Nice new barn

Well, the Devils unveiled the new Prudential Center and it is quite a nice building. You can see the Devils logo on the seats, behind the benches. i guess there is a Fire themed bar on one end and Ice on the other. (was this planned before Blades of Glory came out?)  The Ice bar has a kewl frozen area that runs the length of the top of the bar to keep drinks cold.  The broadcast booth is one of the better seats in the arena and it is right in front of a concession area/bar. I guess the practice rink is on location as well, similar to the Flyers set-up.

 

Unfortunately, the Sens spoiled their debut. 4-1 Ottawa. It was a pretty close game, and Jersey came out shooting. Gerber was up to the task; and the only goal scored on him was kicked in by Volchenkov. It is another 4 day wait until the Sens play again.

8-1

Emery came away with a victory against the "Cats". I felt that his rebound control was poor. I know that's relative, since it's not one of the finer points of his game. But he did look rusty. Confident, but rusty. Several pucks went through him and through the crease. But what can you say, he kept them all out but a PPG. Vokoun kept the big line off the board for most of the game. Only Alfie scored with a weird off-speed shass. Ultimately, the Panthers were just too sloppy with the puck. Speaking of "Cats", the announcers in Atlanta refer to Kovalchuk as "Kovie", both references are pretty lame.

Scary moment when Mezei gave Foligno the paralyzer hit. (The guy is 2-3' off the boards and bent over, so you nail his head into the boards right before he gets the puck.) There was a delayed call and the Sens scored as Foligno lay on the ice. He got back up, woozy, on his own, so no boarding major or misconduct. Later in the game Volchenkov hits Booth as he tries a spin move into the boards. Booth required a stretcher. Anton get a major for boarding and misconduct. It was clearly not a revenge-type hit, but Booth put himself into a bad position. I will be pissed if Volchenkov gets suspended.

Meszaros continues to look lost. He has stepped up his offensive game. But he's been getting burned routinely. It's becoming a problem. I think the best display was by Neil, Donovan, Eaves and McGrattan. Neil has been showing some offensive flair lately. Donovan and Eaves and checking machines. McGrattan looks like a totally different player. His skating looks fast and he is confident with the puck, making plays and getting shots! I think that guy did some major work in the off-season. The last thing I expected was him to become a 'real' player. That would be a great surprise for this season.

In a scheduling snafu, Sens don't play again for a week and then another 4 days after that game. I've read that they are going camping for three days.?! Kinda kewl team bonding trip, but the team is playing well and there aren't really any locker room issues on this team. It will be a test to see if they can continue to roll after such a long layoff. Also, what am I supposed to do for a week? I can only watch so many Kings games before I go into a major depression.

JR WATCH 2007: Update. JR put one in against the Preds to put the career total at 498. It is amazing that he has scored 3 times in 6 games considering the actual playing time he gets. Watching the Sharks, it seems like something is just not right so far this year. I think they miss Scott Hannan...

Loose & Fast

Sens beat the Canadiens. It was a rather sloppy game and Ottawa wasn't playing that well. Gerber let in a really bad angle, soft goal. Ottawa allowed two PPG for the first time this year. PK has been super solid, until last night. Carey Price, goalie of the future, started and made his best stops against deflections by his own defense. I thought his rebound control wasn't sharp and he too let in a soft first goal; but that guy can handle the puck well. Gerber made some fancy looking saves, but only because his rebound control was a little off, and the Habs got the puck in good scoring areas. The team was sloppy. Less hitting than usual. Although to continue the theme of weird play, Spezza made a retaliation hit (and roughing penalty) on a Montreal player that dumped Heatley; and was seen on the PK. Eaves had a solid game. Foligno scored the first goal of his career.

Who starts?

