To add to the Sens misery, Washington picked up a single point and the Sabres scored a huge win over the Rangers to close the gap on the 7th place Senators. Both Washington and Buffalo now sit just two points back of Ottawa in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
This recent slump has the Sens in real danger of falling right out of the top eight. Here is how the standings look heading into tonight's action.
Panthers 86 (7)- NYI, @Mtl, @Min, @Clb, @Det, WPG, @Wsh
Devils 90 (7)- @Pit, CHI, TBL, @Car, NYI, @Det, OTT
Senators 84 (7)- PIT, @Wpg, @Phi, @Nyi, CAR, BOS, @Nj
Capitals 82 (7)- MIN, BUF, @Bos, MTL, @Tbl, FLA, @Nyr
Sabres 82 (7)- MIN, @Wsh, PIT, @Tor, TOR, @Phi, @Bos
The good news is the Sens have a chance to get right back on the horse with another game tonight on home ice. The bad news is the opposition is the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens are 9-0-1 in their last ten and look like the team to beat heading into the playoffs in less than a month from now.
Last night was ugly but the Sens have to find a way to bounce back tonight. After Anderson's shaky return, Paul MacLean will go with Ben Bishop against Pittsburgh. Gilroy and Konopka come out, Carkner and Daugavins will play.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM tonight with the game available on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. CBC will also have a stream available on their website.
GO SENS GO!
Last time we need a big win Lehner shut out the bruins in there barn
Sorry but 7-1 pens
You go with the team that got you in this playoff position in the first place. Why start another goalie controversy? Anderson is our #1 goalie period!
I would rather see the SENS go down in flames with their best lineup the last 7 games. Also put in Carkner and take out Gilroy!
If Lehner had shown any kind of consistency this season he'd be getting the games Bishop's been given.
Lehner shows up in big games and when we need wins Lehner gets it done
Bishop hasn't shown me anything more then he is a giant and is clumsy I'm sorry but we need Lehners confidence and swag
I was kind of hoping that Petersson would get a chance to show some offense before the playoffs. It's clear that Smith, Klinkhammer and Condra aren't the answer on the second line. Giving Foligno some consistent minutes on that line might get him off this 'tough guy' mode he seems to be in lately. Petersson has to be a better option than konopka and neil on the powerplay. Hopefully they get things clicking tonight so us armchair GM's don't have to come up with new ideas.
Until last night goal tending hasn't been the problem the past couple of games...Our scoring has disappeared and that s the reason for the losses....5 goals in 6 games...and 0-22 on the PP..thats what we should be worrying about..not about lehner not getting a fair shot....
Also it was Andy's first game back last night after a month out, cut him some slack...from what I saw he seemed to get into the zone in the third...Also, our D were sleeping in the first..
I agree with Big_s..shouldve gone back with Andy tonight...Not sure about scratching gilroy against the pens for carks.. As much as I can't stand Gilroy, the pens would just skate circles around Carks...You never know though, after scoring that OT goal in the playoffs a couple of years ago, Carks might wake up and actually skate against pens..
Anyways, Murray had to make a dumb move to hurt the team (Gilroy), it was inevitable...Si nce his arrival, EK has disappeared...
Spezza, Michalek, Alfie and Karlsson are going to have to lead the way or we are done!
I hope Konopka is out of the lineup and Daug back in.
Konopka hurts the team with too many penalties.
Will they be scared of embarrassment tonight to actually play the game like they did all season. They have gotten away from the fast skating and hard forecheck they had so much success with this year.
It's hard to imagine that the Sens lead the season series with the Pens 2 wins to 1.. but Crosby & Letang were not playing.
The last few games shows this team needs help on D. We know they can score... it's just gone dry.
Come out hard from the beginning to get the jump on them.
I assume that it's Fleury tonight? The Pens are closing in on the Rangers... so they need this win as bad as the Sens do.
These young guys played with pressure during the Calder Cup run.... so they know they can do it...
I'm going to the game... just hoping for a good compete level...
I'm sure its just me stressing about want to win and looking for excuses... and it's not like we can do anything with the PP right now anyway... but still...
I'm starting to get nervous about the playoffs... We've dropped to 82% on http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/Eastern.html and we'll probably be down around 60% if we lose tonight.
WE NEED A WIN!!!!
Could be the break we need!
Who comes out of the lineup?
