Meanwhile things have not been much better for the Sabres. They have a 3-5-2 record in their past ten and are coming off a 4-1 loss at the hands of the New York Rangers. Buffalo is in the middle of a five game homestand which raps up with the Sens in town tonight and the Leafs on Friday. The Sabres have an impressive 8-3-2 record on the road this season but have struggled at home, posting a 7-9-2 record.
The Sabres and Senators meet again a week from now at SBP.
A banged up blueline continues to plague the Sens. Both Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar will be sidelined for the Sens tonight which means MacLean will continue to lean on a young and inexperienced blueline. Here is how the Sens will line up.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Foligno-Regin-Alfredsson
Condra-Smith-Neil
Daugavins-Winchester-Konopka
Cowen-Karlsson
Phillips-Rundblad
Lee-Carkner
Yesterday, Paul MacLean said that Craig Anderson will get the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is just after 7:00 PM tonight with all the action available on Rogers Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Keep an eye on the comment section for stream.
- I’m sure by this point most of you have already done your part and cast multiple ballots for Daniel Alfredsson and the other Ottawa Senators. Well keep it up! Don’t be afraid to recruit your friends and family and toss in the odd alternate email address while you’re at it! Alfredsson has been on the record saying just how much it would mean to him to play in that game. After all the Captain has done for this team and this city, it’s time for us to return the favour. VOTE VOTE VOTE!!
- Interesting piece on Craig Anderson's new heritage theme mask that features a tribute to Clint Benedict, a former Senator and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Anderson will debut the mask tomorrow against the Bruins.
- Information has been hard to come by on injured Sens prospect Patrick Wiercioch but it's good to hear that he is in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. Interesting comment from Friedman in his 30 thoughts piece where he says, "When we do find out more, sounds like we're going to learn that Binghamton trainer Glen Kinney is a real hero in this story." The Binghamton Senators announced today that Patrick was released from hospital and is at home in Binghamton.
Defense pairings should be :
Phillips - Carkner
Cowen - Karlsson
Rundblad - Lee
That's how the D and forwards lined up yesterday according to Syl St. Laurent on Twitter. Would not be surprised to see Foligno still take draws.
Apparently it is perfectly acceptable to vote from more than one email address, so for those with multiple addresses or who can take the time to quickly create new free gmail/yahoo/aol /hotmail addresses, please try casting 30 votes per day! This is my personal mission between now and when voting ends, max out votes from a new address each day. Speaking of the voting closing, does anyone know when it does? It doesn't really state it on the NHL.com pages that I could find...
Nice to see us finally being able to play Lee more often, even if room had to be made via injuries, this kid deserves to be playing and can be of value to us in the coming couple of seasons.
GO SENS!
I think that's a safe bet.
http://www.binghamtonsenators.com/news/?article_id=1220
I hope Weiroch makes a full recovery adn that this does not ruin his hockey carrear
http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/12/12/sens-goalies-got-retro-mask-appeal
The last day to vote is January 4th. I've now voted 180 times for Alfie, and 150 times for Spezza, Milan, Letang, Karlsson, and Thomas.
I can't say that I'm horribly surprised to see December's results. I mean we're playing top end team, during our first year of a re-build. We should of won one of those games where we couldn't keep a lead, but that is a typical young team's problem so I won't be too harsh on them.
Andersson's mask looks good!!! :)
You actually don't even need to create a new email as there's no verification email sent. So you could vote using daysyb
Let's do it boys.
GO SENS GO
Ha! Take that Filitov!
Really starting to think Filatov really pissed off Maclean with the NHL or Russia deal...
Is it coincidence that Butler is out the very next game after they let Filatov go?
Murray talked about this yesterday and it did sound like Kuba is ahead of schedule. A week seems optimistic but I would be surprised if he's out the full 4-6 weeks they initially suggested.
You are bang on brotha.
This is the biggest game to date in my opinion. We can't fall too far back, and HAVE TO stay in the thick of things.
I'm sensing a big W from the boys tonight.
Go Sens Go!!!!!!
Spezza is a Buff Killa!!!!
Go Spezz!
I think that just shows how far behind Filatov is. No matter how disappointed BM & PM may be that Filatov wanted to go to KHL, there's no way they were holding it against him like that when they understand his position. If they were pissed about him going to the KHL, then they'd either have sent him there asap or ensured he stayed by playing him more minutes then he deserved. Instead they took a normal progressive approach until they were sure that he was not NHL ready, and allowed him to go home and make a better living for himself.
