I tell ya I could really get used to hearing Stuntman Stu say that at Scotiabank Place...
Kovalev scored three tonight as the Senators battled their way to a 4-2 victory over the lowly Carolina Hurricanes.
This was without a doubt, Alex Kovalev's best game in a Senators uniform. He was absolutely dominant all night and got rewarded with 3 markers including the game winner and an empty net goal to seal it.
The guy has taken a ton of heat in this city and to be honest I'm not sure how much of it was deserved. Sure the puck hasn't been going in for him but his presence on the second line has been instrumental to the success of Mike Fisher.
It's sure is nice to see Kovalev shooting the puck the last few games.
Kovalev will always have his critics and that's to be expected with his style of play. Fact is when he's on his game he is still a dominant player in this league and he showed that tonight.
The other lightning rod for criticism, Jason Spezza, also had a solid outing. Spezza scored a fluky goal but was much stronger on the puck than he has been and had a few nice set ups.
Brian Elliot turned in another solid performance and made a couple big time stops in the third period with the game tied and when Ottawa was up one.
Full credit to the Sens for a solid victory over the Hurricanes tonight.
GO SENS GO!
47 comments:
Yessssssss kovalevvvv
I'm pretty sure the people that criticize Kovie in this city are the ones that no nothing about his career. He's played this style for aslong as he's been in this league, he's not gonna change, Melnyk knew what he was getting when he told Murray to go out and get him. Everyone just needs to shut up when it comes to trashing this team. I'm sick of it. Even when we win "fans" in this city find something to bitch about. There's no pleasing these "fans."
Spezza also had that game-saving save when the puck got behind Elliott in the 3rd. Go Sens!
chirp, i agree kovalev had a solid game, but he needs to be more consistent. he is getting paid the big bucks not to show up 1 night out of 10. hopefully he gets on a roll now
Stuntman Stu(pid)
ran through our town
up the street
and down the street
with his pants down
I actually saw Kovalev dive for a loose puck on the powerplay to keep possession in the offensive zone. Something I didn't think was his style, glad to see it and hope we see more. Better from spezza too, couple of good dangles and some hard work. Anyone notice how little emotion Kovalev showed after scoring? He looked like he was headed to the penalty box. Is he always so cold? Oh well, not complaining, just curious, Russians eh.
Great game by the Sens!! Another guy that I really noticed tonight (in a good way) was Erik Karlsson. He is going to be goooo-oood. You can just see him learning in leaps and bounds and you can tell the game is starting to slow down for him.
Good job boys!! Go Sens Go!!
-kw
Spezza was making great plays everywhere all night. Both ends of the ice. He had a two beauty takeaways (most on the team) and saved a goal, as well as shooting the puck nicely and making some killer passes (that I wish someone would finish). I was stuck with the Hurricanes broadcast of the game, and they were raving about him all night.
Can't say enough about how well the Kovalev - Foligno - Fisher line looks. Game in and game out just tons of effort and great shifts. And how about that 4th line??? They all over Carolina.
Hopefully this will wake some people up...people who love the beat on spezza and kovalev like red-headed stepchildren...
If Spezza and Kovalev can give that kind of effort every game...watch out, this is a dangerous, dangerous team.
Don't forget Spezza saved a goal to not allow the Canes to take the lead.
He'll either have a five-game hot streak, or revert to the player he was for all the other games this season... hmm, I wonder which guy we'll see next game.
SeanO,
Ya he doesn't usually wear a huge grin when he scores, it's just business as usual for him tonight and boy o boy did he complete the transaction tonight!!!! I haven't really criticized Kovalev except for a few plays (I do that to every player on the sens though)...Good win tonight boys, now lets keep it rolling against the suddenly hot leafs!!!
GO SENS GO!!!!
Luke Schenn was a healthy scratch in MegaHog tonight.
Maybe Ottawa could trade Brian Lee for him (GRIN)
Spezza's goal wasn't a fluke.