I really hope Konopka is out in place of Daug. He has no discipline and hurts the teams with dumb penalties.
That's not what Anderson told the Citizen last night! Said he felt fine out there!
My guess is that if Murray/MacLean are concerned with the teams confidence as well as Anderson's then their hope may be to start Bishop and if it gets ugly pull Bishop and put in Anderson. If Bishop gets hot and the Sens find a way to score some goals the way they are capable of then maybe they can come out of this with a point or two.
My only concern is that with past experience we will have another goalie controversy on our hands which is the last thing this team needs right now.
Thiessen has played well for Pitts... let's not make him look like Fleury..
I can only imagine that Gilroy comes out of the lineup.
The Pens must really think that Ottawa has no fire power left to not start Fleury with 1st place on the line.
Yep. Added it to the post and comment. Konopka and Gilroy out.
It has nothing to do with heart!!
This team is finally feeling the heat and pressure of trying to make the playoffs and the pressure to please the fans! They are clearly playing without confidence and in doing so, are going out there and trying to do to much.
They need to get back to the basics and play the way they have all season by working hard and winning the battles.
To say these guys are playing without heart is bullshit, these guys want to make the playoffs just as bad as we want them to.
Hopefully Minnesota can play spoiler to Buffalo tonight
and we can rise up to the mighty pens and turn this around
SENS BABY
"head coach Paul MacLean speaks to the media ahead of tonight’s 7 p.m. home game vs. Pittsburgh"
http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/120324_MacLean.MP3
SERENITY NOW!
GO SENS GO!
If you were the Pens wouldn't you rather play Ottawa than Buffalo or Washington in the first round? I know I would. Not that this is why they are doing it. Fleury just needs a rest and it makes sense that it'd come against a slumping Ottawa team. Hopefully Ottawa can pull off a big win tonight and get a 4 point gap if Minnesota does us a favour.
In terms of the goaltender change it could be injury related sure. Although maybe Ottawa just doesn't have enough games that they can afford to wait until Anderson hits his groove. It's hard to put someone in cold after a month of not playing with the season on the line. I expect we'll see him in the next game though. Unless Bishop gets a shut-out in which case he maybe gets one more.
aren't we trying to win? we need anderson playing
this is stupidity throwing bishop up against the pack of snipers on the pens... i would've started lehner before bishop damn!
1) I hate to place the blame for a loss on solely one player, but last night on Cole's first goal, Gilroy was defending him and put his stick on the ice at an angle, creating a beautiful ramp for Cole's shot to go off of and trick Andy. Don Cherry shows an example of that almost every other Saturday and always says if you're gonna put your stick in front of a shot, make sure you block it, cause otherwise it's gonna deflect and trick the goalie. I imagine if that goal doesn't go in, it's a much different game.
2) I think Andy should start tonight because he's what got us here and he is who will carry us in the playoffs. He's proven he's able to steal games and he gives the team a ton of confidence to play their game.
3) If it were my choice, I'd have Andy starting and Lehner backing up. No idea what the organization thinks about Lehner, but when he was up here he was dominant. He's earned a shot to help out the big club and he's proved that he's able to shut down teams to give us a chance to win.
4) It looks like the Pens are playing Thiessen tonight so this is a huge opportunity for the Sens to get their scoring going against a rookie goalie. It's up to the big guns to get it going and motivate the rest of the team. We gotta pick ourselves up here and win at least 5 more games to feel comfortable.
FREEBIRD !
6-2 pens
Yeesh - Bishop is the OBVIOUS choice !
when in doubt
run around
scream and shout
Does anyone know the line combinations ??
We know the defense pairings will be:
Kuba - Karlsson
Cowen Gonchar
Phillups - Carkner
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like I was tellin' ya "Andy's" liitle finger is a kinda recurring thing...
The "Right stuff", the "Miracle" is sittin' in Bingo!
Our only chance is the first goal! And somehow Big Ben can resist the urg and stay up just a fraction of a second longer.
Maybe BM agrees and this is why Carkner is in?
Hoping for the best tonight.
Go Sens Go!
D-
So 3 games in 4 nights then 4 days off... Who the hell thought up this schedule...
Carkner can't clear the puck to save his life... and you need that against the Pens..
Just turn up the compete level to get the confidence back. A good game against the Pens could do that...
