The perfect way to end what really was a painful road trip for this team.
Ottawa held the lead three times in this game only to see the Ducks battle back within a minute each time For a team that is already a little fragile it's huge to see them come away with a win in Anaheim.
Elliott let in some weird ones but really battled in the third period to get the team into the shootout. He has taken a ton of criticism on this trip so you know this one has to feel good. Watching the guys celebrate with Elliott afterwards you could tell they really wanted to win this one for him.
Same goes for Jason Spezza who picked up a goal and made a terrific pass to set up Kuba in the third period. Spezza seemed to have more life tonight and turned in a much better performance.
The Ducks pushed in the third but Elliott stood tall and secured an extremely important two points. It was no Picaso but a win just the same.
That's it for tonight folks. A little teaser for tomorrow though. Hoping to have a picture of this rumoured new jersey design I have been talking about for the last week or so.
Until then...
34 comments:
Two points are two points no matter how good or how bad the Sens play.
At least they squeaked out 2 points against the weakest team on the road trip. What an odd game, with players getting mugged (no calls), weird goals going in and no lead lasting longer than 31 seconds.
There might just be "one or two" things to work on before the game against the Habs...LOL! At least the Sens are still in a playoff spot.
Next road trip had better more successful than this one!
Ummmmm... Yeah.
Spezza DID look like he's a little over that back-spasm that's been plaguing him since camp, but using Elliot in your headline "leading the charge"? I'd... ummmmm.... I'd disagree with that somewhat.
Three leads, all lost within 60 seconds (mostly less), with one being a floater from the red-line. Don't get me wrong - I love the guy and how he's stood up since Pascal took that errant puck to the face. But seriously??? He didn't lead any charge - he scrambled to try and make sure he didn't look bad 4 games in a row.
I get the tweets on the game blogs coming out - NO ONE addresses the unusually high 5-on-3 situations that this game had. No one addresses the fact that while both tenders had stand-up moments, they could have made a difference but didn't. There's a lot that *could* have been addressed, but isn't.
Yes - Ottawa gets the win, and I should be happy about it. But I'm not. They played the first 30 minutes of the game like they deserved this game, but gave up a point because of a goalie that "led the charge" but gave up a floater goal and a team that couldn't get past the last 30 minutes - being satisfied that they hung on for a win in a SO.
That's NOT what this team is supposed to be, and they shouldn't be after making the SC finals then tanking. They should be thinking they have a reputation to uphold - one of an elite team that's slipped to Leafs mediocrity that they NEED to bounce back from, but they let it slip and they should be getting back to their elite mentality.
I'm not asking for Stanley Cup - just better than what we've had the past 10 games or so. Too much to ask?
Trade Spezza! Trade him right now! He is only reason we are playing inconsistent hockey. The guy is worthless!!!
Whoops, sorry, thought it was still 2008.
Great game by Jason. Great 2 points on the road against a tough tough team. Now...let's save some positive points for the next time we lose, eh?
-Rizzo
Glad that road trip is over!! Good to finish with a win, forget about it and move on. Big game against the Habs on Tuesday.
Hopefully Leclaire's jaw is starting to heal and he will be back soon. Without him our goaltending is a little weak. I still wish we would have kept Auld as would have given us more depth at the same money.
Anyway go win boys - GO SENS GO
Was that Cheechoo or Denis Hamel out there? I can't tell the difference.
Time to give Kovy his props - he really does elevate others around him. I think these new lines might work.
C'mon Leclaire. Why are we waiting for the jaw to heal?
Just remove the jaw. Get back in nets.
Sam you are a moron...Cheechoo was solid again tonight.
Good to get the 2 points, we really needed them. Spezza played a bit better and got a couple of points but will he continue it on a regular basis? We'll see. Rough game, Volchy took some abuse tonight, hope his elbow holds up. Should be a good game againt the Habs this week.
Hey Sammy, explain the Hamel Cheech comparison. I dont get it!
tosensfan
It's not really rocket science. Clouston finally realized he needed to make some adjustments with his first line.
In the first 13 games of the year before skipping a few with injury issues Spezza was playing hard defensively and skating great. The line for the majority of that time was Michalek-Spezza-Cheechoo.
