Fight card: Sens v. Hawks, Dec. 10, 2008

Chris Neil v. Troy Brouwer, 4:39 second period:



Verdict: Neil, but just barely. It wasn't much of a fight, really. Were there even any punches landed? I don't really think so. But Neil came closer to getting one in, so he'll get credit.

Sigh... Hawks 2, Sens 0

I didn't watch the game last night. Not only did I not have TSN2, but I wasn't at home, anyway. I heard most of the third period, but it didn't sound very good.

There's one positive: Martin Gerber has apparently played well. I think I've discovered the trick to having him play well: Make it so that he has nothing to lose. Only problem is, if you reward his good play with a starter's role, then he's all of a sudden got something to lose and he starts sucking again. Alex Auld is not in jeopardy. Unfortunately, Gerber was bested by only Cristobal Huet and beaten by Patrick Kane, so the Sens lost 2-0 (including an empty-netter).

Mike Fisher had a crapload of shots and a couple of good chances, but can't score to save his life. Neither can anyone, apparently. This is frustrating.

Gerber gets game against Chicago

Craig Hartsburg announced today that, with the team playing four games in six nights this week, Martin Gerber will get his first start in over a month on Wednesday against Chicago. Gerber's 1-4-1 record isn't pretty, and his play so far this season hasn't been, either, but he was going to get an opportunity to get back on the horse at some point soon.

Anyone who interprets this move as a result of Alex Auld's play last night against Florida is wrong. Auld has earned the number one position, and although he didnt' have his best game Monday, he's still the far-and-away number one going forward--regardless of what happens in the game on Wednesday. However, the fatigue that would come with playing 11 consecutive games, as Auld has done, may be a reason why he didn't play so well last night, and therefore why he's getting a rest on Wednesday.

It was also announced that Dean McAmmond didn't make the mini road-trip with the team, as he hasn't been able to shake the throat infection that has kept him out of the lineup since Nov. 22. Which is too bad, because--as fun as it is to watch Cody Bass play--the fourth line could really D-Mac's speed.

For anyone who hasn't got TSN2, there are (somewhat illegitimate) ways you can watch the game, anyway: Live streaming online. It doesn't appear to be available on that old standby, myP2P.eu, but the folks at The Senate Committee are saying they're going to have the streamcast available on their blog, so check it out.

In other, more immediate news, Montréal is playing Calgary tonight. No Habs No!

Momentum building on Blackhawks deal

In this morning's paper, the Ottawa Sun reports what many blogs (see below) have been saying for days: a deal is in the works with Chicago and perhaps Los Angeles that would involve Antoine Vermette, Andre Meszaros, and maybe even Martin Gerber.

The outsider - It's comming!!!

Sens Chirp - Getting close

(Do trade rumours make these guys reach orgasm, or what?)

These same blogs have also stated that Meszaros and Bryan Murray are still far from reaching a deal ($1.5M gap), a rumour reinforced by the Sun article.

I don't think acquiring Nikolai Khabibulin (and his incredible salary) would be an improvement over Gerber in terms of talent, but perhaps worth the trouble if it means acquiring a solid young forward like Anze Kopitar or Alexander Frolov in some kind of three-way deal. Cam Barker is also rumoured to be the Sens #1 target off the Blackhawks roster.

And just let me say, if Vermette does get moved... I CALLED IT! (Dec 2007) (Including re-signing Kelly prediction - booyah)

Update: I must add that many bloggers are correct - there is no way that LA would move Kopitar.

Sens drop two in a row

On Saturday night Ottawa lost 4-3 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks because of goaltending. The other team got it, Ottawa didn't. It wasn't the first time this season that's happened.

Nikolai Khabibulin looked great while Ray Emery was not playing anywhere near his best. The Bulin Wall stopped all seven of Daniel Alfredsson's shots, and three of five from Dany Heatley. When players like that get stoned, a goalie is one. Rayzor, on the other hand, appeared sluggish--it kind of looked like his pads weighed 200 pounds each--and it looked like he might still have some nagging injury holding him back. I'm sure if he was given the opportunity to play a few games in a row he could bounce back--Rayzor's certainly not a bad goalie, although he didn't look good against Chicago--but the way Martin Gerber has played in his last five games (including the 3-2 loss to Atlanta, where he stopped 42 of 45) The Gerber has earned the start tonight in New York.

Going back to Heater, he was apparently credited with 10 scoring chances. Incredible. He played a great game tonight, and he was rewarded with two goals. Alfie had all sorts of chances and shots, but Khabibulin was always there to stop him. I'm sure Alfie's getting frustrated after missing the net as time ran down on Thursday against Atlanta and then getting stoned repeatedly by Khabi to end his point streak at ten games.

After Heater, Alfie, and Jason Spezza (who also had a grest game), there was no consistenet support--which has been the case for a few games now. At times Dean McAmmond and Shean Donovan looked like they could help, as evidenced by their assists on Heater's first goal and D-Mac's big short-handed tally, but they were only given 6:57 and 2:49 respectively to work with. Meanwhile, Antoine Vermette--who's been disappointing the last couple of games-- and Randy Robitaille--who has shown improvement, but not enough-- were awarded with 19:27 and 17:40 minutes of ice time. M.C. 'Ammer and Shean Don, along with Brian McGrattan (20 secons of ice time), were blamed for the 'Hawks first goal, and were left on the bench most of the rest of the game because of that fact. When Chris Neil takes two stupid, completely useless penalties, the second of which gets the 'Hawks back in the game, he should not be getting almost twelve minutes of ice time. And Neil should never play on the powerplay; while he's useful while standing in front of the net, he's a liability when breaking into the zone because he can't control the puck to save his life.

