Mike Fisher Sportsnet Ad: Awesome

Just saw this awesome Sportsnet ad after the Sens thrilling win over the Sabres (blog tomorrow with thoughts). Enjoy!

Senators team replaced with 'winning machine': Report

You gotta give credit to the Sens these days, they've beaten a two (or three--writing during Caps game) of the best teams in the conference in the past week, and even without the services of their most consistent defenceman, Anton Volchenkov (with Phillips flying off the handle and scoring goals these days, I can hardly call him consistent).

Pascal Leclaire definitely beat out former Senator Patrick Lalime when the Sens took on the Sabres. Lalime had a terrible record against the Sens since leaving the team, and keeping that record up (with a vengeance) surely boosts the team's ego.

And speaking of Leclaire, he got hit in the face by a puck when the Sens played the Washington Capitals tonight. After an injury kept him out of the game, you could hear him sigh from Kanata to Orleans, "It's just one of those weeks."

Weekly roundup

With wins over the Penguins and Sabres, the Sens bandwagon has been getting pretty crowded over the past few days. It's funny how things can change from one copy deadline to the next...

Saturday - Senators look to halt bumpy start to season
Sunday - Sens show cutting edge

As hockey fans, I think we're all prone to mood swings. Everyone seems to be pointing out that the Sens are just 1 point behind the Sabres for first place in the Northeast Division... a week ago no one was doing the math. Just sayin'.

Facts

• Patrick Lalime's career went downhill after he left Ottawa... by now he's 20 feet underground. Too bad.
• Mike Fisher will not make Team Canada, and neither will Ray Emery, no matter how non-committal Steve Yzerman is.
• Brian Elliott reminds me of Emery, but Leclaire in no way reminds me of Gerber. Sweet.
  

Intensity returns to Battle of Ontario

Ian Mendes had it right during the first intermission, "more fights than goals".

I guess that's how these two Eastern Conference middle-weights express their dislike for one another these days. Not by attempting to embarrass the other with flashy goals, but by attempting to bludgeon the opponent into submission.

But in the end, it was Mike Fisher and Pascal Leclaire that won this game for the Ottawa Senators. I'm not sure exactly what's up with Fisher and Alex Kovalev, but someone should pass the memo onto Fish that it's Kovalev who's supposed to be scoring goals, and Mike's the one who's supposed to be the overpaid baggage. Bah!

Penalties anyone? You got plenty of time to see the Senators powerplay and penalty-kill. Neither of which looked great. A little bit of magic from AK27 or Jason Spezza certainly would have made the last minutes of the game a little less stressful.

Speaking of those final few minutes. OHMYGAWDWHATASAVE. ...sorry that just all came out at once. Leclaire seemed to be scrambling too much and few of those last saves were what we would call 'standard', but they worked and preserved the win for Ottawa. Hard to argue with that.

What's easy to argue with? Shots in the third period 15-4 for the Leafs. Yikes.

Final note on Kovalev: He will be judged not by the success of his linemates but by how many goals he himself scores. With only one shot registered in this game, he's got to be a little more selfish, drive to the net a more, and be more desperate for goals. I would much rather celebrate his talents than comment on his mental game.

Same old Ottawa Senators

Inability to score at crucial times and inconsistent goaltending?! No, you must be speaking of some other team.

As I watched the Senators take on the New York Rangers yesterday, that shootout seemed to encapsulate the whole game--a simple inability to win the game. Thanks to some steady goaltending from Brian Elliott, the Senators had no less than three opportunities to win the game.

Nick Folgino, Mike Fisher (otherwise great game, btw), and Jarkko Ruutu each could have won the game if they scored on their shootout opportunity.

That's three opportunities to get an extra point, and three opportunities to push the team a little further toward a playoff spot. It's something of a cliché, but it must be said that these games are just as important as the ones in April. When the Sens are desperate for points in the spring, I'll be recalling this game in my mind.

The inconsistent goaltending, of course, is not the fault of Elliott. That's the fault to Pascal Leclaire, who has single-handedly led us to question his abilities. I will play the part of optimist here and note the following:

• He's played 13 games and is above .500. That's far from terrible.
• Leclaire missed a whole year and could still be reconstructing his game and getting back into the groove on a regular NHL schedule.
• The Sens offence hasn't been too helpful recently. Few powerplays and fewer crucial goals.
• In his last 6 games, he's only allowed more than 3 goals once. Do not panic.

