Having never actually been to New York City, this felt like a no brainer. Travel plans and the search for tickets began rather frantically with only a couple days until the deciding Game 7. Finding someone willing to travel to NYC on short notice proved to be a little more difficult than I had anticipated but in the end I was able to recruit my brother, who is oddly enough a San Jose Sharks fan, to make the trip down for the game.
At around 8:00 PM, we hopped aboard an uncomfortably crowded Greyhound bus bound for the Big Apple.
Initial excitement faded pretty quickly but I was able to maintain sanity by live tweeting my adventure and answering questions from my Twitter followers. I answered questions about the Senators, about the meaning of life and about the finer points of international bus travel.
In the wee hours of the night, around 1:00 AM, and shortly after we crossed the boarder into the United States, it dawned on me...I should probably get some sleep. Easier said than done on the bus. From my experience, the Greyhound is either punishingly hot or bone-numbingly cold- this trip was the latter. My window seat had predictably been seated next to a window that was stuck open a crack and the once comfortable breeze had transformed into a cold arctic chill overnight. Clinging to my Ottawa Senators windbreaker for warmth, I slept for what was a total of 2 hours on the entire trip.
12 hours after we had departed from the Ottawa bus terminal, and following thrilling stops in Montreal and Albany, I began to see the familiar skyline of New York City. Running on nothing but adrenaline and excitement of the game scheduled for later that night, we struggled through some of the touristy type stuff you feel obligated to do in New York City. I walked around confidently in Times Square, sporting a black Ottawa Senators jacket that didn't seem to bother any of these busy New Yorkers. In a city that big, it's pretty easy for the NHL team to play second fiddle and that's exactly how it felt on Thursday morning.
I ran into one twenty something in a Rangers hat. He looked at me with a confrontational yet admiring glance as we waited to cross the street. It was almost as if he couldn't believe he had run into another hockey fan let alone a fan of the team his Rangers would play later that night.
Fast forward ahead to 4:30 PM on the evening of Game 7. After a few underpriced, awful tasting American beers at our overpriced, awful looking downtown hotel, we made the walk to iconic Madison Square Garden. A gloomy rain fell on the city that afternoon and I convinced myself this was a bad omen for the city of New York.
We took our spot in the will call line to pick up our tickets graciously arranged by the best Sens ticket rep in the business, Mike McCarthy ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) .
I stood somewhat confidently in my heritage Ottawa Senators jersey but I could already feel the heat from the Ranger fans around me. Unlike the morning in Times Square, there was a definite buzz in the air now. Not a friendly jersey in sight and Broadway Blue as far as the eye could see. "Are you f***ing kidding me? A Senators fan?!" was the first comment. "I wouldn't make too much noise tonight if I was you." another guy said smugly. "Hope you have good health coverage wearing that shirt in here!" another Rangers fan scoffed. Even the guy working the ticket window threatened to hold our tickets unless I took the jersey off. Playful jabs but just threatening enough to let me know they meant business.
After dinner and a few pregame drinks at Harrington's, a local sports bar recommended by none other than Bruce Garrioch, we made our way back to MSG in plenty of time for warm up.
In the midst of our stroll towards MSG, I saw the familiar face of former Sens head coach John Paddock. He spotted my Sens jersey and stopped to chat. "I can't believe you're wearing a jersey," he muttered, "Be careful in there tonight. They're crazy." Up until this point I was only mildly concerned about the welcome I'd receive as a fan of the visiting team but when a former NHL head coach tells you to be careful, you start to worry.
We took our seats in the 100 level just 15 rows from the ice. Had there been a camera on us at the time, it definitely would have caught my "deer in the headlights" look. I've seen MSG on TV, I've heard about the legendary events that have been held in that building over the years, and here I was, about to watch the Ottawa Senators biggest game of the season under the bright lights of Broadway. For a diehard Sens supporter and just an avid sports fan in general, it really doesn't get much better than that.
We took in the warm up from the front row in the Sens end and were finally joined by some other Ottawa supporters. Plenty of fans had made the trip down but they had us effectively scattered throughout the building. From puck drop, I don't think I ever actually saw another Ottawa Senators fan.