BUF is 2-0-0 vs OTT this season, 1-0-0 at home
Dating back to last season, BUF has won 6 straight vs OTT, 3-0-0 at home
BUF has gone 2-1-1 over their past 4 games, going 2/15 on the PP
BUF has gone 2-5-2 over their past 9 home games, allowing 29G
Pominville has 1G, 3A during a 3 game PT streak
OTT has gone 1-3-2 over their past 6 games, going 2/22 on the PP
OTT has gone 1-2-3 over their past 6 road games, allowing 3 or more goals in 5 of the games
Spezza has 3A over the past 2 games
Nice quote from Anderson, being an American sounds like quite the hobby. Why did we give this guy 4 years again?
Karlsson and Alfredsson still holding starting spots. Keep voting!!! Might have to cast a few ballots for Tim Thomas to keep Reimer out of the starting spot.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=606044
I'm starting to think though that Murray and Maclean aren't exactly seeing eye to eye with Filatov. I think they both agree he's not ready, but I have a feeling Murray wanted to give him more chances, while Maclean's focus is on winning games...
I should add that i don't think it's a point of contention between the two.
TSN can't even get his age right... he just turned 39...
Mismanagement at its' finest. Sorry, but I cant defend the Filatov situation whatsoever given the terrible play of Butler who was rewarded with top line minutes
I find it hard to believe Reimer is getting so much attention. I know it's a voting thing and Blue Team fans are going nutz with it. But come on, what has he ACTUALLY done that deserves it? This year, 9 games played, 4 wins and a concussion. I understand he won 20 after playing 37 games at the end of the year last year, but that's ALL they have to go on. Very short highlight reel if you ask me.
I know the expectation coming into this season may not have been playoffs, but honestly, I'm going to root for the team to make it anyways. The team has shown that they can compete; why not expect to see them make a push? Tampa's dropping, great shot for Ottawa to slide in.
Sens absolutely need to win. A loss would mean a lot of ground to make up.
GO. SENS.
Why are people manufacturing angst with regards to Filatov. Why can't you take observations of his play and the coaching staff's statements at face value. Mac has always been upfront and honest about everything this season. Filatov isn't strong enough to compete at the NHL level and he doesn't yet have the mental strength to fight through his physical deficiencies. Anyone being honest with themselves should have been able to see that in his play.
Butler was in the lineup because it was Regin's first game back and they weren't sure how much they could rely on Mr. Glass. Regin comes out unscathed and there's an opportunity to outmuscle Buffalo. Konopka is a natural choice.
This is just good coaching. No conspiracy theories needed.
It's not a conspiracy theory.. LOL
It's legitimate to ask, Maclean said that only production was the reason why Filatov didn't play more. He said that he worked hard and wasn't a problem attitude wise..
So if that's true, how does he justify Butler in the lineup all those games?
That could be very possible, and I agree with you that it's not a big issue, just possibly a disagreement if anything. However you did make it sound like there's more drama in this situation then I think actually exists.
It was an off the cuff remark, but if you want to take it seriously, I said 4 years, not 4 mil. I have little problem with his salary, it's the term. My point is that he's not anyone who's going to become a pillar of the team or community, so 4 years is and was too long.
Anderson was looking for some stability, in asking for a 4 year term, which Murray probably would have wanted less of a term, but Anderson stuck to his demand !
What is the chance of Brian Elliott getting into the all-star game. He is leading all goaltenders in save percentage and GAA. He is really having a remarkable season. Who would have thought?
That sounds like a reason NOT to sign him. If Lehner ends up stuck behind Anderson, like Rask is behind Thomas in Boston, it will be a very bad decision because Anderson is nowhere near the goalie Thomas is, and even then it's not acceptable imo. As I said, just cause he wanted it, doesn't mean it was a good decision. Hopefully he can find the form he finished last year with soon!
In all honesty though, we can't really judge his play until the end of the season. He did get hot for us during that long win streak but we'll see how he does 70-80 games in.
Guess the guy just needed a change of scenery.. and must be glad he no longer has to deal with Phillips + Gonchar.
None of us were at the practices to see how much Filatov was working. Pierre McGuire (yeah I know) says it's his work habits that have put him in this situation.
@ SENSATION,
I fully agree with your thinking, and it is what it is !
In some of his games ,he has played like Thomas, but his consistency is just not comparable to Thomas.
