Up until about half way through the third period this really was a game that could go either way.
With the Sens struggling lately this was the kind of game that would have had some fans in this city mashing the ol' panic button. But on the strength of a third period goal from Nick Foligno, the Senators were able to walk into Philly and pick up another huge two points.
Full credit to Brian Elliott for his second career shutout and first of the season. He battled all night and it's nice to see him get rewarded with the goose egg.
This really was an impressive defensive effort for the Senators and a near text book road game. While the power play continued to struggle the penalty kill was awesome against the Flyers. Ottawa killed off seven Philly power plays including a nearly full two minute 5 on 3 early in the hockey game.
Anton Volchenkov was an absolute machine tonight and was at his defensive best from the get go. He caught Richards with a classic A-Train hit and blocked five shots on the night.
Anyway, obviously this wasn't the prettiest of games but its nice to see Ottawa get the two points against one of the teams behind them in the playoff race.
Until tomorrow...
83 comments:
Every game Ottawa plays I keep holding out hope that Spezza and/or Kovalev will have a break out game. It's only a matter of time right????
Spezza played just over 14 minutes. Was he being benched a bit by Clouston at all?
Gutsy win glad they pulled it out. Great for Elliot's confidence to get the SO after a few shaky starts on the road trip.
Much needed 2pts in the bank.
It's a damn shame our pp has to include kuba.
good win...kinda surprised by the tsn2 coverage by the philly announcers they actually knew what they were talking about unlike other u.s teams
wasnt able to watch the whole game but carkner took a really bad penalty late in the game!!
great to see us get the win... elliott was solid and i hope he keeps it up.
spezza just ugh
Can they please get Volchenkov signed ASAP!
I think Spezza's ice was low because there we're so many penalties in the game. He did have over 5 minutes of PP time and only had a grand total of 1 shot on net but at least he didn't get scored on. He doesn't kill penalties so that would be a contributing factor towards him not playing his usual 20 minutes a game.
Elliot was on SOLID tonight, really glad he had a strong game and the PK guys we're amazing. Neither team looks particularly good right now but we got the 2 points and that is all that matters.
Yea that a tough one for Carkner to take although I understand what he was trying to do.
It's late in the game and hes trying to get physical on Richards.
I don't wanna say Richards went down easily but it just didn't look like the kind of contact that would usually knock a guy of his strength down so violently.
I could be wrong though...
Kovi+Spezza+Alfie > 17 mil = 4 SOG tonight...
Now get off Elliott's back and quit calling for Brodeur.
The guy passing to Richards knew Carkner was right behind Richards. Whomever that Flyer player was put his teammate in a bad spot.
Needless to say, it was a stupid penalty to take but the Richard's teammate didn't really put him in a good spot.
Did Heatley make Spezza good, maybe he is not as talented as we thought!
Spez seems to be focussing on other aspects of the game, like rushing back (usually after a give-a-way), winning faceoffs, and working the corners in the defensive end...seems allthis has taken away from his scoring/setting up instincts.
Spezza is talented, just be god damn patient. His career is playing out like Vinny Lecavalier's. Just watch.
Hey everyone and SC
I dont want to say i told you so, but....Did I not say we would have a greater chance for a "W" with Elliott in net? Mikey B would NOT have gotten us a shutout.
All we need is a little faith guys, Im glad we got the win. Congrats to Elliott on his awesome shutout. He really silenced the critics that were hounding him.
However...the Powerplay....oh my lordy the Powerplay. Lets step it up shall we? :)
Go Sens Go!!
-Carlos
That was hard to watch, power play is 0 for 16 and counting...Go Sens Go!
Unlike lecavalier, Ottawa is not getting much scoring from it's other top players at the moment like Tampa bay is...
Sens scouts among others taking in Preds/Jackets game acording to Pred blogger
So can we get back to planning the parade now?
Carlos - you and half the other readers made that call. Arrogant prick. Celebrate the win, don't act like you should take the next GM position because you make the OBVIOUS call to put the NHL BACKUP in before the SHAKY AHL GOALIE.
Can't wait for Neil to return, the Sens miss his presence and energy.
Richards took a dive after that nudge by Carkner - no doubt about it. Don't agree with your assessment of the game, Philly outplayed Ottawa all over all night.
