The Sens have seen plenty of the Habs the last little with the two teams playing their third game in nine nights. Montreal took a 3-2 shootout decision last Wednesday and the Sens responded with an overtime win a week ago tonight. Ottawa was the better team in both those games but have to do a better job of burying their chances against the always stingy Carey Price.
While goaltending has not been the problem as of late, the Sens should get a boost from the return of Craig Anderson. Andy has missed a little over four weeks of action after suffering a severe cut to his blocker hand.
Ben Bishop will dress as his back up while Auld watches on from the press box.
After missing the Tuesday’s tilt with the Devils, Jason Spezza will draw back in for the Sens. Spezza has been battling a flu the past couple days and according to Chris Stevenson, he has dropped 10 pounds over the past few days. A healthy Jason Spezza is a must for the Senators down the stretch.
Alfredsson and Karlsson both missed the morning skate but will play tonight. Here is how Ottawa is expected to line up.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Klinkhammer-Turris-Alfredsson
Foligno-O'Brien-Neil
Konopka-Smith-Condra
Kuba-Karlsson
Cowen-Gonchar
Phillips-Gilroy
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM tonight but because it’s at the Bell Centre it’s safe to say there will be some sort of obscure ceremony prior to puck drop. The game is available on Sportsnet and RDS and as always, keep an eye on the comment section for any streams that become available.
GO SENS GO!
- Plenty of talk about Jakob Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad and the possibility of brining them over for a potential playoff run. One contact I spoke with said that while they would like to bring those two over to practice and experience playoff time in the NHL, they are in no hurry to get them in the line up.
GO SENS GO!
Part of me is just excited to see him play, but given the state of our top 6, it's quite possible he could even be an improvement... he'd just need to get accustomed to our system before the post season.
He already burnt this year off of his ELC, so there'd be no impact on his contract status by bringing him over.
Chirp, so you think MacLean will try to influence Brian Murray to bring the Detroit model of letting guys spend as much time as possible in the AHL before bringing them up to the big club. It has worked out pretty well for the Red Wings...
regardless, these two as well as Stone are proving to be game breakers when it matters.
lets hope the sens find their offense tonight, would love to see them drive the net more and have Karlsson creep in on the power play. it's been far to easy for the pk to cover our points recently. with that said, clearly there are better hockey minds at work trying to get this thing back on track.
This is the exact right way of thinking (IMO). Inserting these guys into the lineup is too much of a disruption for very little improvement in the total makeup of the team. It's hard enough for an established NHL player to make an impact on a new team at the deadline, let alone a pure rookie coming over as the playoff start.
Sit them in the pressbox with the black aces and let them get a taste. If we have injuries or the team stinks on ice then maybe bring them in but that would be a desperation move that we hopefully won't need.
GO SENS GO!
I hope Konopka can really step up and prove that he isn't a liability. Hoping he can put one home tonight to show all the naysayers (me at the top of that list) that he deserves a spot!
Looking for the boys to come out strong, give Andy the support tonight. And make Price work for it, nothing makes his job easier than having pucks fired into his chest. If Ottawa is going to win, they need presence in the net area and deflections. We can do this!!!!
Happy Spezza is back, even if he's 10 lbs lighter, maybe we'll see him flying tonight. Damn flu, hit my household. If it's the same one, which it probably is, very very nasty bug.
Go Sens Go!!!!
For anyone looking for streams of tonight's game...
http://www.firstrowsports.eu/watch/114904/1/watch-montreal-canadiens-vs-ottawa-senators.html
Please no.
I know I should be focusing on tonight's game but man I hope someone sticks it to Cooke tomorrow night for the rest of the league.
Anyways, I hope the boys come ready to play tonight! They need to show what they're made of at this point in the year
That should be our plan if we LOSE tonight since a loss tonight greatly increases the chances we play Pitt in round 1.
Don't be. Nobody is going to beat Pittsburgh anyway.
If the Sens get 4 wins out of the remaining 8 games we have 92 points.