Rask will become the Bruins #1, once "old man" Thomas decides to retire !
Pn the long run, I can see Lehner as the backup next year,
and he might even relegate Anderson to the backup position
earlier than anticipated !
Lehner won't be stuck behind Anderson like Rask is behind Thomas. Anderson isn't half the goalie Timmy T is. If Lehner is ready for the starting job before Andy's contract expires, we'll be able to move Anderson out through a trade or another alternative. The job is Lehner's when he's ready to take it, and until then Anderson is a good solution.
Agreed, Lehner should be up next year. I think he could take the reigns over the following year, which leaves us with 2 years of either splitting the duties or Anderson backing up at a huge salary, unless we somehow trade him after next year.
I personally think Rask is the best backup in the league and will be one of the top 5-10 goalies once he's a starter again. Just hard to see someone like him ride the pine for years when they're ready. I really don't want the same fate for Lehner.
im with you on that but anderson doesnt drive a stock vette. he drives the zr1..
lets stop this losing skid tonight! go sens go
He also drives a white Audi S5... Must be nice to be in that situation lol
The one thing I would like to add to that, is that the goalie market out there is very small, especially for 30+ goalies, and if Anderson doesn't go back to all-star form, there won't be anyone willing to pay to acquire him. Maybe we can trade him for the next Elliott in a few years lol.
That contradicts what Murray and Maclean have said...
Lehner is still a kid. He'll back up for at least one year, then platoon based on who's playing better. At worst, Melynk will be on the hook for a 3 million dollar backup in year four. Lehrer will not command big $ for a few years.
That's my problem with it though, I'm pretty sure Lehner will outshine Anderson much sooner than that. Either by the trade deadline next year, or the start of the following year I expect he'll be the starter. 1 year on the pine for Anderson I could live with, but I think it will be closer to 2-2.5years. If it's not, then great!
i see spezza causing some in mine too.. as he always does vs buffalo.
side note: why the hell would anyone want pominville on their fantasy team?
time to focus on hockey.
With Anderson starting in goal in Buffalo tonite, will it be a given, that Auld will start in Ottawa, against the Bruins Wednesday night ??
Will Gonchar (day to day), be in lineup vs Bruins??
Should Gonchar be ready, who becomes a healthy scratch??
Hope the Sens win 3 in a row starting tonite, and Wed at home vs Bruins, and then Sat at home vs Penguins !!
What say you TOOKIE ??
Had a hunch he would have a great year, so far so good!
31 pts! Hell he even was leading the league not long ago.
Gonchar should replace Lee or Carkner when he's ready.
I'm a bit surprised PM was willing to break up our Daug-Smith-Cond ra line since Neil's return. I agree Neil deserves a good amount of ice time too, but the line was working so well.
I say BOOOOO to you Snoopy, keep losing, the bottom teams are slowly catching up or if you prefer, we are slowly falling back to our expectations.
I would guess it's because Pominville is a very good player and has better stats than any RW in Ottawa over the last 3 years...just a hunch...
ya gotta watch it a few times to catch everything going on but it's pretty wild.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Massive-hockey-brawls-way-more-adorable-w?urn=nhl-wp19713&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
If Lehner becomes a bonafide starter sooner than expected, it's a good problem to have. The stache is coaching to win, and we trade our buy out Anderson if it happens.
Mac himslelf said in one scrum that Filatov did what was asked of him in th gym but didn't over-exert himself. I think the message was that he wasn't a problem and did what was asked, but he wasn't driven push himself even further to improve.
Guys in the press box should be working harder than everyone else if they want to prove that they deserve a place in the lineup ... or they can sit there collecting cash
FAIL 4 NAIL !!!!
sad to see filatov leave!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree here except for the Gonchar part as he should replace Rundblad so that he can get some seasoning in the A. I think they should have put Neil up with Spezza and Michalek and left the Bingo Boys on the same line. The only flaw to that plan in bumping Cyborg back to the 4th line.
Not really a big deal either way though as PM has been bouncing the lines around mid game quite a bit anyhow.
FAIL FOR FORSBERG - FFF
when did i ever compare him to an ottawa player? pomminville is overrated, im not saying he sucks i would be more than happy if he was a senator. but for a fantasy team, he is useless.
and if i was comparing to a sens RW in last 3 years.. how about alfredsson? OUR captain. 71points in 70games compared to pomminville's 62 in 82
I have an idea - why don't you each put one of those names on the back of your Sens jersey and wear it to the next home game? I bet you'll be as popular there as you are here...
