A sold out crowd at Scotiabank Place did everything they could. 20,500 packed the seats at SBP to cheer on their beloved Ottawa Senators.
In the end it wasn't enough. Chris Neil opened the scoring and Jason Spezza added a Baconator goal in the final minute but the Rangers held on for a 3-2 victory to force a deciding seventh game at MSG on Thursday night.
For the Sens, that extra day off could not come at a better time.
From top to bottom, the Senators seemed uncharacteristically sloppy on a night where they had a chance to close out the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
As Paul MacLean mentioned in post game address, they just seemed to lack focus on a night where it was needed more than ever. That lack of focus eventually led to Paul MacLean benching the likes of Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza in the third period, including a full two minute power play.
While he has earned the respect and a I hesitate to second guess a guy that has pushed all the right buttons this season, benching those two guys at this point in a series was a mistake. Alfredsson was clearly unhappy with the decision and took his anger out on his stick and water bottle in a meltdown caught by television cameras.
Alfredsson, Spezza and MacLean had better get back on the same page heading into Thursday night.
Obviously excuses do very little at this time of year but the Sens were the victims of some momentum changing penalties. The boarding penalty on Jakob Silfverberg, where he appeared to be trying to hold up the Rangers defender, was a joke. The hooking call on Kuba was soft. And the goalie interference call, that gave the Rangers a go-ahead 5 on 3 goal, was completely unacceptable in a playoff game.
Spoke with someone after the game who told me that the Director of Officiating met with the game officials after the game and was livid about some of the calls and asked for a separate room to review the game tapes. Although I'm sure part of that anger had to do with a questionable goal Ottawa scored in the final minute.
The Senators now must refocus and prepare for game seven at Madison Square Garden, beginning with a practice today at noon.
If at the beginning of the year, I told you the Ottawa Senators would be in a Game 7 situation, with a chance to knock out the top team in the East and move on to the second round of the playoffs, you would have jumped at the opportunity.
All season long this team has proven people wrong. Why stop now?
GO SENS GO!
So here are my thoughts. We owned the 1st period. We played solid, closed out the gaps, Rangers had no room. But then we entered the 2nd period and while it started out good, Rangers began to gain momentum. Call it ref'ing, or our inability to stay calm, or Neil's fighting antics that pumped up the Rangers. That perfect storm of events was the downfall and we couldn't climb back after it. Sure, we entered the last 5 minutes of the 3rd showing promise, as this club has done all season and while we were even rewarded with a goal, we still didn't have the extra gear to burry it. So all that said, we need to dust ourselves off, take a step back and reflect on what happened and learn from it. I have a feeling they will do that in game 7. The sh!+ty part is we have to wait till Thursday. Maybe I will get some work done this week now, lol
But seriously, the ref's need to decide before the game how they plan to call the shots. Because the entire first period layed the foundation for what happened, allowing small pokes to become larger shots. Small hits after the play to extend to 3 or 4 seconds after the play. They need to set the tone in the first 10 minutes so players know what they are in for. What really angered me was the non call on the over the glass puck by the Rangers while we were on the PP. The fact that they just made the call and didn't even talk about it possibly going over, or not hitting a stick made me furious. They didn't even show a 2nd or 3rd reply, which they do for EVERY other play that happens.
To end my rant I just want to see our PP take shots. I'm getting tired of watching the stretch passes through the middle that get eaten up and thrown down ice.
Here's to game 7, Go Sens Go!!
I thought he looked good on occasion, and a little lost on occasion. I hope he gets to play again Thursday after a few practices.
The crowd also was not quite into it compared to game 4! That was the best it's ever been.
To have a one game showdown with a chance to move on to the second round.
It's disappointing to miss a chance to close this series out but they get another shot on Thursday.
I watched for him but didn't see much besides the 1st shift he had, in which case he had some jump, but we spent so much time on the PK, and he's not a PK guy. He had that trip up just outside our crease, believe he upended Michalek. And he got a shock when the real hitting starting. I think it's Mainly newbie jitters, shouldn't take too long for that to subside. If Maclean had the itch to play him last night, no reason they won't give the kid a 2nd chance on Thursday.
In the end, the refs handed this one to the Rangers, but the Sens didn't help matters by letting the Rangers take the helm and control the remainder of the game after that fight.
It isn't over yet. The Sens have shown all season how strong willed and hungry they are. Go back into MSG and take control like they know how to do.
GO SENS GO!!!
I don't know if it was jetlag or stars in his eyes, but he was non-existent after his first shift.
- Spezza refused to shoot the puck
- Alfie got uncharacteristi cally frustrated
- Niel let his emotions get the better of him and instead of demoralizing the Rangers with his fight, actually fired them up with his showboating
- Anderson was ok, not good
- Officiating was pathetic
- PM didn't call a time-out after the 2nd Ranger goal, and in hindsight, maybe shouldn't have kept tinkering with the line-up
- The Ranger powerplay woke up
And all that being said, I love our chances going into Game 7. If all of that went wrong, and the Sens only lost by a goal, we're in really good shape next game. Not to mention that road teams have a serious advantage in this year's playoffs.
Thursday is going to be a really, really REALLY tough game for them to win. They've faced intense opponents before, but NYR has the momentum going in to this next game. Ottawa could have played a bit smarter, tightened up in the second and we would have had this.
Nice to see a new post up and the regulars back to good hockey talk. The dipshits really come out of the woodwork during the game, especially when we are losing, and I find the shitty attitudes and attacks on our players disgraceful, something I'd expect from Leafs fans.
It's going to be a long couple of days and Paulrus has a plethora of roster options now. Can't wait to get this settled on Thursday!
Go Sens! Keep your chins up!
Momentum is definitely in the Rangers corner which is why it's nice to have that extra day off.
Yeah I totally agree with that assessment. Also as has plagued us the entire series we need to stop being so fancy with passes in the Rangers end, more than 5 passes, especially on the PP is very frustrating.
Same goes for clearing our own zone. Those soft exit passes up the middle, they just gotta give Anderson nightmares.
Agree Chrip - maybe Alfie played hurt as well in game 6 and needs an extra day of rest to fix his brain.
This week is going to go by so slow, can't wait till Thursday.
Do you think Henry will get a fine for his comments regarding Spezza's goal being a "joke"...?
Any other thoughts on this guys?
It was frustrating to see the Sens play like an eighth place team last night. It's still great to see them not play like a fourteenth or fifteenth place team, though.
IMHO, they have the pugnacity, belligerence and truculence they need. What they need now it the restraint and swagger that will just tick their opponents off. For example, in Game 2, kudos to Carkner for going after Boyle, but he shouldn't have hit him when he went down. A cocked arm, a look, and then skate away. It was the punch that Mohammed Ali didn't throw.
Similarly, last night, Neil obviously was winning the fight, but at the end he shouldn't have showboated. Just skate away. The fight itself could have stood on its own.
Dear God, I'm agreeing with Cherry...
Looking forward to Thursday. Should be a hell of a contest.
Ohhh that goal...
I first saw it, I immediately said no ways that's a goal, it was obviously kicked in...
They were reviewing the play and I was saying no-goal, why even bother? But then they found the angle that despite the extremely clear kicking motion, he never actually managed to kick the puck, it just went in.
Whether Lundquist gets a fine or not I don't think that matters. It's an interesting sub plot though, he can either get angry-focused and play even better, or he can get angry-frustrate d and start to cave. I hope it is the latter obviously. :)
Had you told me 88 games ago that we would have a legit shot at going into the 2nd round in a game 7 I would have said you were absolutely batshit insane.
Personally I hope we go back to JS33(said why in the other thread)....he really out of Butler/Stone/33 is the only one ready to play ridiculously important minutes(and has more serious experience...al beit non-nhl experience). Two days of practice and rest to recover from jetlag will likely make an absolute world of difference for his game, and we will see a huge improvement and more familiarity with the ice surface.
****PLAYOFF POOL UPDATE****
T1 T265 -- tcharger 95
T1 T265 -- Misaow 95
T3 T327 -- Kratos71 94
T3 T327 -- DenisVial 94
T3 T327 -- nyjets1967 94
T6 T411 -- Bluenose 93
T6 T411 -- Eagle8 93
T6 T411 -- Bradweiser 93
T9 T494 -- PaskySensFan 92
T9 T494 -- RUSHRLZ 92
Oh and ALfie...he looked uncharacteristi c all game, I suspect he is aware his window is closing and is extremely upset that he was hurt for half of what looks like a very winnable series.
Most of the series are done now, so which of us might have players still active this round might shuffle the standings a bit but probably not too much. Second round picks coming up near the end of the week!
