James Day Preview: Ottawa Manatees vs. Edmonton Grizzled 1860s Prospectors

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Happy Saturday and further Happy Hockey Day in Canada! FINALLY, a day where Canadians can take some time and recognize how important the game of hockey is to the fabric of our nation. Right? You? Guys? *dodges running lawn mower thrown at my head* JEEZ cant even joke about that?

No, it’s a very exciting day for each and every last one of us. There is a lot of fun hockey on television PLUS we get to see the prime minister pretend to enjoy taking in a game and other humanoid activities*. There are a lot of games involving Canadian teams which is awesome for me as I hate most of the other Canadian teams! Alright, Habs vs. Leafs! I hope you BOTH LOSE! Lets GOOOOOOO! *dips fists in hot glue and then dips them in broken glass*

Ottawa hits the ice for a 2PM puck drop in what leading marine biologists refer to as a “Manatee Game.” I like to call it a “start drinking at brunch game”. Did I tell you that I am really excited about this professional hockey matchup? Cool, well I AM.

Foist thing’s foist

Can I get a Soulclap for our boy Chris Phillips? Wow, that guy really delivered for his 1000th game, didn’t he? I feel it necessary to make mention of this as it was pretty much a non-story to most hockey outlets and I want to use our MASSIVE appeal to get this story out into the ether.
I don’t want to harp on this too long, though I am incredible at playing the harp, but I can think of a lot of players who would get a lot of media attention for both A. Playing their 1000th game all with one organization (a Canadian one at that) and 2. if they scored two goals in said game including the winner… I think that would have been a bit of a talking point if it was all kinds of other players.
I’ll keep the whininess to a minimum (don’t get used to it) and I’m not going to name any names. Just sayin, like much of Phillips’ career, his hard work is off the radar, though something tells me Phillips likes it that way. Anyway, a 2 goal performance in a game that ‘must-win’? Not lost on this guy.

The Boys are Back in Town (and by Back In Town I mean visiting Ottawa for the first and only time this season)

So Ryan Ted Nugent – Sir Anthony Hopkins will be a scratch for the game has he is still not fully recovered from injuries suffered a number of weeks back. You know that olde proverb “One fan’s entertainment value is another fan’s kind of works out as he wont be there to thread passes to Jordan Eberle/Taylor Hall/Whoever all the live long game?” There’s that whole thing. So anyway, no Nugent-Hopkins, I guess the Sens have this one all wrapped u–WAIT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT… There’s other good guys on the team?
Why isnt everyone talking about Jordan Eberle every 5 minutes? I know the youth movement in Edmonton gets talked about a lot but this kid is RIPPING it. Despite missing time due to knee issues, Eberle has put up a very impressive 54 points in 50 games, with 8 coming in his last 4 games. So, someone…cover that guy.
Also, cover this guy, Taylor Hall. He is also playing quite well of late with 9 points in his last 6 games. Unless he goes on some Scott Gomez tip, Hall will soon eclipse his rookie season output of 22 goals and it would be awesome if he worked toward that goal in games other than this one. Skateface.
Then there’s “top 10 overall draft bust” turned “guy who has 14 points in his last 4 games” Sam Gagne. Yes. Superstar Sam Gagne who you’ve always been hearing about all these years. He’ll be playing. Can he keep his seemingly out of nowhere gaudy point streak up? Let’s bleeping hope not. Those numbers are pure insanity. Kid is in the zone.
So yipes a bit…one good thing the Sens have going for them is that this team still has a lot of growing to do on D and in net.
One way or another, its been a rough road trip for the Oil and they will be “Post All Star break Ottawa Senators level” desperate for a win.

The Boys are Still in Town *air guitar* though youd think they were still on a road trip with one win in 7 games *high kick*

Chris Phillips will be honored at the game for his 1000th game…which was last game. So, you know, honoring stuff!
On the shoulders of Mr. 1000 and Mr. 583 (Spezza) the Sens turned in a very important victory against the Nashville Bar & Grills. If they want to carry their momentum forward they are going to have to do it the same way they did against Nashville: Points on the board. Now, Edmonton may not have Pizza Rinne in net but they do have enough firepower upfront to put a game away on sheer offense. Please dont tell Andy Sutton I said that.

Another key to victory will be “Pesty Nick Foligno” getting healthy scratched for “Regular Nick Foligno Who Doesnt Get Penalty After Penalty Called On Him” Nicky, I love you, but …with the pestiness…it’s not working out. We have enough players constantly getting penalized. Get back to your ‘Winning the game with 2 seconds left’ ways of olde.
I guess Erik Karlsson should get some points because basically, he’s set such a precedent now that if he fails to get a point every single game it seems like a slump.
Speaking of slumps (only real ones) Milan Michalek had a pretty damn good game last game with a crazy amount of missed scoring chances. Todays matchup is his opportunity TO CAPITALIZE ON THOSE FRIGGING CHANCES FOR GOD’S SAKE.
I have a good feeling about Butler, everyone! Whats that? No one cares about my ‘good feelings’. Cool. Understandable.

Craig Anderson gets the start in goal. Presumably, like a BO$$.

So happy Hockey Day In Canada everyone! Enjoy this game!! i think it will prove a very exciting one given how little attention is paid to defending on both teams. Its going to be wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide frigging open!

WTYKY Contest: I will be at the game tomorrow! If you can spot me I will give you TWO large sips of my beer**!

WTYKY Plea: Can you please follow us on the friggin twitters? @WTYKY I’ll be live drunk tweeting all game long (basically bugging the Sens DJ every five minutes) thanks. I’ll help you move one day.

*You do have to hand it to Dear Leader, he is VERY lifelike.

**Must be 19 years of age to enter (I aint no creep), offer only valid if I have more than two large sips remaining of my beer. No purchase necessary, its your funeral, I’m even more insufferable in person.