AK27 made for mis-fires

Who saw this recent wave of Alex Kovelav criticism coming from a mile away? Everyone! Every NHL pundit on the planet knew that Kovalev would be streaky. And now, while it's happening it's supposed to be surprising? No, sorry. We'll see what his stats are at season's end... Then I'll be pissed.

Tuesday versus Leafs good measuring stick

Next game is against the Leafs on Tuesday evening. I hope to see Leclaire return to the net, and put any potential controversies to rest.

Playing the Leafs is always fun because they set the bar for terrible teams in the NHL. If you can beat them, you're fine. If not, well, I might have to pick up some more of that 7.0% beer.

Stats you didn't want to hear (courtesy yahoo.com)

The Senators are 1-2 in shootouts this season and remain the worst team in the tie-breaking procedure with a 12-25 record since its inception. (Ben's note: The Sens were 1 for 1 after beating the Leafs in the first ever NHL shootout! woo!)

The Senators won 53 percent of faceoffs, but only because C Jason Spezza was 17-10 in the circles. Every other Senator had a losing record on faceoffs against a Rangers team that was without the injured Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky—two of its top three drawmen.

Old guard Sens still driving force on offence

When Dany Heatley left Ottawa, it seemed that we were trading one asset (or ass-hat, in this case) and getting two in return. Plus, the signing of Alex Kovalev was meant to add another aspect to the Sens game. Well we're now 14 games into the season and a couple aspects of the trade have turned out well, while others have gone to complete shit.

Milan Michalek is on pace for his best NHL season, scoring 40 goals and 58 points (I love TSN.ca's on-pace stat), but Jonathan Cheechoo have proven all of his doubters correct with only 2 points so far this season. Some nights, he barely sees the ice, and other nights, it seems like he can barely skate.

Kovalev has, so far, lived up to his billing as a streaky scorer. Undoubtedly, he has crazy moves--but little results to show for them. Despite some fancy playmaking with Jason Spezza, Kovalev has not, in my view, lived up to my optimistic expectations.

But the real question is: Are these elements adding up to wins?

It's difficult to make the argument that the Senators would be better off without Michalek and Kovalev, but it's the Senators' old guard that has been the major contributors to the Sens moderate success so far this season.

Daniel Alfredsson is having another outstanding season, and with Spezza, are again the driving force that wills the team towards wins. Unexpectedly, it's Mike Fisher that has been the x-factor in many games this season--he's already got half as many goals as all of last year.

The Sens just need a couple more players to have above-average seasons in order to ensure themselves a playoff spot. That means Nick Foligno contributing more offence on the third line, and Cheechoo at least hitting 15 goals this year.

It's no secret that it takes a whole-team effort to make the playoffs in the NHL, and if even two lines contribute the offence, the third still has to make its contribution.

PS: I saw my first instance of someone calling Pascal Leclaire 'inconsistent' today. Does that make him a good goalie that sometimes plays poorly, or a bad goalie that make the occasional incredible save? I hope it's the former.

Win over Habs most important yet

Saturday night's 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens was undoubtedly the Ottawa Senators' most important win of the season so far.

Put all the 'Alex Kovalev returns to Montreal' storylines to the side for one moment (they never mattered much anyway) and let's look at the stats and players behind the victory.

This was the Senators first win over a team that qualified for the playoffs last season. Losses to Pittsburgh and New York kept the Sens out of the playoff picture for the moment, but this win will boost the expectations of players and observers slightly. Where do the Sens fit into the Eastern Conference rankings now? Let's wait and see if they can beat New Jersey or Philadelphia in early November.

The Senators swept the game's three stars, and with good cause. The first star was Pascal Leclaire. In the first intermission, Daniel Alfredsson commented to CBC that there was a large shift in team mentality with Chuck in net, and this game was a perfect example. When the Sens were holding on to a 2-1 lead through most of the second and third periods, Leclaire was never panicked and extremely consistent.

