Archive for the 'Senators' Category

4/15 Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 15, 2008
in Avalanche, Canucks, Fabian Brunnstrom, Links, Marty Turco, Penguins, Playoffs, Senators and Wild
. 0 Comments

Update (8:12 PM): At the Globe on Hockey blog, James Mirtle has more on Fabian Brunnstrom. I’m starting to wonder if this kid isn’t overrated. - Matt

Update (3:21 PM): The guys at Orland Kurtenblog have been looking for the greatest hit in NHL history and after five months of polling, a consensus has been reached: Scott Stevens’ hit on former Red Wing Slava Kozlov in the 1995 Finals. - Matt

Update (2:58 PM): If you’re into hockey stats, check this site out. (via Mirtle) - Matt

Update (2:41 PM): I missed posting reactions to the Nonis firing from two of the biggest Canucks bloggers because I got distracted and then forgot. Sorry.

Alanah of Canucks and Beyond, and Orland Kurtenblog. - Matt

… The Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes may not be over after all: the Canucks fired GM Dave Nonis last night in a surprise move.

Brunnstrom had apparently narrowed his choices down to Vancouver, but this latest development has him reconsidering, as Ken Holland told Helene St. James.

My guess is he’ll still opt not to come to Detroit for the same reason he was rumored to be headed to Vancouver: guaranteed playing time. The Wings still can’t give him that, but whoever takes over in Vancouver may be more amenable to the idea.

… Reactions to the Nonis firing: James Mirtle, Tom Benjamin, Eric McErlain,

… Elliotte Friedman discusses the speculation that Brian Burke could return to Vancover to fill the vacancy left by Nonis.

… I thought the Senators hit a low point with that mural near the visitor’s lockerroom. I was wrong (video here).

… Speaking of the Senators, Pittsburgh is on the brink of eliminating them from the playoffs after last night’s 4-1 win.

… Marty Turco’s not a fan of asking the crowd to wear black tonight in Dallas.

… The Avalanche/Wild series went to overtime for the third straight game. Minnesota came out on top for the second time to take a 2-1 series lead.

4/12 Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 12, 2008
in Avalanche, Capitals, Devils, Flyers, Hockey Bloggers, Links, Playoffs, Rangers, Senators and Wild
. 1 Comment

… Washington came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Philadelphia 5-4 last night in Game 1 of their series. Who had the game-winner? Alexander Ovechkin, following a Pavel Datsyuk-like steal.

… A very unfortunate event from that game: Philadelphia’s Patrick Thoresen took a Mike Green shot off a very bad place and as a result, he had to be taken to the hospital. Green went on to score seconds later, after the play was not stopped.

… As a blogger covering the decidedly anti-New Media Detroit Red Wings, I can’t even fathom being in this position.

… So the Senators haven’t completely given up on each other after all. They still lost, though.

… The Wild/Avs series went to overtime for the second time. This time it was Minnesota that scored, tying the series 1-1.

… The Devils lost 2-1 to the Rangers last night and fell behind 2-0 in their series. Lou Lamoriello was not happy with the officiating.

4/10 Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 10, 2008
in Canadiens, Dan Cleary, Devils, Flames, Hockey Bloggers, Hockey Media, Johan Franzen, Links, Penguins, Playoffs, Predators, Rangers, Senators and Tomas Holmstrom
. 3 Comments

Update (6:42 PM): This a must-read for bloggers as well as journalists. It’s Deadspin so it’s got elements of NSFW-ness, but it has a message I think both sides of the debate over “New Media” need to hear.

This piece by Daryl Shilling, a former contributor here at OtW, is similar in philosophy.  - Matt

Update (6:01 PM): Slapshot has a great piece on the special hockey fervor in Montreal this season. - Matt

Update (5:24 PM): This is just a great piece of writing. - Matt

Update (4:29 PM): The guys at Orland Kurtenblog look at the “NHL Experts Picks” for the Wings/Predators series. - Matt

Update (4:18 PM): Heh. (via A2Y) - Matt

Update (4:16 PM): Steph has a preview of the Wings/Predators series posted. - Matt

Update (3:15 PM): This is great. For the background, read this and this. Kevin Schultz has a good response. - Matt

Update (1:25 PM): IwoCPO presents the keys to the Wings/Predators series. - Matt

… James Mirtle reacts to the first night of the playoffs.