Gerber is supposed to start tonight. But much has been made in the Canadian media of the brewing goalie controversy. I don't see one. In my mind Gerber has been the starter this year, and it's his job to lose. There are 3.7 million reasons why he should be playing. With the Sens getting only three games until November, there will be plenty of downtime to over analyze the situation. I will admit that when I saw Gerber with a black un-painted mask to start the season, I figured he was moving to another team, not that he was getting his mask painted. The last thing they should do is rush Emery back into the net before his wrist is fully healed. If anything, it is best for the organization to have this 'problem'. Gerber's trade value only increases with every game he continues to start. Gerber has been a professional, despite getting slighted over his rough start last year, he came in and got it done so far this season. The best revenge for Gerber is to keep Emery on the bench this year, with some solid play of his own. Either way, it will be easy to off-load one of these goalies to the Kings, once they hit the panic button in a couple weeks. I have a soft spot for Dustin Brown. Bring him over along with Brian Boyle. Just remember you heard it here first...

Robitaille Returns!

Not that Robitaille. Luc is still busy creating wacky marketing gimmicks between Hollywood and the Kings.  Randy was just signed for a one-year deal to the Sens, brining him back to his hometown. I don't like this move. They don't need anymore players, unless McAmmond is out long term. So, I would guess that McAmmond is going to be out until after Christmas. I honestly don't know that much about the "other Robitaille". But journeyman players tend to fit one of several molds.  1.) Offensively gifted, but uber streaky and lazy players. 2.) Specialize in one area, faceoffs, PK, etc. But tend to get replaced by teams looking for more versatility. 3.) Not good offensively, but have solid hockey smarts and above average skating ability. I am assuming and hoping that he's #3. Don't need another Arnason. Robitaille may play as soon as Thursday, so we'll see.

 

 

Emery-watch 2007

Emery did OK in his weekend conditioning stint with Binghamton. In the two games he was 1-1, 3.00 GAA, .930 SV%, and saw 86 shots. Stat-wise it seems like he got plenty of action and played well enough.  (FYI. Leighton, Danis and Boucher have some solid early season numbers in the AHL.) The Sens sent Elliott back down, so Emery will be expected to start the back-up duty this Thursday.

 

After a torrid start and frantic schedule, the Sens have only 3 more games scheduled in October. That sucks. I hate waiting a WEEK between games. Wacky schedule.  It will give Emery plenty of time to re-hab and practice. But I think that is too much time between games.

5 game streak!

Well, the Sens 5-game winning streak came to an end, and the losing streak reached one game.  Justin & Bea were at the house this weekend and saw the Rangers lose in a one-minute span; when 3 quick goals were pumped past Lundqvist.  I was worried about Gerber, since Emery is close to coming back and he had a shaky game last time.  Gerber was spectacular.  On a 5-on-3, he made several cross the crease pad slide saves.  The highlight was a stickside slide, where he dropped the stick, grabbed the puck, and threw it out of the zone in a "ridge-hand" throwing motion.  Gerber will be hard to unseat if he continues this type of play.  I certainly wouldn't hand Emery the starting job, and I happen to like him.

 

The Kings and Ducks streaks are still active.  I believe that both teams are on 5-game losing streaks, and counting...

 

 

Lazy

Well, the win streak is over.  Sens gave up way too many odd-man rushes to Carolina and Gerber wasn't great. Ward looked strong early and the 'Canes never trailed this one. I thought the Sens might come out a little flat playing back-to-back nights, but that wasn't really the case. If anything they were a little too aggressive, with the defense pinching and carrying the puck a lot. I think they played too wide open and got burned. I am more bummed about them also breaking the perfect penalty kill streak. On the positive side, McGratton had quite a few minutes above normal and he played pretty well.  The best part of the game was McGratton leading a 2-on-1.  That's when you know things aren't quite right in Senatorland. Some new line combinations were tried late in the game to get things going. Fisher lead a two goal comeback late in the third, to cut the lead to 1, but Carolina iced it with an empty netter.

5-0

I will continue the game reviews until the Senators lose, sort of a superstition-type thing.  But regardless, I just like blogging about the games. Thrash played a pretty good game. It was 1-1 most of the game and a penalty-free second period was played pretty tight.  Sens took the lead in the 3rd and the Thrash self destructed. 