If not and Washington wins I love my team
Not sure though I absolutely need Wash to win and ideally us
cooler heads need to prevail here...yeah Sens stunk it up a bit, refs may have had a hand in it too, but with all that, we still only lost 3-2 against the supposed top team in the East....forget it...and get ready for the 1 and done on Thursday...than kfully I am sure the team is not dwelling on this loss, same with the coaching staff. Even if Ottawa loses game 7...this season is still a huge success...they qualified for the playoffs in a year where they were picked by everyone to be a bottom feeder, then once they made it, they were picked to be gone in 4 or 5 games by experts all over the place, however, they never listened to any of it, and have given the Rangers everything they could handle. The pressure is still on the Rangers here, not the Sens, they have the expectations of the fans/league to move on, but for us, this is all gravy. That being said, I am not ready to shave off this playoff beard and not yet ready to give up watching hockey. I won't call this a rant, and am sure a lot of this negativity I am seeing is just a knee jerk reaction to an undesired result, just wipe the slate clean, move on, and look forward to Thursday night where all the pressure is on the Rangers, and last time they were in that situation, Ottawa fared pretty well riding the play of Anderson. Believe fans...Believe. ..we are not done yet....the young kids from the B-Sens were in this position just last year in game 7's, so to be honest, am liking how most of our team may have more experience in this kind of scenario than the Rangers. Now comes the excruciating wait until Thursday night..... Go Sens Go
sorry for the long winded rant peeps.
Im not gunna say who should play and who shouldn't play. Silfverberg didn't lose us the game, nor did Foligno. Like a poster previously said, taking 3 penalties 200 feet away from your own net in a 10 minute span will kill any team. We just need to be more discipline
Now my biggest issue. I know he is having a great series on the draw and killing penalties, but Kenopka was played wayyyy to much last night. Maclean is getting wrapped up in the hype of winning face offs and line matching here in the playoffs. For the life of me I can't understand why a guy who was virtually benched and scratched the entire 2nd half of the year can then play meaningful minutes in the playoffs including 20 shifts and 15 minutes in the most pivitol game 6
Also, no one here talking about Matt Carkner not returning to the game and only played 6 minutes, which means Gilroy could draw into the lineup for game 7
Finally only alfie, michalek and spezza played more than Kenoopka amongst our forwards. That can't happen in game 7 regardless how good kenopka is on the draw.
On Ottawa's shooting problem: If you get a team that likes to block shots, start shooting high, hurt them abit so that they wont want to block shots anymore. I fully understand and support the concept of drawing players to you to open up a shooting lane for someone else, but you have to draw the line somewhere
On Ottawa's shooting problem again: Alot of times, I will see Sens dmen take a second to wind up a big slapper from the point. While it is ideal to get thsoe kind of shots in, the most important thing is to get the puck to the net. This does not require a howitzer everytime. Sometimes a wrist or snap shot might work, or a small slapper. It cuts down on time for the oppsoing player to clog the shooting lane, and cuts down the time for the goalie to get set.
The Sens just have to simplify their game abit. I really believe that we can send the Rangers packing on thursday, just have to BELIEVE
Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger
M.Michalek may face sup disc for shoving (kicking)Girard i with his skate last night.Very similar to Skinner in March which earned 2 gm susp.
The officiating was bad on both sides of the puck. This has been the story of the playoffs so far. Just brutal fucking officiating all over the NHL. It's a goddamn joke. There were missed calls on both teams last night and a number of ridiculous "make-up" calls.
We lost this game in the final 5 minutes of the second period. It all started by sloppy plays made on our powerplay, especially by Spezza. The Rangers ended up spending most of our powerplay in our zone and the boys just stood around watching the puck.
It definitely wasn't just Spezza though. A good number of our players were responsible for careless, soft, casual plays that caused us to lose possession time after time.
He had plenty more opportunities to shoot but instead decided to take it to the side of the net and look for the pass. If he would have shot on all of his opportunities he'd be closer to 10 shots last night and probably a couple of goals.
Bad officiating at both ends, on both teams, but it was the 3rd goal that killed them. Sens just had a really sloppy 2nd, loads of groan-inducing passes.
Upside, they should know by now that the Rangers can't, or won't, beat them 5-on-5. Hope the day off helps them calm down, especially Neil.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall Spezza and Milo seeing any ice time in the first 5 minutes or so of that 3rd period. It could have been more but I'm not sure.
I understand your frustration Chirp but while Alfie, Spezz, and Milo were sitting on the bench, our second powerplay unit had a number of scoring chances including Phillips ringing one off the iron.
Sens win on thursday night and advance to the second round.
what are your lines? I think it goes:
Silfverberg-Spezza-Alfie
Stone-Turris-Foligno
Greening-Smith-Neil
Condra-Kenopka-O'Brien
ALFIE SMASH
LMAO, Love it!!!!!
If your referring to Michalek don't start drinking zipzapcrap koolaid
Michalek played over 4 min of PK last night. And even though he may have had an off night, without him in the lineup, NY defense first mentality will simply zero in on Spezza and Alfie. Michalek grinds through checks, takes a beating in front of the net, and often gives Spezza room to create in the OZ simply because he parks in rear in front of the net, forcing the NYR to collapse. Butler will not and does not do this. Stone/Silfverbe rg could, but NYR wont be affected by their presence when dealing with Spezza.
Who's in, who's out? Stone or Silverberg?
I would love to see Spezza just grab the puck in his own zone and shoot it as soon as he gets it, to shut all this "he needs to shoot more" crap. Guy is making plays, give it a rest.
I'm glad Alfie got mad, shows that this team wants to win, and its not just gravy games for them. He will cool down and the team will play much better at MSG. I can't wait to see crying Ranger fans when they actually lose, let alone their whiney goalie complaining after a win.
both?
If Michalek isn't suspended I would honestly still start both, in favor of Condra
Our biggest offensive showing has been 3 goals, and we will need 3 goals I'm convinced to win game 7. Condra use is great over a series/playoff run etc but in game 7 we can double shift michalek/alfie/ smith/obrien for the PK. we need offense
I would even be inclined to go like this (if michalek plays)
stone-spezza-michalek
silfverberg-turris-alfie
foligno-smith-greening
o'brien-kenopka-neil
we need offense, and we need sustain and generate pressure
Winning faceoffs and backing in too deep on the penalty kill aren't doing it for us. Faceoffs over rated - hell Rangers tied at 3-3 with barely 35% efficiency.
I'd go with this lineup
Mich-Spez-Alfie
Foligno-Turris-Butler
Greening-Smith-Neil
Daug-O'Brien-Condra
And Pray-Pray-Pray
They r the guys who brought us to the Dance. Experiment next series if we beat the RANGERS and the REFS!
GO SENS GO!
If you say so...I think any of Stone/Silfverbu rg /Foligno(if told t stand there and do nothing else)/can do it
Too. I appreciate his defensive game...but he needs to be more than that ...and I ignore zipzap so not sure what or who he is going on about this week
If Michalek gets suspended, we might see both Stone and Silverberg!
Would love to see the following based on the above:
Stone - Spezza - Silverberg
Foligno - Turris- Alfredsson
Greening - Smith - Neil
Klinkhammer - O'Brien - Condra
Daugavins possibly, in lieu of Klinkhammer.
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe in 2013 but for a game 7, thats an awful lot to ask of Spezza. His biggest game of the year, Sens biggest game of the year. "Here spezza we need you to carry us offensively with 2 rooks who have each played 1 NHL game ever"
If Michalek gets suspended, Spezza has to play with a vet or someone who won't be overwhelemd by MSG (nto saying S&S would)
Yes the refs are blowing it these playoffs in just about every series, but there were plenty of opportunities to close the Rangers out when it was 1-0. As they say, the longer you let a team hang around the bigger chance you'll get bitten in the ass.
I look forward to an amazing game 7. I would strongly advise Maclean to not put Alfie, Michalek and Spezza on 1 line as it makes shutting it down way too easy as they are all relatively small players. Greening works so well with Spezza because he adds a lot of size and grit to the line.
Silfverberg looked good, but I would honestly go back to Stone for game 7 as he has already developed some chemistry with Spezza (they had some in preseason too). I think both will be good offensive players, but Silfverberg looked really small and weak out there physically, not the best recipe against the Rangers.
1 more game for all the marbles, this is what hockey is all about. GO SENS GO!!!
I don't mind it, but you have to put Konopka instead of Klink. Not sure if you forgot about him, but he's been one of our better players.
See your point. Then let's insert Foligno on LW with Spezza and Silverberg
Then move Stone to Line 2 on Lw with Turris and Alfredsson
Hope Michalek plays in Game 7, and Maclean does not have to juggle the lines , in the most important game of the year.
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
This is right, Alfie didnt meltdown after being benched, he had it right after getting hit and had he not looked up at the last second he would be lying on the ice again...very close call. I think thats why he was mad, maybe his symptoms are bothering him, maybe he can push himself to the limit without it bringing on symptoms of some sort.
Anyways I dont think it was good for the team for Alfie to blow up, clearly it wasnt to meant to get the guys going, was more of a sign that his armour is cracking...
BTWI have that exact same stick Sherwood T90 007 Spy all black, he just busted a $250 stick and didnt even think twice about it, LOL, ouch, makes me cry!
Atta boy Alfie
Not showing bias here, but if Pacc wins, then the league has lost all control of this trophy. It will simply be known as the "who came back from the greatest injury/illness" trophy.
Secondly, how is Bryan Murray not nominated for GM of the year
Tallon (Florida) Poille (Nsh) and Armstrong (LA) were nominated
I hear where your frustration is coming from, however I felt that everyone’s game was pretty good last night (excluding the second period)… but ya, there are a lot of plays that Foligno ‘almost’ makes, and while you can’t fault a guy for trying, it is hard to watch the same result/mistake over and over again. I still think he’s a good player and, if he matures and stops taking so many penalties, he’ll be a lot more valuable to this team in the future.
