Greetings all. I hope you'll spend the evening with me as I watch the Ottawa Senators take on the Penguins tonight.
7:11pm - About half an hour till game time, I'm watching Senators Overtime on Sportsnet with Ian Mendes. Did you guys check out Mendes' blog on sportsnet the other day? He was taking about his man-date with Brent Wallace - hilarious!
7:20pm - Overtime was boring so now I'm watching Full House. Can you believe this show was popular back in the early 90's? Oh... now back to Overtime and they're talking to Sens' prospect Nick Folino, who has dual citizenship... another Brett Hull *sigh*.
7:24pm - Full House update: Uncle Jesse and his wife had twins!
7:33pm - Cool stat: Senators and Penguins are #1 and #2 top teams in the NHL since the all-star break. Gary Gallery is living in the 70's according to his outfit. Way to go Galley, don't let the decade tell you how to dress.
First Period:
13:16 - Both Kelly and Spezza were able to just walk in towards the net. Hopefully they'll take a freakin' shot next time they have the opportunity. But they've got some good pressure right now. Pens had their chance at the PP - now it's our turn.
11:30 - Sens goal! The key to this play was the pick that Heatley pulled on Gonchar. Then, Spezza gets stoned by Fleury, luckily he doesn't give up and fires the next one into the net.
Oh yeah - now a storm's brewing because Armstrong ran into Emery, then a sen went after Crosby. Not a good combination. Luckily, Neil's on the ice and he's not afriad to grab somebody. Could turn into a tough game. No suspensions though - too late in the season.
9:53 - Rutuu drops like a ton of bricks and stays on the ice to sell it. Good on Spezza though for being proactive. He gets 5 for the hit that Rutuu really should have seen coming. This was because Rutuu went for the late hit after Spezza touched the puck back out of the zone - at least it would have been a late hit if Spezza hadn't jumped out of the way.
4: 31 - Nice shot by Oullette for the tieing Pens goal. Nothing Emery could do he was left alone. The D were frozen trying to cover the guys at the side of the net.
Oh crap - Roberts scores. This was different. Emery could have had that one. ...I don't like Roberts as a Penguins anymore than I liked him as a Leaf. Argh! I'm starting to question Spezza's actions now.
Not sure if I'm satisfied with the first period - but if this is how entertaining the playoff series is going to be then I say bring it on!
Second Period
12:58 - I was going to say that this period is going really well until Armstrong almost gets away on a breakaway. That's just a reminder for me to keep my mouth shut. Heatley got his 49th some time ago. Sweet. It looks like the 2nd-line players are doing well too - Comrie, Vermette, Schafaer and Fisher are all playing their roles and body-checking hard.
6:06 - I just noticed Saprykin on the ice. He took a shot. He must be playing better than usual because normally I barely notice him on the ice.
Crosby does a spin-o-rama and I yell at the TV.
3:38 - This game is all about thr powerplays, and there's really only one measure for the effectiveness of powerplays: goals. Right now, I see some potential but no real scoring chances, only shots that COULD go in. I would like to see Fleury jumping around more - that would please me.
HUGE pass block by Volchenkov when Crosby tries to Roberts on a 2 on 1.
1:00 - Nice save by Emery standing way out of the crease. But WHAT WAS SPEZZA THINKING ON THAT DROP-PASS!?!! The whole crowd says 'awwwww!!!/argh!!!!'.
Third Period:
During intermission I watched the Ask A Ninja episode where he interviews Will Ferrell and Napoleon Dynamite about Blades of Glory. Hilarious stuff.
16:12 - Pittburgh just got a few scoring chances, Emery seems to be holding up well under the pressure. Hopefully the sens can score soon and really take the pressure off him.
14:25 - My dad and I scream at the TV as Spezza dances around everyone but can't getthe puck to Heatley. That seems to be the case alot. But Spezza's looking good for the final 14 minutes of this game. Right now, I would say that Heatley scores the winner from Spezza, or Volchenkov gets a shot past Fleury from the point.
11:12 - Ooooohhhh!!! What a save by Emery! How come the camera didn't stay on that for longer?! That save could have been the highlight of the night.
1:45 - Phillips takes a penalty. The Senators were playing so well 5 on 5 I thought they were going to be able to score one. Corvo especially was playing well, winning pucks in the offensive zone. Malkin takes a punch at Chris Kelly - the heart and soul of the team - and this evens up the players. Nice one Kelly. Should make for an interesting finish - no shootouts please!
:09 - Well... no shooutout I guess. Mezaros lost the puck in our zone and it cost us the game! Mezaros choked. I don't want the sophomore slump to cost us the series when we meet in the playoffs.
End game. Great game thought, very entertaining. I'm gonna go to sleep. Let me know what you thought of the live blog, especially if you refreshed a couple of times during the game.
Have a great night! ...not you Pittsburgh.
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