I’d Like to Dedicate this Next Number To A Little Someone Named Patrick, Patrick Wiercioch

Posted on March 14, 2013 by worsteverything

Patrick Wiercioch thinking about his future and hopes that the nicknames bestowed upon him are merciful.

Patrick Wiercioch thinking about his future and hoping that the nicknames bestowed upon him are merciful.

Hello all you men and women out there! Today on this website I would like to calmly discuss with you how Patrick Wiercioch is quickly becoming a bit of a thing.
His clutch tying goal in last night’s shootout loss to Montreal basically secured Ottawa the point. If Wiercioch can keep his production up he is going to be talked about more and more…take now for example!

Jack Edwards wasn’t mispronouncing his name he really is Patrick Weird Shot

Because the NHL can bite my butt, I watched several Binghamton games this year where, along with André Benoit, Wiercioch served as one of the BSens go-to puck moving offensive defensemen. In his 32 games in Bingo before the NHL got its shit together, he had 19 points. 10 of which were goals and 4 of them coming on the powerplay. I got to see a number of those goals get scored and I noticed even back then something interesting about a lot of them. They came off of really strange looking shots. Wiercioch seems to have a propensity to get off these low, dipping wobblers that manage to find their way in. In a flattering word his shot can be described as deceptive.
Now, I’ll be honest when I saw these strange bouncers going in again and again during his time in Binghamton I couldn’t help but think, “That’s great and all but you’re going to have to learn to put a little more mustard and cheese (ugh, sorry) on that thing if you’re going to take shots from the point in the NHL.” Anyway, examining his three NHL goals so far, recognize Johnny Blaze ain’t a damn thing changed:

Tying Goal in the 3^rd period Last Night Vs. Montreal. This one is straight up hot. Replay the “Inside the Net” angle several times for full appreciation!

First NHL Vs. Islanders. Ties the the game at 2 with just over a minute left in the 3^rd Note the weird knuckle puck action! Lucky? Who gives a rip if it goes in, it goes in.

Goal putting Ottawa up 2-0 in the first Vs. Rangers Again, weird shot in full effect. Look at the wobble on that thing…by the way, that ain’t exactly Dan Clouthier in net either!

Shut up, me!

I don’t know about you Eddie but I like the idea of a guy who can go low blocker or five hole from way up high in the slot. As for the argument that with the exception of the Montreal goal, the other two were a bit lucky I’m beginning to think otherwise. Having watched Wiercioch all season from AHL to NHL Im starting to think if these shots are lucky then that’s a lot of luck. I could be wrong on this but maybe it’s more of a tactic. Follow me:
We are now in the era of the Carey Price type goalie. They are big in the net with good movement laterally, and most importantly are textbook positionally. I think you see a lot of shots go wide these days because it seems you have to pick the absolute corner to beat most goalies high. It’s the weird dribblers bouncing off stuff and skipping off the ice that are going to make up a percentage of what fools the Lundqvists of the world (curse that handsome devil!).

Let’s Talk About ~~Sex~~ Replacing Gonchar

Obviously its really early to tell here but its undeniable that Wiercioch is starting to make a case for a full time job next season. He is the Mika Zibanejad of defensemen. Is he getting a lot of minutes? No. Is he trusted in all situations yet? No. Is he starting to put up some noticeable points? Definitely. This bodes well for a rookie in a line up like Ottawa currently has. He’s getting a bit more of a look he would have if the team was healthier and is taking advantage of it.

Let me start off by saying Patrick Wiercioch is no Sergei Gonchar. We’re talking about replacing a guy who’s a veteran of 17 seasons, a Cup champion with 2 Olympic medals and has played in 5 All Star games. Gonchar has played 94 more playoff games than Wiercioch has NHL games. The other thing though is that Sergei Gonchar isn’t really Sergei Gonchar. At least not since he’s been here. When Murray first signed him I thought we were getting that game breaking bastard that I hated so much in Pittsburgh. I don’t think his time here has been quite as disappointing as it’s seemed but I would be remiss if I didn’t say he’s frustrated the hell out of me on far more occasions than i’d hoped. I commend him in that he stepped up both last year in the playoffs with one of the team’s strongest performances and this year when he was handed Erik Karlsson level burnout minutes at age 38. He also sits 3^rd on the team in points. Thanks bro! But real talk, this is Gonchar’s last season in Ottawa. That is of course if he make’s it past the trade deadline. Regardless, misgivings about the $5.5MM salary aside, he could take a $3MM dip in pay and I would bet the organisation would still not re-sign the soon to be 39 year old defenceman. I mean who is he, CHRIS PHILLIPS!? HAHAHAHA AH….ha….*cough*…huh…*stares at shoes*….another year to go.
Right, so, suffice to say, with Gonchar’s impending exit one would hope that the Sens era of “We’ll fill this hole in the lineup with an overpriced veteran” as strategy will end. With Silfverberg and Zibanejad all but assured top six jobs next season and Turris signed long term, the youth movement is underway at forward and a continued changing of the guard is realistic on defense. Observe THIS:

Methot – Karlsson

Cowen – Wiercioch

Phillips – Frozen Dinner

Based on what you’ve seen from Wiercioch so far do you think this is a D corps you could hang your hat on? Sergei Gonchar has a poise with the puck and a world class vision that you probably cannot teach but also he’s looked flat out terrible at times in Ottawa. Before the season started I would have advocated a signing for someone to play with Cowen upon his return but I’m really starting to think Wiercioch could hold down a second paring job and bring a little more speed and toughness than Gonchar ever did here.
For me, Wiercioch has so far shown he’s got great lateral movement at the blueline, a good breakout pass, decent hands, a bit of toughness and adequate foot speed for the NHL. The biggest question I can think of is how will he respond to the increased minutes? Wiercioch gets the least amount of ice time of all active Ottawa defenders. Factor in Karlsson and he gets the 7th lowest amount. Though it can be said that he’s being sheltered because he’s a rookie, that doesn’t hold too much water considering fellow greenhorns Eric Gryba and Andre Benoit have been handed heavier workloads. Also important to keep in mind Wiercioch wasnt even a top pairing defenceman in Binghamton. Consider he went -14 on a Calder Cup winning team…and then -14 again the next year. Frankly, he’s shown pretty slow development overall. But that was then and the NHL is a “what have you done for me lately” business and he’s been delivering to the point that barring a trade or free agent signing, a top 4 spot is presumably his to lose next season. Do you think Weird Shot has what it takes?

100,001 views and counting

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Varada

We started this blog a couple years ago to answer some important questions: what would happen if we took the dumb email threads we created and put them on the internet? Would anybody read them? What IS the internet, exactly? You bought another Yes box set?

Well, the answers are clear: people will read just about anything; the internet is slowly gaining sentience and will one day kill us all; and Yes is best listened to comprehensively.

I don’t know if 100,001 views is a large number by internet standards. For all I know all of the other Sens blogs are reading this and thinking, “Um, we hit 100,001 in our third week.” I’m sure sites with people who copy edit their material before hitting ‘Publish’ get internet traffic like internet traffic grows on electronic trees made out of money. I DON’T CARE. 100,001 is a big number by 1983 standards, and because 1983 is the year Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart” came out, that’s the standard I adhere to.

So, a big thanks to you guys for coming back, even though sometimes we update every day and sometimes we disappear into the woods to think about what we’re doing with our lives; big thanks to the other Sens blogs who link to us every once in a while, even that one Sens blog with the Final Fantasy picture at the top who sort of thinks we suck, and to Puck Daddy for same; and a big thanks to Our Special Little Guy, Erik Karlsson, for being the sort of hockey player you name a blog with 100,001 views after.

Hey, How Are We Criticizing the Ottawa Senators These Days and Further Can We?

Posted on March 13, 2013 by worsteverything

You know, just your average situation where you have kind of a whatevs AHL career and then you become a possession animal and the backbone of an NHL club….

JAMES SAYS:

Hey, Varada *holds for 2 full minutes of applause* I don’t know if you noticed but this season has been an absolute whirl of wind for the team that we like, the Ottawa Senators (.com). Heh heh heh ahhhh…just…sharing the laughter and love, you know? And by laughter and love I mean, I actually found myself getting a warm feeling deep inside when I read a tweet from Wayne Scanlan saying how Erik Karlsson was seen limping around SBP with TWO shoes on instead of one shoe and one cast. I caught myself feeling so happy that I immediately took a personal inventory in an attempt to find out what personal void I am filling with all this hockey stu—I mean, I was regular, emotionally stable person amount of happy…moving forward…

What I’m saying is the NHL season just to start with on paper is upside down. 40 odd games, something like 60 points and you’re in the playoffs, day is night and vegetables are poison.

Factor in the Sens and it gets no less weird. Let’s do a quick test, which of these things made you more excited as a fan this season: That Ottawa went on a perfect five game homestand or the news that Craig Anderson’s ankle injury wasn’t as severe as it first appeared? Jakob Silfverberg going 3 for 3 in his first 3 shootout attempts or news that Jason Spezza’s return could be as few as 2 to 3 weeks from now? I’d compare something to hearing word that Erik Karlsson will make a full recovery from his injury but I know how we all feel about that one.

The point I’m trying to make is, as last year was defined greatly by the career years a healthy line up helped afford, this year is defined by the injuries that have clouded what expectations for a team like this should be.

Up until recently Ottawa has had rookie Eric Gryba playing on the top defensive pairing. I know right? That prospect so hyped that he was called up after Beniot, Wiercioch and Borowiecki had all been given a shot. I’m not trying to put Gyba down here I’m just trying to illustrate how when you look up the team’s player stats and see that Gryba’s got the second lowest plus/minus rating on the team (-5) it’s hard not to react like, “Yeah, well they are playing Eric Gryba for over 20 minutes a game so…”

Watching a team’s top line blow a guy who at this point has 12 NHL games under his belt doesn’t make me angry as a fan so much as the fact that that situation is even happening illuminates how deep over their head the team is in it this year.

Although icing a 3^rd of a lineup made up of rookies is pretty unprecedented for this club it’s not that simple when it comes to judging it though. It’s not like this team doesn’t have its share of experienced NHLers making up the other two thirds of the line up.
Where do you fall on this whole thing? Are you a “Go easy on Turris, he’s playing in a role he’s not ready and/or cut out for” kind of guy or “Bro you didn’t score a goal for like 2 goddamn months, I’ve had it with you!” kind of guy? Let’s talk: Are you throwing the patio furniture you call a living room through the window when the Sens cant muster a goal on the powerplay or are you just blown away that its almost mid-March and they are not in last place / actually in the hunt?

