OTTAWA @ DETROIT - GAME DAY #1!!!

NEELY wrote:Da Costa looks legit right now, def NHL ready. Zibanejad is NHL ready as well but he may have to be the 3rd line center right now. First NHL game against guys he grew up playing... tough to get a good read on him.

Dayum that's impressive!

Rundblad in tomorrow. Let's go Mac.

Orr in tomorrow for the Leafs... let's do this.

Some good stuff out there tonight. Not bad for a 1st game against a top team IMO.
DaCosta looks cool like a cucumber, very impressed. I think Michalek scores those chances Neil got from him.
And the captain is back

yeah I think Dacosta showed he really wants to stick with the big club. I think he should be put in the 2nd line center position tomoorw and see what kind of chemistry he can get with alfie. Butler even showed a little game tonight.

The 2nd period did them in. It was the play by Gonchar, Phillips & Karlsson that did them in. I thought for the most part the young guys were okay. DaCosta looked good.
So --one play... Sens shoot the puck on the net. The puck hits the one Detroit player's skate that was in the crease and bounces out. Ian White shoots the puck through 5 or 6 players and it goes in.

Really .. the Sens have NO LUCK.

That Bertuzzi goal... I was so yelling at Gonchar.. What the hell was that? You just gave up. At least Cowen tried.

Do you really think Rundblad would have been worse than some of that D tonight?

Good comeback in the 3rd. Hopefully.. ups their confidence for tomorrow.

They let Howard off too easily tonight. He is the Wings weak link.

Yeah most of the struggle tonight was the transition game. THe veterans defensemen looked like rookies, intimidated.

Oh well, it's not like this wasn't expected. Scoring 3 goals was a nice surprise. The Senators got a young team, lots of new players, it's going to be a learning experience and it will take time for them to develop chemistry.

does anyone else notice how well MacLean handles himself with the media in the pre and post game interviews? If the players showed that much composure we'd be a steady group. seriously the guy sin't going to be put down or have any tables turned on him in interviews. looks like he's been a head coach for a long time. bet Clouston is watching. take notes buddy...

Flo The Action wrote:does anyone else notice how well MacLean handles himself with the media in the pre and post game interviews? If the players showed that much composure we'd be a steady group. seriously the guy sin't going to be put down or have any tables turned on him in interviews. looks like he's been a head coach for a long time. bet Clouston is watching. take notes buddy...

I think we've got a good foundation starting here. It just depends how long it'll take for it to come together.

Hope Filatov develops chemistry with Spezza and Michalek, he really doesn't seem to fit with them right now, maybe it's just me.

Hoags wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:does anyone else notice how well MacLean handles himself with the media in the pre and post game interviews? If the players showed that much composure we'd be a steady group. seriously the guy sin't going to be put down or have any tables turned on him in interviews. looks like he's been a head coach for a long time. bet Clouston is watching. take notes buddy...

I think we've got a good foundation starting here. It just depends how long it'll take for it to come together.

Hope Filatov develops chemistry with Spezza and Michalek, he really doesn't seem to fit with them right now, maybe it's just me.

I think it's a question of time. but personally even if michalek is in force i'd move him to the second unit and try Butler up to the 1st unit. I noticed him play tonight and I think he realizes he's got to impress a bit more. I think also it would even out both lines
filatov-spezza-butler
michalek-Dacosta-alfie
would be my top 2 lines after what I saw tonight.

Really curious to see Z-Bad tomorrow now that he's got that 1st one out of the way (and first point).

Da Costa is great, wish he'd play the wing.

2nd period was a gong show. Wow.

SpezDispenser wrote:Really curious to see Z-Bad tomorrow now that he's got that 1st one out of the way (and first point).

Da Costa is great, wish he'd play the wing.

2nd period was a gong show. Wow.

It will happen. As long as it's not a full 60 like some weeks last year.

asq2 wrote:Helluva shift by Michalek. That's what I want to see from him.

Spezza's effort could be higher but he has no puck-luck right now. Two almost sure goals not going in. That's not going to last this season.

Is it just me, or do people like Smith and Neil kind of bug you when the team is losing? You're like, c'mon, get some skills players out there, we need a goal. Obviously in close games and the playoffs those kinds of players are more valuable.

Nice play by Gonchar to Spezza there too.

Yeah, they really annoy me sometimes - especially down 4-0.

Flo The Action wrote:
It will happen. As long as it's not a full 60 like some weeks last year.

We obviously need to clean the giveaways up as quick as possible. That was horrific to watch and we'll literally never get away with that. We'll get scored on all the time - Anderson is great, but to give pucks up to a guy right in front of the net like that, he's got no chance.

Not a great start with the exception of the 1st 10 minutes and possibly a stretch in the 3rd.

If they play like this tomorrow -- and by that I mean come out like they did in the 1st -- they should beat the Leafs. They go schooled a bit in the second, hopefully they learned something from that that'll help them in the long run.

wprager wrote:If they play like this tomorrow -- and by that I mean come out like they did in the 1st -- they should beat the Leafs. They go schooled a bit in the second, hopefully they learned something from that that'll help them in the long run.

Will be interesting to watch them learn and grow over the season.

Got a bad feeling about tomorrow's game, they'll be tired after this one and the refs always give the Laffs a break or two or three at the ACC.

wprager wrote:If they play like this tomorrow -- and by that I mean come out like they did in the 1st -- they should beat the Leafs. They go schooled a bit in the second, hopefully they learned something from that that'll help them in the long run.

Yeah for sure, one step at a time. Keep attacking, but definitely don't give the puck up up the middle. Try to stop giving the puck away period, they did this in the pre-season too and it's lethal.