(FACT: Pascal Leclaire only wears goalie equipment because he would get too many shutouts if he played naked. He doesn't want to make other players look silly.)

The Senators' third and fourth lines are playing waaaaaay above expectations. This used to be a one-line team. Now we're got four. That's quite a turn-around. Credit to Cory Clouston and Bryan Murray (You gotta give it when it's due).

Did I mention Alfredsson? Of course I did. He leads the team with nine points in seven games. He doesn't get older, he just gets better. (Guess who's second and third in team scoring? Mike Fisher and Jarkko Ruutu!)

Of course, those points from Kovalev didn't hurt at all. That's what he was brought in to do. Put the Sens over the top in games that could have gone either way. That added offensive talent, combined with solid goaltending from Chuck, is all the Sens need to win these middling games on most nights.

Audio:

Cory Clouston's thoughts on the game.

Alfredsson's post-game comments.

Kovalev's post-game comments.

(Courtesy whatever wonderful human being updates the Senators Twitter account.)

Kovalev needs support: Cookie Monster

I've been taking every opportunity to be critical of Alex Kovalev recently. Sure, we're only three games in, but I've barely noticed the guy on the ice. I had a sudden realization while discussing the Ottawa Senators with a co-worker recently: AK27 isn't getting much support.

In the Sens most recent game, Kovalev was on a line with Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno... one of these things is not like the other things. Give the flashy winger some flashy linemates! At least somebody with a little Nordic or European blood in them!

Luckily, I think Cory Clouston has watched Sesame Street in the past 20 years, and has decided to make some changes to the top two lines for tonight's game against the Atlanta Thrashers. You know--the lines that are supposed to be scoring the goals.

So Kovalev will have some support from Daniel Alfredsson tonight, and Foligno will play with Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. Hopefully, with another goal-scorer on his line, Kovalev can put some of those fancy moves to good use, rather than just coming up with some of the NHL's most interesting ways to lose the puck.

Nice

Sure it's only the preseason, and the record's still 1-3-0, but tonight's pasting of Montreal at SBP was sweet.

1. Hat-trick and a 4-pt night for Mike Fisher
2. 4-pt night from Nick Foligno who is trying to make his case as the #2 cente
3. 3-pt night for Kovalev
4. 3-pt night for Regin
5. Over 21 minutes played and a +3 night for Erik Karlsson
6. Solid performance from Pascal Leclaire, stopping 22 of 23 shots.

The 0-3 start was not a great way to start the preseason, but after the saga of the departed whining player who shall remain nameless, it's understandable.

Tonight the team showed some spark. And can that Carkner kid fight or what? Here's hoping this trend continues into the games that count.

Canucks fans are jerks :'(

Well I went to the Sens game tonight and I was not happy with the result. The first period pretty much sunk Ottawa, as they spent the rest of the game trying to claw their way back into it. Ultimately a four-goal hole was too large for the Sens to find their way out of, and time ran out for Ottawa in this game.

This was a totally winnable game for the Sens, or at least, their play of late lead me to think so. Cory Clouston puts much more faith into second and third-line players like Shean Donovan and Nick Foligno, but it's hard to say whether this strategy pays off. While Foligno was grinding in the corners, the Canucks defence seemed ripe for a speedy centre to deke through them and score. Dany Heatley's goal was straight of out his "wait with your stick cocked high in the air" play book.

Despite the score, Brian Elliot played very well, especially in the second and third period. It's not his fault that the Senators defence abandons him. I don't think that better "team defence" is the answer anymore. Fingers need to be pointed, and there's more than enough fingers to go around. Defence needs to be addressed as much as scoring when Bryan Murray looks at his options this trade deadline.

Mike Fisher had one goal and more than 20 minutes of ice time. What's the strategy here? Jason Spezza, having a far more successful season, played around 14 minutes. I'd rather have the Sens' first-line centre than their supposedly fearsome eight-goal scorer.

After an incredible road trip, the Sens are facing the true test of their season in the next week. Are they an underperforming team in need of inspiration? Or is it truly the end of days? Either way, I like the Canucks a whole lot less tonight.