Forget scoring, Ottawa needs a defender

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It’s no longer a given that Ottawa is a buyer at this year’s deadline. In the last two weeks they’ve gone from a 90% chance at the playoffs to around 40%, according to Sportsclubstats. But let’s forget about how used we’ve become to the idea of Ottawa in the playoffs. Head back to the beginning of the season, when everyone was predicting Ottawa to be somewhere between dead last in the NHL and dead last in the OHL. If back then you were told you could have a 40% chance at the playoffs in February, do you think you would have taken it? I sure would have.

So now, on to righting the ship. A few caveats: 1) I don’t necessarily think that Ottawa should be a buyer. I’m not one for watching my team get destroyed in the first round. But I’m going to assume that management has been convinced that playoffs are obtainable, and that if they can find help for the right price, they’ll go for it. 2) The 2nd round pick is the perfect trade deadline currency. It’s just late enough in the draft not to sting a team who wants to gamble on a pending UFA, and just close enough to offer tantalizing promise to a seller. The point here being that Ottawa obviously doesn’t have its 2nd rounder anymore, having packaged it with one of the best offensive-defenseman prospects in the entire league to take a risk on a borderline bust who, thank Christ, seems to be working out pretty well.

It seems like if Ottawa were to obtain anything at the deadline, it will be a forward. Murray’s said as much, and they’re heavily linked to Tuomo Ruutu by newspapers who have promised 36 straight hours of coverage of the deadline even though there aren’t really any big names on the market. (Aside: remember when Sportsnet had Eklund that one deadline?) I’ve declared my favor for the notion of throwing everything we’ve got at obtaining Zach Parise, but I know that’s not going to happen, especially with the Devils in a playoff position.

But more importantly, I think Ottawa’s offense – or recent lack thereof – can be linked to their porous defense and shoddy goaltending. We’ve seen it before: the early or untimely goal that deflates the team; the aging defenceman who turns in a pylon-esque performance; the inability to run a rudimentary breakout play. Ottawa has shown that it has the guns to score in this league. Perhaps the problem stems from the backend having gone hollow. Sure, we have our glut of mediocrity back there now, and not a lot of room, but with Brian Lee and Matt Carkner making peanuts the team can afford to sit them, or package them along with a pick as a mini-salary dump.

Puck Daddy published its list of seven defensemen who could make an impact, and there are some intriguing names there – especially because Ottawa has its share of puck movers and not nearly enough shut down / shot blockers, which seems to be most of what’s available.

Most obvious to me is the familiar Andy Sutton. I’m on record (looks around, notes that no one is actually producing a record of everything I say) saying that I think he should have been re-signed by Ottawa. After an underwhelming and injury-plagued performance in Anaheim, he’s reclaimed his game a bit in Edmonton. He was obtained two seasons ago for a 2nd rounder; could he be had this season for a 3rd?

Hall Gill is a workhorse, if a one-dimensional player, and is the perennial deadline acquisition for some team meaning to employ the “if I stuck a sumo wrestler in front of the net, would it work?” strategy. Obviously he skates like two traffic signs taped together, and with limited resources on the market some fool team might make this into a bidding war, but Ottawa should keep its head in the room. He’s not a glamorous player, but he’s played some solid playoff hockey.

Pavel Kubina might be one of the most experienced and versatile defenders available, and given his larger cap hit and Ottawa’s excess cap space (even with pro rating giving everyone a jillion dollars in space), they might take advantage of wary shoppers and get him for less than usual. I’m skeptical, as Kubina looked terrible in Toronto and less than impressive in Tampa, but as a complimentary player rather than a core defensive pairing, I could see this paying off. Would tampa take a flyer on Brian Lee and a pick to get Kubina’s remaining million or so off the books, or would it take a late 1st rounder?

Finally, Ottawa could shoot for the moon and try to obtain one (or both!) of Ryan Suter or Shea Weber. I imagine they would have to part with pretty much everyone on their roster and all of their picks from now until the end of time, and probably Scotiabank Place, but it’s still pretty cool to imagine.

Who would you rather have at the deadline?

James Day Preview: Ottawa Milestones Vs. Nashville This Is Not Getting Any Easiers

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Live From The Dumpster Behind This Domino’s Pizza Where I Just Relieved Myself In A Very Serious Way…THIS…Is Your (well technically “My” no, that seems selfish…how about, “Our”…yeah we’ll settle for “Our”, yes, I like Our) OUR James Day Preview!

Okay, so, recapping Tuesday’s game preview, I believe I said something along the lines of “the Senators really fucking need to win this game.” Hey, weird news everyone, they did not win at all. Nope, not at all. The Sens will be, I think its safe to say, desperately looking for a very important and elusive non-loss for the home crowd.

So a pretty uneventful game tonight, just trudging along that mid-season grind… *Takes huge pull off of a plastic bag half full of furniture polish* Ahhhhh. Okay, back on track! THIIIIIIIINGS AAAARE HAPPENNNNNINNNNG!!!! Big Gaaaame tonight!!!

Oh you didn’t think I was going to talk about Chris Phillips 1,000th game? Well you’re WRO-OOONG! I am briefly going to discuss it.

It was a heady day that June 22, 1996. All kinds of stuff was going on… President Bill Clinton called for a National Sex Offender Registry, Egyptian director Salah Abou Seif died, Saurav Ganguly scored 131 at Lord’s on his Test cricket debut (though I don’t think I need to remind you of THAT for the millionth time) and Christopher Dartelvin Phillips was taken #1 overall in the NHL entry draft. Twas a draft class that reminds me that the Senators should not invest tooooo deeply in building through the draft. There were some real collar tuggers in that first round including Alexandre Volchov (the ORIGINAL Nikita Filatov), best known for 1.Demanding his COACH call him “The Volchinator” 2.Having such a bad attitude that he played 3 games in his entire NHL career despite having the talent to be taken fourth overall 3.Walking out on his AHL Portland teammates in the middle of a playoff game. That’s not to say Phillips wasn’t a great choice at number one. Very good choice. Just saying, it’s a little more consistent these days but that draft, man…some years it’s the Jeff Skinner of times and other years it’s the Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson of times.

