Ottawa took the lead in the third period only to see Brule score on a weak goal to tie things up at 3-3 late in the third. The Senators were sloppy throughout the final frame but were in a position to win the game after a hard work goal by Chris Neil. It was definitely a goal Leclaire would like to have back
Leclaire did bounce back nicely in the shootout though and made a couple of saves to help get the win.
There were plenty of negatives in this game and I'm sure some of you will point them out in the comments section but all that matters is Ottawa was able to pick up the two points. Ottawa took less penalties in this one but didn't draw a single power play. I don't know what the Senators did to anger the officials in this league but its becoming pretty damn obvious they don't like us.
Great to see Jonathan Cheechoo finally bag his first of the season. Cheechoo finished off a play from Alex Kovalev and got his first in a Senators uniform. After that goal, Cheechoo seemed a little more relaxed and actually had some pretty good chemistry going with Alex Kovalev.
Anyway, congrats to Jonathan Cheechoo on his first goal as a Senator.
Ottawa will have to be a lot better Thursday in Philly.
Until tomorrow....
GO SENS GO!
62 comments:
Ugly game for sure. Picard - man oh man. He's got to be one of the worst D in the league, honestly. He's becoming consistently mistake prone, and its costing us goals often. I can't wait until he's off the team.
Great goal by Cheechoo, and off some effort from Kovalev too - that was nice.
Not enjoying Leclaire at this moment, nor the 'afraid to lose' approach to the game the sens seem to be playing with. Reminds me of last year. Sorry to be negative, but these are observations, like em or not.
Good to see Cheechoo score, he works hard enough but honestly, I could have buried that.
I thought Kovalev played a pretty good game though, he was working hard along the boards...
Compliment sandwich. Positive, negative, positive.
Leclaire was REAL WEAK!!!!! all those goals he allowed he could have been saved. He is sorta becoming like gerber allowing cheap goals and not making any big saves - he has pissed me off in the last three games. He certainly needs to get a lot better.
Picard... i think his name sums it up.
frustrating sloppy game for the sens but i guess we will take the two points... here's hoping we show up and play a solid effort in our next game!
P.S. congrats cheech and keep em rolling!
picard is brutal
Hey Lalime, Please take Leclaire's jersey off and stay out of Ottawa please!
Man, that last goal was brutual!!!
ill point out some negatives:
-picard
Ya.... the refs.. It seeme like the only time we get a few calls in our favor, it's when McCreary is officiating.. and I hate to give THAT dingbat any props.
Is Michalek injured? He didn't seem to have that extra gear tonight, and I though the whole top line was apprehensive quite often after the initial 5 min.
I thought Kovalev looked better , and here's to Cheech getting his first! He almost seemed like he was afraid to celebrate it. Shannon also quietly got his first point on a beauty pass.
I hope LeClaire picks it up and shakes the soft goals out of his game. And Picard.... Picard picard picard... I don't remember watching ANY defenseman give the puck away as often and as consistently as him. I think he's allergic to blue paint, because it always happens there in both zones.
Here's to two points!
Picard is the worst defenceman to every put on a Sens jersy. He has got to go ASAP. If he dresses against Philly, with the potency of their lineup, we are finished before the puck even drops. I don't even feel bad writing this, in fact I hope he reads this...PICARD SUCKS. I will be the happiest person to see him go.
p.s. Has he ever seen a weight room, time to bulk up pip squeak, and learn to go into the corners like a man!
Terrible 3rd goal (obviously), but they wouldn't have had to worry about that one tying it up had Picard not completely gagged on the 2nd one. Lee's gag wasn't too much better on the 1st, but the 2nd one was brutal. No question that the team misses Volchenkov, and I think Picard is out when Volchenkov returns. Helping out with Neil's goal does not erase an otherwise brutal game.
Besides the turnovers, this is more like it. (Almost) no penalties, which is great. If they had taken 5 or 6, I don't think they would have won that game. I'm not really sure how EDM managed to avoid taking one. They played clean for sure, but that too-many-men call with about 5 minutes to go was as obvious as they come.
Either way, a win is a win. Good hard work all around, now they just need to minimize those mistakes and they'll be just fine.
Picard was horrific, but Brian Lee was continually serving up passes to Oilers or just plain missing coverage. While 2 years ago he was arguably our best D in a horrible series against Pens, he now looks like he could not make Binghampton on a tryout.
