Comments on Sens Chirp: Tough Loss

You need to only look to see the bias.... OTT vs F...

2009-11-10T23:12:28.043-05:00

You need to only look to see the bias.... OTT vs FLA, 2- 8 PP, OTT vs NJD, 4 -10 PP. I know Ottawa is not as undisciplined as you would have them out to be... There is an officiating problem if you agree or not.

Anon 10:11pm I don't think it's overly biased. I h...

2009-11-09T12:08:11.928-05:00

Anon 10:11pm I don't think it's overly biased. I have the same expectation you do, that the game will be called fairly regardless of how much abuse is thrown at the officials. However Refs are not perfect and they are human beings. If someone was telling you to F*** off and stop making terrible calls all night, you'd probably call them to the letter of the law whilst letting the other side have a little more lee-way. It's just a natural effect it's not like its done intentionally. What you get is a 60/40 imbalance.

I think a ref is also more prone to giving you a make-up call when they make a mistake if you are polite and cordial with them. It's a difficult game to officiate and it's a lot easier from the stands than it is at ice level.

Whether there should be a third ref in the stands or not is debatable. I would be one to think that there should be. This ref would have a better vantage point if they were sitting in say the 100's at Scotiabank place and had access to instant video-review from multiple angles. They could call-back penalties that were mistakes (face off at center ice) and call clear penalties that are missed by the on ice officials. I think it would help a lot actually. Officiating the game at ice level while trying to skate around results in much worse officiating than just sitting there with a birds eye view from the stands where its easier to see everything that's going on.

someone above said we are lacking forward depth cu...

2009-11-08T22:27:47.554-05:00

someone above said we are lacking forward depth currently on our NHL roster. i would disagree. maybe the second line centreman position is not as strong as you would like to be. but given the upside shown by Regin, you can compensate. saying that the secondline centerman is not strong on this team (fisher) would have to be in the context of talking about the second line exclusively, but given the depth of the fourth and third lines, i think Fisher is just fine up there. I do agree that Alfie should drop down back to the second line, i think it helps near the end of tight games. just a thought.

in an overall summary. there are alot of areas where this team can improve. although the amount of improvement needed is debatable. i dont think any of us over here will say that major improvements are needed everywhere. penalties and the play of campoli, cheechoo are the only places where major improvement is needed. i get the feel that the system of play is good and the fundamentals are right. however, its high time this team showed the real potential it has and really played a full game to clouston's system.

i dont think the devil's game warrants a total put down on this team. but the minor things that divide winning teams and inconsistent teams need to be rid out. penalties, undisciplined play, getting on the refs bad side and lousy selfish attitudes have no place on this team anymore after last year's debacle. this team has the right amount of veterans to work those kinks out.

lets hope the NJD game is a turning point and an eye opener for these guys. they know they can win games, now they just need to stop letting teams take it away from them.

Murray's trade record: everyone here, is very very quick to bash Murray for trades, but lets not forget that one of the biggest reasons this team is above .500 right now is LECLAIRE. and murray made that trade by sending Vermette the other way. not to mention, the pick he got back from that trade, he picked Robin Lehner. the only trade he really sucked at is the Campoli trade. The commodore and stillman trade, as we all know right now, was on the insistence of Paddock, that came out last year when Paddock opened his mouth. The Heatley trade he had his hands tied. and the mesjaros trade he got favorable return. i think he will remedy our forward core situation in bingo soon too.

BeJamin, For the same reason you expect you expec...

2009-11-08T22:11:15.650-05:00

BeJamin,

For the same reason you expect you expect the Sens to be professional, I expect the refs to be so as well. Calling a biased game is not far off of fixing the outcome of the game itself. This kind of hack officiating makes the league look like a joke.

I don't think they are doing it out of some sense of entitlement, but pure frustration of not being able to judge what is a penalty and what isn't. It all depends on the jersey you're wearing. And that's what makes it wrong.