Either way, Big Rig has been there for the Sens as resident team dad and hangdog expression-haver for well over a decade now. As a defensive defenseman, Phillips has been a bit of an unsung guy over the years. I have always said that Chris Phillips must be watched in person to be truly appreciated. His skill set does not often make the sports centre roundup (if he wanted that he should have specialized in ‘being speculation about Toronto’s trade deadline plans’) but any longtime Sens fan knows Big Game Chris has been a strong steadying presence on the back end for what is starting to feel like a generation. Of course, I think it’s fair to admit that I don’t think Phillips has been the same since Anton Volchenkov (THE OTHER VOLCHINATOR) set sail for New Jersey and that there is a looot of term that I’m not crazy about on that new contract of his..but…you know what? Tonight’s Phillips big night and I think he was Ottawa’s best player against St. Louis and here’s hoping he has a similar hop tonight…his special night!

Yep Philips’ special night…except of course for…

Mike Fisher’s heroic jaw making its return to Scotiabank Place for the first time since his trade last February. Crowd’s going to be standing ovationed out! I for one, am pretty happy for Fish AND the Sens at this point. He was the type of heart and soul player that I will always love for Ottawa but in the rebuild process, he was also the perfect type of player for the organization to part ways with if they wanted to move forward. He proved the change was really happening.

We had some funlarious times with Mike didn’t we? Sharing the laughter and love. A great community guy, and life is precious, and God, and the bible. He also ended up getting a $5MM paycheck after the Sens went to the Cup finals. Which is awesome for him.  Being rich looks really awesome. I should know, I watch Cribs sometimes. Did you know that Missy Elliot hollowed out a perfectly good Lamborghini to put a bed inside? You cant teach that in How To Be A Rich Adult Baby School.

After many years with the organization we knew what we were getting with The Fish Monger and it was about 40 points with the dangling potential of 50+. Did we year in, year out expect too much of him? Probably. Was the belief that he was a 3rd line centre with 2nd line expectations accurate? Depends on who you ask but at his price tag we were basically never going to be happy with him. Especially so when you consider his yearly wearing of the “Mrs. High & Wide” sash (see what I did there?). But for his drawbacks guy was a goddamn gladiator for the Sens and left the organization as, deservedly, one of the most beloved players in the team’s history. He’s been given added responsibility in Nashville and I think he’s thriving under it.

What else is going on? Oh yeah, goaltending ALWAYS a thing.

Not sarcastically speaking, in a very surprising turn of events, Alexander Auld will get his first start of 2012 tonight. It’s weird because as much as I was talking about Craig Anderson getting way too many starts in a row, he ended up getting so many that now that Auld is actually starting I don’t think I feel great about it. What’s a girl to do? Watch hockey? Watch hockey. Okay, Auld is in tough as, I’m saying it, Vezina candidate and Olive Garden Pasta dish, Pekka Rinne is in for Nashville. Yeah, he’s enjoying a half decent run…you know, just your average 10-0-1, with a 1.62GAA and .948 save percentage in his last 11 games…so…get well soon Senators scoring ability! We hope you do get well.

Anything else? Something I was supposed to tiptoe around…

Oh yeah, right, Sens are doing really, really poorly right now and Nashville is doing LESS THAN POORLY. So that’s a thing. Me being the kind of guy that I am, I still believe this game is winnable as any game is. No teams go 82-0 or 0-82. That said, a lot is going to have to go right for the boys to take this one. Jason Spezza who has reportedly been battling the flu this past while, has hopefully had some time at home to recover and it will be great timing if he can look like his regular self tonight. Speaking of looking like yourself again, remember when Milan Michalek was a guy who scored all the time? Yeah, would be awesome to see that happen again. Kyle Turris has been making good things happen but tonight’s the night to bury his chances. AAAAAAnd on the subject of burying your chances, Bobby Butler will START the game on the top line with Spezza and 9MM. If he cant get something going quick expect to see his chances get buried in the bottom six. I am hoping to see beloved munchkin and new holder of the “Mrs. High & Wide” title Erik Karlsson put some points on the board after an uncharacteristic cold streak. Brian Lee draws into the line up while Zenon sits…so that’s a thing I guess .

With Rinne in net and Trotz’ disciplined defensive system at full buy in, the Sens are going to need points points points. That’s how this one will be won or lost. Cant be giving up goals early.  Also of note: Shea Weber once shot a puck through the fucking net. Through. The. Fuck.ing. net.

Enjoy the game everybody!

Round Table of Death: Why are the Senators the Blue Jackets All of a Sudden Edition

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Pete Says:

I think we’re talking about laziness and inattention to detail. Opponents are buzzing the sens net without being accounted for, forwards have defined back checking as poking at the puck with their sticks instead of tying up their marks own lumber. You can tell the defense partners aren’t talking to each other and… well the list goes on.

There seems to be times when the pretty play has been chosen over the safe play, particularly on the PP. I’m confident the coach will sort it out but with the younger kids that message takes a bit of time. If I could offer one bit of arm chair coaching maybe a send down and call up will shake things up?

James Says:

Though the Sens didn’t get totally thumped last night there is not a whole lot that appears to be clicking for them right now. I don’t want to sound like a broken record…actually, I probably do because that sounds fun and easy but…either way, I think aside from everything the Pete just rightly pointed out, the thing that scares me the most is that Daniel Alfredsson (praise be His mighty name) is by far the best player on the team. I don’t like that at all. He is too old to still be the engine that powers this dreamship. It was so much better earlier when his role was beginning to be Captain Clutch. Let the Michaleks and Folignos of the world score the goals and when you need a Stetson Man to hop off the bench and pot that shootout goal or break that tie or whatever…that’s when Papa Alfie makes his move.