A lucky bounce, yes, but not a fluke. I would bet good money that he planned to try and bank it off a part of Legace. Luckily for Spezza, it took the lucky bounce and went in.
But it wasn't a fluke.
;)
No question that Kovalev is a wizard whenever he has the puck. I agree that he can be frustating at times especially his comments about missing Montreal and going into the hall as a Hab. Congrats to Kovalev on your 400th career NHL goal.
Elliot was a bit shaky but after the save he made on Whitney late in the 2nd. He seemed to be more comfortable in the 3rd.
Good point Cassie.
I agree that he was tryin to bank it in. Perhaps fluky was the wrong word.
Sens d were pinching a lot tonight, which was surprising given how aggressive carolina was on the forecheck and transition. Gleason looked really good tonight too given all he's been through the past two games with OV and pucks to the face. Despite the stats, I thought Brindamour played a good game as well. As for the sens, Kovlev and Spezza were awesome tonight and Elliot made the saves he had to (never losing the whole game). Cheechoo also seems to be playing well with Kelly and Ruutu, hope the Sharks fans were right about him in that he heats up as the year goes on. Only player I was disappointed with tonight was Michalek, he had a lot of trouble controlling the puck and couldn't seem to complete a pass. Maybe he and Cheechoo have a parallel universe relationship... lol
awesome for spezz-dispens to get the opening GOAL. that should rest some of the spezza-traders here. also, im going to admit i have been questioning the kovalev signing, but i never thought he should be traded now that he is signed. and tonight he proved why he should never be traded. he is going to pick up fire down the stretch now and it will drive this team. he is a gamebreaker that we have and is someone who is a presence on the ice each shift, even if he floats the shift because you just never know when he will turn it on.
here is to hoping for ANOTHER hatrick monday night against the loofas who have slowly gained a winning habit. nothing break's the loofas habit like the sens. haha
fisher is getting major talk for team-canada!.
One Gun Mitty,
You are stupid.
Nobody likes you.
btw, legace kept that score really close. he made wayyyy too many top saves. this would have been a semi-blowout by the 2nd if not for him.
karlsson looks really good on that PP. also, did anyone see Picard on PP tonight? i dont remember seeing him there. i think phillips was there for a bit. maybe it was picard+phillips. i probably missed it if it was.
also, great on karlsson to not give up on the play he was trying which got kovalev the leading goal. he tried it the first time and it got deflected, but he tried it harder all over again and connected great. this guy is going to be good. and man he can launch it for his size.
the sens fourth and third lines are money!!! just wow. a real effective threat on the ice each time.
i still think franson would be a good trade to hunt down for BM.
it only gets better guys! when dono and neiler and leclaire are back!!
People in this city criticize Kovalev because they can't see past the fact that he's on a line with third line players. No doubt the guy can finish but no one has been feeding him consistantly this season so instead he tries to make his linemates better by feeding them great passes. Foligno and mostly Fisher have benefited from his passes but they aren't capitalizing on all of them.
Listened to the post game show and half the people are harping on Kovalev and how little he cares despite the fact that his hat trick won the game. Too many fans in this city just don't get it.
Karlsson looked like the vet tonight and Kuba like the rookie. Tough stretch for Kuba, hopefully he gets back to form soon.
One good thing about Kovalev is that he does listen to his critics and the coaching staff. Ever since Clouston told him to shoot more he's been working hard to do that.
I haven't seen him cut into the middle of the ice and rip the wrister all year long. He was doing that tonight.
Spezza will be a much better player if we can transform him into a shoot first guy. His speed and his reach get him so many opportunities to rip it through a screen from inside 20 feet he has to learn to do that rather than forcing the low-percentage pass. Honestly any game I'm at I'm gonna yell at him to shoot first and pass later. He's better off that way.
