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Hours away from the start of the 2007 N.H.L. playoffs, coach Bryan Murray, was presented with the questions and concerns of past playoff disappointments. The media around these parts, asked about “chocking”; it was Bryan Murray’s response that was of epic proportions and sent a message to those questioning the Ottawa Senators. When asked about an article ran in the l...
Yes the playoffs are here! And like every other Canadian I am ready for some good ol' time hockey. I've already plastic wrapped the tv to keep it protected from the spit and anything else that might be projected at the tv in anger (note to self...it will not be protected from blunt objects, keep Best Buy flyer close by just in case.) I think there are some very exciting...
What a season for the Buffalo Sabres and fans. They have taken home the President Trophy as the top team in the National Hockey League throughout the regular season. They finished with 53 wins and 113 points. They will be playing the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday night puck drops at 7:08pm. This should be an interesting series. Ted N...
mojoworld writes...

And so it begins...

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
Yeah, I know, not a very original title, but it's the truth. It all begins tonight, the illustrious challenge for hockey's greatest prize. Enough babble. Onto the games tonight. I'm a fan, yes, duh, of the Canucks, but sports would never be the same if there was not some fantasy or predictive element. Besides cheering for your team, how many times have you said to y...
cslacro writes...

Gary Roberts for Playoff MVP

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
Moves at the trade deadline are always hard to evaluate. Most think that Nashville got fleeced with the Forsberg trade. And Ryan Smyth to the Island may have been the missing piece that vaulted them into the playoffs. And where was John Ferguson? Prying Yannic Perreault from Pheonix. I just don't get it. The thing the Leafs was missing was heart. Looking down the st...
As you can see by looking at my profile I am a long-distance fan, and at this time of the year it gets pretty dificult. The Wild were immediately thrown off of Versus radar when they were switched randomly to the Wednesday/Friday schedule instead of the Thursday/Saturday schedule they were supposed to have. For the last three days I've been walking around upset about it th...
[b]THE GOOD[/b] [b]The Sens intensity level[/b] - they came out strong and dictated play throughout. [b]The officiating[/b] - there were a lot of penalties called but the officals seemed to be consistent with their calls. [b]The Sens role players[/b] - good showing by 3rd and 4th line players. [b]Malkin and Staal[/b] - I thought both rookies were able to play a...
As a Canadian I was able to watch Sens-Pens and Preds-Sharks early tonight. I have to say I was very disappointed to see that the referees went back to last fall's calls. I agree that clutching and grabbing needs to go in the game, but a majority of the calls made in those two games tonight were absolutely ridiculous. Tootoo's hit in the first period was not a penalty, Cro...
jamvan writes...

Ottawa and Pittsburgh

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Posted earlier on www.hockey-wire.com ; This may just be about the most exciting series the playoffs have to offer. With both teams falling victim to the rule, that division winners take up the top three seeds, both squads found themselves a rank lower than what they should have and both with 105 points. Regardless, these two teams are as close in retrospect and in...
mojoworld writes...

WHAT A GAME!!!

Posted Thursday | Comments 3
So, just got home from the 4OT thriller at the garage tonight, WHAT A GAME. I mean, they stopped selling beer after the 2nd intermission, so I wound up paying $4 bucks for Sprite, but that's all good. Go Canucks Go... and chants of TTTUUURRCCOOO filled the evening excitement as I basically lost my voice and drank ice cubes for 2 OT's. Skytrain was reasonable on the way ...
Great game last night. A full 60 minutes of forechecking and goals. The locals will be lining up the get their free pizza today I'm sure. I can see Pizza Pizza implementing a new policy "umm...everybody who has a ticket must answer a skill testing question...recite the first 12 numbers after the decimal point in Pii" Things definitely got a little chippy at the end of ...
icedog97 writes...

To Be or Not To Be...

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
I'm laughing at myself as I type that title. How can I put a Shakespeare quote at the top of my hockey blog!!! It's not as if I quote him on a daily basis...or EVER...or that his world and the hockey world have much in common (hell, I had to look up the spelling of his name make sure it was correct!). But it really is the only question that the Penguins need to answer r...
Good game all around for the Senators. They pounced on a noticeably jittery Fleury early and they kept the big Pens stars at bay. All the Sens played great games. What should be scary for the Pens is that I didn't even notice Spezza or Heatley all night. When (I won't say if) they get going it may become a short series (of course I could say the same thing for Cro...
The SRU Campus is about 50 miles North of Pittsburgh, but we are Black and Gold to the core up here. Last semester was my first at SRU and I was amazed to see how far Steeler Country's boundries extended. Every week my fellow students came out with a strong showing of Steeler's gear. Ocassionally I'd spy a Penguins hat or something, but for the most part the black and gold...
(Please read my blog post 'Pens Playoff Fever at Slippery Rock University' first) The jitters. I know I had them after not watching Penguins playoff hockey in six years. I can only imagine what most of the players felt like... Unfortunately, their butterflies showed. I had class until 7:30, so I missed the begining. On the radio during the car ride over to the bar Mi...
Ok, yes, I am a Rangers fan and this will probably be disregarded by most as a bias whine by someone who cannot see his team play Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs but I'm going to write about it anyway because frankly, bias or not, I think I'm right. I know Sid Crosby is supposed to be the second-coming of The Great One, I know, and I know the NHL needs a star that th...
The update you have ALL been waiting for...(does anybody even read this thing?). Game 1 was a steam roller of a game for the Sens. There were squashed Pens littering the ice all night long. And yes, this is comming from a LONG TIME Penguins fan. Game 2 presents quite a challenge for our kids...will they be able to respond like we all think they can? [b]THINGS TO LOOK FO...
HomeIceFan writes...

Booing Crosby Makes Us Cool

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
I caught Ian Mendes' blog on Sportsnet ([url]http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/ian_mendes/2007/04/13/deep_thoughts[/url]), and still wonder if he can actually address the question of why to boo Sidney Crosby. He can't seem to figure it out either. Or maybe he just can't seem to string multiple thoughts together coherently when it's not about the ultimate greatness that is the...
icedog97 writes...

19

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
I'm not 19. In fact I am MORE THAN TWICE that age. When I was 19 I was in college. I was trying to learn how to live on my own. Trying to figure out if I had enough money to buy a pizza on a Saturday night. Trying to stay out of trouble and keep my grades up. Trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Nobody followed me around with cameras. Nobody as...
What a performance by Fleury. In a game that the Penguins could have easily lost, Marc Andre was the difference. I think his play this afternoon speaks volumes about his maturity as a goaltender. While he may not be seasoned yet, he is definitely mature enough to backstop the Penguins throughout their playoff run. Don't get me wrong, a confident Thibault is good to have in...
Yes the refs were horrible but the pens were as well. I really don't have any idea where Gonchar was in this game. I can honestly say that 3 of the goals may have been his fault. He stood around all night. Also he couldn't keep the puck in the zone on the power play the worst pen all night. Malkin couldn't win a faceoff for his life. Recchi just seems like the game is pass...
Now with the Pens in a desperate situation it will be up to Michel Therrien. He has been outstanding leeding his troops all year long, but it is the real time. Right now he needs to do a major shake up in the lines and whos getting scratched and whos not. If i were Michel Therrien i would seriously think about playing Joel Kwiatkowski over a guy like Josef Melichar or Rob ...
Sunday's Pens and Senators game was the worst of the series for the Penguins. They gained some momentum in game 2...and it lasted into game 3...for about 5 minutes. Game 3 was so disappointing because the Penguins should feel they have a chance to win this series, but they are not playing like it. They should be past the "wow, we are in the playoffs" feeling, and se...
Tonight should be another great night of NHL playoff hockey, with some big games going on in the East. [b]Thrashers @ Rangers, GM 3, Rangers lead 2-0[/b] The New York Rangers are looking to take a commanding three games to none lead over the Thrashers as they return home tonight.The Blue shirts took away home ice from Atlanta by winning a pair of one goal games, 4-3, a...
With the senators in control of this series this is a very important game. If the pens lose today they will be down 3-1 and have no chance to comeback. It is a desperate situation for the pens. It worrys me that during the moring skate the pens looked so relaxed. Maybe it is a tactic that Therrien is using so the pens do not have to think about the pressure they face. The ...
This blog is for those of you who don't follow hockey all that much but have decided to watch some playoff hockey and you want to know the best games that are out there to watch this round. I'm gonna give you my suggestions of games to watch from the east and west, whichever side you're on. The games I post will be the most intriguing ones I think are out there out there. ...
Ottawa's winning goal came off the stick of Anton Volchenkov. Not only is this an unlikely hero, but instead he puts the proverbial nail in the coffin. The Penguins are now forced to win three out of four games. The Senators now have a 3-1 lead in the series, with a 2-1 win in Pittsburgh. Gary Roberts was the lone Penguin to show determination, although some would say h...
Ottawa, NYR, and Vancouver now lead their series 3-1, 3-0, and 3-1, respectively. The Rangers are annihilating the Thrashers. 7-0. Well, you can tell this is the first time the Thrashers have been to the playoffs, but I guess I was expecting more from Hossa. Ottawa and Vancouver have played well and should win their series as well. The Penguins have played well ...
mwiles19 writes...

Too Little Too Late?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
After watching the Penguins/Senators game tonight one thing was evident. The Penguins had learned what it would take to compete at the level of the Senators, but it wasn't enough as they fell short once again. The Penguins dominated the play for most of the game, and deserved a better fate than a 2-1 loss at home, but that is what played out. This loss is a backbreaker ...
I wrote yesterday about how the Sabres need to ratchet up the “physical” play if they expect to make a serious run to the cup. After watching game 4 of the Pens & Sens… maybe the Sabres plan will work out just fine if they meet one of these teams in the ECF. To put it simply and succinctly, these teams are absolutely KILLING each other. I have to believe that ...
icedog97 writes...

There IS a tomorrow...

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
Down 3-1 in the series, the common thought that runs through your mind, as a player or a fan, is "[b]There is NO tomorrow[/b]". That's the kind of thinking that many will argue is needed in order to beat the odds and win game 5 in Ottawa. While I believe the intensity level necessary to win game 5 CAN be obtained from that line of thinking, there is also a tremendous...
pitpanther01 writes...

Its not over just yet

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Now the Penguins are down 3-1 to the Senators. Yea it seems impossible but who knows. This penguins team has done so many unexpected things all year why not. This team wasn't even supposed to make the playoffs but they proved everyone wrong. The Pens may be able to catch the Sens relaxing a bit during game 5. If so look out. If the Pens would manage a way to prevail in gam...
The Pens have played better in the last game but are still down 3-1. They are looking for a way to get momentum. Well couldn't it be a huge momentum builder if the pens could pull off a dramatic win in overtime. This type of win could shift all the momentum in a penguins favor and bring the series back to the igloo. I know it may sound far fetched but i believe in the pens...
icedog97 writes...

The Better Team Won

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
When this series started, I truy believed the Penguins could compete with the Senators. The teams played such close games during the regular season that it seemed almost impossible for the series not to go 6 or 7 games. (still trying to get my foot out of my mouth from that prediction...) What happened during the playoffs was plain and simple -- the Senators had an extr...
The second round is almost at hand. The Devils proved that they are a cup contender by defeating the Lightning 4 games to 2 in round 1. But do the Devils have what it takes to beat the Senators? It would be hard for me to believe that we have seen the "best" the Senators can play -- well maybe we saw it in the first period of game 1 against the Penguins --but after t...
While I might be a Leaf fan, I'm first and foremost a hockey fan and believe the Senators have the game to win the Cup. After watching the first round they simply look like past teams, with similar chemistry and depth, that have won the Cup. More specifically though: Leadership The leader is finally being a leader. After years of justifiably being the fan’s whip...
This Thursday marks the beginning of yet another battle of 100+ point regular season teams. New Jersey finished with 107 and Ottawa with 105, with the season series going the way of the Devils 3-1. Despite holding a 3-1 edge is the regular season series, there’s no doubting who the stronger of the two teams down the stretch was, it’s the Senators. That being said, this...
Last night, went heavy on the 4.5u and well, the Canucks won and scored TWO frigg'n empty netters in the final minute and down went my money in the drain. That's ok, because I hit a nice $20 five game parlay (won $400) thanks to a few nice free throw's by Yao Ming to clinch the over. (1xNBA + 4xMLBs). Looking at Conference Semi-finals now and the match-ups. My initial b...
[b]Eastern Conference[/b] [i]New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres[/i] I’m a firm believer in the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres and have been since I realized how incredibly good they are. They have explosive offensive talent running thick through four lines or even six lines depending on how you look at it. The team is only bettered by a solid defensive core that actually doe...
CBJ09 writes...

Round 2 --can it top Round 1?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The first round of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs was very exciting, even with the lack of close series. The matchups we got were outstanding, such as Nashville-SJ, Detroit-Calgary, Vancouver-Dallas, and there was so much passion to go along. How will round 2 pan out? [b]Buffalo vs. New York Rangers[/b] I love the Rangers right now, they're playing with a huge amount of...
Or so Marty York said today in the Metro freebee. I didn’t even need a morning coffee after reading that headline. Wide awake, I almost screamed out loud ‘Wait a Minute!’ But given that York might have some personal insight into being “on the decline” I persisted. York states the obvious by writing that Brodeur is a future Hall of Famer but concludes “he...
begga79 writes...

Consistancy of officiating

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Did anyone out there notice the frank difference in the way the first two games of the Sabre/Ranger series was officiated? I can't stand to think that a series could be decided on the way certain officials are calling games. The first game, the refs called everything! The second game, the refs were much more leanient. I saw cross checks and punches in game two that would h...
When the Ottawa Senators take the ice tonight, not only can they put their opponents up against the wall, but take once step closer to silencing the critics. It is well known how the media and fans (both loyal and of other teams) feel about the Senators, but this is the chance they’ve been waiting for since 2003. In 2003, the last time the Ottawa Senators made it to the ...
The Ottawa Senators took a commanding 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Semi-finals series against the New Jersey Devils.  The team that was once the template of a team that chokes in the playoffs is finally coming of age.  Their great play from the first round against the Penguins(which I think was slightly discredited because the Pens are so inexperienced) has car...
hAbfAn33 writes...

Whats Up with Marty?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Nobody can dispute the value of Martin Brodeur. To his team, to the league and to the goaltender position, there is arguably nobody more reliable than Marty. If I wanted to build a team around a goaltender, he'd be my guy and his numbers over the last 10 year can make my case for me. Having said all that, he just does not look right in the 07 playoffs. Goals are being sc...
CBJ09 writes...

Jumpin' in the Tank

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
With every passing year, the Blue Jackets miss the playoffs and I'm forced to shift my focus as a fan. Maybe I'm alone saying this, but I would much rather watch a playoff game with two random teams than watch a regular-season game featuring my own. The passion of each team fighting for the ultimate goal lights a fire in everyone, including myself. This year, I'm especiall...
Focused Senators Will Not Be Rattled! In a series that has been all but dominated by the Ottawa Senators, it was the future Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur that was trying to get into the heads of the Senators and attempt to throw them of their game. After letting in two weak goals himself, he tried to deflect any talk of weak play to his counterpart Ray Emery by saying, ...
First I would like to take this opportunity to say congrats to Sens Fans. Your team was better than mine, and I can accept losing to a better team. Also as a whole you guys have been the classiest group of fans to invade what I am happy to say used to be our arena. Now all I ask of the Sens is they go all the way so I can comfort myself in the fact that it took the Stanley...
This Ottawa-Buffalo series is going to be an exciting one. Geographically, Leaf fans could easily get their hockey fix being smackdab in between these 2 towns. At the same time, it's easy for Leaf fans to hate both these teams. Do you hate the team that crushed your Cup dreams some years ago, or do you hate the team who brags about crushing your dreams, yet never has? Dani...
One can assume that as the NHL playoffs progress we will be treated to more and more intense playoff hockey, but that is not always the case. I dont think that will be a problem this year, specifically in the Eastern Conference. I am not a fan of BUF or OTT but I am familiar with the rivalry that exists between these two teams and I can assure everybody that this will be a...
Your intrepid author has called 4 of 4 Round 2, calling the exact amount of games 3 out 4. So, yes, I am tooting my own horn. Toot! My predictions made back on April 26th [url]http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=7150[/url] My Pick Was: Ottawa in 6 Result: Ottawa wins in 5 I predicted that Ottawa would beat NJ in 6. They did it in 5, NJ completely unab...
This is what we all wanted, right hockeyfans? Arguably the two best in the East, Buffalo and Ottawa, squaring off for the right to face the Western Champs and hoist up that silvery punch bowl amalgamut trophy that brings grown men to tears. On paper, and in pure hockey terms, this couldn't get any better. Two ridiculous offenses, two solid defenses one through six, an o...
doaftheloaf writes...

Round 3 Pix

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
As promised... [b]1 Buf vs 4 Ott[/b] - Total toss-up. If either team wins, I am not surprised. Buffalo has the speed edge, and they're a bit more spread out in terms of offense. Ottawa has slightly better defensive depth, and their top line has been beastly in these playoffs. Goaltending, imo, is a wash. But I feel the Sens have played better in these playoffs, and...
I'll be frank: I'm surprised how many people are picking the Wings to beat the Ducks. No, I don't think the Ducks are invincible and no I don't think they are guaranteed to advance to the SCF, but you'd have to think they are favorites by a fair margin. Detroit doesn't have Kronwall or Schneider and I doubt that Lebda is at 100%. If the Ducks play physical enough with the ...
groome16 writes...