I don't care if the team refuses to stroke the egos of these refs or not. They should do their job as impartially as possible, or get another job.

Doing the best I can Anon at 9:11 PM. I agree tho...

2009-11-08T21:13:32.418-05:00

Doing the best I can Anon at 9:11 PM.

I agree though, the personal stuff is getting a little out of hand lately.

I can't believe the amount of Morons who post insu...

2009-11-08T21:11:27.784-05:00

I can't believe the amount of Morons who post insults at people with opinions with no counter
arguments to their points...

I have seen some people blast Murray for the job he is doing(Deservedly so) and the best come back some useless shits can come up with is, "your an idiot"? Thats weak!

Chirp, you need to do a better job of controlling comments from some of the muppets that come here...

Mat I'm there at almost every game at ice level. I...

2009-11-08T21:03:40.130-05:00

Mat I'm there at almost every game at ice level. I see the yelling on a regular basis. Regardless of whether every team does it Ottawa does it a lot. Fuck Murray did it non-stop for two years. It doesn't do us any favors. If we clean things up I think it will be better for us that's all I'm saying. I don't think it will move the world for us but it can't hurt.

I personally watched the ref standing by the penalty box last night ignore Peters yelling at Ruutu that he was a "fucking homo" multiple times super loud and berating him for his full 2 minute minor. The entire surrounding crowd in 116 could hear him. No misconduct, no 2 minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, just nothing. The ref completely ignored it and he damn well for sure heard every word of it. If that's not a sign that the refs don't much like us and think we deserve that kind of crap when even the fans can hear what the guy is yelling I don't know what is.

I am 100% certain from the behavior of the refs that on some nights we most defintely irk them the wrong way. I've seen them to tell Alfie and others to just piss right off when they come to talk to them at commercial breaks if they aren't in the mood to hear it. These refs have egos and the way we treat them certainly isn't helping our cause. They should suck it up and just do their job impartially but the reality is that's not how it works. That's not how it works in the minors and that's not how it works in the pros. If you give the refs shit they will shit on you as much as they can. Notice how Crosby often gets hooked to death but doesn't get the call because he's a whiney bitch.

8:35pm, I can't believe you're still showing up he...

2009-11-08T20:45:37.294-05:00

8:35pm, I can't believe you're still showing up here. Change your diaper and go back to 9th grade.

Brian Murray doesn't make the decisions on call-ups and demotions. That's done by a committee of people, which includes the coaches and GM's of BOTH teams. To suggest that Murray would discriminate against anyone who would make his team better is laughable. Mauldin, for example, wasn't able to stick with Columbus when they were the worst team in the NHL. So, he wasn't even good enough to be a marginal player on a bad NHL team. Why the hell would the Senators need him up? Are his 51 AHL points going to translate to 51 NHL points? Grow a brain loser.

This endless debate on what is wrong with the Sena...

2009-11-08T20:41:11.486-05:00

This endless debate on what is wrong with the Senators is largely incorrect. Sure, everyone has their opinion, but look at the facts.

1) Any fans who are complaining now were not complaining 6 games ago.

2) The roster that Murray built is more than capable of winning. Again, look at 6 games ago.

3) The system that Clouston has in place is effective. Yet again, look at 6 games ago.

There's nothing wrong with the personnel, the coaching, the system. They're in a slump right now, and wouldn't you prefer that they hit it in November when there is time to correct the problems, instead of having it happen in mid-March when they're deep in the throes of a playoff race?

Here's what I see. There's a whole lot of panic about the Senators, and it's largely unwarranted. There's no question that they are really missing Volchenkov. Beyond that, everyone's assessments are basically wrong. I wouldn't describe Kovalev as lazy, he's always been the way he is now. That's what he looks like when he's making an effort. Leclaire let a soft one in last night, sure. So did Brodeur. So does every goalie from time to time. They're taking far too many penalties, but that's not the referee's fault. There's NO excuse for taking an interference call or a hooking call in the offensive zone, that has to stop. No matter how good your PP is, if you give any team enough chances, you'll end up getting scored on eventually. It's not the ref's fault, no matter how much we like to point the finger. I agree that maybe they could give the Senators a few more PP's, but the Senators can't control that, so they should just worry about keeping their own asses out of the box.