Right now Alfredsson is looking 10 years younger than he is out there and making some power moves, which is just staggeringly impressive but…when are the Sens going to get away from this “Can’t someone Alfie do it?” model that rears its head year after year. Troublesome. It seemed like since the end of last season, Spezza was beginning to be the guy leaned on hardest and I think that’s great because I think he has the goods to be that but in situations like now where Spezza is likely hurt (or as Jason York speculates that Spezza is sick- not in the Ovechkin describing something positively way) that someone BESIDES ALFREDSSON needs to step in.
I will say some positive things too. I am still very impressed with Kyle Turris. He hasn’t played perfectly or anything but that kid makes things happen for sure. Happy to have him aboard. Chris Phillips also had a pretty outstanding game last night which he needed to have… because he had been looking like a pylon out there since returning from the all star break. I hope Philly can keep it up as scoring drying up is one thing but defense simultaneously being all over the place just makes for an ugly …seven game losing streak.
A lot of people are talking, “Call up Lehner to punch up the netminding” or “Call up Peterson to spark the goal scoring” which, really, aren’t terrible ideas by me though at this point I’m leaning most toward, “call up Borowiecki and add some enthusiasm to the D” or even just to wake up Carkner but I don’t know… whatever I’m no Harvey Globetrotter with this situation…just do whatever it takes to stop being the goddamn Columbus Blue Jackets already. I’ve noticed my visits to hockeysfuture have increased by 700% this month. Help me Varada…you always know what to do….or can complain about stuff more articulately than I.

Varada Says:

Hockey is a surreal and amazing phenomenon, inexplicable and unknowable. How Ottawa could have survived that terrifying January, mostly on the road and mostly unscathed, to find themselves sixth in the conference, only to then return to a strand of home games and a few days rest for the All Star Break, and then – only THEN – embark on the season’s worst losing streak is the stuff of torn hairlines. That they are losing games against the Islanders, or a Blues team that musters less than 20 shots, while on home ice, and giving up game winning goals from center ice, and being unceremoniously and thoroughly screwed by referees is not, in itself, that remarkable. But that it’s happening all at once, right now, is the stuff of maddening anarchy. Basically, late January and early February has been home to the kind of hockey that confirms that there is no god, only random patterns in an uncaring universe.

For the first time in months, the statistical probability thatOttawawill make the playoffs is below 50%, down to 39.9%. How quickly we go from “anything better than dead last is gravy!” to this crushing reality – a surprising playoff experience replaced, most probably, by just missing it. The team has played better than expected up until now and I hope they can turn it around. But with less games remaining than most teams and defintely anyone ahead of them in the standings, they need to become a completely different team overnight and win at least 2/3rds of their games. I don’t know if that can happen.

In my last pessimistic post, I said that I wasn’t quite ready to throwAndersonunder the bus. And I’m still not, though I am nudging him toward the curb. I haven’t done a quantitative analysis, but I’d be willing to bet that he’s outright lost the game for the team – meaning that the game was oneOttawashould have won, except the goaltending mussed it up – as often as he’s outright won one. If it does in fact turn out to be .500, that ain’t bad for a goaltender, but I’m dusting off my trusty “Why make commitments to goaltenders?” argument, which looks especially good at times like this.

Consistency is such a rare trait among a goaltender that Luongo got 187 years and a kerbillion dollars just for being perceived to be a consistently-very-good-if-not-necessarily-elite goaltender, at which point he promptly became one of the few liabilities on that Vancouver team during their Cup run. We don’t need to talk about Bryzgalov. I like Anderson, I have since his days in Florida, but four years and north of three million per is a tougher pill to swallow on some days than on others.

But if I can focus on some very small and seemingly petty detail for a moment: what is with this team’s repeated attempt at the stretch pass? All teams occasionally resort to it, I understand, but it seems to me that this is a tactic to be employed opportunistically, when one sees one’s forwards sneaking in behind the opposition defense. It is not, say, something to be relied on about 75% of the time you find yourself in your own end with the puck. How many times have we seen some player like Condra – meaning, a well meaning and hard working but otherwise relatively unskilled third line player – trying to handle a 60 foot screamer from Filip Kuba or, worse, Matt Carkner? How many times have we skated through the neutral zone with possession only to see someone attempt a hairline pass along the red line in the hopes that the forward will maintain possess, fend off a trap defender, and stick-handle into the zone? I never though I’d say it, but can we get a little dump n’ chase around here?  I think we can assume that overall the technique has worked, as the Senators offense is much better this season, but during these dark days I’ve got think that maybe the system needs a little tweak.

James Day Preview: Ottawa Lowered Expectations vs. St. Louis Blind Willie McTells

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you kids dont know about REAL blues. Probably.

Hello there Sens fans,

And… how are we feeling about our favorite little team this week? Really really good or really, really, really great? Good, good. Me? Oh thanks for asking. That’s how reading a blog works right? We’re having a conversation through satellite dishes made of wishes. So let me tell you how I’m feeling, because let’s face it, this is really mostly about me and my feelings…to quote my old Grandpappy, “I’m sick brah, whatevs….I’m like…over it and shit.” Heh heh…oh Grandpappy Sklyar. He had a funny way. Whenever he’d say something like that he would always brush his bangs out of his face (he hated when they touched his lip ring) and would adjust his Monster Energy Drink baseball cap juuuust so. Sigh. He’s playing that big Nintendo DS in the Sky (Skymall, he’s just at a mall called the Skymall right now)

Anyway, we’re all in a weird place EMOTIONALLY right now, aren’t we? We don’t know whether we’re supposed to be bummed out because our previously very fun to watch team has become LESS THAN SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH or shrug it off Grandpappy Skylar style all, “We were spoiled early on but this actually what rebuilding is all about, so onward and downward!” I wish I had answers for you there, puppy. I really do. Just kidding I’m a complete jerk who thinks they have all the answers! Imagineer with me!