The fans seated around me, were for the most part, surprisingly friendly. Their initial intimidation tactics became more friendly as the game moved along. I can honestly say that ever single Rangers fan I talked to on the trip, legitimately respected the Ottawa Senators. In that fan base, there was definitely a sense of “anyone but Ottawa” leading up to the first round.
I'll spare you the recap of the Rangers goals but when Daniel Alfredsson scored his power play goal to cut the lead to 2-1, I stood and let out a holler that was far louder than I anticipated and almost seemed to echo through MSG. The fans around me, who had been friendly for the most part, suddenly turned into those angry New Yorkers I had heard about. "Sit down a**hole!" "Alright that's enough A**hole, sit the f*** down."
You know, friendly stuff like that.
In the second intermission, I went to the concourse to grab one (ok fine it was three) last beer(s) and ran into Team President Cyril Leeder. He thanked me for making the trip down and said, "Hopefully we can send you home happy." It was pretty incredible that in that moment, me a lowly Senators blogger half in the bag and he, the sharply dressed president of an NHL franchise- were both just fans. Pretty cool moment.
You all know how the final period went. The Sens dominated the play but couldn't find a way to tie the game. A Rangers fan seated to my right explained how he hadn’t seen a team dominate the Rangers like that all year. A younger fan behind us piped up and said, “That’s Rangers hockey baby!”. The gentleman to my right quickly shot back, “Are you kidding me?! They’re skating circles around us right now!”
There was a certain comfort in knowing our 8th seeded Senators were causing the Rangers and their fans that much grief.
The final buzzer sounded. The Rangers were moving on. The Senators season was over and if you listened to the speculation leading up to the game, Daniel Alfredsson's career may have come to an end as well. While the end result was not what I hoped for, it's an experience that I'll remember for the rest of my life. And in the event Alfie does not return next season, I'll be able to say I saw his last goal and last game in the National Hockey League.
Worth the price of admission, if you ask me.
On Sunday, we made the trip to Philadelphia to catch the Flyers overtime win in Game 1 of their series with the Devils. When it was all said and done, I had seen two baseball games at Citizens Bank Park, a Round 2 overtime win at Wells Fargo and a series clinching win at Madison Square Garden and I can honestly say at no point did any of those buildings come close to the noise level after Turris scored the OT winner in Game 4.
The trip gave me a chance to experience playoff hockey in the middle of two of the most hockey mad markets the United States has to offer and they both fell short of the atmosphere at Scotiabank Place this season.
Is it September yet?
- Interesting bit of Sens news courtesy of Joy Lindsay this morning as apparently Binghamton Senators Head Coach Kurt Kleinendorst has let it be known he will not be returning to the organization next season. Kleinendorst has done an excellent job with the Sens AHL affiliate in Bingo and his loss is a significant one for the organization.
To bad the Sens lost... the write-up could've been that much better.
Cool review Chirp. Different sort of blog and actually more "bloggy".
I typically think of this site more as a news outlet than a blog with your usual posting style (hopefully that comes across as a compliment).
I've had a chance to see the Sens on the road a few times and the experience was similar but I can only imagine the extra intensity of seeing a game 7 in a real hockey town.
Plus MSG is a great venue. Even the regular season atmosphere there is great. Say what you will but loudmouth, angry fans do occasionally make for good experiences. It helps that the game I saw was great, Sens leading 5-0 and then a furious 3rd period come back from the Rangers to get it to 5-4 before a ENG to seal it.
I can however confirm there is nothing very thrilling about Albany*, other than that's where I saw my first B-Sens game.
*you can get there by car from Ottawa faster than you can by plane - that's not thrilling though, just annoying
Glad you had fun!
Yup, that has been added to the bottom of the post. Was going to make a separate post but I spent way too much time writing this one to give it ten minutes of air time :)
September is too far away
Any chance he may be a future Habs Assistant coach? Timing wise makes sense, aside from that why would someone leave a head coach spot without an insurance plan/different offer
His contract in Bingo was set to expire at the end of June anyway.
Can't wait for next season to start. I am pretty sure Alfie will return after this great unexpected success. It's not like he couldn't follow the pace, he WAS our best player.
Sucks that KK is leaving as he did a great job. But I assume they'll replace him with someone who uses a similar system to MacLean which in the end will be good for the org. As I understand it, KK didn't use the same system (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Not that it caused major problems, but the way MacLean likes interchangeable parts it will likely help to have Bingo play the same system.
