BEEN getting it all season. Let’s hope tonight is no exception. This new guy Alan Orvenchkims… not exactly easy to contain but hopefully Anderson will get a little help from Marc Methot and recently re-activated Facepuncher Jared Cowen. Being at home MacLean can take advantage of the matchup game. Comes the coachings comes the playings.
Secret Wish: Mike Ribero gets punched in his face at some point tonight.

Of Course There’s That Whole Scoring Goals Thing
I’ve been graciously easy on Mr. Kyle Turris this season. I hope people don’t just come out of this season with the easy, “See, I told yuh he’s not a top line player, LETS GOOO” dreck but rather a bit of an appreciation for how easy Jason Spezza makes that top line centre role look night after night. Despite finding himself at the top 3 in points on the roster all season long, there’s no denying he’s had his share of dry spells…take now for example. You could say that Turris hasnt scored a goal this week. Another way of saying it would be that he hasn’t scored so far in April. And yet another way to say it would be that he hasn’t scored in about a month. I know your competition is very though homie…but time to have one accidentally go in off your cup or something. It’s crazy to think 4 of Turris’ 8 goals came in the first 4 games of the season. Go get em Turry…for fudge’s sake.
Silfverberg has also been very quiet lately. Been happy with his play but it would be nice to see him warm up with the season drawing to a close. His play has been very good and he’s been getting his shots. Shoot one in off Turris’ jock or something…Also its Zibanejad’s birthday…which is nice. Also on a very, very depressing note 1993 was 20 years go…so…

Even though Carolina are a trash bag of a team, I thought Ottawa did a pretty tremendous job containing a group of strong scoring forwards on Tuesday night. It is also worth nothing that the Canes might have been the easiest team to knock off the puck that Ottawa’s played all year. Washington is not going to be that but I think this is going to be a close one…and if things go in the toilet they’ll have another shot at the caps in exactly a week because; Scheduling.

Enjoy the James, you lovers!

oh and In case you missed it… Key to victory:

Grab Bag Episode 3: The Quickening

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So, this is a thing I found on the internet.

So, this is a thing I found on the internet.

Playoff Seeding

With every game that Washington wins, that magical 6-3 matchup is starting to look less and less appealing. I was all for playing the Southeast Division “Champs” when that meant playing the Winnipeg Jets. But Adam Oates’ system finally seems to have clicked with these players, and the Caps are looking unbeatable. Washington is 9-0-1 in their last 10; everyone is healthy; and it doesn’t need saying since everyone is saying it, but Ovechkin is looking like one of the best players in the world again.

At least Ottawa gets to play the Caps twice in their last seven games of the season. This should give everyone a good idea of how they line up against one another. I can imagine the scrappy Sens giving a finesse team like the Caps fits around their own net, which would be a welcome change given the Senators’ playoff history. But I never thought I would say this: as the Caps keep pumping and the Habs start falling apart, that 7-2 matchup against the suddenly terrible Carey Price and the Habs’ porous defense is starting to look good. Although, at the rate they’re playing, they won’t hold down the number two seed for too long. It’ll be Boston.

Erik Karlsson’s Unearthly Return

The night following Erik Karlsson’s gruesome injury, I wrote a tearful entry about how devastating it was to this team—not just to their playoff chances, and not just to the prospect of watching fun hockey, but to the notion that a unique player may not ever be the same. That was a worst-case scenario, to be sure, but the number of people in Ottawa reading about Achilles lacerations that week must have been astounding, and we all read the same things—four-six months recovery, then hardcore rehab; the whole season was lost, and the offseason, and maybe even the start of next season.

Now, just two months later, Karlsson is skating with full gear on, and Bryan Murray is saying in interviews that he could be back in time for the playoffs – which are about a half-dozen games away. That’s just unreal.

I don’t have a unique perspective on this one, except to say how awesome it is, and how special Karlsson’s work ethic (and healing power) has to be for this to be true. There are always a number of worthy candidates for the Masterton trophy (awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance) – Josh Harding comes to mind – but you have to think Karlsson will be on the shortlist this year if he comes back.