I'm really beginning to question John Paddock's tactics over the course of this season. Okay, not beginning, I've been questioning him for months now. Continually playing struggling players (Robitaille, Vermette, Chris Kelly) while benching those who are working (McAmmond, Donovan, McGrattan) and over-playing the first-line guys (Spezza, Heatley, Alfredsson) is not at all proactive, and will more than likely hurt this team in the long run. No matter what Paddock says about 'doing what it takes to win,' I don't care about the regular-season. I want this team to have what it takes to win in the playoffs, and if that means playing McGrattan 10 minutes a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, let him have it.

On the other side of the puck, Chicago was great to watch. I had no idea this Patrick Sharp kid was that good, although I'd heard of him, but he had a great game. Obviously, so did Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but that was to be expected. And then there's Khabibulin, who kept the 'Hawks in it through to the end. Once Cam Barker, Brent Seabrook, and Duncan Keith really develop into the defence corps they appear destined to become, this team will be something else. Didn't see much of Martin Havlat--aptly nicknamed "always injured" by Ben--because he got injured in the second period and left the game, but he did have one or two good chances. Every time I see Mach 9 (or is it Mach 24 now?) come back from injury with guns blazing, I think, "Man, it would be nice to have him here still... " and then I remember how unreliable he is because of his injury problems. When he's healthy, though, he's one of the most exciting in the game.

(P.S. Sorry about the lack of update from the Atlanta game. In my opinion, the Sens made three mistakes--Donovan, Christoph Schubert, and Andrej Meszaros--and paid for all three of them. The Gerber played well enough to keep the Sens in the game, but certainly didn't steal anything.)

Sens vs Blackhawks - Sens: "Games last 60 minutes now?"

BlackHawks 4 - 3 Senators

The one that got away. Yes, there have been a few of them this year. What can be said about this game other than that last goal never should have happened.

You've read the game reviews, and likely watched the game on Sunday afternoon, so I won't bore you with a recap. However, I will bring some interesting observations to your attention.

Alfredsson played a really good game. Look no further than the 1 G 1 A, and 3 shots on net that he got in the game.

Gerber is good at shootouts - if only we could score one! I would also add that I think he's better than Emery at them. Anyone who has seen Mighty Ducks 2 with that blonde chick "The Cat" knows that you #1 goalie is not always your best choice. God Bless you Coach Bombay, you've taught us so much.

Havlat (the 6-million dollar man) did not have a big impact on the game, though he always (deservingly) drew plenty of attention when he had the puck, and Chris Neil hit him hard a couple times.

The Sens are facing their most likely playoff opponent the Pittsburg Penguins on Tuesday. Listening to the Sens Underground podcast today, one of the hosts admitted to fearing the fact that the sens will play the pens (expect to hear that sens-pens phrase alot) in the playoffs because Pitts recently acquired a whole bunch of tough guys (including Gary Roberts) to protect Sidney Crosby and generally kick ass all over the ice.

I do not fear the Penguins. They are too young and easily bruised. "Neiler, go get 'em!"

Expect Chris Neil to go after Crosby, then Laraque goes after Neil, then McGratton goes after Laraque - it's the hockey food chain! (The game is on A-Channel).

The Havlat Deal

The sens are playing the Blackhawks in 40 minutes, and I originally decided to post this following the game. However, after some inward reflection, I realized that this blog would have been tainted by the outcome of the game.

Thus, I present to you my analysis of the Havlat trade last summer.

What the Sens gave:

Forward - Martin Havlat

Forward - Bryan Smolinski

At the time, Martin Havlat was sending "sign me or trade" me signals to the Sens management - he was signed until the end of the 2006/07 season, and he was looking for a big boost from the 2.6 million he was making at the time.

If the sens had not traded him, undoubtedly, Havlat would have tested the free agent marked at the end of this season and the sens likely would have lost him for nothing. With their current cap space, the sens certainly would not have been able to keep him.

An interesting aspect would have been what they could have done with a bait like Havlat at this year's trade deadline. With Muckler's record, likely nothing, because he would have been more valuable in the playoffs. So in the end, we would have had him this year and lost him for nothing at the end.

Bryan Smolinski is a solid centreman with solid faceoff percentage - making 2.24 million per season. He was mostly a salary dump, but likely sweetened the pot for the 'Hawks.

(The Blackhawks resigned ol' Smoke for 1.5M for 06/07, and recently traded Smolinski to Vancouver for a conditional 2nd round draft pick)

What the Sens got:

Defenseman - Tom Preissing

Prospect/Forward - Josh Hennessy

Prospect/Defenseman - Michal Barinka

2nd round draft pick in 2008

Preissing has been a pleasant surprise this season, he's on pace for 39 points this season and is currently +33 (constantly amoung the top in the NHL this season). He's come into his own as a solid defender and something of an offensive threat. Making $600, 000 the man is one of the top bargains on the team (call him the anti-Redden). With his play this year the sens should be willing to hold onto him as one of their top 5 defensemen - probably with a boost to the 1.5 million dollar range.

Josh Hennessy has seen some playing time this season with the sens, but is mostly a work in progress - sharpening his skills with the Binghamton Senators this year.

Barinka is is rated by TSN.ca as potentially a top 4 defenseman, which bodes well for the young man.

The Low-down!

It's hard to say who 'won' this trade. The sens gained some nice prospects, but gave up a skillful sniper with amazing offensive prowess.

In short, the deal had to be done because there was no way that Havlat was going to sign with the sens. Did the sens get enough? No, probably not. For a player with 'Mach 9's' potential, they should have at least got a starting forward.

But this deal could very well lay the foundation of the sens team in the next 3 - 5 years. So talk to me then. For now, let's just watch the game... starting in 3 minutes.