It wasn't exactly the most exciting hockey game as the Rangers seemed content to sit back for the majority of the game. It wasn't until the final twenty that they actually showed an interest in generating offence.
The pace certainly picked up over the final 25 minutes. An ugly play allowed the Rangers get on the board in this one as Phillips tripped up and Brandon Prust was able to walk in and beat Anderson on the blocker side.
Both goalies stole the show from there and went toe to toe in the shootout. Only Erik Karlsson was able to score as he snapped a hard low shot on the glove side that beat a fellow Swede in Henrik Lundqvist.
Thought Craig Anderson looked sharp in his return to the crease, particularly in the third period. Rangers had a ton of traffic in front of him in the final period and overtime he made terrific stops. Loved his performance in the shootout too.
It's not often you see a goalie that makes the shooter guess but that is exactly what Anderson did through all five rounds of the shootout. Rangers shooters looked like they had no idea what to do against him.
Ryan Shannon continues to flourish since being moved to the centre ice position. He seems to be a much more confident player the last little while and scored the Sens only regulation tonight. Shannon is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year but is making a strong case to be a part of this team next season. You would have to think the Sens are interested in keeping him around.
The Sens return home immediately after the game and will host the Washington Capitals tomorrow night.
Here is a look at the bottom five after tonight's win in New York and Colorado's loss to the Leafs.
| NY Islanders | 75 | 29 | 34 | 12 | 70 | ||||||||||
| Florida | 74 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 68 | ||||||||||
| Ottawa | 74 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 65 | ||||||||||
| Colorado | 73 | 28 | 37 | 8 | 64 | ||||||||||
| Edmonton | 74 | 23 | 41 | 10 | 56 |
I don't remember feeling this calm when the opposing team is shooting.
On a tangent, I was checking out Mike Fisher's stats with the Preds so far, and it's pretty gross: 19 GP 4 PTS -5 +/- Yikes.
2011-12 is looking promising for both the b-sens and the big club!
Thanks. Forgot to switch the games played when I was switching Ottawa and Colorado.
Leafs lead 3-2.
Great to see the young guns stepping up and appreciating the opportunity to play in the NHL.
Anderson for Elliot might have been the trade of the year! And likely saved Murray's job too!
Yeah, but if he was a bit banged up here, he's still a bit banged up there. He's saving it a bit and will be a beast in the playoffs. That's why they wanted him.
Less nervously I hope.
Another zero point outing for Fisher...He's also seen a significant drop in ice time...was getting 19-20 after the trade, now he's getting 14-17.
Also, for everyone who though Fish was a top notch penalty killer...Nashvi lle is (obviously) a very strong defensive team. Fisher was on the PK 6 seconds tonight, while (journeyman) Jerred Smithson and Nick Spaling got 5 and 4 mins, respectively.
Easily the biggest Murray trade coup of his tenure (yes, bigger than Elliott/Anderso n). Fisher will be considered an un-tradeable contract by next season at this rate.
Not sure why butler didn't get a shootout chance. i hope clue had put neil on the list at some point to get his chance back.
good job to anderson and karlson for sure, i'm thinking we should consider using karlson as a forward on the p.k.
No big, just means we can pick Strome without the pressure of going off the board for the big 3. I'm cool with that.
But then how can we win the internet?
People get way too hyped up about the poor forward prospects we have. Only Butler has shown potential top 6 sticking power. Condra and Greening would be a good third line pair, and Regin and Wick have not impressed at all outside of a few fluke stints. Stop thinking everyone who plays a good game has so much potential, they really don't. these days, what a forward is like at 23-24 is what they will always be.
Rizzo is correct, inb4 teh interwebz must be won.
Or do we over rate the prospects so much that we expect them all to be top 6? It's actually a pretty common phenomenon known as 'Winchester Syndrome'.
Not me Chirp. I pick/choose my ratings as I feel about each comment. Wish I could help you. It upsets me too.
Here's a stat: in March (IE since getting rid of Fisher, Kelly, Kovalev, Campoli) Karlsson has 11 pts (4g) in 12 games, and is +1, all while playing over 25:00 a game.
Oh, and he's taken 46 SOG, or his total from Jan/Feb combined.
plus they traded for a goalie
Greening and Butler are both rookies playing against the top defensive pairings in the league and have looked good. Then we have Spezza who is playing phenomenal hockey as of late and has been absolutely dominant out there. Remember, he's playing with two rookies. He is a leader on this team.