… HockeyTownTodd comments on the Wings/Predators series as only he can.

… Rangers fans made a good showing as their team opened the playoffs across the river in New Jersey.

… The Flames beat the Sharks in Game 1. I’ll be honest. I didn’t see that one coming.

… This one, however, came as no surprise: Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 0.

… Ansar Khan says the Wings aren’t looking past the first round. They’re also ready for the physical challenge of the post-season.

… This year’s under-the-rader player, Johan Franzen, is the subject of a Khan profile.

… Bruce MacLeod has a piece on the Wings’ big three net front players: Franzen, Dan Cleary, and Tomas Holmstrom.

… The Forechecker gives Predators fans reason to believe.

1/25 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 25, 2008
in Ducks, Fabian Brunnstrom, Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk and Senators
. 2 Comments

… George Malik breaks down the latest on the burgeoning Fabian Brunnstrom saga.

I’d say he has a solid chance of signing with the Wings, given the quality of the organization and the presence of the Swedes. However, they won’t necessarily be able to guarantee him a spot on the roster. From what I’ve read, he’s not expected to take the League by storm right off the bat, but is projected to be a “solid” second- or even first-line forward. The precedents for immediate jumps to the Wings upon arrival in North America on the Wings are Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Johan Franzen. Brunnstrom can’t match the former two, but he could be the next Franzen, I suppose. I’m just not sure where he’d fit in.

If he wants to be an NHLer right away and can’t take a year in Grand Rapids or another in Sweden, he may not be the Wings’ man.

… Ted Kulfan touches on the Brunnstrom story and Cleary’s eye today, but the most interesting part of his Red Wings Notebook is the short section on Johan Franzen, who is becoming a better shutdown forward all the time.

… One of the events at the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills competition tomorrow night is a breakaway contest. Alexander Ovechkin told USA Today’s Kevin Allen that he thinks the Wings’ own Pavel Datsyuk will win. No argument there, Alex.

… From the “huge steaming pile of BS” category: The Hockey News reports that Teemu Selanne is expected to return to Anaheim as early as next week. Not that this hasn’t been expected since the summer, but the fact that the Ducks will have two key players back just a little before and a little after the halfway point is repulsive.

It was one thing when Peter Forsberg did it years ago due to injury, but I don’t like the precedent the two Ducks are setting, sitting out when healthy. In a cap world, it’s particularly cheap, as it gives the Ducks relief despite the fact that they’ll have those players when they need them most.

…  Daniel Alfredsson put up seven (7) points last night against Tampa Bay. I’d call that a big “up yours” to Vincent Lecavalier.

… Apparently, Sergei Fedorov is becoming something of “an inspirational leader” in Columbus, as this post by the Columbus Dispatch’s  Aaron Portzline indicates.  As an old Sergei fan, that’s always good to hear.

… Of all the insane rumors swirling in the Toronto media about candidates for the Leafs GM, there’s finally one I can get behind: Mike Milbury says Brian Burke is interested in the job. I say that’s great. Leave Anaheim, Burke. Go to Toronto. Then maybe we’ll see the resurrection of the Wings/Leafs rivalry. (Update: This has since been debunked.)

Wings 2, Senators 3

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 13, 2008
in 2007-2008, Game Reports and Senators
. 5 Comments

Some folks, such as Sherry at Scarlett Ice, and Jes Golbez at AOL Fanhouse, are writing that the game lived up to the hype. I have to disagree and it’s not because the Wings lost. Had they played at a level on par with that the Senators played and still lost, I would, of course, be disappointed, but I’d be right there with the people saying it was as good a game as advertised. But they didn’t play at the same level as the Senators, not for much of the game, anyway.

Whereas Ottawa came out of the gates in all three periods flying, the Wings were flat when they needed life the most. They were able to make it a game in the third period, but they couldn’t keep up in the end. Usually it is Detroit that has the opposition standing around, watching them play. Last night, for too much of the game, the Wings were the observers.

