Despite a line up that includes two of the best players on the planet, it has been a bit of rocky start for the Penguins. They opened up the season with convincing wins over the Flyers and Rangers but have since lost back to back games at the hands of the Leafs and the Jets. You know they'll be eager to get back on track against the Senators.
Meanwhile, MacLean's team should be just as motivated after letting a 4-0 start slip away at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a game the Sens had control of but some sloppy defensive play combined with questionable goaltending allowed the Bolts back in the game. They'll definitely need to tighten things up against the offensively gifted Penguins.
Ottawa took 3 of 4 meetings between the two teams last season, including a wild 8-4 win late in the season.
With the early start, there's no morning skate shceduled for the Senators. Paul MacLean will speak to the media around 2:00 PM. Will pass along any line up changes at that point.
Puck drop is just after 5:00 PM with the game available on Sportsnet East and Team 1200.
GSG!
Wiercioch back in or stick with Boro?
So it's confirmed that Latendresse was in fact injured? I thought it was strange that Mac would pull him from the line-up after only 3 games but obviously if he was injured it makes sense.
A minor injury I guess.
Again this year the leafs, one of the leagues constant shit teams, leads the entire league in power play opportunities and time. On top of that, they have been given an amazing 7 5 on 3 chances already this season.
The league will do whatever it can to keep the leafs in the picture until they suck so bad, there is just no helping them.
Suck it Phaneuf
It's a tough call though because we obviously need to play a strong game in our own end if we're going to contain Geno, Sid and company. If it were up to me, the defenceman I would pull from the line-up would be Phillips. He was our worst dman on Friday and if anyone should come out it should be him.
Fortunately for Phillips he has earned the respect of the coaching staff, his teammates and most of us fans over the years that it doesn't matter how bad he plays, he will be in the line up regardless. I miss the old big rig, but its evident that Father Time has caught up to him.
Milo-Spezz-Silfver
Condra/Regin-Turris-Alfie
Greening-Smitty-Neiler
Daug-Jimmy O-Condra/Regin
I think Condra was one of, if not our strongest forward against the lightning and should be rewarded with some more ice time this afternoon. I've never been the biggest Condra fan but he played great on Friday. If not Condra, then Regin should skate up on that second line.
I love P-Mac, I trust him with our team but I really didn't like all the line juggling that took place on Friday. The players hate it too. It throws everyone off and messes with the overall chemistry of the team. Keep Silfverberg on that top line and our 3rd line together. I don't want to see Smith with Turris and Alfie and Greening on the top line like we did against the Bolts.
Latendresse's health? He's injured? I just thought he was a scatch because he flat out sucked. Latendresse's health... Some things don't change.
As I said on opening night, you really just need to dump the puck into Phillips corner softly all night and wear him down.
As for the 5-6 they been pretty good all things considered but I'd rather see a rookie paired with a vet especially when were hemmed in our own end.
I'm at the game tonight and excited to see a great game.
Go Sens!
Going back to the winning lineup makes sense to me if everyone is healthy. Hopefully Andy can steal us a win tonight, tough team to outscore.
Turris for the win!
I'm more than confident in the forwards and Anderson.. but that D after Karlsson & Methot worries me...
Gonchar has been okay and Philips slow. They could be badly exposed today.
The Pens will be in a sour mood after 2 losses.
Let's hope Anderson has an exceptional game and Fleury doesn't. Time for Spezza to get going.
Sens need this win...
Pittsburgh's No. 1 netminder Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to get the start on Sunday. He is 7-8-1 with a 3.57 goals against average in 20 career games against Ottawa.
The Senators won three of four meetings with Pittsburgh in 2011-12 and Ottawa scored 22 times in the season series. The Pens have lost two in a row and four of their last five in Ottawa.
We gotta come out hard and we gotta come out fast. Someone said it on Friday and I agree 110%. If it ain't broken, don't fix it (before the sudden changes in Friday's game).
Winning streaks have to end and if I had to choose, I'd rather see the Sens lose against the Bolts then the Penguins.
I f-ing hate the Penguins. Glad to see Latrendresse & Wierciouch back.