For us to miss the playoffs Buffalo would need to get all but 3 of the possible 16 points they have on the table (so one regulation loss and one OT loss - the rest they'd have to win).
AND
Washington would also need to get 11 out of the possible 16 points they have on the table as well.
So we'd have to really play like crap to miss the playoffs.
Its what we have been doing for the past 4 games.
So basically you can forget about any high priced free agents coming to Ottawa next year (Parise, Suter). Melnyk also said that a great team builds from within and does not buy their way to greatness.
Signing Suter hardly qualifies to "buying your way to greatness". Adding a young player for a multi-year deal is part of how you "build". You can't draft every single player.
I disagree to a point. I don't think Melnyk would expressly overpay, but I think he'd be willing to spend if it was a smart "hockey signing". I don't think there's some budget order that tells Murray that he's not allowed to go sign UFAs over a certain price range.
Remember we get $3.7M back from "losing" Kuba and Gonchar comes off the books after next season as well.
Aren't both Silfverberg & Zibanejad playing in the World Championships soon rather than coming over to NA?
Silfverberg has all but said that if Murray asked him to come over he'd skip the WC.
Nobody new is going to play for the Sens from here on out. No Stone, no Silfverberg, no Zibanejad.
All signs point to Ottawa trying to sign Kuba again, but it won't be 3.7M. And if for some reason they can't, then Ottawa has to do something by FA, it's the only way to fill such and important top D position.
Where are these signs? Why would a rebuilding team with multiple D prospects resign a guy that turns 36 next season???
I am not exactly sure the Sens have a lot of D prospects that are ready to step up to the NHL level and have an impact in the top 4. I think Borocop can be used in the 5-6 role.
This draft will be focused on D, wingers and a goalie or two in later rounds.
I would say Suter. A pairing of him and Karlsson for the next 5-6 years would be awesome. As much as I'd like to see Spezza-Parise for the same period, Spezza has proven he can be productive with less than elite players, whereas Karlsson may not be as effective if he has to play with an less talented or less experienced partner.
Thoughts?
Not saying for a minute that anyone is ready for the top 4. Wiercioch is probably the only guy who *might* be top 4 some day and he's years away from that level. Gryba and Borowiecki are likely bottom pairing guys long-term.
My point was, a 36 year old who's had some good and bad times with us isn't really part of a rebuild. I actually like Kuba more than some do, but outside of a 1-year deal to bridge a gap I can't see any sense in keeping him. And even then I'd rather us sign a UFA who's younger for a 1 or 2 year deal instead to see if they can prove themselves worthy of an extension.
Unless we feel really confident that in 13/14 we've got someone to play top 4 and we want someone expendable to fill the gap until then, I don't see any reason to resign Kuba.
And I haven't seen anything at all that makes me think the org is considering resigning him. Murray was pretty clear at the deadline that keeping Kuba was more about not wanting to hurt the team for the end of this year than any great love for Kuba going forward.
Maybe someone can correct me if there's an interview I missed out there.
Suter 100000 times over.
I'm not completely sold on Parise being a perfect fit on any team and we're heavier on forward prospects already. We need another stud D to go with Karlsson and Cowen.
I disagree a bit that Karlsson needs a stud to play with and Spezza doesn't. I think they're both about equal there with Spezza being a bit more of a veteran so maybe slightly more able to create with lesser players for now - but in a couple of years that won't be an issue.
It was already noted a few times that they wouldn't move him, when everyone wanted him gone. And he's proven affected with EK now that his injuries are behind him. Losing a D will leave a major hole to fill on the top pairing, and there is nobody else available to fill it. And will they sign Gilroy back? It's too many open positions for guys in Bingo who aren't ready.
Silverburg Petersson Zibby and DaCosta if he resigns and some would say stone will all be in the mix.
on D we could make a splash for one player.
Will be interesting to see who we keep of the RFA and UFA
Bishop was solid but I will breath a bit easier if we go into a shoot out with Anderson tonight.