When a team is mired in a six game losing streak in this work a day world, there are a lot of faces to stick one’s big, stupid blame fingers in. Let’s now do that together. Goaltending has been sub par and in connection with that, much of Ottawa’s D corps has looked sluggish and even a touch soft on plays. Okay, well that just about wraps it up for the Sens troubles moving on— oops! Not even close to all of their problems. So scoring has quite nearly stopped altogether. The surprising secondary scoring punch that I believe was winning Ottawa the majority of their games, save for a recent tally from Zack Smith against ‘nem Islanders, has pretty much completely dried up. More troubling, the essential firstondary scoring has also evaporated from the top line and top offensive D men. Want more? Okay, perhaps my biggest fear for the Senators going into the season has come to fruition, Jason Spezza appears to not be himself. Lookin a little bit hurt up in here.
Now, mind you, Spezza gets hurt pretty much every single season so you’d think we’d be used to it. He’s only played more than 70 games 3 times in his career, played the full 82 once. Now, look, this isn’t a knock on Spezz. He gets hurt playing a very intense sport for a living. I just hurt my wrist just from FALLING OVER playing on an outdoor rink last weekend (thank you for the thousands upon thousands of ‘get well’ tweets, you guys) I cant judge him.  More than a little understandable that a guy plays over 20 mins of top line NHL hockey gets banged up routinely. I just cant help but think that in situations like the current one where Spezza has an undisclosed injury (please for the love of Jah don’t be his back again) and he’s a game time decision…maybe an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of power crystals. I love his gumption. I love that he wants to go in there and help his struggling teammates but I cant help but wonder if he cant just sit a couple out and give healthy Kyle Turris a few more minutes while he heals up a bit . Spezza hasn’t put up a point in 6 games (eeep). If he’s hurt I’m not sure if he’s helping being in the lineup. As much as I think Spezza is integral to the Sens chances this season, with his history of injuries, this team is going to have to learn how to play without him. Maybe now is that time. Games are only going to get more intense.
Speaking of upcoming injuries, HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Craig Anderson gets the start A-GAINNNN. So since we were talking about blame fingers (new thing?) what is happening with this, Paulrus? Is Alex Auld allowed to have a belt, shoelaces or cutlery at this point? Has he been eating and attending his art therapy sessions? I’m really worried about him/Paul MacLean’s COMPLETE lack of confidence in him. That’s going to be a really tense game when he finally does get to play. I know they’ve been really important games (THEY ALL ARE REALLY IMPORTANT NOW THAT THEY’VE LOST SIX STRAIGHT BTW) but Auld not being thrown a bone for that Islanders game really said something to this fan/level B wizard.

It doesn’t really stop there either, I gotta say, as a person who is an expert at not knowing very much about coaching it is important to voice my opinion and here it is, “Can we please put the lines back to how they were when the team was good?” I mean we’ve got Condra with Turris and Alfie, Foligno down with Neil and Smith …I keep finding Jim O’Brien’s hair in my food and he’s playing on a line with a clown ghost and porcupine on a unicycle. Sorry, I don’t know what I just wrote there. I’m a bit light headed from these hair dye fumes. IT’S CALLED MULTI TASKING. The lines got mixed up and the result was a 5-0 pounding. Strategy: Landed. Now let’s get it back to the way that was working.

Now on to the game story: Something, something Brian Elliot. St. Louis is good. Sens really have to fucking win or whatever.

Excitingish Conclusion: It’s REALLY easy to freak out in these situations. When the team looks this flat it seems like they’ll never win again. Aside from their inaugural season, that’s never the case. Yes, it’s rough when the leafs overtake our boys in the standings every few years but consider this: Who would have thought the Sens riding on the shoulders of a 6 game winless streak in February WOULD STILL BE AHEAD OF THE WARSHINGTON KAPITALS!!?!?! Now THAT’S gotta be really disappointing. Imagine Ottawa had Washington’s exact roster and was in 9th? Damn. At least we KNOW our team is supposed to suck when they suck. I know the Sens are in tough against the Red Hot Bluesy Peppers and the Nashville Predlocks before things get a little more even Steven against Edmonton on Saturday. Does that mean that Ottawa’s going to lose two and then win one? Maybe but since Pro Line is still in business I’m going to assume that hockey is still very unpredictable game in and game out. I think this could be a very interesting week especially Saturday because I spent so much goddamn money on my ticket for that game and as such t is an absolute must win. Enjoy tonight’s game!

Remember this song friends,

The sun will probably come out, tomorrow
Bet only one of several dollars that tomorrow
There is a decent but still outside chance they’ll be sun

Maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised by this…

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A quick glance around the Sensosphere ™ this morning and it seems like we’ve settled on the notion that Ottawa’s baffling slide is due to a sudden lack of motivation. It’s as if the whole team suddenly came down with chronic vitamin D deficiency, which, being from Ottawa and it being February, I wouldn’t be surprised by. (I’m suddenly listening to nothing by Husker Du and drinking 19 beers after work every night.) But then again, I’m skeptical.

Ottawa threw 49 shots at James Reimer on Saturday night, and while not all of them were quality chances, I can’t see any discernable difference between the effort level of these Ottawa Senators and the ones who were winning games they had no business winning just a few weeks ago. While the early season successes had a lot to do with everything going right at the same time, now the inverse is true.

1) The goaltending is still mostly bad

Even with Anderson playing the hero in December and stealing a few wins for the team, they’ve now allowed the first goal in a staggering 287 straight games (might be off by a few games, but it’s close). Combined with the goal from center-ice against Boston, the goals at inopportune times, and the seemingly thousands of close calls, this is all eerily familiar: the team is as deflated as they were by Brian Elliott’s unreliable goaltending last season. The tragic part is that at least Elliott was making peanuts and wasn’t signed for four years…I’m not ready to throw Anderson under the bus yet, but there’s no denying that something’s broken right now. Would it really be all that bad to give Auld, who hasn’t played since 1981, a game or two?