5-1 Sens .... yes it's a homer pick, but it's fun to be a homer.
The only thing Wiercioch does better than Borowiecki is on the PP. Wiercioch like I said does not kill penaltys so with Wiercioch in your top 4 are killing penaltys plus most of the power play plus normal 5 on 5 it's too much ice time for them. As far as the Gryba comment that is just dumb if he was even close they would have invited him to camp.
I would say if Latendresse is back in the second line, then sit Greening and put Daug with Smith and Neil. Also rather Wiercioch over Boro. Boro had some very nice hits, but Wier is a more balanced D.
Having said my opinion, I am ready to face the reality that we will see the same lines as the first 3 games.
I know some people are pretty high on Benoit but I think I'd rather see Wiercioch and Borowiecki in. I like the physicality Boro brings and that move/pass that Wiercioch made to Turris on the PP showed NHL level skill...
Also, if Latendresse is ready to go, I think I'd like to see Daugavins in/Regin out. Daug could create some space on that 4th line for JOB and Condra and Regin's been a ghost most shifts.
in terms of lineup decisions, i would make the case for phillips to get bumped but the excuse of a back-to-back on friday makes me think one more chance should be given. i like PW46's offensive skills more than what borocop brings so yea i would like to see him back. not to mention he has great chemistry with Benoit. also one possible changeup i'd like to see is phillips paired with someone other than Gonchar - maybe they should put Borocop with Phillips - better shutdown tandem i think.
i suggest NO CHANGE to the fron. really liked what i saw from daugavins with turris+alfie.
Quoting myteam65:
in his 22 career games, he has 22points but only 5 of which are goals. with a rating of -7. only 2 of his goals were scored in ottawa
Redden would have been a huge step back for both him and the organisation. He was pretty much loathed his final year here and became a virtual laughing stock in New York (mainly through no fault of his own).
Sports fans are cruel, all it would have taken were a couple of bad games for him here and the fans would have been all over him.
I liked Redden, he was my first ever "favourite" player when I first came to Canada in 2003 but the mutual baggage that the organisation and Redden would have had to overcome would be close to insummountable. One miss pass and it's "I can't believe we let Chara go" all over again.
Maybe that sort of stuff shouldn't matter - but it does. I'm glad he's found a spot and hopefully he can rebuild his confidence. Play his 1000 game in the NHL and receive the well wishes of our organisation as he does it.
If you mean by winning the hardest worker twice in rookie camp I guess that is sucking up. Do you really think any of these players could suck up to the Sens brass? He took a lot of penaltys because after his hard hit they wanted to fight him and he won't back down. He was the first choice on the PK down in Bingo, but Wiercioch and Benoit were the PP guys. How come Wiercioch has not had any PK time up here? He is a PP specialist, but the Sens don't need another one of those. Borowiecki is better in his own end, he will get his physical, Wiercioch avoids the corners as much as possible. Benoit is better defensively than Wiercioch and as good offensively, the problem is he is 28 and likely is not going to get a whole better where hopefully Wiercioch will improve. Benoit is better offensively than Borowiecki, but not as good defensively and again hopefully Borowiecki will also improve. Again like I said earlier Wiercioch does not kill penaltys so for the most part with him in you have your top 4 doing all of the speciality work along with there normal 5 on 5. They need there rest. Also like I said earlier if Wiercioch plays watch how PM hide him defensively by rarly putting him out when there is a face off in there zone and when he is in our zone watch how he avoids the corners as much as possible, but when he does he is soft.
Any news on the projected line up and defense pairings for the
Senators??
All we know for sure is that Anderson starts in goal !!
Does anyone know for sure what today's Ottawa line up will be ??
The Sens took 3 out of 4 games last season probably because there was no Crosby in the lineup.
Need an update from Binghamton as to the extent of the injuries, please.
Latty/Turris/Silfverberg
was never a big fan of greening playing top line. always prefer him being a 3rd liner.
edit: nice add chirp by making the comment section automatically chance it to a hyperlink
The ref didn't notice Crosby's stick broken. Then Crybaby Crosby whined to the ref and called a penalty 5 seconds late. Bullshit.