So the "signs" are all in your own head then?
They didn't move him because (as Bryan Murray clearly stated numerous times) they didn't want to hurt the team down the stretch by trading a top minutes guy for a draft pick.
I'm not saying they fill the spots from Bingo as there won't be more than one guy ready and even then he won't jump into the top 4.
I'm saying you don't "rebuild" around a 36 year old guy. Let him walk and go sign a younger guy who *might* be a part of our future (assuming they can't sign Suter, Wideman or anyone else who's worthy of a longer deal).
How did he burn a year off when he hasn't even played a game yet ? it makes no sense unless age is a factor and if that was the case Radulov would owe Nashville nothing,so please explain how this is so
Yeah it's an age thing and the the way his ELC is structured.
I don't know that anyone has posted anything more specific but several sources have confirmed that Silfverberg would not be burning a year to come over.
Actually, I may be out of CC. So it might be Crown.
Go Sens GO!
Spendzza
The key is Anderson and if his timing is okay. And Spezza... that's a lot of weight loss in a few days... hopefully the flu does not hit the entire team.
As for the game tomorrow night against the Pens.. I checked the Sens schedule and they have won 2 of the 3 games against the Pens this season. Now I think 2 of those wins came without Crosby in the lineup and maybe Letang as well... Do they have a chance tomorrow night?
Basically they should go into each game thinking "must win" then decide after the game is over if they really *had* to win or not.
We must have read different interviews. I didn't notice anything about Parise/Suter in the interview that I read...
And now everybody is talking about Parise/Suter (again) all because you brought up their names. Even though they are irrelevant.
The Cheechoo/Alfie/ Emery buyouts is 2.5 million off our cap at the end of this season...Kuba at 3.7 AND add the profit that we make this season, and we can sign Suter or Parise without even making a difference in our payroll.
LASTly, EM never said "we will never be in the market for free agents, its draft or bust" So since he didnt say it, I'm going to assume we're still going to compete for them...just because you said "basically..." and then made up lies, doesn't change my mind that BM is going to make a play for Parise and will get outbid
oh how I hate the dang responsible student in me..sigh!!
Anyways...apparently smithy is going to be on the second line with Alfie and Turris...Intere sting move by PM.. Since he's left handed he might get to take some faceoffs too..
So Klinkhammers 15 minutes of fame (aka stint on the second line) is over?
Too bad but good to know our third line has a dozen options next year.
I kind of like the idea of Smith on the wing for a second line when the games are gritty.
I dont have an Android but what about using the Tune-In Radio app to find the team 1200 and stream their pxp broadcast?
Nice, thanks. I got Team 1200 on it. This is the station the game will be on tonight? I'm going to sneak a headphone in well I'm at work lmfao.
Quoting Merchaholic:
Post #15 ;)
No problem. Links should start coming up around 7:30 so refresh it when the time hits. Bookmark http://www.firstrowsports.eu for up coming games as well.
It's a Friday. Are libraries even open on Friday night? Watch the game.
Yep. enjoy!
again ..? this makes no sense whatsoever you're guessing
without any facts ,bottom line he hasn't played a game ...ever so nothing wagered nothing lost ,get some real facts before posting such idiotic stuff
ELC's aren't boiler plate - they can actually vary. So it seeems JS's has something in it that means we don't get to slide the contract a year if he doesn't play here. Still not 100% confirmed but it is what it is.
Did anyone really think An inconsistent goalie could just come back after a month of not playing and win us a game?
Why are we always entering the playoffs with sketchy goaltending situations?!?!?
Sorry if you thought my opinions were facts. Buyer beware pal.
*gnash*
-Early goal on the first shot in the first minute
-Penalty by our "top line" winger Michalek
-condra with the missed clutch break away attempt
-down by 2 early
-losing to a bottom feeder
Stay tuned for the
-terrible PP
-Too many men on the ice call
-more bad penalties
-more goals against
WE WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS PLAYING LIKE THIS
I guess I should add that he cannot score on a breakaway/penal ty shot/at all, ever.