I want to fault Foligno for the penalty last night, but every time I watch the replay, I just see a soft call. Still, without the rep, I don’t think Foligno gets called. I did think that NYR’s goalie interference penalty was weak, and I’m not surprised by the ‘even-up call’. Maybe you’re right; maybe if Foligno drops to the ice like a sack of bricks when the second D-man makes contact from behind, maybe Foligno doesn’t get called, but c’mon; I wouldn't advocate that anyone play like that.
And true, we have taken 2 of 3 at MSG this postseason… so GO SENS
Neil get elbowed in the head by a blind side hit. NO CALL
Guess favouritism comes into play when your the top team in the east? These new school refs are killing hockey and championships.
I am sick and tired of having the Refs play key important roles in most of our games.
Have we not gotten the short end of the stick on the calls almost the entire series. (too many to mention)
Has NY not gotten the benefit of the doubt on most calls (again too many to mention)
Coincedence... I think not!
yes there has been bad reffing, but it is clear that the Sens get it at the worst part of the games. Game two fans in a frenzy to start the game 2PP goals for NY in the first 4 minutes...Refs did their job.
Yesterday 1-0 Sens MO is all in our favour, bad calls against us, leads to 2 goals,
When we finally get a call, it is quickly nullified with a questionable call against us.
I am sorry but this is not a one game assessment, this is an ongoing trend that only concludes me to believe, that bad calls against NY will get scurtinzed more by the Refs supervisors, and Refs will be repremanded. While bad calls against teams the NHL cares less about, ie the Sens, seems to be accepted, leading officials to call one team differently from another team.
I have been to all three home games, and to have all three home game fans constantly chant "Refs you Suck" is not something that should be good for the league, and is not a successful experience for someone shelling out $300 for the stripes to be the stars of the game. NO ONE PAYS TO HAVE THEM DICTATE THE OUTCOME OF A GAME... IMO
seriously tho, we need to stop complaining about the non calls, or bad calls that were made. Any team, any fan can review tape and find at least 5 missed calls against any team on any given night. If you want to complain about Richards slashing Neil, then NYR can complain about Neil targetting Richards without the puck on that excat same play. If I was the ref I probably would have sent both of and make them still play 5v5
Time to move on and prepare for game 7. The best teams battle through adversity and don't use refs as an excuse.
I argued about this all year and now see that we should put back Greening on the top line, he may not have the top end skill but he busts his ass and does anything for the team. The only reason I want him on the top line is he gives Spezza room and Spezza seems to click with him around the net. (most of Greening's goals have come from Spezza rebounds or passes around the net.)
Michalek Spezza Greening
Silfverberg Turris Alfie
Foligno Smith Neil
O'Brien Konopka Condra
Kuba Karlsson
Phillips Gonchar
Cowen Gilroy
Carks
LMAO even Neil admitted to watching his pass, that was a great hit by Del Zotto, haha shoulder to chest, Neil gives those almost every game, its not an elbow to the head, LMAO!!
Miguel, you act like the Sens are the only team getting this treatment, have you watched any other series? Every arena chants "Refs you suck" its nothing new and the NHL dont give a shit about it and shouldnt, the refs are doing their job, calling penalties, and all of Ottawa's penalties last night were deserved. We are one of the most penalized teams in the league, its not coincidence, its Foligno, Smith, Konopka, Kuba, Gonchar, same culprits everytime, they get beat and are forced to cheat.
Fair enough but on the broadcast last night they mentioned that Maclean stated he inserted Silfverberg over Stone for one reason only. experience. Maclean mentioned that this year has been awesome, but in the grander scheme of things, he wants his young players to get this experience on the big stage. I wouldn't be surprised if 1 or both play thursday simply for this reason
Thank you, finally someone with balls to say it. Refs are part of the game, what did you expect, Sens not get penalties after being one of the most penalized teams in the league. Kuba hook, legit, Smith roughing on Callahan, legit, Michalek slashing/holdin g, legit, Foligno ran the goalie, legit... I mean come on, its not do what you want hockey here. Are there missed calls yes, for everyteam, do they usually change the outcome of a game...NO!
Im happy the Sens keep playing through it though, if they had the fans mentality they would quit and whine...
That is true, most fans forget we are rebuilding mode, including me and if Maclean wants to insert rookies to give them much needed experience than so be it. Maybe winning at all costs is not the mandate here, even Maclean said this year was awesome and that they are basically getting a free ride here, everybit of playoff experience is golden for these kids.
I just want to move onto the 2nd round, 2 rookies in the lineup scares me a bit...
If you honestly believe that Foligno ran the goalie for that penalty, you honestly wear blinders for the opposition when you watch a Sens game. There is no way he 'ran' the goalie, he was clearly pushed in as he rushed the net.
Agreed that there are missed calls and the reffing has been poor for the majority of the playoffs but to give a 5 on 3 for that play was and is ridiculous especially considering the refs had the chance to redeem their mistake with the easy delay of game call to give us a 5 on 3 that they blatantly ignored.
It changed the momentum of the game and yes after that, the Sens played like crap but had it not been for the momentum swing the whole game could have gone the other way. Or at very least if the 5 on 3 that the Sens should have had may have turned the table back in our favour.
Game 7 should be ours if the boys can just stay focused on the game and bring the game we all know they can play.
GO SENS GO!
Actually, the lead NHL officiator was in the building last night and gve the refs shit after the game. I agree that we shouldn't whine and stop taking dumb panlties, however this isn't October Tookie, Kuba's penalty was NOT a penalty. If Foligno was a penalty, why didn;t Prust get sent off at least twice for falling on Anderson.
I dont care, just get it done in game 7 boys.
No blinders here bud, even IF Foligno was "clearly" pushed into Lundqvist, he made no attempt whatsoever to change his course or even stop for that matter, he just flops on the goalie like if being pushed in him is ok and not his fault. He has a rep for doing that, its no secret.
Had he made anykind of effort, there would be no call. As for the flip in the crowd, maybe you should pay more attention, it was deflected, Sens bench and Sens players didnt even make anything about it, clearly you were on a beer run or sleeping?
I can't help but admire Alfie's freak-out yesterday. His passion and devotion for the Sens organization was very apparent yesterday. Somebody without passion for their team wouldn't display that kind of emotion (Kovalev type of player). My only worry regarding his outburst is that maybe he's concerned that he might have played his last home game as a Senator (contemplating retirement) and wasn't impressed with the way he and his team battled. Knowing Alfie (not personally), I'm sure he'd like to end his last game at home on a high note. Total speculation on my part and I hope this isn't the case because I think he has a lot of great hockey left.
Game 7 guys. Should be a great finish. Lets keep the positive energy flowing and enjoy the rest of the ride. GO SENS GO.
I have to admit, until that quote circulated yesterday afternoon I was all for Silfverberg in that game, but I think that quote sends the wrong message. If it's really about getting all these young guys experience Lehner should be in the net for a game as well. I think that quote was a big demotivator for the team yesterday and I think it was one of Maclean's few mistakes this year ... the quote, not Silfverberg.
I'm with Chirp on doubting Paulrus on the benching. Tough love is one thing and the message to the younger guys that "nobody gets a pass" has value - but it was a big risk. Hopefully he and the leadership group he's leaned on and praised all year can truly patch things up.
Silfverberg looked amazing on his first two shifts then sort of meh the rest of the way (not unexpected in his first ever NHL game). Looks great for the future but I wouldn't mind seeing Stone or Butler back in for game 7.
Officiating was brutal, but we also played poorly all game with a few exceptions. I think they took the foot off the gas for the first time this series - we need that underdog desperation mode back for game 7.
Great work again by the crowd at SBP!
Extra day off is huge - gives time for the big three and MacLean to kiss and make up, gives time for some practice time for Stone/Silfverbe rg if either is playing in game 7, gives time for the boys to work themselves into an "underdog" state of mind again, gives time for Torts to look past Ottawa like he had been doing at the start of the series.
Michalek might get suspended if there is a camera angle that really shows a kick of any kind - but maybe that's okay too. Helps the underdog mentality and he hasn't exactly been MVP so far (though I do not hate on him like some do).
Let's all remember this is essentially bonus hockey. The elation we've all felt with the three wins so far wasn't expected for another couple of years.
Not going to bother getting into a pissing match with you so I guess we agree to disagree. I know Foligno has a rep for running the goalie and that may have played a part in the call but giving him that penalty is like giving Neil a fightin major for a shove in a net scrum simply because he is known as a fighter.
I saw what I saw and you saw what you saw. No beers or sleep affecting what I saw though. Unfortunately :)
Both of them got Penalties in the other teams zone that resulted in goals
Hands down Michalek changed the entire mood of the game
with his bone head penalty
Fuck him he is as useless as I said he would be
Remember that penalty when we lose game 7 and "9mm" is held off the score sheet
Yeah this is a real tough one for me as well. In one sense I get that we're rebuilding still and that this experience for the rookies (and you can include the "message" of benching the big 3) will be valuable down the line .... but at the same time I'd like win this series now that we're so close it. If we were down 3-0 or 3-1 or something then fine to sort of write off the series and get a guy some experience but in a close out game?