After he missed 2 games with injury he comes back into the lineup and has from that point forward has had 8 games where he got zero points. In those 8 games Michalek-Spezza-Alfie was the line he had to play on.
It's quite obvious that line has little chemistry and was ineffective. Yet it took Clouston about a year to make the adjustment.
Maybe if we're lucky before the end of the season he'll actually put Michalek-Spezza-Cheechoo together agaom and they will be a force to be reckoned with. One can only hope...
Not impressed.
I am glad that of all the teams on this roadtrip, we beat the ducks. The ducks are a gritty team, that are tough to play against, and I think the win shows alot of character. I was also happy to see more balanced scoring from players other than Fisher and Milan. Nice work Ottawa.
I love how Elliott was just living the dream over there not paying attention to the game and Getz scores from the neutral zone. Hahaha
Oh Elliott...shades of toskala in you my friend.
Go Sens Go!
Dave: I wouldn't call the first goal a floater from the red line, it was a dump in that took a weird bounce off the glass, probably would have fooled 90% of NHL goalies as they would all be going behind the net to stop the dump in. It was just a bad break.
It was a pretty decent game, it would have been nice to see them hold on to a lead for longer then a few seconds but it's 2 points at the end of the night and giving up the 1 point to the Ducks doesn't hurt us at all.
Spezza plays well, we win. How about that. Please be a sign of things to come.
@ Whiny Dave up there, this ISN'T that team. In those days the pizza line was good for 300 points a season, Wade Redden was an elite defender and Mezaros didn't suck. Ray Emery outplayed Dominik Hasek for christ sakes. A lot of things went right and thats not how it is. So quit crying and appreciate what we have. It's hella better than what Toronto has. word to your mother.
Great to see that all the SensChirp posters finally got their wishes !!
Switching Spezza and Fisher gives the Sens a new dimension and it seems to have jolted Spezza !
I would even put Cheechoo on line 2 Cheechoo - Spezza - Kovalev, and move Foligno to line 3 or line 4 !!
These 2 lines should remain for 5-6 games and afte that be re-evaluated !!
Hope Kovalev and Spezza get a bunch of goals against Montreal on Tuesday in Ottawa !
Eugene Melnyk wants the"stars to pick up the pace" !!
Robert Cyr
Two points is two points in the standings. Kovy and the rest of the Sens will be fired up for tomorrow night's game against the Habs. The Sens will come out great win over Montreal. Go Sens Go!!!
k guys important FACTS:
Milan Michalek (15 Gs, 28 GP) + Jonathan Cheechoo (3Gs, 28GP)
>>>>
Dany Heatley (19G, 31 GP).
fair to say the heater has been replaced completely? not to mention three games too early haha?
also, kinda shows the big IF ONLY CHEECHOO WAS CLICKING LIKE IT WAS 2006 ALL OVER AGAIN. SOON GUYS SOON. the cheech shall be back to his old tricks soon. then doug wilson can ask the ottawa senators to give him a job next season.
Anonymous @ 11:53pm - If only he had listened to the fans and grown his Norris Beard, he would have been saved.
http://insidemanhockey.blogspot.com
Good hockey blog. I used to follow his radio show and he knows his stuff.
We've all been harping for the Spezza/Kovalev line this season, cept the few that said they're both too big of puck hogs to play together. All I saw last night was both of them wanting to pass it to each other. I think that combination is solid for now, but it seemed to hurt Michalek and Fisher without having a playmaker out there with them. I'd like to see Michalek up on that line than Foligno even tho Nick's hard work ethics might rub off on Spezza or Kovy. I hope we see Leclaire back soon or maybe Brodeur in net at home, Elliott's confidence seems rattled and this is no time to be taking losses for him to get his head straight. Nice to be scoring on the shootout this season. GO SENS GO!
DAVE IN MONTREAL!!!! go cheer for the habs loser!!!!!
cheechoo has really come to life all over the ice lately. he and his line are playing well with kelly and rutuu, but I think he should get placed up with spezz and kovy. That line can do a lot of good things out there with the mix of styles they have.
Oh, and can someone please tell Clouston to keep Spezza and Kovalev together??? They actually had some nice chemistry at times...and the potential passing there...'
