Sens at Land’s End

At last, the Sens are getting back to a somewhat normal schedule, with games yesterday and today. Yay! They started off with what I guess was a satisfactory performance against the Coyotes last night. I say I guess because …

Outage Outrage! My Coyotes fan friend Elle came over to watch the game with me last night. We put on the TV to the correct station and found … a black screen? Yes, there was a highly unfortunate Centre Ice outage in beautiful British Columbia yesterday evening which meant that I only got to see the second half of the game. An offensive outburst from the Sens, including that rarest of sights — a goal by Anton Volchenkov — and I missed the whole thing. Not cool.

No More Nogoalov. How about that Volchenkov! Going to the net, getting his own rebound … the man has unexpected levels of greatness just waiting to be discovered underneath all the obvious surface greatness. He’s an onion of greatness. The team celebration after his goal was, it must be said, adorable. I’m sure hockey players are really far too manly to be called adorable, but there you have it.

Rocks it Like U2! Jarkko Ruutu scored two notably nice-looking goals last night. We knew he had some skills — having witnessed them firsthand in terrible fashion last season — and it was good to see him bringing them out in the cause of good. When he scored, Scotiabank Place PA man Stuntman Stu announced “Jarkko!” while the crowd took over for the “Ruuuutuuuu!” part. Did they plan that? I’ve often thought that Ruutu’s name could replace Marco Polo in the world of call and answer games.

Captain’s Courageous. I was really hoping the Captain would take some time off to heal, but I should have known he can’t be stopped. Alfie, who had two assists in the game, has no need for this “rest.”

Stop PICKING ON US Already! Jason Spezza and Martin Gerber both did their best to get their respective large crowds of haters to lay off a little with pretty good performances yesterday. Well, Spezza’s performance could probably be called outstanding, as he scored two goals and two assists. His first goal, which came on a sharp angled shot after he faked out Ilya Bryzgalov, was a fancy one. But Spezza’s game was generally notable for its lack of fanciness: he was seen dumping and chasing rather than trying to carry the puck into the offensive zone. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the season. As for Gerber, he stopped 34 of 37 shots and managed not to give up any obviously weak goals for the first time this season.

On the Other Hand … It didn’t exactly overjoy me to see the team give up three goals in the third period and come close to blowing a 4-0 lead. I don’t think Gerber could be faulted on the goals, but the team defense sure could. Blown leads are perhaps my biggest hockey pet peeve. I hate them! For that reason, I can’t call this a satisfying win.

Up later today are the Boston Bruins and Tim Thomas, who has a 2.05 goals against average, a .939 save percentage, and three shutouts in his career versus Ottawa. Uh oh. At least the Bruins’ other Sens-killer, Chuck Kobasew, is out with a broken ankle. Edit: This just in. Fernandez to start instead of Thomas! The hockey gods have smiled upon us! Oh happy day!

Teams Who Aren’t the Sens: Dallas Stars

Can someone please explain to me what is wrong with Marty Turco? In the Stars’ first four games, Turco had an awful goals against average of 4.59 and a save percentage of .823. Today, he’s given the Avalanche five goals on 18 shots after two periods. The Stars are 28th in the league in terms of goals allowed right now. Last season, they were 6th. Marty. I’m begging you. Please stop sucking! You and Martin Biron are destroying my fantasy teams!