Beasts

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Hockey is that entity that is misunderstood by so many. Is it a game? Is it a sport? Is it mayhem? It is all of those and more and this year it proved to be a beast. Many perennial favorites had great years as expected, some faltered and some just plain failed. Decade long traditional losers became winners overnight, literally in some cases. The losers, the lucky, th...
jamvan writes...

Shaping Up For An Epic Battle

Posted Wednesday | Comments 11
Script writers and media people alike, couldn’t have wished for a better, more exciting match-up, that the one being brought by the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres. Not only is their an obvious dislike for one another, but the match-up will also boast two of the most potent offences in the N.H.L.. The two teams do not need any fuel to light their fires, both teams app...
Sabrefan44 writes...

Are you ready?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Coming into work this morning I was greeted with warm sunshine, a cool breeze, and the comfort of knowing the Sabres are still playing hockey. All should be right with the world, but hanging in the back of my head is a cloud of doubt. The knowledge that this could be the last couple games I watch, the fear that Ottawa will be too much for us, that again we will come so c...
Conference Finals Predictions Oh I wanted the Preds to be here…I really thought they would be. Man when we traded for Foppa I could have sworn I overheard a call from the NHL’s official engraver checking to make sure that Tomas Vokoun doesn’t have an ‘H’ in his name. Now I know it was the tee time manager at the Karlovy Vary Country Club asking if would need...
flyershockey81 writes...

Been there. done that.

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
i love it on VS coverage that they say that buffalo fans invented the idea of having fans partying outside while during game. Well they are wrong. If you buy this dvd http://www.amazon.com/NHL-History-Philadelphia-Flyers/dp/B000M7XR7Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4451391-1782410?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1178840045&sr=8-1 and any flyers fan will tell you that the flyers fans wer...
First off, I was at the arena tonight...Another amazing atmosphere for sure. And not the prettiest hockey game in the world (turnovers, barage of penalties in the first two periods, plenty of hits, etc.), but certainly entertaining! Here's to much more to come between these two teams! Now..Credit goes to where credit is due. Congratulations to the Ottawa Senators on ...
Like WTF is wrong with your team. Really, seriously, what is wrong with the line up. Are the four lines just expecting each other to finish things off and score the goals and we're left in limbo land? I've been posting this as a OTT special teams game vs. Buffalo's 5on5 game. And the special teams are winning: OTT PP%+PK% = 22.7+86 = 108.7% points BUF is 15.3%+79...
WILL THE BUFFALO SABRES AND THEIR SPECIAL TEAMS PLEASE REPORT TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS...THE BUFFALO SABRES AND THEIR SPECIAL TEAMS TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS....THANK YOU That's what I heard over the HSBC p.a. tonight following an embarassing showing (or lack thereof) by the Sabres in game 1 of the ECF. Bottom line is, if their power play continues to b...
Sabrefan44 writes...

Game 1

Posted Friday | Comments 1
Going to my car Thursday morning I was greeted with the cold, wet blanket that can be Buffalo spring. My initial thoughts were concern about how this was going to affect the ice. I knew it was going to warm up, but would the humidity lift, and if it didn’t were the Sabres going to have problems dealing with slow, choppy ice. No matter I thought, game time was twelve h...
For those of you who do not recall a fateful night in February, this is all you need to know about the Eastern Conference Finals between Ottawa and Buffalo. These teams do not like each other. Not even a bit. As if it was not enough the Sabres have knocked the Senators out of the playoffs three times, the two teams engaged in a compelling brawl Feb. 22 at the Hot Sau...
mojoworld writes...

LINDY -- WE NEED DREW!!!

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Need that Drew Stafford guy back. Like fer sho'. He needs to rip it up with Vanek and Roy again. Gaustad and Mair, pick one and drop him for one. It ain't happening enough. It's not anyone's fault, but you need to mix it up here. It's must wins in OTT because you basically can't afford the split and have Ottawa try 3 times to clinch. Great game. I need more BUF poi...
Well he SHOULD be! In the first OT, Alfredsson lept from his skates and pounded a defenseless Henrik Tallinder from behind. This one of the most egregious/dirty boarding incidents I have ever seen in my life and Alfredsson gets not even a deuce for his trouble. Tallinder nearly broke his neck. Alfredsson should have gotten a major and been tossed from the game. Take...
NHL fans are getting a healthy dose of all possible camera angles this off season as the league takes every possible step to ensure that goals are rewarded properly. By and large, I have to say, they have done a good job. With apologies to Mike Ross of XM Radio, Thomas Vanek's disallowed goal was so blatantly obvious a call that Mick McGeough would have made it-and even...
SmokingChicken writes...

Sweet Vindication

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Again, the Sabres' special teams are a collective no-show. Senators were in complete control of what little of the game I saw(about the last 15 minute). And, if you'll remember, I called this plus another win yesterday... ;-) And Thursday night the Buffalo Sabres and Stanley Cup will not be mentioned in the same sentence again until October. With 10:22 left in the fi...
Sabrefan44 writes...

3-0 Sens

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Let’s face facts, the Sabres are getting beaten by a better team. They need to come to grips that the mythical 2nd gear that we have been waiting all playoffs for does not exist. They are not better then the Sens, and do not have the players to beat them on talent and skill alone. This sounds defeatist, but it is just realty. The coach and players need to finally ac...
What in the hell happened here? Three games totally dominated by Ottawa. No “ifs, ands or buts” about it. No excuses. A thorough beating. PERIOD. So… now I have to come up with a few reasons to make myself believe that the Sabres are on the verge of a monumental comeback. Here it goes. [b]They can replace Kalinin. [/b] I don’t think I’ve ever seen a s...
Remember the 2007 trade deadline and how the Ottawa Senators were ballyhooed for failing to make any "big moves" at the deadline? "How could they miss out on Gary Roberts?" people cried. Everyone seemed to be calling for John Muckler's head at the time. Ottawa wasn't faring too well in the standings, either. A lot of people were after Brian Murray, too. Remember when,...
nephew23 writes...

Detroit vs. Ottawa?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Wow! Did the Ducks know what time the game started? I realize it is a seven game series, but they responded to the first period like it was a regular season game? There was very little real pressure throughout the game and it looked to me like they could care less to be there...just like their fans! Their one shining moment was the hit on Holmstrom. I hate the fact th...
One thing I'm not seeing in the Conference Finals series is the geniuine hatred between the teams involved. Its not a requirement for a well-played and entertaining series, but it sure would make watching these games a bit more bearable. Every year there seems to be a series or two that is just a venemous battle between two teams, leaving most of the participants with scar...
The last three games you picked Buffalo and you saw the results. Our city has a curse as it is, your picking jinx doesn't help. All kidding aside, the Sabres really are in a huge hole. Let's hope the 3-0 gives them a HUGE wake up call. Here's to the team showing up tonight....here's to Miller doing his stuff again...here's for lots of shots and some goals (dare I...
This is perfect! The stage is set... the Sabres got 'em right where they want 'em! I can already feel the pressure mounting on the Sens for game 6! Keep the faith! Like I said before… the Sabres are on the verge of a monumental comeback! Are there any other teams you would expect to be in this scenario? Buffalo has been known for comebacks all year... Ottawa is known ...
kent writes...

Sens vs Sabres Game 5

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Well, I think most of us would be surprised to think that in this series a team has a 3-1 lead, let a lone the Ottawa Senators. I think its fair to say that most hockey analysts pegged ottawa as the underdogs, but their play in the playoffs, including the buffalo sabres, should have been otherwise. Ottawa was able to deal with Pittsburgh and New Jersey quite easily in 5 ga...
nephew23 writes...

New Hope...For Now

Posted Friday | Comments 0
That is more like it...much better effort all-around! Both game 4's were two of the most fun and frenetic battles of the playoffs...great to watch! I did not want to go back and count...but aside from missing on the Senators wrapping up their series in game 4, I was spot on every other call I made! It took Buffalo all of nine seconds to [b]find the net[/b]. [b]Chri...
[img]http://www2.ottawasenators.com/_static/webUpload/265/228_1.jpg[/img] Growing up as a child in Ottawa, ON and playing minor hockey for years, the one constant thing that remained the same throughout my childhood was the fact Saturday Night was Hockey Night In Canada. A lot has changed since then, which brings me to my point for writing this article. With NFL, NB...
mojoworld writes...

The return of the Wade

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Yup, it's key, when you stars play like stars. Wade, you rock. I'm so glad you're back and playing well. Just now on the 5on3, you dove and made sure the puck got away. You're my hero and I'm glad you gots yer A-game back! :)
You have a third period full of questionable penatlies that won't be called in real hockey game and their Network dumps their sorry asses for horse race. it goes to show how popular NHL is really is and how screwed up this league is.
Well, we had an exciting playoff game, heading to overtime. Good game featuring two skilled teams, that were very evenly matched. However, NBC also owns the TV rights to a horse race, so a brief graphic and one time announcement at the end of regulation sent NHL fans scrambling to Versus. The problem is, Versus is not available throughout the US. In a brilliant move com...
Congrats to Sens. You deserved to Win. You destory and expose the sissies the buffalo sabres are made of. This series proved that old style hockey still regins in the sport i Love. Someone needs to Bettman that phyiscal play is still apart of hockey...... [b]For my Fellow flyers fans let the debate begin.......[/b] [img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h307/jimmywhi...
Entering our 3rd summer under the current cap systems with 2 seasons prove out the theories teams and GM's have been employing. Couple that with Buffalo’s impending FA period and am I left wondering about the rise of the sign-and-trade. Even in recent Senators history there are many examples to ponder. There were Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara, and Martin Havlat. While the...
doman430 writes...

Season over

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
This will be a very short post as I am just testing this out. The better team was victorious as much as it hurts to say that but the Sabres will be good for years to come. If you want to read more than go to www.buffalosportstampede.com
doman430 writes...

The Season is really over

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
The reality is setting in that the Sabres season is over and they waisted a glorious opportunity. I’m sitting here trying to figure out what went wrong and the only conclusion I can come to is that the Ottawa Senators were better. I guess when put into perspective the disappointment is eased a bit because the Sabres didn’t deserve to win. In last years Conference Fi...
This blog is in responce to the Game 5 television dabacle on NBC. I am posting the E-Mail I sent to Seth Winter - NBC-Sports SVP of Sprots Programming just in case he decided not to return to work yesterday afternoon from a three martini lunch at Rainbow Room in Lower Manhatten. I did not want my outrage missed about NBC's programming decisions on Saturday. I think my s...
doaftheloaf writes...

Round 3: How'd I Do?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[b]1 Buf vs 4 Ott - Ott in 7[/b] - Didn't take as long as I expected, as the Sabres bowed out in five. I called the goaltending a wash...maybe I said that cuz I was cheering for the Sens. Miller is the better goalie, but not by as much as a lot of people are still thinking. However, Miller was inconsistent in the first two rounds. Of course, in this series, he was the ...
Yup, that's pretty much it. Giguere is cool and all, but at the end of the day, the Eastern teams have it more "figured out" than the western teams who are still playing scared. It's too bad the RW's couldn't do it. As much as we all love Hasek, in the end, it was not meant to be. (not sure how that came out, if it was sarcastic enough). In any case, may the best team...
hAbfAn33 writes...

5pm PDT vs. 5pm EDT

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Question for West Coast residents: What is Cup Finals gameday like for Ducks fans when the game starts at 5:00pm? I'm just curious because here in Buffalo if a game started at 5:00pm our city (and many of the surrounding suburbs) would completely shut down approximately 36 hours in advance and there would be about as many people at work that day as there is on Christmas Da...
Mykonos, Greece. One of the largest party towns in Europe, a beautiful place, and here I am sitting in a tiny cabin room on the ship, sitting here sipping a rye and coke after our late seating dinner in the dining room writing about hockey. I’m no expert, but I think I’ve become what some people could call a hockey addict. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying this Medit...
bcbenzel writes...

Stanley Cup Predictions

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
This will be the type of Stanley Cup final that attracts hockey fans. A true hockey town (Ottawa) against an non-traditional hockey market (Anaheim) is happening once again. Only this time, there really isn't an underdog. There will be no upset. This is a series where, truly, both teams deserve to win. Looking at the playoffs so far, both teams are about even coming i...
The 49th parallel has never looked so significant. While Canadian fans were enjoying the standard high-quality broadcast from CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Saturday afternoon -- more on the afternoon part later -- fans south of the border were shut out as the Ottawa-Buffalo game went to overtime. You would think American-based fans would be used to this by now. After ...
doaftheloaf writes...

Duck Hunting

Posted Friday | Comments 0
This is how I think they stack up. [b]Goaltending[/b] - No doubt, Giguere is the more accomplished of the two, already with a Conn Smythe under his belt. He is as positionally sound as any goalie in the NHL. He is again proving to be his team's MVP on a team that boasts two Norris candidates. He is more than capable of stealing a game. An area of concern is that Gig...
If you are heading to Southern California for game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, you might be in for a surprise. There is no orange mile. You can drive for hours without seeing a car flag. Fans in Ducks regalia are few and far between around town. Sports shops have more merchandise from the middling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- how's that for a mouthful -- than the...
ahbrown writes...

Why are we waiting?

Posted Friday | Comments 0
So last Friday I was checking out the weekend schedule and I thought, "Great, Saturday in May must mean playoff hockey on Saturday night". Oops, no. The 2,000,000 or so perceived hockey fans in the US say the 20,000,000 fans in Canada had to watch hockey on Saturday afternoon. Ok, it's the third round, whatever. Good game, nice OT, Ottawa wins. Oh, you missed that in...
Ottawa, pour être honnête, ils me surprennent cette année, je croyais qu'ils allaient se faire éliminer en 1ere ronde par les Pingouins. Daniel Alfredsson joue super bien cette année, mais on dirait que c'est seulement son trio (avec Heatley et Spezza) qui font de quoi, les 3 autres trios sont un peu silencieux. Il ya Antoine Vermette aussi qui fait des bonnes séries...
Well, we have come to the last 7 games of the 2006-2007 NHL Year. Two teams are on the edge of the top of Mountain. From the east we have Ottawa Senators and from the west we have Anaheim Ducks. Both teams defy what Gary Bettman wants the NHL to be a passive, Euro league. Lets recap how both teams got to the finals [b]Ottawa Senators[/b] In the first round, ...
Game 1:4-2 Ducks Selanne GWG Game 2:3-1 Sens Heatley GWG Game 3:6-5 Sens OT Vermette GWG Game 4:2-1 Ducks OT Pronger GWG Game 5:3-1 Sens Spezza GWG Game 6:5-4 Ducks R. Neidermeyer GWG Game 7:1-0 Ducks OT Selanne GWG in one of the most dramatic Cup Finals Ever!!!! Go DUCKS!
[img]http://www.sportsnet.ca/images/daily/sat/emery_practice_cup_hor.jpg[/img] It’s been a long wait for both Senator and Duck fans, but it all begins tonight (May 28th, 2007). This battle should be a good one and the physical prowess of both teams will be shown early on. The epic face off has the Senators big 3 (Alfie-Spezza-Heatley) going up against two Norris Troph...
[b]Disclaimer/Update: No need to even read this blog. It was about my streak in predicting winners of playoff games through my PS2. It was at 9 straight games, but it fell victim tonight. The streak is over. In any case, CONGRATS ANAHEIM on that first win! Happy for your fans...Also for Brad May. Still pulling for the Sens though. Gotta go with the Canadian team her...
What an incredible start to the Stanley Cup Finals! Game 1 had everything but overtime...numerous gigantic hits, acrobatic saves, some pretty goals, and some not so pretty goals. Though there were way too many suspect penalty calls, this game never lacked intensity. It was back and forth most of the game...even during the power plays. Like every other team the Ducks ha...
It has been pointed out by much of the media that Southern California is not a hockey town. True, the term "Southern California" seems to imply a region, not a town, but in this hyper-sensitive metropolitan area where everyone wants to be their own metro area, it is the politically correct term. Politically correct -- that is something Anaheim general manager Brian B...
MasWE writes...

The Ottawa Pledge

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
I'm just listening to Chuck Swirsky on the Fan590, and I hear about this pledge that Toronto's Mayor David Miller, Vancouver's Mayor Sam Sullivan, and Calgary's Mayor Dave Bronconnier, is creating to make Leaf fans, Canucks fans, and Flames fans root for the Senators during this Stanley Cup Finals. This is absolutely ridiculous! If your a fan of the Leafs you are NOT ro...
Well, after a thrilling advertisement for the game of hockey that was Game One, we've come to this: a real crossroads, with Anaheim's old-fashioned physical play (honed by a lot of WHL talent like Getzlaf, Kunitz, the Niedermayers et al) going up against Ottawa's mostly-European speed and finesse (which is no slap against Selanne for the Ducks or Neil for the Sens). It's a...
I'd like to be the first to welcome you all to the REAL Stanley Cup playoffs...they went old-school tonight! From the opening draw to Alfredsson's final hit at the buzzer, bodies were flying...they might as well have been bumper cars! Monster hits were being laid out with the intent to hurt. The game was frenetic and raucous...it easily was as good as game 1...only they...
Flufflet writes...