I wonder if there's anyone in the Detroit org that would want the gig?
Kris Draper? Maltby???
haha
Quoting Alcatraz:
Zetterberg and Alfie?
Pool update - can't believe I lost Rinne but still cling to 2nd.
159 (58) DenisVial
156 (67) Hax
156 (62) Glencho10
155 (58) Kratos71
154 (56) Misaow
150 (53) Bradweiser
149 (60) SensSaint
149 (56) PaskySensFan
148 (64) madjpajamma
148 (62) DonnyG33
Yes, too bad we could not get that tying goal in Game 7. Watching the remaining teams now, it just seems that the Sens could have beaten anyone in the East. All the tough to beat teams for the Sens are gone (Bruins and Pens).
The West is another story however, I don't think anyone is going to stop the Kings.
sigh, what could have been this year....
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm sure it was a little wordy for some people's tastes but I thought this post worked better as a story rather than a quick summary.
Woo Hoo :)
interesting to note that 2 of top 3 are hailing from Calgary..myself (Glencho10) and DenisVial
it's the players who wear the shirt numbers corresponding to the number of his post
or did you mean WHY is he doing it, to that I ask who needs a reason for weird shit
Awesome movie... don't really need the 3D... it's pretty cool but you will still enjoy the 2D
Sad to see Kleinendorst leave. They had a bad season in Bingo and you could see the frustration from some of the comments he made to the press...
He is a class act and I wish him best in his future.. which will probably be the NHL.
I hope the Sens can find another coach that is liked by his players like KK was.. not a Clouston type.
Don Brennan is an idiot...
After watching the NY/Caps game last night.. seeing how Marc Staal played and how key Brooks Laich has been to the Caps... made me realize again how much of an idiot John Muckler was as well.
Quoting riceroni:
3D is basically just "higher def" than HD. Not essential for any movie with rare exceptions and there's only a couple of points where Avengers really uses the 3D directly. Given the visuals in this movie I'd say splurge for the 3D but not a big deal.
(and yes I'm a nerd)
Quoting The Apostle:
Bingo. Just bored really.
big time nerd here too...had the comic books, watched the very cheesy cartoons (now anyway) from the 80's (for which I loved teletoon retro for before I ditched Bell), and have seen every, and I mean every marvel movie in theater, so have to watch this one and the new spider man one coming soon...am thinking we are a bit over due for a continuation in the xmen series (wasn't a huge fan of first class) with gambit taking a more central role.
Quoting The Apostle:
LOL
Mike Bales 1995-1997
Jani Hurme 2000-2002
Tom Barrasso 2000-2000
Alex Auld 2012-2012
Browsing Sens jersey numbers over the ages I was a bit surprised that Lawrence Nycholat was allowed to wear #3 in his cup of coffee with the team in 2008.
Not that I think #3 should be retired or even "held" you'd think they'd want to have the next guy to wear it be someone projected to be a regular of sorts.
http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/OTT/numbers.html
off topic but it looks like the sens will not keep the rights of marcus sorensen. im not THAT surprised over it however i am dissapointed. i dont think its right to give up on a 19 or 20 year old kid at such an early stage especially since he is finally healthy and will be playing in the mens league this coming season. had huge potential.
oh well thank god we have about another 10+ other prospects to drool about.
I'm going to tank now that Rinne has been eliminated. Those goalie points are crucial for success in this pool.
Quoting DenisVial:
Maybe not though - not sure how many people would have taken Eastern goalies and not many games left there even if they did, then we re-draft for the final two rounds.
So just hope there's no more shutouts in the East (which seems safe).
I'm in the same boat - I have Rinne and Quick.
Quoting Hax:
What about Yashin?!?
No...? Nothing?
Ya, ok...
Quoting Kratos71:
Don't forget that you keep the same players for rounds 3 and 4. No redraft before the SCF.
Reminded me of being in the old Spectrum, Flyers vs Rangers, and in a see of orange one poor guy had a Ranger jersey, that the Flyers fans were trying to force him to take it off. He refuesed, ( and did so in not too kind a fashion ) and as soon as game time started, he was pelted with beer and soft drinks. He tried to complain and believe it or not the cops escorted him out, telling him he should have taken the Jersey off.