Or, if you want the name on the back to be more descriptive, just put LOSER.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Chatting-with-Nikita-Filatov-about-leaving-for-K?urn=nhl-wp19772
if what filatov says is true, it still keeps me convinced that he is different from all the "russian stereotypes"
Maybe you are back, but whenever you were around a few weeks ago, we had nothing but back and forth bickering,
and a few of your tribe including Tookie, almost wrecked the SensChirp Site and caused nothing but total chaos !
Time to become civil in lieu of radical !!
Good read.
Columbus has already made claim that they're gonna be picking him at the draft. They've even went as far as started to have his jersey done.
http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff471/kradleshock/fail4nail.png
You are certainly not contributing much to the SensChirp Site, and you must appreciate the fact, that we did not miss you one bit, while you were off this great board !!
Yakupov might not want to come play for Ottawa, after the Filatov fiasco. You will have to buy some other jersey !!
Maybe Yakupov will end up in Columbus or Carolina ??
and found this on sweden http://twitter.com/#!/SensProspects/status/146729695927484416
Swe #WJC lines:
Åberg-Ziba -Rakell
Friberg-Larsson -Sundström
Collberg-Rask-F orsberg
Rensfeldt-Nordström-WK
zib should have easy chemistry with his regular line mate aberg. and on sweden only zib rakell (plays for plymouth with noesen) and victor rask (calgary hitmen) have N.american ice experience
Chirp, I urge you to mention this site when talking about all star game voting. It's a site in which any address "@mailinator.co m" is automatically created and lasts for one hour. So really, when registering for a new NHL all-star game voting account, just enter some random name followed by "@mailinator.co m" and you're set up. No need to actually create a new email acct. Although I would recommend no one use personal information on the dummy accounts.
You just love to get the last word in !!
See ya in the playoffs !!
SENS1-0 SABRES MICHALEK WITH HIS 19th!! Leading the lead now :)
Glad he's back.
Good job Runblad.
So far I've counted 3.
I'm guessing between 10 and 15 by the end of the game.
There was another one before the end of the period there.
So... 4 in the first period.
How many bodychecks will Anderson need to make before our defense starts doing their job?
They should both be in goddamn Russia with the way they've both played the last... 6 games.
Let Rundblad make his mistakes now, and most certainly it will pay-off down the road.
Brilliant!
There's not question Rundblad needs time to adapt in Bingo. When Gonch comes back he should be sent down. Has been downright brutal the past 2 weeks.
I don't know if he needs to go to Bingo or not. What exactly does he have to adapt to?
He needs to adapt to people trying to hit him.
In every clip I've ever seen of him doing something amazing, he's never got any pressure from any Euro players. They all just watch him.
So let me get this straight, he can't adapt to being hit in the NHL by non-euro players so he must be sent to the minors to do so?
They physicality is the same in the AHL as in the NHL. And he won't cost the Sens games down there.
The physicality is not the same in the AHL as it is in the NHL. Players are bigger, stronger, and faster, that's why they're playing in the big leagues and not the minors.
Realistically, how many games has Rundblad cost us this season? It's a team game, very rarely does one player cost his entire team the game.
Greening has been the best forward for the Sens in this one.
It's close. Well, the AHL games I've been to, the teams hit more than the Sens do anyways (haha).
And I just mean Runblad is used to no one pressuring him, and zero hits in Europe.
And honestly, any goals is too many. And he's done it a bunch.
I don't see Cowen passing the puck in front of our own net to opposing players nearly as much.
He's certainly had the most opportunities. I don't know how anyone can dump on Greening. He's in his first full year in the league, making $800 000, and he has 15 points so far this year. I think he's done a great job so far this year. He's played above most of our expectations.
Haha I think I may know that better than any person on the planet. Remember I have read every comment ever posted on this site. :)
Most likely that is an ad, and it may be stuck. You could always just refresh the page if it's bothersome.
Cowen has been our best and most consistent defenseman all year. He hasn't made nearly as many mistakes as ANY of our other defensemen
Chirp remembers the days when Daigle was the scapegoat... :)
http://twitter.com/#!/TSNBobMcKenzie
Playoffs haha give your head a shake man ..after tonight 1 win last 7 games !!! and boston tomorrow and pens fri ....see you here on saturday when I post sens 1 win 9 losses in last 10 games lol playoffs headshake
Ice hockey link 2
Matter of time before he got hurt to be realistic.