VARADA SAYS:

Well, anyway I cut it, I can’t be disappointed with the 2013 Ottawa Senators (RIP fall 2012, which never happened in my books). You know how much more money the Philadelphia Flyers are spending on players right now when you take into account Spezza, Karlsson, Anderson and Michalek injuries? Almost FORTY MILLION DOLLARS. That’s a whole other low budget hockey team. That’s the equivalent of taking Ottawa and then saying, “here’s St. Louis, think you could use them?” It’s not only making me so proud of this team’s work ethic (how crushed would you or I have been to have lost the way they lost against Toronto last week? Not these guys. Up and at them), it’s making me rethink my whole attitude toward player motivation and development.

I know that Eric Condra and Colin Greening will never be 35 goal guys. How much does a 35 goal guy cost you? $4MM-$5MM? How much does Greening cost? A bag of potatoes (that can’t be sent down to the AHL)? Each of these guys is playing like they know the next game could be their last. Why on earth would someone like, say, Dallas, trade for Eric Cole for “stability” when you could have hungry, hard working kids play their hearts out for you night in and night out?

Which, don’t get me wrong, doesn’t mean they aren’t infuriating. We need to get bailed out every single night by a goaltender, and we’re basically one Steve Mason away from being Columbus. (Maybe more to the point: Bobrovsky plays lights out, Columbus starts looking like a real hockey team for the first team maybe every? Philly looks terrible and is going to miss the playoffs?) In any case, here’s a list of disappointments that I feel like I can’t complain about for all of the reasons above but here goes anyway:

1) Alfredsson has really lost of step. I don’t mean “he’s sluggish because he’s played 48 minutes tonight, all on the penalty kill” step-loss. Like, boneheaded giveaways, terrible passing, 0/5 on the shootout step-loss. It’s weird to see: humbling, existential even. TIME RAVAGES US ALL. (Still one of our best players, btw.)

2) Regin may not, actually, be an NHL player. There, I said it. Nice guy, strong on the puck, but officially cursed. I feel like every team in the league might think he could be an NHL player in the ideal situation, but there is literally no team in the league that wants a guy who isn’t quite skilled enough to be top six and isn’t quite rough enough to be bottom six.

3) I accept that there are pretty much no options after Turris (Z. Smith?) so what are you gonna do: NOT play him as your top line center? But you’ve gotta think this organization is really high on Turris to basically hand him the season in his second year as a Senator. I also wonder if Kyle “Phoenix-didn’t-give-me-playing-time” Turris is now Kyle “HOLY SHIT STOP KILLING ME” Turris. Pretty amazing that he’s not a minus player this year.

4) A running joke between you and I for a few years now has been “Who is the new Antoine Vermette?”, meaning, a guy who pulls off about twelve sick, amazing moves on his way to the net–all predicated on hard work and just fucking going for it–finds himself wide open with the goalie sprawling out of position, and then fans on the shot. It was Foligno for a while. The 2013 edition? Literally every single forward on this team. OTTAWA IS LEADING THE LEAGUE IN SHOTS PER GAME. (also second worst in the league in shots against, ahem.)

JAMES RUDELY CUTS IN:

I think what might be most surprising to me with this whole thing is how the media are not climbing over each other to try to bask in the glory of Paul MacLean’s moustache. I know I really harp on how Ottawa is one of the most fronted on teams but aside from the odd 20 second video entitled something like “Gitt’n-R-Done” on TSN’s website, I find MacLean’s amazing coaching was actually more of a discussion last year. I’m not saying the media needs to talk about this more, the second thing I harp about endlessly is how I like the Sens in the underdog role. I dont know if you all remember but the high expectations Sens teams of the past…not exactly great under pressure back in those days. Anyway, I’m just saying, if it were all kinds of other teams doing what Ottawa is doing they would be all over it. But in the mean time congratulations go out to Bruce Boudreau for somehow managing to get Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan to play well. Remarkable!

James Taylor Day Preview: The Ottawa Hockey Team Hosts a Different City’s Hockey Team

Posted on March 11, 2013 by worsteverything

A little something called The Boston Ballet

Let’s start off with a wee song, shall we?

When you’re down and troubled / and you’re upseeeet with Kyle Turris / and nothin’ ohhh nothin’ is goin’ in the net / just close your eyes and remember / Dany Heatley has the same amount of points / except Heeaaaa –eee – eee –eetly / is a minus niiiine…(and makes 7.5 million dollars)

Papa’s got a brand new REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY COOL HAT!

I know that making fun of other teams’ woes only deflects from Ottawa’s struggles but it can be incredibly satisfying in stand up comedy format. Observe:

I just flew in from Tampa Bay and boy are the Capitals tied for 14^th in the East *Rim shot*

No, but seriously folks they are trailing the Islanders…who are ahead of the Flyers. *Rim shot*

I think about weird stuff like sometimes I’m at the grocery store and I think “What if Buffalo and Calgary were 2 of the highest paying teams in the league!” *Rim Shot, you guys*

Also, Calgary…that’s the joke. That’s my time you’ve been greaaaaaat!!!

