Three straight loses after the Olympic break. Certainly not the start the Senators were looking for out of the break.
Great energy in the building with the usual 50/50 split in attendance. It was loud all night long.
The flu is a pretty good excuse in this one so you have to hand it to the Sens for grinding out a point in this one.
A lot of the credit has to go to Pascal Leclaire. He has had a rough go of it lately but turned in a solid performance and helped Ottawa steal a point.
Ottawa is now off until Tuesday and should have some time to get healthy and ready for the Oilers as the Sens kick off a three game Western swing.
Chirp of the Week coming tomorrow...
65 comments:
Hopefully this will be the start of good things for Leclaire. He had a great game tonight.
I so hate losing to the Leafs, I don't care if they are 1st or 30th, its just annoying to listen to CBC and TSN praise them for the next week. MLSE is the biggest joke in all of sports, but yet, the media supports them, money talks i suppose. Glad we got a point out of it at least.
Good game Leclaire ... the rest of u stunk. Another heartless performance. I don't care how many people we are missing or are sick with the flu. All of their forwards, with the exception of kessel (becoming known as the sens killer), are fourth liners. We should win regardless. Its not the losing part that gets to us as fans, its the way in which they lose. NO HEART!!!! A bunch of damn zombies on the ice.
firstly, I would like to say I have been following this site since the heatley trade so im well adept on what kind of comments are on here. Secondly all the praise to Leclaire that stop on kulemin on the breakaway? niiice play him more. Thirdly no heart? really? they played through the flu vomitting on the bench just to play for their team the ottawa senators. Would you go to work vomitting everywhere? I don't think so that is heart.
“He was probably celebrating because he had three shifts in the game or something,” said Carkner.
LOOOL gotta love Carkner ... and i agree with him, I didn't see a clear win for Orr.
Was Colton Orr putting up three fingers to indicate how many
high draft picks the Leafs gave up to get Kessel ?
Andrew Ladd is NOOOO Ryan Kessler
Zach Smith should have been wearing a red cape when he arrived for the game during the first period.
To add to my comments at 11:40,
Leclaire is useless in the shootout. I dont think hes stopped 1 this year. I know its tough for a goalie to come in cold but Elliot cant do any worse.
With everything I've said...
Great game Leclaire. You stepped up.
Aw tone it down a bit there, friend (11:44). Ottawa played pretty hard out there tonight throwing hits and grinding it out hard like they were in an important game rather than up against a team of scrubs wearing big boy jerseys. Kessel is def getting a Roberts rep, but nonetheless a healthy roster woulda meant a mugging rather than a game. The loss stung but I like a lot of what I saw tonight and have no doubt that we've got our stride back.
Anon 11:44,
No offense, but have you ever tried doing anything with the flu, now try doing that while playing the up-tempo physical game of NHL hockey. Not fun.
It's unfortunate that the Sens were sluggish again and hopefully once they kick the flu bug they can get back on track. Some players who didn't have flu I found played quite well tonight (Spezza, Karlsson, Michalek, Cullen, Sutton) where as others you knew they had the flu (Phillips, Volchenkov, Ruutu)
The good thing about the flu is that thanks to Elliott getting it, it looks like Leclaire is now the starting goalie again. YAY for now!!!
Let's win one on Tuesday...GO SENS GO!!!!
P.S. Sorry to anyone sitting in row 205 tonight, I was the person constantly screaming:P
11:44
No heart? Are you dumb 12 guys played their hearts out while sick as it gets. Give your head a shake if you think it's easy to play NHL level hockey after spending your morning throwing up! They are people remember?!
you can really tell who play's the game and who sits on the bench getting splinters in their ass's waiting for a chance to show boat..
What a NO talent NO skill douch Orr is...
Look everybody, I won 3 with Carkner after getting my ass knocked out by Jody Shelly!!!!
Congradulations Ottawa, you just got beat by the 29 th and 30th team in the NHL.. maybe they can finish the record by losing to Edmonton!!!!!! GO SENS!!
2nd round knock-out
Craig Simpson was terrible. Worst colour commentary EVER.
Wow, that wasn't a heartless performance AT ALL!! Like most fans, I'm very happy we got a point out of it. I thought Cullen and Sutton had real good games too. And I'm also very happy for Leclaire... I sense another winning streak in the near future!