All The Way Home: Avs 3, Sens 2 (OT)

Wow. The Senators had 15 points on the road in their first 25 road games, but got nine on this five-game road trip. Says a lot about how this team's been playing of late, and for anyone to get 90 per cent of points available on such a disjointed road trip has to come (all the way) home feeling pretty darn good about their trip.

Ryan Shannon made this game for the Sens. He scored the Sens' two goals, one on a sneaky shot and the other a top-corner wrister from the point. He looks a little unusual playing the point on the powerplay, but it worked tonight. Shannon didn't make much of an impact in his first stint, but his recent seven-game stint under Cory Clouston has re-energized his line with Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno, and his speed is lethal.

In nets, Alex Auld made some big saves tonight, and was one of the main reasons the Sens walked out of the game with even one point. He stopped 24 of 27, including one terrific chance Ryan Smyth had in alone after a lucky home-ice bounce off the back boards.

For obvious reasons, ice time was pretty evenly distributed amongst the players tonight. It's a pretty important coaching tactic when playing the second game of a back-to-back, particularly in the mile-high city of Denver. No one had less ice time than Jesse Winchester's 10:52 (and he still had three shots), and Mike Fisher led the forwards with 18:28 on the night.

Could Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza have been more invisible on the night? Apparently Heatley had three shots, but they couldn't have been very good scoring chances, and the only moments I noticed Spezza were when he looked for an open pass with futility, eventually to lose the puck to an Avalanche player--such as what happened on Colorado's second goal, when Spezza lost the puck and then offered absolutely no defensive coverage when backchecking. They had one shift with any semblance of intensity, and that was with five minutes left in the third; and it didn't even generate a shot on net, as Heatley sent his one chance wide. But then Spezza's inability to get the puck in deep and severely lacking defensive coverage were the chief reasons for Wojtek Wolski's overtime winner. Need more offence than that from these guys, especially in such a difficult game.

In his 1,000th career NHL game, Jason Smith played an effective game. He had 18:11 of ice time, usually with Alex Picard, and he bailed out his younger defence partner a couple of times. And he even had a couple shots on net. As for Picard, I`ll give the guy a break because it was his first game in quite a while, but he didn`t look very good on the whole.

Got to laugh about Chris Kelly's continued offensive drought. The guy doesn't have a goal in 13 games including the Colorado game, and only has six on the year. He had Ottawa's best chance to go up 3-2 with about 80 seconds left in the third, but his clean shot from the slot went high and wide. Coupled with his empty-net post-clanger last night against Nashville, the guy's got to be damn frustrated.

So now it`s back home for a game against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Should be a good game, as both teams are pretty hot right now.

The Rising: Sens 2, Preds 0

Hey Alex Auld is back! The Alex Auld that helped Ottawa string together some points in late November and early December of 2008. As effective as the Sens' up-tempo forecheck was tonight, we would have seen a completely different result if Auld didn't play as well as he could. Auld faced some bona fide scoring chances from the Predators, and was right up to task. I don't want to say he stole the game, but he was definitely accessory to the crime. He got his shutout (despite TSN's Gord Miller's best attempts to jinx his goose egg), and the Sens walked out of Nashville with two more points on their fifth consecutive win.

The suddenly sizzling Nick Foligno scored the game-winning goal off a great read and great pass from Mike Fisher (and a terrible giveaway by Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne). Since Cory Clouston took over as head coach, Foligno's been given a greater role, and has responded very well: He has five points (4G, 1A) in the seven games under Clouston, compared to 13 (6G, 7A) in the previous 48 games. This is the Nick Foligno who I signed to a lifetime contract in NHL2K9, and who Sens brass (and fans) want to see every night.

Dany Heatley has similarly stepped up his game of late, and he scored the Sens' second goal with a snipe-job in tight short side off a clean pass from Jason Spezza. He also had seven shots on the night, and had a half-decent open-ice hit early in the game. Heater's got four goals and five points in the last three games since being 'encouraged' (or gently called out) by Clouston. Nice to see the assistant captain step up and show some leadership-by-example as the Senators continue to put together a last-ditch playoff push.

