It certainly wasn't a perfect game but this was a huge two points for a team that has had a slow start to December.
Aside from the obvious and glaring defensive miscues, the Ottawa Senators actually played a pretty good first period. They seemed to have legs in the early going and were outworking the Sabres. But as has been the case often lately, turnovers hung Craig Anderson out to dry and Buffalo was able to sneak out of the first with the lead.
Then the second period happened.
In the third period, Peter Regin pulled the Sens even with a rocket from the point, his first goal since returning to the line up. Important to highlight a smart pinch by Brian Lee and a great screen by Nick Foligno that played a huge part in the tying goal.
The overtime winner was a case of all or nothing for the Sens. With Erik Karlsson handing the puck deep in the attacking zone, Jared Cowen saw an opportunity to jump into the play and went for it. An incredible pass from Erik Karlsson hit Cowen right on the tape and sent the Sens to big overtime win over a division rival.
The game didn't start pretty for the Senators but credit this team for sticking with it and not letting a couple early mistakes decided their fate. Hats off to Craig Anderson for making some big stops when he had to and allowing the blueline to settle down a little bit.
Quick turnaround for the Sens who are right back at it tomorrow night when they host the defending champion Boston Bruins. Still tickets available for that one so contact Mike McCarthy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you'd like to pick some up
- Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba have been lightning rods for criticism but it's pretty clear that the Sens miss those two right now. Both veteran defenders were playing big minutes under MacLean and in turn, helping to ease some of the pressure on the youngsters. The good news is Sergei Gonchar could return later in the week.
- More bad news on the injury front as NHL goal leader Milan Michalek left the game with an injury. It was tough to tell exactly what caused the injury but Michalek was involved in an ugly collision with Erik Karlsson in the second period. He did take a couple shifts after that incident. It goes without saying but the Senators would be in big trouble if Michalek was out for an extended period of time.
- If there is a positive spin to put on this injury, it has to be the fact that they are calling it an upper body injury. Michalek has had some serious knee issues in the past.
- Colin Greening was one of the best players on the ice for the Sens. Registered a team high nine shots on goal, picked up an assist on the Michalek goal and picked up the decision in a third period scrap.
I THOUGHT WE DOMINATED THEM AND ITS SAD THOUGHT THAT MICHALEK GOT INJURED...
OH AND CHIRP CAN YIU LET US KNOW HOW LONG MICHALEK WILL BE OUT FOR?
I ALSO THOUGHT LEE AND GREENING HAD A EXCELLENT GAME.
I REALL Y DO BELIEVE WERE GONNA MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.
GO SENS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!
...maybe i got too excited, its obviously RNH. But Cowen is pretty damn good!... Better than Kadri thats for sure
also nice thinking by spezza to put karlsson in the faceoff. hilarious and very very innovative.
Fingers crossed that Michalek is good to go tomorrow or later on in the week. He's been amazing this year...we don't need repeats of the past couple years.
I liked the game. Strong effort from the youngins tonight. Back to reality tomorrow though against the Bruins. A much tougher test ahead! Enjoy the wins while we can, because once Washington, and the Devils turn their fortunes around, we may not have too much of a chance at that No.8 seed.
He's the player I've been most pleasantly surprised by for sure!
the big question when we drafted him was; will he be more of a Phillips or more of a Chara? certainly looks like he's more Chara.
Just a matter of time before he's wearing a letter.
Paul maclean has to adress these turnovers though. They are starting to get emberassing.
aslong as upper body doesn`t mean concussion. I think it`s probably his shoulder though, looked like he landed on it pretty hard.
You bet your ass they are. I spotted one play where Lee and Phillips were leading the charge. Thankfully it didn't bite them in the ass.
Lastly, it's time to leave the Smith, Condra, Daug line together. As soon as they were put together you could see all three of them pick up their game. I'm fine with Chris Neil playing on the 4th line and getting some PP minutes.
All their crazy turnovers, were wiped out by a great finish, and beautiful set up by Karlsson to Cowen, for the overtime winner.
Post #11 by PWL, explains it as a possible shoulder injury,
since he went up in the air, broke the fall with his right hand and arm, but landed on his shoulder.
Gotta feeling that he will be checked out in Ottawa today, and might be cleared to play vs Bruins !
Craig Anderson played better than Miller , even though Miller faced more shots.
I would keep Anderson in goal, to start against the Bruins,
as he did not seem tired by any means.
If MacLean decides to start Auld, I'm still OK with it,
but have faith in Anderson, to play even better than the Sabres game !
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
It was a good game by the Sens, they outworked Buffalo most of the night, The turnovers that cost us were pretty bad, but those will happen...
And can we please leave the draft talk till at least March?
Agree that we should not hear or see any more stupid comments from the poster named FAIL$NAIL!!
Wow I thought he was making it for sure... Crazy.. I thought Toffoli had a great shot too...
Tanner Pearson made the team. So did Mark Stone.
Yep, thanks for the correction! Got caught by a mistweet.
some great comments today as well.
-Anderson is the real deal,
-I have alwasy said that Cowen will be our leader one day, he is our next Chara, better skater than Chara at the same age
-Again I really love the way Lee is starting to pick up his game. He is big and very strong skater, I can see him in our top 4 one day.
