Outgunned: Caps 7, Sens 4

Although captain Daniel Alfredsson came out to play in his 900th NHL game, scoring two goals in the process, his teammates didn't give the same consistent effort. As a result, despite a third-period comeback attempt, the Senators fell short of the Washington Capitals, losing 7-4.

I hope that Brian Elliott realizes that him being pulled half-way through the game wasn't a shot at him, but was a mercy pull to get his teammates to wake up. It's never easy for a goalie to get pulled, and four goals against on 16 shots doesn't look good, but Elliott didn't have much of a chance on the goals: Two early powerplay goals off wicked shots that resulted directly from lost defensive-zone faceoffs, a scramble-goal where Elliott had about a half-dozen guys on top of him, and a strong wrist-shot goal by Alex Ovechkin with Filip Kuba screening Elliott cleanly.

In a statistical peculiarity, Alex Auld will get tagged with the loss because he allowed the game-winning goal. Doesn't seem fair, but whatever.

I think it's safe to say that Kuba's season has hit its low point. (Not to say it can't get lower, but I hope it doesn't.) He came back from the All-Star Game without the comfort and confidence he had at the start of the season, and it showed up tonight. A couple weeks ago in the last game against Washington, Kuba was given the assignment of shutting down Ovechkin, and he did an admirable job. Tonight, though, he gave Ovechkin too much time and space to do his work. So Ovie got a hat trick.

On the plus side, the CASH Line actually looked pretty good overall. Especially Alfredsson, obviously, with his two goals, but Jason Spezza had some good "compete" in his game--finished with one assist, four shots, a hit, and three takeaways to only one giveaway--and Dany Heatley was pretty consistent in his effort, and his one goal was because he didn't give up on a play--he knocked the puck of Caps d-man Tom Poti's stick right into the net, also had an assist, three shots, and actually blocked a couple of shots (although he did take a stupid penalty in the first period that the Sens paid for).

Antoine Vermette scored the Senators' other goal, almost midway through the third off a nice set-up from Chris Kelly.

Chris Neil had a not-so-good game. He took a really stupid penalty to quickly end a Senators powerplay opportunity, couldn't reel in the puck on a break after his penalty, and just didn't look sharp on the night. He can rebound, but it wasn't among his better showings this season.

It's time to shit or get off the pot on the Brendan Bell situation. If we're going to play him in Ottawa, we need to play him--he might not have changed the game tonight, but he certainly would have helped the Sens one-for-six powerplay get a few more shots on net. And if we're just going to keep scratching him, well, we might as well send him to Binghamton and let him dominate down there.

And, I don't know how much longer we'll be able to say it, but we're not playing as poorly as the eight-losses-in-a-row Vancouver Canucks.

Ovechkin a star among lampposts

Spectacle. It's a word you don't often hear associated with the NHL. But when Alex Ovechkin took to the ice to perform in the NHL's Breakaway Challenge, that's exactly what it was. The Washington Capital performed a few tricky moves, then skated back to the blue line for some assistance from Russian national teammate Evgeni Malkin. Hat on, sunglasses polished, Ovechkin completed his final breakaway attempt, then basked in the glory of the cheering crowd.

While other skaters seemed like they were in a race to get the whole event over with, Ovechkin did exactly what the NHL intended this event to do: imitate the NBA Slam-dunk competition. Like when Amare Stoudemire slammed home a basketball that had just riccocheted off Steve Nash's head, Ovechkin gave the crowd something to laugh at and be dazzled by.

The Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard was a force to be reckoned with under the basket for a couple seasons, but when he tied a Superman cape around his neck and slammed home what was otherwise a 3-star dunk, he rocketed to stardom in the NBA. It's about the fun and the spectacle. Sure, all the players in the Breakaway Challenge were talented, but who gave us something to talk about the next day?

To put it succinctly, Ovechkin gets it.

Some hockey players are so dumbfounded by the media spotlight, that they shy away from it. Ovechkin, on the other hand, knows that the NHL needs a star, not a series of lampposts.

There are so many opportunities for boastfullness during the NHL All-Star competition, but the most you'll ever get out of Sidney Crosby or Dany Heatley is a light-hearted chuckle and a joking challenge to his teammmates. I don't mean to offend, but it's the same old, tired shit, and it doesn't get hits on youtube.

To the so-called stars of the NHL: bring something new and remarkable to the fans or 20% of your salary will continue to drain into the pockets of owners through escrow. Ovechkin gets it. How long before you catch on?

Surviving the second: Sens 3, Caps 2

On the post-game show, Dean Brown suggested that the Sens' biggest challenge over the last few games has been surviving their own play in the second period. Again tonight, they had dominant first and third periods, but bombed in the second. If not for Brian Elliott stopping 17 of 19 shots in that second period, including plenty of decent scoring chances, this game would have been all Capitals.