Are You Superstitious?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
I think we would agree that most players are at least a little superstitious and we can understand why they might be. But why are some fans superstitious? Do we really think that something we do can affect the outcome of games or the performance of players? Does wearing the same clothes or eating the same meal on game days affect your favourite team? Will something bad...
It seems everyone in Edmonton is drooling over Wade Redden. Behind Bouwmeester, he is definitely the player Oiler fans want to see manning the blueline in the Big E next year. Speculation is that because of Redden's contract and the Sens needing to resign younger stars that a Redden to Edmonton deal makes sense. We have the young cap friendly prospects and picks to do t...
For the past several years, Samuel Pahlsson toiled as an underrated player in the NHL outpost of Anaheim. Have things ever changed. Considered the likely candidate to win the Selke Trophy for top defensive forward during the regular season, Pahlsson might win another piece of hardware if the Anaheim Ducks go on to win the Stanley Cup. It sounds strange to say a ch...
kent writes...

Sens have scoring depth?

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Obviously the Spezza- heatley- Alfie trio has been amazing in the playoffs for the sens this season, and to blame one line for playoff failure seems a bit weak. This line has carried the sens throughout the playoffs, and it is up for the rest of the team to step it up. Comrie 2 goals. Schaefer 1 goal. Fisher 4 goals. Of the second line, fisher has been the bright spot, whe...
It is not just the sight of the Rideau Canal and Parliament Hill that makes the Ottawa Senators glad to be home for games three and four of the Stanley Cup Finals. With the home team getting the last change, the Senators will finally be able to get the line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Dany Heatley away from Anaheim's checking line of Samuel Pahlsson, Rob Nie...
SmokingChicken writes...

Game Three/SC's Top RFAs

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
So tonight will pretty much decide this series. Ottawa are on the ropes and Alfredsson, Heatley and Spezza continue to struggle against Anaheim's checking line, the Niedermayer-Pronger unit, and JS Giguere. But they return home to the Scotiabank Place with (hopefully) rabid fans who weren't even remote thoughts the last time the Senators won the Cup(except for that one 99 ...
http://broadband.tsn.ca/tsn/?vid=8024
flyershockey81 writes...

Kicking MOtion Goal

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
i wonder if that was buffalo or any usa team in the same exact situation would they called it a goal? dont nhl offical know how easy to revoke a usa passport
I do not know about other fans, but I really do not mind a loss. Especially in the Stanley Cups finals, it's important that teams play their best and, frankly, I want to see strong hockey on all fronts. It's nice to see streaks and sweeps, but I'm a fan of the sport, not just one team (and I'm a big fan of my team). Your team will loose sometimes. I never want to see m...
if the league is going to be consistant in handing out suspendsion in regarding to blows to head, why wasn't Chris Neil suspended for his head shot in third? Maybe because Ottawa is a team from Canada or maybe this done to by the league that desperatly needs as much prime time exposure as possible to gain any attraction it can, and is going to do anything it has to to g...
For all the talk of Daniel Alfredsson's goal in game three, the issue of what a distinct kicking motion entails may be a moot point. After watching the replay dozens of times in super-slow motion on a top-quality HDTV, it appears the puck actually went in off Alfredsson's stick. Stationed to the left of Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Alfredsson directed t...
"It's a joke. It's a joke. It's been going on the whole series and the whole playoffs, that's a joke. Not one of those calls whether it was against Anaheim or against Ottawa was a penalty....they were bad calls and it's ridiculous at this point of the season that you have referees making these kind of bad calls....missing dives, making calls that aren't even penalties...Ra...
nephew23 writes...

What "A" Shame

Posted Monday | Comments 0
I cannot believe I even have to say this...but I've just lost all respect for Daniel Alfredsson. In case you think I've always disliked him, simply refer back to almost every playoff blog to see how I've talked about him. What in the world was he thinking? He went completely off the reservation. The shot at Scott Niedermayer was crazy enough...but then he goes and punc...
Well, considering the Anaheim Ducks are now 2-0 in the 2007 playoffs without stud defenseman and Mensa candidate Chris Pronger, my guess is that we can officially scratch him off the short list of Conn Smythe trophy contenders. Pronger's hotly debated second suspension was weathered by the Ducks' remaining defensemen and especially goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was...
rondothemidg writes...

The Captain and C-Neil

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Which player wins the Zinedine Zidane award for a meltdown during a championship game or series? The nominees are Chris Pronger, for his game 3 Dean McAmmond headhunting excursion, and Daniel Alfredsson, for his game 4 end-of-2nd period bazooka blast at Scott Neidermayer. As with Zidane in the World Cup final, these 2 incidents happened during tied games. Todd Marchant's ...
killacavs writes...

Alfie

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
WHy is there no talk about that bone-headed shot at Niedermayer at the end of the 2nd period. Captain Danny should have to sit game 5 after that classless attempt to injure the Duck's captain, a real captain. The NHL is just showing another example of how they continue to be a mediocre league and let this headhunting go on. Does the NBA allow players to throw the bask...
[img:right]http://www.wgr550.com/sabres/top10/media/02_mayday.jpg[/img] Congradulations to Brad May on his first Stanley Cup Championship. nearly 14 years and 2 months ago Brad scored one of the biggest Stanley Cup Ot winning goals in history. Now his name will enter the history books as a Stanley Cup winner. It is nice to see him get his due. With over 900 games pl...
Flufflet writes...

Heartbroken but still Proud

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
It’s a sad day in Sens land. The Ducks did to the Sens what the Sens had done to the Penguins, Devils and Sabres. The Ducks played their game and played in a way that made the Sens play in a way they didn’t want to. The Sens just couldn’t find a way to get back to the way they played in the first three rounds of the play-offs. They lost to a better team and there...
The Anaheim Ducks have won the Stanley Cup. Not only did they win it, they won it [i]convincingly[/i]. Three straight seasons- maybe four (did the Detroit-Carolina series go seven games?)- the Finals were decided in seven games. This was the first truly lop-sided final I've sat down and watched since the Red Wings swept the Flyers back in '97 (now THAT was a show of force)...
[b]Lindy Phillips? Duke Ruff? You decide[/b] After enjoying the final moments of the Stanley Cup presentation (congrats to the Ducks, someday I hope to enjoy a celebration in Buffalo as well), a friend and I put on a DVD of one of our favorite television shows: The Critic. A long cancelled and mostly forgotten classic, for those of you who don't know. It's a cartoon s...
I want to say congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks franchise, Brian Burke, Randy Carlyle, the players, staff and fans on their first Stanley Cup championship. Your organization did a fantastic job and proved that "old time hockey" can still be used to hoist that battered old mug. It was awesome to hear the sheer excitement of the Ducks fans, both during and after the ga...
There is one thing that really hits you when you see the Stanley Cup in person, and it is even more evident at the end of the Stanley Cup Finals. The silver chalice has quite a presence. The uninformed could walk into a room with the Stanley Cup, have no idea what hockey is, and recognize the trophy is something special. Wednesday night in Anaheim, more than 17,00...
What a series! Easily the best final round in several years...filled with tons of hitting, scoring, saves, and old-school hockey! The Ducks were deserving of the Cup and did not hesitate when they had the opportunity to wrap it up. It was quite an impressive performance and a helluva way to claim the prize...especially in front of the home crowd. Giggy, Selanne, the Ni...
As we approach the draft, several teams are looking to free up cap room to either make a bigger trade, or sign a big name free agent (and if you've checked out our top 35 list, there are a lot of tem). With this activity, the rumours are starting to swirl. The Leafs would love to move one of their two high-priced defenseman. Freeing up the 5+ million that both Kubina an...
Yes folks the baron is back after a lenghty battle with kidney stones. Who knew a stone that was 5mm could kick the crap out of someone so badly. Anywho I digress...Lots has happened in the last month. I'm not going to rehash the cup final as that horse has been put to pasture. All I will say is congrats to both Anaheim and Ottawa for making it. The Sens came out o...
Article concerning Emery is posted on [url]www.tsn.ca[/url]. The highlight of the article is that Ray Emery will be out for 2-3 months while rehabilitating his injury. This will cause two interesting wrinkles for Bryan Murray. 1. What to do with Martin Gerber 2. How this affects Ray Emery's contract status On the first issue, if Bryan Murray can trade Martin G...
For hockey fans, July 1st marks the beginning of one of the most exciting times in the hockey calendar, as hockey fans everywhere will sit in front of the computer and wait for their team along with their rival teams to overpay some of the most overrated players in the game. Year after year we do the same thing even though we already know that the free agents are not goin...
During the lockout, NHL pundits often pointed to the NFL as having a salary cap system that works. The difference between the NFL and NHL is that NFL contracts are not guaranteed. If you sign an NFL player to a five year deal, and they stink in the first year, they can be cut. The NFL team is only on the hook for any guaranteed/bonus money that was already paid out. Th...
detn8r writes...

"Screw Ottawa"

Posted Thursday | Comments 2
I thought I'd throw out some off-season humor. A few months ago, Alexi Ponikarovsky had a signing acorss the road from where I worked at the time (Newmarket, ON). Anyways, after I paid my some $17 (and change) for a Leafs flag and signature (the signature was more than the flag BTW) some bald guy made his rounds down the line with a sticky notepad asking what we wanted h...
Some random thoughts as I get ready to hit the open road later this week: [b]Was the lockout a waste of time? Did I miss a year of hockey for nothing?[/b] I am a Flyers fan and I will lay that out first. I love that they signed Danny Briere for a long time and for huge money - because that is what it took to seal the deal. That being said, I do wonder if that lost y...
Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray today announced the re-signing of goaltender Ray Emery to a three-year agreement. In his second full NHL season in 2006-07, Emery played in 58 regular season games earning 33 wins, 16 losses, and six overtime defeats. He finished tied for sixth in the NHL in shutouts (5), tied for seventh in save-percentage (.910) and tied fo...
frootmig writes...

Engels Will Owe Me a Two-Four

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[i][b]Why Alfie Will Never Be Traded[/b][/i] A couple of days ago, while engaged in the usual friendly banter of the Hockeybuzz Chatroom, a certain blogger that covers Les Glorieux, came in and confidently proclaimed that Daniel Alfredsson would be traded from Ottawa if the Senators didn't have a successful year. Being the ardent Sens fan that I am, I felt obliged to ch...
I was wondering to myself why Brian Murray would come out and admit that he had an agreement to trade Wade Redden. There are several possibilites: - Murray could be trying to light a fire under Redden in the hopes to encourage him to get back to his former self. This doesn't seem like the smartest move as it is not the GM's job to motivate players and if that was what...
First and foremost I would like to start out by saying that I attended the New York Yankees/Toronto Blue Jays game last night in Toronto. I am more and more amazing by how incredible Toronto is everytime I travel up north. The people of Toronto are very friendly and helpful if need be and I Thank You Torontonians. (Torontonians sounded good so I went with it) Last wee...
Per the Globe and Mail, this will be Bob Cole's last year calling games for HNIC and Harry Neale will see a reduced work load. I myself have mixed feeligns on this. Bob Cole still has one of the best voices from the booth in all of sports, but unfortunately his eye sight hasn't kept up. Harry Neal can still do it, but Cole really seems to bring him down. It really is...
Alrighty, compadre's, I've done the Leafs, Habs, Sabres and Bruins up to this point and now I'm going to the last team in the Northeast Division... The Ottawa freaking Senators. A team who I despise and loathe for several reasons, which includes Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Neil and Ray Emery ( not to mention Dominik Hasek played for them in 05-06) but let's get one thing clea...
Leafer93 writes...

Video of the Day

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
With little to discuss between now and the preseason, when hockey begins again, I thought I'd begin a feature called "Video of the Day", which features some great moments from the Leafs 2006-07 season. The first feature comes from a game against the Ottawa Senators on February 3rd, 2007. The Leafs and Sens, tied 2-2 after OT, go to a shootout. The Sens had been the hot...
Heart. When you hear the word, perhaps, the first thing you think of is that organ beating inside your chest. You also might think of that hard rocking, but IMO god-awful, girl band comprised of the sisters - Ann and Nancy Wilson. Sorry, not a big Barracude fan. When I think of the word "heart," I immediately think of it in relation to organized sports. Not ...
Now that all the new jerseys have been released (some officially and other unofficially), this is a good time to take a critical look at them all from a fashion point of view. Of course, these are just opinions, so please do not flame me too badly. My opinion on your team jersey has nothing to do with how much I like/dislike that team, whether I think so-and-so is a dirt...
Cutch writes...

Sens Army ... Where Are You?

Posted Tuesday | Comments 6
Seeing as this is my first blog, here's a little bit of background information: I'm a Leafs fan. Living in Ottawa. In the grand scheme of things, that's all that really needs to be said. Now, this past weekend it got rather cool in the nation's capital. Naturally, such temperatures call for a ... [i]sweater[/i]. But I decide to don not just any sweater ... I decid...
mob_slapman writes...

In Case you forgot:

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Just in case people forgot who Steve Downie is. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Fidlin/2005/10/31/1286377-sun.html Interesting to see that the guy doesn't even make it to the regular season before he fully establishes himself as a gutless player at the NHL level. Very dissapointing to see rookies potentially destroying the career of the veteran players in the hop...
Bleed Blue writes...

The HIT - Sens/Flyers review

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Took in the FLyers-Sens game last night. *YAWN* pre-season hockey is less than desirable. Even the kids trying to earn roster spots did themselves no favours last night. Nycholat fit in on the Sens blueline without any problem, he is clearly ready for a roster spot. I would say it comes at the expense of Schubert. I cannot imagine any sens fans complaining about tha...
[img:left]http://hfboards.com/imagehosting/2020946fabb71c7c52.bmp[/img] I cant believe the outrage over the Downie hit. if people want to be outrage, watch the game before making a call. Before the "hit", Scuburt hit on downie was alot worse than what Downie did. Where was everyone crying when Neil did to Drury last year? Where was one when Colby Armstrong did it FI...
Since the issue seems to have overtaken all else in the hockey world in terms of importance and exposure, I figure the Downie hit is as good of a play as any to spark my first commentary on hockeybuzz. First off, due to some frustrating technical problems with the NHL Center Ice Online package, I was unable to see the hit live, but I did listen to the audio feed from th...
degroat writes...

Balancing Passion and Reason

Posted Friday | Comments 1
I figured since everyone else was talking about Steve Downie knocking Dean McAmmond into next week that it was time to throw my take on the incident out there. Why? Because I think a lot of people are letting their passion get in the way of reason, like they often do when incidents like this happen in sports. There’s no question that when you see something like thi...
Back again to complete my NHL prediction blog extravaganza with my Eastern Conference predictions. Enjoy! [b] [u]Eastern Conference[/u][/b] [u]Southeast Division[/u] 1. [b]Washington Capitals[/b]: This may be my “what is he smoking?” pick of the 2007-08 season but the Caps have the parts to do some real damage. The arrivals of Nicklas Backstrom and Michael Nyland...
mob_slapman writes...

Heatley stays

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Woot woot. Per TSN, Heatley will be a Sen for at least 6 more years. Gotta say, signing him for under 8 is nothing less than a coup for Bryan Murray. People can only speculate what he could have gotten on the open market, but obviously it could easily be a million or two higher. Next up for the Sens will be Spezza, although don't be shocked if Kelly is the priority...
The Maple Leafs blow a third period lead.... where have we heard that before to lose in overtime by a 4-3 score to the Sens. The Leafs did play a good game but were let down on this night by an awful powerplay that went 0 for 7. McCabe and Kaberle seemed to forgot the season had started on this night and looked like very average defensemen, just one goal would have given t...
thechad13 writes...

Goaltending

Posted Friday | Comments 1
After the first two games of the season here are a few thoughts The Leafs started the season with two games against the defending Eastern Conference champions and started 0-1-1. When you look at the record it's not really that impressive in fact it's kind of ugly. With that being said all I have to say is don't worry fellow Leaf fans it could be a lot worse. The Leaf...
WHERE IS Volchenkov's suspension? [img:left]http://www.genericorp.net/~count/gorilla/gorilla-vs-mcammond.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/jaberwock21/avatar.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/jaberwock21/captfc13bb01f95f4230b20e45ee47e5eae.jpg[/img] WHO'S NEXT? [b]Free Jones!!! Free Boulerice!!...
[img]http://boredplanet.com/img/greatpumpkin.jpg[/img] [b]The Great Pumpkin, Gary Bettman[/b] A Thumb-in-Mouth Commentary B.D. Gallof Dear Great Pumpkin, I am looking forward to your arrival on Halloween night. I hope you will bring me lots of presents. For it is another season of hockey. Despite the NHL's pigeonhole into the depths of Comcast's outhou...
This is my first blog on this site, and will be one of many more into the future... I hope. The players for the All-star Fan Ballots have been announced, and already there are a few notables left off... Martin Gerber, Rod Brind'amour.... etc. Now, using these two as prime examples, statistically they are among the best players in the league. Gerber leads th...
Yesterday the Islanders found themselves in unfamiliar territory. They were on the road and actually played a game for the second time in a week. All scheduling jokes aside, the team wearing the white sweaters seemed like a very different team that became very used to wearing those home navy blues. At home in those close battles with division rivals you saw the Isles ...
I have an eerie, excited feeling about tonight's game, one I have not felt since last year. I had anticipated the Sabres' slow start to this year, and I even called it in my preseason blog. I also have said they will turn it around, and I truly believe that. Tonight is a big game for them, and as I said, I just have this weird good feeling about it. The Sabres have b...
After a dominating win over the Ottawa Senators this past Saturday night one has to wonder if the Maple Leafs have turned a corner. The Leafs showed up played a very solid defensive game and took advantage of scoring opportunities when they received them. It’s not that the Leafs have not played any tight defensive games this season, but this was against the power...
tyler_31 writes...