COMEDY! *throws confetti in the air*

I’m just saying this year has had some really, really, challenging events but at least the Senators have a bit of a reason to not light up the standings. The depleted line up doesn’t make watching a losing skid any easier nor watching a 40 year old have to AGAIN step up and lead the team in points. Silver linings wise, despite all the heartstomping events that need not be named, this year has been easier for me to endure as a fan than watching the our Post-Cup Final run team that just could not get it together despite having a ton of talent in the line up. Safe to say, there are a lot of fans in that position out there scratching their heads as to why their teams are spiraling the toilet. I’m still fully appreciating that Ottawa is even above .500. If last season’s team was a scrappy underdog squad…then this team is basically a crew of hobo clowns who are roasting fish skeletons over a flaming barrel that was once full of poison goo under a bridge. Also, its raining outside in this metafore…I guess I’m going to talk about tonight’s game a bit…

Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and remove your hats for the unleashing of Robin Lehner.

Paul MacLean is a good coach (and according to his coffee mug I’m going to assume World’s Greatest Dad as well). Pitting Robin Lehner against his daddy issues was a very smart call in New York. I think we can agree that a Lehner with rage lasers for eyes is a good Lehner indeed. You know he was seeing all Rangers players as the experimental puck shooting machines that his father Ludvig Cornelius Lehner would test out on him in his youth before they were deemed safe enough for his precious student Handsome Looksqvist. That also probably explains why a puck that was going far slower than 100km/h confused him. Well, that and the fact that the person shooting it wasn’t screaming “I HAVE NO SON!!!” over and over again.
If Tuukka Rask gets the start tonight I’m hoping Paul MacLean leaves a book chronicling the Second Swedish Crusade of the 13^th Century in Lehnny’s locker in an attempt to angry up his blood and getting him thinking about ways he can honour the medieval conquest of Finland. Despite ultimately losing Lehner was outstanding in his last start against Boston. Much like Bishop’s last game against Philadelphia, it was more a matter of the rest of the team not getting their shit together to score a couple of goals to seal the thing. Though Rask isnt exactly easy to score on with a 1.97GAA.
With Zack Smith’s recent emergence as a hockey player and rookies Silfverberg and Zibanejad contributing lately one would think that Ottawa has tiny bit more offensive going right now.

Oh Looooooook Latendresse is Back! So…I’m going to Talk About That Instead of How Michalek Is Out…

Okay, so, I’ve admittedly been incredibly hard on Gui “Sens Store Clearance Rack Jersey of the Future” Latendresse this year. His signing has so far been how you saaaaaay? Ah, yes, a disappointing one. He obviously cant help his injuries. He wants to be out there you know not ending his NHL career. Really, it’s the situation surrounding him has made the frustration grow so mighty. I figured that Latendresse was a very high risk signing going into the season but if he became injured it wouldn’t be a big deal because MacLean could plug someone into his spot. Instead, P Mac has had to plug all available personnel into spots outside their comfort zone all over the place and Latendresse has been the top 6 injury guy with the least amount of goodwill built up. Hard to figure what to expect from Latendresse now that he’s back. We got to see very little in the six games he did play at the start of the season. Despite a sweet feed on a Turris goal (just to accentuate how long ago THAT was) he looked post-baconator sluggish out there. I dont know if having several weeks off in the meantime will help that sluggishness but if he can recapture that “one assist” magic well…that will mean that someone scored a goal. Get well soon everyone!

Finally:

Alleged top 6 player Peter Regin is a healthy scratch for tonight with Kaspars Daugavins drawing in. With the team’s current biggest need being getting points on the scoreboard one has to wonder why Regin is getting scra—oh 2 assists in 18 games? 2 assists in 18 games. Perspective putter: Human forklift Eric Gryba has 3 assists in 11 games. So…
On the subject of points, credit to Gonchar for notching 3 in his last 2 games. Keep up the good work 🙂 ………….. For fuck’s sake. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Congratulations go out to Jakob Silfverberg on finally besting Karlsson’s 63 shots on net. Only took 11 games for someone to catch up. Now can someone please top EK’s 6 goals? Something tells me that rookies Zibby, Silf and Wiercioch might start getting some real traction offense wise. btw to clearify “Something tells me” = I just really want that to happen. SPORTS ANALYSIS.

Enjoy the game! Oh wait its Boston and they are incredibly boring to watch! Enjoy making fun of the game on twitter with me!

Weekend Grab Bag

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Varada

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

I guess this will be a semi-regular feature when I take slow Fridays in the office to look around the league and comment on things like P.A. Parenteau’s affinity for Bethesda Studio video games. Enjoy!

Habs-Stars Trade

You know how sometimes you hear about a trade that “makes sense for both teams” and everyone pats themselves on the back and does forty minutes worth of analysis anyways? Well, the Eric Cole for Michael Ryder trade is a weird, weird trade for both teams. I don’t think both teams lose, but…no, no, they pretty much both lose.

