Not much to say about this one.
Shorthanded line up and a pretty good road effort. I though Elliott had a really strong game but the Senators just couldn't get much going against a stingy Devils team.
The officiating continues to be an absolute disgrace. Can you tell me how in the world Ottawa went another full 60 minutes without an opponent reaching a hand or a stick out? Not one damn penalty???
Give me a break. Ruutu had his face carved right in front of the Devils net late in the third and no call. If neither ref was looking there, where in the hell were they looking? That should have been a game changing double minor.
More injury troubles in this one. Chris Neil looked like the most serious after he was caught knee on knee by Andrew Peters. Regin, Picard and Carkner all left with injuries during the game but all returned.
Hopefully Ottawa can get some guys back tomorrow...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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Body Tripping!....
That is all.
i just watched the game and saw a few instances where i couldnt believe the no-call. Not saying ottawa didnt deserve any penalties but it sure would be nice to have unbiased officiating.
Listened to the game on Team1200. I don`t understand how a team cannot get any penalties whatsoever. The problem is, like someone mentioned in the live blog, that complaining will probably just make it worse. Nothing you can do but kick ass even when the refs are against you (or find out where the refs live and potato gun their front windows).
Hope the team heals up and comes back from this shitty loss (even though they played decent).
Refs are terrible. This one was a very bad game by the Zebras... How do they miss so many calls?
Does anyone know how many games Ottawa has played this year without a PP? Also anyone know what the average games a team plays without a PP per year? I would think one or two at the most.. We have already had at least 2...
wow... Chirp i was hoping you noticed along with all you other sens fans. I hate people who whine and complain when their team loses and make excuses but this was an absolute joke. The post lockout era was giving teams a guaranteed 4 or or five PPs a game. The penalty infractions were made so it was completely impossible to play a game penalty free. This is our second game in 7 without a PP and othere than 4 games we have under 3 or 4 PPs for sure. If a player gets cut and the the officials dont call it, they are allowed to ask the two linesman if they saw anything. You would figure a cut mouth on ruttuu would at least cause a small discussion between refs. F'n PISSIN ME OFF!!!!!!
Yes the refs are terrble we all know it time to start sending emails in and stop crying time for action
post them at http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp
the Devils post-game crew was praising Salvador for clearing the net when he laid Ruutu out (and failed to mention how he high sticked him right in the face). Gimme a break...
Agh! The officials are killing us.
In case anyone's wondering, the Sens have now played 7 road games, with exactly 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) powerplay opportunities in those games. Do the math, that's barely two per game.
They're also last overall, with only 72 powerplay opportunities total... Compare that with the leaders: Dallas (108), Carolina (104), Pittsburgh (102). Any coincidence two of those teams are in non-hockey markets, and the other is Bettman's baby? And further coincidently, besides Ottawa the teams that have received the least powerplays are Montreal (75), Boston (79), Chicago (80) and Calgary (80) - all big hockey markets. Ho-hum...
its about time the senators starting shooting pucks at referees instead of the opposing net. plain and simple. hey we cant score anyways. so might as well right? why not?
i dont know why players dont do it. this whole appeasement crap bugs me about the NHL. these guys need to start shooting pucks at the refs. its the PLAYER'S GAME. NOT THE FUCKING REFS'!!!. its about time they took it in their own hands.
i dont know man. but each time ottawa would get a rush. i would see slashes,hooks,near-trips,hacks you name it from not one but three devils players at the same time. and you can pick players names. it happened all the time. i didnt even see one senator do something similar to that. atleast not as much as the devils. im just dumbfounded to see no powerplay for the sens.
Should change the name to US-NHL
United States National Hockey League where the Canadian Teams keep the League afloat (dollar wise), and the Americans just try to survive long enough for the Big Network Deal that will never come...
Anyone ever see the movie "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" Amazing movie, but it has a twisted idea of how that weezel Bateman... (or Master Batesman)
I'd be curious to find out what the current NHL record for most games without a power play for one team. If I'm not mistaken, that was the 4th time it's happened to the Senators this year. That puts them on pace for 16!!! Stunning.
