Pregame Remarks

Okay, stinky hockey team. I’m back and I’d really appreciate it if you could try not to suck today.

We get a pregame interview with Wade Redden, playing his first ever regular season game against the Senators tonight. “It’s gonna be different hittin’ those guys,” says Wade. So I guess he intends to change his game for this one then.

Commentators tonight are Gary Galley and Dean Brown for Sportsnet. Starting goaltenders: Alex Auld and Henrik Lundqvist. Seems like it’s been a while since the Sens have seen a non-backup.

First Period

20:00: As reported by the Sun earlier today, Craig Hartsburg has indeed reunited the Big Three for this evening’s game. It’s a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures.

17:38: The Rangers take a questionable penalty for delay of game. The power play unit for the Sens is the Big Three with Mike Fisher and Filip Kuba on the point. Alfie gets a good shot away in the first part of the power play but the Sens have trouble getting the puck into the Rangers’ zone after that.

15:48: Antoine Vermette is called for hooking. The Sens have no trouble killing the penalty.

10:39: There’s a scuffle between Jarkko Ruutu and Aaron Voros after Ruutu attempts to hit Marc Staal. On his way to the box, Ruutu waves at some New York fans. Apparently this is his new thing. Anyway, it’s four-on-four.

10:02: Chris Kelly and Vermette, reunited tonight, get a bit of pressure with some good puck work in the Rangers’ zone!

9:37: Anton Volchenkov takes a shot that is almost tipped in by Dany Heatley. I am noticing Volchenkov a lot more on offense this season than I have in the past, and I like it.

6:23: It’s a nice chance for the fourth line as Ilya Zubov puts the puck on net and Shean Donovan tries to tip it in, then goes for the rebound. But they can’t beat Lundqvist.

3:14: As Heatley tries to hit Markus Naslund, I think it’d be nice if Heatley could get A-Train lessons from Volchenkov on how to crush people. Then Heatley could give Volchenkov Heater lessons and make him a better scorer. And they’d both see their awesomeness levels increase immeasurably.

First Intermission

Shots are 9-8 for the Sens. The rinkside interview is with Brendan Bell, who seems quite well-spoken. I’m happy to see a former 67’s player up with the Sens. He had just under four minutes of icetime in the first, including 34 seconds on the power play, according to NHL.com.

Second Period

14:30 or so: Volchenkov picks off a pass near the Rangers’ blueline, then sends it over to Jesse Winchester. Winchester takes a shot, and Volchenkov goes to the net to get the rebound. That’s the stuff, A-Train!

13:55: With Redden in the box, Kuba makes a good play to keep the puck in the zone. Heatley passes to Alfie, who shoots with Jason Spezza at the net awaiting a rebound. It’s a nice little sequence, but it results in nothing.

12:16: Staal is called for hooking and the Sens get a five-on-three for 11 seconds but can’t capitalize. This extended power play has looked pretty decent, though.

11:40: Spezza hits Dan Girardi in the face with the puck accidentally! There’s blood everywhere. Poor Girardi!

7:10 or so: After a TV timeout, the Sens’ trainer is working on Fisher’s knee. Fisher is grimacing. A few minutes later, we see Chris Phillips escorting Fisher off the ice. Well that doesn’t seem good.

3:47: Alfie takes matters into his own hands. He dumps the puck into the Rangers’ zone, retrieves it himself, battles along the boards, and then carries it to the slot and scores on Henrik Lundqvist. That one was 100%  Alfie. Gary gives some credit to Heatley for supporting Alfie, but really: all Alfie. 1-0 Sens.

3:16: The Rangers are trying hard to strike back but Auld holds them off.

Second Intermission

Shots in the second were 11-9 Ottawa. Fisher has hurt his knee and won’t be back.

Third Period

19:30 or so: Heatley gets the puck in the slot, and … doesn’t shoot. Um … Heater? Remember how you’re supposed to score 50 goals? Yeah, you need to take the shot.

19:12: Winchester goes in one-on-four and still gets to the net! I like this boy.

17:35: Spezza and Ruutu are on a two-on-one! Spezza makes a nice pass, but Ruutu is unable to convert.

17:24: And now Ruutu has been called for hooking.

16:10: Vermette gets a shorthanded breakaway but — of course — fails to score. Oh Vermette. I used to like you so much, but now you frustrate me.

15:06: Dean and Gary seem convinced that Redden must be injured because Tom Renney has not used him on the power play. They are stunned to discover that actually no, he’s on the bench. He’s just not playing.

12:43: Fredrik Sjostrom ties it off a big rebound. I now feel certain that the Sens will lose the game.

9:14: There’s a massive scram-BLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!! in front of the Rangers’ net with Alfie, Heatley, and Spezza all buzzing in front of Lundqvist, but there’s no goal. Brendan Bell is also in on the play, looking pretty good, if you ask me. And apparently you are reading my blog, which is almost like asking me.

7:00 or so: Dean tells an anecdote about the house Redden and Phillips shared when they were both young players in Ottawa. The only furniture in their living room was a pool table, which is both ridiculous and strangely cute.

1:37: Spezza passes to Vermette in front of the net but Vermette just can’t get the puck under control. This doubles my Vermette-induced frustration.

0:00: Well. It’s a point, at least, so that’s better than the last few games. I feel like the Sens have actually played pretty well tonight. They finish the first three periods with a narrow advantage in shots: 28-26.

Overtime

With Fisher gone, the forward pairs are Alfie-Spezza, Heatley-McAmmond (interesting!), and Kelly-Vermette. Both teams have a couple of semi-decent looking chances and Heatley has a mini-Alfie moment of extended puck possession, but …

Shootout

Nikolai Zherdev vs. Auld: Goal. Looked like it went right through the five-hole.

Spezza vs. Lundqvist: Save. Spezza aims for the five-hole, but Lundqvist shuts the pads.

Sjostrom vs. Auld: Glove save by Auld.

Ruutu vs. Lundqvist: Thank goodness, at least Ruutu is in the top three tonight and not Heatley. However, he misses the net. He then takes an extra shot on the rebound, which makes the Rangers’ bench rather unhappy. Boy, Ruutu really does not care about his own personal safety, does he?

Chris Drury vs. Auld: Shoulder save.

Vermette vs. Lundqvist: Vermette tries a deke, but Lundqvist makes the pad save and the Rangers win. Vermette doesn’t want to know what I’m thinking about him right now.

Postgame Thoughts

It’s not too surprising that the Rangers would take the Sens in a shootout. I am a little surprised, though, that the Sens managed to compete so well with the Rangers throughout the game. Let’s hope this is a sign of better things to come.

Brendan Bell finishes the game a +1 with 13:11 of icetime and two shots on goal. I’d call his Senators debut a sucess!