A team of vile, vicious crybabies.
we continue to play like this the goals will come.
and Michalek is visibly still injured, you can tell by the way hes skating.
It seems like they do nothing but beak the refs, 2 minutes in the box would shut him up. Refs should grow a set and park his ass in the box next time he opens his mouth.
Suicide pass to spezza, luckily Malkin was soft on the play and we score.
Next shift we have all the momentum, Michalek bobles the puck trying to set up spezza for a nice one timer
Then he gets in Spezza's way and lets the puck get caught up in his skates
What a chump. Lost and useless.
1 game on 10 games off
and man the sens were playing with fire after that tying goal. i saw a giveaway by about 4 different sens defensemen each on separate shifts.
michalek is totally off rhythm today with spezza. they need to put michalek with turris - didnt they have chemistry last year? and put silfverberg back up with spezza.
dunno if people will agree with me, but don't you guys think spezza has not had all out smooth convincing chemistry with any winger since heatley left?
SHUT--UP!!
He would have had a 3rd but Malkin missed it and he got an assist instead.
That my friend is how michlek gets his points.
NHL stats for the game show Michalek with 2 giveaways and 2 takeaways. Most takeaways on the Sens to the end of the 2nd period. You were saying....
Is that how he got 35 goals last season too?
The way a good line in hockey works is you have 2 main players that make up a line and a third guy who fits in well with them and who basically just chips in every now and then.
Right now the way the Sens are structured, we have Spezza and Michalek as our number 1 pair and were constantly trying to find a third guy as a filler on the 1st line with them.
I see that as a problem. Michalek is good but isn't the type of player that thrives in the go-to type role. However, that being said, I think Michalek would be an absolute dynamic 3rd guys (filler role) along side Spezza and someone like Perry. Would have been the same way if we acquired Nash.
People are constantly talking about our defense needing help. I don't think that's the case. Sure it would be nice but it isn't that bad. However our offense really struggles. We can't consistently generate offense with our best players. I think it's because we're missing that one piece.
for all the shit people are piling on michalek today - be happy that he atleast plays the defensive side of the game better than the dilated one
sens are hanging on a little....need to make the simple plays and press in the pens zone.
What a meat head
Do you ever have anything positive to say? Seriously it's 1-1, actually a good hockey game and all you do is yap about crap.
Do you know things were quite pleasant on this site until you came back...
You were not on here trashing players when the Sens won those first 3 games...
Michalek is still a really good player though and he's an important part of our core.
Prediction: goal by Silfverberg
Turris!!
I Guess he has a fancy nickname Im sure he scored
3 goals in 3 shots. Ouch !
Ha well !
felt that this was silfv's best game this year. spezza much better than the past games.
karlsson got better as game went on.
woulda liked to seen turris more active in the game earlier.
andy shutdown all game, altho he has never been too great at shootout.
and why doesn't the coach just make it official and put Karlsson on Michalek wing bahaha
Michalek sucks so bad. Did zilch all game.
GAWD, you're boring.
The same old song for 500+ times.
You REALLY need to start your own blog.
What I can say, is that the bellyaching may get old, but I feel his pain.
He doesn't want to see Michalek on the team and I don't blame him. He's really not that good at all. Useless in the top six.
No suprise there - doubt that you've ever gone to a game.
GSG
I hate haters
Good to see someone else seeing what we're seeing. Michalek isn't producing at all. Doesn't create, doesn't help out his teammates, doesn't do anything. Zero effort.
This loss was more your fault than it was Andersons.
I liked the pairings Gonchar is offensive with Borowiecki defensive, the same with Phillips and Benoit
Neal, Malkin, Crosby ...not in any goalies favour
Now they have 2 more games in the next 3 nights. The boys will need a break soon. Washington and Habs won't be walk in the park.
the refs sucked tonight btw. let the penguins run loose all over the ice. i think the sens could use some dirty tactics next time they play against pens.
can't believe some posters here are blaming andy for the shootout loss. for your lack of collective knowledge, the shootout always always always favors the shooter thats why the team that scores the most shootout goals wins lol...i thought andy played an amazing game and kept us in the whole game and i also felt his game was better than fleury's.
im happy. the sens started good and ended decent. i thought during OT they had much better offensive chances than the penguins too. i think our guys can just use a little more sharpness...... probably an off sunday afternoon game though.
can't wait for the captain to get back.