 

Highlight of the game was the play of Elliott.  Who-liott? Brian Elliott is a future goaltender for the Sens, a University of Wisconsin standout. He made some highlight reel stops, looking very impressive.  It's only one game and college goalies can often fold in the NHL.  But I think this kid's for real. He showed good feet, flexibility and size. Give him a few years in Binghamton to develop and hopefully he'll be ready for when Emery wants too much money in 2 seasons.  Elliott would be an amazing late round draft pick-up if he pans out.

4-0

Sens out gunned Jersey. Ottawa typically has problems with a very patient Jersey team, but the Devils had some offense of their own this time around. Gerber wasn't great, but the puck stayed out of the net more times than for Brodeur. Parise looked pretty good in the loss, creating good scoring chances.

 

With 5% of the season gone for the Sens, things are steady.  Paddock is loading the team on Alfredsson's back, and he's carried them.  Part of that is due to McAmmond still out with a concussion, and Alfie having to play the PK (along with SC1 and PP1). Every player has continued last year's receipe for success. Heater is still a sniper extraordinare. Neil and Fisher hit people. Volchenkov blocks shots. Defense is solid. Spezza still makes high risk plays.

 

Vermette has elevated his game. He's still the steady PK guy, but has created a lot of offense with his speed and isn't showing any reluctance to shoot the puck. If this keeps up, his numbers will be big this year.

 

Weekend Update

Sens are 3-0.  The Ranger's game was tighter than 2-0.  Sens scored a shortie and off a bad line change early in the game.  The 2nd and 3rd periods were a goaltending battle.  Lundqvist and Gerber looked pretty good.  Henrick robbed Heater on a few quality chances.  Avery got knocked-out of the game.  Neil caught him with a stiff check.  NY commentators called it an obvious elbow.  Having watched over 240 Chris Neil games the last 3 years, I can say that Neil leads with the shoulder and then pushes off with his arms, which does look like an elbow.  I'm calling it clean, but who cares?  Avery deserves what he gets for running his mouth all the time.

 

Kings lost.  But it was filled with side stories.  Brady Murray played against his dad, Blues coach (& former Kings coach) Andy Murray.  Jon Bernier started in net for the Kings.  He looked pretty solid for most of the game.  The funny thing was that Labarbera had a special mask painted, to promote an upcoming movie The Seeker.  Not sure what that publicity stunt cost, but it was futile as Jason rode the bench and wore a baseball cap during the game.  I like his Metallica mask better anyway.

 

JR scored two goals.  3 more to 500.  JR really can't skate anymore.  It's hard to watch him. Colorado played the Sharks and stomped them.  Stastny looks really good.  I rated him pretty high in the hockey pool, but still didn't get him.  The guy is on fire early in the season.  Comrie has also been tearing it up.  I know he has plenty of skill, now that he's getting top line ice time the points will come. I just don't like his flashy style. I think his scoring will be inconsistent & he will probably be a minus player. And the biggest shocker?  Havlat DTD with shoulder injury.  The guy has otherworldly skill, but can't stay healthy. 

2-0

Well, it wasn't a work of art, but the Sens got two games from the Leafs.  Ottawa looked a little loose defensively at times, which is typical for October.  Good thing Gerber was up to the task, with 40+ shots.  Bottom line, they got the wins.  Power play looked a lot better this time around.  Toskala made some pretty nice stops.  Justin's haul from Heater/Alfie: 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 ppg, 1 gwg.

 

I am wondering about the officiating this year. 1.) They mentioned cracking down on goalie contact, and Gerber got a very quick whistle after Blake came hard into the crease. Toronto scored after the whistle. Goal disallowed  2.) Heatley definitely directed a puck into the net with a skate.  No "destinct kicking motion".  Goal allowed.  3.) Vermette got hauled down from behind in a manner that would have been a penalty shot two seasons ago.  No call.

 

I am not a fan of too much goalie contact. Directing the puck in with the skate is cheesy. If a guy is standing still and it goes off his skate, into the goal; that's fine. There was a big variation in how the "kicked-in" goals were called last year. I guess the bottom line is consistency. They simply need to call it the same all year. There were still a lot of 'obstruction' penalties called, which shows a nice carry-over from the last two seasons. 