Now for the power play. Why does the play keep going back to the point? Kuba blows chunks on the power play - clear alley to a screened boucher and instead of a low shot he puts it in the chest of his own player in front of the net. karlsson is still not ready for primetime, he shouldn't be getting top 4 minutes yet. We need a number one D with a lethal shot in the worst way.
Kovalev was good on the PP in montreal because they had a threat on the point so other teams had to worry down low and on the point. With Ottawa, no threat whatsoever from the point so easy to cover down low.
so glad we got the 2 pts. mtl lost and so did t.o. gives us a bit of breathing room from our bitter rivals. sure hope buffalo and boston cool off. ugly win but huge for elliot's confidence and the team's confidence in him. hope he can steal one of our up coming games and give us good position for when pascal is back. volchenkov is awesome! GO SENS GO!!
i was never a kuba fan.. now i just want him off the team..
we can get a much better d-man for 3.7 million then we are getting for Kuba. He is way too slow, guys skate right by him.
Too bad he is signed for 2 more years.
For someone who is 6'4 and 226 pounds, he does not check or use his size as all.
two points are two points.
That was an obvious dive by Richards, and the ref bought it hook line and sinker. Was hoping the ref saw the replay on the scoreboard to even it up, but no dice...
Strong win though, and a great effort by Elliot.
On TSN "SENATORS' ELLIOTT EARNS SHUTOUT IN WIN OVER SLUMPING FLYERS" Now why...why do they have to add in the slumping Flyers part?
TSN is quickly losing any credibility with me, i used to defend it, and it used to be far better than CBC for being pro-Toronto but not anymore.
It wasn't much of a hockey game. We'll take the two points. We will need a lot more desperation and intensity on our forecheck & PP if we're to do any damage though. They absolutely must fight harder to get to the middle of the ice.
Foligno's goal is a perfect example of a guy fighting hard to get to the front of the net/middle of the ice and jam it in. We need to see more of that from Spezza and Kovalev. Shoot through a players legs and drive the net rather than fancy perimeter garbage.
That being said Foligno missed a tap-in when Kovalev's wizardy gave him an open net to put the puck in lol.
We'll take the win and hope they turn up the heat a little bit in the next few games!
even when we win, poeple are calling out players.
Geesh. I am happy for the two points, and this is what we need from Foligno.
it was a defensive game, and I am glad we got the W.
Go Sens Go!
-KJ
If Murray didn't re-sign Kuba, everyone would have moaned and groaned about how he let another big name UFA d-man leave for nothing.
He couldn't get anything back for him at the deadline last year, so he decided on re-signing him.
Others in his price range:
Jul 1, 5:55PM Komisarek, Mike Montreal Toronto $22.5 5 $4.5M
Jul 1, 3:56PM Spacek, Jaroslav Buffalo Montreal $11.5M 3 $3.83M
Jul 6, 4:09PM Beauchemin, Francois Anaheim Toronto $11.4M 3 $3.8M
Jul 1, 12:30PM Ohlund, Mattias Vancouver Tampa Bay $26.25M 7 $3.75M
I'd take Kuba over all of those 2009 FAs.
wow murray please trade kuba
Is Kuba going to be the flavour of the week for criticism?
Awesome...I look forward to it.
Trade Kuba for who exactly? I love the comments that say "Trade ___" with no regard for what it would do to the current roster.
Just try thinking a little bit before posting. If you want to criticize a guy thats fine but the "He sucked" "trade him" comments need to stop.
Get 2 points - survive - move on to the next game.
Snoopy returns in how many days ????
I'm thinking maybe a week from now. The hope is that Leclaire and Neil will both play next weekend.
Right on Chirp....
Just Enjoy the win you muppets!
Can't Sens fans just all get along!?!
We are way ahead of where we were this time last year and our best players aren't even playing to their capabilities!
Cheer on the fucking team yall!!!
All together now.....Go Sens GO!!!
I think it is time to push the panic button the way our powerplay is and the rumor of Souray coming to Ottawa just keeps sounding better and better. Any info on that front Chirp?
Trade Kuba! Just kidding Chirp. Where is the hate for this guy coming from?Everyone should know who he is by now. He's big, he gets in the way and moves the puck. He's never going to start hitting to or look spectacular. He is a solid blueliner. Get off his back we only have 3 top four defencemen we can't afford to run one of them out of town.
Haven't heard anything about that.
Where does that rumour come from?
Sounds like the Kovalev to Anaheim rumour to me...