I was thinking maybe Clouston is playing him so much to force Volch back sooner so he doesn't have to watch this atrocity...
I do not see the benefits of putting Matt Carkner and Alex Picard together. It makes absolutely no sense! Carkner is a rookie, Picard plays like an OHL player, and both or adequate at their "strengths", defense and offense respectively. Seeing Carkner try to do anything offensive is embarassing. Even his one goal was an embarassement. Picard, well his defensive play speaks for itself....GARBAGE and bush league at best, and that's being nice. These two should be split up, which will happen when ATrain gets back and Picard is shown the pressbox - which he doesn't even deserve. Can't wait for Picard to get out of my life.
another penalty the refs didn't call was in overtime when an oiler tripped alfie when he had the puck - stupid refs
wow i stopped going to the games i dont watch them anymore on tv, I read the posts and watch the news, Is this the best team Murray can ice?
@Anonymous 10:55PM:
Binghampton? I seriously hope that was a subtle dig at Sportsnet's misspelling of the city's name during their intermission segment. If not, it's embarrassing that you're a fan given your total lack of knowledge about the proper spelling of your farm team's city name.
As for everyone tearing Picard a new one for the second goal, it was a total FLUKE that his pass to Carkner bounced off the skate of another Senators' player who got in the way for no apparent reason.
I would rather see Karlsson playing than Picard...Mattias Karlsson.
BTW great goal from Cheechoo
Wow, it amazes how the MO of Senators fans lately seems to be to just pick on everyone, even when we win a game. No matter what happens, it's always Murray's, Clouston's, Picard's, the referees', or even the stick boy's fault for something with you guys. This shtick is getting old fast ...
Cheechoo looks like he's good for 30-35 goals this year. Finally.
The usual Sens came out to play -- and the usual Sens suspects didn't.
Picard, Campoli, Lee. Ugh. Kelly. Shannon. (Just because he got an assist doesn't mean he played a strong game.) Ugh.
Neil's goal should have been dis-allowed. It's one thing to claim you were pushed into the goalie, but to launch yourself in the other direction and sprawl all over the goalie? That's interference. And the least Neil should do is share a cigarette with the Oiler goalie after a play like that.
Great to see Cheechoo get his first. Spezza played a really strong game. Again.
Bottom line: 2 points, but bad D, flaky goaltending and bad habits worry me.
---Long post alert---
OK, seriously Leclaire haters:
I think everyone can agree that the third goal was pretty damned weak, but I think it's pretty obvious that anyone who thought Leclaire was garbage tonight clearly was only watching the highlights on TSN and didn't watch 3 periods of hockey. I can count probably 7 absolutely PHENOMENAL saves he made tonight that I can't recall ANY past Sens goalie would have been able to make. The score could have been 5-3 Oilers, easy. Leclaire absolutely STONED Penner tonight on a cross-ice one timer. Leclaire let in one bad goal tonight, and was Alex Picard's murder victim on the other two on some completely inexcusable defensive brain farts by #45 in your program (but #769 in your hearts). For the record, the way Leclaire can go down into the butterfly and pretty much take away the entire lower half in a split-second never ceases to put a smile on my face.
I always like to keep the comments positive here, but I think it's becoming pretty obvious that Picard is having some real issues in the NHL. Picard isn't necessarily the worst defensive D-man out there, but the guys who are as bad as he is usually back it up with some SERIOUS Offensive upside. Sheldon Souray and Mike Green are two examples that come to mind, but they clearly are so much more valuable to their team's offense that their defensive lapses are largely accepted.
Unless Picard shows that he's got a 5th, 6th and 7th offensive gear that he hasn't yet busted out, I think it's pressbox time once Volchenkov gets back. I'd much rather see Lee stay up with the big club and learn on the 5-6 pairing against NHL forwards rather than see Picard's 3 giveaways per game and total non-factor on the score sheet (for US, I mean. Huge assist on Moreau's goal tonight).
Too bad Sean Donovan's not a D-man, or this would all be sorted out! It looks like we really need to bring in a top-3 defenceman to tighten everything up out there, but I can't see it happening, what with our lack of game-ready trade-able assets and limited cap space.
Drive2theNet,
I actually thought Shannon played a really strong game. Apparently so did the NHL because he was the only senator to be one of the three stars in the game.