Sens Lose 4-2

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The first place Ottawa Senators lost 4-2 to the lowly Buffalo Sabres in what was expected by some to be a one-sided game, namely myself. In the first period nothing went right for Ottawa, as turnovers were common and the defensive zone coverage was pathetic. Ray Emery played poorly in the first, allowing 3 goals on 14 shots including a brutal goal from the blueline where R...
tyler_31 writes...

Go With Sugar Ray

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Over the past two months, it seems as if every Ottawa Senators fan except me has jumped onto the Gerber bandwagon. Nothing I say can seem to bring them back onto the Emery bandwagon. Even hardcore Senators fans who write about them for a living have proclaimed Gerber king. But before you join them in proclaiming Gerber king, let me argue my points of why I believe we shoul...
B.D. Gallof writes...

The Mist!

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Ottawa rolls onto LI, with a giant mist of doubt for Isles fans. [img]http://www.boredplanet.com/img/themist.jpg[/img] It rolls in like a blanket, covering Long Island from shopping mall to shopping mall. It unfurls itself right to Nassau Coliseum, laying right onto the ice. It is doubt and expectation as one of the top teams in the league comes to town. When...
12-8-1 25 points 3rd in the Atlantic Division 3 points behind 1st place Philadelphia 7th in the Conference Should the New York Islanders be happy with this start to the season? [i][b]Absolutely[/b][/i]! Factor in the reality that no team in the entire National Hockey League has played fewer games than the Isles (21) at this point and you'd have to consider t...
I spoke earlier of the kind of statement the Islanders could have made tonight by beating the Ottawa Senators. Well, they got the 'W' alright, mustering one hell of a collective effort all night long and pulling out a 3-2 shootout victory. But, in the end, the strongest statement of the evening was made by Mr. Rick DiPietro. So what if Andrej Meszaros scored a couple of...
***[b]RETRACTION TO THE NYI/OTT LIVE BLOG LAST NIGHT:[/b]*** Bergie not the one on crutches as I walked down into the lockerroom area. Your moronic and tired Isles blogger mistook Aaron Johnson. Anyone who missed my leadup on what this game means and all the doom and gloomers who felt the Isles were going to get torched: [url]http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user...
predjoe writes...

Hey Dan...

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
(Not an actual OnStar call) [u][i]Barry Trotz:[/u] "Hey Dan...listen i know it's been weeks since you've started for us and you may be a bit rusty but I'd like to give you the nod to start tonight in Ottawa against the Senators. I don't know if you know this or not but the Sens are one of the best teams in hockey. They've actually lost four in a row so they are probably...
predjoe writes...

Answering The Bell

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
[b]Answering the bell[/b]...that seems to be exactly what the Preds Thursday night in Ottawa with a 6-5 win over the Senators. Every time that they were challenged by the Senators they answered. The Preds jumped out to a quick lead with a early powerplay goal in the first minute of the game. Ottawa would answer and tie it but instead of folding or laying back the Preds...
Elchrisco writes...

The League Thus Far...

Posted Friday | Comments 0
And so we're approaching December.... The teams have established themselves as to where they sit in the league, where they need to improve and so on... one thing that has been very noticeable is just how incredibly inconsistant almost every team in the league has been thus far with only Detroit once again showing the constant and consistant poise it has for essential...
Fact: In their previous 3 matchups, the Rangers managed only 4 goals against the rival Islanders. They lost all 3 games. Fact: In their two meetings this season. the Rangers got 1 goals against Martin Gerber and the Ottawa Senators. They lost both. Fact: The Rangers offense was last in the league in goals scored. There were more than a few rumblings about the sleepin...
This is looking a lot like deja vu. If you look at the beginning of last season - Gerber let in soft goals and the team struggled and were losing a lot of games. Emery then stepped in and gave his team a chance to win and took over the #1 job after Gerber was given miles of leash. Fast forward to this season - After a sizzling hot start by an unpressured Gerber, w...
pensfan17148 writes...

Pens Fell to Sens

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Hey pens fans, Last night, the Pens fell to the Sens 4-1. This game was basically decided by one main factor and his name is Gerber. He was brilliant in net for the Sens and kept the Pens from evening the score. The Pens did not play their best game, but the score does not reflect the effort they put out. Crosby was obviously frustrated with the lack of scoring, but t...
Gerber!!! Gerber!!! Gerber!! Well, here we go again! Sens fans, like myself, are jumping back on the Martin Gerber bandwagon. Just last week, he was the ire of most fans. Uh, oh!! Gerber can't stop anything!! Now, he's our guy again. I truly believe that he is, technically, a better goaltender than Rayzor, however, he still loses the puck far too often. Whether he...
I would like to lead with what everyone is talking about and that is Chris Simon. I personally would have no problem not ever seeing this guy step on the ice again. Players should realize playing in the NHL is a privilege and an honour and he does things to jeopardize his career constantly. Give the guy what he wants and deserves and show him the door. The Sens look ...
Hey all! I just completed a guest spot with Noah Borer for The Hockey Ticket on mvn.com. We talked Lightning and Islanders hockey, as well as some general NHL issues during what turned out to be - in my humble opinion, of course - an outstanding conversation! Some of the things we covered: Chris Simon Colin Campbell's slip-up The Isles goal scoring woes Kyle...
mapleleaf92 writes...

The Effects of January 1st.

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[b]1. The Winter Classic[/b] Overall, the event was a huge success, and I would expect that the NHL is going to plan more for the future. I'd like to see it happen in a Canadian city again though. Perhaps in the Rogers Center in Toronto. [b]2. The Senators getting bossed around in Washington[/b] As a leaf fan, i found this to be actually quite entertaining. Ottawa...
Jon Jordan writes...

Downie Doesn't Get It

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Steve Downie may have avoided a suspension for his sucker punch on Toronto's Jason Blake on Saturday night, but all eyes will continue to be on him each time he laces up the skates for some time to come. His antics in the infantile stages of his NHL career may just be the tip of the iceberg. If he keeps it up, his run as a pro may end up being over almost before it even tr...
TheMike12 writes...

Mats Sundin, Ottawa Senator...

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
As a Sens fan this is something that has been on my mind this season, if Mats Sundin were to decide to waive his no-trade clause and seek out a contender to join for a chance to win a cup, would I want to see the Sens go after him??? All trash talking and bad blood between the two teams aside, Mats Sundin is one heck of a hockey player with plenty left in the tank and in...
Well we have another exciting match up between these 2 division rivals, even with Buffalo being ravaged with injuries, sens can’t look past this game to Saturday night's tilt against the wings. Its going to be Gerber in nets for Ottawa and kind of surprisingly we are going to see Thibeault, or T-Bonz as the buffalo faithful like to call him (and I will now be calling him...
sideshowbob492 writes...

Turning Point?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Ok, this is my first post in a very VERY long time, so let me shake off some rust. The Winter Classic aside, this last game against the Senators has been the first time I've liked what I've seen on the ice in a long time. Yes, the Sabres did lose when they had many chances to take this game and Vanek and Pominville are still struggling to finish easy chances. But Pomm...
TheMike12 writes...

Sens and the All-Star Game

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Well we all knew Alfie was going to the game in Atlanta at the end of the month,and Congrats to him for being voted in for the first time in his career, but the League released the full list for the East and not overly suprising are the names Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza, so it looks like the Game will Feature the Big Line, or Cash Line, or Pizza Line or as I like to call...
I woke up this morning with the kind of giddy excitement you had as a kid, waking up on your birthday or Christmas morning, you just know that today is something special, of course im talking about what I think is the game of the year so far in the BEST of the East vs the BEST of the West, the clash of the titans between the Sens and Wings. Since the start of the season wh...
Well what can I say, this game lived up to all the hype surrounding it, fast paced and edge of your seat action. The Senators showed they are a team to be reckoned with, coming on the good side of a 3-2 win against the First place overall Detroit Red Wings. Captain Daniel Alfredson also put on a show tonight with 2 goals and so many other amazing plays I couldn't possibly ...
[img]http://boredplanet.com/img/glasshalfislanders.jpg[/img] So, if you've sat and thought about this team this season, have you come to the same conclusion I have drawn? When asked: Is the glass half empty? Is the glass half full? My answer is: "The glass is half Islanders" Which is my witticism for neither. Both. Or that giant question mark that slams into our h...
[b]Freddy Meyer[/b], god of thunder, strode across the ice, his eyes seeing opportunity. Jason Spezza, of soft hands and softer body, was about to gain the puck from Wade Redden. Meyer crashed into him with a mighty howl that careened off the Ottawa seats and turned cheering Canadian mouths into what resembled Cheerios. Spezza hit the ice, and it was like he and the Senato...
From Freddy Meyer's [i]Witt-esque[/i] crunch on Jason Spezza to Rick DiPietro's near-miss empty netter, that was as complete a hockey game as the Islanders have played all season. Of course, Ottawa fans and Islander haters alike will protest that the Sens were coming off a highly emotional contest against the Detroit Red Wings the night before and that they were without...
BlueBloodPat writes...

Around the NHL

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Just thought I'd round up today's top stories; Scotty Bowman came out today and said that he has no plans on leaving Detroit to join the dysfunctional Maple Leafs should they shake up the front office. As we all know, Bowman appeared in an interview on Hockey Night in Canada this past Saturday where he spilled the beans about MLSE. He said that the MLSE board of direc...
TheMike12 writes...

Sens and Washington

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
After a succesful homestand, the Sens are back on the road tonight to face a team that for whatever reason the Sens just cant seem to beat in the Washington Capitals. Now had you told me at the start of the year that on January 15 2008, Ottawa would be playing Washington for the 4th time and at that point of the season are 0-3 against having been out-scored 18-10 through t...
In an extremely surprising season series where the Capitals have had Eastern Conference leading Ottawa's number all year long, the Caps look to ice the cake with a broom tonight -- the proverbial season sweep. As is the case with every game on Washington's schedule, it should not come easy, but against Ottawa (for some unexplained reason) it has. The Senators, in a scen...
4-2 Washington over Ottawa...Sens went a stellar 0-4 against Washington this year managing to get outscored 22-12 over that span. Wow..just...WOW... im not sure if this is just a weird cosmic anomaly that has the planets and moon lined up in the right order when these 2 teams play, but as every sens fan im sure will agree with me, this isn't the team we are used to seeing ...
Alexander Semin has faced more than his fair share of struggles this season. He's been criticized for his soft play and many times appeared to be in his own little world on the ice. But tonight, he was THE reason why Washington beat Ottawa, 4-2 -- finishing a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference leaders. The Capitals, who have accounted for a third of the Sens' reg...
Alexander Semin has faced more than his fair share of struggles this season. He's been criticized for his soft play and many times appeared to be in his own little world on the ice. But tonight, he was THE reason why Washington beat Ottawa, 4-2 -- finishing a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference leaders. The Capitals, who have accounted for a third of the Sens' reg...
[img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_079074991201LZZZZZZZ.jpg[/img] [b]Any given Sunday...[/b] With all due respect to Oliver Stone, while that phrase obviously related to football, it rings true in all professional sports - with hockey being no exception. On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team. [img]http://s228.photobucket.com/al...
It would seem as though our team has remembered how good they can actually play if they put a 60 minute effort together, putting on a show tonight with a 5-1 win over the Injury and Flu bug riddled Carolina Hurricanes. This game may have been just what the Sens needed to get the confidence of some of there secondary scorers up. Antoine Vermette, I have been oh so hard on y...
TheMike12 writes...

We Miss You Alfie...

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Well wow...not much to say about last nights horrible performance against the lightning, nothing was working, no matter what line combo Paddock put out, there just seemed to be zero chemistry. Im not sure what happens to this team when playing a bottom end team, they just completely no show...Now I know the injury situation makes it tough (take the top 2 scorers out from a...
TheMike12 writes...

A Whoopin In Philly...

Posted Monday | Comments 2
Well, again not too much to say about last nights game, I said earlier that if the Sens put the same effort on the ice as they did against Tampa, they would get spanked, and they did, 6-1 to a very good, very hot Philly team. Dont be fooled by the shot count in the game, the Sens outshot the Flyers, but this game wasnt even close, all the shots were perimater shots and no ...
Ive been watching the last 5 Sens games and noticed some people, skating around, i Ottawa Senators Uniforms, but...wait..something isn't right...this cant be MY Ottawa senators, this isn't the Team I love so much???the REAL senators don't drop a 5-3 loss to the FLORIDA PANTHERS who are these imposter's...and what have they done MY SENATORS!!! Another game against what I...
Here we are, post All Star game, staring at the last 32 games this season. The games that will make us or break us. It will answer the question, are we playoff contenders or pretenders. Of course, we start this chain of games off with another visit by one of the top teams in the NHL, the Ottawa Senators. The Senators came into the All Star break halting a 3 game skid wi...
Hello All, I havent posted anything a little over a week, I decided I didnt want to get going about the Sens last week and really, theres not much to say about the All-Star weekend, it is what it is!!! Im also going to stay away from the Ray Emery saga, all I will say is this kid has to get his crap together, act like an adult rather than a spoiled little kid, and frankly ...
So, you want to be a playoff team? This has been the Isles wish since back over the summer, when Ryan Smyth evaded their extended grasp, and they were forced to change their free agent direction. It is why the Isles will likely not sell off pieces, making all efforts to achieve a spot and a chance at glory. So, you want to be a playoff team? They've made strides with th...
John Jaeckel writes...

Subtle Seismic Shifts

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
It's definitely seemed quiet in Blackhawk Nation of late. After Wednesday's pathetic 6-3 loss to an even more-injured (than the Hawks) Avalanche club, the Blackhawks have settled in Silicon Valley for tonight's tilt against the Sharks and another two day rest following that. But some things have changed. The scathing remarks from Denis Savard have become quite positi...
Wade Redden is a highly respected defenceman throughout the NHL and is being paid $6.5 million dollars a year - the going rate for a top line defenceman. Throughout his career he has been very dependable and has always been known for his quick outlet passes to spring the Senator forwards on odd man rushes. He is admired for his community service committments and will...
Why is is when the Leafs are a playoff team they couldn't beat the Ottawa Senators during the regular season to save their lives.......but now that they aren't they have little problem with them? I know Alfredson and Heatley didn't play but still if the Leafs were a playoff team they would have found a way to lose!
TheMike12 writes...

Another Embarasing Loss...

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Well there really isn't too much to say about last night abysmal loss to the Leafs, what is happening to the Sens???? now I know the injury situation is hardly something that can be overlooked, you cant pull 3 top tier players off any team and expect them to be as competitive, The loss of Alfie and Heater has been huge to this team so far, and last nights last minute scrat...
Watching the Senators of late has been agonizing - how could a team go from being considered a threat to the Montreal Canadiens of the 70's to a .500 team so quickly? Their play harkens back to that fateful 05-06 season when they exploded out of the gate with a 27-6-3 record by January 1st. That team featured a high octane offense led by Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza and...
I haven't written anything over the past week or so, because in all honesty I didn't have much to say about the state of the Sens, they have been all that good as of late, and I really didn't feel like getting into the same old issues about the team. But over the past week a couple of encouraging things have happened. 1) They lost against Montreal, now this alone wasn...
tyler_31 writes...

Sens And Canes Swap 4

Posted Monday | Comments 0
The first big trade has happened. Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore are headed to the Ottawa, while Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo are headed to Carolina. This is very good trade by Bryan Murray, taking advantage of Carolina's desperation for a puck moving defenceman. He brings in two guys who know how to win in the post-season and have a wealth of playoff experience. They ...
With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching, and Canadian hockey fans everywhere stockpiling the beer and getting the work-escape plans ready, I thought that I would analyze each Canadian teams game plan for trade deadline day, highlighting each teams needs, possible trade bait, and what players they could be targeting. Yesterday, I will did the Calgary Flames (See Archiv...
CBJ09 writes...

Who Needs the Coach, Anyway?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Hockey fans don't hear of this too often, nor will many of us ever see it again. The Blue Jackets coaches did not run practice today in Ottawa. Head coach Ken Hitchcock stuck around long enough to apparently alert captain Adam Foote of the proceedings. According to Aaron Portzline of the [i]Columbus Dispatch[/i], Hitchcock used a strategy similar to this when he coa...
CBJ09 writes...