Andrew,
I think those 7 points in 2 games a few weeks ago really fooled some people when it comes to Kuba.
Like a lot of guys on this team right now he can obviously be better.
It's a long season folks...
hey guys. there is absolutely no reason to get on kuba's back. the guy is a minute cruncher for the sens. he lessen's the load on carkner, phillips and volchenkov and is part of the "stable" 4-D we have. sure he is slumping on the PP right now and i think he is just a little off, but lets not forget he was producing like gangbusters before going on that road trip. its just a matter of time before he clicks back in place. and you never know, it might just be an issue with coaching as to how they are playing him and what instructions are there.
i personally think that being paired with Karlsson is slowing him down and complicating his simple game. i think clouston should switch karlsson and campoli. karlsson with carkner should be alright as carkner can be purely defensive and karlsson can be the rover type. or karlsson with phillips might be better too. volchenkov and carkner can then give us a hard hitting tandem which sure as hell will be painful to play against you bet. but yea i think Kuba is having to overstretch the defensive part of his game because he has to cover for karlsson. karlsson has a habit of suddenly getting risky and i think that puts kuba behind the 8-ball.
im saying based on observations of previous games, so correct me if the pairing was different today. i wasn't able to watch the game.
and there is no way people should call for trading Kuba. thats just idiotic, childish, stupid and hormonal, very much like teenage female twilight fans. kuba is extremely valuable on that back end as this team sorts out its other weak pieces.
also, where is spezza man. clouston needs to address it beyond just shooting the puck more. there has to be a deeper issue.
i didnt watch the game. but happy for the 2 points. really like the SO for Elliot. the guy obviously has some issues with the mental part of the game and this would go lightyears to help him resolve those. just awesome. also the loofas lost again and so did the idiotic habs. so perfect. moved up a spot in the standings too. lets hope this gets the monkeys off the back of some players on the team and gets them going.
hey SC, just one question in the end though. was it a really defensive game? were both teams evenly matched?
hq,
It really turned into a special teams battle actually. Both teams took a ton of a penalties and Ottawa was able to kill of 7 Flyer chances.
I guess the Flyers were the better team tonight but Elliott was huge when he had to be and got them the win.
I think it was a combination of tight checking and general sloppiness.
SC
If Neiler and Snoopy are back next weekend that would be much needed help for the Sens.
Do you think that Fish's got a real shot at a spot on the Olympic team? I hope so. I think if he makes the team his play will skyrocket when he comes bakc to the Sens.
Good thing they were playing a messed up team. Those Ws are so damn important!! Glad to see Elliott Moose get the shutout...hopefully he can get confident and be consistently reliable again.
I just hate everyone picking on players like they're dog crap. Kuba doesn't look like he's feeling very strong, even for a guy that doesn't hit much he's having a hard time standing tall. Did everyone forget the point machine and PP wiz Kuba has been? He'll get there again...I just think he plays much better at even strength when he's with a stay-at-home guy and he's 100%.
Picard haters...get your whining caps on, he's due back. Should be a step up from Campoli, I think. Picard at least seems to be able to get point shots through to the net.
Every game since he's been out, I keep thinking over and over how much Chris Neil is missed. I also really hope Donovan is back in the 2nd half of the season.
Is it so freakin hard to just drive the net regularly? It's frustrating to see how often the puck is dug out from the corner or along the boards in the offensive zone...and the Sens player peeks at the front of the net...NOBODY HOME! Equally as frustrating as seeing shot after shot after shot from the point blocked or deflected out of play....often by a teammate!
why would edmonton trade souray right now. i mean people propose the most idiotic trades just because they get sudden man-crushes on players or start listening to Don Cherry. gosh
souray is surging right now. but look closely. he is already 33. his cap hit is 5.4. edmonton needs him badly right now. also edmonton absolutely needs to make the playoffs this year at any cost. they are also on a little bit of a win streak and have been putting together strong wins. so why in the world would they trade him away right now? makes just no sense for them in any way at all.
also, where will he fit on the team? his cap hit is bigger too than kuba if thats the trade people are proposing. kuba is cheaper, much better defensively and except for souray's rocket shot, is a much better D-man.
please do the research before proposing bonehead trades. both for the sens and the team you are proposing with. some people here were suggesting spezza for getzlaf over the past few days. thats just beyond stupid. no way anaheim trades getzlaf. plus, why would anaheim take on spezza when he would just not fit in with their coach. randy carlyle has quite a say in who comes on that team and who does not and he likes the edgy players more. softies like spezza will not survive in his system. plus, the sens are freshly coming off the heatley saga, does this organization really have the capacity to now trade its star centreman away too? obviously not. he is part of the way forward, they just need to push this guy to get him to produce. and yea if it really ends up just unworkable then trade him. but right now that is a very very very long ways away.