Condra honestly doesn't add anything to our team that Butler/petersso n/Filitov couldn't bring
Looks like we still have the Laziest team in the league
..Hope there's a good Movie on
Agreed. We are witnessing a monumental collapse right before our eyes. Here you go, Buffalo. Right this way, please.
LEHNER !!!!!
No problem they will just beat Pittsburgh tomorrow.
No sympathy for him. One thing if he hurt himself in a game but to me, I dont see how you can put him in again.
The bigger the blowout, the bigger the much needed wake up call
GO HABS
I've turned off the stream.
I simply cannot watch this massacre that is about to happen.
Cheers fellas.
We will see who has the heart on our team
I guarantee you will see spezza get frustrated, 12 forwards yet he is so alone up front
There will be no more excuses, No more losing games and saying you played well
Reminds me of the 2nd game of the season against the laffs...
lets hope it ends in a similar if not better fashion...
Go SNES Go!
C'mon comeback kids lets take this back!
Go Sens Go
Be afraid for tomorrow buds, be very afraid.
Cole with the hatty already.
Bailing on the boards tonight - can't handle all the fair-weather nancy boys.
more than condra
Washinton up by 2 in the 2nd
#goodtimes...
Drink when
- We get scored on
- Get a penalty
- Miss an open net
- Fail to score on the PP
Enjoy the buzz!
Next time be more careful "cutting chicken". Dumb ass.
Playoffs eh? I think this team, and us fans, thought it was going to be a cake walk.
Need miracles now.
If you're not a drinker you can still play..Take a drink whenever Ottawa
-hits the net with a shot
enjoy sobriety
Lets go sens
But Caps are up 3-0
All or nothing
Some people will be passed out 5 minutes into the 2nd...
Drink up
Some personal observations:
I wouldn't mind going back to Andy tomorrow. I would switch up the PP units. Get Neil's ass off the second one, put someone else in.
I would give Da Costa a shot as the second C. He's deserves it.
I would scratch either Gonchar/Cowen. Thee two together have been very poor. Give Carks a shot.
I would strongly consider bringing Big Z over as a spark. Look at Baertchi in Calgary. He would only help.
And I would most CERTAINLY bring Silfverberg over after the SEL playoffs and give him a legitimate shot. You don't NOT bring over the best player in Sweden in a time where you are in desperate need of goals. And that's what he seems to do.
Let's keep our heads here guys. We all know how streaky the Sens are. They WILL FIND A WAY TO GET IN. WHETHER AS 7TH OR 8TH. I GUARANTEE YOU.
Was he wearing a face mask?
;)
Our only consistent forward
And Eric Fehr? Spezzafan...
I don't care what happens as long as Spezza get some points
He's more fun to watch than the rest of the team put together
Biggest loser in hockey, next to phaneuf of coarse.
Now we need NYR to come back.
looks like we are going to start the second on the PK..
Heck, anyone with the name Eric! BRING BACK LINDROS! haha
Everyone that left the game figured it was over missed the best come back game of the franchise history.
Lots of hockey left to play in this game.
That said, this is ugly.
long time no speak. This game has gotten outta hand fast. I hope you don't mind this but I'm trying to get some support to vote my wife into space. Check out the blog I wrote and you'll understand why I think she deserves this more than the others in this contest. http://www.gmhockey.com/t5660-a-real-life-look-at-cap-n-clutch
Here is the link to vote: http://metroinspace.com/ca/view/codn
Just got home too, was out drinking, now I find were doing a drinking game here, DAMN!
Sens are fucking up hard, watch us finish in 9th...wouldnt that be awesome!
NO GOAL! WTF!
No...but I still think it was a goal.
He's still shaky. I would agree its the right move if you still had an 8 point cushion, but you don't.
I don't even want to think about what it would do to his confidence if he didn't go back in tonight and had to start tomorrow night against the Penguins...ridi culous!