Last, I can't believe that people here are actually questioning the effort level of the team. Have you people even watched any of the games this year? TO A MAN, every player on that team is working hard. You don't bench Cheechoo. The message that sends is that results are more important than effort, and that puts a negative spin on things, especially for 3rd and 4th line players. You bench guys when they aren't pulling their weight. I feel bad for Donovan, but his scratch has nothing to do with effort, and it's not like there is a clear candidate for Clouston to bench in place of him.

Just don't question the effort of the team. They deserved the win against Atlanta, and they ran into a hot goalie. They deserved the win against Boston, but they made a couple of critical errors at really bad times. They deserved the win against NJ last night too, but they ended up doing themselves in. None of those losses had anything to do with a lack of effort. So, if their record was 10-3-1, would anyone be crying now? Definitely not.

Ottawa's top two scorers last year in the farm sys...

2009-11-08T20:35:44.336-05:00

Ottawa's top two scorers last year in the farm system were Zubov and Mauldin both gone this year...One is Russian one is African American.
Murray's discrimination is obvious to the league He would rather play a washed up canadian over a young up and coming forward. Comrie last
year Cheechoo this year. Nowonder Ottawa's farm system sucks now...

Hey, I was the first guy to trash this team all du...

2009-11-08T19:39:21.013-05:00

Hey, I was the first guy to trash this team all during the off-season. I hate Cheechoo and I still think our D is among the weakest in the NHL, but the coach has them playing a very good system. I think he's using his assets to the best of their potential.
Ever noticed how we dominate as long as we press with a strong forecheck? The problem comes if we sit back, even for a minute or two (such as during a penalty kill) when our D is exposed. The best D is a strong O for this team.
Murray needs to make a few moves soon to beef up our back end, but we are not half bad.

Grinder

Anyone who thinks Chris Neil should be on this tea...

2009-11-08T19:29:50.776-05:00

Anyone who thinks Chris Neil should be on this team needs to re watch last nights game and realize that he's been a cancer on this team his whole career

Bejamin: What proof do you have regarding that su...

2009-11-08T19:10:17.008-05:00

Bejamin:

What proof do you have regarding that supposed "toxic relationship"? Is this based on what you see from the tv? Because I tend to think that most questionable calls gets contested no matter what the team.

I tend to agree more with Anon: 9:13 although ripping into the refs publicly won't do anything productive. But filing a complaint is, so far this year, more than warranted. I hope Murray has it faxed already...

There is no better proof of this bias than the Alfie no call late in the third, after several consecutive calls against the Sens, and blood on his face.

Go fuck yourselves refs. You blew your mandate to officiate a fair game.

I agree with you Matt in two years the additions o...