2014 Outdoor Game

Ottawa gets an outdoor game against Vancouver, and I find myself wondering how all of these relatively warm weather locales are going to host outdoor winter games. I lived in Vancouver for a while; I remember the winters being very wet and maybe reaching -5C. Apparently this is a small fish problem because there’s also going to be an outdoor game in Los Angeles? Am I missing something here? Has outdoor water-freezing technology taken leaps and bounds in the last couple of years?

My second question is immediately and most importantly: does Ottawa dig out the barber pole jerseys for this game? Between those and the classically ugly Canucks jerseys of yesteryear, we could have a Make Your Eyeballs Bleed Matchup

0114-bng-vintage

tiger

James Day Preview: Ottawa Finally Hosts Someone.

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Kroner

Hi everybody.

In the wake of yesterday’s horrific tragedy in Boston I debated if it was gauche to even mention something so grave on a forum this light. Events like yesterday’s have a way of reminding one of how trivial many of things are that we spend precious time worrying about and also how our lives can change in the blink of an eye. Tell someone you love that you love them today and think about those who wont get a chance to do so again. Thanks, that’s all I wanted to say.

[C:\wtyky\Users\Worsteverything\Run\smooth_transition_to_JDP.exe]

Hi! So by show of hands who here reads James Day Previews regularly? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….well, imagine you read James Day Previews on a regular basis. Now pretend that you well know that I find the Carolina Hurricanes to be such a boring team that I can hardly ever think of anything to write about them. Oh, also, THANKS FOR READING! With the playoffs well out of reach for the Canes stakes are high (in terms of finding a story line!)

Papa? Why do the Hurricanes stink so much? 
It’s just one of those mysteries of the unknown, son. Seriously, I looked at their roster, took a nap, woke up and wondered, “How the hell is a team with some of these forwards stuggling to score goals on the level that Carolina is? I mean, E and J Staal, Semin, Tlusty and Skinner in regular action haven’t just been outscoring a bunch of teams? You know, Washington Capitals style but with arguably better goaltending. Oooo, upon closer inspection you probably shouldnt be tied in second in the East for number of goals against. OOooo…also who are a lot of these guys…this is not…how you say a well built team. Still, you’d think they’d be floating around .500 with those aforementioned forwards and that goalie. Sh’a well works for me. Still wonder why Ottawa kind of struggles against these guys. Luckily tonight’s game is being played in the friendly confines of Scotiabank Piazza and not of the home of the shittiest ice in the NHL, the PNC Arena of Carolina City, Utah (research!)

Guess who's back in the mothafuckin' houuuuse

UGH….UGH…UGH……..UGH!!!

Just as the Prophecy said, JC makes His return tonight.
That was quick! Just kidding…he hasn’t played since like early October. That’s not a knock on Cowen, his recovery time is pretty remarkable considering all of the “shut down for the season” talk when it happened. Cowen has been doing a good job of managing expectations in the media by letting them know that his hip isn’t 100% back to normal…wait…is that a good idea? Anyway, apparently Cowen looked positively beastly in training camp and at the beginning of the season in Binghamton but half a year is a long time to go without playing pro hockey…let alone the almost full year he’s gone without playing in the NHL. I honestly just want to see him look normal out there and not have to leave the game halfway through. Stay well, stay well now, we want you to stay weeeell!

All the stuff I said in yesterday’s preview but make it about today’s game
Craig Anderson gets the nod in net and the two biggest changes to the lineup are Cowen (who will be paired with Gryba to start) returning (doi) and Latendresse being put back in over Matt Kassian…which was…a decision. What’s more is that Latendresse is slated for 4th line duty with Smith and Neil. Though a line of Lats, Zmith and Neiler sounds positively bruising, it does make me wonder with Spezza due back, the emergence of the all rookie line (WHO ARE FREE TO SCORE ANOTHER GOAL AT ANY TIME…TONIGHT FOR EXAMPLE) one wonders if there is a future for Latendresse in Ottawa. I actually ended up liking Gui more than I thought I would but that is a pretty expensive fourth line. Either way should be interesting.
As I pointed out yesterday, Ottawa been had gotten some solid goaltending and need to keep putting pucks in the net. Cam Ward can be a bit of a Sens killer but with the playoff race tight as it is tonight the boys cant blow an opportunity like avoiding back to back games and returning home to a bottom feeder like Carolina. *Avoids talking about Jean Gabriel Pageau somehow* Enjoy the game everybody and as Pierre McGuire would say, “Enjoy your families, enjoy your friends I’ll talk to you tomorrow” actually that’s kind of nice and not weird enough to end on….i’ll just throw to P McG stepping all over Gord Miller’s call on Eberle’s classic goal.