Potvin STFU man!!!
Agreed!
X3
C'mon kid, wake-up, we need you.
Nothing wrong with physical hockey man, grow a pair, our guys are getting out muscled, and its just gonna get worse come playoff time, IF we make it.
I dont even want to think about the Pens game....yikes!
"As the Sens push for playoff contention, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins look to invade Scotiabank Place as Erik Karlsson and the Sens prepare to defend home ice."
12 pts he says.. none of of this 94.65% chance bullshit and then the next day its 30%
what a stupid statistic
Is this game the embarrasment the Sens are having here? This is their worst game of the season..
Believe it or not the Sens have a 2 wins to 1 win against the Pens.. but tomorrow is a loss.
Are they getting too tense with this playoff push. What happened to their game plan
No help from the Rangers or the Jets tonight! :(
Our PP has been super streaky....all of our losing streaks have been when our PP went dry...
Sadly i have no faith in Cameron's ability to get the PP going anytime soon...
He'll get them. Unfortunately, it won't be anytime soon and everyone here seems to believe Puempel, Noesen, Stone, Zibanejad, etc. won't even be considered playing on Spezza's line for at least another 3 years, which is fuckin long.
What makes this "must-win" game sting even more is that.. we get to face the Pens tomorrow. With Crosby, Malkin & Neal, they're going to eat us for dinner.. The least we could have done was grab a single point..
I'm sure they will also say " well we got lots of shots" meanwhile 85% of them were blue line garbage shots.
And Cue the: guys who never say shit on this site when things are going good, but as soon as we start losing they show up and start talking shit
I fucking Hate Denis Potvin
Learn to speak, and then Shut up!
The refs hand this win to the non playoff habs
75 games played this year and we have only had more pp than the other team 17 times
Push for the playoffs!
Spezza was really fun to watch tonight... its not like you could watch anybody else, since the rest of the team took the night off
honestly, did anybody see a noteable play by any other senator?
(other than that awesome tackle by neil)
it only takes one hit and he will learn though.
Where have you been?? Karlsson has been getting rocked regularly by Montreal. I've never seen a team play him so well
This is certainly not good for Karlsson confidence and its only gonna get worse as teams target him, he seems to not handle pressure very well.
Good on Neil to stand up for K but that was a clean hit!
Foligno will never be matched with Crosby haha, your funny!
Thats and Crosby would probably smoke him in a fight.
Its pay back time
Spezza was great tonight, unfortunately he has no one to play with. Michalek is lucky to play with such a great centerman. I honestly don't think he'd be anywhere near 32 goals this year if he wasn't playing with Spezz.
This entire team has gone cold. Turris, Greening, Smith, Condra, Foligno, Neil and the rest of the guys have disappeared for almost 30 games now. Even Alfie's numbers have dipped significantly but at least he's still creating offense for himself and his line-mates.
If it wasn't for Spezza and Karlsson having such a great month in February, this team wouldn't be sitting in a playoff spot right now.
Buffalo picked up 2 points tonight and Washington grabbed 1. This time next week we could be sitting in 9th place and continuing to fall.
I'm a nervous fan right now. Big time.
As of right now Foligno has been completely useless(For the entire month of March), taking stupid penalties every game.
If Murray can get rid of Brian Lee(of course I did not like that) because he was a Muckler pick,I'd be happy if he got rid of Foligno as well after this Season.
Book it for tomorrow Sens will beat the Pens. All Sens fans can jump on board, all non believers can get the fuc$ out!
Go Sens Go!
Everyone but Spezza has been dog shit tonight, and like some other poster said, I feel for Spezza, GET PARISE!!!
That's what I stated but few of course wouldn't like to see that happen.
If no one wants Foligno just put him on fucking waivers
Blind faith AND rose coloured glasses...
Not sure he wants to duplicate how the sens have played today
Go Sens go.
i just ment it was the first hit where it could have been a head shot and really hurt karlsson.. he doesnt usually get caught like that facing the wrong way head down.