From the Habs’ perspective, it’s surreal to be sitting atop their conference and trade a leader, veteran, and top six player—even if Cole was having a terrible start to his season—for a guy who they basically booted out of town on the back of unrealistic expectations. Ryder is playing better hockey right now—again, possibly as a result of not playing in Montreal—and they got a pick, but you have to think this sends a strange message to the dressing room. Kudos to Bergevin, though, if he’s got a blueprint for a rebuild and he’s sticking to it, even if his team is acting like a contender. But the timing is particularly bizarre. The team is playing its best hockey. What a weirdo.

Dallas, meanwhile, sticks to its blueprint of rostering very old players making too much money. So…excellent job?

Speaking of contending, I suppose it’s time for all of us to admit we were wrong about Therrien. The Habs aren’t just benefiting from puck luck, or getting dominant goaltending; they’re dominating possession, outshooting their opponents by a wide margin, and playing with all kinds of confidence. They have a solid mix of veterans and skilled rookies, and you can’t underestimate the effect of having a healthy Andrei Markov on that team. I said before the season started that Montreal wasn’t your traditional rebuild waiting to happen, and they’re proving me right. They have too much skill to be anything worse than a bubble team. But Therrien is putting it all together, giving this team an identity and a purpose, and juggling his ice time perfectly.

Calgary refuses to recognize their situation

The O’Reilly offer sheet from Calgary, in and of itself, wasn’t anything too shocking; team offers premium for very good two way player. Ho hum. But what it signifies for a team like Calgary is almost shocking.

This team, sitting 14th in the West, sixth last overall, and with the seventh highest payroll in the league, was willing to give up a first and third round pick for the opportunity to pay Ryan O’Reilly $6.5MM next year. That’s dumbfounding. O’Reilly’s a great player (not $6.5MM great, but pretty great), but how could Calgary possibly look at their situation, at the golden opportunity they have with all of those still-productive-but-expensive veterans, and not launch one hell of a rebuild? It’s a deep draft; they could enter it with multiple first round picks if they play their cards right. Instead, they want to re-up with the sad old strategy that hasn’t worked for them for years. I feel bad for Calgary fans. I expect to see an announcement that they’ve re-signed Iginla any day now. David Simon could write a season of The Wire based on the Calgary Flames’ management.

As for the Avalanche, well, Greg Sherman’s press conference was pretty hilarious. They’d always made it a priority to sign O’Reilly, and they got it done? Are you kidding me? So, they were waiting to sign him…on somebody else’s terms? I’m already reading that they’ll trade him once the year embargo on matched offer sheets is up, and that seems obvious. I bet Calgary will be first in line to give up even more than a first and third rounder for the privilege.

Turris’ problems

James has written on this blog about Turris’ scoring problems, and they don’t need to be restated here. Though beyond all the goose eggs I was also struck by his performance against Montreal earlier this week. He was all over the ice—falling, taking a bad hooking penalty in OT, attempting low-yield passes through traffic, and just generally looking exactly like a player who knows he’s in a slump and is trying too hard to bust out of it. It’s telling that the kind of guys who are scoring—Greening, O’Brien, Dziurzynski—aren’t really capable of doing much more than going hard to the net and getting some lucky bounces.

Dziurzynski is the perfect foil for Turris right now: goes out and in ten minutes of ice time wires a lucky shot far side on Price, one of the best goaltenders in the league, while Turris, playing in every situation, gets his chances and is unable to finish. I don’t want to be like a Maple Loafs fan circa 1998, a proponent of lunch pail hockey at the expense of, you know, watchable hockey, but Turris needs to smoke an enormous doob before his next game and just let shit take care of itself. (Note: I am not a hockey coach, and this is terrible advice.)

Too bad Paul MacLean doesn’t have too many other options in order to take the pressure off of Turris. What is he going to do; play 19 year old Mika Zibanejad 20 minutes a game? Play Alfie at center? Wait…has he tried playing Alfie at center?

PMac for Jacko Mc’Adams?

At what point do the analysts stop talking about how Alfredsson should be traded once Ottawa inevitably goes off a cliff and start talking about how Paul MacLean should win the Jack Adams for having this team in fifth place in the East with THAT LINEUP? He was a finalist last year after coaching a fully stocked team to eighth. You could argue that his teams are being badly outshot and he’s saved by a trio of brilliant goaltenders. You could also argue that this team had the fifth lowest payroll in the league before it lost $23 MILLION in salary to injuries. If injured reserved didn’t count against the cap, Ottawa would have a payroll of about $30.6MM against a $70MM cap, or a staggering $20MM lower than the lowest payrolled team, which is St. Louis.

Big Rig Beer

Pretty good! Can’t hold a candle to Kichesippi 1855, and gets a little pissy if it’s not shockingly cold, but a worthy addition in a city that’s getting its fair share of really great craft brews. Great job Phillipsy!

James Day Preview: The New England Bears Host The Ottawa TomHanks

Posted on February 28, 2013 by worsteverything

Hi.

Let’s take about 3 polite minutes to sit here in silence and just leave blank where we would otherwise engage in a brief, friendly back and forth about how much it has snowed in the last 24 hours.

…

Good.

We are gathered here today to watch the surprising and lovable Ottawa Senators put their cinco game win streak on the line in Boston. Let us begin.

Real Talk: Is Boston just straight going to own Ottawa’s shit tonight or what?