Solid performance by Leclair (except the shootout). I also have to give credit to Neil, Kelly, Donavon, Cullen, Karlsson, Sutton and Smith, who arrived in time for the second. They gave solid efforts in what must have been a really hard night.
There was no mention of Kovalev being sick last night and he was the WORSE on the ice! Giveaways, lack of speed and effort. I guess he's back on a cold streak then. It's time for the press to get on his ass. Let's hope he gets hot in time for the playoffs...
You know, I can take the Flu excuse for tonights game, But we what about the last 2 we lost in such shameful fashion to cellar dwellars?
This is getting tiresome....
The west coast only will get tougher....Good luck with that Clouston and Co. God help you against Calgary and Vancouver!
LeClaire played great. Can Kovy vary his moves a littel. The guys played hard.
Zach Smith is going to be one heck of a player.
Karlsson is out of this world. This guy is another Paul Coffey but with more all around game. Skates liket he wind. Best 1st pick ever by the SENS.
I thought Leclaire, Michalek, Sutton and Cullen all played really well. Winchester and Kovalev fought the puck. But given we don't know who was fighting the flu but played, I'll cut them some slack.
I also liked Don Cherry's rant about no-touch icing. Don't always agree with him and I know it's not new, but he makes a very good point. Its on CBC.ca if you did not see it.
Neils hit looked OK to me, but I'm biased....
Al
Al
Leclaire made some super saves. There were some massive hits but there was clearly something wrong with the Sens. They were skating in quicksand in the second half of the game. Fisher and Kelly's shifts were often less than 25 seconds. Toronto now runs this pick play across the middle. That is how Kessel got open. I thought pick plays were illegal in hockey.
I thought Karlsson was far and away the best player on the ice. He logged a ton of time and his puck movement was exceptional. His defensive one on one coverage is greatly improved.
Sutton is far better than I thought he was. He blocks shot, hits people a ton and is not slow. Just because of his size he looks a little awkward. People said the same thing about Chara. An awesome acquisition. If someone is stupid and wants to pay Anton V. 5 or 6 million (think Redden or Meszaros) then Sutton would be a great replacement.
Even though we lost the game was extremely exciting and great entertainment value for our hard earned money.
Anon 11:44, I bet you couldn't play hockey while puking between shifts, so why don't you cram it?
Great game by Leclaire. I wasn't a supporter of him being pulled last game; so I was happy to learn that Elliott was sick, forcing Leclaire's start.
If he continues to play like last night, he can have all the starts as far as I'm concerned!
But we really can't bash the other players for their effort last night. They grinded it out pretty good considering how sick they were. From the article in the Sun, it definitely sounds pretty bad:
"Senators were regularly leaving the bench to go to the dressing room — presumably to throw up. Elliott wasn’t even around in the second."
I don't know about you guys, but when I have the flu, I can barely get up to get a glass of water...so I can't imagine how these guys were able to play last night.
3 games in a row with 9 goals allowed and only 3 goals scored. Offence needs to pick it up again. Alfie will lead the way once healthy.
Anon, I don't think you quite grasp how bad it was in that Senators dressing room. They had no fewer than 11 guys down with the flu. Ever tried to play hockey with the flu? I have, and you are next to useless out there - you have absolutely no energy, you are dizzy and disoriented, and your strength is such that an Atom player could probably muscle you off the puck.
Did you ever wonder last night why there were so many different line combinations? That's because guys were going to the room to puke, or worse. Fisher left a few times, as did Phillips. Two crucial guys for the Senators, and both of them probably shouldn't have been playing.
I'll toss in one final point - the casual fan has no clue just how good these guys are now. The gap between a third liner in the NHL, and a first liner in the AHL, just isn't that big. In fact, if there were a group of AHL and NHL guys scrimmaging in the summer out at the Sensplex, you would have a difficult time telling which guys are in the show, and which guys weren't. This is evidenced at the Olympics, where former sadsacks like Switzerland can now give major powers like Canada a tough run. Sure, the Leafs are icing a relatively weak lineup these days, but I can guarantee you that a healthy AHL player is much better than a flu ravaged Mike Fisher.