Its a very fair statement if we keep playing like this. Very scary.
We are still in 7th, 2 points up
We are 3 pts out of 2nd
Anderson has now got a game in and will be more focussed tomorrow
Murray will likely call up peterson to make a change.
This was our wake up call, lets answer it
The thing is, some of these guys aren't just playing for a playoff position, they're playing for jobs next year.
There's certainly no guarantee that guys like Condra, Smith, Butler, Konopka, Foligno, and obviously Klinkhammer and Daugavins will be back next season. I know some of these players are still under contract, but that doesn;t necessarily mean they're guaranteed a roster spot for the 2012/2013 season.
You couldn't be any more of a Leaf Troll if you tried
Questioning Alfies leadership?
You truly are a douchebag
When we make the playoffs Leaf Troll, will you finaly F off and take your lame ass comments elsewhere?
A thumbs up wasn't enough. I would pay Parise 8mil a season just to get him signed. Anybody who disagrees doesn't know much about hockey
Spezza WAS the only player who showed up tonight. He needs help big time, and Parise is not only the best 'available' options... but literally one of the best options in the entire league
I would take Parise over Richards, Nash, Carter, Jagr, Kovalchuk and any other player who has been a big name/where's-he -gonna-go player
I honestly think Parise would put Healtley's records to shame if he came here. He's way more complete of a player, and doesn't have all the baggage and drama
Start Anderson again with the Jets.
You could look at it like throwing Lehner under the bus but I think he would welcome it.
We are not the same team that were winning games in the third period.
I pray to the hockey gods we win against Pittsburg, we seem to do better as underdogs.
cheers, and goooooo sens!
feast on our run of bad luck and hit posts ,have a tiny look at our current play and while you're here take a good long look at the big picture where we sit in 7th place 3 points out of 2nd while at the bottom sits your pitiful excuse for a team we real Sens fans know where we'll be come playoff time and where your teams will be so happy tee time to you and yours..
Need eager youth here now
And call up Lehner
The Sens will likely beat the Pens convincingly now so we can all go back to planning the Cup route. Seriously, the Sens seem to need a disappointing blow out loss to get back on track. It has happened a few times this year.
A win over the Penguins tomorrow night would be MASSIVE and would boost us right out of our current funk!
GO SENS GO!!!
http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=167040
Jersey on Tuesday, and tonight the Habs. Too many nails driven into our playoff coffin for me. I think I will enjoy another drink and refocus on the Pens tomorrow. Hope for a good game...but now I will watch our boys in action as a underdog team, perhaps like a team that was 2-3 points out of a playoff spot battling for a chance at the big show. Were not dead quite yet.....but we got 7 games to battle with essentially the caps and sabres for the last 2 spots. More than we could have asked for if we predicted a rough rebuilding year. Hell...if we won the last couple games ( jersey and habs ) and put a stamp on our playoff appearance...th an we might not have enjoyed the dogfight and standings watching we are now going to have to do.
Long story short...give me Crosby and Malkin. Win or lose...I want to see my Sens get crazy. 7 games to go boys...were not dead...were just bleeding.
Time for that drink.
Current game remaining for the teams fighting for a playoff spot:
2 Bruins 87 (9)- @LAK, @ANA, TBL, WSH, @NYI, @NYR, PIT, @OTT, BUF
3 Panthers 86 (7)- NYI, @Mtl, @Min, @Clb, @Det, WPG, @Wsh
6 Devils 90 (7)- @Pit, CHI, TBL, @Car, NYI, @Det, OTT
7 Senators 84 (7)- PIT, @Wpg, @Phi, @Nyi, CAR, BOS, @Nj
8 Capitals 82 (7)- MIN, BUF, @Bos, MTL, @Tbl, FLA, @Nyr
9 Sabres 82 (7)- MIN, @Wsh, PIT, @Tor, TOR, @Phi, @Bos
My predictions (pipe dream here but I’m going glass 71.43% full!) The Sens will go 5-2 to finish 7th and face either Boston or Florida in the first round! Sabres will go 4-3 and take 8th while the caps go 3-4 to finish 9th.