I trust Paulrus but this one is tough to get behind.
Win game 7 and all is forgiven though :)
Again, I have to agree with you here. Foligno's penalty really shouldn't have been a penalty. But Michalek completely devastated the momentum of the second period. And to top that, because our powerplay is so measly and abysmal, we spend time in our own end on the PP and Kuba takes another penalty.
The underlying factor has been an absolute hash of a powerplay. To be honest, it is the worst I have ever seen in hockey-- ever.
That being said, apparently Michalek is facing potential supplemental discipline for some type of kicking act during/after the game? I'll be straight up honest with you, I wouldn't mind seeing him out. He's been an absolute waste of skin. I would rather have Greening, even Mark Stone back on the first line, instead of Milo. He hasn't generated anything, and doesn't deserve to be on the first line anyways.
Ignore.
I'M PREDICTING A 4-2 VICTORY fOR THE RANGERS!!!!!! BOOK IT!!
The rest is the same - missed defensive assignments (important ones) and ill-advised passes.
I honestly don't know if he's ever going to fix the cross-ice pass to the other team. I don't think he played much better in the game he got 2 points either.
He needs to start making quicker decisions along with more crisp, simple passes. That and not being afraid to dump the puck once in a while would help his game enormously. I will admit that he's had some nice backchecks though. Other than that he still seems to be playing 'regular season' hockey.
Except that Murray and MacLean have told Foligno the exact opposite. Foligno's best shot at being a top 6 guy is to be a gritty, on the edge and in the paint guy. They know it's going to take him some time to learn how to walk that fine line. Some of the penalties he's taken are his own fault but necessary (to a point) for him to learn what he can and cannot do. The one last night was a brutal call but given the climate that Shanny created when he let Weber get away with the turnbuckle move Foligno should have done a better job demonstrating to the refs that he was trying to avoid contact - even though he couldn't have no matter what he did.
Hahaha can we hold off on this kind of talk? Yeeeeeeesh
My bad Chirp. I'll read a book or something.
Thanks for shouting that prickish prediction at us :)
Jordan Staal???? bahahaha!!!!!
Haha obviously I'm a little on edge today. I'm sure you will find others on here that do want to have that discussion.
Thank you... a voice of reason
Milo is still a younger guy despite his experience and will get even better - and he ain't bad now.
GO SENS GO
As you can probably tell, I am too Chirp.
Really wanted the boys to wrap things up last night.
Sigh.
But on a serious note this team really needs Spezza to pick his game up! It's been a while since the SENS had a break out offensive game. They are due!!
Watch the hit again.
Year of the Dog! Go Sens Go!
Put another way, we bought ourselves room to somewhat shit the bed in game 6 and still win the series.
Will be the toughest game to win by far but to paraphrase the Paulrus, the chance to play in a game 7 will be a great building block for our young players.
Alfie "lost his shit" when he and the rest of the "big 3" were benched during a key power play.
And yes EVERYONE noticed.
false he "lost his shit" after being hit, then skating to the bench swinging and stomping
Go for GOLD or go HOME!!
if milan is gone, i would go with butler and silfver. or possible go with daugavins? we need that energy guy badly. needs to be a very physical game from our side. finish checks everytime.
side note, we are all lighting up spezza for whatever reason. Can i point out that our stud on D only has 1 point this playoffs, and it came from a somewhat flukey bounce off i think del zotto's skate? konopka has more points than him..
edit: i do give creict for karlsson leading us in shots with 31, next closest is spezz with 19. but these guys have such high skill, no excuses for them to score once every 31 shots.
He was definitely mad after the hit but it was the benching that put him over the edge - he even said so himself.
Moot point anyway - let's just win game 7 so we can all relax a bit.
I HATE losing!
He lost his shit prior to the benching. If he was even part of that benching which I doubt was directed at him.
Hey Know Nothing, there is a reason I gave you that name...
20,000 at the game disagree with you!
The Sens have been getting the short end this entire series, and it is not just the bad calls, it is the timing of all the bad calls that really changes the momentum.
That call on Foligno was an ebarrassment, that non call on the delay of game was obvious to the 20,000 yet the one ref who was about to call it got called off by the other who saw a phantom tip.
I was at the game with two guys who are not particularily Sens fans, but had to agree, the reffing was not only bad, but it was bad calls against the Sens at bad times,while non calls to NY for the same infractions, which changed the momentum of the game, and in the end the outcome.
In a normal world we could say "all things being equal the law of averages dictates that we will get some of these calls at the right time" we have not had any of this in this series...
again not a coincedence IMO
the fact that all are talking about the refs... proves their ineffectiveness
Greening-Foligno-Stone
Michalek-Smith-Alfie
Condra-Smith-Neil
THat would really screw up FONZIE - we should give it a try.
Lets mix it up - Last game or run to the 2nd round.
GO SENS GO!
Might also screw up Smith playing on two lines at once. ;)
So your saying sit out michalek for being shut out by their top d lines, but keep condra and kenopka in?
ya ok, how about sitting one fo them , demoting michalek slightly and having him play against lesser opponents
Thank god your not our coach.
michalek plays with spezza if he is not suspended
That would be very interesting!!! Could work.
Although I think Konopka is supposed to be one of the Smith's?
Michalek - Spezza - Butler
Foligno - Turris - Alfredsson
Greening - Smith - Neil
Konopka - O'Brien - Daugavins
But I'm thinking MacLean/Murray will go with at "build for the future" lineup more like:
Michalek - Spezza - Stone
Foligno - Turris - Alfredsson
Silfverberg - Smith - Neil
Konopka - O'Brien - Greening
(with Greening moving up and Condra drawing in if MM9 is suspended - for either lineup)
I'm a bit torn as to which is the best option?
Is game 7 experience for Stone and Silfverberg really worth potentially decreasing our chances of winning? How much does having those guys in really decrease our chances - if at all?
and we lose game 7. all series we play those 2 together. and point production from those 2? nothing great.
if the stache decides to break them up and put turris with milo like we did in the islanders game. then i would be stoked, but sadly thats not happening.
and whats the hate on condra? sure he cant finish but he is a very usefull player this series. and for you to even point out konopka as someone to be benched? im not even going to continue about that..
Wrong, he lost his cool right after the hit, he smashed his stick on the boards, jumped the boards, broke his stick even more, threw it, grabbed a bottled, took a sip, threw it, then stepped on it...Greening was like, WTF old man!!
Point is he went nuts right after the hit, not after being benched.
I really do like the idea of getting Turris and Spezza out there together but not sure you can have it be full-time. Foligno did "okay" as 2C earlier this year but not sure we can afford to go that way in a game 7.
Maybe try and double shift those guys a bit to get them some ice together but keep Turris as 2C. I'm fine with Milo playing on another line as long as we don't stick Spezza with a couple of rookies. He needs someone out there that he can feel comfortable with so he doesn't feel he has to wait for a tap-in assist.
No the Smith clone on the 4th line is just holding down that spot until Filatov gets here tomorrow.
This isn't the first time Alfie's acted like a spoiled kid when things aren't going his way - ask Scott Niedermayer...
Passion is one thing, but Alfie was embarassing to watch last night, and I still see far more complaints about Spezza then I do Alfie...
Yes, Spezza needs to be better, but it all starts with the captain.
i think you miss read what i wrote. i hoped for milo and turris on the 2nd line. turris and spezz i agree would have to be a desperation line we use late in game or maybe powerplay.
Michalek - Spezza - Turris
Foligno - O'Brien - Alfredsson
Greening - Smith - Neil
Condra - Konopka - Stone
With Turris/Spezza occasionally taking O'Brien's shift when they have the legs for it andd Stone taking the odd Turris shift if he earns it to allow Turris to take more 2C shifts?
I think O'Brien has been a great surprise this year and had a good playoffs. And playing him with two solid guys maybe enables him to be okay as 2C?
In my opinion choocing between butler/stone/si lfverberg really doesn't increase or decrease our chance
having butler skate with spezza or stone skate with spezza probably wont affect much. If Spezza is on his game, the result will be the same with either of them on his wing
Ignore.
Its game 7, NYR have made it to game 7 winnig 33% of the draws, which really is Kenopka only use so far. He played 15 minutes last night. are you effing serious??? the guy who barely played all year gets 15 minutes!!
we need goals. When only alfie-michalek and spezza play more than kenopka something is utterly wrong
I'm not hating on condra, btu if michalek was sued in the same role as condra he would produce the exact same, and be just as "usefull"
finally still no mention from anyone that Carkner didn't return last night
Yeah real tough call for us to make but for Maclean and Murray I'm sure they have a plan and will follow that plan win or lose. Maclean ahs made it pretty clear that experience is valuable in times like these, times where we were not supposed to be in this situation.
Its hard to find words to explain this right but I think Maclean doesnt care? if we win or lose as long as guys play hard and follow his system. Its all great experience.
I think thats what leaves people confused, Maclean is still installing the rebuilding blocks and dressing rookies to get exp only helps us down the road when our chances are higher.