60 minutes without a "Too many men" penalty...it's a start. Baby steps.
The power play sucks because, unlike many teams, there is absolutely no threat from the point. That's why Alfie has to keep coming up the half wall to organize the play and why there's nobody in front of the net, the guys that should be screening the goalie have to fan out down low to take passes.
Kuba isn't bad, he's just not good on the PP. If he was traded, he would have to be packaged up with a good asset and the return would have to be a D that can shoot. Given that he's good but not great at anything else, I think he's definitely trade material if someone is willing to take on his salary. I'm actually surprised Murray resigned him last summer.
Ottawa desperately needs a number one D, and that's the roster spot that Kuba is taking up right now - and that's why people are saying he should be traded.
He'd be good number 2 but we have an exceptional shutdown pair that is expensive so little room for a number 2 at that price.
I think Murray probably needs to make a trade for another forward. Obviously the current mix isn't getting Spezza and/or Kovalev going, Alfie and Michalek have looked a bit ordinary, and they just aren't deep enough to afford the luxury of putting one of their top guys on one of the back lines.
Maybe he's got to move someone out to find a winger for Spezza that makes him go again. Kovy is what he is, I still think he'll come around someday. Alfie and Michalek should be able to work it out, they're doing well together. I still think Fisher is a good player for Kovalev, but maybe not a centre?
I don't know, I guess I just kind of feel like they need a bit of fresh blood up front.
@ Anon 10:15PM
First of all, I am not an arrogant prick. Im just one of the few fans that still has a speck of faith left in this team. Hiding behind Anon just puts you in with the rest of the crowd that carries torches and pitchforks when the sens start to struggle.
"I dont want to say i told you so, but....Did I not say we would have a greater chance for a "W" with Elliott in net? Mikey B would NOT have gotten us a shutout."
Correct me if im wrong, but that doesnt imply I want to be the next GM of Ottawa. I just want to knock some common sense into these "fans" that want to throw in Mike Brodeur in net, while at the same time trade spezza and Kovy and Kuba.
Sorry buddy =\ you lose, gg though.
Go Sens Go!!
-Carlos
It's really nice to see the team be able to grind out these one goal, low scoring games. That was a significant problem under Hartsberg, and it seems the style they're playing under Clouston is more condusive to the skillset of the team.
To take the next step however, this team needs to carve out an identity. Especially with recent additions, in Michalek, Cheechoo, Carkner, this team is starting to turn into the type of blue collar, gritty, two-way team the city has always wanted.
Going in this direction is a huge positive step; it's inline with the personality of the new core of this team, which has now been built around Alfie, Phillips, Volchenkov, Fisher. We can probably now add Leclaire and Michalek to the key building blocks of this franchise now.
Kovalev though was a step in the wrong direction. Spezza also does not fit this style/personality, which is a problem due to the extent to which he dominates the play (same with Kovalev). I really think that this team isn't going to be able to take the step to true contender status until we have the leaders of the team pulling in the same direction. I commend Spezza for his valiant attempt this season to do that, but so far it's not working out.
If Spezza can't find a game that gels with the new direction of the team by the end of this season, as skilled as he is, he needs to move on. His salary would be tough to move, especially after a poor season, and we wouldn't get fair value because of that. The gains in team identity and personality would compensate for that, as has been the case with the Heatley move.
Unfortunately we're stuck with Kovalev for another season. He's unmovable. Murray's mandate needs to be to set this team up for 2011-2012 by locking up Volchenkov to a long term extension, and move Spezza for another gritty 2-way center who can be an inegral part of a cup run in two years time.
Once Kovalev is off the books, and some of the young defensemen become impact players, we can add one or two final pieces to put us into contention, and the franchise will have officially been placed back on track.
Really, to be able to way that this team is one or two moves away from contender status is something that we should be pleased with. The criticisms of Murray are unfounded. We certainly couldn't say that we were anywhere colse at this time last year.