That said, it's hard to win with so many guys missing. Elliott played good, real fluky goal for Bergfors. It was hard to imagine them winning without Fisher, Volchenkov, Kovalev, and then Neil too.
Either way, NHL referees stink at their jobs. NJ played pretty clean, but I can't believe that they didn't see anything.
I'm not one to make up excuses when the Senators lose. We played a decent game. But the officiating has been pathetic. Sure, if they miss one or two, it happens. But Jesus Christ, there were many OBVIOUS calls. Not sure if we put a complaint if it would change anything or just make it worse. But the NHL really has to look into this. Wait til the playoffs, pull that shit in a OT game that can put a team out, can you say riot? Montreal for example. Give the Sens credit, they still kept at it, even with the injuries and lack of PP's. And Elliott played solid. Hope he keeps it up. Playing Vermy tomorrow, maybe Kelly will give him a hug or something.
I sent my comment to the nhl officials. Thanks for the link, Anon 9:48
I knew the Sens where going to lose and I am really OK with that and thats a first for me lol. what I am saying post your complaint its not fare what they are doing to our team just post it http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp
we have to do it the senators cannot its up to us.
It is about time that Murray filed an offical complaintto the NHL about the piss poor officals. I bet they won't look into Peters knee on knee hit since Neil decked one of Bettman's golden boys in Victor Hedman. I hope that Sens fans that are going to the game tomorrow night have signs showing their displeasure about the standards in the NHL. Btw who the refs today cause I didn't have a chance to see most the game?
thank you mgd
it would be great if SC posted and asked everyone to send coments SC? what do you think?
http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp
Somethings got to be wrong with Spezza. Back? He had such a strong start to the season. Skating like I've never seen from him before but the last few games have been terrible. Confidence? Injury?
Just because blaming the refs isn't a valid excuse, doesn't mean the officiating hasn't been terrible. Is there anything the team or fans can do to address this?
Do you think having guys w reps like Ruutu and Neil makes the refs less likely to give us calls?
Is is the rookie coach factor?
Why don't the refs just forget about the extra-curricular factors and call the game fairly??
I've been harsh on Shannon before, so gotta say he played pretty well tonight.
This is unduly harsh and I'll be happy to eat these words, but: Spezza is starting to remind me of Vernon Wells.
I wish it was not illegal to deliberately shoot a puck at a ref. Sometimes they deserve a shot in the ass.
NJ played a pretty clean game from what I saw, but there was a few instances that the refs could have called something.
One thing is for sure is that Ottawa needs to start moving their feet more so that the opposition is forced to hook and grab. A more complete lineup would not hurt at all either.
come on, no one on the Senators has ever been vernon wells-bad
Time for the NHL to start handing out suspensions to the officials...
Elliot - solid
Spezza - still trying to dangle... go wide & use your speed, turnover machine!!
Cheechoo - playing better, I thought.
Kelly - has to start finishing
Overall - Good effort, but the Devils didn't give up many chances... and Brodeur is like a 6th player out there.
Brutal officiating again. Is anyone else as dissapointed in Spezza as much as I am. He was -2 again tonight just as he was in our WIN against Washington. I guess he still won't listen to Don Cherry and start shooting the puck. To all those who say he's changing his game and becoming more defensive I call bull$**t! He is making 7mil+ a year and is supposed to be our #1 centre but he sure doesn't play like one. He's the guy who gets points against weak teams and when we need it the least, like when we're up by 3 goals or down by 5. He is not a clutch player who we can rely on to elevate his game when his team needs it. He's a liability 5 on 5, he doesn't kill penalties, doesn't hit, has NO speed and gives the puck away at least 5 times a game with that bull$**t junior outside/inside move that all NHL defencemen know is coming. Yeah sure he makes a wicked pass every now and again but they rarely result in a goal. I know he misses Heatley but for the $ we're paying him and the way he acts I think it's time for Murray to look in the mirror and realize it's time to sit this guy down and bring him down a notch or two. I've never seen a guy do so little and be rewarded with as much ice as he gets. He stays on almost the whole PP (when we do get them) and sits down low in his corner and fires it out to the front of the net hoping someone snaps one in...Um Jason, if WE'VE all figured out that's what you're going to do everytime then I think the rest of the NHL knows it's coming! Like I said before, we will never get anywhere with him as our #1 guy. I guarantee that if we only had 5 or 6 wins and we were in the basement everyone would agree with me that he is the biggest overrated Sen since Wade Redden. I can't believe he was upset that he wasn't on the Olympic list...Hey Jason, there are 20 Canadian centremen better than you, wake up buddy!