Something of note that was brought up in TSN's commentary was the body language of the Senators, on the ice and on the bench. Obviously the increased intensity on the ice is well-known, but shots of the bench showed a confident group that appeared to have plenty of respect for one another, and good communication. It was in heavy contrast to the Nashville bench about half-way through the game, which was panned across by the camera and appeared completely silent with no one looking at each other, let alone talking to each other. The Sens look like a group that's maybe having fun playing the game again, which they haven't looked like for quite a while.

Penalty killers have to be given credit once again. They killed off all four fairly effectively, although Auld had a big hand in that. Antoine Vermette had a great chance short-handed when he snapped a shot at Rinne and almost tucked the rebound in, and Fisher had a short-handed breakaway in the second but got robbed by a great glove save by Rinne. One notably intimidating penalty-killing defensive pairing was Anton Volchenkov and Jason Smith; needless to say, the Predators didn't get a shot on goal during the time those two were on the ice.

On Nashville's side of the ice, Jordin Tootoo was a freakin' monster tonight. He had a game-high five hits, including a couple devastating ones, and even got or made a few good scoring chances. I didn't like seeing him head-hunting, but he does one hell of a good job within his role, and even adds in some offensive flair to boot.

Can I ask that we stop ragging Fisher about Carrie Underwood? Enough with the questions. Enough with the 'investigative reporting' of Underwood being at Spezza's Christmas party. Enough with the camera shots of her trying to hide from cameras at the hockey game. Let's just be happy for two seemingly nice people who've become friends. They obviously don't want to talk about it, so fuck off already.

Great Dane: Sens 3, Blues 1

Reginn, often Anglicized as Regin, in Norse mythology, was the son of Hreiðmarr and foster father of Sigurd. Regin had all wisdom and deftness of hand. Regin built a house of glittering gold and flashing gems for his father. Regin and his brother, Fafnir, killed Hreidmar for the cursed gold he had received from the gods after they killed his other son, Ótr. Fafnir, however, turned into a dragon because he wanted to keep all of the gold (dragons frequently symbolize greed in European folklore). Fafnir drove Regin away from the gold. Regin lived among men. He taught men how to sow, reap, work metals, sail seas, tame horses, yoke beasts of burden, build houses, spin, weave, & sew.

From Wikipedia

Peter Regin. Sent from on high, as his Norse forefather was so long ago, to teach his fellow Ottawa Senators players how to sow the seeds of hard work, reap the benefits of it, work the metals and graphites of hockey sticks, sail the (very rough) seas of having a weak defence, tame the horse-like wildness of Jason Spezza's giveaways, yoke the beasts of burden that are Jarkko Ruutu, Mike Fisher, and Chris Neil, build houses, spin around defenders, weave through opposition, & sew the fabric that will form the future legacy of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club.

Okay, that may be taking it a bit too far. Still, it's always exciting when a player scores his first NHL goal, especially when that first NHL goal happens to be the game-winner of his third NHL game.

Although I didn't get to see the game, it sounded like Ottawa rebounded well from their terrible game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday with a solid effort against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. We won the battle of the basement, fellow Sens fans; thank God for small victories.

Dean Brown and Gord Wilson couldn't stop making sweet, sweet word-love to Fisher for his hard-nosed game on the night, and his stats line sure showed a great effort: 2 goals, +2, 7 shots on goal, 4 hits, 20:33 ice time. Nice to see Fisher working hard and actually hitting the net a few times, and getting rewarded for it.

Also, in an unexpected twist, the CASH Line didn't score, but the Sens still won. Daniel Alfredsson had one assist on Fisher's first goal, which was short-handed. As a unit, Alfie, Spezza, and Dany Heatley combined for 11 shots, though, which is the lion's share of the Senators' total on the night (30 shots).

Brian Elliott made 22 saves on 23 shots. Was he tested all that much? I don't know, I didn't get to watch the game. But he only allowed one goal, and gave the Senators the chance to win.

Back-to-back games, and the Sens are back at it Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

All-break stars: Devils 4, Sens 1

The Senators returned from the All-Star Break with an effort that contrasted their four games going into the break, but looked a lot like most games they've played this season: All-break stars. Star players who've taken the year off.

