Senators are in Philly tonight to take on the Flyers.
No line up changes for Ottawa but they have shuffled the lines a little bit. Kovalev will return to the wing on Mike Fisher's line while Spezza will be reunited with Alfredsson and Michalek.
Picard isn't quite ready to return.
Elliott starts in goal.
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81 comments:
GO SENS GOOOOOOOO!
Are you hearing anything on a trade? I know you don't like to do rumours but there has to be some tire kicking going on. What about Kovy to the Rangers for Dubinsky? Spezza to Philly for Carter or Richards or to LA for Dustin Brown?
Chirp
Do you know what's happened to Glen Kulka?
Liam
Can't wait 'til Leclaire is back!
Too bad Emery is not in goal !!
We need 60 minutes of 2 way hockey, and scoring spread across the 4 lines ,but some from both Spezza and Kovalev !!
Hope Elliott plays his best game in past 2 months, so that we can win this game, and start building more confidence for future games !!
Sens 5 Flyers 3
Robert Cyr
spezza needs to go
lets try grit for once
Kovalev needs to be traded for bag of pucks never liked him never will
What about Cheechoo and Kelly for Wade Redden...that was floated on ny radio this morning..
with fish back on the 2nd line doesn't help us to protect alfredson/michalek from getting beat on. Flyers are a nasty team and they need to respect us, fisher gives us that plus scoring ability on the top line. i don't support this move.
i also disagree with starting elliot he's been beat to death with game after game and has let numerous bad goals in and hasn't had much time to think his game over, even if we win i think it'll be a squeker, elliot does not have the teams full confidence yet and it hurting our entire team.
Last year elliot was trying to break into the nhl and he did play very well, i haven't seen him play that way so far this season.
Brodeur would try to stand on his head to get some recognition and he could build the teams confidence allowing us to pinch in offensive situations without much worry.
Just a heads up...
I'm working on setting up a Team Canada blog where we can discuss Olympic hockey for the next few months.
Hoping that it too will be a part of the Score Sports Federation.
check it out...
http://goldrush2010.blogspot.com/
Redden would be a great pickup...up front we could replace Kelly and Cheechoo with Zack Smith and Denis Hamel without missing a beat.
I feel bad for Brodeur.. poor guy has been here for about 2 weeks, and hasnt seen any ice time. We are pretty much playing 3 games in 4 nights all month, maybe we should give Elliott a break and see what this kid can do.
Sometime a goalie shines in his first NHL game, and right now the SENS need a win on the road big time!
Go SENS! wake up Spezza and Kovalev... either shape up, or ship out!
OMG Elliot again, is Clouston trying to lose!??!
Give the Kid Brodeur a shot, never know how he will play, but it cant be worse than Elliot!!
Spezza with Alfie & Michalek should help Spezz get on the board, 2 guys that can finish on shi line is what he needs.
Kovalev and Fisher play well together so thats ok. We really need that 6th forward, Foligno, Shannon & Cheechoo are nowhere close to being 2nd line material!!!
SM
Kulka got canned by Team1200 because HE WAS HORRIBLE!!!!
Redden has the worst contract in the nhl, don't go near him. Whoever wants him back is crazy and should renounce their fandom.
"Sonny said...
Redden would be a great pickup...up front we could replace Kelly and Cheechoo with Zack Smith and Denis Hamel without missing a beat."
Ok you should be shot in the head!!
Redden???, are you kidding me!!!!
A good pick up?!!?
And Hamel is a career AHL'er, Zach Smith aint doing to good either.
Sawed off shotgun anyone!
SM
You people who want Redden back, take off your jersey, and cheer for another team.. He is beyond garbage..
Even if Redden was free, id say no! He makes one nice play every 5 games, but screws up EVERY game.. even the Rangers fans boo him.
Lets bring back Alexandre Daigle while we're at it..
I can't believe we have seen suggestiong to bring back Yashin and Redden in the same day.
What in the heck is goin on around here?