As for Alfie last night, I would have preferred that he show that emotion in the dressing room (may have happened after the game) however, for a guy who doesn't do that in public, the effect is greater. You can bet that today there was a team meeting held by the leadership group on letting the young guys know that these chances do not come by every year.
As for Spezza, he is trying way to hard to lead. He needs to simplify his game, ie. shoot the puck. The reason guys try to hard is because they care. Spezza cares and I would rather have someone like him on my team than others.
I hate to say it but this series reminds me so much of the 1997 series against Buffalo. However, this team has worked their asses off this year and have earned everything they have. Rest assured they will play their best game of the series. It may not be enough, but we can't ask for more than that.
I see what you're saying but who's to say that NYR wouldn't have won the series in 5 if they had won 50% of the draws? Faceoffs are fairly important as is defensive play (Condra, Konopka etc).
Not saying that Konopka is our MVP or even that I'd be against sitting him or Condra to stack the lineup a bit more - but we signed Konopka for the exact reason that he's a playoff style player. Of course the thought was that we'd be able to trade him at the deadline (assuming we'd be out of the race by then) instead of keeping him for our own playoff games.
We do need goals, but we can't afford to give up more goals either.
Go vote!
http://covervote.nhl.com/:b=firefox11/#/ballot
I think I know exactly what you mean. MacLean was brought in to help rebuild a team that can win year in, year out and he's still working on that as "job 1". Once the lineup card is filled out he's focusing on winning that specific game but the bigger picture/plan is still to be in the playoffs for the next 10 years with a legit shot at a cup every season. But those "10 years" were really supposed to start a year or two from now.
first of please stop staying kEnopka. its kOnopka.
2nd, playoffs is a different beast, guys like neil carkner konopka have been IMO just as important as having our goal scorers. winning a faceoff is huge, it right away gives you possession of the puck so you dont have to have your skill guys chasing the puck on defense for his entire shift.
i dont think you realise how underrated this aspect of the game is.
the way the rangers play, is collapse defense, they dont need to win the puck. they will stop anything getting through. Our defensive system isnt up to that level yet.
Hax, to be honest, you are one of the posters who I look forward to seeing because I think your posts are fair, regardless of whether I agree with you or not. I had hoped that I, perhaps, had earned some respect from you, because I try to be fair and honest as well, so it's disappointing to see your response to my "suggestion" that there's a double-standard in play when commenting on players. If I sounded like a smart-ass, I apologize, but I see Spezza being crucified on a regular basis and nary a word about Alfie. Just strikes me as strange, that's all...
I like to see
michalek-spezza-stone
silfverberg-turris-alfie
foligno-smith-greening
konopka-obrien-neil
Condra is useful and I would probably play him again in game 1 of round 2, but for game 7 all the marbles, condra greatest use is not on a 4th line its on the PK. if we play discipline there is no reason to think michalek/alfie/ obrien/kenopka/ smith/spezza can't handle PK duties (if we keep it to 4 or undeR)
In that case condra will probably only see roughly 5 min of ES time, since as mentioned its game 7 time to shorten the bench to find offense.
We have a huge opportunity here to move on to the second round, so go with the guys that brought you here. Go with the experienced players, players that won the championship in Bingo last year, over Stone and Silfverberg.
Maclean has to go with the players that spent the year learning the system and growing with the rest of the team. There's no need to see what Stone and Silfverberg can do at the moment.
Greening-Spezza-MM9 (if he isn't suspended)
Foligno-Turris-Alfie
Condra-Smith-Neil
O'Brien-Konopka-Butler/Daugavins/Klinkhammer
"Frustration is a useless emotion to me," he said. "We didn't talk about it directly. But we will."
Added MacLean: "[I don't think] we're frustrated. We've been here since training camp and these are things you have to learn. It's a hard thing to do. We didn't expect that the Rangers were just going to come in here and say, 'Hey guys, we're ready to go home.' But maybe we thought they were. I don't know for sure. But they sure came out and played and we didn't match their level of desperation."
Hahaha Maclean is awesome!
I think its about time a coach had balls to bench Alfie & Co. Everyone needs a kick in the ass at some point. Alfie is no different than Condra or Greening when on that bench.
Don't take it personally boom and your post was probably justified - I'm just pissed that we lost, pissed that Alfie missed half the series, pissed that people keep bringing up that old news from 2007, pissed that I'm pissed even though this playoffs are pure "bonus" .....
Alfie does get a double standard but I would argue that he (if anyone) deserves one from the fans. Not from the coaches or management of the team or even other players, but as "fanatics" for the Sens we should all let Alfie slide when he's "human" once in a while.
Fair enough. I guess we're all pissed about alot of things...
Who was late to change? Off or Def? who didnt pick up Kreider? Spezza or Smith?
And speaking of the NYR rookie, wish one of ours could step up like he did! we need it from them!
Wow, backed up by TOOKIE!(and Alcatraz)
'So this is what it sounds like, when the doves cry'?
Richards 21:47 , 26 shifts
Gaborik 20:14, 26 shifts
Callahan 24,28, 30 shifts
Stepan 19:00, 28 shifts
Best players must play big minutes, win or lose, we are going with more of a share the load with the kids option.
It was a build up of frustration for Alfie...
He saw the importance of this game, and wanted to make a difference. We were up 1-0, MO was on our side, Refs fucked up to help the Rangers gain control, he gets benched, then he get hit hard, frustration hits fever pitch and BOOM he explodes.
Of more concern for me is the rift that is forming between PM and Alfie... PM comments that "frustration is useless" further adds insult to injury to Alfie. This must be addressed and resolved today. As much as we can say we won without Alfie, I am sure we can all agree, without him firing in Game 7 it will a monumental task.
that he simply lost all emotion after the hit. Can't explain it anymore than he lost his control
Kreider was Spezza's man. Spezza mishandled a breakout pass from one of our dmen, the Rangers took over possession just outside our zone, and Spezza just chilled out by the blueline why Kreider scored.
That's why Spezza didn't see any ice time in the first 7 minutes of the 3rd.
Yeah, well can understand, he was going to get crushed again...if not for a last minute heads up. He knows he would have gotten killed and maybe he's just not rdy to return. It wouldnt surprise me if he aint rdy for game 7, might be better that way too. Love Alfie and all but he's no use to us hurt.
http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/120424_MacLean.MP3
i caused the fuss and the loss... now leave everybody alone.
i will stay away from anything thats not routine on thursday.
cheer up everybody, Go Sens!
Your dead to me...
Not sure there is a rift between coach and Alfie. Probably not the first time that Alfie got pissed off at Mac and/or team. Probably the best thing that could have happened. Let's be honest. The Sens were not very good last night. We can blame the refs or the so called distractions (Alfie coming back, Silfverberg playing, the fans, etc...) but the reality is that the Rangers were the better team last night.
Time for the vets to step up just like they did after the all-star break when they went on a slide. As the saying goes, "Excuses are for losers". No more wouldas, couldas or shouldas.
Let's just move on and win game 7.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2012/04/24/ottawa_senators_rangers_nhl_stanley_cup_playoffs_game_7/
Uncle Ricky, could you read us a bedtime story please, oh please?
^ This x10000000 thats the thing that pissed me off the most...even more than the Foligno call.. anytime a puck goes out that even looked FOR SURE deflected...the y discuss all 4 of them... for this one though the 1 ref called it a deflection and practically gave us the middle finger
and the fact that it actually was delay of game...ughh
Game 7 is ours. Excelsior!
'nuff said.
After reading the Mendes article, I have full confidence that the Sens can rack up more than three penalties in Game 7. The fourth penalty will be called in via cell phone by Dan O’Rourke; 2mins unsportsmanlike mustache
Bahaha as Norm macDonald would say, "what the H?"
Not always easy :)
But honestly, as much as people come here for a daily dose of Sens, so do I. I rely on the comment section to get the pulse of the fan base. I gave up on other sites and talk radio a long time ago.
Comment section on this site is more than enough!
Haha! I hope you didn't scan Pt II of yesterdays post then. Your "pulse" would of had Sens Nation pegged as a bunch of thankless juvenile miscreants.
Hahah I've also learned when to avoid the comment section altogether.
I was going to say that same thing.. that was a hard hit.. and I would expect something flairs up.. but will he let the team know.
The Rangers know now to hit him hard.. which they will to either get him off his game... or out of the game.
The Rangers play dirtier at home and I fully expect that to continue...
Foligno was told by the ref the reason the goaltender interference was called was because of his reputation.
So now we know it. The refs call penalties based on reputation and not on the play. How the hell can you call a fair game if you don't call the action. That shows complete bias... and is bullshit.
Peel should not be allowed to ref another Sens game, ever.. and that should go for O'Rourke as well.. who I have a bad feeling in my gut gets game 7 in NY.
I would hate to see the Sens lose that game because of referree antics like last night...
mostly yes to all, accept the last point.. we didn't lose because of the refs antics. we lost because we only scored one goal, and were chasing the puck the entire 2nd period
enough is enough with excuses and blaming refs.
Go to TSN the video titled 'Justified'.. It shows another angle of the disallowed goal and it appeared that Michalek was crosschecked or pushed to the ice. As he is falling you see Callahan push his glove into Michalek's face and keep it there...