Boring game!
Thought we were capable of getting a victory... but refs ruined any hopes of that happening.
Elliot played well and I hope he continues to play solid.
Spezza has been VERY frustrating to watch... yes he may have improved his defensive game a bit but where the HELL is his offense? We need that from him.... if it is an (back?)injury why not sit him out? We don't need him if he is not going to play 100%. If Kovy and Fisher return for tomorrow's game then sit Spez out if he isn't going to be effective.
Want a better effort and game tomorrow even though we will be tired and fatigue.
GO SENS GO!
I think we should experiment with Spezza & Kovalev...
Both are not up to full potential... what do we have to lose. Put Michalek or Cheechoo as the Finisher...
Tommorow should be a much better game Columbus has been playing pretty wide open latley and not there usual Hitchcock defensive game so hopefully a bounce back W.
Reffing I think you guys covered it pretty well just brutal.
Anon @ 11:05, while I agree with you Murray made his bed signing Spezza to that deal. Spezza has never led any team to any kind of victory (check his juunior/minor league/Olympic/international, no 1st place post-season/elimination finishes) and Melnyk really likes him.
He'll likely finish 55 points, -14 and we'll hear how the Selke is getting primed for him.
As for the refs, it is what it is. Word is that they are flipping the bird to Ottawa because Murray used to bait them and Clouston doesn't have the experience to talk back.
Who knows...
i only saw bits and pieces, but from what i saw it looked like spezza was skating pretty damm well
he's gettin good at leading the rush through the neutral zone, lost of speed
but yeah, he's defnitely got a sore back, cuz he's not gettin chewed by clouston or murray or any of the ottawa media, and he's just not being effective
he's a little lost, but we've seen glimpses of what he can be earlier this year, and he clearly likes ottawa and wants to be here
not gettin the A might have been tough for him
I posted my complaints to the officials. Keep going at it guys, make your voices heard cause this is outrageous!
yea tonight was the night where spezza had to take the game in his hands literally. sorta disappointed in him. he needs to stop trying to make a pass all the time. he always breaks in the zone first and he is getting checked/poked with way too much ease by defenseman. there is just ZERO poise with the puck. too much rush and it ends up baubling bouncing off his stick. i thought he was using wooden sticks too, so shouldnt that make him better? something is amiss really bad. he just needs to start shooting for the heck of it. you never know, maybe you shoot 10-20 shots at a goalie and catch him sleeping once.....you just never know.
spezza needs to elevate his game soon as the senators are lagging on the injury bug. we are starting to get injuries, while most teams around us in the standings are starting to get healthy again.
honestly, i think spezza's struggles are partly because clouston's mish mash of line combos. Michalek's game seems a little off too all of a sudden, he is fumbling and stumbling too much sometimes. Ottawa's top line needs top stop getting fancy and get down to business.
People, Spezza is refining his game to be better in the long run. Look at Vinny Lecavalier. When he was the same age as Spezza, he did the same thing- refined his game, produced less on the score sheet. The next season, when he was 27-his prime-, he amassed 100 points. The Spezza situation is very similar to Lecavalier.
Spezza is playing with a screwed up back, no doubt about it.
And Alfie has been missing practices and skates for 2 weeks, so he is playing with some kind of injury/pull/etc.
we neeeeeed spez!!!!
spezza is crap, the guy continues to live up to his reputation of being a soft player that cant lead a team.
No coincidence that during the four game win streak that the officiating became a non-issue. They were evenly called games.