Officiating: I've posted it a few times on various blogs over the years. The Refs have a chip against the Sens. This started when Murray took over from Martin as coach and let the players join him in barking. When Shaefer waved that white towel...that was the end of fairness. The Sens really need to go to the league and go over some video. No penalties for the Oilers tonight...YA RIGHT! The fans deserve an official statement of explanation from the league.
Picard: Bash Bash...Bla Bla Bla. It's like if the Sens had asked Preissing to play Top 4 minutes in the day. If Carkner could be in the bottom pairing with either of Picard, Campoli or Lee and only play carefully managed minutes, the Sens would be fine. This hole in the Top 4 D is killing the team. With Volchy out, it's very painful to watch....Only 2 Top 4 D-Men. Many teams with more injuries on the back end are coping better.
Trades: Another forward? OK...who is nuts? The Sens are doing just fine up front. This penalty thing is killing them and no trade can help that. JUST PUT DONOVAN IN THE LINEUP!!! The reasons for scratching him are political and it's costing the team points in the standings. The Sens can win games by having the best 4th line in the league. Money is invested there as opposed to the D-corps. Just freakin' use it! The cheapest guy is the one that makes the expensive ones better...just play him, Cory! Never has a veteran 4th liner with such a small salary made such a difference in wins and losses for a team. It's so obvious, it's silly.
Trade some forwards OUT? SURE! Take any IN? NO WAY!
As for D-Men that Ottawa could possibly get, I don't know why people keep looking at "offensive" ones. The Sens have Kuba and the collection of 5-6 guys (Picard, Campoli, Lee, Karlsson) and that part of the game is covered. Look at what happens when Volchy is out?? The team needs a guy that can play DEFENSIVELY as a Top-4 guy. This means no Campbell (really? Huge Contract, wrong fit...duh) or Corvo (huge fight with Murray on the way out about the trade request...c'mon, get serious.) I would love to see a guy like Zbynek Michalek in Ottawa, but he's injured and Phoenix is shopping for D-Men, even looking at Chelios. At this point, I'd take Sean O'Donnell...just anybody that can hit people and not make silly decisions with the puck because he's afraid.
Leclaire: He's got to be better. He can be. He WILL be!! He made 5 spectacular saves against the Oilers but allowed 2 softies. More Roy, less Gerber, Pascal!!
Kovalev-Cheechoo: They are EXACTLY what they were billed as. Why keep talking about it?
Tonight was yet another great example of the Sens glaring weakness: We REALLY need someone with a big slapper from the point.
Aside from the brutal giveaways, i'd say we had a decent (but sloppy) game.
Picard and Carkner are not bonafide NHLers. I think Philly will expose that.
Picard, Lee and Leclaire were the most noticeably awful tonight.
With Picard and Lee, it is has been on a somewhat regular basis. But between the two who would you rather keep? With Picard he makes many gaffes but he also puts up decent offensive production while Lee you don't get much of anything from him. His offense is nowhere to be seen and seems that he will never put up any decent offensive production. The only good thing about Lee was he was pretty good defensively 2 seasons ago, but he has lost that. So Right now I would rather keep Picard when Volchie comes back rather than keeping Lee with the big club. If we could dump them both and bring in someone else, the better, but if not, Picard is the better option IMO.
Wow, I'm surprised at all the Leclaire bashing. Did you guys even watch the game? Well, I couldn't "watch" it but I listened to it on Team 1200 and joined Chirp's blog for the first time (it was great). He sounded like he had a spectacular game minus the 3rd goal.
Picard sounded like he had a terrible game, could be time for a press box outing when Volchie is back. Man we need him.
Fisher sounded like he played a great game, did he hit 2 or 3 posts?
I'd like to point out something unrelated to the team. I could hear a pin drop in SBP and didn't hear a single Go Sens Go chant during 2 periods and an OT. Brutal.
Shannon was a star of the game!
Those that ranted against him tonight prove how their constant whinning is completely unfounded. Seriously. Get a life.
Picard however, I can't defend his play... Shiiiiiiit!
Anon 11:43:
Seriously dude? You gonna rip into Anon@10:55 for the improper spelling of Binghampton?
Does anyone really care?