--Butters
"Did heatley make spezza good"...
are you kidding me, if milan/kovie or alfie would finish on one of the million sweet one timers spezz has set them up with he'd be our point leader.
I've read most of the comments here, and wonder why everyone is not missing the obvious - this is not our year. Better than last year -- absolutely. Next year? Probably not. We're in the rebuilding phase. Our window was open for a short period and we took it to the finals. Our core has changed substantially since then, and we've been forced to rebuild with the cards that have been dealt.
Karlesson is up this year to gain experience. Cowen will come up next year & that will be his training year & he will be a force late in the season. Lerner won't be ready for a couple of years. We need a couple of trades to pick up some veteran offensive players - our feeder systems don't have that skill set (they're pretty much ordinary). And we need some solid draft picks in the next couple of years.
Who knows what the future holds - in the meantime, exercise patience and just enjoy the sport. Go SENS!
Everyone leave Kuba out of the trade talks. He runs things on our D. Not only does he move the puck up well, he takes up high pressure minutes that help Volch and Phillips... At his price it's a great deal and not worth giving up on. Also he has a no trade and stated when he got it that he was happy to have some stability...
I still think we need Filatov. He is an unreal talent and hopefully would fit into our system. I am just not sure who Columbus would want back.
Kovalev to EDM for Souray - cap hit is similar and EDM needs offense with Hemsky out.
Kuba sucks so much...wish we could dump him like a bag of muffin bottoms
"All we need is a little faith guys, Im glad we got the win. Congrats to Elliott on his awesome shutout. He really silenced the critics that were hounding him."
Why cuz he won 1 game???
Do you even follow hockey?
Elliot has 2 wins in his last 7 games.
Its gonna take more than 1 games vs a slumping Flyers team to convince me he is a decent goaler.
SM
"Andre said...
Ottawa desperately needs a number one D, and that's the roster spot that Kuba is taking up right now - and that's why people are saying he should be traded."
You mean Carkner, Carkner is the one that should not be on this team, signing him was a nice story and all but he is a career AHL'er and does not look good out there, penalties, out of position, giveaways. Name it.
SM
But Richards penalty was a dive, I mean come on, have you seen this guy worjk the boards, he simply just doesnt fall that easily...
Smart on him though, goon hits you, fall and draw a penalty.
SM
@ andre:
you are right, but considering the way this team has lost all its puck moving D/big shot D since the cup run (preissing, corvo, redden, mesjaros). Murray had to move quick on Kuba before he lost out on that too. for what Kuba brings, except the big shot, he is very very reasonably signed. you saw what beauchemin, komisarek, ohlund and spacek went for. komisarek is grossly overpaid, ohlund and spacek in comparison to kuba would be overpaid too. ohlund is a former shell of himself, another declining slowing down redden. beauchemin might be the only one who compares more evenly as his game is rounding out in toronto and he is earning just a 100,000 more. so i think the Kuba signing isnt all that bad from BM. and I dont see why they dont insist on him using a bigger shot from the point. They should try in practice and get him to use a big shot.
i still think that for the next 2.5 years. he will be a very serviceable and reliable presence on the blueline for the sens as they gradually phase in their rookie talent in karlsson, wiercioch and cowen. and maybe Lee lol.
@ black terror: i think exactly the same thing that fisher might not be the right centreman for kovalev. the way its panned out, it seems fisher is the winger and kovalev the centreman. while that works great for fisher, its kinda staled out as kovalev seems disinterested at times and is too busy setting people up instead of using his snipe skills which he is better known for. this is where Clouston has to make a brave decision. He has to realize that alfie can work just fine with fisher and put kovalev up there with spezza. if thats a no-no for him, then he should try giving cheechoo top two line minutes again. foligno is great for a rookie, but i dont think he is yet top 2 line material. and if cheechoo doesn't work out on the top 2 lines, then I BM has a legitimate reason for a trade. But for that process to kickstart, Cory has to make a brave decision and put cheechoo up with spezza. Change is always the way to go in hockey if things are not working for a long time. they are running into the new year now and its just not affordable to wait for spezza. he needs to get kickstarted. Clouston has tried and tried hard to get him going with the current two wingers, but its just not happening. and you can see the second line slowing down a little too with kovalev's production completely dried up. so bump foligno back to the third when neil and dono come back and put kovalev up there with spezza and give cheechoo top two line minutes too.