After this loss, Ottawa is right back to where they were.
When the hell is Kovalev coming back?
I don't want to sound so insensitive but his MIL is gone, time to move on and get back to work. His team needs him.
I said the other day that Bettman and the nhl officials have a hidden agenda to favour US teams. Wake up people!
I just posted - keep the comments going.
http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp
I think the Sens should start growing their beards again. Maybe it'll confuse the refs enough to call some penalties! Either that or they should visit a costume store for some groucho mustaches and cigars...
This may have been mentioned, but did anyone notice that Peters skate hit Neil in the face on the hit? Its pretty obvious if you watch a slo-mo replay.
matt.
C - I think that Spezza's previous success had a lot do to with Ass (heatley). Opposing teams had both Ass and Spezza to cover, now they just have Spezza. He doesn't have the time/space he used to, and his game is suffering because of it. So, not only did ass get the points, he also drew a ton of attention from Spezza, which allowed him to work his magic. Sens need another shooter....maybe Boyes??
People who say that Ottawa should move their feet more to draw more penalties are not watching the same game I am. The penalties are there, the refs just are not calling them.
Spezza has struggled. However the first 13 games of the season he was playing great. Reality is when Clouston decided to break up Michalek-Spezza-Cheechoo that's when he started to struggle.
Michalek-Spezza-Alfie have been largely ineffective. Alfie and Michalek try to play the same role and bump into each other. Also nobody on that line seems to want to shoot.
Spezza is actually still skating and playing quite well. The problem is once he gets in the offensive zone he is ignoring his opportunities to shoot. He had 5-7 opportunities for a good quality shot on goal last game and every time he tries to dipsy-doodle to find a nicer play. He needs to simplify and just shoot. No excuses. Coaches, teammates, fans, everyone has to start telling him to shoot 24-7 and keep telling him until he gets it. If he can't break his habit of always thinking pass himself we have to help him.
The officiating was of course brutal yet again. It's not surprising really. The game is fast and NHL officials cannot keep up. They need to institute video review and allow coaches to have 3-5 challenges a game. It only takes 2 seconds to look at the video evidence of Rutuu getting sticked in the face. I don't know why this hasn't been done already. Tennis, NFL, and Baseball all have reviews of minor plays. NHL needs to wake up.
Examples from last night:
1. Regin hit from behind while going to retrieve the puck. He was over a foot and a half away from the puck and about a meter and a half from the boards when a NJD player shoved him from behind sending him dangerously into the boards. Not even close to touching the puck. A completely dangerous play. No call.
2. Michalek was sticked on his breakaway right in the groin. He didn't even manage a shot on net. No call.
3. Late in the game right in the blue paint Rutuu gets sticked hard in the face with a two handed uppercut push/slash. Coughign up chicklets on the ice. No call.
4. Picard took a forearm/elbow right through his head from Peters as he was falling in a vulnerable position. No call.
It's just a disgrace. Odds are the refs didn't see the Peters one because it was behind the play, thought Regin touched the puck, thought Michalek tripped/broke his stick on his own, and were watching for the goal/looking for the puck when Rutuu was sticked. It's just reality. The game is too fast for the useless refs on the ice. There needs to be video review.
Note:
If you want to draw more penalties. Fall down. I would say about 30-50% of all NHL penalties come when a player falls down. Often when the player wasn't even fowled. When you feel the stick on you or in your feet, fall down! Seriously it's the only way to draw a power play. If you're sticked in the hands, turn like the stickwork was so aggressive it turned your body and pulled you out of position, guaranteed you're more likely to get the call.
On top of that. Watch Kaleta from Buffalo. He draws more than anyone. He holds onto your stick to get hooking penalties, and goes down whenever he feels a stick on him. It's lame, but it works.
-Bejamin1
I also sent a nasty-gram to the officials. Keep it going boys and girls!!!
jvand - I stopped reading your post the moment you suggested Don Cherry knows what he's talking about. Cherry is a senile old dinosaur with leafs-blue blood.