2009-11-08T16:57:49.379-05:00

I agree with you Matt in two years the additions of Karlson and Cowen our defense will be better than it is today. Unfortunatley our forwards will not be, Alfie will be two years older, Kovalev will be gone (not that he's any impact now), Bingo doesn't have any potential top forwards. A rebuild is needed if this team is going to return to the top. Last year Murray should have saved San Jose's #1 instead of adding Campoli. Colorado has proved that a year in the basement can yield the kind of players that can quickly make a difference. Our record reflects our lack of depth, without Spezza we lost to both Tampa and Atlanta. In fact our record against non-South East opponents hasn't been great. Elite teams like the Pens and Devils continue to find ways to win without injured players, Ottawa simply doesn't have the depth to due so. Players like Mike Fisher a great 3rd line center are taking on roles that do not match their skill set. While Fisher has improved his scoring touch, this seams to be the case of Alfie elevating the play of his linemates. Fisher's shot is often off the mark, against the Devils he actually deflected Kovalev's backdoor pass to Picard who would have had any empty net. When Spezza was out and Fisher became our #1 center he wasn't able to amp up his game to the degree that is neccessary. I don't mean to come across as overly negative on Mike Fisher, I like the physical edge he brings to the game and his net presence on the PP but I just don't think 2nd line center matches his skill set (compare our position to teams like the Pens with Crosby, Malkin and Philly with Richards,Carter). I think Murray has to consider if the goals is limited to just making the playoffs or a long term contender. If the goal is next season and beyond, trading a player like Volchie could yield the kind of players that would make this team a true contender in the years to come. The kind of game Volchie plays could result in an injury that dramatically reduces performance and his offensive upside remains non exsistent. If we aren't careful and Murray goes long term on the deal we may be stuck with a Jason Smith in a couple of years.

people need ot chill the F out!! I have watched ev...

2009-11-08T16:28:03.920-05:00

people need ot chill the F out!! I have watched every ottawa game this season and WE LOOK GOOD. The only goals that are going in on Leclaire are ones that any goalie would let in. WE JUST CANT CATCH A BREAK!!! its as simple as that

"PISSED OFF SENS FAN"

Please have Clouston talk to the team about DISCIP...

2009-11-08T16:12:01.874-05:00

Please have Clouston talk to the team about DISCIPLINE! Penalties killed us in this game plain and simple.

is cheechoo playing hurt? why can't we take him o...

2009-11-08T15:48:42.284-05:00

is cheechoo playing hurt?
why can't we take him off if he's injured? he's useless. donovan is better than him for cheaper $

Murray will not be fired. He's from Shawville and...

2009-11-08T15:32:48.733-05:00

Murray will not be fired.

He's from Shawville and tells Melnyk great hockey stories from in the day.
He's also Melnyk's man and Melnyk is too proud to fix the mistakes he has made.

We're screwed. Just lie back and enjoy it because we're in for years of mediocrity with Murray at the helm.

Lets not forget that the Sens did have a few pps a...

2009-11-08T15:22:37.248-05:00

Lets not forget that the Sens did have a few pps and did absolute fuck all with them. Instead of dwelling on how few they get they gotta be more worried about capatilizing on the PPs they do get.

Anon 10:14 idiot next post please....

2009-11-08T15:05:23.160-05:00

Anon 10:14

idiot next post please....

So much for a fast/good start from the Sens. They'...

2009-11-08T15:03:56.655-05:00

So much for a fast/good start from the Sens. They're basically a .500 hockey team. Once again we're talking about getting a consistent effort for 60 minutes, wasn't that a problem for the last 2 years?

To many stupid penalties, the power play sucks, to much perimeter play and lack of consistent effort. What a joke they've become. Very boring hockey. And all this with an easy schedule, at home, against weak teams. What happens when the schedule get's tougher and they go on the road? DOOM!

Clouston has to figure out a way to settle the boy...

2009-11-08T14:53:00.048-05:00

Clouston has to figure out a way to settle the boys down and play disciplined. When you're the 2nd most penalized team in the league, it's not the refs, it's your team. The PK has been good but you're playing with fire being shorthanded all the time and they caught up on the Sens last night.

I don't think calling out the refs will help their cause.

Anyone (or Chirp) have a stream for the Bingo game...

2009-11-08T13:43:29.620-05:00

Anyone (or Chirp) have a stream for the Bingo game today? I live in Calgary so wont be able to watch it on Rogers.

Thanks!

and of course we should get rid of Leclaire

2009-11-08T13:29:08.446-05:00

and of course we should get rid of Leclaire

i would like to know what the hell is the problem ...

2009-11-08T13:23:51.201-05:00

i would like to know what the hell is the problem with kovy he is a great hockey player but what the hell is he doing ,i think he want to be traded back to montreal i would bench him for two game