Like to see how some of the loud mouth Laff fans would hold up in Phill!
Again enjoyed the read, and have a sense some of your future road trips will end up with a better finish.
Not sure what in here implied that I didn't enjoy the trip? I completely understood the heckling I took from Rangers fan and actually expected worse.
Only way it could have been a "better finish" is if the Senators had won!
Quoting SensChirp:
I assume that's exactly the point - that next time we're on the road in a crucial game the team will pull out the cardiac victory.
Yes Chirp that is exactly what I meant,
First off the Rangers fans seemed quite civil, and secondly in the near future, you will be attending many more road victories on the road to the Stanley Cup!
Holy smokes, completely misread that. Thought it said "have a sense of humour". Carry on!
Quoting jdshady:
No retreads.
While I think Volchenkov (and Kelly etc) is a good player and could offer some help I'd much rather see the team continue to move forward instead of bringing back pre-rebuild guys.
In any event, I highly recommend anyone seeing the Sens abroad if they can. Tampa was a great spot to catch them. Warm weather, beers on the patio, nice scenery, etc, and the Sens ended up smoking TB 7-3 which is always a plus.
KJ
Had to remove your comment. A little over the top in your assessment and completely inaccurate from everything I have experienced or heard from others.
Hope you understand.
Haha well at least you got through a few paragraphs.
I have done the Tampa -- Florida trip in 2011.. We had a blast.. but due to flight problems in Toronto.. go figure.. I missed out on my shopping at Sawgrass Mills mall.
Planning another trip there next season -- when the Sens play there... avoiding flights thru Toronto however...
Quoting The Apostle:
He did. Looks like chirp deleted a post.
ack wasn't aware of that...that changes my approach for sure. thanks for the heads up
he definitely is a type of player that needs a change of scenery to get back to the star Dman he was. however due to his ugly contract, the only way i can accept this is if gonchar goes the other way to relieve us of a expencive salary.
either way, he isnt my go to guy for this year. theres plenty of good D in the FA that can take kuba's spot if we decide not to get kuba back.
also we cant forget how well borocop played in his debut.
Quoting DenisVial:
God for $6.8M I sure hope not. For that money I'd want Suter or forget it. Sign a stop-gap to a $3M contract until there's a better option.
but my bigger reason to avoid him is his infamous curse. many dont know about it but Jaybo has never stepped a foot in playoffs in his career in the NHL nor in his 4year WHL career.
in 2004-2005 he got his first and only chance at the playoffs in the AHL with the chicago wolves. bouwmeester played 18games 14pim 0points.
No thanks to JBo. I think he is a top D man but the contract is so terrible.
Absolutely not.
But what do you guys think of Boychuck from the Bees? Think they might let him go with Dougie Hamilton coming up soon...
Other the that I say you go after Suter, Carle or Wideman.
Gonchar to Pittsburgh
Paul Martin and Peter Regin to Calgary
Jay Bouwmeester to Ottawa
Pittsburgh gets the future cap relief they need, Calgary gets immediate cap relief, maintains a top four Dman, and gets Regin on a cheap try out, and we get Karlson a legit #2 defence partner. Maybe Pittsburgh throws in a pick to Calgary as well.
Never thought much of Wideman. But he's certainly caught my attention these playoffs.
Still though, if we make a splash, its got to be Suter. He's worth a mortgage...
Again, I had to delete the comment. Mike is a friend of mine and has worked his backside off as my ticket rep over the last couple years. Can't have you throwing him under the bus. Won't allow it.
I do suggest that any issue you may have had be taken up with him or the organization directly.
Apologies
But it's your site and you do a hell of a job running it so all the power to you
And it's not my style at all. I have no issues with people who disagree with me. It happens regularly around here.
This is a unique circumstance where statements are being made that have the potential to harm a guy's ability to do his job. Certainly not what I intended when I thanked him in the post.
Like I said, if there are issues between ticket rep and client, I'd prefer they were dealt with privately rather than here on my site.