Hope Minny beats Buff but I don't see that. Buff has been such a great team lately...Miller is standing on his head... Wash has been playing well also.
come on fellas lets not have another depressing night of hockey
SENS BOYYYYYYYYY
Unfortunately for Dean, the camera clearly showed Pascal Leclaire hanging out talking to Anderson during the game after Anderson was yanked.
2+2=Leclaire.
PS: Dean, HD clearly showed the crossbar, the stick and the puck in that Alfie no-goal...You sounded like a complete tool repeating the crossbar was out of the shot over and over...Move to watching on a 16:9 from a 4:3 screen.
Guy LaFleur hasn't played in decades...Of course he's not playing tonight...
for how tight our team has to play in front of him we cant score, this scoring slump has happened during bishop's starts and the team isn't able to stretch things out because they cant trust that he'll make the stop. I think the team has had more trust in lehner and have adjust to a tigher system since lehners last game.
With anderson back in this team sooner or later will ooze confidence with him in net, i think we pulled anderson way to fast yesterday and bishop was no better.
you dont sit your number 1 for a guy with 10 nhl starts. lets watch how many times bishop gets burned up high before he's pulled and anderson is in the net anyways.
Guess we get to see what bishop can do in a big game.
I hope to be shocked tonight and we win.
Your number one guy was also dumb enough to hurt himself and his team cutting chicken. Sorry but that's inexcusable. Then he comes back while the team sucks and he sucks even worse.
And I'm not sure why you think the team plays tight in front of a guy with just under a .93 save% and a gaa under 2.00
The team just can't score, period. And they can't seem to get motivated, they think things will just happen by themselves and not with this little called "wanting it more".
I actually don't think it's about how starts in goal tonight. It's more about our offensive playing to the best of their abilities and our defensive supporting our goalie by sticking it to anyone close to the net.
Anderson is human, he can cut himself and get injured, it happens.unless your a fuckin robot your no different.
Anderson has helped this team with his leadership and he's the one with incredible nhl playoff stats that our other goalies do not have.
you can't say anderson has to sit because he hurt himself accidently. don't be like that. bishop has been our one trick pony and he's been exposed its time to move on.
You're an idiot. The guy was making food. He's allowed to do this because people need to eat. It was an accident.
Agreed, whats the guy supposed to do starve himself because he can see the future and knows he is going to accidently cut himself? Its bad luck plain and simple, not andys fault. Andy is the number 1 guy in my mind and he deserves to start, if it was still him and auld like before he would be starting without question and we have all seen what Andy can do in a bounce back game after a bad performance.
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
GO SENS GO
...some of you guys need to just calm the shit down.
We are in a playoff spot and we control our own fate, so win and you are in...
Trust me the boys are just giving us some late season excitement. We're gonna get out of this in a hurry and two weeks from now we can talk about how crazy we were to think the sens weren't going to make it.
Give me a
GO SENS GO!
...if you believe
Unfortunately for Dean, the camera clearly showed Pascal Leclaire hanging out talking to Anderson during the game after Anderson was yanked.
2+2=Leclaire.
quote]
I call bullshit. No way Pascal would have been able to face 10 shots in a row without getting hurt.
I can see that happening in the playoffs lol.
Lmfao.
what else can you do but laugh, she better not give up her day job lol
LOL @ Karlsson laughing
Lmao, made me laugh when I saw that. Can see people in the crowd laughing and other Pen players. Anderson cracking up. Probably like, the game will be over before this anthem is.
took the words write out of my mouth...
How about a go sens go chant to start the game!?!?
Hey the guys are skating well, very nice to see this.
Good strat, let's take our own goalies out.
Malkin > Staal > Crosby > Kennedy shows just how stacked the Pens are. LOL
YESSS! Michalek!!!
SENS BABY!!!!!!
Seriously have to start taking every team seriously
No more wasting 3 hours on these hacks
have a good night folks
Bye Bye Playoffs, Hello losing streak
If it's not a clear cut wide open net, it isn't going in the net
Please don't let them get a SHG....
Christ he is useless now
Lol at Milo snowing the goalie.
Maple Leafs time....Shit.
But AHL players gotta go daugs Condra Bishop etc
"Must see: Pens, Sens giggle through anthems"
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=167395
Go Sens go!
Ah apparently he has 4...seriously?
Ack he scored just 8 games ago!?! I need to watch more games...sigh...
Go back to your car, maybe it will happen again!
Hahaha!
A man of his convictions. I respect you.