2) Players once overachieving have turned into ghosts

Zack Smith was once on pace for 20 goals – fantastic for a third line center. Nick Foligno was having a resurgent year, and looking like a 50 point player. Milan Michalek was leading the league in scoring (for a few days). Jared Cowen was playing 30 minutes a night and looking good doing it. Sergei Gonchar was looking like he was close to a 50 point defenseman. Greening and Condra were scoring big goals at the right times. Karlsson, Spezza and Alfie were dominant at times. Even Butler was scoring the odd game winner. It’s not so much that all of these players have gone cold; perhaps it’s that we became too used to this overachieving. Except for Michalek. That dude cannot be this bad all of a sudden – one point in his last five games!

3) Other teams have stopped taking the team lightly

How many backups did this team used to see? How many times would a dominant team come out and muster 19 shots against Ottawa, only to realize too late that they were letting the game get out of hand? When you’re 6th in the conference (or once were), they stop with the gimmes. Ottawa is seeing the best other teams have to offer, and to put it plainly, they’re not good enough to compete. Now that the playing field is level, you’re not getting anywhere if you’re not going to at least win games against the Islanders and Leafs in your own barn.

4) The team’s ‘work for it’ system is the same system everyone else uses, except most of them have about $18MM more in salary on their roster

I wrote about this a long time ago, but I remember reading an ‘anonymous GM’ quote about how hard Ottawa planned on riding these kids, and how it would be difficult for them to keep it up late in the season. I think we’re seeing this become prophetic – you can’t outwork the other team unless you’re being underestimated or your team finds another level. It’s not reasonable to assume another level every game, so it comes down to skill and a better system. At this point in the season, it’s looking more and more like a simple trap in the neutral zone is enough to produce turnovers. Passes aren’t making it through. Ottawa’s defence is slow. It’s not that they aren’t working hard; hard work isn’t enough in the best league in the world. MacLean needs to respond by out coaching the opposition rather than going back to what worked when legs were fresh.

5) Ottawa’s powerplay is awful

Not sure what else needs to be said here. It used to be top five – yet another reason why Ottawa was winning games where they were also allowing four or five goals. Now it’s down to 18th. (Its PK is even worse at 22nd.)

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It’s not all doom and gloom – Ottawa could turn this around. Even playing .500 hockey from  here on out puts them in a playoff position. But in the last two weeks they’ve stumbled from a 90% chance at the playoffs to 50%. We’re down to 27 games and a coin toss. And for all the quotes from Murray that this team isn’t going to fall off because they just work too hard, it’s discouraging to think management became as ensorcelled by the early season run as the rest of us. With the team primed to take a run at Tuomo Ruutu (goodbye first round pick), and their best prospect out the door already, I don’t know that they haven’t pushed all their chips forward this season.

I’ve probably got a much longer post in me somewhere about how Ottawa is squandering a once in a decade chance to rebuild properly, and how we’re destined for ten year’s worth of bubble team hockey as a result, but for now I’ll just say that what we’re seeing now is likely closer to what a team of eager young players is capable of producing. Hopefully this is just a late-season sag, and they’ll go back on upswing just in time to really push back in the first round of the playoffs. But in the meantime, saying that they just aren’t trying seems like a bit of a cop out.

James Day Preview: Ottawa Referees vs. British Virgin Islanders

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Photo courtesy of real life

Hi friends and youtube videos of baby animals alike,

Let’s get this one out of the way. There’s no need to argue Referees just don’t understand (remix). Also, doesn’t homework/doing dumb chores, STINK!? *mops brow*

For what it’s worth (absolutely nothing for those keeping score) I agree very much with Peter Rraayymmaakkeerrss (Ottawa’s #1 producer of Rays and Ray manufacturing innovation) from Silverseven, that though the reffing was bad Sens didn’t exactly help their odds of winning that Boston game either.

Let’s review a few non-referee moments from that game shall we?
1. Sens allow their now legendary first goal of the game.
2. Chris Phillips allows 5 foot 8 Brad Marchand to make him look like a pile of fig newtons numerous times
3. Craig Anderson allows a goal on shot taken in Tupelo,Mississippi (look, it haaaaaappens, softies go in, but…just acknowledging this was a complete tide-turner)
4. Lots of missed opportunities for goals. Including Alfie’s post but not limited to an absolute gift left on Bobby Butler’s stick.

Speaking of Bobby Beantown it has been a rough stretch for that little guy lately. Something tells me the net is looking like one of those Skills Competition mini-nets to him right now. Did anyone else think that things were going to get a bit smoother after his two goal game against Calgary back in the mid 17th century?

Okay back to the essence, so my quick (yes, that is possible for me) word on the officiating in Boston: Referees are human beings like you and, to a lesser extent, me. They are just trying to trudge on up this salmon run of life into the next day until you just wish Flanders was dead.

As such, I DO think that they are susceptible to emotion. Maybe that Boston game was a game got the better of the refs and players and coaches and Denis Potvins and Jameses’s emotions alike. IIIIIII don’t know about all this conspiracy bullshit stuff but heyyyyyyyyy (yyyyy) that was not the best reffed game I’ve ever seen. Maybe the biggest question I was left with afterward was this: Calls get missed but am I really supposed to believe that the Boston Bruins put up a Lady Byng game? Not one penalty (fights aside)? It’s a pretty tough pizzone to swallow that the most penalized team in the league played a clean sheet? If it was Detroit or Vancouver or something, mmm I could see that kind of discipline. I didn’t think Boston played a particularly dirty game but it wasn’t a flawless game either. So that whole thing coupled with the non-call on Karlsson’s icing touch up that Denis Potvin rightly pointed out that, to not call it is basically to encourage a hit from behind felt very unusual.

Lastly…ill let that brutal “offside” on Spezza slide as a mistake though it would have sprung him for a crucial late game breakaway with the Sens down by one. FFFFFFF. Refereeing wasn’t THE factor in the loss but I think it’s a bit fair to say it was A factor. It made what was at first looking like a really great game for the Sens into one of the most frustrating outings of the season. Let’s hope they use the very obvious frustration they experienced to pancake ‘nem Islanders.
Onwardish and upwardish!