Anyone?
leclaire has been making saves that 75% of the other goalies in the league would have no prayer of making. A couple of weak goals in the last 2 games means nothing.
As for Picard, I was a fan but I'm thinking he needs a stint in bingo. I guess he would have to be waived since he;s on a one way but so be it. I get nervous whenever he has the puck.
Happy for Cheechoo. Regardless of whether he's scoring, not a lot of players work harder than he does.
So anyone miss Schubert? Right now I'd put him ahead of 3 of our D. Imagine how much better we'd be off with him in the lineup - particularly if he had gotten more than just the occasional shift on D.
Clearly the word is out, "Pressure the Sens D and they will fold". They have lost their confidence and now the forwards are coming back too far and we look lost. I am not sure that this can be easily fixed. We have to apply a lot more forechecking pressure and that is when we do best. As soon as we stop that we are in trouble.
I agree with Bud's comments about cheering. The cheer when Edmonton scored was almost as loud as when Ottawa scored. The 7th Man is not there and the Sens need it. The only time I heard a lot of cheering was against the Devils. We need something to get people going. It is our responsibility to cheer on the Sens. For gosh sakes, we are in the playoffs at the moment. Remember there were a lot of so called experts who had the Sens finishing last in the East this year. I am in Section 101 and on Saturday I challenge everyone to yell and cheer throughout the game.
Kovalevs best game as a Senator. He created countless chances last night and if he could play like that on a regular basis Ottawa would be a dangerous offensive team. Comments about Leclaires weak goal are uncalled for. Yes it was a weak goal, the other 30 stops we stellar and some of them insane. Go Sens!
Anonymous @11:43pm, I am as positive as anyone, but Picard deserves to be torn a new one. Sure the second goal was an odd bounce, but how about the many, many whiffed or bad passes he made through that game? He fanned on quite a few, and made terrible passes on others. It was consistently bad on every shift. So, yeah, maybe the second goal was a bad break for that one second, but he sure didn't play well for the other 18:41 of his ice time either.
I have no idea why people are lumping Carkner in this... I think he's played very well in his role, but he's handcuffed by his partner. He's worth every penny of his league minimum salary. Picard on the other hand...
I don't like being a negative poster, and I feel bad for Picard; you can see it on his face when he's out there that he's struggling. He knows when he's passing it into peoples skates, or giving up turnovers. You can't help but feel for him, he looks dejected whenever the camera zooms in on him. But, you get paid well to play the game, so you gotta take the lumps I guess...
Wow, all I can say is Wow. Comments on how Leclair is pissing off people, well those people better wake the hell up, if its not for this guy we would be like the LEAFS!!
To say he didnt make any big saves in the game vs the Oilers proves Ottawa fans are morons, do you even watch the game?
Breakaway on Cogliano, crosscrease pad save on Penner. those are 2 goals he denied. And 2 out of 3 in the shoutout!!
Our defence is the problem here, CLEARLY you can see that. Phillips and Picard have to be let go at the end of their contracts. Complete waste of spots. They cant even make a pass with no pressure on them, somehow they find a way to screw up the easiest plays!
And as for the Refs not being on our side, that is the Ruutu effect, I didnt want this guy in the first place but think about it. Refs hate this guy, he makes their job so much harder by faking injuries or doing stupid shit.
SM
all i saw of that game was a team that although questions itself and still needs to find chemistry will not give up. Too much time in the box...blown leads...and a prayer that during some games they shine with true skill. So for now i still see my senators as a team in transition and so i must damn the reffs with hate and i must hope the lines will blossom with goals so many that even TSN must sing praise. And when that day comes i will hold my head up with pride and say! "Heatley you are an idiot!!!LOL!
Leclaire made some beauty saves (that toe save at 11:10 in the 3rd period was awesome, you can see it here at 3:15 in: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/nhl/16580624). Yeah he let in a weak one this game, and a weak one against NJ, but it's going to happen to even the best of them (his numbers are pretty much identical to Luongo right now, seriously, look it up).
That said, he missed almost an entire year of hockey: He's going to get better. Also, can anyone really say that he hasn't at least given us a chance to win every game this year? Last year Gerber let in 41 goals his first 14 games, Leclaire's let in 31 through 12. You take out the rough game against Pit with those fluky goals and he's at 27g in 11g, that's not bad, and that's including the 6-5 OTL to Nashville.