I'd likely call him if I were looking for season tickets...no need for any additional drama
Chirp, emailied you through the contact button. please do read when you get a chance
And I can rewrite my thought on volchenkov possibly coming back to the sens? when he left phillips kind of declined as well, maybe with them reuinited they can form that shutdown duo again!
Volchenkov certainly had an eventful first period. Threw a massive hit on Schenn and got absolutely smoked by Rinaldo.
I really thought philly would take that series! wow
Better chance to get Carle now!!
Care to share the name of the hotel you stayed at?
This is a terrifying proposal - BOUMEESTER??? Seriously?
I think we're better off keeping Gonch for one more season and focus on the rebuild...
No, no, and no!
Radulov, although talented, has outright quit in his team in the past and has just shown he still doesn't give a crap about them today...I'd be surprised if he plays another game in the NHL...
Suter will never happen - no point in even thinking about it...Wideman is interesting, but I imagine will be way too expensive...Car le - meh...
How about Jason Garrison - decent enough replacement for Kuba who shouldn't demand too crazy a contract?
Yet another enigmatic Rooskie ?
NO THANKS !
I do believe we will need another puck moving dman fairly soon to take some of the pressure off Karlsson, but there must be cheaper and less risky options out there.
If people think they hate Foligno, I can't wait to read what they think of Penner!
@Sensor, care to elaborate a little here. Do you have insider information etc. that you care to share. Just curious since you are so positive that you are telling the rest of us that it is not worth discussing.
On another note, awesome post Chirp. I really enjoyed the read.
I will always like Volchy and think he is still a very good shut down d but not sure how much longer he will be able to keep it up etc. and I am kinda with a few of the guys here in saying I would like to move forward with the rebuild and not backwards
a big F*** NO to Radulov. That is the last thing a team with this much character needs, regardless of skill
Not fond at all about Penner and/or bouwmeester. EK65 is our puck moving dman that will cost that much, we do not need another and especially one that does not bring as much to the table. A few years ago, I was on the bandwagon, but now we have #65 and do not need a guy like jbo. Penner just does not do it for me, he has flashes sure but everyone will be bitching and moaning about his inconsistency. Not only do I not want to read about it every day, but I don't want to watch it either lol
they have boyle, burns and vlasic as their core d, and I'm not sure if they can afford Murray to be a #4 dman (similar to the hjarmalsson situation Chicago once had)
It may not be a popular decision but I think Murray needs to leverage Colin Greening this summer hard in a deal. HE does alot of dirty stuff, the difference makers, but he is one of our most tradeable assets. I don't think he plays another seaosn as Spezza's winger so 17g may be a career high for him
If your San Jose do you really say no to Colin Greening and draft pick for Douglas murray (who they may lose next year)
We have an abundance of forward prospects coming including noesen who plays like greening but more skill
I think that would really shore up our defense, as Murray could be excellent to play with Karlsson (Similar to when Sutton was here)
Bouwmeester does sound like a player that would benefit from a relocation, and would be a good pairing with EK, but his contract is stupid high. In a situation where Melnyk flat out said he's not looking to spend too much, makes me think this wouldn't be an option. Unless Gonchar was moved, because then you're only looking at a 1M and change difference for a guy with 2 years available. But I still think it's high.
Chirp, the writeup was great. Really makes me want to visit NY and see it all for myself. I may need to do that sometime soon. Sounds like you had a blast. The big question, what was the difference like in terms of ticket prices? I guess it's hard to determine as it was playoffs, but I've been in a few arena's in different locations and they were considerably lower than Ottawa and Montreal as a comparison.
I for one don't think people should be posting comments about the reps who work for the Sens. This Blog is NOT associated or affiliated with the Club or the people who work from them. Those types of comments should be kept away from here. Chirp has every right as the blog owner, but also as a person who respects someones job, to remove any comments he feels are unwarranted. So keep those comments to yourselves and everyone will be much happier.
No to Radulov, doesnt care about the team.
Maybe to Bouwmeester, great skater with great instincts, a relocation would do him wonders. Need a workaround for his contract tho.
Wideman will re-sign with Caps.
YES to Suter, def need to try our hardest to get this kid!
I'm impressed and hopefully he can continue to develop his game to the next level
I was about to say the same thing to another comment early that flat out said NO to Suter. It's not like there is a closed door on him coming to Ottawa, every team will be after him, it'll be a matter of contract, term and in the end, where he wants to go. That may put Ottawa further down the list then some, but he may also see what Ottawa is doing here and realize it's a big opportunity. Who knows.
