Sens at Land's End

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!

Great game last night! I think the best thing about it was when the boys managed to kill that extended five-on-three in the first period, though seeing them take a 4-0 lead in the second was a highlight too. Giving up two in the third was less good, but at least the result was a win and hey, it’s always good to see the Sens beat the Leafs. I do wonder why they were wearing green and blue instead of the usual red and black, but whatever.

Wait, what?

You’re saying that was the Canucks, and in fact the Sens lost 3-2 to New York? Well, the Rangers have been very good this seas–

The Islanders?! Twice in a row now?

I see.

This calls for a Buffy reference.

Can I be blind too?

I wish I could unknow this information. Kind of like how I wish I’d never read that issue of Amazing Spider-Man where they revealed that Gwen Stacy had sex with Norman Osborn.

I have no idea what to say about this team right now. It seems clear that something needs to change; however, I’ve got no suggestions. The defense looks like a good place to start, and Brendan Bell has been called up to replace someone in tomorrow’s game against the Rangers. No word yet that I’ve seen on which defenseman is likely to be scratched in favour of Bell but it seems to me it could be anyone except Anton Volchenkov or Filip Kuba.

Jarkko Ruutu will return from suspensionland, but with Chris Neil now hurt, Ilya Zubov will remain the lineup.

Meanwhile, Alfie called a player meeting after last night’s game and Coach Hartsburg is also trying the “talk it out” approach:

Senators coach Craig Hartsburg opted to cancel practice and will hold one-on-one meetings with the players today at the club’s Manhattan hotel.

“We’re going to sit down with each guy individually,” said Hartsburg. “I want to make sure they understand that the situation is urgent.”

Because that sort of thing has worked wonders with this bunch of talk-the-talk-but-don’t-walk-the-walkers in the past.

Big day for the Sens. Big day.

Jarkko Ruutu has, unsurprisingly, been suspended for two games for that attempted elbow to the head of Maxim Lapierre. “I had no intention to do it,” says Ruutu, “but accidents will happen.” They sure will, Jarkko. They just didn’t this time.

Ryan Shannon has been called up from Binghamton to take Ruutu’s spot in the lineup for the home-and-home against the Islanders on Thursday and Saturday. Where precisely Shannon will fit on the Sens’ forward lines is not clear, but it appears that Antoine Vermette’s time playing with Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley is over. Craig Hartsburg had Nick Foligno on their line in practice today.

Oh, but if you thought that was the most interesting thing that happened at practice, then you were sorely mistaken. There was not only line juggling going on, but also rage. Anger. Frustration. Fury. Plus violence done unto inanimate objects the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Ottawa since Ray Emery left town as Daniel Alfredsson swung his hockey stick of furious angry rage and accidentally (there you go, Ruutu) broke a pane of Scotiabank Place’s glass. According to the Sun, the Captain was frustrated by the team’s “inability to complete a drill.”

Additionally, Bruce Garrioch reports that Heatley and Chris Kelly got into a “heated debate,” and Heatley and Hartsburg had a “long discussion” at the end of practice as well. When asked what he and the coach were talking about, Heatley said “my skates.” The video report on the Sun’s website (which appears on the page linked to above) includes footage of Heatley talking to reporters and well, I don’t know the guy, but I’d say he seemed a bit irritated.

All of this leaves me wondering: um, what the heck happened? Okay, I get that the team lost last night and believe me, I was pretty irritated too — actually, I had to ban myself from watching more hockey last night after I saw that the FREAKING BLOODY PENGUINS had come back on Detroit; the combination of that and the Sens getting shut out was just too much — but I can’t quite see how that leads to half the team (possible exaggeration) suddenly being overcome with berserker rage. Is there no joy in Sensville these days? What’s up? Can’t blame it on Emery this time. (Though, he was in town recently … but no.)

Sens … you’ve got to calm down. Remember what Yoda says: anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Anger, hate, and suffering are all stops along the path to the dark side. I know the Emperor said that anger could give you focus and make you stronger, but he was creepy. Who are you going to believe: the deathly pale guy in the black cloak or the little green puppet who sounds like Kermit the Frog? Also, I’m pretty sure Darth Sidious was talking about anger directed outwards. If you’re angry at yourself all the time, that’s just toxic.

So. Meditation. Group yoga session. Ice cream party. Whatever. Let’s nip the infighting in the bud before this turns into a horrible repeat of last season and I have to fly home and beat you all with my frying pan.