James Day Preview: Ottawa Visits The Boston Soccer

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Coming-Out-of-Hypnosis

OPEN WIIIIDE FOR SOME BRU-INS! 

The Ottawa Senators are going to Boston!! Neutral zone trappin’, low scorin’ and TIES? Boston’s still somehow allowed ’em!
Come see all your favorite Bruins stars! Peverley, Thornton 2, Jagriaga and…Chariaga and they’ll ALL be clogging up the neutral zone!

The worst thing about the Sens inability to defeat Boston is that one has to sit through a Boston game with no reward at the end. This teaaaaaam. So as Varada mentioned in a previous post (IM NOT MADE OF ARCHIVE LINKS) that looking at Ottawa’s remaining matches it’s safe to chalk this one up as a loss. Oh Varada you so cray-zay probably right.
The thing is, is that though this 58 year old man ain’t denying that the Bruins own the shit out of the Senators but the past few match ups could have gone either way. Considering it will probably be 0 – 0 for 90% of the game I would be happy to see Ottawa come out of this one with a point. James Day Preview, redefining what optimism is…for all of us! #PeskyExpectations
I don’t expect this Bruins team to be any easier an opponent for the boys, but it is pretty welcome news that perpetual phisher in Ottawa’s butt Brad Marchand is sitting out tonight’s tilt. Though it looks like Patrice Bergeron will get his burger on tonight with a return to the lineup after missing time suffering a concussion. Regardless of how their side lines up, Boston is a pretty deep team and despite dropping their last two, the Sens will have their work cut out for them against such a frustrating defensive system team. That said, if Ottawa’s going to take Boston down tonight’s their best shot.

And Now…The Crazy Old Man Singers! 
You know what cray-cray baby cousin? Jaromir Jagr is tied for no.1 in scoring on the Bruins. Who’d have thought that playing most of the season on the Dallas Stars would make me completely unaware of a player’s output!? The 41 year old future first ballot hall of famer still puts up an Alfredssonian 18.5 minutes a game and I expect him to be a big factor tonight. Ottawa has a quadragenarian all their own in Papa Alfie who is tied for the team lead in goals with 10. Two playoff teams with 40+ scoring leaders. Parity thy name is NHL…or thy name is something. Jagr is currently riding a hot streak with 6 points in his last 4 games. Alfie is no slouchy old man (AKA me) either with three points in his last three games. I for one am excited to see how The Battle of the Old Mans shakes out. Well, as excited as one can be about watching a Bruins game.

Naturally Matt Kassian is Playing Tonight
Turns out he draws into the lineup in exchange for LATENDRESSE? Damn this team MUST be getting healthier…that or I am just having a wee daymare and should be waking up aaaaaany minute now….Okay, well apparently that’s a thing. Oh, this just in: Jim O’Brien is reportedly going to get very, very drunk tonight. Stay tuned to find out if he’ll be doing any crying while curled up in the shower. Life of a bottom 6 player: Cuts like a knife (dont get any ideas J.O.B.!).
We all know Kassian was brought aboard for games like this. Now I dont want to put too much pressure on the guy but can delivering several punches to Scott Thornton’s head be just what the Sens needed to break the Bruins Curse? Couldn’t be the need to score more than one goal against Boston…nope it’s the intangibles like taking a five minute major. Holy shit I just realized the funniest possible scenario: Matt Kassian fights twice and scores in 1-0 win. Would be so worth it just to sit back and watch people argue over it.

Can #JGP Keep It Up? 
Jean Gabriel Pageau is enjoying a point per game pace and shooting 100% since being called up from Binghamton. The smart money is that the rookie will regress to more realistic numbers as he plays more games. You know what though? That’s what Smart Money says. Sometimes on James Day I like to deal in Stupid Money. I would absolutely love to see Pageau go on a ridiculous tear for the rest of the regular season. It would make things really fun for training camp next year. Oh and also, it would mean Ottawa would likely be putting up more than point a game against the B’s. Anyway, I absolutely love to see a kid making the most of his opportunity. J-Gab (?) is making Bryan Murray look like one shrewd dude right now — I am the worst.

