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?

Seriously? We can't beat these guys?

Hilarious feature on Sports Illustrated comparing hockey players to their celebrity look-alikes (although not all are really celebrities). Some of them are hilarious, and some of them make me feel bad for the player (notably comparing Jarome Iginla to Mike Tyson and Alex Ovechkin to Richard Kiel).

And these two kids are who's intimidating our Sens? Come on...


Give me a break. Although I guess we're fighting back with at least one unfortunate comparison of our own...


Hilarious. Although they missed out on the Martin Gerber - Dominic Purcell comparison:


Alright, fine, this is just a distraction to help us forget about the Sens terrible loss. It's okay, when the Sens realize they're just playing against Andy Samberg and Nick Jonas (some kid in some band) and Martin "Dominic Purcell" Gerber breaks out of his proverbial mental prison and kicks some ass.

(Note: Propers to Kukla's Korner for finding this gem of a web page.)

Game 1: Did you expect it to be easy?

The eternal optimist in me wants to focus on the positives, but let's get the shitty stuff out of the way first.

The Sens looked like a team that was missing some of their best players tonight. The team didn't flip the effort switch until the third period, where they began to follow my advice: If you can't play well, play dirty.

The well-deserved frustration boiled over late in the game and the Senators began to play rough. Good! Next game, start this in the first period. Get in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's face and let them know that you'll be coming after them all game.

I was happy to see Wade Redden drop the gloves. Get riled up for God's sake. Do not go quietly into game 2. Let the Penguins know that they're in for a fight. Hopefully, this attitude will translate into aggressive forechecking and maybe, a goal.

There appeared to be no leaders on the Senators in game 1. Dany Heatley was jawing at Crosby quite a bit, but he did not come lead with an offensive spark. Randy Robitaille accompanied Jason Spezza and Heatley on the top line, but none of these three players had an impact. One of the players I did notice, however, was Christoph Schubert. Playing smart, physical hockey I hope whatever advice he got from Bryan Murray is passed onto the rest of the team.

Well, I guess I'm not an optimist. Let's hope that game 2 can turn me into one. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to seeing Ray Emery in game 3. (That comment is only half sarcastic).

The word out of Pittsburgh

FrankD from the Pittsburgh Penguins blog PensBurgh contacted us to collaborate on some cooperative stories on our respective teams, and he answered a few questions we asked him in anticipation of the first-round series against the Pens:

1. What's the Penguins best asset?
   Everyone knows that Pittsburgh has the 'big name' offense. Personally, I feel the key asset to Pittsburgh's success this season has been hugely effected by their depth. At one point the Penguins had eight guys out with injuries - that's eight starters on the IR. Gary Roberts, Mark Eaton, Rob Scuderi, Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa, Kris Beech, Adam Hall and Marc-Andre Fleury have all struggled with some setbacks this season. In their absence, assistance from the minor league Wilkes-Barre squad has produced some mainstay players like Tyler Kennedy and Ty Conklin. There's even been a few games this year powered ahead by guys like Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque--guys not exactly known for offensive prowess. It's been exciting to see the Pens play this year because really, anyone can hit the mesh. Then again, in the case with Philly the other day, sometimes no one can.
   
   
2. The Pens' biggest liability?
   Liability - hmm. I place liability on a few things. First off, the penalty kill. Last I checked they were ranked 22nd in the league in killing penalties. When you have a team with guys like Gary Roberts, Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque, you run a pretty decent risk of taking penalties; more often than not 'dumb ones'. Jordan Staal is one of our biggest penalty killers but really lacks on the draw. Pascal Dupuis has turned into a huge pickup since the trade deadline moves and is really making his presence known on the kill. It's hard to say really - the PK has been a bit tighter in the last 10 games or so - but if it has and the Pens are still ranked 22nd, then that also goes to show you how well it performed beforehand...
   The other thing, as touched upon with Staal, is face-offs. This is definitely not the Penguins' strength. I'm convinced guys like Adam Hall have only found their way back to the club after injury because of their percentage on the draw (he's slightly over 50%). Crosby is decent, [Evgeni] Malkin is OK and Staal is probably one of the worst.
   