C'mon guys - the move is Kovacrap and Kuba(Mr. Apple turnover) to Edmonton for Cogliano and Souray. Lets start the real rumours. Souray big shot powerplay and Cogs centering the 3rd line.
Hey throw in a 2nd round pick to entice Edmonton and I'd go for that.
Hello fellow Senators fans and Chirp. I'm a long time creeper/follower of this great blog. After reading this Rubbish about Redden I could no longer keep silent... ARE YOU BLOODY WELL KIDDING ME???? It was all we could do to ship this bum out of town for god sakes. The guy has been on a steady downward spiral since the 2003 conference final mistake he made in game 7 letting that damn pass go right through his legs, and you wanna bring him back??? Good lord.
Redden... really??? He is paid a ton of money for a lot of years. Even getting him for free would be a bad idea because it would kill our cap for years to come.
Also, I don't see why so many people don't want Elliott in goal. He has played much better the past couple of games and has shown in the past that he is capable. Brodeur has been inconsistent in the AHL so it would be a huge risk putting him in.
PS to those who say Brodeur will "try hard" because it is his first game... I can tell you that Elliott is "trying hard" too and is a significantly better goaltender.
i dont mind spezza between alfie and michalek.
i think spezza's play should be above and beyond the issue of which line he plays on. he should be able to make his wingers better players.
agree with questionable elliot start. but its a toss-up to be honest. you want to get a win bad, you know elliot has it in him to play a solid game, you dont know how the team will play in front of brodeur, you dont know if elliot is going to break out of his slump tonight, you know that philly is around the corner for rebounding their season, your own team has been slumping the past few games. i think he has no choice but to go with elliot. it is upto elliot to prove to the coach that he is upto it. i think elliot needs to get his head right and he will be fine. this team just needs him to make the timely key saves and the system will take care of the rest.
as for the redden rumor. um why get an overpaid slumping d-man for a hard working winger and a middling fourth liner who is still serviceable? and ofcourse the New York media will try to trade him to everywhere and anywhere lol. thats what local media does. in reality, any GM who takes on Redden right now would be a idiot.
massively overpaid, NYR threw money at him and he just went for it. both were stupid. he should have asked Sather to trim the contract himself for his own good lol.
Kovacrap - I like it. I have never been so disappointed in a professional hockey player in my life. He looks as if he couldn't care less both on the ice, and when they show him sitting on the bench. Someone has to knock some sense into this idiot.
Why would Edmonton want to do this?
Why would Kuba waive his no trade clause?
Nice real rumour.
haha anon@1249
ur right what really is up with Kuba all of a sudden man. i forget what game it was, but he was dominating and had what 4 points? and since then he has just.......slumped badly.
oh btw guys:
maybe someone should convince Spezza's wife to go and live in Nashville and appear on American Idol, become nationwide famous country singer. then we can have a mike fisher-type resurgence of the Spezz-dispenser.
I'm 60 years old and I can skate faster than Kovalev! Gainey seems to be the smart one. Is Kovalev's plane still painted with the stars and stripes?
Okay, first off, Michalek and Alfie don't need "protection", especially not MM9. And since when do the Sens protect their stars anyway (in the traditional way like some other teams do)? Sens stars have always had to take the abuse for the most part.
SM you are seriously just... are you kidding me right now?
Michalek and Alfie is what Spezza needs? That worked out so very well in the 8-9 games he had ZERO points playing with EXACTLY those two.
What he needs is Cheechoo up in the top six. It makes no sense that we haven't tried Michalek-Spezza-Cheechoo considering how well it was working before. Clouston seems clueless sometimes.
I'm excited for this game as I have both Emery and Leclaire in my hockey pool so a guaranteed two points...wait....CRAP!! No wonder I'm in last place lol.
Redden would be a solid pickup. Nobody makes a better first pass out of the zone - and that's exactly what we need right now. Not sure why all of the closed minds are coming out of the woodwork today.