Do you know who Salt and Peppa wrote the song “What a Man” for?
Neither do I. Well not for certain at least. One camp staunchly believes it was written for Erik Karlsson while there is a new paradigm of thought emerging that makes a strong case for Kyle Filbert Turris. Either way, I think I’m gonna have someone’s baby.

Karlsson has been stupidshit hottt lately (all season) with a whopping 22 points in his last 20. King K is starting to show an increased S.W.A.G. rating in his goal scoring game as evidenced by his beauty against Right Winger Tim Thomas on 2zdaii knight (honestly, have you ever read someone more annoying than me? Just…insufferable at this point.)

Kyle Turris, though going scoreless for a couple up until his tally against the Bruins is so far showing that he’s going to be on the board more nights than he wont.. For a guy who missed training camp and had only skated in 6 games before landing on the slushy shores of O Town, Turris is showing some very, very promising chemistry with Daniel Alfredsson. I thought Gonchar looked incredibly sharp last game and I’d love to see another solid performance tonight…and the NEXT night from him.

Meanwhile for Long Island, home of Fish Stick Fishermen and Rich People who want to/can afford to get away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, there are a few serious threats afoot.
They likely wont be cracking the top 8 this trimester but the Islanders look like they might be waking up a little bit, relishing their upcoming spoiler role.

I don’t catch too many  Isles games but I am pretty excited to see John Tavares in action. His numbers so far may not justify the “next one” touting from analysts leading up to his draft day *rolls eyes at the almost yearly rolling out of that saying, right Angelo Esposito?* but Johnny T (I assume that’s his nickname…actually, how about, Taveresy, yeah that seems more accurate) has a very impressive 53 points in 49 with Matt Moulson Dry and PA Parenteau clocking in with a respective 46 and 45 points. I know, damn, I didn’t realize this either. That’s not even considering there are some other very decent threats in Kyle Okposo, who might have the best last name going, Mark Streit and Michael Grabner. NY could be on the creep creep tonight. Let’s hope the Sens come out playing like they know how important this game is for the fate down the line or even just building momentum going up against Toronto tomorrow.

Keep the smoke on the motherfuckin’ low
Will the real Kaspars Daugavins scoring a goal every once in a while please stand up? I hate to single out The Rooster but considering his average ice time of 11 mins and his display of goal scoring ability demonstrated in the AHL, I kind of expected the Dogman to have I don’t know TWO more points than the injured Jesse Winchester (who hasn’t played since December) by the all star break. Phun Phakt: Winchester is currently on pace for more points than Daugavins. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t been skating until a couple of days ago.
Again, its not just Daugavins that’s been keeping the smoke on the low, the bottom 6 players have gone from the being the one-two punch of production that was powering the Sens into the playoff race to icier than Max Keeping’s fingers. Seriously, have ever seen that dude in public? Guy is ICED OUT.

Maybe we saw it coming but it would be awesome to see Zack Smith take a little pressure off himself and put one up and correct his steep decline after an amazing early campaign. With the tonight’s bizarro line up combos hopefully, the addition of Colin Greening will wake up the Zack Attack. Can we come up with a name for this Greening-Smith-Neil line up? I submit the “Watch you don’t get stupid punched in your big stupid face dot geocities dot net” line. There’s no judgments during brainstorming.

Sandra Bullock in “The Net” (No, seriously, she is starting for Ottawa tonight) Tonight in net Mike McKenna gets the. Ohh…wait
BREAKING: According to as;dlfajwer Craig Anderson will be getting the emergency fill in for the Senators. Getting ridden hard but I have a hunch this is the kind of game Craig Anderson needs to get back on track. What is this, “win and youre in”? HAHAHAHAHA what kind of NHL team would do that HAHAHAHAHA *single tear*
Goaltender who people forget plays in the NHL, Evgeni Nabakov gets the start for New York.

Finally, I’d like to end on a serious note. Tomorrow night is Do It For Daron night at Scotiabank Place. It is hard to believe that it has already been over a year since we lost Daron Richardson at the age of 14.

We can all appreciate what a tough time it is to grow up and an even tougher time for those who are struggling with mental illness. Please check out this important organization dedicated to breaking down the stigma of mental illness and providing resources for those who may be in a similar situation that Daron found herself in, so that they can find out that they are not alone. To learn more or donate: http://www.doitfordaron.com/

You guys, I’m starting to get worried about all of the starts that Craig Anderson is getting.

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Starts.

 No seriously, I’m really starting to get worried about all of the starts that Craig Anderson is getting. This guy gets… STARTS, by the way.

Now, I wanted to make sure I didn’t post this after a loss so I didn’t look all, “UHHHGRR, SEE, I DONE TOLD YOU IF YOU START HIM TOO MUCH THEY’D LOSE UHHHHGR” (That’s what I sound like when I speak for those of you who are curious about that). But then a bunch of losses happened and then I went to jail during the All Star break and then this post was just sitting there and here we are. Really good article so far? Really GREAT article so far. I really need to talk about my feelings, everyone…

Now, before I start I just want you to know that even though your mother and I will be sleeping on separate futons for the foreseeable future, we still love you as much as we did yesterday, MAYBE EVEN MORE and that further, I love this team and I would have written this if they won every game on that Jah forsaken road trip.

Look, this is a sporting goods team, I get it. You win some, you lose some, it was the pizza of times, it was the far less popular calzone of times. I am really enjoying all of this winning the Sens are doing this season, loving it all day and all night. Forgive old uncle Me for breaking out the same old story, but for fans of a team that was predicted nearly across the board to end up with a bottom 5 lottomax finish AT BEST, seeing Les Boys challenge for a place in the top neighborhood of the East has felt like one big ecstasy fueled weekend in Cabo San Lucas with Denis Potvin and his massive entourage.