Fucking great
Hopefully it ain't serious or we are seriously, seriously fucked.
Personally I am "happy" with a major injury....the draft this year is just too good to miss out on.
Upper body
Give me a break.
stfu
??? It gives both sides of the fail/playoffs what they want....effort day in and day our, and a great draft pick.
I've always leaned more to the high draft pick side.
Aww muffin don't worry, our top 5 pick will grow on you and you will forget all about this season.
Not only that, they are one point out of 8th and in a tie game with a division rival.
Goodgrief, the draft is MONTHS away. Please, just enjoy the damn game.
Go Sens.
We went on ONE decent run of games other than that we have looked average at best, and like a borderline nhl team at other times.
It is a rebuild...the point is to get YOUNG talent..best way to do it is through the draft.
i dont know why miller thinks he is being targeted by all the players since he seems to be hit every single night.. does he know he may be the lightest goalie in the NHL weight wise. he ways 175lbs soaking wet, probably in his full equipment too.
Listen to ^this^ man, he knows a thing or two!
WTF both D's down low HAHAHA, crazy stuff!
thank you karlsson and cowen for keeping the faithful..faith ful.
Get back under that rock...
Also PLEASE let michalek jsut be daytoday.
Just how good is Cowen gonna be? i've always leaned towards offensive forward jersey's but Cowen is making a great case.
just a matter of time before he's wearing a letter.
What a win by the Sens. Never gave up.
tcharger go eat some crow little buddy :)
Sens ain't gonna tank for shit.
Ill throw that rock through your glass house ...Lets cheer 2 wins out of last 7 games ...lets cheer together ready ...lol moron
I do agree with you to a point but with guys like silfverberg, zibanejad, stone, prince, puempel and noeson coming up maybe we dont need to tank to be one of the best teams jsut look at detroits drafting. I dont think theres one 1st round 1st overall player on thier team when they won thier stanley cup(s).
Or let's cheer the win that just happened?
Great game. MUCH needed win.
Why its not getting better look att the big picture guys 2 wins in 7 games with boston and pit coming up ...Seriously wake up people
Congrats to are future karlsson and Cowen
great example. another one (sorta) is carolina, eric staal i think was the closest at 2nd overall
Or look past the immediate stimulus and see that 1 win doesn't make it all better.
hey smart a$$ chara isnt playing so we can still have a chance (hoping 9mm is back though) and isnt crosby out? why cant we beat them too
Regin also looked great tonight, hopefully he can keep it up.
Go sens go
Come on Seriously lol Do you watch hockey ? Or just post stupid comments ...No chara No crosby we still lose the talent of those teams still out classes us every day of the week twice on sunday lol
I agree somewhat Muckalt, but he wasnt playing with anyone but Butler and AHL calibre players at the end of last season when Alfie went down... and he had more points than any other player in the NHL during that 30 or so game stretch at the end of the last season when alfie was out. This was also when we saw the "leader" in Spezza. I truly feel he needs to be "the guy", and with alfie around, it wont happen.
Hey FAIL$NAIL,
You should know that this Sens Team never quits until "it's
over" !!
Eat your words, and admit that you are simply another young
know it all, who thinks he is always right, and never wrong.
At least Tookie respects my wisdom and knowledge, as much as I respect his !
i do watch hockey. ive been a sens fan for the past 20years you are the one getting the negative feed back on your comments about tanking and what not.
An Embarrassment are the fans (like you) who get excited over a team that are hot and cold that doesnt benefit are "now" or "future" just gives us a worse draft pick !!!! Why become leaf fan.. Im a sens fan through and through but you have too understand we need a top 3 pick this year ..With all are young talent still in the minors or junior ,,All we have here are 2 future stud Dmen in Karlsson and Cowen ... Next year Lehner Silfverberg Zibanejad Stone and are top3 pick ,,,, And the next year we add Pumps and Noeson and Prince ...
So whats wrong with that ??
Me too but we see this team in a different lights ..I want too build this team with top end picks and u want too squeak in the playoffs lol ..Whats better for the future of the Sens ???
please quote me on when i said i want to make the playoffs? i just want the team to work hard adn give it everything they got everynight. and where ever we end at the end of the season is the position they earned
Hope that SensChirp seriously considers banning you from this site, as you are totally way out of line when it comes to downgrading Daniel Alfredsson and wanting him to give the leadership role to Spezza !!
You need to think before you post your garbage ideas