All good things must come to an end and on Wednesday night, Ottawa’s winning streak came to a sudden and dramatic conclusion. Not to exaggerate but it may have been the worst game of ice hockey ever played.
Of course, the Senators fall just short of the all-time winning streak record but the good news is they are presented with another chance to resume their winning ways with the lowly Montreal Canadiens in town.
Tonight is game three in the seven-game preseason and another day closer to seeing Ottawa’s full lineup in action. With a game scheduled for tomorrow night in Montreal, it’s safe to assume there are some pretty significant cuts on the not too distant horizon.
Before we get to this evening’s festivities, I should probably take a moment to address “the tweet”.
So on Wednesday night, as I promptly made my way home following a civilized evening at the Canadian Tire Centre (er drank two more cold ones than necessary at Bert’s Bar), I got to thinking. Drinking, thinking and tweeting can be a dangerous mix.
What came out was a carefully crafted although admittedly somewhat “edgy” tweet. The text and message is clearly harmless (Hey Sens fans! Let’s support the Sens!) but it’s a topic that tends to ruffle feathers. There’s a lot of history and baggage in this market and attempts to cut through that noise usually don’t go well. And especially on Twitter. I knew all that when I nervously hit send but the topic is important to me. It’s a concern that bounces around in my head periodically and while reflecting on a shockingly quiet night at CTC after nearly 600 days without a live hockey game, it felt like the time was right. That is certainly up for debate.
What has unfolded in the 36 hours since and is still happening as we speak, is a fascinating and I think important conversation on the Ottawa hockey market. It’s a case study of sorts for any ticket sales rep or front office decision-maker trying to understand what makes this market tick and how we got to this point. And embedded in all the bickering about the “right way” to be a fan are some important clues on how this franchise can ultimately right the ship on the business side.
Some of the replies have been oddly personal. Which again, I get. There are lots of individual reasons that fans have for staying away from the rink and my tweet simplifies and seemingly trivializes a lot of those. Because as many, many people have reminded me…it’s not all about the Owner for some. There are a range of issues keeping people away from the rink including health concerns, economic limitations, bad timing, cold water, poor marketing…all sorts of stuff.
Those are all good reasons and ultimately, the decision is yours. But really, it wasn’t meant to be a message to individuals but to the fan base in general. And as someone that has a significant following and more importantly, as someone that cares about this team to an unhealthy degree, I do feel some sense of personal responsibility to keep delivering that message. “Hey Sens fans! Let’s support the Sens!” Even though I know it’s a topic that makes people mad on the internet, the consequences of a city ignoring it entirely are much worse.
Onward and upward! For now…
DJ Smith has the team on the ice for a game day skate and it certainly looks like Ottawa will ice one of their most complete lineups of the preseason to date. Obviously still a few key guys missing up front but we’re getting closer.
The game day roster included the eight guys in the mix for spots and tonight’s pairings seem pretty close to how they’ll start the season. Here’s how the Senators are expected to line up for this one.
Formenton-Norris-Batherson
Reinhardt-White-Ennis
Paul-Pinto-Watson
Kelly-Agozzino-Sokolov
Chabot-Zub
Del Zotto-Zaitsev
Mete-Holden
Matt Murray is expected to start and play the full sixty minutes. Here’s hoping the second part of that statement doesn’t become a regular qualifier on Matt Murray starts.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. With the Montreal Canadiens in town, the Senators will hold a lengthy pre-game ceremony to honour lengthy pre-game ceremonies.
The game is available on TSN2, TSN5 and on the ol’ ham radio at TSN1200. Streams will be available and tickets are too. Which you should buy if you want to. Or don’t- what the hell do I care.
Also uhh Sens…sign Brady.