Battle of Ontario

Well, the 'battle' lived up to the name for once.  Toronto decided to take a page out of the Ducks playbook and run Redden all night.  Only, Redden didn't back down.  He fought twice, and not just pretend to fight and bear hug.  Redden had his arm out of the jersey and was throwing some huge rights. I have new respect for that guy.  I don't want Redden in the box all year, but adding a nasty side to his game is a good thing.  He needs to prove himself this year, and that was a good start.

 

The bad thing is that the Sens looked flat. I think it was the undefeated pre-season.  Toronto came out ready to play.  Gerber was solid.  Phillips kicked in a goal and Spezza was loafing on defense for another (big surprise), but Gerber was aggressive and looked confident.  Heater had a big game.  I have to admit that both of his goals were from his nasty-quick release and not shot placement.  Raycroft simply fanned on them going 5-hole.  I don't mind seeing Justin win the Pool this year, if it means he gets crazy points from Heatley and Alfredsson.  I think they were good for three goals, one GWG.

 

Vermette looked pretty good.  He was flying all over the ice and killed penalties well.  Kelly was also very good on the PK.  Donovan was good in a limited 4th line role, but seemed to cause havoc or draw a penalty on each of his shifts. Fisher and Volchenkov were their normal selves with some highlight hits.  The bad side was a poor looking powerplay.  That has to improve. 

The rumor is on!

Looks like 6 more years of hearing Glenn Frey's horrible 80's song "The Heat is On".  It's the only song I don't mind hearing 25+ times a year, since it plays after Dany Heatley scores.  Heater is rumored to have signed a 6-year, $8-$7.5MM/year deal this afternoon.  Supposedly, the Sens had until the start of the season (today at 4:30PST) to get a deal done, or wait until the end of the season.  Heatley had a self imposed deadline, to avoid contract talk 'distractions' during the season.  Probably wise.  Since it's in the Sens best interest to get a deal done now.  He would have received max salary offers in the open market. If you really want the guy, time to pay up.  Otherwise, the season long drama and questions will hurt the team.  (see Buffalo Sabres 06-07)

 

I like how the team payroll is shaping up.  Heatley, Fisher, Alfredsson, Phillips, Volchenkov, Emery are signed in descending salary and contract length.  It shows a pretty clear value that the organization places on each guy.  I pretty much agree with the deals.  That leaves Redden a UFA at year's end, and Kelly, Vermette, Eaves and Meszaros as RFAs.  This is actually a good situation.  Redden and Meszaros could stand to prove their worth after a bad season.  While Vermette, Kelly and Eaves have to take it to the next level, or possibly get left behind.

 

Spezza is also a RFA at season's end. It may be easier to sign him now, since Heatley is on board long term. But Spezza better not expect Heatley-type money, 'cause he has issues.  He can't hit or backcheck.  He has missed time with a back injury. I think they should let the season play itself out. Spezza could stand to show some defensive improvement and a willingness to shoot.  See if he can play a full 82 games.  Giving Heatley big money is a slam dunk, not so much for the Spazz..

It has begun

Well, the '07-08 NHL regular season is here.  I guess it officially started with the publicity stunt in London over the weekend.  But I see tomorrow as the 'real' start of the season.  Hockey should start in October, not September.  I'm excited.  It's a very long haul over the regular season, but I'm still anxious to see the first games.  Which kids will emerge (backstrom, price, bernier, foligno)?  Which guys need to retire (JR, modano)?  Who will continue to defy old age (chelios, brind'amour, selanne)? 

 

I am looking forward to see how the Kings do, with the overhauled roster and new goalies.  Squeezing in to the playoffs is a noble goal.  I just got tickets for next month's Sharks/Kings game.  I will also be following the Sharks a little bit this year, as I am hoping for Roenick to get his 500 goals and retire already.  Sharks are contenders, so if they happen to get JR a Cup this season, he can retire happy and content.  Of course, it is still all about watching the Senators.  Ever since the lockout, I have been following the team.  I find it ironic that I am following the Senators and hating on the Ducks.  Basically, the Senators are the Ducks; as the Kings are the Maple Leafs.  Both sets of teams are neighbors and one is the newcomer; and younger brother happens to have the better team and current success.