A Good 'Ole Fashion Raking

No matter how badly Ottawa is doing, Toronto always seems to be doing worse. It's been a while since the Sens shut out Toronto, so this just makes their third straight win on Hockey Night in Canada even sweeter. Hopefully this win will get the Sens back in the top eight, and hopefully shut certain commentators up about their streaky record.  But a win against the dreaded Leafs is always nice, especially on National TV. The best part of the whole night was when Sens fans started singing "Na Na Na Na, Hey, hey, hey........ GOODBYE". A recognizable Senators cheer in their home rink? Sometimes the little things should be enjoyed. Hopefully Elliott got his confidence back, and it looks like Karlsson is showing some emotion.                                                    
                                                     




About this time of year, it's also expected Eugene Melnyk will give his take on Ottawa's future. Euge touched on the management situation on Saturday, in a typically vague Elliotte Friedman interview.

And now the Oilers. Last in the West, and what should be an easy win. It will be nice to see Jordan Eberle back in town after his heroic performance in the 2009 WJC. It should be a good game, but Ottawa can't overlook these guys, even though they are the Oilers.

Spezza Goal and YouTube Channel

There is now a YouTube channel for his blog, so there are going to be more video posts!
http://www.youtube.com/user/jakePH15

I'm sad to say that after his long and painful battle with cancer, Pat Burns has passed away at the age of 58. The Stanley Cup winning coach was rumored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, but it did not happen. It has been a very sad week, with the passing of  Burns and Daron Richardson. After dealing with that, I am not at all upset with the outcome of the Sens-Canes game. Our thoughts are with both the Burns' and Richardson's.

Explanation of the NHL Blindside Rule: Video

A video version to go with the previous post on Blindside hits.

Bubble Burst

After a four game winning streak, the Senators got brought back down to earth by the Canuckleheads. And now a four game road trip, starting off against the Bruins. This is going to be a big test. Not to mention the fact the road trip includes games against St. Louis and Philly. Considering how poorly the Sens started out, and that they are currently two wins back of the Habs for the division lead, things aren't so bad. Unless you look at it the "glass is half empty" way, and you can tell they're tied with teams out of the playoffs, and four points ahead of the dreaded Leafs. Hopefully this game against the Bruins will turn out better than the last. Hopefully the Sens can slay the Tim Thomas dragon.

In other news

Brian Burke

The Leafs have called up their apparent future star Nazem Kadri and Keith Aulie to play against the Canucks.
Seems kind of desperate, but I'm sure Leafs fans are used to that.

It's about time!

The Sens just sent Leafs Nation into a spiral of death. Not only do they beat them, exploiting their undisciplined and sloppy play with two power-play goals and one penalty shot goal, they injured their captain for six weeks. That should quiet the whole southern region of Ontario for a while. Ottawa played a great game. Karlsson and Gonchar controlled the PP perfectly. For the first time this year Ottawa's power play looked like it had a real, functional strategy. Not to mention Elliott played a very good game. The 3-2 score doesn't show how well the Sens really played, but a win is a win. One thing that really bothers me is how pathetic video review is. I really want the job of being the guy in Toronto who judges goals (except the fact I'd have to live in Toronto). Although the "goal" Kovalev scored did not count, how could that puck not have been in the net? Just because Giguere's barely legal Michelin Man pads were in the way of the camera, doesn't mean the puck wasn't in the net.

Any way, tonight the Sens are playing the Islanders, so break out the fish stick jokes. If they get a win, it'll be 5 wins out of the last 7.  It'll be nice to see John Tavares play live. On behalf of all Ottawans, I'm still thanking JT for what he did in the 2009 WJC. Ells gets the start again, ang look for a big game from Spezza, just because I picked him in my pool and am starting to regret it. Time to fry some fish sticks!

Just a Thought

Recently I've been hearing alot of really annoying things. Stuff like: "Alfredsson is overpaid", "Ottawa is waiting to long to rebuild" or "Veterans like Alfredsson should be traded to make the team younger". I am beginning to wonder what they put the water in Toronto.
It seems like almost every sports pundit thinks every team needs a massive rebuild every time they play poorly for a couple years (i.e. Leafs), but seriously, look at how well it's working out there. Although they are not doing too poorly in the standings,Ken Holland once said that a team doesn't show it's true winning percentage until American Thanksgiving, so that should give many fans some comfort. But something really surprising is even the thought that Alfredsson should be traded. Anyone who thinks that doesn't know what he means to Ottawa, his leadership and his work ethic. Not to mention that he thinks of the community first, and would probably make as good of a mayor as half the candidates that ran in the recent election.
  Also, since when are teams obliged to tear their team down and build them back up every few years. Just because the Leafs do it, doesn't mean it's a law. Seriously, if you stack up Ottawa's top prospects with a certain rebuilding team's, you can tell the difference.

Sens Prospects:

1. Jared Cowen

2. Robin Lehner

3. Patrick Wiercioch

4. David Rundblad

5. Bobby Butler

6. Roman Wick

7. Louie Caporusso

8. Jim O'Brien

Leafs Prospects

1. Nazem Kadri

2. Luca Caputi

3. Jussi Rynnas

4. Jerry D'Amigo

5. Keith Aulie

6. Brad Ross

7. Marcel Mueller

8. Greg McKegg

If anyone is reading this, you should look up some of those prospects. Bryan Murray is much better at drafting than Fletcher/Ferguson/Burke. Rebuilding on the fly seems to be working.

On a side note, former Sens goon Brian McGrattan recently made some comments about Chris Neil, saying that he had to protect him, and that his fight late in a blowout against Boston was typical of Neil, and that he doesn't fight his own battles. Neil responded with nothing offensive. Really Brian? I know it sucks to be a Bruin, especially a Providence Bruin who hasn't had a real NHL job since being traded for a bag of pucks from Ottawa. For a guy who just got sent to the minors, those are some stiff words. I say this as a huge Neil fan, but i still do have fond memories of Grats.
And on a final note, this game against Toronto is huge. I'm throwing in the towel if they lose tonight.