Ugh, this team. I don’t like to be too much of a pessimist about hockey related things, I mean after all, Benjamin Franklin invented horse races for a reason, didn’t he? (Really though, did he? I’m not a very smart person.) We watch these things because we truly don’t know the outcome. What is this football where you have to bet on the score because the overall outcome of games is so predictable? Let’s see what other sports can I take digs at here?…Or or or or or or is this TENNIS where its about, “how many YEARS ON END can this player go without losing a tournament?” Oh good I’ve alienated everyone. Welp, moving forward, isn’t that unpredictability at least some of the charm of NHL hockey? Time and again it’s a complete and utter wonkfest a lot of the time. Remember last year’s exciting Vancouver vs. Pittsburgh Cup final?

Anyway, Ottawa should be in last place, the Rangers should be first, Washington’s horrible and Erik Karlsson STILL has more goals than Phil Kessel almost halfway through the season (!!!). Outrageous! But just when you’re starting to enjoy some goodish fortune in the weirdness of the season a reality milkshake gets thrown in your (my) (our) big stupid face: Boston quietly has only 2 losses on the season and a full 4 games in hand oh and the Leafs are a mere two points back in the standings. With the vast, vast improvement (vast) of the Canadiens, Toronto for once playing within an approximation of a team spending within 6 million of the cap and Boston on the creep-creep it’s safe to say the North East is going to be an absolute dog fight for the next 2 months. Especially when it comes to divisional games…Oop, question from the audience…go ahead,…can you speak up a bit please? Okay, great question, glad you asked…No we do not count the Buffalo Sabres as a National Hockey League club.

So that win against Montreal was less than convincing to put it lightly. It speaks to the aforementioned wonkfest that you can basically get dominated most of a game and still win on the back of your goalie. Awesome to see a goalie stealing a game for Ottawa. Usually its more your “Sens hammer Cam Ward with 51 shots in 2-0 loss” type fare. Five games is a pretty exceptional amount to win consecutively. Especially in the span of 8 days. Ottawa has had a rare 2 whole days off heading into tonight. These guys are warriors. I’m not counting them out completely.

Is it too much to ask for a whole other big game from Peter Regin?

I have spent a lot of time ragging on Peter Regin because he was our generation’s Guillaume Latendresse. A good player when playing WHICH IS ALMOST NEVER. Oops, I’m supposed to be talking about how good he’s been. So, as much as that was Bishop’s victory on Tuesday, primary assist on that ugly baby goes to Mr. Peter Jensen. He gave us all a sick amount of joy when he made Carey Price look like a 4 year old who just pissed their Osh Gosh B’gosh brand overalls while falling off a tire swing in that tense, tense winner. Photo evidence:

Good times? Great times.

Thanks bro! So, can we expect more from the Prince of Denmark or is this going to be the new, “Remember that great playoff round he had in 2009-2010?” Are people going to be defending his next cold streak by saying, “Yeah but he won us that 5^th straight game, that was NAILS!” The truth is Regin has 2 assists and Zack Smith goals in 13 games. If he’s the top 6 player people who aren’t me believe he is, he’ll need to at least measure up to the Silfverbergs, Zibanejads and hell even Condras in the lineup if he wants to continue to see more ice time like he got against Montreal. Oh, yes, and by the frigging way, Turris, Gonchar and Alfie, if you guys are looking to end your respective scoreless streaks now would be the ideal time.
Things I never thought I’d Say About Goaltending: “Can’t Complain.”

Count this guy among the people who were hoping to see Robin Lehner get the start against Boston tonight. I don’t think I need to remind everyone reading this (thanks for reading mom, Steve and Varada!) of Robin Drago’s shutout out last time he started against the Bruins. We Sens fans know the Greatest Love of All is a shutout against Beantown but what can you say to the decision to start a guy playing as great as Bishop has? Truth is, even if Bishop loses it’s not really a cause for concern ….
OH HERE’S AN UPDATE PEOPLE AN UP-FUCKING-DATE:
Robin Lehner will start against Boston tonight. Sorry so sloppy!

😉

So…Mark Stone is practicing with Ottawa?

Pretty exciting news to hear that Stoner is close to returning from injury and when he does he will get a shot with the big boys. Me, I am managing my expectations with a guy that hasn’t played in a while in the AHL let alone hasn’t played in the NHL in over 10 months (and one game at that). Still, it is exciting to hear about anyone with scoring touch coming back from injury and drawing into the line up. I just hope he gets eased in a little.

ENJOY THE GAME AND GET WELL SOON EVERYONE!

James Day Preview: Ottawa Senators Entertain (?) the Canadians of Royal Mountain

Posted on February 25, 2013 by worsteverything

Smooth Jimmy’s Key to Victory: Wait until Markov has to have a huge sneeze and RUSH THE ZONE!

Your father and I would like to talk to you about Kyle Turris.

So, I feel like I’ve been really patient about this so far. Kyle Turris is a human man who was unexpectedly thrust into the role of first line centre, a job that I time and again make clear that I think is one of the most difficult to have in the NHL. It’s also hard to front on a guy who’s leading a team in points (though it should be noted that Erik Karlsson is still in the top 3 despite not having played in over 10 days). Further, it isn’t like I’ve even been disappointed in Turris’ overall game of late. He’s been holding it down but I’m just going to say it: Kyle Turris hasn’t scored a goal in a month. Save for a shootout goal in a loss to the Pens on the 27^th of January, Turry’s last regulation tally came on January 25^th, 2013. You know the old poem:

30 days hath September

A month is a quarter of this fucking season

What the Jiminy Christmas is going on?