Cut the guy a break, he's already been huge in more than a few games this year (Toronto, Montreal, and the Islanders game come to mind). He's going to be great for us. I'm fine with taking a crap on Picard because he's losing us games, but Leclaire? Think how bad it could be if he wasn't making huge saves off turnovers.
super amazing for cheechoo to get that goal. yes it was a gimme but still. that guy needed it more than anyone on this team. now lets hope he can make it happen more often.
good decision by clouston to reinstate the foligno-shannon combination last game. that combination was good late last year and has good chemistry, especially on the cycle. ofcourse, you would like to see fisher with them too, but i think he should be left on the second to pad his numbers with Kovalev.
Leclaire had an ok game, with only that third goal being the one exception. and that is one heavy exception. lets hope he realizes that those kinds of softies are not going to cut it. and i know he does realize, the guy has the right attitude.
quiet night on the scoreboard by the top line though. lets hope they are all fine. Spezza looked good. he had good speed. was good defensively. and made good plays in the offensive zone. isn't it something that Jason Spezza might be right now the most reliable centre defensively on this team. just WOW. this guy is bringing his game this year. not for himself, but for this team.
i hope that the refs only giving us one penalty is a sign of them warming up to us. we are going to need to refs on our side against philly.
defense: man we need volchie back soon. right now the increased levels of ice time both Picard and Campoli enjoy is just excruciating. Both guys have zero defensive cred. and thats just wrong being a defenseman. they dont have the body either to take and dish hits. neither are they even willing to try. and they have both exhibited being atrociously casual and just not interested. Picard in that sense is a complete idiot and someone needs to knock some sense into him. he makes the kind of bonehead plays sometimes that just plain irritate you. However, he did make up for it on the Neil goal. but still. him and campoli, the clock is ticking with Volchenkov's elbow and Karlsson's progression.
a win is still two points, so can't complain too much. however, i was expecting a better showing by the senators.
I wasn't able to see the Sens play - only saw the highlights, but man oh man it looked pretty ugly.
First off, easy on the Leclaire bashing. He is a very solid goaltender and like all other goalies he is prone to a few stinkers once in a while. Everyone has to be patient and give him time to get into form and build up some solid consistancy in his game.
Secondly, I agree it was nice to see Cheechoo finally score - but lets not get carried away here and pencil him down for 30 goals. Cheechoo is a grinder and is a 15 goal guy. Let's appreciate his work ethic and be balanced on the exceptations.
Thirdly, Picard is really bad. He seems to be caught out of position and always seems to be flat footed and gets easily beat to loose pucks. The problem with Picard is that we have noticed is poor play, so you can guarantee that other teams have seen it as well. He would be a throw in a deal, but I really think that he has to go.
Lastly, let's all cool down a little on the negetivity about the team, but also the head in the clouds expectations of some players. I live in the GTA, and as I read these posts more and more it is sounding and feeling like Leafs Nation - where if they lose once night they are calling for everyone to be traded and fired, but then when they win the next night they are talking about what route the parade should take. It is a long season, let's enjoy it.
Hutch
Focus is on the third goal only because it was the worst, but truth be told, none of the goals Pascal gave up were very good.
This team is continuing a very disturbing trend, sloppy play, bad give aways, giving up leads late, and unable to finish off teams that are playing without some of their top guys.
Maybe people will see the difference between Spezz's giveaways trying to create offence and the giveaways were seeing now because the D can't execute simple breakout and neutral zone plays.
Consider:
- gave up two goal lead very late to Boston, playing without Savard and Lucic
- gave up two goal lead in the third against New Jersey, playing without Elias and Martin
- lost to Atlanta, playing without Kovalchuk. Despite Pavelec's spectacular play, you have to find a way to win that game, especially at home
- gave up a lead late to the Oilers, playing without Horcoff, Hemsky and Souray, and playing their backup
Unacceptable. In fact, disgraceful.
Forget the standings and their record, this team isn't a playoff team.
They have to get better goaltending and, most importantly, improved play from their D, or this team will plummet by January.
I feel bad for Picard, he has skill but hasn't been able to develop properly in the AHL as he should. He needs two seasons in the A to develop but isn't going to get them for fear of losing him on waivers. Same problem we had with Schubert. Sad.