Part Where I Talk About Goaltending
Given that Robin Lehner was in goal for Ottawa’s last win against the B’s back on Febterday 34th, 1879, he’s gotten the past few starts against them. Despite some losses in the meantime Lehner’s played quite well against them but will not be getting the nod tonight.
Coming off a very strong shutout performance against a desperate Devils team who seemingly spent the entire 3rd period camped out in Ottawa’s end Craig Anderson needs to simply be himself to give Ottawa a chance tonight. What I mean is, regardless of whether Lehner or Anderson gets the start those guys BEEN had given Ottawa chances to win against Boston this season. What Ottawa needs to do is bury a few. With Silfverberg and ZIbanejad both going pointless in their past 3 games now would be the night to remedy that and put a few hero bucks in their respective pockets. Also, it would make for interesting television. Catch you on twitter tonight …or right now…I don’t have much going on, really.

Road Trip Conclusion Jam

James Day Preview: Ottawa Senators Visit The New Jeez Louise DirtDevils

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Never noticed Fabio is basically a mega handsome version of Kovalev

Never noticed Fabio is basically a mega handsome version of Kovalev

Hi my name is James and this is a website. Let’s talk about hockey things. As lovers. (Sorry)

So ding dong the losing streaks dead! Now the Sens only have the simple task of winning several more games against mostly very good teams while making my hair turn white! I’m just kidding i wax my entire body every morning.

Spoiler: Yes I’m about to be this much of a jerk about this…
So in 11 or so minutes of NHL hockey Gatineau’s Jean Gabriel Pageau pulled within 2 points of the Peter Regin Scoring Race. In fairness to managing expectations with JGP, with the season winding down he wont have the benefit of enjoying those extra 26 games that Regin has played to help catch up to his point total. Miracles can happen.
Now, I know I’m being so harsh with no. 13 (fitting!) but this just furthers the argument I’ve been making about when a guy has gone as ice cold as Regin has, put some fresh blood in there and maybe a frigging puck will bounce off their butt and go in (assist on an empty net goal basically the same thing). Anyway, dead horse beaten, Pageau in very limited minutes had a very solid debut exemplified by the fact that he was even on the ice for that empty net goal in the dying minutes of that game with only a one goal differential. Hopefully Pageau can maintain his composure and stay up for the next couple of weeks. He’s earned at least a bit of an extension as of last night.

Luh Luh Luh Lehnny and the Nets
Hot mess how great was Robin Lehner last night? Not that he’s even had to play better than he’s been playing but that kind of a performance was perfectly timed. With the kind of shots Ottawa gives up and their tendency to go dry offensively, all three of Ottawa’s keepers have been under a near Ottawa 67s level of goalie pressure night in and night out (btw great season 67s JJJJJJJJJJ/KKKKKKKKK) . Giving up a paltry two goals could have meant the difference between one point or two or maybe no points (OR FRANKLY WHO KNOWS IN THIS WORK A DAY WORLD!) in an absolutely necessary win. It’s a bit of a shame that the back to back starts means Lehner wont get a much deserved second consecutive start. That said, I am not about to pretend that seeing Anderson between the pipes any kind of problem. Wow, still surreal to write stuff like that… Despite going 0 -2 since returning from his high ankle sprain I’ve thought Andy has looked very much his normal self. Rememeber last year as great as he was for Ottawa Andy would have the odd super shaky start that would knock a lot of people’s confidence in him. Nothing like that so far. Anyway, he allowed a very pedestrian two goals against Florida and none of the three let in against Tampa we’re softies. In other words, I think the lack of scoring and parade to the penalty box were the cause of both losses. 

