Comments on Sens Chirp: Gutsy Road Win

Good win, I guess. Wasn't pretty. Still looked slo...

2009-10-07T16:14:06.538-04:00

Good win, I guess. Wasn't pretty. Still looked sloppy offensively. Defensively very sound, keep the Leafs on the perimeter most of the night. Campoli has to be better. He was terrible tonight. The only guy I was not pleased with.

what we need is our blueline to be able to hit the...

2009-10-07T14:38:12.833-04:00

what we need is our blueline to be able to hit the damn net and then we will be fine

i wonder why spezza didn't practice... strange tha...

2009-10-07T12:21:43.411-04:00

i wonder why spezza didn't practice... strange that clue but winchester on the first line...

Yikes! Spezza not skating is a cause for concern. ...

2009-10-07T12:17:19.091-04:00

Yikes! Spezza not skating is a cause for concern. It's not like they played back to back games and he needs a break. Lets hope it's just a precautionary thing.

ANON 11:44 - those are the "bunker" seats. Kind o...

2009-10-07T12:15:34.144-04:00

ANON 11:44 - those are the "bunker" seats. Kind of like suite seats where the people who have them are likely in the bunker on the leather couches watching their team suck. But yeah, it looks bad on TV.

Really, the Sens didn't play a whole lot better than game 1. But a little better and that's all I'm askin' at this point - gradually get better each game/week.

And yeah, Dono deserves to play, but not over any of the "top 12" IMO. He's an awesome 13th man. Not sure where Whinnie fits in though as he's not going to mature in the press box.

Every time I think Ruutu, Kelly or Neil are overpaid something happens like Ruutu nailing Komaserik, Kelly killing half a penalty or Neil being Neil.

I know Neil's contract it too big on paper - but to me it's a $2M investment that says "this is how we reward guys who give their all". Hopefully guys like Foligno, Volchenkov, Shannon etc look at Neil vs Heatley and try to follow Neil's example.

Great job as always 'chirp. Would love to see a "black and blue" report the day after a game as to who's banged up and who's not etc.

anon 1146 TBL didn't have the draft pics to sign ...

2009-10-07T12:12:54.437-04:00

anon 1146

TBL didn't have the draft pics to sign Meszaros to an offer sheet because they had already traded away their 3rd for the rights to Ryan Malone.

Update from practice today. Kuba, Shannon and Spez...

2009-10-07T12:11:30.658-04:00

Update from practice today. Kuba, Shannon and Spezza all did not skate.

Winchester skated with the team.

Anon 11:44 That's because the ushers won't let fo...

2009-10-07T12:04:34.496-04:00

Anon 11:44

That's because the ushers won't let folks back in while play is on going. At the start of the periods, the zone behing the benches is a ghost town and within 5-10 minutes of play, it was full again.

The ACC is a really crappy facility in my opinion; all the halls area and bathrooms are narrow and over crowded so you can't get back to your seat in a timely manner.

It's only when you see really bad facilities that you appreciate all that's really well designed about SBP.

i disagree i think kovy and spezz will be a match ...

2009-10-07T12:04:14.002-04:00

i disagree i think kovy and spezz will be a match made in heaven when they are put together later this year....remember , in his junior years spezza was a big goal scorer, i think switching kovy and alffy (not right now but later) will teach spezza to shoot alot more.... as for now im loving the alfy style of game being played by spezza... even more so as it was always being bashed in previous years , now hes got alot of ppl with feet in thier mouths....keep it up spezz!!!!

TK: It appears that they are listing the rankings ...

2009-10-07T12:03:45.705-04:00

TK:
It appears that they are listing the rankings alphabetically for teams that have the same record (ignoring goals for and against). If I recall from years past, they will use this ranking system up until the end of the season when it really matters before they look at the goals for and against.

As I drifted off to sleep last night, it occurred ...

2009-10-07T11:59:21.322-04:00

As I drifted off to sleep last night, it occurred to me that I felt the same way last night as I did when Jacques Martin first took over as Sens coach.

The game was a pretty boring, low-scoring affair, but we played a pretty solid defensive game, with a few big defensive lapses that fortunately didn't cost us the game. And so in the end, we beat a team we were supposed to beat.

I initially thought that the difference between then and now was that we have a much better goaltender now (Go Snoopy! :-)), but then I remembered that Sens goalies like Patrick Lalime and Ron Tugnut were pretty good too, during the regular season.

So, I loved the result -- a win against the Laffs!!! But the realist in me says that last night's game is a good indication of how far the Sens have fallen since their heyday a few years ago, and how far they still have to go before they can be considered one of the elite teams again.

But I also can't lose sight of the fact that as boring as last night's game was, we now have a better record now than Detroit (0-2) and San Jose (1-2), two 'elite' teams from last year. :-).

Heatley scoring 50 goals, but the Sharks missing the playoffs, and the Sens making the playoffs would be, well, karma, wouldn't it? :-).

Standings (not that it really matters at this stag...

2009-10-07T11:53:16.919-04:00

Standings (not that it really matters at this stage... but):

The league shows Florida in 8th and Ottawa in 9th with equivalent records. With Ottawa having given up one less goal against, shouldn't the Sens be in 8th?

My quick review of the tie breaking rules supports my opinion yet even after all of yesterday's games have been logged, the standings are what they are.

Campoli is the new Commodore (i.e. lost and confus...