But Elliott was there. And Dany Heatley's two first-period powerplay goals were enough to give the Senators the lead they needed to stay in the game until Brendan Bell could score another powerplay goal to give the Sens the win over Washington, 3-2. Ottawa's powerplay was a very impressive 3-6 on the night.

On the night, Heatley played like the superstar he's paid to play like. His 'demotion' (although I shudder to call it that) to the second powerplay unit has given the Senators two powerful units, and as a matter of fact, Heatley's line--with Antoine Vermette and (tonight) Nick Foligno (it had been Chris Neil in previous games, but he was out with the flu)--was and has been more dangerous than the first unit of Mike Fisher, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson. Heatley's first goal was a pretty passing play, with Vermette dishing the puck through a few opposition players to Filip Kuba at the point, who set Heatley up perfectly. The second was a bit of luck, as it bounced off a Capitals defender, but they all count--and, don't look now, but with four goals in the last two games, Heatley has 23 on the year and is on pace for almost 42 on the season.

Vermette looked solid on the night, as well; he's one of the Senators who has gone back to what had worked for him in the past, and--surprise!--it's working for him again. He assisted on all three goals, and had a couple shots and a couple of takeaways, to boot. On the topic of streaks, Vermette has ten points (2G, 8A) in the last ten games, the same number of points he had in the first 35 games of the season. It's nice to see, as a fan of the team that's now finding ways to win and after watching him work so hard to start the year without much in the way of results.

Bell scored the winner on the powerplay with less than two minutes remaining, and it was a huge goal. Somehow, Bell's already got a goal song ("Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward), despite only having four goals on the season; I guess that's cool. He had four shots on the night, as well, but was often caught in the defensive zone with partner Jason Smith, unable to clear the puck cleanly. It didn't cost the Sens on the scoreboard, but it was still pretty unnerving to watch.

With Anton Volchenkov suffering a shoulder malfunction, Kuba was given the unenviable assignment of containing Alexander Ovechkin. It seemed like a pretty risky decision by coach Craig Hartsburg, but Kuba's mobility and reach were enough to contain AO as much as AO can be contained, as only two of Ovie's six shots were even-strength opportunities. Kuba, as mentioned, also had an assist, three shots on net, and three blocked shots, and was once again a very solid powerplay quarterback.

I'm pretty sure I've realized why Christoph Schubert doesn't like playing forward: Tonight, with Schubert starting as a forward, he only played 6:14; that includes 1:15 of penalty-killing time as a defenceman, which means Schubert played less than five minutes as a forward. In those five minutes, though, he played effectively as a forward; his line with Dean McAmmond and Jarkko Ruutu was a lot of fun to watch for those five minutes. He can take more than five minutes as a forward, but hopefully he'll deal with it, because he's always fun to watch out there bangin' bodies on forward.

I've also got to mention Peter Regin, who looked surprisingly comfortable in his first NHL game. Of all the Senators prospects who have played their first NHL games in the past couple of seasons (Foligno, Cody Bass, Jesse Winchester, Ilya Zubov, Alex Nikulin, Brian Lee, and probably others I'm forgetting), I'd say Regin was the most effective and the most comfortable in the first game--with the exception of Elliott in his first game last season (but goaltenders always seem the exception). He was a little light on is skates, but he played over 10 minutes, had one takeaway and one blocked shot, and just buzzed in the offensive zone. He warrants another opportunity, if not next game then in the near future.

With the All-Star Game in Montréal on Sunday, Jan. 25, the Sens have the week off, and don't play again until next Tuesday when they host the New Jersey Devils. It will be a break for every Senator except Heatley, who has looked like an All-Star in the recent half-dozen games. Although the timing of the break is not optimal, hopefully Ottawa can carry the momentum of seven of a possible eight points in the last four games into the post-All-Star season.

Now, to write a letter to Richard Peverley of the Atlanta Thrashers, newest hero of the No Habs No! Campaign...

Ruutu "just a rat running around": Ovechkin

I was just looking at some archived headlines I'd bookmarked, and came across a guest column from Tarik El-Bashir's Washington Post blog featuring an interview with Alex Ovechkin. It was the infamous column where Ovechkin described his pillow fights with teammate Alex Semin, but the newest incarnation of Alex the Great also had some... unkind things to say about Sens pest Jarkko Ruutu. He said Ruutu is the "most unpleasant" player he's ever played against:

"Probably (the ex-Penguin, now a Senator) Jarkko Ruutu. He is the dirtiest player and does everything in an underhanded way. Just a rat running around..."

That's just prime. I guess he's doing his job. But really, he is the least pleasant to play against? I didn't think he was the league's elite pest, but if the league's best player thinks he's the league biggest pest, I guess that says a lot.