Relax ..There is nothing wrong with Kuba what do except from a guy that had to carry his partner all night (karlsson) second no one is getting traded nothing with change ottawa will stick it out make the middle of a pack finish...Remember BM isnt working to bring the cup just to get us back to the playoffs ...
According to the Citizen, the top 2lines have their centres flipped again.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Clouston+shuffles+lines+again/2325687/story.html
Why is Bryan Murray part of the torch relay? Isn't the Olympics about excellence?
Elliot may be trying, but if he's not getting tired than he's not trying hard enough!!!
NOTHING WILL CHANGE WHY YOU WASTING YOUR TIME TALKING ABOUT BM KNOWS THIS TIME IS PLAYOFF BOUND AND THATS ALL THAT MATTERS .. VICTMS GET A GF ...GO SENS GO
Trading spezza is about the worst thing you can do. You don't sell stocks when their low, you sell when high.
Going to be nice to see if Kovy trys tonight. Ottawa fans want to like the guy, but it's hard to right now. Say what you want about Yashin, but that guy even tried when he came back from walking out on us.
I believe Sonny was saying:
"Redden would be a great pickup...up front we could replace Kelly and Cheechoo with Zack Smith and Denis Hamel without missing a beat"
in a sarcastic manner. Meaning Redden would be playing in the AHL, where all these guys should be!
i think after that tough lost against montreal on tuesday Ottawa will bounce back with a huge win.
Well at least i hope so
1:29
Redden hasn't made a good first pass in years, now stfu Gord!
Kuba has a nice contract - teams wouldn't shy away from picking him up. Trade him. He bungles the puck a lot. Campoli and Karlson are the puck movers. We need another solid rock back on D.
+ dump KOvacrap.
Can we just give Kovalev to another team? Hell, I'd even be fine with letting him go on re-entry waivers, that's how bad I think he is.
-- PS
Anon 1:29- On Redden: Nobody makes a better first pass out of the zone-
Ya, to the opposition. Seriously, are we talking about the same player?? It's hardly time to think panic trades folks. The Sens are right in the thick of the playoff race, and that's with Spezz on 3 goals, and with the team being nowhere close to gelling yet. Remember the Cup run? It wasn't until after Christmas that they really hit their stride. Weren't they .500 around that time, something like 18-18? Good things are still to come, this current lineup has not reached its potential.
Reading the score rumor mill today and maybe my prediction just might come true(Souray to the Senators). The talk is the Edmonton Oilers are sniffing around to see what kind of interest there is in defenceman Sheldon Souray, who has a cap hit of $5.4 million for the next three seasons. There are whispers Souray, 32, was offered as part of a package in a four-player deal with an Eastern Conference team!! Come on Chirp, get on this!! lol
although this isn't related to hockey directly it is of some interest. much like several weeks ago when espn.com reported a done deal between the hawks and sens it appears they have done the same again. espn.com has reported that the red sox have dealt 3B Mike Lowell to the texas rangers in exchange for a minor league catcher. despite espn.com running the story as a done deal is not by any means official yet. although it is a different situation than the sens/hawks issue a few weeks back as the MLB winter meetings are in full wrapping up today, it is still interesting that espn.com would jump the gun once again. are they just hoping to be the first to report at the risk of their credibility?
Right on the money CrazyCanuck. Plenty of hockey to be played and we are right where we want to be. If someone told me last christmas we'd be in 7th at this point in the schedule i'd be a very happy man. no need to panic, its been a rough stretch but i think that this team can turn it around. don't think we've got a cup contender right now but if/when spezza gets going we will be dangerous. can't say much about kovacrap though. he's good in the shootout, something we have lacked for some time (worst shootout record in the league) but not much else. Here's hoping. GO SENS GO
All of the best Sens teams had Redden as the cornerstone. He left, and the team has gone steadily downhill since. Not sure it's worth bringing him back though - he might carry us a couple of rounds deep in the playoffs, but not much further.
Hey SC,
Any truth to the rumor that Canada is showcasing Alex Daigle at the Spangler Cup to pave his return to the NHL?