Then there's Anderson. He handles the puck well, doesn't give up bad rebounds, and doesn't let in a bad goal per game. The D play better with him backing them up.
We can hope that our call-ups play horribly so we can get a higher draft pick but that means our prospects haven't developed and that represent a team going nowhere. Or we can be excited to see that our future is very bright.
I choose to cheer them on with every win and look for the positives in every loss.
My two cents.
Totally agree. The Skog, although he has a cool nickname, scares me because his performance this year may largely be just because physically he's a man playing among boys. That advantaged may be erased in the NHL. RNH is concerning because he seems only to score on the PP and against weaker teams. Couturier... meh. Strome to me seems to have as much potential as any of those guys. 4th overall this year isn't any different than 2nd to me. I would like first, and to draft Larsson actually, but that is not a possibility. So I get to cheer for wins which is nice.
This is a huge part of it, anyone's stats look awful when your goalie lets in everything - When a defenceman can afford to make risky plays and have one-two of them go badly per game, and NOT be an automatic goal, their skill becomes much more apparent.
One negative thing I noticed though is that Anderson created a bazillion turnovers playing the puck when there was a teamate there that he could have just left it to. Did anyone else notice that? It was kind of scary I thought.
I don't see why we don't just call Anderson "Mr. Anderson" a la The Matrix. Tell me his superhuman saving ability isn't reminiscent of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlbrH2dtkGQ
And this provides further inspiration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHyKDrGzn-I
And this is just an outright brainwashing ploy on my part:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XooISvoZ_rs&NR=1
I rest my case
With the way Craig Anderson has performed in past 15 or so games, may I suggest that he have the nickname "Handy Andy"
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!
http://i.imgur.com/nnFc6.png
Another suggestion, can you make http links automatically hyperlinks that open in a new window/tab? I think that would be a nice addition.
@Timic, the defenseman just aren't used to a goalie who plays the puck as well or as often as Anderson does. They'll adjust. Having a goaltender who can really play the puck takes a lot of pressure off the defenseman coming back in the zone. They just have to learn to communicate better, although that may be difficult for Kuba and Phillips, they both look like they were just lobotomized in the offseason haha
Can't agree with this comment enough. Great job on the improvements Chirp, keep it coming!
Also, does anyone know how much sportsnet sens costs? And is it worth it?
I couldn't find it last night either. As for the Sens Channel - Sportsnet One - I don't find it a good value. I can't remember how much, but you only get 12 Sens games. Of those 12, this year they had a free preview which showed about 8 of them... so you would have only paid for 4.
Perhaps there's exclusive content which makes it worthwhile?
Heck, I can't see a spot for that top 6 UFA at this point. Why push a young guy out of the lineup that might be a key part in 2-3 years?
I'd even be totally fine now with drafting Larsson. Having a couple of guys in Bingo that could play in the NHL is not so bad - especially D who take longer to develop.
Spezza, Michalek, Butler, Alfie, Foligno, Regin, Neil, Shannon, Greening, Condra, Smith, Winchester.
Can't really see any guy there that doesn't have the potential to be a big part of a successful team in a few years.
Ryan Shannon: (since 2/23)
- last 15 games TOI - averaging 18 min per game
- playing PK & PP
- +/- plus 3 over that time
- 11 points
- 4 goals in the past 5 games; 5 goals total.
- only + player on the team with more than 20 games played
Good things can happen to good players when they get more than 6-8 min a game.
finally some more shannon support. thought I was alone on this one. seems most people would rather see one-time playoff wonder Peter Regin in the lineup next season. with shannon either scratched or on another team.
some people just have no clue whatsoever.
If you have HDTV then it is on channel 500. If you do not, you can find the games on channel 404 or 414 (cannot remember which specific channel but was watching it on a TV that doesn't have any special cable packages on it).
what do you mean "replaced"? its not like he has a determined spot on our roster. He plays 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line, depending on the night. And he seems happy in any of the roles.
We would have to find 3 'more capable' UFA's to be able to actually replace him.