Hey everyone and SC,
Solid win by the senators tonight, unfortunately the game was blacked out for me and my usual streaming site didnt broadcast it.
From what i heard and the highlights i saw, it sounded like a solid win by the senators. Congrats to Kovy for his first hattrick in a senators jersey, hopefully that will somewhat silence the criticism thats been circling him.
Hopefully we can carry the momentum from this game onto Mondays game against the (streaking? o_O) Toronto Maple Leafs.
Go Sens Go!!
-Carlos
just throwin it out there... on the tv broadcast did the crowd sound loud? i was there with the RSA "Real Sens Army" that u can find on fACEBOOK. we had 32 guys there and 5 got tossed for being "too loud" even though there was no swearing. What a joke the building is that is SBP. we had the Kovi- "OLE-OLE" chant all night, hence the hattie
Spezza did look good but it's the worst team in the league...for 7 mil he needs to bring that intensity for the rest of the season.
As for Kovalev, what more can be said about this great player. Enigmatic but immesely talented, this previous winner of Olympic Gold, Stanley Cup and other honours simply gets it done in ways our team wishes it could...an amazing privilege to have this man on the team.
Thank you Alexei!
Elliot played like xrap if it was not for Spezza saving that goal, we would have lost that game.
And for the idiot who said not to put Spezza Aflie and Michalek together, all I can say is where are you now!! I told you!
OMG and what is up with Phillips, last minute of play and he coughs it up to Staal going behind the net?!?! What a bone head play!
A win is a win, even if it was against a team that is deadlast in the East!!!
SM
hat trick but still no smile....what can we do to make him happy ottawa???
Karlsson is really coming along and I'm glad to see Kovalev is finally starting to come around.
Elliott with another great game. Spezza was also hard on the puck all night.
You can see the team is really starting to come together.
Cassie is 100% right. I've seen Spezza score about 10 goals from behind the net or below the goal line.
Just part of his bag of tricks
Kovalev just earned the better part of the 5 mil he earns. A couple more games like that and he can take the rest of the season off!
I think Kovie eat a knee to the head while diving for that lose puck SeanO mentioned. Definitely nice to see last night, he single handedly beat the Canes.
I think I see why they brought Karlsson up and sent Lee down, the kid is really starting to improve and doesn't look so lost out there. He also had a few good checks.
Don Brennan is reporting that Aaron Ward and Ray Whitney are on Murray's radar at the acquisition.
To me, if you're taking out Campoli because the PP is ineffective and inconsistent with him at the point, then taking out Karlsson or Picard to insert Ward doesn't help the PP much either.
Whitney for a later round pick or an older player in the AHL (Hennessy or Keller) would be a good deadline acquisition.
But I wouldn't be giving up a roster player for either of them.
To be honest, I couldn't disagree more about with the senschirp praise for Kovalev.
Sure, he got 3 goals, but he was still miserable out there. His first goal was his only actual skill-based goal, and Foligno made an unreal passs to set him up with a wide open cage, his 2nd goal was an accident, he was trying to pass to Foligno, and his third goal was an empty net. Why such high praise for Kovalev? He still looked like a bum out there, multiple turnovers and a general aura of not wanting to be there.
I find it ironic how you Kovalev defenders are saying that Ottawa fans have been to harsh on him so far just because he hasn't been getting points, and now, as soon as he starts getting points (albeit, 2 lucky ones and 1 easy one) you guys praise him like he is the 2nd coming of Gretzky. You can't have it both ways.
do u know if mike broduer will play a game with the sens before leclaire comes back?
Great game by Kovalev!
Here is the big russian bear showing a bit of emotion against Toronto...I can play this one over and over....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3CcEOH6W0A&feature=PlayList&p=4F0A70CC9E7F477F&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=31
Cassie, SC,
Actually he wasn't trying to bank in off of Legace, it was an attempted pass to Michalek he couldn't get his stick on. But I like Plan B better... Spez needs more in the G column. :D
Can someone tell me why I saw Razor Emery in his white Hummer on Friday afternoon on the March Road, and why a friend saw him working out at Goodlife in Kanata?