Even Dziurzynski has a GD biscuit in February!

Poems, right? Outrageous.

Look, I’m just a caveman, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to score ONE goal in the NHL (let alone score them consistently) and hey he came extremely close against the Islanders with a deflection that I cannot believe went wide but hot damn am I the only one scratching their head at this after his extremely hot start? I know he was on the second line then but we’ve seen goals from call ups Zibanejad, Benoit, Dizzy and DaCosta in February. It’s not as though I think he should be scratched or anything I just hope the guy can get one before it becomes a “thing.” It’s been pretty clear how frustrated he’s been if you’ve seen him skate to the bench after yet another close one. Since I have placed “snakebitten” in the pit of overused hockey terms I will just simply state that a goal would take loads of internal pressure off of him and likely get him rolling a bit. Zibanejad and Silfverberg have looked loose and inspired after some recent goals. If Turris can get going maybe Ottawa can start to get some room to breathe in games.

So Montreal is a Thing btw…

On an interesting note, Montreal comes into this game as the Eastern Conference leader. Yeah, I didn’t really notice either. The Canadiens have been quietly getting it done posting up an impressive 12-4-2 record. Much like Ottawa I think that Montreal has a line up that may not be the New York Rangers in terms of star power but has a lot of know nothing know it alls that will sneak up on you. Right Sideshow Daniel Desharnais!? That and they have excellent goaltending. Ben Bishop will have a huge test on his hands tonight squaring off against Carey Price. Both goaltenders are putting up Craig Anderson-like numbers in their past 4 games. Price with a .946 save percentage and Bishop with a .945. Price has the edge in GAA but as Roberto Luongo taught us against Detroit, you’re only as good as your last game. Really excited to see how Bishop fares in this test. Especially with the added pressure of Robin Lehner lurking in the shadows performing obscure and ancient Norse goaltending rituals cutting mysterious symbols into his face with sharpened mini sticks by cave light (look, I’m really, really sorry about all of this…truly I am)

The funny thing about this game is that despite being the #1 team in the East, Montreal is a club Ottawa can beat (or at least tie if the refs don’t get in the way). I mean, Ottawa really exercised some demons beating Toronto on the cursed HNIC. Should Ottawa defeat Montreal in Gregulation (that’s right) tonight they will enter a tie with Montreal for 1^st in the North East Divisdpfaf I CANT BELIEVE IM EVEN TYPING THIS!!!!! I would be satisfied with this lineup just going .500, truly an impressive showing of late. With their 5th game in 8 days tonight this will be a slog for Ottawa, no doubt. I know I gave Turris the boots earlier but on a more positive note players you want to see heating up are doing so with Zibanejad, Silfverberg and Saturday night hero Colin Greening all riding modest point streaks heading into tonight’s match up. If they can keep trucking I like Ottawa’s chances.

Did you hear the news about Guillaume Latendresse?
Neither did I. Apparently everyone and their mother went for a twirl on the ice today which is about as useful to hear as how I have been trying to drink more water lately.

Related: I’ve been trying to drink more water lately.

The Rivalry That Wasn’t

Notice how no one really gives a hot F about the Habs fan presence at these games? Sure they’re there and it’s rough being a 21 year old franchise wedged between two of the most firmly established and fanatical camps in the league but the fact that it’s not really a big deal when MTL fans are in the house en masse says something about how leafs fans conduct themselves. Maybe having an iota of success in the last half century gives you less of a chip on your shoulder…

Enjoy the game!

At what point does Melnyk realize the ideal role of an NHL owner?

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Varada

In the past week, following Karlsson’s terrible injury and our official entry into wacky, SBP-is-haunted territory, Melnyk has shown up again and again in the media to voice is discontent. Discontent itself isn’t unusual; it’s a devastating injury, happening to pretty much the last player you’d want to see go down, and inflicted with whatever degree of intention by someone with a rotten reputation.

But at what point does someone–for the love of god, anyone–have a conversation with Melnyk about what the ideal role of a pro sports franchise owner can be? Owners can absolutely help their team win, and it’s not just by signing the cheques. They can also be the responsible voice of a classy, distinguished brand.

Look at Jeff Vinik in Tampa Bay. Other than showing his face at charitable events, maybe at the draft, he’s largely invisible. He’ll send out a press release congratulating his team on a good season, keep in communication with his General Manager, and other than that he pretty much leaves the hockey to the hockey people. And, most importantly, he stays the hell out of the media.

Melnyk, on the other hand, is much closer to the Terry Pegula school of rich-boy-with-a-team ownership. Forgetting the rumours that Melnyk is the one that influenced the signing of Alex Kovalev (for which there is less than substantial evidence), his presence on radio stations and in the print media is unmistakable and embarrassing. Some of this is definitely tied to sales–I’ve become accustomed to him putting out some scare-mongering quotes about small market teams and moving the franchise suspiciously close to season tickets going on sale. But some of it seems like it’s just because he wants to.

