Draft Jakub Gasparovic, short-handed hero

Three short-handed goals in 57 seconds. I think he just got vaulted a few dozen spots in the IIHF rankings. From IIHF.com:

TRENCIN, Slovakia – Slovakian junior player Jakub Gasparovic completed an incredible feat on Monday when his Dukla Trencin junior team faced Liptovsky Mikulas.

The 18-year-old forward scored three shorthanded goals in a 57-second span. His team was ahead 2-1 in the 16th minute of the game, when he scored his first of the trio. When the dust settled, Dukla Trencin held a 5-1 lead when his teammate Lukas Klima was let out of the penalty box.

And he's draft eligible! I don't care if it's just because he's in the Czech Slovak Slovnaft U20 Extraliga, it's damned impressive. "Gasparovic finished the game with five goals and three assists and has 73 points to his credit this season. The 18-year-old ist the scoring leader of the U20 Extraliga."

Wow.

Terrible: Habs 4 Sens 0

No sense pulling any punches: The Sens got pwned by the Canadiens Tuesday night. Although a few Senators had a good game, the team as a unit was bad. There was no semblance of cohesion or structure, and if history serves, Craig Hartsburg will be calling out a few more players after this game.

Story of the game was Montreal's penalty killing, or possibly Ottawa's inept powerplay (especially that second unit). Carey Price was great in their net, too, but more than that was the short-handed goal for Chris Higgins (one of his three goals on the night) and consistent offensive pressure while killing penalties for the Habs. It turned the momentum around big time.

I don't know how the Sens can fix their second powerplay unit, but you can't throw Mike Fisher, Antoine Vermette, Nick Foligno, Chris Phillips, and Christoph Schubert on the ice and expect much in the way of offensive pressure. Vermette is everywhere, but nowhere when you need him, Foligno looks lost (probably because he's trying to do too much), Fisher is just running guys over but can't get the puck to anyone, Schubert will either miss the net or have his shot blocked and turned into a rush the other way, and it's sad to say that Phillips kind of looks like he fits there the most. Jesse Winchester got some PP time later in the game, but he's not likely the solution, either. I don't know what is, but there's got to be something better.

I don't want to pick on Schubert, but I think he might have had his worst game tonight. He was caught high on the first goal against, and lost the puck on the second one. His defensive responsibility is not sold on me, and I can't say I know why Brian Lee isn't up here playing as the sixth defenceman instead of Schubert. Stats say he had four shots on net, which is more than I'd thought, but he also had three shots blocked and two missed shots. He wasn't impressive tonight.

It was a tough game for Foligno, as well. It's never easy for a young player to be demoted from second- to third- to fourth-line minutes, but Foligno is just trying to do to much. And it's costing him, as he was -3 on the night, -10 on the season, and his production has seriously tailed off. My diagnosis is for him to simplify his game; play positionally, forecheck, and throw the puck on net. His line has a very simple prerogative, so he's just got to keep it that way, too.

Biggest jackass on the night was Jarkko Ruutu, and I am glad he's on the Sens. It's a lot more fun when that guy's throwing elbows at your opponents rather than your favourite players. And it's hilarious watching him skating off the ice, waving to the opposing fans sarcastically. Hilarious. Hilarious because no one got injured, that is.

Jason Spezza responded tonight. I'd argue that he wasn't what was wrong with that line in the past few games, either, but he definitely wasn't the problem on this night. He looked pissed, and that's how he should play. He had gusto, tried a hit, crashed the net, led the team with four shots, and still found time to make some pretty passes without any giveaways--unfortunately his linemates, Dany Heatley and Antoine Vermette, couldn't back him up.

The best line was, once again, Fisher-Winchester-Daniel Alfredsson. They didn't get anything done goal-wise, but they combined for seven shots on net and were effective when they were on the ice. At times, Fisher was just ploughing through Habs defenders, and it was some incredible strength.

The best player for the Sens, however, was Alex Auld. He kept the Sens in the game in the first period, when they were outshot 11-3 and had no business being in it. His stats will take a hit after letting in four goals, but this loss was far from his fault--and it could (and perhaps should) have been a lot worse.