The same friend said he was hardly able to walk, but he later saw him at Moxies in Kanata sitting at the bar??? Should he not be rehabbing in Philly? Did he have the surgery in Ottawa??
Is the Flyers room falling apart?
re: Spezza should shoot first and more
After last nights game Alfredsson and Spezza had the same amount of shots. I don't think he needs to shoot more, just have better quality shots.
re: Kovalev 'trick
Great game but Ruttu/Foligno have more shots and Neil/Carkner are right there with him. I like AK27, but I'll wait a few more games before I give him the keys to the city.
Three in a row after Monday night!
J-Rock
Kovalev had a dominant game no doubt, I was pumped and happy for him but he needs to build off this and keep it rolling before you can suddenly pretend like the 15 or so games where he did nothing didn't happen. I am a critical of his presence on this team but have openly said im willing to let him win me over, Tonight was a step in the right direction!
Good win none the less hopefully they can shit kick the leafs.
Typical Kovalev, great game Alexei and congrats on the 400th goal. However, it's too bad the effort wasn't like this all the time, he'd be a HOF for sure.
Good effort by our SENS tonight!!!
The last place road team comes to town and Kovalev shows up. Let's hope he shows up when the top teams face the Sens.
When will they give Mike Brodeur a start?
I'm surprised no one has mentioned it but I thought Carkner had a rough game ... A lot of turnovers and some bad pinches. Other than that it was nice to see spezza and kovalev on the scoresheet
Yes to Kovie and Spezz. It only was a matter of time.
GO SENS GO!
Re: Emery
The reason you saw Emery is because he is visiting friends and family here in Ottawa over the holidays.
I talked to him, and I think his brother, at work for a little while. Apparently the surgery went well.
Honestly SM I don't know where you get your logic.
Michalek-Spezza-Alfie have been average at best as a line. It's not that they won't get a few points. It's that Spezza has had zero points in 9 of 20 or so games playing with those two. That's not a good situation for the #1 center.
Michalek-Spezza-Cheechoo had Spezza clipping at a point a game. It also gave us the luxury of playing Alfie with Kovalev and Fisher which boosts both of their play as well.
I stand completely behind my preferred line combos. I think they would make us even better. I find playing Michalek and Alfie together doesn't work as well because they play a very similar game and bump into each other constantly. They bumped into each other again at least 3 times tonight trying to go to the same spot. Better to have those two in particular on different lines.
You can disagree all you want and you're entitled to your opinion. Just because I don't share it doesn't make me an idiot. In fact with some of the arrogant garbage you've spewed on these comment boards I'd suggest it's just the opposite. Trying to act like "you called it" because stubborn Clouston played the same line he has for the majority of the year and Kovalev on a completely different line scored 3 goals also doesn't make much sense there hero. The only goal from the Spezza line is on the PP. Which is by the way where the majority of that lines offense has come from because 5 on 5 they haven't been anything other than average. I believe Stall had a couple quality chances against them tonight as well. Oh and that 2-2 goal came because that line was lethargic getting back after our PP ended. Interesting.
Yes Sens beat last place team.. But that last place team also beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh... so they are not that bad. Carolina had a lot of injuries to key players and that can hurt any team.
Here's hoping for a win in Toronto...
I didn't see these items mentioned in here...maybe I missed them. A few quick points:
- In the post game interviews, Spezza says he intentionally tried to bank it off Legace and it worked. Sounded believable to me.
- Also in the PGI, Kovalev said his hand has been injured for well over a month which made it hard to shoot, so he was concentrating on passing (which Fish didn't seem to mind!) He said it feels better now and he plans on shooting more.
- People with crazy trade ideas are still apple heads. Ignore and scroll, ignore and scroll, ignore and scoll.... :)
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