GAME DAY: Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators - 7:00pm Jan. 17th, 2009

My hand is also down... He let in one softy, but bailed us out numerous times, making some terrific saves in key situations.

That being said, I still want to send him back down. First of all because he deserves to play in the AHL All Star Game... and Secondly, because I don't want to win anymore games.

Well its not a win, but at least they got one point. They've got one more game to prove they have what it takes. Anything less than a W on Tuesday and its over.

My hand is definitely up. I was convinced Elliott's last outing was a result of the travel and the back-to-back, but he was significantly bad tonight. That Lalime-esque goal in the 3rd was just painful to watch. He's either going to rebound from these last two games and put in a fantastic effort on Tuesday or my hand will be locked in the air.

OK... Elliott needs to work on the shootout. Heh heh.

Tough loss - nice come back. They really put it on at the end there. Would have been nice to take it in regulation. But, it is what it is.

3 point games... here we go...

Man, that was some insane stick-handling from Spezza in OT. 8) What a player.

Unfortunate result (not for me and Tank Nation) but a great, exciting game and our team showed a lot of heart and grit.

I'm happy with the way we played, loss regardless.

Bass Destruction wrote:My hand is also down... He let in one softy, but bailed us out numerous times, making some terrific saves in key situations.

Thats not true, though. The were none of these "key situations" anytime after the 2nd intermission where Elliott bailed us out. Outside of those breakaway saves, he was balied out a ton by the skaters in front of him. He was barely even tested in the third and OT.

asq2 wrote:I'm happy with the way we played, loss regardless.

Still a lot of inconsistency and we just always seem to simmer down mid-way and then panic at the end when we realize the game is almost over and we're behind.

They're still not playing as a team and need to find their identity.

Elliott was very good in the first two periods, no good in the third and OT. His teammates were the opposite.

It's nice to see Ottawa finally respond when a goalie lets in a bad one. If that attitude had been around all year, this would be a top 8 team.

Still, I thought the Sens looked outclassed for most of the night.

cash wrote:

Bass Destruction wrote:My hand is also down... He let in one softy, but bailed us out numerous times, making some terrific saves in key situations.

Thats not true, though. The were none of these "key situations" anytime after the 2nd intermission where Elliott bailed us out. Outside of those breakaway saves, he was balied out a ton by the skaters in front of him. He was barely even tested in the third and OT.

But you can look at that two ways two.

Cause if he didn't bail us out in the second, the whole bail out in the third would be a moot point cause Ottawa could have EASILY been down 3 or 4 going into the third.

And I think if they were down 5-1 after two that game was probably safely in the books for Montreal.

Bottom line, Elliot bailed his skaters out in the 2nd and the skaters bailed him out in the third. It's a team game, and hopefully this is a sign these guys are starting to play for each other. It could be overly optimistic, it could be grasping at straws right now. But bottom line, his play in the second gave them a chance in the third.

Didn't see the game, but based on the comments it sounds like much of the same story we've seen all year.

hemlock wrote:Didn't see the game, but based on the comments it sounds like much of the same story we've seen all year.

well they scored 4 goals, which is somewhat uncharateristic, and they didn't quit when they got down, which is also uncharacteristic.

on the other side, certain high priced players slept through 40 of 65 minutes and soft goals turned out costly, which would be a part of the usual story

so it was a mix n' match

Am I the only one who thought Heatley played crap?

Nope. Its like I said: Heatley plays crap for the whole game, then scores a couple and he's a hero...

pgood wrote:

cash wrote:

Bass Destruction wrote:My hand is also down... He let in one softy, but bailed us out numerous times, making some terrific saves in key situations.

Thats not true, though. The were none of these "key situations" anytime after the 2nd intermission where Elliott bailed us out. Outside of those breakaway saves, he was balied out a ton by the skaters in front of him. He was barely even tested in the third and OT.

But you can look at that two ways two.

Cause if he didn't bail us out in the second, the whole bail out in the third would be a moot point cause Ottawa could have EASILY been down 3 or 4 going into the third.

And I think if they were down 5-1 after two that game was probably safely in the books for Montreal.

Bottom line, Elliot bailed his skaters out in the 2nd and the skaters bailed him out in the third. It's a team game, and hopefully this is a sign these guys are starting to play for each other. It could be overly optimistic, it could be grasping at straws right now. But bottom line, his play in the second gave them a chance in the third.

Although I do agree with you on the overall statement, the question was whether or not he was ready for prime time; and regardless of his key glove hand stops, his overall play is lacking in significant ways: He was too deep in his net on several plays and he often wasn't following the puck well. His position is strong, but far from perfect and his rebound control left something to be desired - despite the fact that it was much improved from the game against the Thrashers.

I am a firm believer that this team wants to play for Elliott - Not just because he's a rookie and they want him to have a good introduction to the league, but because they believe in him. I do, too.