The Old Hitch Trick Works

Posted Friday | Comments 0
The Blue Jackets head coach pulled an old rabbit out his hat at Wednesday's practice in Ottawa. It may have worked, if only for one game. But what a momentum-building game it could be. Rick Nash scored his team-leading 32nd goal of the season in the second period and added the game winner in the shootout, and the Blue Jackets defeated the Senators 3-2 in Scotiabank P...
Let's call this one: Crazy Dale's Deadline Dealin' Madness!!! 6 hours only!!! According to Bob MacKenzie of TSN, the Blackhawks e-mailed a list of 8 names on their roster to the entire NHL last night, saying that they were entertaining offers. The list: Khabibulin Lang Havlat Ruutu Lapointe Perreault Zyuzin Bourque Now, first, there is no guarantee that ...
Well, I haven't written anything in quite sometime, as I have frankly been frustrated to the point where I felt like if I actually put anything down it would just be a lengthy expletive laced tirade about what is annoying me about the team. Well I have decided enough is enough and I finally have to ask the question....what happened to the Senators??? How could the team th...
Like all trades, yesterday's Lightning/Stars swap primarily involving Brad Richards and Mike Smith will need some time before any fair evaluation can truly be made. Bolts GM Jay Feaster is putting himself on the line in bringing in yet another goalie to fill the seemingly "unfillable" void left when Nikolai Khabibulin departed after capturing the Stanley Cup in 2004. Many ...
For the third time this season, last night a team played the Flyers in Philadelphia immediately before or after firing their coach. Just two weeks into the season, the [b]Atlanta Thrashers[/b] dismissed [b]Bob Hartley[/b] after falling to the Flyers, 4-0, for an 0-6 start. On November 23rd, the [b]Washington Capitals[/b] edged the Flyers, 4-3 in OT, immediately after [b]Gl...
Well Ottawa pulled one out last night against a depleted Pittsburg team, and ya know what? it wasnt the prettiest of wins, but ill take it right now! You can immediately see the impact of having Murray back behind the bench as the Sens have a new fire and passion in there game which had been sorely missing, the players finally seem to know there assignments and are out the...
Hockey is a game of emotion, point blank. Sergei Gonchar lost his cool on a play against superstar/superpest Daniel Alfreddson. Now I may take some heat for calling Alfredsson a superpest but let's call it as it is, this guy gets under your skin. I think the play on Sergei Gonchar is proof in the pudding. But I must also be very clear that I think there is a big differ...
TheMike12 writes...

Sens and Sharks..I smell a WIN

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Big game tonight for the Sens against the Sharks, I didn't write anything following the game on Monday against Anaheim, because it frankly would have been a complete waste of time to write several paragraphs about the god awful officiating which led to the Ref's essentially handing the game to the Ducks. There were some positives to that game though, I thought Gerber playe...
thorswolf writes...

The winning habit

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Winning, like losing, is a habit. When the raw talent is there, but the pieces just don't seem to click together, that's a team who has lost the habit of winning. At the beginning of the season, and even mid-season when the Senators faced the Red Wings, we were shown a team who [i]expected[/i] to win every game. That chemistry and smoothness was prevalent as far back as...
thorswolf writes...

Not giving up...

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Being a fan means never giving up on your team. It also mean kicking 'em in the ass when they deserve it. It definitely does not mean kicking them when they're down. Many bloggers on this site, including Kevin Lee, have basically thrown in the towel on the Senators after their three losses on the West Coast. I think a little dose of reality is required. In my book, the ...
First, let me take the time to welcome anyone who happens to click on this post and give me a chance to entertain you through my blog. Although the Rangers are my favorite team and I make no attempt to hide that, my aspirations are to be an objective journalist, not a cheerleader, and I hope my writing will reflect that. Any criticism, constructive or otherwise, is both we...
mapleleaf92 writes...

On Pace For....

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Assuming that everyone's win-loss-otL-soL ratio stays the same, I took the time to calculate how many points everyone will have by the end of the season. [b]Eastern Conference[/b] NEW JERSEY DEVILS- 102 Points Montreal Canadiens 100 Points CAROLINA HURRICANES- 91 Points Pittsburgh Penguins- 100 Points Ottawa Senators- 97 Points New York Rangers- 96 Points Boston ...
thorswolf writes...

Is the Swiss finally in?

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
He's been called the Swiss Cheese for what is perceived as his sometimes lackluster performance. But does Gerber really merit the nickname? His play of late is vintage Martin Gerber, and many have acted surprised at his steady play. No he's not flashy, no he's not flamboyant, but boy, can he be solid... like the Swiss Alps? His beginning in the NHL as back-up goalie to ...
thorswolf writes...

Back to "The System"

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
When Dean McAmmond was benched by coach Bryan Murray in Los Angeles, he was given an assignment to watch the team, and tell the dressing room what he noticed was not working. It seems that coach Murray had been right all along in his "get back to basics" approach. McAmmond reported back that the Senators had "wandered so far from our basis system, that we forgot what it fe...
Last night's 6-3 Hawk victory in Columbus was gratifying for a few reasons: snapping a 4-game losing streak, keeping the club's faint playoff hopes alive and icing an intriguing new set of lines. First of all, no surprise, neither Nikolai Khabibulin nor Marty Havlat were in the line-up. More on that in a moment. Last night's first three lines were: Ladd-Toews-Byfu...
With most teams now around the 10-game mark before the playoffs, battles for the top spot are fierce and today's games could see a lot of shifting in the Eastern Conference standings by end of day. The New Jersey Devils maintained their hold on first place with a 4-2 win against an injury plagued Colorado Avalanche team, in which goalie Martin Brodeur had to be sharp in...
It was ugly, brutish, and nasty. The Carolina Hurricanes handed a flat-footed Ottawa Senators team a resounding defeat by a score of 5-1 on Sunday. And it couldn't have come at a better time. With nine games remaining in their regular season, the last eight against division rivals, the bitter medicine that the Senators had to swallow on Sunday is just what the doctor or...
CAPMESS11 writes...

TEDDY OR DP ,SEE YA RICKY...

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
I just wanted to get some feedback from the Fishstick squad. All jokes aside it was nice to team up with my foes last week or so. With the Islanders and Rangers going to war a few of us had to inform the world just how intense the battles are. After seeing the Rangers/Devils last night, god it's great being a hockey fan in the NY area. Hats off to you who took the time...
icedog97 writes...

Almost Gutcheck Time

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
The regular season has only 5 games remaining. The (expected) playoff birth has been obtained an now it's really just a question of heading into the post season playing good "playoff hockey" and above all...staying healthy. I know the team and the fans would like a division championship...at least...and maybe even first place in the conference. But honestly to me...
Phigment writes...

Flyers - Final Weekend

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Well with two games left, the Flyers are in the mix for the playoffs but have not secured a ticket yet. So what are the possibilities for this weekend. Listen I have my degree in Math, but even I won't list all the possibilities. But, here is what I know for sure. [b]The Good[/b] After the lost season of 2006-2007 where the Flyers were the worst team in the league, ...
[b]Rangers win, clinch playoff spot[/b] The Rangers fought off early pressure from the Islanders through several great Lundqvist saves and took control of the game in the 1st period. Jaromir Jagr converted on two power play one timers, giving the team a 2-0 lead. I thought they did a great job of shutting down the hustle of a young Islanders squad. Okposo was very...
I want to start with a rarely-if-ever used phrase -- Double Wow! Uhhhh...is that really how I want to start? Does anyone remember Pierre McGuire (if you don't know him, turn off your computer and never mention the word hockey again) yelling "Double Dion!" during a World Junior championship final when Dion Phaneuf corked two guys at once? The entertainment value of McGuire ...
Dan Carcillo is a rare commodity in hockey -- a skilled player who LOVES to get his nose dirty. I have heard on several occasions that Gretzky loves the guy, and after last night's hat-trick against Dallas (the game after he fought two Stars in the same game, dropping one with a single shot) how could you not? I'm sure the 'Yotes hope his goals:fights ratio balances out a ...
We have arrived at my favourite time of year -- the Stanley Cup playoffs. This year's playoff fever in the Nation's Capital can be described as virtually non-existent, as the city's fickle fanbase have completely abandoned the Sens bandwagon, stripped it for parts, and used the money to buy Canadiens paraphernalia. That being said, I still have a sliver of faith, and if on...
It’s baaaaaaack! The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are scheduled and are ready to blow hockey fans out of the ice yet again this year. Tonight at 7 p.m. the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins will meet up again in first round live on Versus. Tonight starts the wall-to-wall, double-header charged NHL playoff coverage on Versus that I’ve grown to love over the pa...
Going into last night's game, my heart and I were talking, and Pumpy said "They can do it! The Sens have had 6 full days off to prepare a new PP scheme, settle their PK, and to establish a gameplan for shutting down the Pens multi-headed attack...Go Sens GO!" My brain, however, had a different opinion -- "Pumpy, you are stupid and should shut your dumb ventricles up! There...
It's Sens time! After Game two's stunning comeback -- one which saw the Senators claw back into a 3-0 game they had no business getting back into, on goals by Donovan, Stillman and Bass, only to lose on a heart breaker, wrap-around PP goal by Ryan Malone -- the Senators showed a waivering fan base that they are competitors and are not going to mail in the 2008 season. It w...
The following is my first attempt at a blog. It is a response to an email from a friend of mine, a Senators fan (www.hockeyschlock.wordpress.com - please visit), who asked me how I was enjoying the rollercoaster ride that was the Flys/Caps QF series following the Game 5 loss to the Caps, bringing the series to a Flyers' lead of 3 games to 2. I'm not happy, but I'm not cr...
Good thing I didn't write this last night as I had planned... because the loss of Kimmo Timmonen certainly could have that much of an impact. Was the layoff between the series a bad thing? I really don't think so. Sure the Flyers were on a roll, but so were the Penguins. And with guys like Hatcher, Smith and others who are older and dinged up as virtually everyone ...
Armandy writes...

Where Did We Go Wrong

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The Ottawa Senators showed a different side to their team in most of the regular season and all the playoffs and I can tell you that this side wasn't as great as the 2006-07. So then I look to see what was really different as last years team, first I look at the players and see if any of them have big differences in the stat department. I'll give you some of the players th...
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [img]http://boredplanet.com/img/eternalyashin.jpg[/img] (Our hopes, dreams and our future fortunes are only possible if we forget our past. ) Let me all welcome you to the crossroads. The crossroads of where there is two different paths. One path is some hype and hopes, but likely mediocrity. The other is a tougher road ...
Well, after having absolutely nothing to talk about (as I have no sources and don't really care about coaches a whole lot) since Ottawa got eliminated, I am hearing some rumblings about things I have rambled about in the past. Things like Malkin being traded and Spezza being traded...you know, crazy talk. But apparently NOW it isn't so crazy. I wrote before that Pittsbu...
Looking into the Panthers draft day move that brought in two more young defenseman,they may be gearing up for a deal. With Jay Bouwmeester's status as an RFA the Panthers may be smelling a huge offer sheet or looking into dealing his rights for a new team to hammer out a contract. I was surprised they moved Jokinen for a deal involving two more D-men,but they may be co...
Over the last few years the Rangers have made excellent moves in signing veterans.They signed Shanahan and his leadership had proved to be key in the development of the forwards. Shanny also took some of the pressure of Jagr in the locker room,allowing Jagr to concentrate on his Einstein books. The Rangers brought Jason Strudwick back in to the fold last year and his o...
If indeed my sources are right the Senators will call for a press conference on Tuesday to announce they have signed Jason Williams to a 3 year 5.7 million dollar contracy and also announce they have made a trade that will send Chris Neil and a 5th round pick in 2010 to the Nashville Predators for Ville Koistinen and Rich Peverley! Keep your heads up Sens fans! -SenSnip...
SenSnippets writes...

Sidenote..

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
this is wrong, a-channel in london is wrong and this must be retracted by tsn. williams has signed with sens i can guarantee you that my sources are never wrong http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=243386&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl wrong! -SenSnippets(Eklund)
Its the back end off the Off Season all the important guys are signed. Yes Sundin is out there but for the sake of argument he isn't an important signing unless he signs somewhere other than Montreal or Toronto. Niether team needs him or should sign him. Montreal has way to much young talent ready for the big show to "use up" a roster spot for and aging albeit talented Sun...
Note: I never will claim authenticity of these rumors...because they're rumors. Well its no secret Vermette is a great Trade chip for the Sens and there as been trade rumors involving him for months, but now they are just getting odd/ridicualous. First there was that 3-way trade that made no sense for L.A. and little sense for Ottawa. Now the rumor making the rounds ...
Well here is a long waited but ultimately slim update on Sens Defensemen Andrei Meszaros. Based on conversations with another Sens D-man and the little tibits I've read around the web, Things at the moment are bleak, Mesz and his agent aren't willing to budge on thier demands for the most part, and Murray isn't buying into thier demands, so unless things start to change Me...
markoftrad writes...

Going going.....gone?

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
First off sorry for the delay in my blog, I just got rapped up in a big move. Anyways onto the Sens Army....... The Andrei Mezsaros sitiuation looks like it may have a resolution....unfortunately nobody knows what it is. From what I gathered from a few people ..Bryan Murray is putting together one last contract offer for Meszaros, sort of a take it or leave deal, rum...
A lot of people have already written off Martin Gerber for next year. ESPN even has him ranked somewhere in the late 300's for players to pick in a fantasy pool. He's even behind Alex Auld, which just goes to show how much ESPN knows, I guess. But even hockey fans are saying Gerber is Ottawa's weakest point and is the reason why they will miss the playoffs or get bounced i...
The past 24 hours have showed a lot of progress and speculation with regards to the Meszaros contract negotions. I'm going to write the two sides opinions(or at least what we know) and my opion of who is right, and than you can comment your opinion. [b][i][u]Murrary: Bryan murray would like to have Meszaros back. He would prefer to have MEszaros on a short term contract...
This has been quite the off-season for the Ottawa Senators and Andrej Meszaros. After the Sens completely tanked the regular season and barely put up a fight in round 1 of the playoffs, possibly their top RFA refuses to sign a long-term contract with the club, pushing for as much money as possible. Now the Ottawa Senators have shipped Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa B...
Just my .02 While rumors swirl in Ottawa about what moving Andrej Meszaros and (possibly others) might mean in terms of future additions to the Sens roster, let's not forget the trade that never was of this past summer: Nikolai Khabibulin to the Sens for something . . . like Chris Neil. For the Hawks, it's a salary dump (needed to get under the cap) and loosens up a ...
markoftrad writes...

Sens Prospects Camp

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Sorry for the delay, I waited to see if the Hockeybuzz's Ottawa writer was going to post but he did not, atleast yet so here's a breakdown of the Sens Prospect camp last week. Goalies--- To no surprise for other Sens fans our Goalie prospects didn't stand out in a good way. Elliot looked like a CHL goalie, new to the minors. Mitch O'keefe showed why he's a free agent. N...
EDIT:Sorry about the wierd symbols and punctuation in this blog, I dont know why its doing this and I'm unsure how to fix it It has to be a very slow news day for the NHL today. The top story this morning is Jesse Winchester practicing on the top-line with Heatley and Spezza. I’m sure I’m not alone in Sens Nation wondering why this is big news, every year we go ...
C4LL4W4Y writes...

Northeast Division Preview

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
[b]Northeast Division[/b] [i]Canadiens[/i] After a difficult 06-07 that saw the Canadiens barely miss the playoffs, GM Bob Gainey sat and did nothing in the offseason...and he was vilified for it. The Montreal media couldn't understand why Gainey wanted to put his youngsters in positions to make plays. Well it worked, and the Habs grabbed the #1 seed in the East last...
Hockey is upon us once again! As much as I like baseball playoffs, nothing beats Game 1 (in North America) of the NHL season in my eyes. And I really couldn't believe my eyes when the Leafs survived three posts in the first 10 minutes of the game to win 3-2 against the Wings. Absolutely brutal game to watch, but a trap system played very effectively by the Blue and Whi...
TheMike12 writes...

Sens 09 Edition..

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Hello All, I haven't written a new blog in god knows how long, I would bet it was sometime before the playoffs last year when I went into a deep depression over the Sens second half collapse and sweep at at the hands of the Pens, BUT as always I came out of it and am back to continue putting my thoughts about our Sens down on this blog and I feel especially now we shoul...
Well folks, if the Ottawa Senators goaltending situations of years past have taught us anything, it is that it is never too early for a good crisis. And why should this year be any different? After only three games in the 08-09 season, most fans/bloggers/sportswriters have already started their annual [i]OMG, we need a goalie[/i] fiasco. Relax people…it is [b]WA...
ladynic writes...

10/18/08 B Sens and Phantoms

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Phantoms lost 3-1. This was the debut of the Phantoms new third Jerseys that are all purple. http://www.flickr.com/photos/neat1325/2952835251/in/set-72157608155866404/ Game was not as chippy as vs the Bears but it has its' moments. http://www.flickr.com/photos/neat1325/2953734778/in/set-72157608155866404/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/neat1325/2952894009/in/...
markoftrad writes...

NHL thus far

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Well we are nearing the end of the first month of action and lots of stories are emerging. Starting with my Sens--- As reported on TSN today, Gerbers days are numbered under Hartsburg. Auld will get the start friday against the struggling Ducks and if he turns in a performance similiar to his first against Pittsburg, then we as Sens will have beyond a Goalie contreversy...
I'm going to play off of the infamous "Ek Factors" for this one, and give you the "Mill Factors" for this game. BTW, before I get started, Ek and his family remains in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Get well soon Ek! [b]Senateurs d'Ottawa[/b] (2-5-1, 14th in conference) at [b]Buffalo Sabres[/b] (6-0-2, 2nd in conference) Monday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m....
erby writes...