To Anon at 11:44. Why not just become a leaf fan. Not a great game by the Sens but those "Sens Killers" have done little to get them into the playoff's.
Statistically we are going to loose games. As much as I HATE loosing to the Leafs we have the ability to beat the better teams such as Chicago, Vancouver, Washington. This is a great team that is in the mix.
Agreed they should have won last night. I wished they hammered them. But can we for once find some ground where we recognize they played a flat game but still show our support. They have heart, shown they care and compete hard and we as fans are behind them not just when they are on a winning streak.
NO HEART!!!! A bunch of damn zombies on the ice - I think not
Anon @ 11:44... Speak for yourself, pal. Playing while barfing on the bench in between shifts is the definition of playing with heart. I wish people like you would cheer for another team. So much negativity!
Annon @ 11:44
Whoa! What are u talking about "no heart"??? Didn't see bryan lee go into the locker room to barf, and still played his ass off??
Everyone there looked greenish. It was a good solid game considering the flu. We would have won by a mile if they weren't sick.
Go SENS!
Hopefully Clouston puts Leclaire back in against Edmonton and maybe, just maybe, we can get this guy, with all the potential in the world, some confidence!
Anon 11:44 - I don't see how you can say "no heart" - did you watch the game. Fisher clearly has the flu and a few other guys looks sluggish, but overall I thought the team played with guts.
Yeah it sucks losing to a team a bantam team could probably beat while drunk on wine coolers ... but I thought even with only 1 point tonight it could prove to be a "back on track" game.
Get everyone healthy and Alfie back in there and play with that same spirit and we'll be winning again in no time.
Leclaire lost, uh oh.... I guess that means CC will give the Oilers game to Elliott. Lets throw pascal under the bus again. Good game last nigt PL keep it up, you are the #1
Great game by Leclaire. Very much appreciated since no one wants to lose to the Leafs by 3 or 4.
Come on Chirp, sure the team was hit by a flu bug, but it's not an excuse for the loss. The team had to fight through it to win and they failed. Full credit to the Leafs for the win. Leclaire looked very good though.
Saying the Sens played this game with no heart is pretty ridiculous. The team was ravaged by the flu and just ran out of gas as the game went on, hence all the penalties in the 3rd period, grinding out a point here is pretty much the opposite of heartless, full props to Leclaire who I never stopped believing in.
As for the 50/50 thing it really isn't that bad, in my opinion. From what I have seen (I've been to two or three Sens/Leafs games in Ottawa) there are A LOT more Sens/neutral fans there but the Leafs that are present are a lot louder and almost all wearing jerseys or blue leafs gear of some sort making it seem like they outnumber us.
Notice how we started really loosing since cheechoo has been sent down? Yeah they all had the flu and the the one I noticed the most of it on was phillips and fisher... I've never seen philips get dangled and beat to the puck like that alot, but he was not on his game last night... I say once NICKY F, is back.. Ottawa starts to become solid again!
anon @ 11:44pm,
Were you dropped on your head as a child? Next time you have the flu, and are throwing all the time, go hop on a treadmill and have your family throw themselves into you a few times, and see how you feel.
no heart? no brain.
please hockey gods do not let us go 0-3 against the 3 worst teams in the league....
anon at 11:44 = DOUCHEBAG!!!!!
When are we going to stop making excuses for these guys, really? Terry Marcotte was all boo hoo about them and now we're all complaining too.
Did Clouston have an ounce of sympathy when the Wild's equipment van break down? No. He said himself yesterday that hockey isn't fair. Their job is to win hockey games, sometimes through extreme adversirty. Last night they failed to do this.
Don't fail this week or we'll be fighting for a playoff spot...then again, maybe if we miss the playoffs it will be for the good of the team, they'll realize nothing is guaranteed in this NHL and they'll show up against all the teams in the league.
is this carma for elliot and his flu given to mike brodeur? don't drink the water leclaire!
Craig Simpson gave the biggest Leafs sycophant broadcasting performance since the days Foster Hewitt.
And since when did we need TWO colour commentary no content windbags ?
THe CBC had better not complain about any future budget cutbacks when they waste money like this.
Chirp,
this blog would be much better if people didn't have the opportunity to comment. I am so tired of the ridiculous posts I keep reading. Those who say the Sens "failed" or have "no heart" have obviously never played any type of sport in their lives. If they had, they would realize how hard it is to do.