He would be a great fit on the Sens 3rd line, capable of 15 - 20 goals and has the speed we need.
Why not? Bring him back to finish what he started in '91?
GoldenJ
First ten games everyone was loving Spezza's commitment to playing both ways, willingness to throw his body around. Fast forward a month and everyone's screaming "trade him". It's disgusting. The guy is 26. His career is not over. His shooting% is 4.3% right now. That's not lack of skill, that's bad luck. If he were at his career rate of 14.4% he'd have 10 goals based on the number of shots he's taken, and 24pts in 27 games.
Also, he's second on the team in takeaways, second in faceoff%, and he's on pace for a career high in hits.
Seriously, all of you guys that want spezza out, your behavior is abhorrent. I wish you would pick a new team to cheer for, because I'm sick of Sens fans picking a scapegoat and trying to run them out of town. Just shut up. Please.
Someone back me up on this, tell me I'm not the only Sens fan out here with a brain anymore.
I totally agree with CrazyCanuck. The Sens are only 4 points out of the division lead!
There is no need to panic!!
Go Sens Go!
hey crazy canuck, great point made. and i also agree that this team doesnt need a panic trade at all. the pieces are good and just a few personal NOT PERSONNEL tweaks away from bursting out of the gate. literally. before the cup run, these guys actually stooped all the way to 14th place. i still remember the look on phillip's face after they won that game against the buffaslugs to stop that atrocious 8 game losing streak in december. there were rumors of alfie being traded, of phillips being traded, of BM being fired of Muckler being fired. of Melnyk getting his lawyers ready to initiate a big time firesale. it was nuts the way these guys played after that one win. here is to hoping to a similar end to this season.
Normally I don't type more than a few sentences, but I thought I needed to say something..
** Anon @ December 10, 2009 12:38 PM
Yeah sure he goes on a couple occasional rants here and there.. But Kulka horrible? Please!
He's one of the few media personalities who's actually shown passion as a Sens fan.. Most of the time he lets you know how it is, and a majority of the time he brings up the same issues that we are always complaining about as well.. He's on our side.
If you want horrible, you should check out that crappy TGOR show that takes up the timeslot from 5:30 - 9:00 (normally ignorantly going over their limit and into OTR's time) in the morning or whatever.. I can't stand those retards! 3/4 of the time they don't even talk about the Senators (or even hockey for that matter) at all! I really can't see why anyone even enjoys their program.. Their jokes are not funny, people!!
The only player I don't want on this team is Alex "Useless" Kovalev.
But let's be honest here, with that contract we're stuck with him, I just hope he'll be better after the Xmas break.
And by the way, those who wants Redden back, go get your medication prespcription renewed ASAP.
"BeJamin said...
SM you are seriously just... are you kidding me right now?
Michalek and Alfie is what Spezza needs? That worked out so very well in the 8-9 games he had ZERO points playing with EXACTLY those two."
Dude do you even watch the games, where do you live, Guatemala!?!?
He had 8 points in 10 games while playing with Alfie and Michalek. (Oct 3 to Oct 28).
And whats with you and Cheechoo, you have a love affair going on?!?! The guy absolutely SUCKS!
My 5 year old kid skates better than him for crissakes!!! He was the player nobody wanted in that trade but Ottawa took him so we could have Michalek and that 2nd rounder. Hoping a change of scenery would maybe give him a boost, but has clearly went the other way, Cheechoo is slowly deteriorating!!! LOL
SM
Crazy Canuk, the new Dave! I agree.
So when the team hits a slump the fanbase is calling for Yashin, Redden, and Daigle back? You guys need to think clearly and understand that this is just a slump. If moves need to be made to bring the team out of it you can rest assured knowing none of those mentioned players will have anything to do with it.
-Tangg
"Anonymous said...
All of the best Sens teams had Redden as the cornerstone. He left, and the team has gone steadily downhill since. Not sure it's worth bringing him back though - he might carry us a couple of rounds deep in the playoffs, but not much further."
You are a complete TOOL!!
