If you can't deke 'em out, eke 'em out

Well, it was a tight game against the Habs on Thursday, but it ended the right way.

Congratulations to Nick Foligno on his first goal. Even though your post-goal jump wasn't the best, it was still fun to watch, for sentimental reasons.

Of course Daniel Alfredsson played awesome. If he plays this way all year, he'll have a Hart Trophy to put beside his Calder Trophy, and--if his three assists tonight have anything to say about it--maybe an Art Ross in there, as well.

Wade Redden played well at times, but not so well at other times. He scored a pretty weak goal on Carey Price, and got an assist, so I guess it was good, all in all.

Speaking of Price, he played well, but that's exactly why I questioned Guy Carbonneau's decision to play Cristobal Huet against Florida and throw Price against three of the best scorers in the league. Price seemed well-balanced after the game, but Ottawa's shooters just have a way of scoring on most goalies no matter how well they play (knock on wood). Although Carb's Guillaume Latendresse/Steve Begin experiment seemed to work.

Those of you who watched the game may have noticed two Senators not playing in the third. The first was Antoine Vermette, who apparently had back spasms. He didn't go to practice on Tuesday, and I wouldn't be surprised if he took Saturday's game against Floria off to make sure his back is all good. Maybe someone from the farm, like Alexander Nikulin or Josh Hennessy, will get the chance, since I don't think Dean McAmmond is ready to return yet.

The second was, for some reason, Luke Richardson. I thought Richie had a pretty good game, but for some reason John Paddock decided to bench him in favour of Christoph Schubert (who was bumped back to defence) nearing the end of the game. The only reason I can think is that the Habs are a pretty fast team, but Richardson plays a defensively sound game, and has rarely been out of position so far this year. I understand wanting to move Schubie back, but I would think benching Joe Corvo, who's often times unreliable defensively.

Although Martin Gerber played well, his rebounds just give him so much extra work. But as long as he keeps winning, I'm fine with it. I wouldn't be surprised if Ray Emery was given the start on Saturday against the Panthers, though, just to get the opportunity to some real game-action.