Sabres vs Ottawa, 2-5

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The Sabres hockeybuzz fans have been sort of quiet since the loss to Ottawa on Monday, and I don't blame them. The only good thing for me is that Teppo is on my fantasy team, but then again, I also wagered that it would take him a lot longer to score his first goal of the season. Spezza is also on my fantasy team, so I am conflicted as to whether I should be happy or sad...
for gerz et all, there are two sites on the internet from which you can steam sports from around the world, and i have found them to be streaming quite well (minimal to no lagging or buffering) this season. In terms of the Senators, for games that our usual channels are not broadcasting, you will be able to watch the feed from the opponents home tv station. here are ...
From: http://capsstop.blogspot.com The two nations' capitals will square off tonight, at 7:30, in Ottawa on election day across the United States. Both teams are coming off losses on Saturday night. The Capitals were shut out by the Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa lost a tough game to Tampa Bay in overtime. Neither team has yet to find its true identity yet this season, and ...
For the past few games we have watched this Isles squad play an impressive 40 minutes of hockey to conclude to the dismay of many fans with a 2 or 3-goal give-away resulting in a loss. I was in Connecticut on Saturday and was unable to watch Satan and Fedotenko make their returns to Coliseum ice, but I got a text message from a buddy of mine that said it all in two wor...
The Isles were down early against a struggling Ottawa Senators team last night. Sure, they were under .500 going into the game, but you cannot undermine the power of Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredsson. The early lead had many pundering how bad this game could get, but then the impossible happened... A "stale" Kyle Okposo, (as described by head coach Scott Gordon), newly pa...
Actually I'm just kidding, This ship is still at the bottom of the ocean. Yes i realize its very early in the season and things CAN turn around, but this club only shows flash's of potential and then reverts to the nightmare of last season. And I've tryed very hard to stay positive about my beloved Sens but you can only hang on for so long before it's finally time to...
B.D. Gallof writes...

SWEEP THE LEG!

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
Isles have a shot of a home-at-home sweep of the Senators. More interestingly, Josh Bailey has a shot of sweeping out a vet as a mainstay this season if he performs well in the next handful of games. [img]http://www.boredplanet.com/img/sweeptheleg.jpg[/img] Ottawa comes to town probably pretty hyped up over a few things. Their stinker at home in Ottawa where those...
When Bryan Murray hired Craig Hartsburg this summer as the Senators' new head coach, he was pretty confident Hartsburg would turn the Senators around after a horrendous finish last season. 17 games into the 2008-09 season, the Senators are sitting at the bottom on the Eastern Conference, a mere point in front of the lowly Florida Panthers and they are tied with the NY I...
This is not going to be a typical blog by a fan that will rant about the Isles receiving a lack of justice in regards to the suspension laid upon Mike Mottau of the New Jersey Devils. As far as that subject goes I will say that it does seem a bit odd that Thomas Pock got five games for his hit the head of Ryan Shannon of the Ottawa Senators while Mottau only got two. Shann...
First of all, let me introduce myself, I’m Neil Lapointe and I’ve been a Sens fan since the Quebec Nordiques left in 1995 and to me it was just unacceptable to cheer for Montreal Canadians. Due to the lack of blogs on the senators, I told to myself why not write by myself so that would be a great way to know what everybody is thinking on our famous Hockey club. I read ...
After clearing waivers, Luke Richardson has decided that it's time to hang up his skates, and is expected to make the transition to a coaching position with the Ottawa Senators. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but Richardson is likely to accept an assistant coach position in Binghampton. Richardson has had conversations with Sens GM Bryan Murray about such a move, and it i...
The Carolina Hurricanes have just announced that they have fired head coach Peter Laviolette, who led the team to the 2006 Stanley Cup championship. They have replaced him with former Hurricanes and Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice. Sources say Maurice will remain on as head coach at least until the end of the season, at which point the position will be re-evaluated ...
Is it time to push the panic button??? Part 2 Ok, I m back. Guess I underestimate you guys and though nobody would read it. Coaching staff Not a lot to say about them. Craig Hartsburg has not been exceptional but as not been bad either. I like the fact that he shuffle his lines in the first 20 games that ways he looks at every possible option but I d like to see h...
Well the Sens are 3-0 in thier new black jersey's, anyone else think they should keep wearing them? Finally we have a confident reliable goalie in net. Alex Auld has been a great addition, and has made Gerber a 3.5 million dollar paper wieght. While I don't think the team is a contender yet, it is finally nice to see the team winning. Although still way too many ...
Coming out of a 24-goal and 53-point season, Antoine Vermette had improved his scoring numbers in each of his four NHL seasons. With the departure of Cory Stillman via free agency, Vermette was supposed to get plenty of power play time this season, even on the Senators' top unit. However, after 26 games this season, Vermette, 26, only has 2 goals and 5 points, to go wit...
markoftrad writes...

Back to Cherry and the Sens

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
My previous blog I harped on Cherry, and after watching hockey night in canada tonight/saturday I find myself in the same spot. After the Toronto/Pittsburgh game, Cherry ranted and cryed about Deavoux not fighting Godard when it was 4-1, cryed about Hagman mouthing off Crosby after Crosby checked him from behind and keep stick checking Hagman, then he finished it off by...
polastem writes...

We Three Kings

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
[IMG]http://www.icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/ott.png[/IMG] The Ottawa Senators will continue the 8 game road swing featuring the likes of the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils, but they will first have to kick off the road swing with back to back games against the Calgary Flames tonight, and the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow. Not an easy challenge for any t...
Sens have been playing fairly well so far, which is a nice change. The same reaccuring theme has been rearing its ugly head already, Spezza looks lazy and the defense isn't playing well despite the low shots total. Alot of penalties in the first period. Both teams are playing very aggresive, Gonna get ugly. And as usual Ottawa's play has caught up with them, 3-2 Calg...
Pre-Game: Senators vs. Canucks The Ottawa Senators are looking to avoid one streak and continue another as they face-off against the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The Luongo-less Canucks are 5-4-1 in their last ten games but have fallen short in their last two, including one to the Edmonton Oilers despite sporting a 10-5-1 record at home this season. The Senators are curre...
craignukem writes...

Spezza Rumor All Hot Air?

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Spezza to Calgary? Every year there seems to be someone putting out a rumor that leaves me laughing out loud. Since the lockout every expert panel from TSN to The Hockey News says Iginla needs a number one centre. Now I'm not here to debate if he needs the centre I'm here to debate the rumors. I was at last nights Ottawa vs. Calgary game and could say that...
Just got back from Czech/USA First off by far the best game of the World Jrs. so far. The Czech's came out hard in the first and the US was not ready........at all. The Czech's set the tone for the game and maintained it, unfortunately the tone wasn't enought to keep the oddly lazy and unorganized American squad at bay. Despite the Czech's playing hard and hitting...
goldenj writes...

Hey did the Sens win yet?

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Howdy from Ottawa...tranist strike still going, looks like a union meeting Monday then a vote has to happen on the City's final offer no later than Thursday next week. It will be rejected, but some buses will be forced back on the roads. Rona Ambrose and her office will then try waste as much time as they can until the house of commons resumes, and the feds can make OC Tra...
A snapshot of the Ottawa record since the lockout is revealing. 2005-06: 52-21-9, 113 pts, 314 gf 211 ga, 1st place East 2006-07: 48-25-9, 105 pts, 288 gf 221 ga, 4th place East 2007-08: 43-31-8, 94 pts, 261 gf 247 ga, 7th place East 2008-09: 13-17-5, 31 pts, 83 gf 100 ga, 12th place East (after 35GP) which can be projected as 30-40-12, 72 pts, 194 gf, 234 ga...
Howdy from Ottawa...2-0 Buffalo to start, 1st period. Ottawa really looks like a team that's been on the road for 6 straight games...but regardless of the score tonight everyone in sport will be talking about this...Jarkko Ruutu bit Andrew Peters on the hand during a scrum in front of the benches. Ottawa got the PP due to Peters flipping out (who wouldn't?). The first thin...
Howdy from Ottawa. Andrew Peters gives this 8-game road trip the Sens are on one biten thumb down. 4-2 loss, Matt Ellis (who?) scores 15 secs in, 0 for 5 on the PP, outshot Buffalo 11-4 in the 3rd period (held BUF without a shot for 13 mins until Vanek hit the empty net) and yet all anyone will talk about for the rest of the week is that Ruutu bites Peters. If you miss...
goldenj writes...

Sens rumour mill

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Howdy from Ottawa...transit drivers vote today...obviously they are voting no...what a farce. Ok so I hear that Christoph Schubert is being peddled by Bryan Murray...wow what a big news story, too bad it's 2 months plus old. Back in November Murray tried to trade Schubert but nobody wanted him. They still don't. I also hear now there is talk Murray wants to move Verm...
A-Mar writes...

Ottawa Analysis

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
As a Leafs fan you would expect me to have some pretty good insight into losing teams and what issues they face. The Senators, for whatever reason, can now be described as a losing team. They are in the bottom third of the league in goals for and against despite having decent power play and penalty killing numbers but they just look lost out there. What is wrong with this...
Howdy from the Nation's Capital. A brutal start followed by a period and a half of strong play, followed by a poor 3rd (didn't have a shot for 14 mins) equals to a 1-6-1 road trip for the Sens...I hope they took the first flight out of Bean town. The 6-4 score line looks bad on both teams as it was a giveaway-fest all night for both teams...although Ottawa clearly 'won...
Howdy from Ottawa where the Union of bus drivers rejected the city's 'final' offer...ho hum. Hate to be so coy about this but if we've survived this long, then why not double our pleasure and turn the 31 days so far into 62! Ok time for the mid-season report cards...oh joy. Dany Heatley - leads the team in points, PP goals and has a few game winners. Is a minus 6 and...
Howdy from Ottawa, What seemed like a solid start for our Sens with good pressure really wasnt...outshot 14-9 and played most of the first in our zone. Ottawa had a much better second, first time in a long time we see the speed and forecheck back again. Shots were 14-4 in favour for our boys. Dare I say the best period in the last 10 games? They started the 3rd just the...
Howdy from Ottawa where the days are piling up on the transit strike, but the days count down till winterlude! Oh and if any MALE has been to 'Nordic Spa'...how is it? Like for a MALE? I might be dragged into going this weekend. Ok so how many times have you either heard, read a quote or read an article/blog stating the following...'we need a puck moving defensemen" by...
Howdy from a very cold nation's capital. Obviously a much needed night in Sens country. Heater, 'Fish, Dean, Phillips and Vermette all scored. Ruutu returned from suspension, Elliot was as Hartsburg put it 'Rock Solid". A total team game where only Jason Smith and Nick Folingo weren't plus-something. I was dead wrong on the Sens making a move prior to yesterday's ga...
Howdy from Ottawa. Well I was right, a 2-game win streak. Sens fans no matter how bad it gets this year, it can't get as bad as ATL. Outshot 31-30 and outplayed in the 2nd, yet for a team with the road wounds that Ottawa has any points on the road will do. A solid 3rd period locked down the win, two nights in a row where the team played a complete game defensively. ...
Howdy from Ottawa. Our team showed alot of heart tonight, but gained but one point in the race for 8th seed in the East. Early in the 3rd it seemed MTL would cruise to victory but then the Big 3 (namely Spezza and Heatley) caught fire and a timely goal by a late line combo by Hartsburg of Neil-Fisher-McAmmond sent the game to OT. In the extra frame Ottawa killed off a P...
Howdy from Ottawa. Here is a quick look at what's going on in Binghamton, NY or as the locals call it 'The Parlor City'. Currently the Binghamton Senators sit 4th in the East Division with a 22-13-3-3 record. If we were in the other divison in the Eastern Conference, the Atlantic, we'd be one point out of first place and not 12 points as we are now (Hershey is the best ...
Howdy from Ottawa, where the sun is out on a Senators game day. OV8, Semin, Backstrom and Green are in town to face our boys in the battle of the capital cities. Is going to be a tough one, Sens will do good to gain a point in this one. Also of note is Jason Spezza left practice early yesterday with a sore back. He maybe out as C Peter Regin has been called up from 'Bingo ...
Howdy from Ottawa. No more bus strike (old news, I know) and a new coach. No new players though or should I say yet. Glad to be back blogging here. Lots has gone on in Sens country and to be frank there really was no need for me to beat a dead horse with countless blogs during another dark period for the franchise. Enough rival fans are laughing at us, we don't need to ...
Howdy from the nation's capital. Elliott deserved a better fate tonight, though the Sens showed signs of life in a third period for once this season. Elliott and Bruins goalie Tim Thomas put on a goaltending clinic in the shootout, finally ending on a sweet move by Boston third-liner PJ Axelsson. It is still tough to figure out why Dany Heatley cannot score in the SO (n...
Howdy from Ottawa. Looks like negotiations with Sens forward Chris Neil are going poorly as both sides are far apart on the money. As written yesterday, if Neil wants more than Ruutu than he is gone. It appears he wants more than Ruutu and if that doesn't change by or before March 4th (I highly doubt it will) then Chris Neil will no longer be a Senator. So what is th...
Howdy from a bus-running Ottawa. Much needed and deserved win for the Ottawa Senators tonight. Congrats to Cory Clouston on his first win as an NHL coach. For most of the season this club has not provided fans with there monies worth. But over the last two games Sens fans can leave with the feeling of money well spent. And that second period...whoa. Could that have been...
Howdy from a rain-soaked nation's capital...Ottawa not Washington. Obama will be here though next week, for about 5 hours. Excellent game last night from our Sens. Elliott was outstanding in goal and the club didn't look like a road team for once. They were agressive when needed and did a fantastic job on the PK, though without Thoms Vanek in the lineup Buffalo's PP ha...
[img]http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/106873/75061_feature.jpg[/img] After the Canadiens' fourth consecutive loss against the Oilers yesterday, it is clear that the Canadiens players don't want to play for their coach anymore. They have lost nine of their past 11 games, during which they scored only 25 goals (2.27 GF per game) and surrendered an astounding 48 goal...
[b]Erik: "I plan to stay another year ' [/b] It was the summer that the Defensemen was drafted by Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa, as number 15 in the first round, and curiously enough, it was just in Ottawa as the Landsbro kid was for the first time entered in the history books seriously - as a junior World Cup's best back. Not bad city, if Erik had to say it. He had j...
Alright, So I won't talk about what the sens should do or who they should sign in the off season, but rather what they should do to finalise they're team and roster spots before they even get there, before they can worry about anything else. The sens had alot of problems this year, it's dealt with, it's done, let's forget and learn about it, they have to address their c...
goldenj writes...

Heatley vs Clouston? Self?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Howdy from Ottawa. Hindsight is 20/20. It is real easy to critize an athlete or management after the fact. But quotes are that one little caveet that helps us draw the line from past to present. Here is one from Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. "There's no question he'll be back next year. Bryan's done a great job," Melnyk said. "The way you judge a good GM is the way h...
So here's something that really gets to me.. Yea I’m not liking what Heatley’s doing, but what was management thinking when they gave him the “A”, permanently?! I remember watching the first or second game since he'd been promoted; with that fancy letter on his jersey he started it off with an undisciplined 10 minute misconduct cross-check to a player the opposing ...
The Freshman writes...

Armchair GM

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Now that the Hockey Offseason has kicked off, I would like to propose some deals that I believe make many teams better. Feel free to post your counteroffers or tell me If you think I am completely out to lunch on any of these trades. #1 – The Heatley Sweepstakes With rumours swirling about Danny Heatley wanting out of Ottawa, here is offer I would propose if I am t...
First I want to start off by saying that I am the worst flier of all time and having just come back from Europe, petrified of turbulence over the Atlantic, all I could think of the entire time was "what if I don't get to see who Ottawa takes 9th overall?" Nothing about not seeing family or friends again, just that I won't get to see who is selected, who they sign and how L...
First I want to start off by saying that I am the worst flier of all time and having just come back from Europe, petrified of turbulence over the Atlantic, all I could think of the entire time was "what if I don't get to see who Ottawa takes 9th overall?" Nothing about not seeing family or friends again, just that I won't get to see who is selected, who they sign and how L...
As I was writing a response to Mr. Christopher's, I felt that it would be better suited as it's own blog instead of just a short reply. First off I would like to say that I agree 100% with everything Chris said, great blog... and to everybody calling Heatley a murderer and bringing up Atlanta, just stop. This scenario is completely different and I don't think anybody in...
gkmkiller writes...

Heatley to be a Ranger?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
According to a recent post by Eklund the Rangers may be close to acquiring Dany Heatley from Ottawa. Here is what Eklund had to say, "* The Rangers are reportedly offering a deal that may include Chris Drury to the Sens for Dany Heatley. A source close to the scene in NY said that "There are major wheels in motion, and I believe Heatley to be a Ranger by Sunday." Person...
"The Monster" wants to wait past July 1 to decide - my take, he's hoping to see if one of his favored teams is active ....it could mean he wants to see who will play in front of him, or if it will be a Swede friendly dressing room, or which team will have the most available cash to offer him. It could also be a question of who is in front of him. I don't see Dallas making ...
Let me start by saying that I am a Leafs fan and in no way shape or form do I have a liking for the Ottawa Senators. I wanted to ask the masses of people out there if Dany Heatley may have a point in all of this. Personally, I think Heatley is a bum and that he will get what he deserves (contract ripped up, lifelong injury etc...). I was quite disapointed for Ottawa...
gkmkiller writes...