   
3. What intimidates you about the Sens?
   The biggest threat is, and I don't mean this as a jab, thankfully not playing. Daniel Afreddson is probably my biggest fear as far as the Sens go, but that's not to say I'm writing them off at all. [Jason] Spezza and [Dany] Heatley won't go down without a fight, this I know for sure. In addition to players, I think I speak for a lot of Pens fans in that away games against Ottawa aren't always the most welcoming events of the year. Nothing beats an intense Canadian hockey crowd. Add in the playoffs on top of that and you may break the sound barrier.
   
   
4. What makes you think the Sens are in trouble?
   Well, as far as trouble goes, I'd imagine not having your captain for the playoffs is a pretty big hit to the team's morale. But I also don't doubt he'll find a way into the locker room to try and rally the troops. I've felt Ottawa's slide into the playoffs doesn't help, as evidence has often shown that teams do better in the playoffs coming off a streak (i.e. Washington). I can't say for sure what Ottawa's biggest problem may be, although I'm hoping you'll answer that when I come back around to you.
   
   
5. Seriously... Marc-Andre Fleury? Is he an answer?
   You'd be surprised. Fleury started the season off a bit shaky, started to heat up and then went down with the ankle sprain. That kept him out for nine weeks. While rehabilitating in the minors he went 3-2-0, but the two losses were merely no thanks to his offense as both were 1-0 finishes. He's been phenomenal in net. It has worked out well for the Penguins, as Ty Conklin started to go cold just as Fleury was coming back around again. MAF is 10-2-1 with two shutouts since his March return and has only allowed more than two goals a game on one occasion (three on March 6th against Florida). He may wind up being the Pens' biggest asset heading into the playoffs. I know this sounds insane with names like Crosby, Malkin, Hossa and [Petr] Sykora but it's true. Stat sheets would say that as long as Pitt puts up two goals, they have a great chance of coming out on top. That's what I'm mentally shooting for in every game against the Senators.
   
   
6. Do you like the idea of mailing in the final game in the season against Philadelphia? Were most Pittsburgh fans and pundits in favour of playing Ottawa instead of Philly in the first round?
   There has been a lot of talk about whether or not Pittsburgh gave a lackluster effort against the Flyers to take on Ottawa in round one. Personally, this is what gives a coach the nod for strategy. If you know you've struggled all season against a team (5-3 series) against a team like Philly, why would you want to run the chance of wasting a phenomenal 82-game season in the first round? Not to mention, why run the chance of having your guys subjected to foul play? If every game this season against Philly was evidence to one thing, it was that they weren't ready to man-up and play straight hockey. It was going to take cheap shots and late hits to give them the edge. So Coach Michel Therrien must've decided, "You know what? Let Washington and Philly duke it out and mess each other up. We'll take a rematch with Ottawa."
   I put up a survey one day at Pensburgh.com asking readers who they'd rather play: Philly, Ottawa or Boston (still factored in at the time). Overwhelmingly, 56% of people chose Ottawa, while Boston and Philly both came in even at 21%. I think revenge was a bigger factor than anything else.
   Overall, if Pittsburgh is going to be perceived as a team that mailed in the last game of the season then so be it. If sacrificing the conference title increases their chances of taking home the cup, then I think I speak for many Penguins fans when I say "Good job."

Thanks to FrankD for his enlightening comments. Keep your eye on PensBurgh to find Sens Army's answers to whatever questions he sends out way.

Gerber steals a win

Well, Mr. Martin Gerber, you sure have a way of making people wonder. You start the season off like hellfire, tear up the league, and then decide to take a few games off. And, after taking said games off and being usurped as the number 1, you bounce back and play amazingly in consecutive games. Possibly his best game of the year on Thursday, when he stopped 26 of 27 to backstop the Sens to a 4-1 win over the Penguins.

The Gerber showed up for the first period when pretty much the rest of the team decided to take it easy. Two weeks ago, he would have allowed a goal or two (or three) on the 13 shots he faced in the first, and the team would have become dejected and given up. Instead, The Gerber stops all of them and the Sens come back hard in the second and even harder in the third. Most notable accomplishment for The Gerber: stopped nine shots from Sid the kid Crosby, including two breakaways. It simply looked like Crosby was frustrated because Gerbs gave him nothing to shoot at.

You know who else had a great game? Chris Phillips. Who am I kidding, of course you know that; post-game coverage has been all about Big Rig. He's been awesome at controlling the puck and protecting it from opponents, and his pass out of the zone is getting to be very valuable. He has almost single-handedly offset the liability that Andrej Meszaros can be at times, when he makes poor decision with the puck or commits to make a hit.