Some scattered thoughts:

… Despite their even strength reunion, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg were all but invisible. I think the fact that Ottawa’s CASH line often seemed to have their way with the Wings’ defense while the Eurotwins were by and large silent may have been the most disappointing aspect of the game. They and Tomas Holmstrom remain one of the top lines in hockey, but it’s obvious that there is some separation there.

… I’m thankful Dominik Hasek played as well as he did.He made a number of huge saves and kept his team in the game when they were busy doing pylon impressions for the speedy Senator forwards.

The first Alfredsson goal was screened, so there can’t be much blame there. Mike Fisher’s goal was the result of a bad turnover and while you’d like to see Dom control the rebound better, there wasn’t much he could do. Fisher’s acceleration on that play was incredible. He was screened on the game-winner as well, though of course he could have held the post better. Can’t really blame him for it, though.

29 saves should be enough to win a game.

… The Wings have become much more physical than they used to be, but the fact that they were knocked around by Ottawa, of all teams, is pretty embarrassing. I found myself thinking more than once that it would have been nice to have had Aaron Downey in the lineup. Perhaps he could have awakened his teammates. Perhaps not. I don’t know. But when Chris Kelly gets away with knocking Dallas Drake in the back of the head, you know something is wrong.

… With the exception of the setup leading to Brian Rafalski’s goal and maybe one or two other man-advantages, the Wings’ power play was pathetic. At times even embarrassingly so. Their inability make a decent pass was a problem in all situations, though.

… While on that topic, I should just mention that part of the Wings’ problems may have stemmed from the fact that the first period was so broken up by chintzy penalty calls, on both sides. Why officials feel they have to ruin a perfectly good hockey game between two highly skilled and generally clean teams is completely beyond me.

… Early in the third, Dany Heatley initiated contact with Dallas Drake at the endboards, but ended up taking the brunt of the damage, as he went down shoulder first. He didn’t return to the game and will be out 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulder. Unfortunate for the Sens, of course, but I’m more concerned with the fact that the Wings only somewhat took advantage of his absence.

… Rafalski’s goal gave the Wings the life they had been lacking most of the night. Prior to that, I had started to wonder whether they’d score at all, with their offensive opportunities boiled to a bare minimum and with Ray Emery making all the necessary saves. When Rafalski found himself wide open in the slot, it seemed ordained, but at the same time I thought, “Wouldn’t it be typical if he got stoned or sent it wide?” Then he scored and we had a game.

… Somehow Jiri Hudler found a spot in the corner to put the puck a little over four minutes later, tying the score at two. If the game was ever a nail-biter, it was after that. I was thinking my prediction for the Fanhouse could come true.

… Then Alfredsson made it 3-2 with just under three minutes left. So much for that.

… End verdict: the Senators took this game seriously and earned the win. The Wings evidently took it somewhat more lightly and were lucky to escape with a respectable-looking score. I’m sure they’d make a better showing in a rematch, but they’d be better off worrying about getting back on track now or else there won’t be a rematch.

They have games against Ilya Kovalchuk and Roberto Luongo (otherwise known as Atlanta and Vancouver) this week before a three-game trip around California starting Saturday. Tuesday is as good a time as any to halt this skid.

… I leave you with a quote from the Senators’ coach, John “Adolf” Paddock, via Hockey Capital:

“[C]ome on! No more questions? MVP of the league this year? Votes? Hand up for Zetterberg? No? Alfredsson? Yes?”

I won’t relate my initial reaction to reading that. This is meant to be a family blog, after all.

I will, though, say this: I think the fact that the Wings didn’t miss a beat when Hank was out last month effectively took him out of Hart consideration. He’s one of the top players in the League (who just happened to have a bad outing last night, Paddock, no doubt due to having come down with the flu), but even calling him the Wings’ MVP would probably be a stretch because of Pavel Datsyuk.

Personally, I’d rather have it that way. The Wings, I’m sure, are concerned with Zetterberg’s health, but they also have the consolation that, if he does go down, they have a wealth of depth to help make up for his absence. On the other hand, members of the Senators organization should be developing ulcers and seeing psychiatrists due to stress over whether or not Alfredsson will go down.