Karlsson needs to play in the top 4 to develop. Playing in the third pairing would be physically harder as he would spend more time against grinding lines and he's not strong enough yet for that sort of match up.
One switch might be to flop Karlsson & the A-Train. Kuba is more offensive minded and he seems to be too preoccupied with taking care of the rookie. Phillips might be a better partner for Karlsson.
There's a lot of things we need, but bear in mind Murray is working on it...this is a cap world now, you cant just start bringing in whoever you like willy-nilly, and there aren't any Mike Milbury's left as GM's to hose in trades. Our problems will be fixed in time when Kovalev and Cheechoo come off the books after next season we can sign a big money winger and hopefully Murray will have two of his three good D draft picks playing at a high level and maybe a top six forward he drafts this coming draft will develop by then as well.
picture:
Michalek - Spezza - Young sniper
Foligno - Fisher - Alfreddsson
Shannon - Kelly - Smith
Ruutu - Winchester - Neil
Kuba - Cowen
Phillips - Volchenkov
Karlsson - Carkner
Weircioch/Campoli
Leclaire
Elliot
seems like a solid future to me. If not, we could always trade Alfy at a deadline before his contract is up to a contender for prospects/picks then let him come back and finish his career in Ottawa.
Enough with the whining about kovalev already!!! He is what he is, seems like a bunch of people thought we signed crosby. This is how he's always been and always will.
Nice game from the boys. Even though it was very "devilish", 2 is 2.
pg
It was a good team win, congrats to the guys! Big congrats to Elliott who has been taking it from all comers, media and fan alike.
I agree that Spezza needs to move on. He's just not...how do I put this politely. He has the all the tools but no toolbox. He *should* be able to defend, backcheck and help on the attack but it seems he gets confused. He doesn't have the best of footspeed either, which doesn't help.
I see Spezza as a #2 centre on a real contender and as a #1 on a rebuilding team that needs a big name and won't care about his erratic play and marshmallow soft physical presence.
As for Kovalev, love the guy but Ottawa can't handle a guy like this. He really does belong in Montreal or Edmonton or a city where they're used to high-skill, high-risk, high-reward that play in their own bubble but still contribute.
As for the team in general, we aren't winning the Cup anytime soon. We just don't have the depth of skill, steady goaltending or youth for deep playoff runs. We could well make the playoffs this year, but we'll likely get stomped in 4 or 5 by Washington or Pittsburgh. Hoping for Jersey in the playoffs as they are a bye for us...
Go Sens!
That's hillarious. Comrade Kovalev isn't playing well so we should trade him to that gulag in siberia... I mean Edmonton. Wonder how he'd feel about that.
Sourray is too valuable in Edmonton and Kovalev wouldn't have a lot of skill to work with over there, doubt the oilers would go for that.
As far as a Volchenkov trade, while it would suck for the rest of the season, suppose he gets traded to a contender with no cap space next season - like Chicago. They can't afford to re-sign him in the off-season so Ottawa picks him up again as an FA and nets a decent player in the exchange. Would it be worth the risk?
Kovalev was given a dumptruck full of money to sacrifice winning to play on a team
BM knew this, Kovalev knows this and now the rest of the fans who didn't figure this out know it
Kovalev was brought in as a ringer in desperation with the loss of heatley
it was a monumental failiure on BM's part to assess the needs of the team and factor the value of the contract with regards to the cap
It was a terrible signing when it was first announced and it will be a terrible signing till the day after he is off the books
But we can't change it now
Spezza has talent, youth and prospect but for some reason doesn't play
He is averaging AHL performance each game with flashes of NHL talent
His contract is also massive and he will never be moved anytime soon
We are stuck with these players now it is the coach's job to figure out how to use them
damned if we do; damned if we don't
if we don't play them they wont produce anything
if we keep playing them they usually ruin the play/game
it is quite a sticky situation
the only way I see these players "waking up" is if some crucial piece in the puzzle that is lacking is added
and soon
I think it might be a sniper, someone who is responsible for pocketing the puck
to take that finishing anxiety off of Kovalev and Spezza
Since they are adopting a lessez faire type attitude might as well give them a crutch
For the record I am thinking a lower tier T6 skilled player like a T. Ruutu
Someone we can afford both capwise and trade value
If the team can't activate the 12.5 million held up in the two worst sens players on the ice these days
we are toast
Just please, PLEASE stop with the trade kovalev/spezza
it will never ever ever EVER happen in capspace hockey
hahahahahahaa even when wew win this board is full of shit!!!!! i like it tho chirp really , i love being able to talk hockey and not worry about the odd swear word, dont ever change that....the defence YES THE DEFENCE and elliott won us this game and here you guys are calling for thier heads LOL carkners a mistake??? are you for real?? and campoli i saw save us the game last night!!!! this is very rare but if he continues to live a little and play an actual defence roll like that, then frickin rights guys , our defence will be strong!!!!!