Right now he's playing top minutes, those minutes will be replaced by a top 6 forward, Shannon may be filling a top 6 role right now, but he really shouldn't be. I dunno how to defend what you said or counter it, just the fact that Regin is better than Shannon and any UFA we sign will be better than Shannon, so I guess I don't get why we would be upset with replacing him on the roster with better players?
What more does he have to do to continue to prove himself? By your own admission you can't defend a pure opinion, and that's fine, just understand that is is pure conjecture on your part.
Regin has a long road back. Again, it is only an opinion that he is better than Shannon. He certainly didn't show that this year (more facts to support my position). Regin will not step back onto the ice and be inserted into a top 6 role. He's got to earn it.
moreso, "shannon may be filling a top 6 role right now, but he really shouldn't be"
WHY?
has he been unsuccesful? his numbers are good, see above ^^
has the team been unsuccesful? not really, compared to our record when shannon was fourth line/healthy scratch, we're doing great
Has shannon EVER been a defensive liability? not even close.
I get it, he's short, and that makes some of you uncomfortable. get over it.
Conor - I have to say I really like Shannon's game as well, but I'm not ready to give up on Regin. Plenty of guys have had crappy sophmore seasons - and this year pretty much everyone had an off year.
Not saying I'd put Regin on the second line and let Shannon walk - just thinking we should give both guys a chance to win a full-time job. Sign Shannon to a 1-2 year deal and pencil both guys into our top 9 next year.
So if there is truth to a "sophomore slump" (which I hate hearing), then we better be prepared to see Butler, Greening and Condra fall on their faces. More reasons to keep Shannon around. ; )
Long time no talk buddy, I've been too busy planning the parade for 2012.
UFA/Spezza/Butler
Michalek/Foligno/Alfredsson
Greening/Regin/Condra
Smith/Winchester/Neil
I don't even see room on that roster for our draft pick, let alone Shannon.
I'm OK with ditching Smith or having him in Bingo.
Statistically speaking, one of those three guys will probably struggle next year. Not like they're all first rounders that we "knew" would be stars some day.
I don't really like that term either since it implies that everyone goes through it, but there is some merit to the idea that players often struggle after getting out of the gate strong.
I think alot of the slumps come when they lose that motivation of playing in the NHL, but there should be alot of guys trying to crack the roster next year which should certainly keep the guys up with the club to stay motivated.
Not to mention Silfverberg and Stone will be hoping for a roster shot next season too.
you're the guy with Winchester, smith, and regin on the ice ahead of a guy who has outperformed them all season long.
why weren't GM's lining up to trade for any of them?
your logic sucks.
Winchester and Regin are under contract already for next season, so I think they better be on the team???
Exact same stuff was said at the beginning of this season and look what's happened.....Sh annon has played 71 games and is the only PLAYER on the team with a + rating (> 20 games played). And he's improving.
I don't see a rush to sign a UFA this season. To me that option was only if we didn't have 12 forwards we thought were part of our future (or 11 + Alfie). Up until a couple of weeks ago I was totally of the opinion that "Shannon's a great guy, but he won't be a key guy in 2-3 years". His play lately changed my mind. Not that he's a lock or even top 6 material, but considering our top 6 could easily be made up of guys we already have in our system (or will draft) in 2-3 years, no harm in keeping Shannon around for bottom 6. Heck, he may even play his way higher.
Why spend $3M on Upshall in another non-playoff season when we can have Shannon for less than $1M?
Agreed though on our draft pick. Now I think he'll be destined to play his way onto the team in camp - or return to junior. Even if it's Landeskog.
but we're winning the cup next year.
Where was he? Getting 6-8 min a game. His ass was nailed to the bench. Hard to produce when you're not on the ice. For the limited time he did play he was productive. And try to be somewhat fair. Since getting 21+ minutes on 2/23, he has contributed on the PK and has been productive over 15 games.
Unless Spezza is privately pitching to have Upshall or some other UFA come to town I say why force it?
(Other than winning the cup the next year)
I still like him on the team though, but he's UFA and playing for a contract right now.
Michalek Spezza Butler
Greening Shannon Alferdsson
Folingo Regin Condra
Rookie Winchester Neil
To me that looks good and a second line center getting 20 goals sounds good to me with that time on ice he will likely get more then 30 assests. Fishers best year... what I always thought Shannon could do with confedence and good linemates. I love his creative play. He has something most players dont.