Go Sens. I hate Crysby's face.
I've heard enough from these announcers about cooke's two goals and Sid on the third line. Give me MORE POTVIN!
GSG!
BRB!
Haha Bishop!!
Nash and Buff are tied 1-1.
Fuck yeah!!! Phillips.. PP! Fianlly.
Bishop's little "interference" call helped there. lol.
GSG!!
Wow... WTF man...
Wonder what PM said to them during the intermission! This is the kind of game I KNOW they're capable of.
Edit: And I wrote this 10 seconds too soon...oops!
Believe we will blow the lead?
fuck no.
Gracias...My radio feed is very choppy so missed the announcement..
Worst luck in the league with this team
Foligno tipped it but it hit Turris last. Bishop just got injured. Anderson is in. Let's hope he stands on his head.
Go fukken Sens go!
By the way, anyone that isn't watching this live, there's a free stream here:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockeynightincanada/video/live/#id=2123313295
Andy?!? WTF?
Thanks Merc, Might tune in for the third if i possible..
Go get em nick!
Ps: c'mon spezz u can't take penalties like that against a team like shittsburg!
Edit: ALFIE! This is amazing.
Whatta play by michalek and cowen !
Oh captain my captain!!!!
Edit: Matt Gilroy coming out has been the team's best scenario in a long while. Konopka too to a certain extent.
I mistakenly thought you said Gliroy came out of the closet.....
I would dump her ass....
;)
You must have some serious pillow talk with your girl. She owes you now!
I guess that sums up the season eh...
It's also the Pens rookie backup goalie though.
Who thinks Fleury will start the 3rd?
Saw it coming from a mile away...predicte d 4-2 though. Here's hoping we can blast a few more past the Pens!
Yep..Buff is the team I am worried about. We need to put a few wins together to stay ahead.
Star treatment much?
Yeah just looked up his stats....only played 3 games (Jets, Lafffs and bluejackets)..g uess the pens underestimated us big time...Can't blame em though.. half the peeps on here were doing the same all afternoon...
Yeah, they don't know wtf they are doing.
I dunno...we dont show up against weaker opponents...
You are right but I think we need one more win besides Isles/Canes. Perhaps Wpg on MOnday. Providing we win tonight of course.
Anybody still doubting that he is 100% healed from his injury! I'm a believer!!! LOVE his game tonight!
You will probably see that in future years too. Unless they sign Suter off FA.
I think this is an endorsement for keeping him playing Centre, even if it is the fourth line.
Just a random stat.. but Nicklas Lidstrom is No.10 all time (current active leader though) with +429 ... Now we all know that's a stat people often disregard but no one else comes even close to that..
For Karl though.. At least a +15 is better than a -30 he had last year.
Yah, Gilroy has been invisible in a good way...no bad giveaways or puck deflections into our net! ;)
Say again!!! Maybe that is sarcasm in which way I will agree with you.
SPEZZA!!!!
Thank you, Bylsma.
God damn it. Buffalo creeping in makes me real nervous.
What a lame penalty call (on us)
Fuck. I said "5 more goals guys come on!" when we had 5. We scored 3 since. Not bad eh?
Glad they realize that going down the stretch, this is a team effort heading into the playoffs and we need EVERYONE to step up.
For all the believers, keep believing. To all the trolls and haters, go fuc$ yourselves!
Seems like we saved all our goals the last few games for tonight lol
Luego!!
I'm with you man! Sens showed me up in my perdiction of 4-2 Sens by doubling it! HAHA LOVE IT!!!
Chaulk one up for the optimistic believers.
The CC tastes sweet tonight boys. Good game, and good chirping in here!
Go fukken Sens go!
What a shit club
J admit I didn't see us busting out of our funk. Although the backup did help.
"The Rangers are playing for first place.. and the Leafs are playing.. for their home fans.."
Anderson looked great!
GO SENS GO!
LOVE Carks but would like to see GRYBA up instead.
We need to support this team now than ever guys. Win or loose, we have to make our building hell for the opposition team to play in. Lets win at least 3 out of the next 6 and we will be in the post season for sure.
BELIEVE!!
Go Sens Go!
Agree. It was crazy.
All along we real Sens fans cheer on this team no matter what. The next six games may take us on a roller coaster of a ride but the experience this team gains no matter the outcome will benefit this team in the future. They may not win the cup this year, hell they may not make the playoffs, but when they do I want only the real fans to celebrate and not the phoney bandwagon jumping hypocrites.