I posted my compliant this will help the more the better http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp
What a freaking farce, Peters takes out Neil knee on knee and nothing is done, no penalty and probably no review by the league. Laroque takes out Kromwall w/ the same thing and he gets 5 games.
What's wrong w/ this freaking picture. This nonsense has to stop.
Rant done...OUT!
i beleive spezza will turn it around , but for the time being , since cloustons suppost to be this big "hard ass"" i think he should play on line 2 for a while......
i mean he throws cheech on line 4 for not producing, i think it should go for anyone..clouston i have total faith in yopu but you must act fairly quick...oh and, SHANNON IS NOT A FIRST LINE PLAYER!!GET OFF THAT TRIP AND KEEP HBIM WITH REGIN AND WINNY!!!!! THAT LINE IS FIRE, WHAT YOU DOING!!!
if fisher and kovy are back them 2 and alfy should be line 1...theres no way around it
i hope the playoffs arent like this ...we play 5 good games and then the whole teams injured......if so we are so fucked!
Where's the injury update???
The Sens are paying for their extreme whining at the very start of the season, its not fair, but its how it works, you piss off the officials, and they will band together to make sure you don't get any calls goin your way.
FYI: for those wishing to write out a complaint to the officials (link already posted several times above), the Salvadore high-stick non-call occured at the 9:00 minute mark of the 3rd. It's very clearly shown in the official NHL highlights game recap on the NHL's website. Mistakes should be exceptional, not habitual.
Spezza will be fine. The team as a whole will be fine. It's NOVEMBER. All you instant-gratification, PS3 GMs need to chill out a bit. LOVE the passion for our Sens (don't lose that) but try to freak out over little injuries or players making adjustments etc.
So Tim McCaffrey - is this the way professional officials are supposed to act? Name me any other pro sports leagues in which officials are free to improvise and call things the way they see fit? Maybe pro wrestling - but that's it. Bogus argument.
I think bias does have something to do with it. However I think it has more to do with the game being too fast. Officials simply can't keep up.
However the number of errors has gotten to the point where it's flat out unacceptable. The NHL has to admit that it's officiating crews are doing a garbage job and ruining the game. Time to get at least one official in the stands with video review. The nonsense has to stop.
@ anon 6:30
The reffing was an issue when we were winning. We just won in spite of it. People did complain. You are hearing a lot about it now because, yes we lost, but also because it is cummulative and blatant and more blatant than ever is this game to NJ. Every single game it is obvious bias by the refs.
Kudos to the Sens for having the record they have while playing every night with a disadvantage. If this team could get fair officiating, they would probably only have 4 losses.
I'd be okay with video review when a player is cut. i.e. Ruutu's face after the high stick. Officials should be allowed to review the tape (or the guys in Toronto - whatever) and try to determine if there was an infraction that led to the visible injury that the on-ice guys missed.
Can't video review every possible penalty or anything close to that, but when a player is seen to be injured, the officials should first ask the player if he "slipped" or some other reason, then review the tape. If it's a penalty (or even a dive - remember that rule anyone?) then call it. If not, keep playing.
The hit on Neil from Peters was clean, dman even Neil said it.
Sens have to play vs 2 teams everynight (refs and actual opponent)
SM
I've noticed that whenever Kerry Fraser is refereeing a game that has a Canadian team vs an American team, the officiating is always one sided and it's usually the Canadian team that gets more penalties.
In the past Bill McCreary was one sided as well only when it was the Sens, and he was even worse when it was the Sens vs the leafs. I've noticed that he's been better more recently.
All you have to do is go back to last years playoffs when Washington had Pittsburg dead to rights down 3-1 in the series to know officiating is fixed. The officals completely changed the momentum of the series by calling a bunch of b.s calls against Washington in games 5 and 6. Bettman choses which teams he wants to win (usually shitty markets). He wanted his glory child Crosby to win the cup and the officials made it happen. As for last night's sens game vs. the devils, it was obvious the refs were told by the powers that be not to give Ottawa the calls. I would like to see all the refs in the league polygraphed to see if they have been told to fix games.
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