Who Blinks First?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
It would seem that what we have with the Dany Heatley situation is a high stakes game of chicken between Ottawa, the Rangers and Dany Heatley. Yesterday the Oilers agreed to trade a package of Andrew Cogliano, Ladislav Smid and Dustin Penner to the Senators in exchange for Heatley. According to TSN's Bob Mackenzie, Heatley has not yet agreed to waive his No Movement Clause...
goldenj writes...

Heatley rumours

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Howdy from Ottawa where the jets just flew by...Happy Canada Day! Here is the new link to this blog - www.mvn.com/colinjeffrey's301 Trying to re-design the blog soon, summer project. 301 of course is in reference to the movie '300' and its historical events. Thanks again for reading...Eklund's hockeybuzz website is confident Heatley will waive the NTC and go to ED...
It's been two weeks since Dany Heatley twice declined to accept a trade to Edmonton that would have Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid to Ottawa. I'm not going to lie, initially I was furious. The idea of freeing up $2.117M in cap space while simultaneously acquiring a young promising talent like Cogliano, excited me to no end. Anxiously awaiting Dany's decis...
This is the second in a series of NHL Off-Season Progress Reports. Today I look at the Northeast Division and assign grades based on what has already been done and what still needs to be done. Of course there is still plenty of time for teams to plug holes so I’ll analyze what still needs to be done and how much cap room the team has left to fill those holes. Boston ...
So let's put all this Heatley drama aside for a second and look ahead to the upcoming season. Am I being too optimistic or do Sens fans have a lot to look forward to? Let's start with the [b]coaching[/b]. The last few years have been turbulent in terms of coaching for Sens fans. Cory Clouston is a young, new coach who seems to want to bring a whole new identity to this...
KPE18 writes...

Dany Heatley

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
What if the Rangers were to land Dany Heatley? Who would they give up? Ryan McDonaugh was aquired from Montreal because Murray wanted him in exchange for Heatley. Rozsival and Zherdev are the two biggest trade bait as of now and one of them is expected to be dealt. I feel that maybe a three way trade may be going down between the Rangers, Sharks, and Senators. This could b...
- Former Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators goaltender Martin Gerber has signed with Atlant Mytischi of the KHL, the team has reported. Gerber supposedly spurned an offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins at being their backup goalie this season, hours before the Penguins signed Brent Johnson. Gerber said that he wanted to play in the KHL to prove that he "still had it...
KPE18 writes...

Dany Heatley

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Idk if I want Heatley anymore but he sure as hell would make a fine addition to the team! Let me know if this deal is fair...... To OTT Rozsival Higgins Sanguinetti 1st round pick and 5th round pick To NYR Heatley We would have killer lines if this was made. We sign Francis Bouillon at 1.2 for 2 years and Brandon Dubinsky at 2 years, 2 million and we are ri...
So news continues to spread over where Heatley may or may not end up and what's coming back. Many seem to believe that Heatley will not return as much as he's worth considering his media portrayal over the last couple months has hurt his chances of bringing a better return. However, Bryan Murray knows exactly what he wants for Heatley and he's not going to accept a trad...
SensArmy writes...

The Heatley Rumors

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
As a die hard Hockey fan, i've been looking at all the trade rumors out there. Some of them Make no sense and some arent that far fetch. So what I wanted to do is look at all those rumors and see which one would be best suited for the Sens... First off the find out what would be best for the sens, we would need to know what is the biggest weak spot in the Sens lineup......
[url]http://s1.zetaboards.com/NHSL/index/[/url] See Below So here's something that really gets to me.. Yea I’m not liking what Heatley’s doing, but what was management thinking when they gave him the “A”, permanently?! I remember watching the first or second game since he'd been promoted; with that fancy letter on his jersey he started it off with an undiscipli...
Dany Heatly has officially been traded. The summer-long soap opera of the poster-boy for millionaire crybabies is over, but was it really a good deal for all involved? The Sharks traded two solid (not superstar, but reliable) players worth $7 million for one former superstar worth $7.5 million. I rarely agree with Ryan Garner's blogs, but he brings up a solid point in h...
Daniel Alfredsson is the longest serving of all active Captains in the NHL. I can't imagine an Alfie-less Sens. I've watched him win the Calder Trophy (for rookie of the year) when he still wore that JOFA helmet. I was there when he took over for Yashin. I was there when he got his hair cut. And I was there when he scored the Overtime goal to send Ottawa to the Stanley Cup...
Striker22 writes...

Support by Numbers Part 1

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Every team needs a great supporting cast, a machine, to do the dirty work and chip in every now and then. These players are best when they are responsible, inexpensive and full of heart. In the past the Sens have had issues with secondary scoring that only was not apparent the year we went to the cup finals. We have always had a plethora of guys to plays the roles, but it ...
After the season opener, the Islanders proved that they were capable of coming out strong. To prove that it was not a home opening fluke, they needed to start tonight's game the same way that they did last Saturday. For the most part that is exactly what the Islanders did; they came out with energy and chances in the first ten minutes or so, but that fell short once the Se...
TJD92295 writes...

Buffalo Disaster

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
It is absolutely astounding that the Buffalo Sabres were even able to sneak a point out of their usual kryptonite, the Senators. Right from the opening puckdrop, the effort was simply not there from most of the Sabres, the exception being the guy in the blue paint. It took 18 Ottawa shots and 17 1/2 minutes of game time for the Sabres to get a puck through to Pascal LeCl...
Well, that was a much better effort, don't you think? After stinking up the joint in back-to-back games last weekend, the Habs finally showed up for their Saturday afternoon tilt against the Senators. Unfortunately for the Habs, they ended up losing the game, 3-2, in overtime. Despite the loss, this was a heck of a good game. The speed and skill of both teams shone yest...
The Islanders have gone 2-9-0 in their past 11 games heading into the Olympic break, lowering their spot in the standings to a disappointing 13th seed with 58 points, trailing the 8th place Montreal Canadiens by 6 points while only maintaining 3-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes. "It would have definitely been more enjoyable if we had a bunch of wins before the b...
I've noticed frustration seems to be a growing trend amongst Hockeybuzz bloggers. Most of it is probably warranted. The impression I get lately by reading this site is there are alot of teams straight up playing like garbage. So many reads of 'This team has no heart whatsoever", or "Cue the generic post game interview". Don't get me wrong here, I really enjoy the bloggi...
Hockey players are some of the most athletic, flexible and well-built athletes in professional sports. Not only are they trained in strength and endurance, but they also have to have the ability to skate; a skill that is not easy to acquire. Think about it: hockey players add the skills they develop with their hands to the use of a hockey stick, and then combine speed, agi...
Many of you probably looked at the headline and said, "Uh, who?" But many Islander fans know plenty about Michael Haley and are very excited to see him dress in an Islanders uniform for the first time when they face-off against the New Jersey Devils tonight at the Prudential Center. Haley is a pugilist at 5'11 and 198 pounds that loves to drop the gloves, sticks up for...
harshcdn writes...

What is the next move?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Hello All Thinking of the Ottawa Senators off season so far as a whole, gives you a lot to think about. Signing Gonchar solidifies the defence and adds probably the best power play defencemen into the fold at SB Place. I look forward to seeing the power play in action. I predict Spezza, Alfie, Kovo, Gonchar and Karlsson for PP1. Buying out Cheechoo is the right mov...
BlueBloodPat writes...

Hockey Totems Revealed

Posted Friday | Comments 0
To make a long story short, for those who have not seen the summer blockbuster Inception (which I highly recommend you do), a totem is an object that separates reality from dream. The totem distinguishes reality from dream because it takes on different characteristics in a dream state. Therefore, if the owner of the totem knows their totem well enough, they should be able ...
I don’t want to say what both teams should or shouldn’t do, or compare players to see who would get the best deal. To me, this one just makes sense, and it falls into place with the only scenario I can realistically think would work (for both). Savard already expressed interest in waiving his NTC for both Ontario Teams if the right trade came along. Does it make se...
Tonight is the first of three pre-season match-ups for the "Battle of Ontario", and perhaps for the first time since the pre-lockout era, the games could live up to that title. Leafs fans will be happy to know that almost all of their new additions will make their way on the ice tonight. Only recently signed free agent forward Clarke MacArthur will sit out tonight's gam...
TPiddy writes...

Time to Nut Up or Shut Up!

Posted Friday | Comments 1
[url]http://www.sportsblognetwork.net/its-nut-up-or-shut-up-time-for-the-leafs/[/url] This could possibly be the biggest weekend of the year in Leafs Nation. The pressure is mounting, expectations are growing and the blue and white have their biggest test of the season ahead of them: Back to back road games against divisional rivals, while missing their captain and thei...
Gunner Staal writes...

Penguins Game Thread

Posted Friday | Comments 2
As Penguins fans know we are now without a team blogger. We have been lucky to have two high quality writers for us in Brian Metzer and Tom Mast. I know that I get enjoyment from talking about the Penguins in this forum., both on game days and non game days. Lately there has been little to no Penguins talk because there have been no new posts. My goal until we get a Pe...
A very small percentage of making the playoffs, yet the team must still charge forward. Head on over to the Sports Roundup for the latest musings as the Flames look forward to playing the Sens and the Leafs this weekend. http://www.thesportsroundup.com/2011/01/dwindling-playoff-hopes-for-flames.html Also check out why a certain blogger at TSR dislikes the Toronto Ma...
Paul Byron scores first NHL goal in Sabres 2-1 victory over Ottawa The Sabres have entered the All-Star break on a high note, winning four of the last five games, and moving to within four points of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Despite falling behind 1-0 in Ottawa on Tuesday night, Buffalo battled back and came away with two points. With his family in t...
Head over to The Checking Line (www.thecheckingline.com) for a live blog of the Islanders/Senators match-up, as well as the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the Dallas Stars, all starting at 6:45 PM! -Rob McGowan Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/IslesRM
Head over to The Hockey Writers for my interview with Matt Moulson after the Islanders 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators! http://thehockeywriters.com/?p=24164 -Rob McGowan Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/IslesRM
The Sabres improved to 2-0 under new owner Terry Pegula with a 4-2 victory over Ottawa on Friday. After a 47 save shutout performance in his debut with Ottawa, Craig Anderson earned his first loss as a Senator. Mike Grier put Buffalo on the board six and a half minutes in, converting on a breakaway. The Sabres went up by two midway through the second period when Cody Mc...
Despite playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Sabres didn’t show any signs of fatigue. The Sabres saluted the fans before leaving the ice, pointing their sticks toward the No. 7 banner. The Sabres honored Rick Martin as all the team wore stickers on their helmets. Ryan Miller got a day of rest on Sunday as Jhonas Enroth received the start in net against...
From the 2001-2002 season to the 2003-2004, the Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division three years in a row. Placing so low in the standings allowed Pittsburgh to draft the likes of: Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal. Drafting these players has taken the Pittsburgh Penguins from being the laughing stock of...
I went into this weekend of Sabres hockey rather skeptical after the past few performances of the team. Despite only losing by one goal in a lot of their games, it was not a accurate depiction of the game as a whole. Buffalo was not playing good hockey, and there was no reason to think this weekend would be any different. However, 2 games and 4 points later, I was plea...
Sabres42 writes...

Thoughts of a Good Weekend

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Sabres rebounded with 4 points over the weekend with a goalie duel win against the Flames on Friday and a exciting shootout win in Ottawa. To my surprise even though I would have done it that way, Jhonas Enroth played both games over the weekend and played well. He is now 4-0-0 with a 1.41 GAA and .952 SV %. I'll get to the Miller vs Enroth debate later. First I want t...
At least Buffalo got a point. However, they should have gotten 2 points and again, Buffalo displayed their inability to play 60 minutes of hockey. Buffalo started out playing very well. Why? They had a fantastic forecheck. Their forecheck alone forced Ottawa to make turnovers in their own end, and Buffalo cashed in early. Despite the early deficit against the Senators ...
Gunner Staal writes...

No Timetable

Posted Thursday | Comments 1
The concussions have started to officially pile up at an alarming rate to top end skill players in the NHL. Crosby, Giroux, Milan Michalek, Skinner, all in the past week and a half That includes the best hockey player in the world, the NHL points leader, the NHL goal leader, and one of the best young stars in the game. That is not to leave out players like Pronger, Letang...
I wasn’t going to write this... But after seeing what one of my counterparts once again has said, I feel a realistic viewpoint needs to be taken regarding Sabres hockey on this site. “Decent effort against Ottawa. Yet again, not enough scoring in the end.” That’s from Garth. What game were you watching? As I watched the game from the First Niagara Center,...
[img] http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/377538_10150453288332293_500697292_8764872_728421700_n.jpg[/img] WJC It's official Canada gets its rematch against Russia, but this time its not for gold. After coming through the first round of the tournament Canada won every weighted game that they played along the way. Where does this leave us? We received a bu...
After a small trip down loser’s lane, the Lightning need to get back into the winner’s circle. Losers don’t make it too far in the National Hockey League these days. This season isn’t lost yet, despite a rather one-sided loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Currently, the Lightning sit in 12th place in the east. While it doesn’t sound pretty, take no...
Heading into the game against the Ottawa Senators, fans knew it was going to be a challenge to get the win. The Sens boast some great young players with a lot of skill up front. That said, I’m not sure people expected what we saw tonight. It was the Craig Anderson show as he singlehandedly stole this game from the Tampa Bay Lightning in heartbreaking fashion. Here’...
icedog97 writes...

It's Getting Ugly

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
When a team endures a poor stretch of play...and the subsequent losses that are the result of that play...things can start to unravel in a hurry. Heading into last night's game against the Ottawa Senators, the Penguins were spiraling down the Eastern Conference standings...thanks to a 4 game losing streak...and in desperate need of some positive results. Injuries hav...
The Penguins lost their 6th game in a row last night, this time at the hands of the Washington Capitals by a score of 1-0. It was a physical game filled with lots of hits: 79 to the body, according to the official stats several punches landed between Craig Adams and Matt Hendricks a few pucks off of goal posts one puck that managed to hit the back of either net ...
After not being able to provide themselves any real scoring chances in a lackluster effort against the Devils, the Jets appeared to come ready to play tonight against the Sens. Chris mason was not really tested all that much but did provide solid net-minding late to keep the Senators off the board during an inevitable late-game push. The reason Mason had such an easy...
Well isn't this a nice turn of events. We are reaching the season's halfway mark and not only is Ottawa still competitive, they are a force. The Senator's 25-16-6 record has brought fans to the edge of their seats during every game and their excitement is only matched by the players themselves. While the 613 was trying to convince itself it was excited about a lengthy rebu...
Well isn't this a nice turn of events. We are reaching the season's halfway mark and not only is Ottawa still competitive, they are a force. The Senator's 25-16-6 record has brought fans to the edge of their seats during every game and their excitement is only matched by the players themselves. While the 613 was trying to convince itself it was excited about a lengthy rebu...
The Eastern Conference standings are so tight right now; a win, tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators, is a must. At the time of writing, the Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets had not dropped the puck in their incredibly important tilt. With a Jets loss today and a Lightning win tomorrow, the Bolts would be sitting in 8th spot. That's right folks, barring the outcome of t...
I went with my fiancé last night to take in an Amerks game. Luckily, since the Sabres are now re-affiliated with the Amerks, I can talk her into going a lot more. Buffalo’s farm team is playing very well at the moment, and right now in the middle of a playoff race in the AHL, in case you're not following the Amerks closely. If the playoffs started today, the Amerks are ...
andydrmm writes...

Round 1 Playoff Preview

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Now that my team has been eliminated from the playoffs (as predicted) I can look at the playoffs objectively. Here's my take on the quarterfinal match ups in this years NHL playoffs. I'm writing on this site, click on the link below to read the whole article. http://betweenthebenches.com/?p=1103
Last night Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers skated to a 3-2 victory at Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa to force a game 7 in their series with the Senators. The top seed in the East fought back from a deflating shutout loss at home in Game 5 and an early 1-0 deficit in game 6. The Atlantic Division champs had some help from an undisciplined Ottawa team who took several crucia...
Last season, when the Ottawa Senators still had Brian Elliot and were struggling throughout the year, goaltending was a major weakness for the Sens. Robin Lehner was seen as the goalie of the future as he was playing incredibly well, leading his team a Calder Cup Championship. At the trade deadline, Craig Anderson was acquired in a swap for Elliot, and goaltending seemed m...
NHilts writes...