our problem lies in our powerplay , and yes kovalev and spezza arent producing, tho kovalev was solid last night i dont care what anyone says!!!!!
as for spezza , i love him , but am starting to get scared here , starting to think he might want out but wont say it cuz he doesnt wanna hurt the fans.... i mean you can think of every explanation but this one makes sense..... the guy is pure skill but has been showing very little....
BRIAN ELLIOTT - looked as tho hed been practising for 30 hours straight and was determined to not give em anything easy....i fuckin love this guy , i dont care what anyone says, hes still a young rookie backup but hes getting precious experience that is only going to make him better, and better he was , these last 2 games he has been SOLID!!!!!our future looks bright with him , foligno winchester, who looks like a young fish , and perter regin whose projected to be a grinder , but i see sooo much more all roundess coming from this young kid that wow!! we are fortunate to have these kids growing on our team....night in night out these young ones are consistant , even more consistant then some of our top guns, win or loose , goals or no goals , these kids come to play everynight
well back home tomorrow against a carolina team that has key guys back after injury... this is going to be no cake walk either, we must play hard!!!! something HAS to happen with our powerplay.... i agree with somke of the haters tho too our pp is a complete joke!!!!
GO SENS GO!!! GOOD JOB TO ELLIOTT!!! STAY SOLID AND CONFIDENT!! pascal will be back soon and you will get rest so just hang in there!!!!!!
GO SENS GO!!!GO SENS GO!!!GO SENS GO!!!
I think Kovy's totally being misused by Clouston. He's very strong and very good with the puck and thrives with big minutes and needs talent on his line. His pass to foligno from behind the net was silly. Give him Cheech (same speed and can shoot and go to the net) and maybe kelly or someone who's responsible defensively and will skate back hard. I also really like Ruutu...he should be getting more ice.
Good game for Kid Ells last night, I've always felt he is a good goalie his biggest knock has seemed to be tracking the puck and breakaways but last night he made the saves he had to. The Sens got an ugly win, but during this whole stretch i have REALLY missed Neil absolute difference maker out there. Spezz and Kovy need out of this slump but i'd rather they both explode in the second half/playoffs than start strong and fizzle out.
Hey SC any updates on Brian Lee?
What are the chances Elliott can keep starting for the next week until Leclaire gets back without getting too tired? Here's to hoping anyway!
I think Kuba is doing a pretty good job showing Karlsson the ropes. Karlsson seems a lot more confident and controlled out there now. Kuba tends to make smart plays with the puck under pressure and that is exactly the kind of thing Karlsson needs to be seeing.
People saying to get off Elliott's back have what I call "Wade Redden Syndrome".
Just like Redden, Elliott played 5 bad games, but one good one, so that means all is forgiven. NO, this is not the case!! Real hockey fans evaluate players based on consistant play, not just on their last game.
Yes Im very glad Elliott played amazing, he needed to make up for the poor games he had recently played, but I still believe that Brodeur should get at least one game in there!
Nonetheless, very disappointed with the Sens performance last night, except for Foligno and Elliott. If you couldve given a loss to both teams, I think it would be a fair result. We wont win that many games playing like we did last night.
To all you Spezza lovers, what will it take for you to realize that he is weak in the corners, no heart, doesnt crash the net, takes bad shots, has only one move that everyone knows about, and cant score at all??? But who cares right? he will play 10 bad games in a row, then have a game where he scores 2 goals, and then all is forgiven.. once again, the "Wade Redden Syndrome"
Go SENS Go
SM no, just no.
Andre meant exactly what he said. Having an expensive 3rd-4th D like Kuba makes it difficult for us to go and get a true #1. He's been struggling since being paired with Karlsson. He spends a lot of time trying to cover for the young D's mistakes. He just happens to take the cap space we'd need if we didn't move A-Train or Phillips and wanted a #1 guy.