Return of the M_ _ _ A _ _ K (not a stretch in the SLIGHTEST right there) 
All signs point to 9MM returning to action tonight. I’ll be the first to admit Michalek is probably the injured star I’ve found myself missing the least (maybe not a quality you want to see in a 35 goal scorer) I’m not about to pretend that he’s not a welcome addition to the forward corps. I’m not expecting the moon from Milan in his first game back from having his knee scoped but with a pretty pathetic 2 goals on the year I really hope Milo can get his game on track before the regular season ends or you know…tonight would also be great. Pre-surgery it was no secret Michalek had a hard time creating opportunities playing with Turris. With Jason Spezza pretty much sidelined for the season Milo better get used to it because i dont see that 89-93-33 line getting busted up any time soon and its just weird to picture him on Smith’s wing. Remain well soon Mian Michalek!

With Bryce Salvador and Ilya Kovalchuk both injured and Anton Volchenkov suspended for what I can only assume was acting like a complete Bo$$, expect the Devils to be one of the most boring hockey teams in history tonight…so no real changes there. In all seriousness though, we’ve seen Ottawa blow some wide open opportunites  against Buffalo, Florida and Tampa. A beat the fuck up New Jersey are exactly the two points they team will be in need in the fanny pack(s) when upcoming games against Pittsburgh and Boston come around. Keep #Rihannaing for the stars!

Enjoy the game!

Roundtable of Death: The Passion of the Distaste for Peter Regin

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tod

James

So after Tuesday’s undeserved and tide-turning face off penalty (ITS A GREAT PENALTY!!!) we can officially conclude that Peter Regin is straight up bad luck at this point, right? …Let’s retire the number 13 while we’re at it.

Imagine you’re Jim O’Brien, getting scratched game after game for a guy who has 3 assists on the year. Don’t get me wrong: despite a strong start, JOB isn’t exactly burning down the house with his 6 points and minus three, but what the hell is up with a supposed “skill guy” like Regin who hasn’t put up a point in weeks not getting an extended stay in the press box?
The nail in the coffin for me here is fucking MATT KASSIAN has more goals than him. The debate whether Regin is a top six *puts on giant novelty Mickey Mouse glove and does hand wanking motion* or a bottom six player is now over. 3 points and a minus rating with two and a half weeks left in the season shows you’re barely an NHL player. I know his stock was high as recently as the beginning of last season, and hey he looked good early on, but for me, when he went that one season with only 3 goals in 55 games he became more or less expendable. You can just go out on the free market and buy better production than that on the cheap. Or even better, if you’re the Ottawa Senators you’re in the position to just cut him loose and give one of your many depth players a try. Stephane DaCosta came up and put up a goal and an assist in less than 10 games. Is he NHL ready? I don’t know but again the greater question is, is Regin at this point? Could a Hugh Jessiman or Mark Stone not do what Regin is doing?
People didn’t give a FUCK when Bobby Butler was waived, or to a lesser extent when Foligno was traded. Foligno could hit hard, play centetr or wing, and he put up nearly 50 points last year! Butler spent much of last year in the box and still put up 6 goals and 10 assists, was a +8 and people were ready to burn that guy’s house down. What I’m saying is, Ottawa has parted ways with more productive players (and quicker) for less.
I wonder what the strategy is here? Is MacLean trying to light a serious fire under O’Brien until he gets to that Reginesque point of charging into his office and demanding to play? When Regin did it it was awesome. Full credit he was on fire in that game against Montreal and pretty much won it for Ottawa. The thing is it seems he can’t do that for more than one game in a row. Remember when Bobby Butler did the same thing vs. Calgary last year? Neither do I!
At 26 Peter Regin is still quite young and YES HE WAS GREAT IN THAT ONE PLAYOFF SERIES but that was in 2010. With the injuries this team has suffered this season I could see why Ottawa might want to keep the waivers to a minimum, but why he was kept over Daugavins is baffling to me. At least Dogman was durable. And that’s the other thing: If you like me believe Regin is a bottom six player at best, watching him get knocked about like a pinata game after game is not exactly endearing for a PK lunch pail guy. O’Brien has the wheels, a degree of touch and PK skills like Regin but with more durability and a modicum of toughness. As a fan, I expect to see JOB in against Philly on Thursday.
Much like Butler before him, I hope Regin can turn it around and wish him success but as per my feelings toward The Ballad of Bobby B last year, I’d much rather see him try to find his way somewhere else.
Varada
It seems to be like there are at least two tiers of expectations against which to assess Peter Regin’s putrid, awful, unwatchable season. The first expectation is that he’s a cheap depth guy, best suited to playing on the 3rd or 4th line, who won’t lose you hockey games. If that’s the case I can’t really disagree, though like you say James: it’s not like those guys aren’t plentiful in the NHL. Ottawa can swing a little bit more for the fences with its depth guys. It’s not like Regin is tough, agitates, or has much offensive upside these days.
The second set of expectations, and easiest to consider a failure, is that Regin is a number 1-2 centerman with puck possession skills ideal for Paul MacLean’s system. This has been pretty thoroughly disproved at this point.
Sometimes it was Regin starting the game as the team’s number one center when Spezza was hurt only to find himself on the fourth line so fast he would get whiplash (in favor of Smith for chrissake). Sometimes he’d be a supplementary winger. In any case, there’s something far more disturbing than his never becoming a top six player (which, ok let’s admit, is hard to do).
Check out these Relative Corsi ratings:

2008-2009 GP 11 RC 13.3
2009-2010 GP 75 RC 18.9
2010-2011 GP 55 RC 8.4
2011-2012 GP 10 RC 0.8
2012-2013 GP 27 RC -0.7
Now, that’s not all that bad – even the negative rating is near even, which means Regin is usually pushing the puck in the right direction, even playing with terrible, terrible linemates, and though never getting much in the way of point production. What’s more disturbing is the trend. That’s a good body of work right there, enough that sample size starts to get mitigated a little bit. As Regin has struggled through injuries, his effectiveness has seemed to slip, and is heading steadily southward. You might assume it’s his natural progression down the lineup into a marginal role, and his Time on Ice p/ 60 minutes has decreased, but only from between 11-12 minutes a night to about nine minutes this year. When he was having those great Corsi seasons, he was only enjoying two more minutes a night, at most. He also only started in the offensive zone about 7% more of the time.
In other words: not that much has changed about how Regin is being played, but he’s still getting worse. He’s not as terrible as I first thought, but he’s experiencing his worst season as a professional, and he’s trending downward. Why take a risk on that sort of player when you’re organization is stuffed with depth guys?
Of course there’s also his point production, which with his number of games played puts him in the arena of Tim Jackman, Tim Brent, and Ryan Reaves. Some of those guys only play about six minutes a night. Clearly this is disappointing for anyone expecting him to be 20 goal guy (<– actual prediction!)
It’s not that he’s a terrible fourth liner. It’s just that we don’t want him to be a fourth liner. At 26 he’s in what’s supposed to be his prime. He might rebound, sure, and his underlying numbers are enough that you can see why management would spend only $800k to bring him back for a year. But the years of monster Corsi possession now seem to be behind him.
I’d hate to see him rebound elsewhere. On the other hand, it just seems like a warm body in the lineup right now. I’d rather give that ice time to Mark Stone, Shane Prince, or Mike Hoffman and let them develop in the NHL.

Possible New Team Names To Use During the Losing Streak

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I wish.


I wish.

  • The Frustrated Minors
  • The Frustrated Miners
  • The Sergei Gonchar’s Third Period Penalty Box Naps
  • The SportsClubStats “How Do Probabilities Work?” Confused Faces
  • The Ben Bishop Headbutts
  • The Craig Anderson Buttheads
  • The Brian Elliotts
  • The Antoine Vermette Just Cant Finish Singers
  • The High and Wides
  • The Home Stretch Gang
  • The Cardiac Kids (Not So Fun Edition) 
  • The New New Edition
  • The Shitty Beatles 
  • The Regular Beatles
  • The Erik Karlsson Skating Videos
  • The Remember the First Couple of Weeks of This Seasons
  • The Next Years
  • The OHH AHH Silfvermedals
  • The Penalty Killz
  • The This Is How It Feels To Be Spoiled By Inspired Play During a Rebuild and then a Rash of Long Term Injuries To Several Star Players
  • The David Rundblads
  • The Whats the Opposite of Peskys
  • The Sixth Lowest Payroll in the NHL, Less Than Columbus, Florida, and Winnipegs
  • The First Rounder for Chris Campoli, Who By The Way is Available Right Now for Nothings
  • The Conditional Seventh Round Picks
  • Peter Regin
  • The They Can Still Conceivably Do Its