Cody Ceci to Senators

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
As I sat watching the NHL Draft tonight, I realized after Tampa Bay selected Slater Koekkoek tenth overall, that the Ottawa Senators would have a chance to select an extremely gifted player that many thought would not make it that far. In the four picks prior, I knew Ottawa would have a choice of Filip Forsberg, Mikhael Grigorenko, Radek Faksa, Zemgus Girgensons, Cody Ceci...
Much has been made about the prospect depth that Ottawa's front office has assembled through quality drafting. This has allowed both the fans and team optimism for the future, especially within the top six. However, it also enables trade flexibility (such as the Rundblad for Turris deal) and the opportunity to be a factor during free agency. Ottawa has allegedly been v...
Much has been made about the prospect depth that Ottawa's front office has assembled through quality drafting. This has allowed both the fans and team optimism for the future, especially within the top six. However, it also enables trade flexibility (such as the Rundblad for Turris deal) and the opportunity to be a factor during free agency. Ottawa has allegedly been v...
I was pleased to see the Senators organization extend Chris Neil's contract. I feel this was a no brainer for head office due to the relatively low contract and the influence #25 has in the nation's capital. Bringing a tough guy presence with a 30+ point upside is certainly worth 3 years at 5.75M. While Ottawa Paul MacLeaned its way into a new era, it is important to k...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
[i]“I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don’t care. Move me … because it’s just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you’re going to be the guy moved.” - Bobby Ryan[/i] Interesting enough, he's clearly on board with being dealt to another team. And why not the Ottawa Senators? A team that is one 4-time 30 goal scor...
cjet14 writes...

Bishop steals one for The Sens

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Really Michel Therrien? Brian Gionta. Brian fucking Gionta. One of the coldest players in our line up right now and you put the game on his stick. So how did that work out for you? Oh, he didn’t even get a shot off? Quick, can anyone think of a couple players you would rather see out there in the fourth round of a shoot out before Gionta? I can bang out a few off the top...
thehockeypooler writes...

The "Crosby" Conspiracy

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
My friend once told me: "The Penguins dive more than any other team in the NHL. Worse, they seem to get those calls! What is going on!?" I always thought he was crazy. But then, I started watching the game objectively for myself. Here's what I found. The Penguins, are diving. Left, right, center. Game 4 was almost completely decided by the refs. Here is m...
“I point the finger squarely on (NHL agent) JP Barry, the man who blessed us with the (Dany) Heatley mess.” Doesn’t it feel like every time the Senators hit center stage in the NHL world Eugene Melnyk is quoted saying something as blasphemous as this? I mean if it’s not his personal vendetta against Matt Cooke being publicly announced after his top defense m...
The Ducks have started their 5 game homestand with a 2-0 record. They absolutely destroyed the New York Rangers 6-0 in their home opener and followed that up with a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on a night that saw the Mighty Ducks fly again. I won't say much about the game against the Rangers. For whatever reason, that team was a mess this week. Between losing to th...
December 25 A very Merry Christmas to all you hockey fans out there! As we have hit the Christmas break of the 2013-14 NHL season, let's take a quick gander at to what we have seen thus far. In my opinion, the Anaheim Ducks are the best team in the league at the moment. The Ducks have also approached the midseason break with a nine game winning streak as a result...
So first off, this is my first attempt at sports writing, so please be constructive in the comments. Little bit about me, I’m only 13 and have had a passion to get into sports writing for a year or 2 now and I`m a die-hard Sens fan. I like to write about trade speculation, players "values", and other things like that because that is one of my favorite aspects of professi...
If you missed my first blog on the Ottawa-Buffalo trade rumour, it`s right here http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=219486&post_id=15947 So in my last blog, I mentioned how Ottawa`s first priority should be a Top 2/ Top 4 defenseman, if there are any available. Obviously, this guy is gonna get brought in to play with Karlsson, as Jared Cowen just isn`t prov...
This afternoon, WGR's Jeremy White has posted that Buffalo Sabres general manager, Tim Murray, "let slip" that he is discussing a deal with Ottawa Senators GM, Bryan Murray. No specifics on who it involves on either side but Sabre fans may want to review young players in the Ottawa organization. Tim Murray has stated that he is looking for young prospects amongst all the t...
This afternoon, WGR's Jeremy White has posted that Buffalo Sabres general manager, Tim Murray, "let slip" that he is discussing a deal with Ottawa Senators GM, Bryan Murray. No specifics on who it involves on either side but Sabre fans may want to review young players in the Ottawa organization. Tim Murray has stated that he is looking for young prospects amongst all the t...
Mac_65 writes...

Mark Stone:Diamond in The Rough

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Mark Stone. If you are a Sens fan, you`re gonna be LOVING this guy, maybe even as soon as next year. Stone holds a special place in my heart as he played for my local Dub team(the Wheat Kings). A 6th round pick in 2010, Stone is showing that he is an absolute GEM! After scoring just 28 points in 39 games his draft year, and his skating being compared to a beached whale(man...
Tdog21 writes...

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Thursday April 10th 2014rnrnBreathe in, Breathe out.rnA Senators fan’s thoughts on what many are calling a disappointing Season.rnrn On Sunday, the 2013/2014 campaign will come to an end for the Ottawa Senators. This season came with great expectations, many of which were not met. From my perspective as a Sens fan, this season was Agony. We were constantly taunted with f...
NHL rumours are abound these days, particularly concerning questions as to whether or not the Ottawa Senators will trade captain Jason Spezza. Interestingly enough, the discussion here seems to be more geared toward when Ottawa might trade Spezza, with hardly any consideration of whether they even should trade him. Evidently the rationale behind this potential move is clea...
Hello all! As an Ottawa Senators fan for the past 20+ years and self proclaimed armchair analyst I would like to share my thoughts on how I believe the team should handle itself in the 2014 offseason. Comments and feedback are highly encouraged! [b]1. DO NOT part with Jason Spezza unless the deal is astoundingly good.[/b] My greatest summer nightmare is the Ottawa Sen...
[url=http://victorygreen.wordpress.com]This article is from my Dallas Stars blog, "Victory Green". You can find more Dallas Stars blog entries as well as an upcoming weekly Stars podcast which will premier in the coming weeks.[/url] Apparently the Dallas Stars aren't merely a hockey franchise, but ninja assassins when it comes to trades under Jim Nill. “Stealth-like...
[url=http://victorygreen.wordpress.com]CHECK OUT MORE DALLAS STARTS CONTENT LIKE THIS ON "VICTORY GREEN", MY DALLAS STARS WEBSITE[/url] [b]One of the few bright spots in the Ottawa Senator's 2013-2014 season, in which they missed the playoffs and ended the year 11th in the East, was the chemistry shown between Jason Spezza, and their trade deadline acquisition, Ales Hem...
[b]Rough week...[/b] I want to start this note off by reaffirming my position on the Spezza trade. Personally I thought it was a disgraceful display of management by the Senators head office, though as a longtime Senators fan, I shouldn't be surprised. After all this is the same organization that decided to offer a contract to the giveaway artist Wade Redden instead of Zd...
[b]Follow me on Twitter @DailyNHLGRIND[/b] Last year’s newly formed Atlantic division was headlined by the 2012-13 Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins and the finally-turned-east Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins did in fact lead the pack but trailing right behind was the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. The Red Wings were able to inch into the playoffs l...
Danglarsteeth writes...

Hello!

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
This is my first time writing a blog and I have no background in writing whatsoever, so bear with me. Once the season starts I plan to follow and write about the Ottawa Senators as often as I can. I'll be writing my honest opinion, knowing full well that it is no more educated than any of yours, so I welcome any opinions that differ from mine. One last thing, I'm an...
[b]Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DailyNHLGrind[/b] The Ottawa Senators stormed the Avs in the third period to come away with a 5-3 victory on Thursday night. The Avs' loss came with rookie goaltender Calvin Pickard losing his first career NHL contest in his first appearance. Earlier in the day the Avs announced starting goalie Semyon Varlamov would be a g...
Erik Condra had the lone goal, and once again a strong effort from the Sens in a very winnable game that slipped through the fingers of the 26th overall Sens team. A lot of things looked very good in their 51st game of the season, the offence seems to be building chemistry but just can't manage to finish consistently. This shouldn't be too upsetting for Sens management,...
Playoffs is definitely overstating it for the 25th overall Ottawa Senators, who might not be overly upset with a regulation loss tonight. They've gone 3-6-1 over their past 10 games, and a top 5 pick is certainly starting to sound pretty good to the Senators, whose playoff hopes are all but gone. A regulation win for Buffalo would still leave them 2 points behind the depre...
Marc Methot made Sens Army very happy today, as it was finally announced he had resigned with the club for the next 4 years. The deal has a cap hit of 4.9 million per season, worth a total of 19.6 million that keeps Methot here until 2018-2019. After Karlsson spoke out earlier this week as to how valuable Methot is to the team as well as himself, it seemed like this ...
The Sens are set to take on Dustin Tokarski and the Canadiens tonight in their fourth straight home game out of five in a row. In a stretch that has seen them play 10 of their last 13 games in Ottawa, the Sens have gone 5-6-2 and have seen a boost to their offence. The Senators have 41 goals for in their last 13 games, 3.15GF/game, a jump from their 2.8GF/game on the seaso...
After a two game NHL stint, Shane Prince has been sent back to Binghamton of the American Hockey League for further development. In his place will be Matt Puempel, first round pick of the same year Shane Prince was selected in the second round and JG Pageau was nabbed in the fourth. Prince got an opportunity on the third line after MacArthur was injured, and was definit...
[img]http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nhl/florida-panthers/hq5kye/picture10909145/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_1140/Panthers%20Senators%20Hockey%20(3)[/img] Final Score: 4 -1 Sens The Sens ended their five game home-stand Saturday night with their third win, going 3-1-1. Over the last five games at home the Senators scored 22 goals, a 4.4 average well above their 2.8 on the...
Boston beat New Jersey tonight in OT and the Sens are now 7 points behind with 2 games in hand and only Florida and Philly between them and the final playoff spot. Sens beat Kings 1-0, Hammond gets shutout Since Hammond has come in the Sens have won four straight and look like they could jump a few teams in the standings soon. Our schedule is a few games behind the...
[img]http://www.journalpioneer.com/media/photos/unis/2011/07/01/2011-07-01-04-47-01-dave%20sens%20rookie%20camp1.jpg[/img] Hello everybody and thank you for reading once again. It has been a couple months since I've had a chance to write, but exams ended just in time for me to trek back home to Ottawa for games 3 & 4. I just arrived home from the second OT loss in a row...
LazarBeam writes...

Sens vs Habs Game 4: Preview

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[img]http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/96/files/2015/04/bobby-ryan-nhl-ottawa-senators-carolina-hurricanes-850x560.jpg[/img] Welp. This morning we saw how Dave Cameron will be lining them up tonight when the Sens will avoid the sweep. MacArthur-Turris-Stone Michalek-Zibanejad-Ryan Condra-Pageau-Lazar Hoffman-Smith-Neil Its fair to say Hoffman will ha...
[img]http://1.cdn.nhle.com/senators/images/upload/gallery/2015/04/470740806_slide.jpg[/img] Wow. I've got to start this off with the most important thing that happened tonight: I called that Hoffman goal. It may not be impressive since he is our leading goal scorer, but hey, if it was so obvious why didn't Cameron move him up from the fourth line earlier? Like maybe ...
Visit my website [url]http://lazarbeams.com/?p=62[/url] to vote! Current goal scoring pace, 2015-2016 = 0 goals / 0 games = 0 goals per game = 0 goal pace With his arbitration case finally over, most of the summer there has been talk of how well Mike Hoffman will perform this coming season. With forwards like Stone and Zibanejad getting longer, more lucrative d...
LazarBeam writes...

Jared Cowen: A New Hope

Posted Friday | Comments 0
[img]http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/opinion/assets_c/2013/05/white-canadiens_620-thumb-620xauto-295459.jpg[/img] To see more like this check out the Sens News section of my website! [url]http://lazarbeams.com/?cat=4[/url] Six foot five, 228 lbs, drafted 9th overall in 2009, entering his 24/25 year old season. We all have our opinions about Cowen...
[img]http://i.imgur.com/pWhTFKv.jpg[/img] Check out my site! [url]www.lazarbeams.com[/url][/url] I originally watched the first game of the three game rookie tournament with the intentions of writing an article for each game, but couldn't find the time as I had to travel around Ontario a bit this weekend. After a visit to see my family I'm finally back home and can g...
[img]http://i.imgur.com/tPBRYcD.jpg[/img] [url]www.lazarbeams.com[/url] The new top line of Hoffman-Turris-Stone has been one of the best-looking in the league through the first couple games of the season and has been carrying the Sens offence. Last nights 3-1 loss to Montreal and rookie goalie Mike Condon showed why having one line play so much better than the rest ...
CBJ Game No. 20- Columbus Blue Jackets @ Ottawa Senators Let the back to back begin in Ottawa. Here are the lineups Columbus Blue Jackets Boone Jenner – Ryan Johansen – Brandon Saad Matt Calvert – Nick Foligno – Cam Atkinson Scott Hartnell – William Karlsson – Rene Bourque Kerby Rychel – Gregory Campbell – Josh Anderson Jack Johnson �...
CBJ Game No. 20- Columbus Blue Jackets @ Ottawa Senators Let the back to back begin in Ottawa. Here are the lineups Columbus Blue Jackets Boone Jenner – Ryan Johansen – Brandon Saad Matt Calvert – Nick Foligno – Cam Atkinson Scott Hartnell – William Karlsson – Rene Bourque Kerby Rychel – Gregory Campbell – Josh Anderson Jack Johnson �...
In Kanata, Ontario, Canada, the Columbus Blue Jackets' winning streak ended as a result of a shutout by the Ottawa Senators, blanking the Columbus Blue Jackets by a final score of 3-0. In Thursday's game,Craig Anderson stopped 25 shots, and earned a .100 save percentage (100%). They got goals from Erik Karlsson (2G, 1A), and Kyle Turris (1G, 1A). They also got points fro...
The home stand continues for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they welcome a different looking Ottawa Senators club. This week, the Senators pulled off a inner-division trade with rival Toronto Maple Leafs where Milan Michalek, Jared Cowen, Colin Grenning, Tobias Lindberg, and a 2017 2nd round pick were moved for captain Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert, a...
Luke D The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a major trade on Tuesday, shipping Dion Phaneuf along with career minor leaguers (Casey Bailey, Matt Frattin, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey) to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2017 2nd round pick, B prospect Tobias Lindberg, Jared Cowen, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening. While many (including myself), consider this trade ...
Last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Ottawa Senators by a final score of 4-2. Ottawa got both their goals in the final frame. Bobby Ryan netted his 20th goal of the season two minutes into the third period. With less than five minutes left into the game, Cody Ceci got his 6th goal of the year. Mika Zibanejad got assists on both goals; and Erik Karlsson an...
Last night the Minnesota Wild announced that they have hired Bruce Boudreau as there new head coach. Boudreau went 409-192-80 (.659) in 9 seasons as the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals. Boudreau contact with Minnesota is 4yrs just under 3 million a year. ...
The Ottawa Senators grabbed a 2-1 series lead over the Boston Bruins tonight thanks to a Bobby Ryan overtime winner. The Senators were in command of the game early as they ran out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period of Game 3. The Bruins mounted an impressive comeback, tying the score at three before time ran out on the second frame. It was all for naught though, an...
rebel_deucer writes...

Second Round Predictions

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
5-3 in the first round decent predictions. Best one is predicting the leafs to make a series with the caps but still ultimately lose. Western Preds Over Blues in 5 This was a toss up but the blues are not paying to their capabilities and the preds have decent forward and the BEST defense in all of the playoffs and a streaky goaltender. Oilers Over Ducks in 6 I a...
Well these rumours are a surprise. One deflected shot in the playoffs to win vs. Penguins, plus capitalizing on Rinne's terribad performance in the Stanley Cup Finals last year, the Sens win the cup with that Cinderella run. Now they're burning on the other side of the rift of fire and screaming out to Lazarus, "Help, help! We're in tribulation!" So is it a go...
A few days ago, I predicted the sharks would miss the playoffs in 2019. I felt that Chicago would push up and have a comeback season after a disaster 2018 and that Colorado would have the other spot due to their young guys stepping up and Grubauer taking half the starts with Colorado's current starter Semyon Varlamov. But as off today, Multiple reports have said that th...
Ottawa Senators forward Zack Smith was placed on, and cleared waivers over the past 24 hours. Smith is a career long Senator: drafted by the club in the third round, 79th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was part of a team last year that crashed below the Earth's crust, and is offering him to clubs at a lesser value, after going through the waiver wire. Smith was al...
The Senators outworked the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. Bad turnovers and lackluster play allowed a determined Ottawa team to win. This type of play has become common as the Leafs have dropped 5 of their last 6. The 4 days off may give them some time to reflect but if each player doesn't stop with the soft play the Jets and Oilers will be atop the North in no time. L...
[i]Guest Writer: Octavarium[/i]Thursday evening the Senators continued their push towards an unlikely playoff spot with a hometown tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers. To say the Flyers came to town with an obvious chip on their shoulder would be an understatement. They came in having won 4 straight and feeling pretty good about themselves. The tone was set early. We are ...
GrimmdaGoalie writes...

Sens Goalie Options

Posted Monday | Comments 0
With goaltending being the key to the Senators success next year (and every year, apparently) and everyone acknowledging that it is an area that has to be addressed and improved, it is evident that the position will become the focus of the offseason (along with the looming decisions about Alex Debrincat). It is going to become a dominant story in Ottawa. A...

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