So, you can have your Hart Trophy candidate, Paddock. I’d take a team over a single player any day. That may seem like an empty point the day after the Senators beat the Wings, but tell me what the score have been without Alfredsson’s tallies.

Links

GameDay: @ Ottawa (28-10-4, 60 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 12, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Senators
. 0 Comments

Update (1:19 PM): AOL Fanhouse’s Greg Wyshynski interviewed Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey, IwoCPO of Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Jeremy Milks of Black Aces, Sherry of Scarlett Ice, Erin Nicks of The Universal Cynic and yours truly for the game today. Be sure to check it out. - Matt

Update (1:05 PM): According to Bruce MacLeod, Henrik Zetterberg did not practice today due to the flu. Mike Babcock told him that he is under the impression that Hank will play, but there’s obviously a possibility that he won’t.

The lines at practice looked like this:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Hudler-Franzen-Samuelsson
Cleary-Draper-Maltby
Drake-Kopecky-Downey

As Babcock told MacLeod, the Wings have played without Zetterberg before, but this could have come at a better time. Hopefully he’ll be well enough to play! - Matt

Update (11:58 AM): George Malik has a good round-up of pre-game hype over at Snapshots. - Matt

Update (10:04 AM): Also be sure to stop by the forums at Kukla’s Korner, where OklahomaWingNut has put together a great GDT. Based on the lines he provides from the Senators’ practice yesterday, it looks like Alfredsson, Spezza, and Healtey could be together tonight.

I should have started linking to those a long time ago. - Matt

Update (9:59 AM): The New York Times‘ Slap Shot blog will be liveblogging the game tonight. - Matt

Tonight is the only game between these two League powerhouses this season. The Senators won the last meeting, 3-2 on December 12th, 2006.

This is the Wings’ first trip to Ottawa since a 3-2  (very early OtW post there) overtime win on October 11th, 2003, when their roster was stocked with players like Brett Hull, Ray Whitney, Darren McCarty, Boyd Devereaux, Derian Hatcher, and Mathieu Dandenault, not to mention Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, and Jiri Fischer. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.

The second-place Senators are 3-1-0 in 2008, with their only loss since the New Year coming to Washington on the 1st. Since then, they’ve earned wins over Buffalo (2x) and Tampa Bay. Their most recent game was their second win over the Sabres, a 3-2 shootout decision on Thursday. They are in the middle of a three-game homestand.

Daniel Alfredsson leads the Sens in points with 56 points, 26 of which are goals. Dany Heatley is second with 55 points and 25 goals. Their center, Jason Spezza, has 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points. Obviously, the players that make up the so-called CASH line are the ones to watch in Ottawa. The only question is whether or not they’ll play together tonight.

Mike Fisher is the only other Senator with 10 or more goals at 15.

The Senators will be without Patrick Eaves (shoulder).

Ray Emery will get the start for Ottawa.

For more of the Senators’ side of things, see Scarlett Ice,  Sens Army Blog, Senators Row,  Black Aces,  Five For Smiting, and Got Sens. The guys from Sens Army Blog wrote a guest post on the team for Christy Hammond’s Behind the Jersey.

The Wings fell to 4-0-1 in 2008 with a 6-5 shootout loss to Minnesota on Thursday.  It was one of their weaker defensive efforts this season and they were fortunate to escape with a point. On Tuesday, they won a close game with Colorado, 1-0, and on Sunday, they overcame their struggles with Chicago by posting a 3-1 win. Prior to that, they got two wins over the Stars under their belt, beginning with a 4-1 performance on the 2nd and continuing with a 3-0 shutout on Saturday.

The team is fully healthy and it doesn’t look like there will be any lineup changes for tonight. So, Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis will sit out for the third consecutive game.

It’s safe to assume that the lines will start out something like they were in practice yesterday, as recorded by Bruce MacLeod:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Hudler-Zetterberg-Cleary
Franzen-Draper-Samuelsson
Drake-Kopecky-Maltby

Expect some mixing as the game goes on. The Senators have the last change and that’s going to make it somewhat difficult for Babcock to get the exact matchup he wants on Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. However, with centers like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Draper, he has some options.