GO SENS!
Hope you enjoyed your movie.
The Bishop injury was a blessing in disguise. I honestly don't think we would have won this game with him in net.
BELIEVE.
I was on the same stream haha!
Quoting ZipZapRap:
Good call.
Quoting ZipZapRap:
How was that movie?
All you haters who came on here the last few days and said they won't make the playoffs are a bunch of idiots. Our real team showed up tonight and that is why we won. Scoring 8 goals against the cup favorites while shutting down their best players (for the most part)is very impressive.
Games like tonight's is the reason why I will always believe in this team. They can come out of a slump in a big way (I'm lookin at you leafs), and usually do it in an amazing fashion!
GO SENS GO !! TILL I DIE!
just another wagon jumper...
Rest the guy who's been out for four weeks with an injury?
Just a couple games as he will face lots of shots in the playoffs
Ok seriously? I think Lehner's great and all, but Anderson just had a month off. You really think he needs rest? Ride him from here on in. Call up Lehner as the back-up if you want, but let's not go crazy here.
Story went up 2 minutes ago. No picture. Way to go TSN. Way to tuck your junk between your legs, Silence of the Lambs styles.
GSG!
And where's tookie after such an awesome win with his usual "its not the sens who played well...but Pitts who played badly" spin on the game???
They are sitting pretty and couldnt care for points obviously, good for us tho!
Another must win in Winnipeg but I doubt they play their 3rd string goalie, its gonna be Pavelec!
Hey Penguins... disrespect your opponent and it ends up biting you in the ass... and boy did it.
Great win.... more important... 2 pts...
Now, douchebag Mr. Heatley... you and your team had better beat the Caps tomorrow...
Yeah they were only one point out of first in the conference going into tonight. Clearly they don't care about points. (sarcasm).
So?? As usual, Tookie misses the point...
We scored 8 goals thus breaking this "scoring drought" and instilling much needed confidence in the players and the team.
And as far as I know, the Penguins still had Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Letang and co.
Sounds like your weekend might be ruined. Good.
You just can't help yourself can you Leaf Troll.
Makes a completely valid point.
Brad Thiessen wasn't all that impressive.. he is a rookie after all, and you could see why he's so far behind Johnson.
Now, had Fleury been in net tonight, the result might have been very very different, and there's no denying that. You can have a stacked forward group, but it's your goalie who stops the puck.. and pretty sure most people agree that Fleury is in the top 3, if not the best, young goaltender in the league right now.
A win is a win, and thank goodness we took out our frustration on this rookie- welcome to the NHL!
To be honest, 6 of those goals, no chance. And I am probably the hardest critic on goalies. 6 of those goals, absolutely no chance.
Bishop let a softy in. Andy was absolutely great.
I'd love to get overly excited about tonight, but I'm smarter than that.
The way this team has played the last couple of weeks, they will have to prove to me that they didn't just get lucky tonight.
If the truth hurts, too bad for you. All because you win one game, doesn't erase how horribly you've played previous.
Consistancy. Untill then, stop acting like a Leaf fan.
He's having a career year, will be close to 50 points and has spent large stretches recenty trying to create offense on the 4th line with minimal minutes.
Keep this kid on the line with Alfie and Turris at least for the rest of this year...
One thing I have noticed is that Foligno's game changed for a bit after his altercation with Crosby a while back. after the game MurrAy had said he wished Foligno was a bit dirtier/ meaner and I think he'd been over-compensati ng until last night.
when he's on his game, Foligno is the sauce that makes that second line work.
what is the purpose of this post? People are excited about 2 points. 2 points is 2 points is 2 points.
Are you saying fans are stupid for being happy about a win?
Sens owe you nothing bud
Hate to rain on ur parade, but we had our third-string (arguably) goalie in nets too to start the games.
@ Andrews Theory,
About time they insert Foligno on our Line 2, with Turris
and Alfredsson, and move Klinkhammer with O'Brien and Neil.
The results were amazing with total of 3 goals and 6 assits
for that Line 2. Also, Line 1 had goals from all 3 players,
and this is a good sign, with playoffs very soon !
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously
Sens won the game, got two much needed points, and kicked the other teams ass getting 8 goals, even if you look at the pens team as the worst team in the league, whats not to be happy about.
EEEEEEEEEEYORE !