Michalek is laying on the ice with 2 Rangers on top of him.. one with glove in his face. Was he just squirming to get up and get the guys off him? It's hard to see the kick or even if he did it as opposed to a Ranger player.. but then Tortorella will say it was a Sens player...
Again...the Sens didnt lose the game because of the refs last night...I know its an easy excuse but you have to drop it already. The Sens had plenty of PP's and couldnt cash in, thats on them, not on the refs.
Foligno was sandwiched between 2 Ranger players.. where the hell was he supposed to go... he was directed and pushed into Lundquist and the Rangers probably knew there was a chance it would be called as he has a rep.. and they were not wrong.
Looks like MM9 tries to push Girardi with his skate as to say "get off me" but that is a no no, its one thing to facehwash a guy with your glove and push a player with your skate blade. It is a suspendable act.
In Shanahan's suspension video, he described the Skinner play as a violation of Rule 49 specific to kicking and offered the following conclusion, "any intentional or reckless use of a skate blade in this manner is extremely dangerous and unacceptable."
Quoting Hax:
Quoting RUSHRLZ:
Sandy completely agree, and all I ask is for a fair game where WE DO NOT notice the refs at all, for once.
Whether we like it or not, bad calls do change momentum, and that did happen last night.
Pretending this did not happen, will not make it go away.
Get over it is easier said than done, but agreed the Sens have no choice but to carry on,
all we can do is hope we get a fair game.
Hey tough guy........we can blame it on whatever we want. And to be honest the refs did play a major role in the game, which is not their job to do so. The changed the mentality of the game, they changed the momentum, they changed the pace of the game. They made calls that were bullshit and didnt make calls when they should have plain and simple. They did not lose the game for us, but they also took the opportunity away from us to play fair. Just fucking leave this site, everyone is embarrassed for you.
I watched the replay on that goal this morning. The puck is passed to Spezza who kind of missed the pass. The puck was picked off and carried by in.. but Spezza stayed in the neutral zone and did not pick up Kreider... There were in a sense only 4 players defending.. I don't know if Spezza was going to the bench or what he was doing... having a brain cramp... but you can bet Mclean was not happy with that. It's not the rookies costing us... Cowen has been awesome.. it's the vets.. losing focus, lack of attention, etc..
Haven't heard a peep and usually it would have been leaked that there is a phone call set up for tomorrow. Despite not playing until Thursday they'd want to address this as quickly as possible if they saw it as a disciplinary issue.
A good sign but not in the clear quite yet...
yup you are partly right the Rangers won that game because of the refs... they sucked and we got screwed = Rangers Win.
even non Sens fans agree on this one
For the alleged kicking incident in Game 6 RT @RenLavoieRDS No hearing for Milan Michalek.
Sit on it Torts!
14-19-9
33-7-11
71-15-25
16-28-22
With 16/14 splitting time on line 1.
97 in for 39 on D.
Game on; we win!
Thats what I was going for yeah, we are playing good enough D and the toughness is not quite needed anymore. Also it was a tough descision but O'Brien cant play top line, Butler can.
Silfverberg - Spezza - Alfie
Foligno - Turris - Michalek
Greening - Smith - Neil
Konopka - O'Brien - Butler
(And steal Tookie's idea of getting Butler some shifts with the top lines.)
Maybe go with Stone over Silfverberg if he's comfortable on the left side.
Ive posted a few times now, but Carkner only played 6 min last night, and left the game injured after falling awkwardly into the boards. No status has been given on him yet tho
Well considering two players were on top of him probably sticking punching, whatever the Rangers like to do... I guess they figured it was Michalek just trying to get out of there like any player would. Good to see... especially if Alfie can't go... that was a pretty hard hit.. heaven knows what he is like today.
Kinda hard to cash in on them when you only have the PP for 1 minute instead of 2 as the refs would call a weak penalty on us on what...3 out of 5 of our PP's?
get mad, get really mad then re-focus and kick the shit out of this over rated Rangers team on Thursday night.
Hmmm some good ideas there, just not certain about 33 on the top line, he seemed really out of place last game, he wont be much much better in his 2nd game. Keeping O'Brien and sitting condra might be a better option now that I think about it, O'Brien does everything better and can chip in offensively, where as Condra struggles.
Michalek - Spezza - Alfie
Turris - Foligno - Silfverberg
Greening - Smith - Neil
Konopka - O'Brien - Butler
With Turris on the wing, he can use his speed and possibly snipe another game winner on his off wing?
Why does everyone keep forgeting about Mark Parrish!
AHAHAH HAHAHA... hahaha.. ha... oh, mercy (wipe tear from eye - a la Principle Skinner)
(Jump to the scene where Burns laughing in the shower)
What was I laughing at again? Oh yes, that crippled Irishman!
How about flipping Turris and 9MM? Give some better back-checking support to Silfverberg (who got caught a few times) as I think Milo is a better back-checker than Turris. And then you have Spezza setting up Turris as well?
that may work but i have a feeling that will be like a filatov spezza situation. both guys want to carry the puck, 2 playmakers together. although funny enough in both situations, both palyers have amazing shots that we dont see enough.
Maybe that solves the problem a bit though - turns at least one of them into a shooter?
Turris - Spezza - Alfie
Michalek - Foligno - Stone
Greening - Smith - Neil
Konopka - O'Brien - Butler
With Butler and Stone switching up based on play.
Guaranteed win!
lets get some Swedish Refs!
Really find it hard to predict what PM has in store for tomorrow, in terms of linueps,
one thing very clear, we must improve our PP
Go Sens Go!!!
I'm on board lets go!
Unit one:
Michalek-Spezza-Stone
Alfie-Karlsson
Unit two:
Foligno-Turris-Butler
Kuba-Gonchar
This may give Filatov a chance next year to make the team if he decides to show up for training camp next year, Hoping Bryan Murray keeps his words on not giving up on him yet.
i agree with tookie's lines
14-19-9
33-7-11
71-15-25
16-28-22
foligno has often took bad penalties at even worse times of the game. he needs better hockey sense, i'm hoping mclean wears off on him and he becomes a solid 2nd or 3rd liner, but he's got competition with all these prospects coming in the next year or so.
@ Hax and IDontKnowAnythi ngAboutHockey :
I would seriously e-mail the Hax Projected Lineup, and his
2 Power Play lineups to Paul Maclean.
If all the players in those 2 lineups, play 60 minutesof 2 way hockey, and stay out of the penalty box, Senators win
4-0 !
Believe It !!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Filatov - Da Costa - Noesen
Klinkhammer - Zibanejad - Petersson
Prince - Peumpel - Stone
Silfverberg - Regin - Butler
Well said.
Spezza is 28 and Michalek is 27. These guys are already great and will only get better.
the worst part about it is people have LIKED this comment
*facepalm*
Rude. Get outta here would ya :)
2 things:
1. the alfie chant needs to stay forever, even after he hangs them up..no team does what we do..and we should keep it going for years to come..it can be our tradition for him everyhome game.
2. scotiabank place will be open for the game..i say who ever is around we all meet have some brews pre game and finally watch a game 7 on a screen we can all see..
Go Sens Go!
Because Mark Parrish does not have a contract with the Ottawa Senators - just the Binghampton Senators. I don't know if it is you that continuously brings him up in the conversation. I've addressed it before.
MARK PARISH CANNOT PLAY FOR THE OTTAWA SENATORS.
Hopefully that makes it clear why everyone keeps 'forgetting' about Mark Parrish.
Well, and the fact that Mark Parrish is not even close to being a good option to actually insert in the lineup over several other options.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/7849747/2012-stanley-cup-playoffs-nhl-discipline-milan-michalek-ottawa-senators-apparent-skate-kick-source-says
I hate the idea that guys in that room battled for 82 games and now where using this time to see some prospects? Thats what preseason is for. I am as excited as anyone about our prospects but theres a time a place to play them AND THIS ISN'T IT.
How people forget in this city about the Daugavins K-hammers and Butlers who contributed in many different ways for large chunks of the year and they get the shaft so Murray and company can see what they have drafted.
GO WITH THE GUYS WHO GOT YOU THERE!
Instead of benching the top PP unit.. why not bench the coach that runs the PP... He can't seem to get a system to get around the shot-blocking of the Rangers.. The Sens just seem to stand still... they move the puck slowly... when looking at a team like the Flyers who just throw the puck around and have success..
I will be doing a lot of praying from now until the end of the game.
Karma is a bitch... and I want the Rangers to be repaid in full.
I dunno why they dont try going down low and try to set something up behind the goal line go for a slot pass or try and hit the far side point man
Just got banned on hockeybuzz for telling sens fans in a rangers blog to calm down so we dont get banned... turns out i was trolling and not talking hockey...
At least when i come here its mostly sens fans and we can talk and talk and talk but over there with rangers fans...say one thing wrong and they call for mods. make a good point and your banned haha
"To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead."
I think they can apply to quite a few people.. especially some of those Leaf fans that are all over Alfie on the Yost article.
But it is good to know that it's just not the Sens getting screwed by the refs... the Devils got screwed when a couple of calls could have been made on the Panthers when the Panthers go down the ice.. the player involved in the non-call scored... and the Panthers only had 13 shots on net the whole game....
That would be the most disgusting, classless thing ever. Fuck these assholes.