Brace Yourselves …

I want to give you fair warning, my loyal reader(s?), that I will not be making my usual game posts on Thursday and Saturday. My good friend Golly will be visiting from England starting tomorrow. She’s going to watch Thursday’s game with me, and I’m thinking it might be slightly rude to blog with her in the room. On Saturday, Golly and I will be attending the Canucks-Leafs game, which is unfortunately at the same time as the Sens game, so we’ll have to miss the Sens entirely. It’s for a good cause: Golly has never seen live hockey before. Don’t worry, though — I’ll make sure she knows to boo the Leafs.

Pregame Notes

Some of the talk during the pregame edition of SportsCentre is about Craig Hartsburg’s recent public criticism of Jason Spezza. I have to say that I was a little surprised by the criticism. I didn’t think Spezza had been playing all that poorly lately, though I can definitely understand Hartsburg’s desire to get the top line going again. On TSN, Pierre McGuire says we shouldn’t worry about Spezza: he can take it (actually, he’s asked for it), and in fact Pierre thinks he’ll have a big night tonight. History is on Spezza’s side in that respect. Maybe you remember last season, when the Big Three systematically destroyed the Habs. In his career, Spezza has 41 points in 30 games against Montreal, while Dany Heatley has 42 points in 32 games and Daniel Alfredsson has 86 points in 64 games.

Of course, some would say this is the best Montreal team in a long time, and things may be different this season. The guys on SportsCentre are also saying, though, that the Canadiens, despite their winning record, have not been playing that well this season. They’ve been undisciplined and unfocused, and have yet to play a full 60 minutes. Hmm … sounds familiar.

The show begins with Alex Auld — who, by the way, is now leading the NHL in goals against average (yes, a Senators goalie is leading the league in a good statistical category), and who will be in goal tonight — reading “In Flanders Fields” in honour of Remembrance Day.

First Period

19:16: Mike Fisher is given two minutes for holding after he knocks down Saku Koivu. I feel okay about that.

17:16: The Habs spent almost the entirety of their power play in the Ottawa zone and are now leading 6-0 in shots, but Auld has managed to stop them so far.

15:28: Pierre isn’t sure the high expectations in Montreal are realistic this point. Neither am I. I’m pretty sure they’ve got the parade route planned for June, but I’m not at all convinced they’ll come close to needing it.

13:58: With Montreal shorthanded after a delay of game call, Carey Price leaves his left side open and Heatley is riiiiiiight there with the puck, but Andrei Markov is there to cover for his goalie.

12:38: It’s a shorthanded goal for Montreal as Chris Higgins goes in basically alone on Auld with three seconds left in the Sens’ power play. Boo!

9:41: Montreal keeps whacking away at a puck after the whistle has been blown. Andrei Kostitsyn puts it in the net, but the goal doesn’t count, of course, and the Sens take offense at the Habs’ rudeness. Pushing and shoving ensues.

9:26: Montreal comes close again as Higgins, who seems to be everywhere tonight, hits the post. The Sens are scrambling here! This does not look good at all.

8:00 or so: After some fancy pants passing from Heatley and Spezza, Heatley appears to score. But the goal is immediately waved off by referee Dan Marouelli and it seems the puck never crossed the line.

4:50 or so: TSN shows a replay of Spezza trying to hit Koivu in front of the Ottawa bench … and missing. Spezza got a sarcastic cheer for that one from the Montreal crowd.

3:52: Josh Gorges takes a penalty for holding Mike Fisher’s stick. The Sens get a fair bit of pressure on the power play, but no goals. Gord Miller points out that the shots are now 12-9 Montreal, and Montreal had the first six. Things are loking up a little.

0:42: The big three are on the ice together at even strength to finish the period.

First Intermission

I believe my stomach is totally empty. I need food … Shots are 12-11 Montreal … Spezza got some love from Pierre and Gord during the period for his strong play. I agree, he’s going at full steam tonight … The replays they show of some of Auld’s saves before the second starts are amazing! I’m impressed.

Second Period

18:58: The Sens are buzzing in the Montreal end. It’s a big contrast to the first minute of the first!

17:26: I wonder if people could talk a little bit more about the Tom Kostopoulos hit on Mike Van Ryn. I’m not sure I’ve heard it dissected enough and gosh, it’s just so interesting.

12:00: Kostitsyn sends Mike Fisher into the boards pretty hard. Fisher falls and slams his back against the boards. That seems painful.

11:13: Schubert goes off for hooking. SCHUBERT! Come on, dude, what is this now? Three or four games in a row?

8:08: Montreal takes another delay of game penalty. If I were a Montreal fan, I’d be pretty annoyed right now. I’m not, though, so … suck it, Habs fans.

6:50: This is quite possibly the worst power play ever, as the Habs get several good shorthanded chances. Like, really good chances. Like it looks like they’re the ones with the power play. It’s just woefully bad.