In the last few months we’ve heard Melnyk reveal that players in the Ottawa dressing room felt they were better than eventual Stanley Cup winners Los Angeles, and if they’d been able to finish off New York in the first round they could have gone all the way. True or not, that’s the kind of leave-it-in-the-dressing-room banter that reflects poorly on the team, and on the market. It’s almost compromised trust to reveal that.

Then Melnyk starts talking about Toronto fans being drunken buffoons and how we need to actively keep them out of home games, which makes the franchise seem petulant and hypocritical. (Last time I checked alcohol was available at SBP.) It also makes Ottawa seem like it still has an anti-Leafs complex, even though the rivalry has been pretty dormant for years now.

Then Melnyk starts in on Cooke, though Ottawa has or does employ pests and thugs like Chris Neil, Jarkko Ruutu, Matt Carkner, Zenon Konoptka, Francis Lessard, and Brian McGrattan. It’s not that they shouldn’t; it’s just that that’s a hockey decision, and what does Melnyk know about it?

Of course it’s his right to be a fan, and I guess it’s his right to be a fan who is audible in the media. Privileged people get access to those kinds of things, and he’s certainly paid for that right. But at some point you have to think about how this behaviour reflects on the franchise itself, and how players–whether unrestricted free agents, or players deciding whether or not to re-sign, and for how long–think about the prestige of that logo on the front of their chest. Does Buffalo look any more prestigious because Pegula occasionally say some overblown thing about winning the Cup, or do they look like more of a basket case than ever?

Ottawa has veterans who have been with the franchise for their entire careers, and respected hockey people at every position from scouting on up through the executive. And then, right there at the top of the chain, and on the radio, is Eugene Melnyk making inarticulate (borderline incoherent, really) comments about whatever comes into his brain.

At some point somebody needs to tell him that he is as much a representative of the Ottawa Senators as the players and the management. And just as you wouldn’t expect, say, Kyle Turris to get away with hopping on every other radio show to spout off about whatever, the franchise’s media rules should apply to the honcho at the top.

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James Day Preview: Ottawa Hosts The New York Dangers

Posted on February 21, 2013 by worsteverything

Hey would you two mind switching jerseys so I can like this picture?

Hi friends,

Just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. How’s everything been? <Polite pause> hey that’s awesome…and your home renovations they’re going well I presu– <pause longer than I was expecting…still pausing> Well, that’s the thing with grout right? You have to– <pause>… HEY, listen so…shut up a second the New York Rangers are in town and I want to talk about it!

So for their 6^th game this week the Senators face off against their 2012 playoff opponent for the first time this season. Perhaps more accurately the Rangers face off against SOME of the Sens they faced in the first round as most of the line up the team is currently icing were not born before last year’s playoffs.

Just how inexperienced is this team at the NHL level? Take into consideration that if you count Mark Borowiecki 6 games this year and currently in the AHL and Jim O’Brien who played only 28 last year and is currently scratched, Ottawa has 10 rookies on their roster. Add them all up and they make for 179 NHL games between all 10. DAMN son that is a GREEN hockey club. To take it further, remove J.O.B. and Boroweicki and examine just the rookies who lined up against the Islanders on Tuesday and the combined total of NHL games drops to 122 or a 15.25 average of games played. To make that 122 games betwixt 8 players who will suit up for Ottawa tonight even weirder consider that Sergei Gonchar has played 125 playoff games. The fact that Ottawa is not getting blown out every game is truly impressive to me. I mean, kind of an interesting time to be a Sens fan. If a relatively healthy team beats them how do you not react like, “uh..yeah.”

How are our boys in red, black, white and some gold sparkle managing to compete? Definitely goaltending. Great to see both Bishop and Anderson keep Ottawa’s sesame seed buns from getting toasted in the past couple of wins. I think I heard “Tavares walks in all alone with the puck” about 20 times last game. Though the Islanders are not the strongest team and New Jersey are boringly very good this year the Senators benefited from strong back to back performances from both net minders in those two wins. It’s easy to give credit to Bishop and Andy because neither of those wins were very convincing. The Sens have really struggled on the power play and not gotten a goal from Kyle Turris or Zack Smith this month. It was encouraging to see scoring come from unlikely players (especially because most of the team is made up of unlikely players) and improved games from recent scratches Mika Zibanejad and Colin Greening and you just s know just scoring in general…even if it was against Rick DiPietro.

Tonight will be Ottawa another big test of the Post-Karlsson era. Though standings wise, the Rangers currently sit in 9th place they still possess a potent offence even without Rick Nash. On top of the always annoying duo Richards and Gaborik, Carl Hagelin has a very impressive 8 points in his last 5 games. Ottawa has their work cut out for them in terms of keeping up offensively facing handsome devil Henrik Lundqvist in net who has put up nearly Craig Anderson-like numbers in his last 5 starts (1.58GAA / .940SV%) – yes I just frigging said that. I love Craig Anderson and when I grow up I’m going to marry him…him or a carrot…whoever says yes first.

A third straight win would be huge in getting whats been a rough month back on track and will further be handy to have in the team’s back pocket in the tough months ahead.

What else? Mmmmm John Tortarella seems like an enormous jerk off so….

Enjoy the ~~James~~ Game!

GO SENSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

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