2009-10-07T11:44:26.394-04:00

Campoli is the new Commodore (i.e. lost and confused). I hope he can turn it around.

Funny how if you scan these comments you can find every player bashed at least twice and every player praised at least twice.

I think the team will be very good, but it will take some time and a few tweaks to the lineup.

The only thing I'll say about line combos etc is that Kovy and Spezz both like to carry the puck and that won't work if they're on the same line. Unless they try to turn Spezza into a shooter maybe. I like Kov-Spez-Alfie for a late-game spark line, but not permanent. Agree though that they need to get someone to finish for Kovy - Cheech, Foligno, Alfie - someone.

Go Sens Go

Anyone else notice how the seats right behind the ...

2009-10-07T11:44:07.209-04:00

Anyone else notice how the seats right behind the benches were less than 75% full?

SC: HAHA, my bad. "Matty" Stajan it is. Great job ...

2009-10-07T11:43:07.956-04:00

SC:
HAHA, my bad. "Matty" Stajan it is.
Great job with your blog by the way. I'm so glad I discovered this site in the summer. I don't know how I would have made it through without all the sens talk!

tbag: unfortunately, Campoli is struggling so far....

2009-10-07T11:37:30.990-04:00

tbag:
unfortunately, Campoli is struggling so far. I am not overly considered though because I remember how he played when he arrived in February. I'm confident he, along with several others, will take flight soon enough.

To Sensible Mac, Actually its "Matty" Stajan now....

2009-10-07T11:29:24.529-04:00

To Sensible Mac,

Actually its "Matty" Stajan now.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Camp...

2009-10-07T11:28:12.235-04:00

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Campoli has been beyond terrible for a 4 year veteran? Bad turnovers (see NYR), very soft physically (see TOR), very limited offensive displays etc... It just seems like every times he touches the puck I cringe in anticipation.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this.

Anon 10:15 AM: That would be intriguing to see...h...

2009-10-07T11:26:16.446-04:00

Anon 10:15 AM:
That would be intriguing to see...however, would that be our 2nd or 3rd line? I'm not sure what we'd do with other lines though in that scenerio.

Michalek-Spezza-Alfie
Foligno-Regin-Fisher
Cheechoo-Ruutu-Kovalev
Neil-Kelly-Shannon

Now that I think about it...that wouldn't work at all.
You'd have Shannon (not a fourth liner) and Kelly who are both play up the middle on the fourth line and neither Cheechoo, Ruttu nor Kovalev play centre on the 2nd or 3th line.

I'll stick with what we've got so far.

EH_Matt: Didn't even cross my mind that Pierre wa...

2009-10-07T11:24:29.348-04:00

EH_Matt:
Didn't even cross my mind that Pierre was focusing on the Leafs.

He talked a ton about Carkner and his toughness, Regin being more of a Swedish player than Danish in that he what brought up through the same system as Zetterberg, Leclaire being by far the best pure goalie we've had in Sens modern day history, Kovy's super human puck control, Michalek's speed, the Phillips/Volchenkov deadly duo and how Phillips has only ever had 2 defensive partners (A-Train and Chara)...I could go on.

Other than talking about The monster and Matt Stajan having a breakout year so far. I'd say he focused more on the sens.

That was a pretty boring game. It was an improvem...

2009-10-07T11:15:52.437-04:00

That was a pretty boring game. It was an improvement in Sens play over the last game and I hope Sens continue on that trend. All-in-all though, niether team played very well. It is actually frustrating how the Sens couldn't finish. That should have been a 4 or 5-1 game.

Leafs fans are whining about high stick goals and penalty shots, but Sens clearly out played them. Leafs deserved a loss.

I was pleasantly surprised by Philips. I hope he picks up on some of that fire we saw in him last night and brings that to every game.

Karlsson, looked better. Give him 5-10 games and he will be playing those last 5 minutes of the game. Carkner is doing what he is expected to do and a little bit more, good job to him.

It was a good game to watch. I'm glad Kovalev star...

2009-10-07T10:54:49.387-04:00

It was a good game to watch. I'm glad Kovalev started playing better as the game went on. He really looked like he wasn't interested in the first part of the game.

Did anyone else notice that the broadcasting was very much revolving around Toronto? I would normally not expect that from Pierre McGuire.

They should try regin centering kovy and foligno.....

2009-10-07T10:42:42.605-04:00

They should try regin centering kovy and foligno...fisher is best on the third line with shannon and cheechoo.

Cheechoo will continue to play like a 3rd liner as...

2009-10-07T10:42:26.573-04:00

Cheechoo will continue to play like a 3rd liner as long as he is on the 3rd line, what can you expect with linemates like Kelly and Neil!!

Michalek is alright, his reputation is proceeding him, he cant finish, 3 breakaways in 2 games, atleast a 12 chances in close and he still has 0 goals!

I truly believe Kovy should be on the top line and put Alfie with Fisher and Regin.

SM

I agree and reiterate, get Kovy some people to pla...

2009-10-07T10:28:07.540-04:00

I agree and reiterate, get Kovy some people to play with. Even Cheech would help. He doesn't have to keep up with Kovalev, just go to the net and wait for kovy to hit your tape. That may get them both going a bit. I think if Shannon was healthy he could center them and give a little speed. I like Fisher and Foligno as a third line, give them Donovan or Ruutu and that would be a great third.