Never was Redden the cornerstone of our team, he was good for 2-3 seasons max then Chara came in and he went completely south, went from and good D to one of the worst in the league (and the numbers back it up). Redden WAS the reason we were losing games and eventually the Cup!!!!
Keeping Redden instead of Chara was the Sens #1 mistake in their HISTORY! You dont simply let a 6'9 beast of a D go...
SM
Anon 2:54
Just because one thing isn't good doesn't mean another thing can't also be terrible and Kulka was terrible. Loved the sound of his own voice, would take five minutes to say something that should have been said in 30 seconds and wasn't worth saying anyway. He constantly mispronounced words or used the wrong word to begin with. Just because he used to be semi-relevant in the CFL however many years ago doesn't mean he is qualified to be on on air analyst and personality.
As for the Sens, they are where everyone who wasn't blinded by homerism figured they would be - in the mix for the 6-8 play-off spot and a team that could potentially miss.
Kovy was a bad signing. I said it when they signed him, was shocked that anyone would for the price tag, and will maintain it. He will have a couple runs here and there but is a guy who won't be there every night and wont backcheck.
SM, Cheechoo might skate like Kovalev, but Cheechoo gets dirty in front of the net, works hard every shift. Keep Cheechoo, trade Kovalev.
Hey everyone and SC.
Ok seriously though im hearing a lot of talk on Wade Redden. Im SO happy you guys arent GM's I would take Redden over Picard any day of the frickin week!
Yeah he was somewhat run out of town, but he was also a good guy and he loved Ottawa very much. Yes, incredibly overpaid, but maybe his locker room presence was worth it.
Onto tonights game, I would like Elliott to start in net, I think this game will really prove how capable he is of taking on a strong, desperate team. Putting Mike Brodeur against Carter, Briere, Richards and Pronger isnt a smart move. The kid doesnt have any NHL experience and throwing him to the dogs is not a good idea. In fact, thats probably a guaranteed loss. Im not a fan of Elliott's fear of the puck either, but I do think we have a bigger chance of winning with him rather than Mikey B.
GO SENS GO!!
-Carlos
I posted this a little earlier but I figured I'd try again for those that missed it.
New blog I'm workin on that will give us a place to talk Olympic Hockey.
Its called Gold Rush
Stop by if you're interested
http://goldrush2010.blogspot.com/
i'd keep cheechoo-even resign him for around 1.7 at the end of his contract.
To Carlos,
You are right, Redden is probably better than Picard, but Picard doesn't belong in the NHL. He's a well oiled turnover machine, who wants that?
"Kovalev sucks said...
SM, Cheechoo might skate like Kovalev, but Cheechoo gets dirty in front of the net, works hard every shift. Keep Cheechoo, trade Kovalev."
Kovalev is a great skater, just has no drive. Cheechoo CANT skate!!!
He fights for the puck and gets overpowered by smaller players and falls or stumbles. Gets dirty, sure, if you mean being flat on your face infront of the net?!?!
SM
Carlos,
I don't care how nice of a guy he is off the ice, I want someone who is capable of producing well at the NHL level. Something Redden lost a long time ago...
This is cap space hockey
nobody and I mean nobody mentioned the past few days for trades will get traded
except for Lee/Picard/Campoli, nobody will ever be considered by another team for a trade
they just cost too much
Kovalev, Cheechoo, Spezza and anyone else are staying right here
the only way we could ship anyone of these guys out
is if we give up draft picks and take on another overpaid player
them's the facts
@ Anon 3:31pm. Yeah I suppose you're right. Picard is not NHL material, i just wanted to prove a point i guess lol.
Go Sens Go!
Hey SM, you remind me of George Kastansa. Remember your anger management classes. Take deep breaths, count to 10, and so on.
SM If you have nothing nice to say. It's so easy to get you going.
I have Rizzo's back.
For a good laugh go read all the suckers who thought Kovalev was a "Great Signing" from the blog when he got signed haha man I just got a solid chuckle outta that.