That being said. Carkner has played very well and is inexpensive. How you think he prevents us from having a #1 guy is beyond me. He's done an excellent job of protecting our more offensive minded players. How you can possibly think that he's played badly I have no idea. You probably don't even watch the games if you think that.
@ BeJamin Matt Carkner is a inexpensive golden-god of a defensive hard hitting big punching man nuff said
Spezza with out the Heater I was thinking the same way, maybe we lost more then just Heatley in that deal. I did hear Spezza was pretty good in juniors?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALFIE!!!!
fuck off , elliott ya he let a couple softies in , and had alot of unfortunate bounces go in , but our loosing streak wasnt exactly all his fault!!!!!
theres going to be lots of up and downs in a goalies career, this is all experiences elliott will go through, how do you figure i got wade redden syndrome when ive been cheering elliott this whole time through thick and thin!!!!! dont beleive me?? go to the official ottawa sens site forums and look!!! ive never gave up on elliott!!! i agree broduer should get a chance while hes here, but i have never EVER called for elliotts head so i hope that wade redden comment wasnt directed towards me man!!!
man this is ridiculous lol. i cant believe some people are suggesting spezza is bad because heatley is gone. or that spezza now has lack of skill. or that he is a softie. and most of all people asking to trade this guy. i mean seriously. give me a break.
while heatley's departure might have affected him a little bit. he clearly has the skillset to make his wingers better. he clearly is offensively talented, we have all seen that over the past 5 years. so it doesnt all of a sudden happen with a 25 yr old that he just loses his skills. give ur heads a collective shake please guys and dont make yourselves look like numbnuts by saying incoherent and stupid things.
the guy is in a prolonged slump. he is clearly having motivation problems too. it might just be the case of his heavy contract kicking in. he just got married too. and also his linemates are a factor too. the key here is Clouston. he needs to take this to the next level, he is part the early season test now, he has shown and proven that this team has the tools to be competetive every night even against top teams. the depth is there, its won us games. so clouston needs to dig his hands and feet and refine the product again. he needs to put spezza with kovalev or cheechoo. michalek on the top line is fine. sure moveing kovalev means risking fisher's production. but at the same time we all know that fisher can't overshadow spezza's production in an ideal situation and that its spezza's production that is more a priority than fisher's.
in the end, this is about a coach finally deciding that he cannot have all lines scoring at the same high pace. eventually he has to get back to having a top money line and then the depth that follows. he doesnt have the luxury of having crosby,malkin and staal down the middle, so he can't treat this team like the penguins. he needs to get spezza going. this is not about spezza not having the skills or whatever other reasons people are coming up with over here. this is more about motivation, coaching decisions and importantly linemates.
p.s. prediction: mike brodeur gets a start against carolina.
crazy stat: but nick foligno is a very very cool +8.
hq,
I would be nervious starting Brodeur against Carolina. We have a very tough end to the month so that Carolina game is a crucial 2 points. Im not comfortable introducing an unknown into a game that we should win, especially since Elliott has been fine the last 3 games.
yea true that too. more power to elliot if clouston starts him, i was just saying from a rest perspective. they play the leafs and the sabres after.
HQ,
It's more than a prolonged slump.
He was invisible the last time we were in the playoffs.
He's not even close to a point a game now.
He wasn't all that in the World Championships either.
Spezza is in decline. He had a very high peak between 2005 and 2007 and now he's back to average. There isn't anything wrong with entertaining trade offers about him or any of our players, to be honest. Many hear seem to have fallen into the trap of being emotionally attached to players in their town or on their team, you simply can't do that.
It's all about assets, cap management and future planning of the franchise. If the assets we have are downward trending, you hope to get them back on an upswing for a nice return.
If they are on a continued downswing, you cut your losses and move on...
Checked the records, and during 2007-2008 season, both Spezza, and Kovalev in Montreal, had 34 and 35 goals respectively !!
To HQ at 9:08 AM ,you have it dead on !!
To shake up both Spezza and Kovalev, these 2 need to get with players that will play in a trio !!
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev is not too bad, but not the best !
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson has been used numerous times , is OK ,but still not the best !
I'm not the Coach, but Clouston has to get these 2 "sleeping giants" cranking out like a an AK47 at full speed !!
Once the magic lines are found, STICK WITH THEM !!
Robert Cyr
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