Sens soft in Super Skills

That wasn't really the greatest demonstration of the Sens' super skills, but it was pretty exciting nonetheless.

Jason Spezza got to do two things: stickhandle through a couple of pucks, and then pass the puck to the accuracy-shooters. Lame. Although he did both very well. It would have been sweet to see him pass to Dany Heatley for the accuracy showdown, just like the regular season.

Daniel Alfredsson, by contrast, did one measley thing. Accuracy shooting. And he didn't do well, going 2-for-8. But don't be fooled, Alfie's got a hell of an accurate shot; just ask Scott Niedermayer's left knee.



I think Alfie threw the conpetition so that if Niedermayer questions him, he can say, "What? There's no way I could have aimed at you, look how bad I was in the accuracy shooting competition!"

I want to mention how awesome I think it is that Tim Thomas looked to be having the time of his life. It's refreshing to see these guys, especially the goalies, enjoying themselves at this competition instead of treating it like an unpleasant chore.

Apparently Spezza's going to be on a line with Alexander Ovechkin and Martin St. Louis in the game, which could be cool. Alfie is still alongside Vincent Lecavalier and I guess Evgeni Malkin instead of Sidney Crosby.

Sens lose an ugly one

That was a pretty ugly game to watch. The Sens ended up losing 4-2 to the Capitals, the fourth loss to Washington in the fourth and final game between the two in the regular season.

There were a lot of players who just had off-games tonight. No defenceman had a good game, and Luke Richardson and Joe Corvo had particularly bad games. Even Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov didn't seem at their best, although they managed to keep Alex Ovechkin relatively quiet (at least for a while). Wade Redden, who scored a goal for the Sens, and Andrej Meszaros weren't bad, but they were nowhere near where they need to be for the Sens to play as they can.

On forward, there were few bright spots. Jason Spezza did not look like he should have been playing; I'm concerned if he wasn't completely healthy why management would allow him to play at all considering he lucked out the first time, but might not be as lucky if there was another hard hit thrown his way. Tough to say it, but Daniel Alfredsson looked a little off his game, as well, and those two are going to have to find a way to offset the loss of Heater.

On a happy note, however, Ilya Zubov had a decent game. While he wasn't amazing, he looked a lot more comfortable than Alex Nikulin in his first NHL game, and his defensive coverage was very good. He even threw a few good hits. Patrick Eaves looked comfortable in his first game back, and hopefully his game picks up where it was when he was injured way back.

I've got to give credit to John Paddock for scratching Randy Robitaille tonight, what seems to me as an overdue move. He gave extra ice time to Dean McAmmond (that one's for you, Mike!), who responded with a tip-in goal and played a surprisingly physical game, including a solid hit against Mike Green.

Unfortunately, without Brian McGrattan in the lineup, Donald Brashear appeared to enjoy the freedom he had around the ice. Even if Grats played the 4:33 that Cody Bass played tonight, it might have limited the liberties that Brashear took with some Senators players, including Mike Fisher at one point after a whistle. Not that Bass had a bad game--he actually played well considering his ice time--but a heavyweight like McGrattan does serve a purpose.

But hey, it was only one game. One thing I take out of this game if that the Sens are nowhere near filling the void left behind with the loss of Heatley from within, and Bryan Murray might be in tough to pull a move similar to the Mike Comrie trade from last year.

Post-script: I'm listening to the post-game show on the Team 1200 right now, and I have to wonder why these hosts are even doing this. It seems obvious to me that they have no patience for fans calling in an expressing their opinions, and they flat-out don't like listening to what fans say.

Sens start 2008 terribly

The Sens began 2008 the same way they ended 2007: by getting bombed by the Washington Capitals. Great.

After Dean McAmmond and Chris Neil each notched a goal and an assist to get Ottawa an early 2-0 lead, Washington scored five in a row on their way to a 6-3 victory. And Alexander Ovechkin only scored two assists... awesome. The other Sens goal was from Andrej Meszaros at the start of the third, but the Sens were unable to finish the comeback.

You've got to wonder what the deal is with Martin Gerber. I'm sure he's wondering himself. Every time Ray Emery does something wrong and The Gerber seems to get the green-light to keep going or redeem himself, he drops the ball and Rayzor gets the opportunity once again. There's really no excuse, and I don't really know how coach John Paddock could justify starting The Gerber on Friday.

Paddock behind the All-Star bench

Speaking of Paddock, he'll be coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. I wonder if he'll smile at all behind the bench... it will be weird seeing him in such a relaxed atmosphere.

Finally, the Volchinator is back

The Sens will receive a much-needed boost on defence for Friday's game against Buffalo, when Anton Volchenkov will return from his finger injury. Thank goodness... 14 goals in two games against the Washington Capitals makes our d-corps look a lot weaker than it should be.