Sens fans truly believe they know more about the game than the coaches, players and management. So many of you are so out to lunch it makes me sick. You give the rest of us REAL fans a bad name
I for one am proud of how this team played and what they've accomplished so far this season. Go Sens Go!!!
Some of u need to grow a pair ... praising the sens for getting a point vs. last place team? Our AHL team could beat the leafs. As far as I have heared the biggest names that played sick were the likes of Ruutu, winchester, shannon, etc. Those aren't really the guys u lean on very heavily to score. What I wanna know is, What happened to spezz, fish, michalek, kovey, etc? Huh? Can u guys answer that? These guys are not going out there for the fun of it. I dont know if u noticed but they make more than the average person makes/year in one game. THIS IS THEIR JOB, NOT A GAME! And its not like this is their first bad game so stop using the flu as an excuse. Its been like this for 5-10 games in a row. And if u think its hard to play with the flu, dont tell Crosby, who played with a BROKEN foot in the playoffs a few years ago.
P.S. yes I am Anon @ 11:44
leclaire was good , but can he start 5 games in a row?? i doubt it , hell if he gets a scratch hes out for a month.....get well soon elliott!!!
oh my god now its all "leclaires awesome leclaires awesome!!" with no one pointing out that his awesomeness last night was from the D in front of him.....yes hes fast , but his rebound control sucks!!! you take away his huge dmen , and hes a pylon (shootout) , ELLIOTT ALL THE WAY
11:54 I'd rather be forced to use new equipment than spend my time between shifts holding down a sea of vomit. It IS an excuse you fool. They gave it their all and ground out a tough win. Nuff said
11:54 I don't get what you are saying about not showing up against the best teams. They beat Chicago 4-1 and Washington 7-6. I'm pretty sure that is showing up. Good effort and heart from the team. The flu sucks it hurts to get out of bed nevermind play a physical hockey game. Good game pascal. He needs a couple more of those before he gets starts over Elliott though. Good luck in Edmonton.
11:44 and 12:37 Fisher had it the worst and the only guy you listed that actually played poorly was Kovalev. I'll write you the list I heard. Guys just getting over it: Shannon, Ruutu, Volchenkov. Guys that got it that day: Alfie (big enough name for you?), Regin, Lee, Phillips (kinda important), Kelly, Fisher (he's kinda key), Elliot, Donovan and Neil. That leaves guys who I was told weren't sick as Spezza, Michalek, Karlsson, Sutton, Cullen, Kovalev, Winchester and Leclaire.
It's physically grueling to play hockey at the NHL level, so I can imagine how it would feel while sick as a dog. You are the true definition of dense.
Anon 12:37 fisher was sick as was Kelly. I thought spezza and michalik had pretty decent games. And kovalev had his moments. Almost setup the winning goal. The one fisher tipped of the post. And you guys need to stop changing your minds. This is the same team you were praising a month ago. It's 3 losses not the end of the world
I would like some of you who are complaining about the Sens play last night. What do you do when you get the stomach flu -- I assume you go to bed to lay down and sleep -- moan & groan that you feel so bad.
Well get up out of that bed -- and go play a game of NHL hockey -- bet you could not even put on your skates. You have to give the Sens credit -- they did hang in there for 1 point as they ran out of gas in the 3rd period.
Without Alfie, Regin -- and with sick players - Phillips, Fisher, Neil, Ruutu, Michalek, Kelly -- and how many more -- it showed character that these players even tried to play. They could have just said no.
I'm hoping that they passed on the wicked flu to those Maple Laffs and see if they can play through it.
So did anyone else develop a new appreciation for Sutton when he dropped Phaneuf in the corner?
Dear "yes I am Anon @ 11:44": did you get tossed out of your usual leaf site ?
I love how everyone thinks that if u criticize the sens then u must be a leafs fan. Quite the opposite is true. I dont have the attitude of "oh, its ok, we'll get 'em next year or next game". NO, THAT DOESNT WORK! If ur a real sens fan u want them to win every game instead of always saying "oh its ok they tried". Most of u sound like the sens players' mothers trying to protect their young. If they were too sick to play they could have called people up. Pretty sure a healthy cheechoo is waiting in the minors for his shot...
when will they give mike broduer a shot?