Hopefully the Sens have there shit together tonight, no telling what Flyers team might show up. Best case scenario 4-3 ot win for the Sens just to fuck the leafs over by philly gettin a point.
Wow this blog has gotten crazy, but is still one of the more entertaining in the Sensphere.
On Redden: He was VERY GOOD even before Chara got here. He would routinely create breakout patterns here and his first pass was gold. When Chara got here he was close to tier 1. He declined after his big contract, it happens but I harbor no hard feelings, guy did a lot for the city.
On Kulka: He was TEERIBLE...his segment was a lot like insulting or screaming at someone that disagreed with him and then hanging up. He's the Lowell Green of sports radio with less ridiculousness attached. As for cheering for the Sens. Newsflash, media ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO CHEER THE TEAMS THEY COVER.
On Kovy: I love him with all my heart, he clearly wants to be in Montreal though.
Spezza isn't going to go "up" in stock value anytime soon. This isn't a high octane team and he's not capable of developing a two-way game (the hamster wheel stops turning when coaches ask him to do two things at once) so if you can convince him to leave and someone is foolish enough to take him...do it!
As for tonight's game, it could get ugly.
GO SENS!!
Anon @ 2:54
Yes TGOR are garbage. I only listen to Pierre McGuire then switch it off until 10 a.m. (they are sadly on until then now).
Carlos,
Couldn't agree more about putting Elliott in.
And although you are right that Redden is better than Picard, the difference is that he is making like 7x more money and is on contract for a lot longer.
When it comes down to two players you don't want, I guess you go with the cheap one...
Yeah Rizzo!
Every player that has been chased out of town has become pretty much a bust. Noting Heatley we are sure on yet!
just to name a few!
Redden - sucks
Yashin - sucks
Daigle - enjo the spengler cup
Emery - average goalie, better off with Leclaire
Schaefer - Sucks
Corvo - meh, can live without.
altho a puck moving guy would be goooood. but he didn't do that in Ottawa.
It's the fan's with no brains that only run their mouths and shit on the team that want to be heard so badly on this site it seems. It's sad that their BS gets posted......
I really hope spezza gets a few pts tonight to shut some people up.
If I'm wrong on Spezza in the end, I'll eat my words, but I'm going to stand by him and the team regardless. I'm with you guys on Kovalev...most nights, but Spezza has done a lot of great things for us in the past (22pts in 20 games in the playoffs during our cup run), was Olympic alternate in 2006, and played for Team Canada in 2008 at the World Championships.
This guy is far from a pylon. Unfortunately, minus heatley, we don't have a true sniper to go with him. Yeah Michalek is scoring a lot of goals (and has already become on of my favorite players), but most of his goals are from his hard work, not rifling a shot from the slot etc. Either way, I think Spezza is going to rebound, play and points wise. If I'm wrong I'll eat my words, but I think the Sens are lucky to have him.
Oh, and Anon @5:05, why don't you add Alfredsson to that list as a player that came inches from being run out of town a few years ago. Now everyone's singing a different tune eh?
NO TOO MANY MEN PENALTIES!!!
For anyone missing Heatley, here's a quote from a Sharks fan today:
"As for the OT goal, let’s thank “Heater” for his usual stellar waltz into the D-zone after coughing the puck up high in LA’s zone to start the debacle. Has that guy won ONE battle for a puck this season? If all you can do is score goals then you’d better score 70 or you’re as big a liability as some feared you’d be. And I don’t have anything personal against the guy!"
Rizzo,
Thank's for the dose of reality re: Spezza. I couldn't agree more with you.
Fans that want to run one of, if not arguably, the most offensively talented player the organization's ever had out of town at 26 years old should be put in a padded room and forced to watch a different sport.
Spezza's more than a point a game player throughout is entire career and fans want him gone because he's struggled offensively through the first 25 games of this season. This while his overall game continues to improve.
The "defensive liability" everyone labels him was a minus player last year for the first time since his rookie season.
Good grief. Posters like Bobby Jones are complete morons.
- Jalen
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