Pray that Volchie returns soon and he and Phillips are healthy the rest of the way. Jared Cowen's arrival can't come quickly enough.
- Jalen
Here is my take on the NHL. It's as real as a WWF Match. Like it or not it's true. The players might be playing the game but the officiating is clearly set up before hand. A team can't win a game if they are always in the box.
Examples of why the NHL and the officiating control the out come of games, series and Stanley Cups:
Leafs first win this year, was against the Ducks. 17 penalties for the Ducks, at home. Leafs got 10. The refs were definitely looking for every call against the Ducks, they had no chance to win.
Malkin's instigator penalty in the last 5 minutes of the Stanley Cup finals. Automatic suspension for 1 game. He got the penalty on the ice. Why was the suspension immediately overturned after the game? Well let's just say Pittsburg was penciled in to win the Stanley Cup. I don't blame the NHL, it's great for marketing Sid the Kid.
No penalties last night? WTF? Absolutely no penalties by EDM. You are telling me that all night EDM did not trip, hold, hook anyone. They must have played the perfect game. Alfie got tripped, Michalek got tripped, I can remember seeing a few holding calls that were not called.
You can say whatever you want about the NHL. It is entertainment, controlled entertainment.
Picard sucks. Trade him.
Did Penner ever look good last night.
Enough with the whining about the refs, boys. Neil's goal clearly could have been called interference instead. Yeah, he was pushed... in the opposite direction. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. That goal very easily could have been called back.
pg
Leclaire can't cough up bad goals or allow the first few goals of the game, EVER. He MUST close the door again and again until we get up by one or two goals THEN he can let in a weak wrister or 50 footer all he wants. Best goaltender we've ever had my ass.
Picard is brutal and should never wear our uniform once Volch comes back.
Good on Neil playing a disciplined game and getting into Deslaurier's kitchen, attaboy NEILER!
Alfredsson looked slow tonight, love ya Alfie! Michalek was invisible, unfortunately.
Don't want to bash the guy, as enough of that is already going on, but I personally think that Picard's one-way deal has been detrimental to his development. He's just a guy screaming for some time in the AHL, IMO.
pg
A win is a win.
Wasn't happy about the 3rd goal but, hey, it happens.
Considering how all horible the Sens schedule has been, it was nice to see some chemistry develop between Cheech, Kovie and Fish.
Would still like to see Dono get back in the game.
Long way to go, but at least the effort is there.
for the sloppiness, I'm happy we won, but the sens need to be much much better than that. Otherwise, we're not gonna get away with it.
Where is the crowd? All Canadian match-up and we didn't even crack 18000 fans last night? what's more is we're letting other team's fans run our building....this is our fudging house! Let's go SENS FANS!!
I can't believe the hatred. I like to be a positivist and watching last nights game, yeah there were some bad spots, but I don't think its enough to sell out the team that won. Leclaire was soft on the first and third goal but made saves in the third that should have gone in and add the shoot out and he played slightly above average. Picard well he looks like Redden in his latter years here but worse of course. Thats one thing even with his mistake we still pulled out the Win. I like the pairing of Kovalev and Cheech not cause he got his first, but because Cheech needs nice passes to score. Overall glad for the 2 points and looking forward to a harder effort given on Thurs.
Congrats Cheech!
Ummm... Picard was brutal, but I can think of a dozen D-men in the early days of the Sens who were much, much worse. Yes, last night was a bad game but we won. Relax a little folks.
Highlight of the whole game was being able to listen to Irish Tommy on the Team 1200 after the game.. he summed it up best: "we miss Heatley, we need a bonafied sniper.. That Russian guy (whats his name?) is playing terrible, and he was supposed to score goals for us. Put Donovan in the lineup, WHY IS HE SITTING OUT for Gods sake? anyways, GO SENS GO"
I agree with him that we miss that "Heatley type" of sniper.
I think Lee and Picard should come play with me on my mens rec team, I think we could show them a thing or two. Lee complained when he got sent to Bingo, but now its evident as to why! We sent down a top 4 Dman in Karlsson, and brought up a Dman who shouldnt play in the AHL!
GO SENS!!! I still believe in Leclaire.. he makes sick saves!