It looked like the Sens had turned a corner, but then they turned right back around in tonight's game. Montreal is one of, if not the, best team in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn't excuse the sloppiness with which the Senators played tonight. Should the team get back to that system Hartsburg has in place, they'd be much more competitive with the best teams in the league.

U-G-L-Y, Sens ain't got no alibi

Wow. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to see that. A 5-0 loss to the Canadiens, with a bunch of their best players out of the lineup? While the Sens had 13 skaters expected to make the lineup, including Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. Sounds pretty bad, although I didn't witness it first-hand.

Some statistical info about the game, that might help paint the picture: The Sens were outshot 30-21 in the game. Three of Montreal's goals were on the powerplay, and the Sens had 34 minutes in penalties. The Kostitsyns (Sergei and Andrei) combined for five points, while Andrei Markov had three. The only thing I'm a little disappointed to have missed are the four fights, including Cody Bass v. Tom Kostopolous, Chris Neil v. Alex Henry, Zach Smith v. P.K. Subban, and Brad Isbister v. Henry again.

Hopefully some of that emotion carries over into the game tonight, as the Sens host the Canadiens. The game is on TSN tonight, and on TEAM1200. Cuts may be coming tonight, so I'll try and update if they've happened.

The Gladiator: Bad idea? Or... worst idea?

Everyone is talking about the Senators' pre-game debacle involving the Gladiator. It was embarassing, I won't lie. Jeremy Milks offered a pretty good description of it over on Black Aces, but here's the video of it too:



There are a lot of things that went wrong. You've got to give the actual actor credit; he was no Gerard Butler, but he did a half-decent job considering everything that was stacked against him. What on earth were the Sens marketers thinking, though? Why would you think one regular-sized guy, who wasn't even tremendously cut, wearing Greek garb, spouting rhetoric in a poor British accent, after a cheesy as hell opening video intro would get this crowd going? Why did you think you needed it, in what we're calling Hockey Country? This isn't Los Angeles or Nashville. The only reason we need for excitement is hockey.

Now, when I first heard it, this didn't seem like such a bad idea. A while ago I saw an ad looking for someone to be The Gladiator, I thought it would be another mascot, like Spartacat, who would walk around the bowls during the game and shout things during stoppages in play. Which would have been fine. But to have him as the main attraction of the opening ceremonies? Terrible.

If they do this again--and I won't be surprised if Eugene Melnyk calls and says that they can never, ever try anything like this again--they need an army. Give about 100 guys tickets and $50 or so, have them don this ridiculous clothing, and don't make them say anything.

Or, you know, you could just have had Daniel Alfredsson skate around the ice, and he would have had the whole crowd on their feet in a matter of seconds.

Finger nearing panic button

We saw a few positives in the Senators' loss last night to the Tampa Bay Lightning:

1. Lots of scoring chances for Heatley and Spezza
2. Daniel Alfredsson kicking ass once again - 3 points
   
3. A great comeback to force overtime
4. Emery strong in overtime

But there were also a ton of negatives:

1. Wade Redden giveaways... *sigh*6 million a year? Muckler!!!!
2. Emery looked weak on high goals - didn't seem like he was trying too hard to stop them
3. Schubert giveaway ... okay, he hasn't played D for a while and he's not making 6-freaking-million dollars a year!
4. The chart at right... where has Mike Fisher gone?
   
5. Where has the once-great pickup Randy Robitaille gone?

Just like last season, this is the test that will inevitably make the Senators a better team down the stretch. It's the teenage-years of the season and, after finding their #1 goalie (whomever it is), and the coach giving the team a well-deserved verbal (and maybe physical) smack down, this team will be better for it.

This is the challenge of John Paddock's career; it's been the same for most Senators coaches in the past decade: turn a good team into a great team. Flashes of brilliance are not enough.

The first obstacle is getting that first win, and there's no better time than tonight against the Florida Panthers (did they share a plane with the Lightning?). If Emery starts tonight, I would have to conclude that all faith in Martin Gerber has been shattered.