Lehner was a perfect 8 for 8 in shoot-out defense this weekend.
FREEBIRD !
When the three shooters are Malkin, Crosby, Neal - you are at a huge disadvantage...
Andy was his usual awesome self tonight- he gets a pass on the shoot out..
Refs were brutal on a couple of calls (for both teams) and missed calls.
Phillips is way past his best before date- Murray, pull the trigger!..
Silfverberg is getting closer but I'm not sure that he's found his niche in the lineup yet. I definitely like him on that second line though especially if Alfie is back.
I wasn't expecting a win tonight but I was surprised at how low scoring it was.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/nicholas.rawlins.9
as for the game, not alot of blame here, karlsson and alfie were injured so you cant really count it.
we played pretty well against a good team and broke crosbys point streak against canadian teams!
Greening - Spez - MM
Alfie - Turris - Silfverberg
I really think for the time being Silfverberg will do better learning under Alfie rather than Spezza simply because Silfverberg has a game that models Alfies. Over time I could see him meshing well with Spezza, but for right now I think he will do quite fine along side Turris and Alfie.
I also would like to see Wiercioch more too. He looked good in his first few games, question is, who comes out? Boro and Benoit have been doing alright too
imo sens need to start phasing out the big rig. they can afford to also with good serviceable depth on D that can play NHL minutes. it will be even harder next season for phillips to make a case for himself when cowen is healthy.
btw.....where are the doubters on the methot for foligno deal? looks like a no-brainer deal now doesnt it?
while i like greening on the 1st. i think he is strongest on the 3rd line - size, grit, speed and decent skill. i think its more important to have a spread out offensive structure. sens need to keep with Spezz, Silf, Turris, Alfie, MM9 and Latendresse in the top 6 for the next little while. I think they should really try latendresse with spezza for a change.
When your goalie has to face Malkin, Crosby, and Neal in a shoot out, be happy we walked away with at least a single point. No one said this game was going to be easy, and through 60+ minutes, we showed that we could hang with one of the top contenders in the East.
Luckily for us, they have a day off before facing a weak Caps team.
Like I said after the 1st 3 games.. it was ONLY the first three games!
Perspective people:
-We are not going to be #1 in East.
-This team is still a very competitive team.
-No, Michalek does not "suck".
-No, Anderson does not "suck".
-This was an awful game by both teams, and it's clear some fatigue is setting in.
Finally, the level of both excitation and depression is far beyond what's justified for a 5pm Sunday game #5 of the season. Learn to roll with it a bit, you'll live longer.
Something is not right in the format of the "comment" section, being split up rather than continuous and ongoing like always.
annnnd you're a moron......
Michalek was our leading goal scorer last year so I think he deserves a bit of patience. If we didn't have Michalek who the hell would Spezza play with? Condra regin Daug o'brien greening? None of these guys can score 30+ goals in the NHL.
Milo has 5 points in 5 games and is a plus 4. What more do you guys want?
Trade Michalek! Useless bag of crap only has 5 pts in 5 games.
Trade Anderson! Only has league leading 0.74 GAA and 0.975 save%
Trade Spezza! He didn't score tonight.
The stache has no idea what he is doing!
What's with that wuss Alfie? He should be playing.
Hey Murray! Blow this shit up and start rebuilding!
Oh, wait...nevermin d
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What do you mean Karlsson injured - did I miss something? He looked terrible at the end of the 3rd period. I think over the next two games McLean has to cut his ice time. It will be 4 games in 6 days on Tuesday.. and 5 in 7 on Wednesday... He isn't superhuman.
How many more players are feeling the effects of the flu. One of them gets it.. it usually goes through the room.
Sens right now sit in 4th overall in the East with 7 pts.. tied with Boston and NJ (Sens have played 1 more game). Tampa leads the Eastern Conference with 8 pts in 5 games. So exactly why are some of you on here complaining about?