Joe Corvo, on the other hand, didn't have a great game. He had an okay game, and I've liked seeing him alongside Wade Redden, but he made some mistakes in the first period that would have been costly if not for The Gerber. He finished -1 (because his assist, which was a great shot, was on the powerplay), and although he was tagged with no official giveaways, he continued to take low-percentage shots that get blocked and turned over. I'm no Corvo-hater, though; I'm confident he'll rebound, and his value is more than the cost of a few turnovers.

One thing I've noticed since Anton Volchenkov went out with his finger injury is Luke Richardson stepping up, receiving more ice time and responding with great play. Richie played over 14 minutes of ice time against the Pens, and kept it simple in the defensive end--which is exactly what he's got to do. Although Shean Donovan has been playing well of late, Richie has been the most valuable acquisition since the off-season, including Randy Robitaille. Ropes has potential, but he needs to be a little more defensively accountable and get into battles to win them, instead of letting opponents take a cake-walk.

Seven points over two games for Jason Spezza and five for Dany Heatley in those same two games. As frustrating as it is to see Spetzky try and force passes here and there (and, sometimes, everywhere), when he connects on one it usually works. I laughed when he kept the puck to score the empty-netter instead of setting up Heatley for the hat trick. He needs to take a shot once in a while.

Brian McGrattan only played 11 seconds. After those 11 seconds, he faced off against Georges Laracque in a fight, and appeared to separate his shoulder. It is unknown what the degree of the injury is, but if it's bad someone from Bingo will be on his way, likely a role player such as Josh Hennessy or Danny Bois.

No news in Sens land

I said that I hate outdated blogs, but don't blame me - blame the Senators.

Yeah, they appointed a new coach, I probably should have said something about that, but it wouldn't have been any different than what any of the other major media outlets: "It's Paddock... okay then." The only reasonable thing to do is sit back and see what he does with the team, then have a freak-out 20 games into the season and call for his firing (It'll happen, I guarantee).

One article of note is Darren Dreger's article on how Dany Heatley it going to want insane amounts of coin (his words!) come next year's free agency. With the Senators virtually invisible in this year's UFA (and even our own RFA) market, it seems they're gearing up for some signings next year.

The recently announced Sidney Crosby deal (5 year - US$43.5 million) will probably help the Senators retain Heatley for about $8-million per season... at least, I hope. If Jesus-on-skates only gets 8, then who can Dany possibly compare himself to? Yes, I know that Crosby doesn't score 50 goals per season, but the boy is the undisputed MVP of the league for this season (and even had some votes last year).

Keep an eye on this page for the date of Ray Emery's arbitration. Wow, I am all about TSN.ca today.

Now we've got something to 'boo' about

Did anyone catch a time after a whistle that Gary Roberts or Sidney Crosby weren't bitching at the referee?

Now we've got something to boo about in Game 5 - Crosby being a whiny little girl... I'm surprized he can skate so well, wearing a dress all game long.

In the photo I think he's complaining about an offside, or about the fact that his team got whooped last game.

Big, huge, MONSTEROUS game by Daniel Alfredsson. The man has really taken charge in this series. I read an article in the Ottawa Citizen a few days ago about how Alfredsson has played in all of the Senators 80 (at the time) franchise playoff games. He is not only the team leader, he is their mirror. His success is the team's success, his faults are their faults, and when he is playing well, the entire team plays well.

I called on the second-liners in my last blog, and they came through for me. I did not mention Dean McAmmond specifically, but he was due.

Christoph Schubert is running around the ice, all the time, kicking maximum ass... and by the way, his hit on that Penguins player was no worse than the hit on Patrick Eaves.

On OTR today, they had a couple (4th line) Leafs players as well as Martin Biron and some other LA Kings player, and they all had a big hate-fest for the Schubert hit, saying that he should have been suspended instead of Radulov. WTF?! First of all, how about some differing perspectives OTR?! ...and secondly, if Eaves gets carried off on a stretcher without a penalty then I think you can let this one go (and Schubert DID get a penalty for it).

I also called on Ray Emery to have a huge game for the Senators, and he did. Including what I call a 'brilliant' and stopping a shot from 'point-blank range' to save the game for the sens. Fleury who? RAYZOR!