No way it actually takes off. Far too scattered in their terrible chant ideas. Plus, they don't have a RangersChirp to coordinate the masses haha
The reality is all 3 penalties Ottawa took 200 feet from their own net in the last 10 minutes of the second could have been avoided with playing a bit smarter. The Sens lost composure after the 5-on-3 goal put them down 2-1 and it cost them another goal before the period was over. They looked like an upset team and they lost focus. If they hadn't we would have seen overtime.
In the end I'd say Ottawa played somewhat unfocused and not nearly intense enough to eliminate a number one team. They'll have a few days to regroup and hopefully get it done. This is a young team and it's a learning process. They will only get better. I'm extremely proud of them whatever happens. This is why they won game 5 - to give themselves two shots at winning the series. Looks like they'll need the second one. So what?
Just be glad we aren't the Canucks, Leafs, or Flames. None of those teams have any hope of winning any time soon. Ottawa is only going to grow. Worst case scenario this year we get another 15th overall pick. Given what Murray does with those I'd say that's not a bad consolation prize when combined with 7 games of hard fought playoff experience for a young team.
Go Sens Go!
Hey that's on the level of Leaf fans... they will probably cheer when one of the Rangers actually succeeds in taking out Alfie again... Mitchell tried last night but all it did is get Alfie mad. What is concerning is anger is a sympton of post-concussion right? How affected is Alfie with this last concussion? How much will this outburst and benching of the stars affect the team going into Thursday. I'm sure that tantrum unravelled a lot of players on the team... I hope it is something the team can get passed..
Dubinsky had a pretty good one with the Gatorade though.
Giving their past history with Peel in the regular season... once he started with the bad calls... and the non-calls.. did the Sens focus more on the ref than on the Rangers?
Thats Mark - as in Mark Messier - SUCK IT PHANEUF
Okay - but the flaw in your logic is that by taking guys like O'Brien, Smith and Condra out you're making it easier for the Rangers to score goals. I think even Foligno and Greening are more responsible defensively than Silfverberg and Stone (when you factor in that the newbies don't know the system yet).
Not saying you don't do it - just saying it's not as simple as adding more goals.
Sens win game 7 3-1 with a last-minute EN goal after some gut-wrenching scrambles in our end.
In the post-game presser Torts tries to argue that MacLean should be suspended for having too cool a 'stache.
Go SENS!! YEAH!!!!!
Uggg wierd ass scheduling
Bobby Butler did not "get us here"
I was joking, but I didn't know that he was only on an AHL contract. I find it funny when people suggest putting Parrish in the line up.
Quoting Hax:
Exactly... I would suggest bringing Daigle back, but I think he's on the no-fly list, and would have to drive to NYC.
Happy MM isn't getting a suspension, or even being reviewed. It's horse sh!t that it would even go that far. It just seems that Tort's is trying everything in his power to bring the game to an immature level. His constant bickering and whining over the simplest of plays goes against everything we love about this sport.
Now for my real rant. I can understand wanting to take away the plays that hurt people, but to scrutinize every single hit, love tap, gesture... it's too much. Hockey has climbed leaps and bounds over the years in technology and equipment. Players are getting bigger and stronger than they ever were, but we should be able to match that and keep our players protected. If a concussion is so easy to attain by an elbow or shoulder than change the helmets and padding being used, those players have been wearing the same bucket for years. Put something on the players heads that work, it's simple. And why doesn't a fist to the head cause the same concussion? We haven't taken even a glance at fighting being removed, how come players who challenge each other to fistacuffs don't appear phased by it? I find that strange.
Lastly, after that none call on the delay of game that still angers me. If the NHL is changing things, add in a new challenge rule, just like Football. Give the coach or captain an opportunity to overrule a potentially game changing mistake by the refs. It won't slow the game down anymore than it already has with it's constant reviews and debats. That's my two cents on it, give some power back to the players.
Agree with most of that but there are actually A LOT of people trying to get fighting out of the game and fighting has been linked to brain damage (in some studies). Not saying I agree (in fact I'm quite "Cherry" on the subject) but thought I'd point it out.
Blindside hits are the worst of course as the side-to-side motion of the head is much more dangerous and of course a hit like the one by Wolski on Alfie can be much harder than a punch to the face.
Yes, there is that...
Actually its pretty ingenious, would def get Alfie off his game in the state he is in emotionally. Anything that makes fun of him or brings back the temper tantrum is all fair game IMO.
But like SC said they dont got a Chirp of their own to make it happen, New Yorkers are so unprepared.
I have to disagree (shocker). A mediocre "Alfie sucks" chant isn't going to get under Alfie's skin. He's used to being booed at home (when the Leafs are in town) and of course at ACC. No big deal.
If anything, it gives him motivation and helps the other guys see how he responds positively etc.
But yeah, they won't get it off the ground anyway.
Sandy I completely agree with you, and it seems you could only really understand the brutal reffing and the unravelling if you were actually at the game. The calls on Kuba, Michalek, Foligno were either on the PP, or on the PK. While the Rangers, were not called for worse infractions, and then the non call on the Delay of game.
This Peel dick, seems to have chip, when the fans call him out on his shit calls, and he then make the screw you call to top it off,
This jerk is not cut out to be a professional ref... he would be fired in a real league like the NFL
Not sure about that, Alfie was embarrased by his tantrum, for NY'ers to bring it back up would probably hit a sensitive spot, its nothing like being boo'ed at home, that does nothing to his image as he is still seen throughout the league as a great player/person. But blowing up like he did and having it relived and mocked about could tarnish his unblemished rep a bit. That and its something personal, its always harder when its personal. Its dirty tactics.....but its also game 7.
Like when Sens nation was preparing to greet Tim Thomas with White House stuff, we're no different, dirty dirty but its the playoffs!!
That actually is what bothered me the most. I expect a little league umpire to be bitter like that when the fans get on him, but an NHL (or other major league) official is usually better than that.
I can live with blown calls, these guys are human and the game is super fast, but to try to "prove you're not going to even up" by calling another marginal call AGAINST the team where you blew the call in the first place?
Brutal.
Of course, the NHL will be sure to assign their best crew available for a game 7 so we should see a better result tomorrow (i.e. the players will decide the result of the game).
Well said Hax, and thank you for giving me more hope for tomorrow... lets hope the NHL realizes what a major screw up having Peel call the game, and then to have them completely blow such an important game, I hope that we get two refs, who will not be noticed at all in game 7... and if this is the case we will be on to the next round :)
Go Sens Go!!!
I don't think it will be a factor. Alfie knows the best way to live down his fit is to win the game - which is what he will lead our boys to do.
Interesting read for those desperate for something else to look at...
http://balanceoffood.typepad.com/canadian_crossing/2012/04/2012-stanley-cup-notebook-last-chance-for-ottawa-and-canada.html
Playoffs can bring the best and the worst of this sport.
Go SENS Go
PMac would have challenged the Foligno call being pushed on the goaltender and the NYR would have not got the 5 on 3.
Huge implication on the game and the series. And justice would prevail.
My opinion.
I think that would get messy really quickly. Maybe have the director of officiating have to answer questions but even then they'd have to have time to have reviewed the tape etc.
I'm as frustrated with the refs as anyone, but really we did not play well in game 6. Could we have still won without a few of the BS calls? Sure. But would we have won DESPITE those calls had we played like we did in games 2-5? Absolutely.
We can't control the refs but (hopefully) the team can simply get back to playing like they did earlier in the series and win game 7 on their own. Which I believe they can.
Agree there should be something they can do here - but it has to be well thought out. The NFL had some bumps along the way and their process still isn't perfect, but it's close.
The Foligno call probably wouldn't have been overturned in the NFL since it's more "judgement" than empirical. The delay of game non-call could have been overturned though.
So maybe they start in with some additional things that can be challenged where a replay could easily be black-and-white and allow the on-ice officials to get the call right.
A deal breaker for me though is (sorry) weather or not they have food and drink available during this open house. By food and drink I really mean Drink, and by Drink I really mean the good stuff....and by the good stuff I really mean the watered down overpriced domestic beer! Meh...does the trick. Anyway....I cant seem to find anything on the Sens website or anywhere else, so I ask you folks, anyone been to one of these things before (open house for playoff road games), and know if they have the concessions open during it? Specifically... ..the "good stuff".
I heard a nasty rumour that it might be a afternoon game which seems ridiculous to me for a weekday. But Id like to squash that by seeing an actual game start time for Game 7 posted somewhere!
I'd prefer a booth review challenge system... where 'the war room', or some other league body, watches for missed/blown calls. Refs could be ordered to talk over calls for 30 seconds to allow the 'war room' time to initiate a review. If a review is initiated, a light goes on and the ref picks up the phone.
Assuming that the refs only slip up once and a while, this shouldn't take away from the games.
Or maybe there should be a review system in place for the playoffs only.
Well our good friend Burky has propsed a rule change for next year regarding the puck in crowd penalty. That if already on a PP that penalty would only start on expiration of the 1st penalty, so no 5 on 3 but an extended 5-4...
Sounds good to me.
Delay of game is one for sure. Icing and offsides calls could be included as well. Too many men and playing the puck with a high stick maybe.