-And completely agree with another post that Daug/Smith/Cond ra line is one of our best lines, maybe not 2nd line but easily 2b. Keep Neil on the 4th for now
-And Greening again showed up, and with an exclamation point! Poor Erhoff thought "this should be easy, at least its not Lucic, and I dont have to hear about not protecting Miller" Hey Erhoff how are the lumps and cuts on your head this morning. Erhoff maybe Lucic may have been the safer bet :)
I must admit I am a little worried about tonight, especially if MM9 is out,
but I will be there cheering loudly anyway
RW: Smith-Pelley, Connolly, Stone, Gallagher
Stone probably playing 3rd line, not much talk about him in intersquad games.
I will be the first to eat my words on Kuba, his year has been better than I and most expected, probably b/c it is his final year of the contract, and if he has any desire to play another year, he had better perform, and to his credit has done so very well.
However, I really do firmly believe that we do not miss Gonchar all that much. The PP was struggling before he went out, and most teams really can only carry one type of this offensive talented, but defensively challenged d-man, and Karlsson is by far our man for this.
If Gonchar can be moved I think that we should still be able to get something for him, and then decide at the deadline what to do with Kuba,
Lee will be in our future, and should now have a regular spot when, Gonchar and Kuba come back
or at least let Rundblad go down for a few games to learn hot to play the game in North America, he is struggling ... IMO of course
On topic - GO SENS GO! Keep battling for that final playoff spot! I don't know about anyone else but this entire season feels like every game is a playoff game. Every game is a must win. for me, this has been the most enjoyable sens season. still lots of season left but I dont think the compete level will stop, you dont need skill to compete at your best.
I think you move both guys if a deal is there. Kuba is playing better because Kuba didn't miss all of training camp and his coach isn't a jack wagon.
older players have a hard time getting up to game speed when they miss training camp, it's well documented.
Yeah lot 5 fills up real quick... usually filled about 30 minutes before the game...
You can park at Sensplex, I've done once or twice and never had a problem...
i think it's because he isn't a very good hockey player anymore.
everybody had a bad year last year but Phillips had the worst +/- in the LEAGUE. He had huge problems with CC and wouldn't be here if he hadn't got fired.
i would give him a mulligan for last year but he was bad the season before that and terrible the year before that. So basically this is his 4th year of not being great.
i get that a rebuilding team needs veterans and I'm sure they thought Kuba would be gone by now, but Phillips is really struggling
his contract is the only mistake I think BM has made since being told we are in rebuild mode, it would have been nice if we could have got him down to 2 years. Murray must love the guy.
Thanks Smash, greatly appreciated!
i disagree that Kuba's improvement is about a contract year. I think it's more to do with recovering from a broken leg which gave him no training camp last year at all.
It's not just the PP that is the issue with Gonchar, with him out of the line-up we struggle to transition from D to attack as effectively. karlsson can't do everything on his own, even though he is trying to (which is currently his biggest problem).
These last few games have shown (to me at least) that Rundblad would really benefit from some Bingo time. If and when Gonchar and Kuba return I think we may see him reassigned.
Still just saying upper-body. Will not play tonight. Should be some comment from the coach soon.
First off, can't say enough about the guts of this team. Such a big game and they found a way to win, despite the turnovers and MM9 going out. (God I hope he's OK)
Tonight's a real test, hopefully they can build off the win. Beating the B's at home would do wonders and maybe start a new winning streak?!
Go Sens Go!!!
Guess our option now, is to draw in Bobby Butler, but
what line will he play on ??
Game Day post should be up soon, so we will find out
when Chirp posts it !!
Seriously?!?! Add him to the list with Crosby, Giroux, Skinner, Pronger, Staal, Letang.... The list goes on and on. What the hell is happening?!?
I can't remember seeing so many impact players sidelines with concussions.
Crap, and the list grows...
Crosby
Skinner
Letang
Pronger
Giroux
Z.Michalek
M.Michalek
Etc...
i was adamently against the phillips signing but surely he can still play as a 5/6 d.
karlsson, kuba
gonchar, cowen
phillips, lee
carkner
Concussions are a hot topic and as a result, I think teams are being extra careful where in the past, the players were only sidelined if it was significant.
I guess the theory that Crosby had waited long enough to ensure it was as if he never had problems previously has effectively been disproven... certainly didnt look like a concussion like collision. hate to say it but, his career has got to be in jeopordy.
Making it easy for Kessel
Don't get me wrong, concussions are severe and need to be prevented. The only reason why we see so many concussions now is because we have now started taking more precaution with the way they are handled.
Up to 3 years ago I wouldn't be surprised if half of that list would still be playing. Look at all the ex hockey players who are now broadcasters and they will all admit to playing with concussions. Is it right? No, but don't be so alarmed at how large this list is
are teams and players being overly cautious now? whats changed really because previously until the end of last season a hit had to be really vicious for it to become a concussion.
i think the one event to draw comparison from this year is the wolski hit on alfie earlier. interesting to also note is that wolski was not suspended for a very obvious and deliberate elbow to the head. so for all intents and purposes, the intent of the action was there. however, alfie came back pretty soon i should say. i remember a total of three-ish days of him reporting negative effects, but then all of a sudden he was on his way back. weird.
and how does MM9 have a concussion and EK65 doesnt given the weight of MM9 and the non-weight of EK65. also EK65 was clearly more busted than MM9, hell Michalek just got right back up and went on the backcheck as if nothing happened.i think there is an over-conservati sm happening
if you watch one angle of the replay you can see the side of Michalek's head hit the ice...prime location for a brain injury.
Michalek IS NOT Alfie, you kidding me...
Nobody recovers like Alfie! Nobody!
All that aside, MM9 not in the line up for tonight WILL hurt this team.
No I believe hes playing on the first line...he has been ever since the camp started. I think he's one of their best forwards.