BTW - in the AHL All-Star skills/game... 4 of the 6 goalies have/had connections to Ottawa or the Sens... Lehner/Brust/Mc Elhinney(sp?)/M zarek..
Good thing is we got a point out of it. Also, now i see what all the fuss is about borocop, the guy is a beast throwing massive hits constantly.
Pretty rough read through of the comment section. Guess as a fan base, we need to remember how to lose without the over the top finger pointing. Deep breath, Sens fans...
Useless in the top 6?
What r u smokin?
You pretty much just discredited yourself on any other comments you make....
THIS !
DippyZippy never lets the actual facts get in he way of his verbal diarrhea.
Request sent! Could be a lot of fun!
Some of these comments are maddening. ADHD to the max. The mood swings are ridiculous.
To say that a 35 goal scorer last year is a joke, is in itself a joke. Its 5 games in, the guy sucks so damn bad, he only has 5 points in 5 games. What a rip off.
Terrible we are. We only have 7 out of 10 points to start the season. Pretty good first 10% of the season I'd say.
Yet by the sounds of this we are angry cause why?
We have the best goal tender stat wise in the league right now, have the most exciting offensive defenceman in the league right now! We have arguably the best goalie prospect out there right now. We have a silfverberg looking like he's about to get some points soon! 4 of our guys have a ppg spot in the first 5 games! During the 2nd year of the rebuild!
Give your heads a shake, this team is an exciting team, and we are fortunate to be a part of this coming few years.
Stanley cup contenders? Not yet, but make no mistake this team is strong and capable. Enjoy the ride for all its up and downs. Cause at the end of the day, its all good.
To that end, our top forward shooter so far is Neil tied with Condra and Turris at about 90th.
It's obviously early but it's a trend that they'll need to curve.
Leafs suck.
Losers
Even
After
Forty-Five
Seasons
The bottom six certainly has more "instant chemistry" than the top 6 so far but it's not a crisis just yet. I think there's plenty of talent in that group and it's just a matter of time before things start to click.
Do we have room for another star? Sure, what team doesn't? But for a mid-rebuild team our top 6 is looking pretty good.
I accidental clicked on the thumbs down instead of the thumbs up. I agree 100% with everything you said. I would have given you 20 thumbs up's if I could!
7 out of 10 points to start the season is great. It could have very easily been 10 for 10 if it weren't for a couple bounces here and there.
Andy got beat by three amazing shooters in the shootout, but he played another very impressive game.
I love this team! Go Sens Go!
to make it. I'll try again Tuesday. And I live in the west end.
1. Anderson was fantastic. Makes such timely saves for the team and keeps their confidence high.
2. Condra is a supremely gifted player at finding open spaces. Unfortunately he has nearly no finish.
3. Silfverberg is clearly adjusting to the NHL game. I think you guys need to stop being so alarmist when it comes to his development. I think that thread comparing expectations of him to Kadri is absurd.
4. Karlsson looked way out of sorts tonight. But his skill level is so supreme to those around him that even at 60-75% he was one of the best players on the ice. His anticipation and ability to see the play develop consistently is probably second to none in the NHL.
5. Methot is a solid solid defenseman. I would say this trade is a 100% win for the Senators. We took an area of strength and used it to address an area of weakness.
6. This team clearly misses Cowen. He's a monster on the back end. He also gives legitimacy to the second pairing and would allow Phillips to play a tertiary role on the third pairing. Having him back healthy is instrumental to team success.
7. Turris has been superb so far this year. Extremely impressive. That trade looks more and more lopsided by the day. Big things are coming for this guy.
8. The team missed Alfredsson. They needed someone during certain stretches of the game who knows how to slow down the play and create for people around him.
9. Spezza was fantastic today. He clearly took that playoff series to heart when he was outplayed by Crosby. He has really elevated since then when we play the Penguins and he looks more and more like the natural heir to the Senators captaincy.
10. Fatigue was a factor. Players looked like they were skating in mud at certain points. Playing their third game in 4 nights at an awkward start time clearly caught up to them.
I'm not on Facebook so keep me in the loop N19. Thanks.
will do comrade