After playing in the shadow of Shea Weber for so many years, does Suter want to be "the guy"
If so thats makes even more sense to want to go to detroit, cause either now or 1 year form now Lidstrom retires and Suter will be the man. In Ottawa Suter knows he will always be in Karlsson shadow
To me thats a huge reason I think he isn't coming here.
Where as parise is a team guy, 2 way player, likes to feed off of skill (Zajac/KOvalchu k) I totally see him wanting to come play in a Maclean puck possession style alongside Spezza Alfie, Silfverberg and michalek
I think Suter and Karlsson could easily be "the men" on the blueline. Suter has never once complained being paired with Weber or being in his "shadow". Suter is as much of a team guy than Parise.
I would love to get both but if we only get 1 I would prefer it to be Suter as Def is a much bigger need right now.
The big signing will be what for it Erik Karlsson ..Why this isnt done by now is baffling !!! Could have signed K at all star break for 5 ..now it will cost doughty money ..smart move murray ..When Uncle Euge asked Karlsson to fair with his demands just makes u wonder what his bankroll is like these days ...makes me worried
I wouldnt be surprised if we see more rookies in the line up next year
Silfverberg Stone Zibanejad - NHL
Yup because karlsson is dumb enough to sign a contract mid way through a career year
yup thats why no deal is done, its because Murray decided to wait..give your head a shake
Like Alcatraz said, why in hell would Karlsson sign immediately for 5 when he can get 7 in a few months.
While Melnyk did say publicly that he's not going "toe-to-toe" with big market teams I think he'd still be okay with a big ticket signing if it's not an overpayment. If Murray can somehow convince Suter or Parise to sign here for a fair contract when other teams are offering to overpay it can happen. But that does seem unlikely. Who knows though? Suter may love the idea of playing with Karlsson and Parise may dream of getting set up by Spezza for 4-5 years or longer.
I wouldn't say never though I'm not holding my breath.
As for the deleted comments - I saw them both and agree with the deletion but it is a touchy subject for sure. This isn't Festivus and not the place for airing of grievances IMO. And it's Chirp's blog, technically not an open forum so he has the right to delete (very politely and clearly not without some hesitation) whatever he wants.
Quoting IDontKnowAnythingAboutHockey:
True enough. And if Melnyk was really as cheap as people seem to want to believe he would have forced Murray to trade Kuba and forced MacLean to pair Karlsson with Gryba to keep his numbers down.
They accepted the fact long ago that Karlsson was going to be the franchise D and get his money. If the kid learned anything from Alfie at all he'll be worth every penny. He's already worth it on the ice but I have to assume he'll be more than worth it off the ice too (promotions, publicity, merch, charity stuff etc).
Make it happen Murray!
My thoughts exactly. Nowhere has a report came out that said Suter was bothered by playing with Weber, or has said he feels he's in his shadow. That's the bullcrap that we are fed from the hockey analysts on Sportsnet and TSN who are all looking to break a better story or twist angles to speculate trades. If anything, Suter has been part of a great tandem on a line with Weber and could very well be more concerned with being the only guy on his line if moved. If I were a young D I'd want to be paired with one of the best up and coming and that is Karlsson. So anything could happen
Quoting AllStarAlfie:
We do have the *cap space* but the actual money is a different story. And while we technically can match any offer in terms of cap space, we're not going to win any bidding wars because Melnyk will not over pay.
If some team offers him $8M per year do you really think we'll offer $8.25M? Or should?
The only way we get Suter is if he's happy to make $6-7M on a long-ish deal in Ottawa even though he'll get more money offered by some other teams (including, possibly, Detroit).
Karlssons agent was clear at the all star break when asked about karlsson next deal and they wanted Mike Green money also stated thete where no talks at that time at all
Now season end he is looking for 7- 8 million a year and still stating talks havent started ..
There was a deal to get done and was held off
So check your facts before offering your head shake wisdom moron
And the rush to sign K is that if if takes to Training camp which it probably will dont except the Sens to sign anyone thete a budget team and wont spend to the cap so no parise and suter