Sens at Land’s End

Long time no blog. My apologies: I’ve been occupied with school and watching hockey and stuff. Since we last met, the Sens have continued to play well. So far this season they haven’t been able to put together a string of more than five good games in a row. I’d guess that means they have one more except I imagine the All-Star Break may kill their momentum.

Either that or they’ve got their mojo back and they’re about to go on a massive roll that will see them win all 38 of their remaining games and the Stanley Cup. Who can say what the future holds? Not me, obviously: I thought they’d win the Cup last year.

Where Have You Been All My Life? Heater. The way you played in the first period? That is why you’re my favourite. That is why I devote blog space to recognizing your Moments of Awesomeness. Why can’t you be that version of Heater all the time?! I was not sure what Coach Hartsburg was trying to accomplish by moving Heatley to the second power play unit when he first tried it, but obviously it’s worked wonders. Heatley’s first power play goal this evening was fairly typical — give a sniper a wide open net like that and you’d hope he wouldn’t miss — but his second was pretty cool (I choose to believe he put the puck off that Washington dude on purpose). Heatley also showed some moxie by absolutely robbing a Caps player whose identity I’ve now forgotten of the puck in the first period. This is something I really think he — being a giant, potentially scary guy with ridiculous puck skills — should be doing more often. Late in the third, he helped Brian Elliott preserve the Sens’ lead by getting to a loose puck in the crease and shoving it towards Elliott’s pad before (yegads!) Alex Ovechkin could reach it. If not for Heatley, no doubt Ovechkin would have scored. The game would have gone to overtime, the Caps would have had all the momentum, and the Sens and their fans would have been sad.

Joy to the World! All the Boys and Girls! Instead we got players high fiving and bumping heads (in a good way) at the end of the game. Nick Foligno was so excited when Brendan Bell scored the go-ahead goal that he hopped (not the full Foligno leap). I’m fairly sure I saw Jason Spezza doing some kind of weird head tap ritual with new callup Peter Regin on the bench after Ovechkin took that penalty with two seconds to go, and Dean McAmmond was actually smiling. Yes, the players have a bit of spring back in their step and I like it.

I Have … Confidence? I realized that once the Sens had taken the lead, I felt sure they could hold it. Okay, they only had to hold it for 75 seconds or so, but still: I knew they could do it. I haven’t felt that way very much this season.

Barackulous. The Sens are now 2-0 against the Caps on days when Barack Obama becomes President in some way. So … um … Obama 2012!

Notes From Another Game: Columbus @ Edmonton

I believe I just saw Dwayne Roloson spank Jared Boll. And when I say he spanked him, I mean he smacked his bottom. Whether he first shouted “You’re not too old to put over my knee, Boll!” I do not know, but let’s assume he did.