But I can't see any sport allowing obstruction or tripping calls to be reviewable. There's just too much judgement involved and it's a VERY slippery slope if you can start comparing reviewed calls to each other.
But anything where you can literally freeze frames on a digital video and determine 100% if a guy was offside or if a forward was first to touch an iced puck etc could fairly easily be reviewed.
The only challenge left is to figure out a way to include those reviews without slowing down the game - the NHL's biggest "win" compared to the other major sports is the speed of the game and efficiency of the broadcasts.
MLB is slow and that's almost part of the culture.
NFL is better than it used to be but reviews can hurt the game.
NBA is almost a joke with the last 60 seconds of the game taking 30 minutes to play.
Soccer just sucks in general (though the 90 minutes plus injury time is actually the most efficient of them all).
Confirmation should come out today - they were waiting for an official game time to be confirmed etc.
Expect them to have concessions open (they'll make money) and to ask for donations to the food bank and/or Roger's House.
I actually don't like this idea. Maybe because it came from Burke though, LOL.
The whole point of the rule in the first place was to prevent PK guys from just dumping over the glass to get a whistle so if you lessen the punishment I think that means you'll see it happen sometimes (though an extra 2 to kill off is still a big punishment).
I'd leave it the way it is and players just need to get better at being careful when clearing the puck (PK or not).
I actually had this in my comment earlier, wish the NHL would put in place a rule like the NFL with 2 challenges per game. If you use it and it's wrong, you lose the 2nd one and the call on the ice stands. If you're right, you get to keep the 2nd challenge. It won't slow things down, because as it is they still review things, such as goals, etc. This would only allow the Captain or Coach to stop the play after the Refs make the call on the ice, which would then force a challenge upstairs for review. Just gives the chance to have at least 1 say a game on a call they may or may not have got wrong. Like the puck over the glass that they SAY hit a stick and went out in the 3rd, which would have resulted in a 5 on 3 for us, if they actually REVIEWED it. Just saying
I always thought that if a team is trailing and gets a power play with less than 2 minutes to go they should get their full power play. I know that's not really a great idea but I've seen on many occasions where defending players won't mind taking a penalty in desperation with only 30 seconds left since they know they don't have to kill off the whole penalty.
Not exactly a true comparison, but we did last longer in these playoffs then Detroit, Vancouver, Chicago, and Pittsburgh! Deep down I think we all know that the Sens could very well steal this last game at MSG and get that 2nd round shot. If we loose, then we shed a tear and move on. If the Rangers loose, expect all hell to break loose with that organization. Who is the preassure on?
That would not help a team like Ottawa, lol
Doubt it really as he's too much of a pro but one can hope.
Awwweee.
Maybe not.
I was thinking the same thing. Okay - game day posts at 11:11 only I guess.
Still at the end of regulation the penalty would continue over to OT (4 on 3) and only at the end of OT would that penalized player not participate in the shootout or remove one shooter all together for the penalized team, only 2 shooters to 3.
The problem I have with obstuction is exactly that refs don't use their judgement anymore as this as become an automatic call. Defensemen know that already and they are taking advantages of it by crosschecking players in their goaltender.
I'm sure Chirp is just sticking it to me... lol.
But I'm saying that one team (the one with the power play) is trailing, so no OT.
And yeah I hate how penalized players can come back for the shootout. Would be a ballsy move to only allow two shooters if the team was shorthanded when time expired - I like it.
No way Kono misses a game over bumps and bruises - he's as much of a warrior as Neil or Alfie.
Now if MacLean sits him because he feels a healthier guy can help more that's different - but I doubt it. As long as Kono can still win draws he'll play.
Reports from #Sens practice say #BSens Rookie of the Year Mark Borowiecki is skating with the main group, while Matt Carkner is not.
Apparently Gilroy has Snoopy* as an upstairs neighbor.
Sucks to be Gilroy I guess.
* the Peanuts dog, not Pascale Leclaire or Robert Cyr
-Icing: centre-ice facoff result and allowed to change lines
-Delay of Game: Either eliminates or calls for a penalty. Gets it right in most likely a crucial situation (a coach wont challenge in 1st period in a 0-0 game you know
-Goal caused by goalie interference (see colton orr and florida) (neil and lundquist), or goal disallowed by wrong goalie interference call (see boaston vs ottawa)
-High Sticking penalty (scrum and own stick/teammate stick clips player or even those times where stick doesn't come in contact at all
Beyond these I don't really see a challenge working or being effective. Bad calls are bad and over a game they regularily balance out. The above mentioned incidents are the ones that can turn a game around or cost a team
Makes sense, I kept posting asking for clarification on Carkner yesterday, but to no avail. He fell akwardly into the board in game 6 and only played 6 minutes total. No mention was made on the broadcast of him returning(or for that matter not returning)
More PP work. Greening on unit 1 with Spezza, Michalek, Karlsson, Kuba. #Sens
Hopefully this means Alfie is on the point with unit 2. Am I the only one who remembers how amazing he is on the point of the powerplay?
Unit 2 could be:
Foligno-Turris-Neil
Alfie-Gonchar
(Or you could replace Neil/Foligno with Stone or Silfverberg)
Have Konopka out to take the draw then immediately change.
Somewhat frantically preparing for my trip to NYC! Hope to have something up this afternoon before I go.
Well clearly you might want to challenge an offsides non-call if it lead to a goal. And it's one that's pretty easy to get right on slow-motion replays.
Because like a true internet troll, he actually gets off on stiring the pot with his lunacy, and like a creepy Mr Burns, reading these rebuttals directed towards him while tapping his fingers together saying "exxxxcellent.."
I know its sucks just to let it fly, but that's the only way to make him go away (aside from Chirp actually banning him). Just ignore my friend, like the drunk leaf fan mumbling at the end of the bar about Alfie getting away with murdering Tucker......jus t shake your head and ignore.
Next.
Hahaha, no worries, I'm sure the rest of us are (or should be) trying to catch up on the work we've neglected since the start of the playoffs...
your right, that would make sense, in that case simply state "any call or miscall that immediately leads to a goal shall be reviewable by a coaches challenge. "miscall or call can only be applied to off-sides, icing, goalie interference, high stick, hand pass or kicking motions"
You wouldn't even really need to restrict when it can be used by rule - no coach is going to challenge an offsides call if a goal didn't result from it. Similar to icing calls etc - they'd only challenge if it was a true TSN turning point in the game.
@ Hax,
That was a real good one Hax!
Games in Ottawa at 7:30 PM, while all the New York games started at 7:00 PM. As was confirmed by NO65 above .
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!
The game is really getting to fast for the refs, but ever worse, b/c there is not accountability they get away with some horroble games that really do affect the outcome and lead to experts saying things like
"They seem to have put the whistle away"
"looks like the've got on the refs bad side"
"thats an even up"
"its late in the third they're letting them go"
This all leads to the refs making calls when they want to, and impartiality, and even worse, subconciously affect what they call and dont call. This then leads to questioning whether there are alterior motives behind some of these games.
Lets allow the coaches two challenges on certain obvious reviewable calls.
then have a "war room" of ex NHL refs call down to the game whenever there was an obvious mistake on a call
ie player dives on a trip, when he was actually never touched, or a player fakes a stick to the head, this will not only correct it but, will give the diver the 2 minutes.
It is long overdue, and this will fix many of the issues that most of us have been complaing about for years now.
thoughts?
It will give them something to do during TV timeouts
Or, more likely, an opportunity to have ANOTHER TV Timeout (which means more $$$)...
Should the league decide to implement a challenge system in place, I'm pretty sure they will be really carefull and limit to a minimum the possibilities of challenges. As stated before this morning, it would have to imply a goal. Take the Briere goal against the Pens as it was obvious he was offside by 2 feets.
Your heart is in the right place but the League (the BOG)want a certain amount of management, of control over the outcome. Where the stars go free, the head shots are allowed, there right teams win...if Eugene advances it's worth about 7 to 10, if Rangers don't advance it costs MSG and US tv about $60 million...who do you think is going to win game 7? We have been brain washed by those Tranna Non-Experts (that jerk/fool Healy) that Rangers are by far the better team (which is Horse Poo).
Let's hope for a miracle where the ZEBRA get a visitation from the hockey Gods before the game...
SENs in Six!
Was very impressed by play of Borowiecki, in the regular season games he played.
Guess he will be paired with Phillips.
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
Riiiiiight
http://covervote.nhl.com/:b=firefox11/#/ballot
@ No65,
To me Briere was more like 4-5 feet offside as the linesman in that game made the signal that he was onside ????????
There are many times I see puck carrier with puck outside blue line, while left or right side teammate is over the blue line ,puck carrier crosses and no offside called,
Briere goal should have never counted, but whisle never blown, until goal was in back of net. Blatant error by the
linesman nearest Briere !!
The major problem with this is the second they instituted a rule like this, coaches would immediately use this as a ploy for what is essentially extra timeouts.
They would have to do exactly what the NFL does. let's say you get one coaches challenge but if you lose the challenge you burn your timeout. No timeouts left? No Challenge!
MSG has many levels - game is at 7pm.
Totally agree that would have to be part of it - especially when you're challenging an icing.
Maybe even charge the team a minor penalty if their challenge fails??