Twenty-two shots, including zero for Jason Spezza, zero for Mike Fisher, one for Daniel Alfredsson, and two for Dany Heatley--even though Ottawa had five powerplay opportunities. Ten players on the minus, including each of the big three at -2 and Filip Kuba and Alex Picard tied for a team-worst -3 (although at least Picard had the Sens only goal off a one-timer pass from Alfie). It wasn't pretty one bit.

I'm not going to rag on Brian Elliott, because he wasn't the problem.

The problem was that the Sens weren't ready to play when the game started. And they didn't really wake up as the game went on. And the result demonstrated that fact.

One bright spot: In Anton Volchenkov's return, he was even, had four hits, and three blocked shots. Thank you, Volchenkov.

That's all I have to say, really. If the Senators continue playing like this for a couple more weeks, they'll make Bryan Murray's decisions a bit easier, because he doesn't really have to wonder whether or not it's time to throw in the towel on the year.

Injuries: Some bad, some better

A few injury updates were brought about in the news today.

First off, Jason Spezza left practice this afternoon after complaining of some soreness in his back, but says he should be ready to go for tomorrow night's game against the Washington Capitals. He missed a game last season because of the same thing, but hopefully it's not a recurring back-spasms injury that will raise its head recurrently.

Apparently Shean Donovan missed practice today, as well, because he injured himself body-slamming the boards in the Sens' skills competition yesterday. I'm not sure if it's a shoulder injury or what, but maybe with Alexander Ovechkin coming to town, Donovan can ask his technique for body-slamming the boards to avoid such an injury in the future.

And Anton Volchenkov's Soviet-era android shoulder replacement hasn't yet arrived from an antiques dealership in Grozny, so he won't be able to return Tuesday, either. Hopefully Volchenstein will be good to return after the All-Star Break.

Finally, after punch-blocking a shot and then finishing his check while screaming in pain, and then returning to score the game-tying goal and send the game against Montréal to overtime, Mike Fisher decided to take a day off. He sat out the same Skills Competition that resulted in the Donovan injury, but is expected to play on Tuesday against the Caps.

And that's your injury rundown.

Damn: Habs 5, Sens 4 (SO)

It was an exciting game, at any rate, and the Sens did end up coming out of it with one point. That, however, is small consolation when I've had my hopes so high for so long.

I guess that's my own fault, though.

Still, through it all (if you watched the whole thing), the Senators kept us entertained. The Sens came out pretty strong in the first, but ran into penalty troubles early. It was a combination of the team playing precariously on the edge, and some weak calls. I don't like to blame refereeing, and I won't, but some weak calls--particularly Jason Spezza's second consecutive penalty, a slash on Andrei Kostitsyn mere seconds after A-Kost had blatantly tripped Dany Heatley, which was followed just eight seconds later with another weak penalty (to Daniel Alfredsson, no less) that set the Sens on the wrong side of a 5-on-3 that the Habs capitalized on--really set the Sens back. Ottawa had six penalties, and Montréal only had two; that wasn't the true case, if you measured actual infractions in the game.

Nonetheless, it happened, and the Sens were on their heels for a time. But a little more than four minutes after Alex Kovalev scored the first goal of the game, Chris Kelly replied to tie the game, and keep Sens fans in the game for the moment. The goal was resultant from some very solid board work on the part of Jesse Winchester (whose strength is in the trenches, and could stand to get back to it more often) and a nice pass from Jarkko Ruutu.

A-Kost scored a semi-weak dribbler a couple of minutes after Kelly, and late in the second Matt D'Agostini scored thanks to some weak coverage, and the Sens were down 3-1 and it looked all but over. The Sens got something they haven't gotten a lot of this season, though: A good break. A failed Habs pinch brought about a a 3-on-1 for the Sens, and Heatley "looked away" Jaroslav Halak while breaking down on his off-wing, and just snapped a wrister far side.

Then the Senators had to deal with something they've seen all too much of this season: A weak goal against. Tom Kostopolous fired a snapshot that Brian Elliott got a piece of, but not enough, and the Sens were back down two goals. After that, though, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Sens' big guns went out and took charge. Heatley scored his second of the game with assists from Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, and later on Mike Fisher fired one hell of a slap shot (I knew it would be lethal if he would just hit the net) thanks to another oh-so-unexpected pass from Chris Neil (two sick set-ups in two games? Where is this from, Neiler? Keep it up, though). We were off to overtime, and then a shootout, and the Senators' continued their shootout struggles.