He's got a lot of potential and could just have been thrown off by the atmosphere in the building, but his play needs to recover immediately. We need him at his best to beat the team that just grinded out a win against the East's best.

pgood wrote:

hemlock wrote:Didn't see the game, but based on the comments it sounds like much of the same story we've seen all year.

well they scored 4 goals, which is somewhat uncharateristic, and they didn't quit when they got down, which is also uncharacteristic.

on the other side, certain high priced players slept through 40 of 65 minutes and soft goals turned out costly, which would be a part of the usual story

so it was a mix n' match

In other words, not a playoff worthy performance? This team really needs to have all the guys playing 60 minutes to have any success. Having guys like Heatley stand around like a tourist taking lazy interference penalties irritates me more than anything. I dunno how a guy like Volchenkov can't freak out on a guy. If it were me, I'd be like "Look Diddle-stick, you see all these scars and bruises? I am tired of putting my body on the line, when you can't even be bother to move your feet."

What's our magic number at now? I remember someone saying it was 10 losses. Are we at 9.5 now?

cash wrote:Nope. Its like I said: Heatley plays crap for the whole game, then scores a couple and he's a hero...

pgood wrote:

cash wrote:

Bass Destruction wrote:My hand is also down... He let in one softy, but bailed us out numerous times, making some terrific saves in key situations.

Thats not true, though. The were none of these "key situations" anytime after the 2nd intermission where Elliott bailed us out. Outside of those breakaway saves, he was balied out a ton by the skaters in front of him. He was barely even tested in the third and OT.

But you can look at that two ways two.

Cause if he didn't bail us out in the second, the whole bail out in the third would be a moot point cause Ottawa could have EASILY been down 3 or 4 going into the third.

And I think if they were down 5-1 after two that game was probably safely in the books for Montreal.

Bottom line, Elliot bailed his skaters out in the 2nd and the skaters bailed him out in the third. It's a team game, and hopefully this is a sign these guys are starting to play for each other. It could be overly optimistic, it could be grasping at straws right now. But bottom line, his play in the second gave them a chance in the third.

Although I do agree with you on the overall statement, the question was whether or not he was ready for prime time; and regardless of his key glove hand stops, his overall play is lacking in significant ways: He was too deep in his net on several plays and he often wasn't following the puck well. His position is strong, but far from perfect and his rebound control left something to be desired - despite the fact that it was much improved from the game against the Thrashers.

I am a firm believer that this team wants to play for Elliott - Not just because he's a rookie and they want him to have a good introduction to the league, but because they believe in him. I do, too.

He's got a lot of potential and could just have been thrown off by the atmosphere in the building, but his play needs to recover immediately. We need him at his best to beat the team that just grinded out a win against the East's best.

And I agree with you that many aspects of his game are in need of work before he's a true number 1 goalie in this league. He definitely needs to spend some extra time with Eli Wilson working on the rebounds and following the puck.

But, I'm not sure how much more of that he can really improve in the AHL. I think he needs to start facing some better opposition and also work on his skills with the big boys in the NHL.

So, I guess if by prime-time, you mean bona-fide starter, then no, Elliot is not there. If by prime-time you mean in the NHL (which is how I took it to mean), I think it is kind of his time to be here.

Well, I certainly want to see Tavares in a Sens uni, so at this point, the playoffs are a bust, so if Melnyk is pissed, he can shuffle the management about, unless of course he can see the bigger picture and let Murray use his savy to snag even more precious picks, the future could potentially be VERY bright for this Sens team in a year or two.

Don't get me wrong, even though I know the playoffs are an impossibility basically, I HATE losing, but if it pays dividends in the end, I say do it.
Now, the trick is, how can the Sens do WORSE than the Isles?!?! LOL

Tukker wrote:Am I the only one who thought Heatley played crap?

Heatley played worse than crap in the first 40. I thought he looked better in the 3rd, but... whats his problem that he can't or doesn't bring it for a full 60.

Good for him for scoring 2 goals, but that is why we give him the big bucks. It's high time he starts showing why he has that A on his chest, cause as far as that goes, I'm at a loss.

hemlock wrote:Didn't see the game, but based on the comments it sounds like much of the same story we've seen all year.

Not at all.

It was fast-paced, exciting, and we showed heart, character and grit.

Spezza had a few brain-cramps but there were times when he was absolutely unbelievable. Especially in OT, where at one point he walked the blue-line deking three Habs before setting Picard up for a golden opportunity to win it.

I don't think anyone on the Sens wanted to win more than #19 tonight.

Cronenbergfan wrote:Well, I certainly want to see Tavares in a Sens uni, so at this point, the playoffs are a bust, so if Melnyk is pissed, he can shuffle the management about, unless of course he can see the bigger picture and let Murray use his savy to snag even more precious picks, the future could potentially be VERY bright for this Sens team in a year or two.

Don't get me wrong, even though I know the playoffs are an impossibility basically, I HATE losing, but if it pays dividends in the end, I say do it.
Now, the trick is, how can the Sens do WORSE than the Isles?!?! LOL

That's a tall order. They can start by doing the right thing and sending Elliott back to the AHL. They were doing just fine sucking otherwise. No need for changes, but if you REALLY want to guarantee we don't win, start trading guys off for picks and prospects.

Heatley to Columbus for Filatov, their 2009 1st, and Russell,
Vermette to Nashville for Blum.
Fisher to anywere that will take that gigantic Diddle anchor of a contract.
Kuba for a 1st in 2009