Tomorrow night’s meaningful games perdictions:
Sens 4 – Pens 2
Kings 2 – Bruins 0
Wild 2 – Sabre 1
EEEEEEEEYORE !
Turris at 21 is a good 3rd line center not a 2nd center.
I said get Brassard to play 2nd while Turris grows.
Now we have no speed to right the ship. Call up Peterssen and DaCosta. Stop playing Condra and Konopka what the F do these guys bring. We're slow as hell. + Butler back in at least he can skate.
Spezza said it ... never has he proven to me that he can play when the chips are down. He's never done it. If he doesn't get us in management will surely consider a mega package for him this summer. Sorry fellow fans but its the truth. Good night - by the way suffered through this one at the Bell Center in full Sens regalia! Painfull.
Lmfao, I thought the video was going to fade out right after the name showed.
So how the hell will this team respond to this adversity? I suppose since no one figures Sens can beat the pens they will, right? They have responded well all season, lets see if they do again.
The Sens have to better than Buffalo and Washington the rest of the way and they have a lot of work to do in short order to get there. Ovechkin is taking over and Buffalo smoked the Rangers.
I still think they can pull this off, no way can this season end in devastating disappointment after such a great run.
But still; @Hax, can I panic yet?
I guess if they don't care, why should I...
Who cares if they make it in 7th or 8th and get whipped in the first round by Boston or the Pens? You do all realize that is pretty much 90% likely to be the outcome if we make it. It'll be great for morale to have a few playoff games but realistically they aren't likely to win against either of those opponents.
Awesome upsets can happen but please don't stake your emotional sanity on it. This team is still growing. Silfverberg and Zibanejad will almost certainly be a part of that growth next year. More prospects will be developed and fit in after that. Probably enough that Alfie will want to play a few more years as long as his game doesn't drop off too much.
The Sens are a rebuilding team. One that is miles ahead of being a championship contender when compared to Toronto or Montreal. Just support them and let the results play themselves out. They are not ready to be a Stanley Cup Contender this year and we all know that. If you're not challenging for the Stanley Cup then it's all just for fun so enjoy it. Enjoy the fact that they've played well and will do so again. Cheer for them to make the playoffs but don't cry like losers if they don't. They've already far and away exceeded expectations. Show them some support.
so basically because we aren't supposed to be here, we shouldn't care if we slip out of a spot in the last three weeks of the season?
I'm the poster boy for optimism but I feel I am justified to be nervous. we have come this far only to lose games to bad teams in the last two weeks putting us in a dogfight with Washington and Buffalo, two hot teams. we are still in a great position but momentum is not on our side and its justified to be nervous. Passionate fans are going to react to that.
Any result this season will obviously be better than expected but it's going to sting if we are on the outside looking in come April 11. And no shit we are only going to get better in the coming years, but that does nothing for this moment right now. I'm not blaming our team of grinders, they overachieve all year to put us here but to start underachieving now sucks balls.
And who the fuck cares if we are miles ahead of Toronto and Montreal? Quit justifying sens success based on how the goddamn leafs or habs are doing. Quit perpetuating the stereotype.
Ottawa seems to play to the competition so I expect a much better effort tonight and the rest of the way. They definitely seemed to wake up and realize they havent made it in yet.
At least the guys are back on the ice tonight. It won't be easy but I think the guys play better vs "Elite" teams becasue they don't want to get embarrassed. Something about those pesky cocky snotty little habs seems to drive the Sens players crazy. They seem to know how to get under our players skin easily.
Anyways guys, it's beautiful day (not -40) and we have a "PLAYOFF" game tonight so light up that BBQ, get a case of beer OR WISERS (Right SC) and let's go steal 2 points tonight.
GO SENS GO !!!
IMO you have to start Andy tonight. Show him confidence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMmskduL_gc