I'm not going to rag on Elliott. In fact, I think I'm going to give him a pass all season. It's not just because he has Casey Jones painted on his helmet (but how freakin' awesome is that), I just think the kid's been thrown into a circus, and he's already done better than either of the other two goalies have done. He allowed two weak-ish goals, sure, but he also made two sick breakaway saves to keep the game from getting out of hand really quickly. Judging by body language, those saves were more inspiring than the weak goals were deflating. It seemed, at times, that the team was actually playing for one another; the skaters knew that Elliott deserved better than an uninspired loss, so they picked it up and salvaged something from the game, at the very least.

It wasn't a win, and it's all the more disappointing that it wasn't a win because it was against Montréal. Still, it had some good signs, and it's five of a possible six points in the last three games. At least there's that. Bring on Washington on Tuesday.

Two in a row: Sens 3, Thrashers 2

Here is a bullet listing of positive signs from tonight's game:

• Ottawa gave up the first goal, but still won in regulation (second time of the year).
• Ottawa came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits and won in regulation.
• Christoph Schubert hit the net three times, including some solid shots, and (according to the score sheet) had no shots blocked.
• Daniel Alfredsson massacred a net with his sickening shot, after a terrific pass from checker-cum-playmaker Mike Fisher (who got the puck from playmaker-cum-checker Jason Spezza).
• The Senators were outshot 32-31, but still won the game.
• Spezza also scored a goal (two-point night) and is now 23rd in the league in goals with 18.
• Ottawa was 2-for-5 on the powerplay.
• Filip Kuba got his second assist in as many games since returning from injury, and looked darn good.
• Dean McAmmond scored his second goal in as many games, and led the team (tied with Fisher) with four shots in just 10:53 of ice time.
• Jarkko Ruutu had his first point (an assist) in 8 games, and first since returning from serving his suspension for biting someone.
• No Senator had less than 10:08 in ice time (Ruutu).
  
• A goaltender, Brian Elliott, actually made some big saves, including game-savers late in the game (although he was shaky at times, including Atlanta's second goal).

That is all. Lazy, I know.

Bizarro Senators: Sens 5, 'Canes 1

It's funny, almost a year ago to the day from today's 5-1 victory over Carolina, I described an uncannily unusual win by the Ottawa Senators as reminiscent of the Bizarro World in Superman. When I saw Chris Neil control the puck to make a play to Antoine Vermette, who actually scored a goal, while Dany Heatley was wreaking havoc in front of the Hurricanes net, I thought: Who are these people, what have they done with the Senators, and how can I get them to stick around for the second half of the season?

So we saw Heatley score his first goal in nine games (bizarre), we saw Dean McAmmond score his first goal in 22 games which was only his second of the season (bizarrer), we saw Vermette score his second goal and third and fourth points in the last three games (bizarrer-er, considering his season so far), we saw Mike Fisher score his first goal in 20 games and fourth of the season after not panicking with an empty net in front of him (bizarrer-er-er), and then we saw Chris Phillips score his fourth goal in the last ten games (bizarrest). But I'm not complaining.

We also saw some of the most promising reasoned, on-the-fly coaching from Craig Hartsburg going into and during the game. Upon noticing the unsuccessful perimeter play when the CASH Line is together on the powerplay, he bumped Heatley down to the second unit and shifted Fisher to forward on the first unit. For the first unit, it meant that Fisher trashed it up in front of the net while Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson set up plays with the defencemen. For the second unit, it meant Heatley was put in a position of leadership and trusted to be a powerplay quarterback, something he did very well. I'm thinking of one moment in particular, after Brian Lee rushed a shot from the point, Heatley went back and let him know that he can settle it down a bit before firing the puck on net. Although the Sens weren't credited with a powerplay goal, Vermette and Fisher's goals were both shortly after and a direct result of solid powerplay work. The Sens had 14 powerplay shots-on-goal in the end, and had control of the puck in the offensive zone for most of their powerplay time.