5:49: Higgins gets a shot at a wide open half of the net. Nothing Auld could do, and it’s 2-0 Montreal. The Sens look as though they have no idea what’s going on.

4:51: OH YAY, the Ole chant has made its first appearance. I think … I’m not sure I can actually convey the extent of my hatred of that sound. I feel like throwing something across the room. If it keeps up, I will have to mute the TV.

4:21: I’m just getting over how cool it is to see old footage of Anton Volchenkov’s dad playing for the Red Army when Montreal scores again right off a faceoff. Auld looks pained.

2:50: The Sens get a shot on goal! They remember how to do that!

1:19: Spezza is called for hooking on Alex Kovalev. The Sens look frustrated. I feel frustrated by them.

Second Intermission

This game sucks.

Third Period

19:07: Spezza gets a shot on goal soon after coming out of the box, but unlike in previous games, he does not score.

17:55: Jarkko Ruutu goes for Maxim Lapierre’s head. I like Ruutu, but I can’t condone that one. Francis Bouillon and Ruutu fight. Ruutu gets the extra two, and Spezza goes to serve the penalty. The strategy fails, however, as Spezza once again emerges from the box without scoring.

12:25: Heatley goes in on the breakaway! And does not score. He hits the post.

8:14: Greg and Pierre are laughing at some interaction between Chris Neil, Georges Laraque, and Ruutu that is taking place off camera. After a TV timeout, we see Ruutu smiling, saluting and waving at the crowd as he leaves the ice with a game misconduct. That was … awesome, actually.

6:53: Komisarek gets a penalty for “riding Heatley like a horse,” as Gord or Pierre says. (Actually, for holding.)

5:20: Mathieu Dandenault is in on a shorthanded breakaway. What in the name of Buffy has happened to the Sens’ power play? It’s pathetic.

3:40: The Montreal fans get the hey hey hey, goodbye song going. And Higgins scores on a breakaway five seconds later. I’m not surprised at all that Higgins has the hat trick tonight. He’s looked incredibly dangerous through the whole game. Safe to say Auld is no longer leading the NHL in goals against average.

1:00: Only one more minute and the pain will end.

Postgame Thoughts

I still don’t think the Habs are going to win the Cup.

In case you missed it, the Montreal Canadiens — “the class of the Eastern Conference” — lost 6-3 to those lowly Toronto Maple Leafs last night. (I say lowly, but don’t look now, Sens fans: they’re ahead of our guys in the standings again!) The Leafs outshot the Habs 41-20 in the game. Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau was not happy at all with his team’s effort, calling it “the most embarrassing game I’ve ever been associated with.”

A terrible loss to an inferior team that is also a bitter rival. An angry coach. Two days off to let it simmer before their next game. Man, I would hate to be the poor suckers who have to play the Habs next!

… crap.

Searching for reasons to be optimistic, I come up with the following: the Habs may be without Tom Kostopoulos on Tuesday, as the NHL is considering disciplinary action over a nasty hit he laid on Toronto’s Mike Van Ryn in the first period. Van Ryn will miss time with a concussion, a broken nose, and a broken bone in his hand. What is it about Van Ryn that makes people want to hit him so hard? Is he really irritating? No doubt the loss of Kostopoulos and his two points on the season will be a crushing blow to the Canadiens.

Also, Montreal has been having penalty trouble lately. The article I cited above says they’ve been shorthanded 38 times in their last five games. The Sens’ power play is still ranked fourth in the NHL; if they can get it going then they might be in good shape.

And then there’s always the slim chance that this loss to the Leafs, rather than causing the Habs to turn themselves around, could be the game that sends them completely off the rails. They fall apart, and the Sens are there to capitalize. I’m hoping for that.

Rumour! Speculation! Innuendo!

Bruce Garrioch has an article in the Sun today detailing a few possible trade scenarios which may or may not involve the Sens: Atlanta could want to move goalie Kari Lehtonen; the Panthers might want Antoine Vermette in return for Jay Bouwmeester (poor Vermette — the annual trade rumour circus is in town already); Mattias Ohlund could be leaving Vancouver. I’m not sure what to think of the Ohlund rumours. Ohlund is the longest-serving Canuck and he has a no trade clause, but Darren Dreger also reported this story on TSN this week, which somehow gives it more credibility.

Another tidbit from the same article: just when we thought he was gone for good, Ray Emery has returned to Ottawa for a visit. But I’m sure his influence couldn’t possibly be so toxic that he’d cause a team he isn’t even part of anymore to lose its mojo simply by coming in contact with some of the players. That seems a bit much, even for Mr. Locker Room Cancer.