Making Progress

Two striaght wins for the Sens. Sounds good, but it was agianst the Panthers and Coyotes. But still, a win is a win. And to make things interesting, the developing Senators play the scary in every way Boston Bruins. Sure, their second string goalie is better than any goalie Ottawa's ever had, (Dom Hasek does not count) and their centres include Marc Savard, David Krejci, Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron, who are all better or will be better than any centre Ottawa has dressed. Not to mention Zdeno Chara. Despite this, the B's have been pretty inconsistent this year, so Ottawa has a chance to win this one. Division games like this are pretty important, so here's hoping Ottawa can take this one. For the last two games, they have scored ten goals. Five against Thomas Vokoun and 5 goals against Labarbera and Bryzgalov during the game against Pheonix. Even though Tim Thomas has a reputation of shutting down Ottawa, the Sens are still really hot offensively. I'm still surprised Robin Lehner has not got a start yet, but he did get the chance to play a couple minutes in Montreal, and over a period in Pittsburgh. So it looks like Elliot's playing again.  Good luck Brian.

1000

The greatest Ottawa Senator in history has reached an other milestone. 1000 points against the Sabres, on the same night of getting a hat trick and a must needed win.
Thanks Alfie.

Waiting for Change

The Senators season hasn't gone so great so far. So, something should be done. Recently I heard about something that probably won't happen but is still something to get somewhat excited about. Murray's been talking to Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher, and possibly about Martin Havlat. Remember him?

Yes, the guy who looks like Aragorn. Well if Havlat does come back to Ottawa, Who would the Sens give up? The way I figure it, the Wild are desperate for some scoring, and Ottawa wants to unload an overpaid player who is supposed to score. Alex Kovalev is apparently a good leader and a great guy in the community, so maybe he can go and help out the city of St. Paul. Also, former Minnesota Mr. Hockey Brian Lee could be useful in his home state. Also Lee is most likely the player the Sens would like to unload the most.

 A trade could look like this:

To the Wild:
Alex Kovalev, Brian Lee

To the Sens
Martin Havlat, Clayton Stoner

If you know nothing about Stoner, he is a physical defenseman who drops the gloves occasionally and plays a decent defensive game.

I'd take it. I'd also take Kovy and Lee for Havlat and a new Scoreboard.

A Quick Analysys of Blindside Hits

Recently, Nick Foligno was fined $2,500 for his "blindside" hit on Patrick Dwyer. I was surprised he wasn't suspended, but glad he wasn't. Foligno came straight at him, and Dwyer was looking to the side. So if Foligno was coming from a side Dwyer should be able to see him from, why is this considered a Blindside? Unlike some other examples of what is now considered to be a blindside hit to the head. The most famous is this
Matt Cooke on Marc Savard hit.

As you can tell from that picture, Cooke is coming from a different angle than Savard. Savard was facing straight at the net and Cooke came from Savard's right. What is technically called his blindside. 

And this one still makes me sick. After all the times we see an example of a blindside hit to the head, this one is never mentioned. Mark Bell, the player delivering the hit, also got his elbow up. No penalty was given on this play. The fact Bell was wearing a cage makes this incredibly cowardly. One thing is, Daniel Alfredsson is still playing and is one of the best there are, and Mark Bell is playing with the Kloten Flyers in Switzerland.

As you can tell from this moving picture, Mike Richards is coming from David Booth's right side, on a really sharp angle. This is another simple example of a blindside hit to the head, where the head is targeted.

By now, you can see my point. And looking at Foligno's hit, there aren't many similarities.
If the victim can see the hitter, how is it a blindside???

An Obscene Gesture

                                                               
Well that wasn't necessary was it? Wishniewski was suspended two games for that and was fined. Wow. That wasn't appropriate but I've seen worse in Midget Level games. They couldn't show this on National TV, but thanks to good ole YouTube, here it is. I don't think it's too inappropriate to show on TV though considering other things networks get away with. Maybe players should have more respect, but that lack of respect gets higher ratings. What a world we live in.