The other demonstration of good coaching came on the penalty kill. After Fisher lost his coverage of Joe Corvo--the 'Canes most lethal offensive weapon on the powerplay when left unchecked--on Carolina's second powerplay, they adapted: On the next Sens' penalty kill, McAmmond covered Corvo like RDS would cover Vincent Lecavalier buying a house in Montréal. For the rest of the game, Corvo was covered similarly, and that--combined with, no doubt, the boos raining down on him hurting his feelings--turned him into a non-threat for the rest of the game. (Although he did provide a great screen of 'Canes netminder Cam Ward on Phillips' goal.)

In nets, Brian Elliott sealed the fate of Martin Gerber. He only faced 24 shots, but he did have to make some terrific saves, and the one goal Ells allowed would have went in on just about any goaltender in the NHL. He outplayed one-time Conn Smythe winner Ward, and might just do well with another 41 games in the NHL this season (plus playoffs)--as long as the team in front of him keeps up their effort level.

The Senators, however, weren't perfect. Spezza had two giveaways, and Heatley had one, too, although he didn't get tabbed for it on the scoresheet, and as a team Ottawa had 10 giveaways to Carolina's four. The difference tonight, though, was that the team used hard work to make up for mistakes they made. Good players have always and will always make mistakes; they are acceptable when those same players use hard work and good backchecking to make sure that the opposition doesn't capitalize on their mistakes. Spezza's M.O. is blind passes, which work sometimes and don't work other times; as long as he gets back to help out, though, the successful ones will seem to outnumber the unsuccessful ones.

All in all, a really great game for the Senators; one of, if not the best game of the season so far. All four lines saw plenty of ice time (Shean Donovan had the least at 8:51, the only skater under 10 minutes, largely because he doesn't see special-teams time), all but two of Ottawa's skaters were on the plus side of the +/- ledger (Jason Smith and Nick Foligno were both even), the CASH Line had four points while secondary scorers combined for the other eight, and the big three also had 18 shots as the Sens heavily outshot their opponents 40-24 and outscored them by a much more impressive margin. With the second half of the season set to start on Saturday against the Montréal Canadiens Wednesday against the Atlanta Thrashers, we've been reminded of what this team can do when they're playing with the right attitude. Although it's not likely at all, it sure would be nice to see the Senators finish out the season with some great effort towards making a push for the playoffs, even if it means we miss out on the John Tavares/Victor Hedman sweepstakes.

Bizarro Superman

Fisher dating Carrie Underwood; thousands of Ottawa women on suicide watch

According to gossip website Just Jared, Ottawa Senators centre Mike Fisher is reportedly linked romantically with country superstar and American Idol alumna Carrie Underwood. I've got to say, good for Fisher. She's an attractive, respectable young woman. After losing long-time heartthrob Wade Redden in the off-season (to free agency and then to marriage), and with Fisher off the market right now, Ottawa area female hockey fans are running out of dreamboats.

On the plus side, Underwood might be in attendance at a few Senators games. If the Sens could re-acquire Mike Comrie (it wouldn't be that hard), she could hang out with Hilary Duff and there would be a lot of pop star diva star power rooting for the Sens.

Why am I writing about this? Well, it's more fun than reflecting on the Senators' 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils last night. They blew three leads... so frustrating. And don't get me started on Saturday's 3-1 loss to Toronto.

Does anyone care what Grapes says?

Holy shit, are people even talking about this? On Saturday Don Cherry had a rant about the way the Senators and Lightning dressed while walking into the game, because they were wearing toques and long jacket in an Ottawa winter. He said that Mike Fisher and former Senator Andrej Meszaros looked like thugs that were "going to break into your car" and/or steal your hubcaps. Don Brennan wrote a column devoted to the Coach's Corner segment, and the waste-of-time 'funny' Blackberry column between Brennan, Bruce Garrioch, Chris Stevenson, and Tim Baines was devoted to it, too.

I have a question for you: Is Cherry even relevant anymore? It doesn't make sense. Maybe it looks nice if a team dresses for success, but they really only have to look good on the ice. I wouldn't care if the Sens wore skirts on game days, if it meant they'd play better on the ice.

Here's the video, if you want to waste your time.

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.