Ansar Khan suggests Babcock may split up Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, as is his practice on the road. In that case, Lidstrom would play with Niklas Kronwall, and Rafalski would play with Andreas Lilja. Chris Chelios and Brett Lebda should constitute the third pairing in any case.

Dominik Hasek will face his one-time team tonight for the first time since he left Ottawa. He should have something to prove.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, and Winging It In Motown. Todd has some numbers for you already and Christy’s “primer” for Sens Army is here.

Tonight is a huge game for both teams. It’s a real shame that it’s the only time they meet this season, because it’s not going to settle anything. Whatever the result, one game is not enough to show superiority one way or the other. That doesn’t make a loss okay, though!

I’m cautiously optimistic that whatever happened Thursday night was an aberration and that the Wings will be back on their game tonight. It’ll be close, but, in my admittedly biased opinion, I think the Wings are the better team top-to-bottom and if they bring their “A” game, they should come out ahead.

But, like I said yesterday, if their defensive coverage is lacking like it was against Minnesota, they’ll get lit up. Which Red Wings team will we get? We should know within the first few minutes.

2/12 Quick Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 12, 2007
in Coyotes, Henrik Zetterberg, Hockey Bloggers, Hockey Media, Ladislav Nagy, Links, Peter Forsberg, Ray Emery, Robert Lang, Senators, Stars and Trade Rumors
. 0 Comments

Update (2:30 PM): … Ansar Khan writes on the Peter Forsberg situation and has a few interesting tidbits, particularly the possibility that the Wings might look to trade away Robert Lang for a winger on top of making a push for Forsberg. - Matt

… Henrik Zetterberg has been named the “First Star of the Week” by the NHL.

… Also Zetterberg-related: see also Dave’s response to the Freep’s Michael Rosenberg column advising Wings fans to maintain proper “perspective.” Rosenberg believes the jury’s still out on Zetterberg, and Dave is right to point out that he’s way off base there.

… Ottawa Senator’s goalie Ray Emery is only getting suspended for three games after this vicious slash last night.

… Ladislav Nagy is now a Dallas Star. So much for this rumor.

Wings 2, Sens 3

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 13, 2006
in 2006-2007, GameDay and Senators
. 0 Comments

Update (11:15 AM): Gorilla Crouch has more. - Matt

I have to go take a final (my last one) and then work on a project until I go to work so I have no time to do anything other than refer you to Abel to Yzerman. Regular coverage should return next week when we’re all done with school for a few weeks.

GameDay: vs. Ottawa (15-15-1, 31 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 12, 2006
in 2006-2007, GameDay and Senators
. 0 Comments

Because of finals, this will be another brief preview:

Tonight is the only game between these teams this season.

The Sens are coming off a 6-2 loss to the surging Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, a game in which they allowed five power play goals. It was the third loss in a row for Ottawa, which dropped games to the Caps and Rangers before heading to Columbus to lose.

Ray Emery, rather than Martin Gerber, will get the start tonight for the Sens. Gerber allowed four goals on 13 shots against the Jackets, while Emery has allowed 10 goals in his last three games, according to the AP.

The Wings won their last game, a 5-1 decision over Toronto in which they scored five power play goals. In contrast to the Sens, they have won their last three, with two wins over the Blues coming before Saturday’s win over the Leafs.

Johan Franzen (knee) and Niklas Kronwall (groin) are both expected to sit out tonight’s game.

The Sens are struggling a bit, but they still have talent so the Wings can’t expect to win just by stepping out onto the ice. Expect Ottawa to step up their play against their old teammate, Dominik Hasek, who’ll have to have a strong mental game tonight, for his part, and not get carried away emotionally.

I don’t think I’ll be able to watch tonight, and even if I do, I probably won’t be doing a full-scale game summary because I won’t have the time.

Wings/Oilers series could start Friday instead

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 18, 2006
in Links, Oilers, Rangers, Sabres, Scheduling, Senators and The Team
. 2 Comments

Ansar Khan expains that because of complications with Buffalo’s arena and NBC’s plans to broadcast both a Wings and a Rangers game this weekend, the first round may not start Saturday after all. So, if the Rangers beat Ottawa tonight, therefore winning their division, they’ll avoid playing Buffalo and the Wings will play Saturday, getting an extra day to rest.

Link