Things I learned from the first Senators games

1. Hedley is not the band you want to kick-off the NHL season
2. Scotia Bank Place actually pays people to tell fans to cheer
3. Ottawa collapses too deep on the power-play
4. Clarke MacArthur fails at goal celebrations
5. Lindy Ruff is really balding
6. JS Giguere has really big pads
7. Leclaire has really small pads
8. Brian Lee could have been Anze Kopitar or Marc Staal (Ok I already knew that, but it's sad)
9. Milan Michalek looks thinner this year
10. Leclaire got new pads
11. I shouldn't be so optimistic

Puck Drop: Opening Night

                                    Sens vs Buffaslugs

Opening night, finally. Spezza is still a game time decision, and Clouston says he doesn't want to rush him back into the lineup. So i'm not expecting him to be in the lineup. The Sabres are a vulnerable team if Vanek is shut down and Miller lets in a few. Anyways, This game should be good. I'm hopeful Spezza will be cleared to play because of all the hype I'm being fed, and also that I watch too much pre-season hockey.
Last night, the NHL took note of what the NFL does on opening night, having an outdoor concert before the game. It would have been better if it was in Chicago instead of Toronto, because rewarding the Champion's city is always better than rewarding Hogtown. On another note it will be nice to see if Chris Campoli can continue his surprising play into the regular season, proving he is worth a first round pick. Also, the Sarge will be controlling the Sens powerplay tonight, so that will be nice.

Season Preview: Western Conference

It's time for the west. Last night's Oilers game against Calgary gave me something to think about before I made these predictions, but I still didn't pick them to make the playoffs.

1. Sharks: Niemi should back-stop San Jose's offense

2. Nucks: Why not?

3. Wings: Old, but still good

4. Kings: This year's Hawks

5. Hawks: Because they're the Champs

6. Blues: HALAK!!

7. Yotes: No pressure, No fans, No problem

8. Avs: Good coaching and young core

9. Flames: I'm starting to feel embarrassed
10. Ducks: Just look at their D
11. Preds: Need offense
12. Oil: Not quite yet
13. Jackets: They're missing something
14. Wild: Work in progress
15. Stars: New era starts flat

Really, every team in the west has playoff potential, but some just don't compete.

Stanley Cup Prediction:

                                               Capitals over Canucks in 7* 

By then, the Canucks would have fought their way through the tough West, facing the Yotes, Kings and Sharks. The Caps would have won an easy series against Buffalo, and a harder 6 games against the Sens, and a 7 game showdown against the Penguins.

  *This prediction should happen if the Caps add a Defensive D-man who can patrol the Caps zone (no, not Chris Phillips). Solid goaltending from Neuvirth if not Varlamov should backstop the Caps to a title. 

Now let's watch some hockey!

Season Preview : Eastern Conference

 Well this is it. The season is upon us, and many of us are starving for some decent puck. Sadly, we'll have to wait until after the first game of the "Face-Off 2010-2011 is between the Wild and Hurricanes.
Wow. Remember when exciting teams played in the first game of the year. But who am I kidding, I'm still going to watch it.
  Ok, anyways, it's time for some predictions. here is how I think everything is going to play out in the east:

1.Caps:Back with a vengeance

2.Pens: Crosby will carry the load and Fleury won't suck

3. Bruins: Extreme depth and Rask comes in handy

4. Sens: Hot, then cold, then really hot. In Murray we trust

5. Devils: John Maclean will make Jersey more exciting

6. Flyers: More depth

7. Tampa: Two words: Steve Yzerman

8. Buffaslugs: Miller barely carries his team into April

9. Habs: Too many questions
10. Canes: Ward and Staal not enough
11. Leafs: Six straight years of no playoffs, sad
12. Rangers: Why is Glen Sather still employed?
13. Thrashers: Thrashers on right track, but not there yet
14. Isles: They need a new rink
15. Cats: And you thought Toronto sucked

The fact that Ottawa is that high up is not only because I'm a homer, it's also because I think the East will be pretty close, and that teams like the Sens will get hot at the right time. The Habs will miss the playoffs because they think they are much better than they really are and poor Carey will crack under the pressure. I won't be surprised if they crack the playoffs though. I still want to see them play Ottawa in the first round.