I think people need to relax a bit. This team is doing what it needs to do and play slightly above 500 and getting the 1/3rd of the team that is new to gel in. Sure it's an easy schedule now and they could have won more but all you need to do is look at the team that went to the finals (Horrible start of the year, Murray almost fired, team makes final). Next year team was compared to the best teams of all time to start the season and barely make the playoffs. They just need to remain in the playoff picture until Jan, Feb and peak at the end of the year. There are a lot of players that can still play better so I'm optimistic about this year.
As for Picard, I'm not a fan however I think the second goal was more bad luck then anything. If weird bounces are what leads to goals against well so be it. It's better then some guy being walked around.
Leclair is the best goalie we've had since Hasek. He's having a rough time, give him a break.
All in all I'm encouraged about the team. Last year there were games the Sens were totally out classed and they had no hope of winning. This year they have thrown away some games and points but I never felt they were boys playing against men. Sure some holes on the roster needs to be filled but it's still a long time to the end of the season.
Cant we just sign Jagr already, we all know he wants to return to the NHL.
Here is the temporary answer to our Defensive issues, skate Picard with Phillips, Kuba and Carkner, and then Lee with Campoli as your 5 and 6 guys untill A-train gets healthy, making Picard the odd man out because he has been nothing short of brutal this year, and I know had Picard gotten credit for the Neil goal everyone would have praised him, the guy was supposed to be a big part of that Mezaros trade, personally I would trade Picard to the government for a team supply of H1N1 vacinations!!
Does Spezza look like he is skating the best he has in his career or am I just crazy.
Cheechoo looked like a different player after that goal, and Clouston did the right thing rewarding him with a top 6 forward spot after the goal, as he didn't start the game with Fish and Kovy...
Leclair is reminding me of a Patrick Lalime but the good news is that when Leclair plays bad we still win some games because of our balanced offence, so once he plays a few spectacular games we shouild get on a role!!
Melnyk gave the ok to Murray to persue Foppa!!
Foppa with Alfie and Spezza!! WOW!
SM
Michalek-Spezza-Cheech
Kovalev-Fisher-Alfie
Back to two lines of threat please. No idea why we ever moved away from us when it got us to 6-2-2 before Spezza missed some time. Cheechoo might not get a million points but he creates space for the other two and owns the front of the net.
Also for those of you ragging on Picard, don't forget he also tipped that third goal by getting his stick in the lane on what should have been a routine save for Leclaire. It was going glove side until that moron got his stick in the way. Not the first time he's done this. To boot he also screened Leclaire in the process. Fucking brutal.
Yes Leclaire didn't have a great night, but he made all the big saves so getting beat by a couple weird ones wasn't as big a deal. You have to remember that a bad night for Leclaire is 3 goals. Most other nights you'll be asking is he even going to give up 1? Bad nights for Gerber were always 4-5-6 goals. That's the difference.
What is with the officiating? honestly, what is this, the SEC?
well i guess everyone covered the picard thing for me lol but MAN was he brutal! we need someone to replace him immediately. I dont know what the hell got into kovalev but i liked it haha and everyone needs to relax Leclaire will get better as time goes on.
I think we're doing fine on offense. Its a true #1 on D that we need and I don't see Forsberg coming to Ottawa until that is resolved.
Need to package up some draft picks and a couple of prospects to get help on the blue line ASAP.
Two words - LECLAIRE SUCKS!!!!!
this is horrible the sens win a game and you guys don't have anything good to say. This is going to be embarrassing when they lose. The refs were right to count the third goal. The puck was past the goal line hen neil hit deslauriers so its a goal.
I was at the game an although Leclaire let in some soft goals that were the result of suspect defensive plays he made some phenomanal saves. If not for him it would have been 6-3 Edmonton. Anyone bashing him is clueless.
To Mat
Re Shannon
It made sense to play Shannon against the Oilers - they are a fast small (except for Penner) soft team - he got space against them and used it - but it will be foolish to play him against a bigger team like the Flyers - that's when Donovan will be more effective
Oh, we get it Anon 2:47,
You were on your favorite Leafs|Habs blog site and got sick and tired of the constant talk about underacheiving and losing, the definite prospect of not making the playoffs, the reality that Price and Gustavsson are pipe dream duds and that made you upset and want to lash out against Leclair.
Go ahead bro. Vent. Get it off your chest. I know its difficult to come to terms with the fact that the future just isn't promising in your city. And little Ottawa remains consistant and competitive... How can this be?
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