Why not try:
Kovalev - Spezza - Cheechoo
Michalek - Fisher - Alfredsson
Foligno - Regin - Shannon
Ruutu - Kelly - Winchester
I know we've put Kovalev at LW before...
-Rizzo
During the west coast trip, Cheech(w)hoo(?) was really one of the best on the squad. Working hard around the boards, getting to the puck first, creating chances... I'm really starting to see why the fans in SJ love him the way they do.
Quick question. Why does Clouston always rely on Kovalev, Alfie and Spezza during the shootout? I appreciated it last night, obviously, but its getting a bit tiresome. It's obvious the opposition knows exactly who they'll be facing. Is it on their contracts? Is there an unwritten rule in the locker room? The way Clouston seems to dote after Shannon, you'd think he'd be on there once in a while. Thoughts?
Dave, that first goal would have beat any goalie who comes out of the net to play dump-ins. The reason he got caught was because he was already a couple steps out of the net on his way to the corner to stop the dump-in. That one was unlucky.
The third one, however, was bad. I don't think he was screened to be honest, he was looking around Volchenkov and you can see that he did make a move to make a save, I think he just missed it.
One last thing, I hope Cheechoo is starting to win some people over. You can question his skating, and you can question his diminished skill set, but you can't question his motivation and determination. He works his tail off on every shift he gets, and in the end, I want guys like that on my team. Once his contract expires, I'd be happy to see him get another contract with the Senators at a modest value (under 1.5mm) to fill out the 3rd and 4th lines, provide some leadership, be a good example of a hard worker, and fill in on the occasional power play.
I find it hilarious that a lot of people, both in the live blog last night and here, are saying that we should have a Cheechoo-Spezza-Kovalev line. As much as I love Cheechoo, I have to admit that he is on the slower side, despite back checking like a demon. Putting him on a line with Kovalev, who barely ever back checks, and Spezza who seems to have lost his wheels to some extent would make for a disaster.
As far as Spezza and Kovalev on the same line, I can't comment, as I was on a train back to Toronto while the game was on. But some of the comments point to the expected passes with no finish, so that's not really too encouraging, on top of Spezza's goal coming on PP jam play, nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't really say too much about their chemistry.
Dave
No it was not a surprise to see Elliot in this game tonight. YOU DON"T START A SHITTY AHL GOALIE IN THE NHL (brodeur). Specially not when the team is struggling.
Rizzo to answer your question:
"Why not Kovalev-Spezza-Cheechoo"
The reason why is because Kovalev and Cheechoo are two of our slowest forwards.
It's the same reason playing Campolli with Picard was a bad idea. There has to be enough speed to cover for the slower guy on the line.
Michalek-Spezza-Cheechoo worked before. I'd like to see it again. Especially because it mirrors the Michalek-Thornton-Cheechoo line of old that was dominant in the West.
It also allows you to play Alfie and Kovalev with Fisher to keep him going.
i think trying michalek with fisher might not be a bad idea. although i dont know about fisher setting up too much. he seems more like a goal scoring centreman than a play-making centreman. both have good speed. both are big bodies and both are physical. michalek-fisher-alfie is a line clouston should definitely try. kovalev-spezza-cheechoo should be good too. cheechoo can bang and create spacing. kovalev can occupy his favorite half wall and snipe. and spezza can just dispense. btw, the last time clouston put kovalev with cheechoo, we finally saw one of kovalev's TD passes being converted into a TD by cheechoo.
its surprising that with so many options available to pick from, clouston hasn't really come up with overly-inspiring line combos. i dont fault him completely though, with a spezza in a weird funk and with fisher scoring so often with kovalev on his line, and wins being important, its hard to get yourself to mess around with the lines bravely. however, alfie and michalek are locks to produce most nights than not.
Cheechoo has really impressed me lately1 hes a workhorse out there! and Kovalev! my god did he make that shootout goal look easy! i think that they're just a couple players away from being great! any news of the jers?
Cheechoo's play as of late should put him back in Clouston's sights, I think he would be a definate fit with Spezza/Floatalev. I like Foligno, but he is a 3rd line guy.
Not that i fully agree with Sam, but the Hamel-Cheechoo comparison is quite understandable.
anon 12:26, there is no understanding what so ever between cheechoo and hamel.
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