So, that just about wraps it it up…yadda yadda yadda, it’s been a whirl of wind, I can put my arm back on, you can’t so play saf— wait, I didn’t get around to talking about anything yet…

 As fun as all this winning (and only mild amounts of losing!) has been, is anyone else out there worried about the prospect of seeing Craig Anderson run out of fuel late in the season…no reason why I’m calling it ‘late in the season’, nope, not superstitious at all… *turns around 6 and a half times, says playoffs backwards and spits on two mirrors* anyway what was I saying? Oh, right, yes…

When Little Man Tate (I’m talking about Anderson here – no idea why I called him that, can we just get this weird nickname off the ground already? #littlemantate) came to town, word on the street was that he likes a lot of consecutive starts and as a Sens fan I thought, “Wait, don’t goalies just start as many games as they win in a row and once they lose one they get benched for an equally shaky goalie who is not sure if he is the back up or starter?”

Remember them times, back in the Jon Paddock few months era, how he out and out said he employed a “win and you’re in” strategy with the goaltending tandem? Did anyone else hear him say that this was his actual plan then look reflectively into their Kalhua Mudslide and quietly muse, “Win …and you’re…in? All those years of videogame hockey have paid OFF…I suddenly think I have what it takes to be an NHL coach!!” Just kidding, Jon Paddock isn’t an NHL coach *rim shot*

When Paddock was fired, there was a lot of ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss’ when it came to how the players were yelled at and how the goalie tandems where truly treated as such.

Do I think it came in part from Ottawa’s goaltenders being a revolving door of guys who didn’t exactly help make exceptional cases for themselves and/or died of injuries? Yes, I do. I also think goalies are psychopaths made of magic, habits and superstitions and have to know their place in the world.

Even Brian Elliot who would periodically do things like go on huge win streaks, post back to back shutouts, get named one of NHL three stars of the week and STILL never seemed to feel like the established number one. I am not all that floored that Elliot has had a great season. He always had tons of potential but could never achieve like he is now in St Louis on the Sens squad he was a part of. He needed a change of scenery where people didn’t know to not believe in him yet and I think the culture change has allowed him to thrive. Good for him. *burrrp* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnyway, when Elliot was given the heave ho and Andy came to town, not only did he put up a 50 save OT shutout over the leafs, he also had the audacity to not completely implode for the rest of the season! I don’t think I was the only one holding my breath wondering “Heavens to Grundo, is this the thing of legend? The starting goalie that has been prophesized?”

The question was answered when Andy was resigned for four years (whew) and then good fortune struck, a rebuild was initiated, a new coach was hired and expectations changed drastically.

Instead of defiantly stinking against the odds, the Senators were just supposed to plain stink. Oh, and as the 2011-2012 season kicked in stink they did. Did I mention how just to make Anderson feel like the startinest goalie in town, BryMurr resigned Alex Auld, backup of all back ups?

So, Anderson had quite a few pucks get past him early in the season. He saw his GAA inflate and save percentage deflate, he’s been pulled his fair share of times and straight up had bad games. Yet, here we are at the end of January, he’s the undisputed #1. And how.

Those constant starts have given Andy a chance to heat up, to steal games, to give those early season doubters something to chew on. But will all the trust that Paul MacLean has put in Anderson going to come back to bite the Senators? Three game slide aside, not so far, though I can’t help but keep think that there is still plenty of season left.

I will put myself out there in saying that I really like Anderson. I think he can handle the work load but he’s still a human being. Human beings get tired and hurt. Anderson has so far played in 47 of  52 games. Damn! What if he needs a “rest” for whatever reason? Points are only going to get more valuable as the season unfolds and I think it’s not much of a secret that Alex Auld has looked colder than Eugene Melnyk’s Desk Fridge.

That’s not to completely fault Auld. He has had the exact opposite season as Andy. He’s never really gotten the chance to prove much of anything so far. That said, I haven’t really been enamored from what I’ve seen of him either. I’m actually pretty happy to see Anderson in game after game, I just don’t know if this model is sustainable.

Currently, Andy is on pace for 73 starts. Yeah, that’s seven three. This amount of games for a goalie seems other worldly to me but Andy has thrived in the past when handed a heavy workload.

In the 2009-10 season when he basically single handedly won Varada his hockey pool out of nowhere, Anderson played 71 regular season games. Of course, many believe that Andy had carried the surprising Avalanche team a little too much and by the time the playoffs rolled around that he looked out of gas. Colorado were knocked out by the Sharks in 6 games.

I didn’t watch any of that series because mom and weekend dad (Rick, who I HATE) said it’s lights out at 9pm SHARP but judging by the numbers it would appear that he did pretty well. A .933 save percentage and 2.62 goals against are damn pretty decent numbers for a goalie on a team that badly outmatched. Not so decent looking in the annuls of history are the 2 goals Statsny, Duchesne and O’Reilly combined for. Also they were playing the Sharks who are just going to dominate (THE EARLY ROUNDS OF) the playoffs *no rim shot* Perhaps Craig would fare better with a stronger Senators squad in front of him. In a more wide open East to boot. That is of course if he’s good to go should such a point in time arrive.

In the off-season when Lehner was coming off his stellar Whatever the Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Trophy is Called winning performance and Auld was resigned, I remember hearing rumblings that Auld would be receiving spot duty only (so far so true), and that Lehner would be called up to fill in for any extensive stretches needed. I suppose we may or may not see if that is the actual plan but with a tough season of battling injuries on a Binghamton squad that t’aint what it used to be, it remains doubtful that we’ll see much of Lehner this year.

The Senators are more of a bubble team now than they were a few weeks ago after struggling through what appeared to be a draining road trip and all those games they have in hand over the rest of the division aren’t making things look locked up any time soon. Stay well soon Craig Anderson!  What do you think is the best plan?
*waits*… *takes sip of port while staring at you* …*waaaaits*