Very difficult to make excuses for this game, green in the gills or not.
The Leafs lineup being what it is, and after what happened the last game, the sens need to get two points here.
Leclaire's good night is also overshadowed somewhat by his performance in the shootout.
At this point in the season, a shootout loss to one of the league's worst team must be called what it is and not sugarcoated.
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY...ANDREW LADD IS WATCHING!!!
what is with this andrew ladd nonsense?
Craig Simpson was BRUTAL. I guess the brass at CBC brought him in to "couteract" any bias that Galley may have shown. Not that Galls would, his is a professional afterall. Got so sick (I know how the guys on the bench felt!) of Simpson's colour had to change the tuner to TEAM1200 for the balance of the game. Bit of a delay between the Radio waves and the TV feed, but at least my stomach felt better!
CBC... Flushing hard working Canadians tax dollars down the drain each week.
Isn't funny how much influence the FLU has had on Sens goaltending decisions. That'what got Brouder his start in New York and lost him his start to Elliot a game later. Now will Elliot lose his starter job to LeClaire because of the Flu.
Tim you're just going to have to stop caring. The Sens played a depleted lineup struggling with the flu. It was always going to be a shit-show of a game.
Who cares if the Leafs win once and a while? So what? It's probably going to be a decade without playoffs for that franchise with the way Burke is screwing up. All the hype about him doing the rebuild and what has he done?
1. Trade away 3 1st round picks (including the 2nd rounder this year that will be 31st-35th), which will probably both be lottery picks. One might even be Seguin or Hall. Ouch.
2. Trade his only decent scoring top six forwards for a 6.5 million dollar pylon in Dion Phaneuf. The guy is awful. He is a mere shadow of what he used to be. If he can't turn his game around his acquisition will be seen as one of the biggest blunders in Leaf history. The guy can't seem to skate anymore and moves the puck slowly. The only thing he has is his shot and he almost never gets it off at full power because he's too awkward and slow to get into position to use it. Honestly I was at the game at ice level last night as I often am and I was shocked at how far Dion has fallen. I remember his days of being awesome for the Flames. He really has fallen off his game big-time. He could have doubled for Hal Gil last night.
The way I see it let the Leafs beat the Sens once and a while. Give a pathetic franchise that hasn't won anything in 50+ years something to cheer about. They'll sell out for the rest of their days and they'll never see the playoffs again. The only time that team is ever going to get better is if the fans stop going which won't happen. You'd seriously have to be retarded to choose to be a Leaf fan these days. Some dumb sense of "loyalty" while you watch your team be driven into the ground by stupid decision after stupid decision. Loyalty would be burning the franchise to the ground in anger about how badly it's run.
see you pissed ladd off and now hes scoring like a mofo... good job ottawa!!!!
Thank you, BeJamin, you are absotutely correct.
everyone should just cheer for the f***ing team and stop bitching every time you find something bad about their game. Where are all the leclaire haters now?!??! Leclaire is going to be our number #1 going into the playoffs. Most of the sens fans think our team should go the whole season without a loss or something. Not gonna happen!!!! Everytime our team loses you guys always have something to bitch about. Quit your f***ing bitching and cheer for the f***ing team no matter what!!!!
-Will
It just baffles me how people are saying we're using the word "flu" as an excuse.
Having a dr in the dressing room to administer IV fluids to replenish them due to hydration and what not is no joke to me.
Why don't you nay sayers put your money where your mouth is and go do their jobs while having the flu and see how well you can peform.
I betcha in your perfect little worlds you can call in sick and lay in bed and moan & whine.
Not like some of these guys who had no choice..I feel bad for them and shame on those who shit on em for being in such bad shape (health wise)
I thought they played as hard as they could with what they had and I admire them for doing so.
So what, we lost to a last place team..means nothing to me when I've seen our team beat the best of the best to get to where they are now.
I for one HATE shoot outs and I wish they were never brought into the NHL.
Loved watching Sutton on the ice..hes a big boy!!!
I hope the boys feel better soon and go kick some ass on the road!!
I love my SENS..and I cant wait for the next Leaf showdown!
Andrew Ladd = MVP and Cup champ. That is all.
Post a Comment