Game Day: Sabres at Senators March 17 '09

I thought Neil with Spezza and Heatley was very effective. Him just being with them seemed to inspire them to play harder and he just gives those 2 guys more space and kind of keeps the opposition in line. If that could work long term then we could bump Shannon down to the third line and have 3 good lines when Comrie comes back.

I tend to agree with Heater on Lee as well. He's just not ready yet. Even during this dominant win he still looked not so good.

Neely4Life wrote:Ive been saying for ever, for the price tag and what Bell brings, I would take him over Lee, hands down, withotu question. People expecting Lee to be a top D man in this league any time in the next 5 years are in for a loooooooong wait.

Give the contract to Bell, he has EARNED it and has way more offensive ability than Lee. On a 2nd PP unit, Bell is perfect. Great shot, moves the puck well and knows when to jump up. Even strength he isnt any better than a 6th D man, but thats why he makes 500K.

I'll second that at this point. Screw it, Bell has indeed earned a spot as 6th D-man and PP specialist. When it comes down to it, there's no NHL room for Lee for next year. Providing that Murray and Bell come to an agreement, I could grow to like this guy.

Urkie wrote:I thought Neil with Spezza and Heatley was very effective. Him just being with them seemed to inspire them to play harder and he just gives those 2 guys more space and kind of keeps the opposition in line. If that could work long term then we could bump Shannon down to the third line and have 3 good lines when Comrie comes back.

I agree, Neil looked great all game. There are risks to putting Neil top line with those two, but it looked great tonight. I would still like to see the FFS line together permanently and move Foligno down with Comrie and Kelly, but at least some options seem to be opening up. This also depends on whether Neil is willing to get his head out of his arse and take 1.6 million X 3 contract.

504Heater wrote:I agree, Neil looked great all game. There are risks to putting Neil top line with those two, but it looked great tonight. I would still like to see the FFS line together permanently and move Foligno down with Comrie and Kelly, but at least some options seem to be opening up. This also depends on whether Neil is willing to get his head out of his arse and take 1.6 million X 3 contract.

Yeah, hopefully Neil takes something like that because he is worth that. I just think Neil is willing to go into the dirty zones and he always drives to the net. That just gives the talented guys more space to make plays.

I was thinking something like this:

Heatley - Spezza - Neil
Comrie - Fisher - Alfredsson
Foligno - Kelly - Shannon

If Neil doesn't work out then just switch Neil and Shannon.

I wonder if Shannon is a better long-term option on the first line. It may help push the other two to be a little less soft, knowing that they have to make their own space rather than depend on Neil/Alfie/Fisher/whomever.

This from Brendan Bell in his postgame:
"My career is at stake here," said the 25-year-old Ottawa native after the first two-goal game of his 88-game NHL career. "The better I play down the stretch, the more opportunity there is going to be for me. I'm going to try to keep playing like that and make it as hard on them as possible."

He gets it. Good on him.

Nice job by the Sens. We certainly do have the Sabres' number. Also, Leafs won so we didn't move much overall - I think we're in 7th last now - tied with LA.

davetherave wrote:This from Brendan Bell in his postgame:
"My career is at stake here," said the 25-year-old Ottawa native after the first two-goal game of his 88-game NHL career. "The better I play down the stretch, the more opportunity there is going to be for me. I'm going to try to keep playing like that and make it as hard on them as possible."

He gets it. Good on him.

Glad someone gets it in Ottawa. There has to start being a standard in Ottawa, where players come here to play for the team and city, not themselves. That is why NJ and Detroit are always on top, ALWAYS.

There are still players here who dont get it and that has to change, even if there is no one coming into replace them immidatly. I would be hard pressed to say Travis Zajac is a "1st line center" but he has a world class winger making him look like one.

There are guy here fighting tooth and nail for everything they are getting, buying into the coach and system, and the team concept. Thats where this thing has to start in Ottawa.

Then its the goaltending, then its the defense, then you worry about your offense. You have your goaltending set, because even if Leclaire isnt healthy, we now know Elliott has the ability to play in the NHL and WIN. (13-4-3 this year). You need that stud D man and if get him one way or another, I will put the Sens blueline up against any teams in the East. Offense will work itself out, even if we dont have 3, "ppg" players up front.

The NJ and Detroit models are what the Sens should follow in the sense the last thing they worry about is offense.

Bang on Neely.

We've all seen what happens when the focus is placed SOLELY on addressing Offence... Address the last-line of defence (goalie), then work on your blueline, as you said, Offence will create itself.

Going with the flow of the game and reading plays is crucial, and I for one would be fine if the Sens win games by one or 2 goal margins for the next 5 years personally. I don't need to see scores like 6-2 or 7-3 consistently or at all from the Sens, but I do want to see them playing their collective hearts, minds and a**es off for the city, the team and the fans night in and night out.

Assuming LeClair is healthy and lives up to Murray's risk, then we have a fantastic tandem (IMHO) of LeClair and Elliott , and personally, LeClair would be a great mentor for Elliott as well.

Neely4Life wrote:

davetherave wrote:This from Brendan Bell in his postgame:
"My career is at stake here," said the 25-year-old Ottawa native after the first two-goal game of his 88-game NHL career. "The better I play down the stretch, the more opportunity there is going to be for me. I'm going to try to keep playing like that and make it as hard on them as possible."

He gets it. Good on him.

Glad someone gets it in Ottawa. There has to start being a standard in Ottawa, where players come here to play for the team and city, not themselves. That is why NJ and Detroit are always on top, ALWAYS.

There are still players here who dont get it and that has to change, even if there is no one coming into replace them immidatly. I would be hard pressed to say Travis Zajac is a "1st line center" but he has a world class winger making him look like one.

There are guy here fighting tooth and nail for everything they are getting, buying into the coach and system, and the team concept. Thats where this thing has to start in Ottawa.

Then its the goaltending, then its the defense, then you worry about your offense. You have your goaltending set, because even if Leclaire isnt healthy, we now know Elliott has the ability to play in the NHL and WIN. (13-4-3 this year). You need that stud D man and if get him one way or another, I will put the Sens blueline up against any teams in the East. Offense will work itself out, even if we dont have 3, "ppg" players up front.

The NJ and Detroit models are what the Sens should follow in the sense the last thing they worry about is offense.

You said it N4L.

The Wings and Devils understand the 'team first' concept better than anyone.

You don't see Holland or Lamoriello handing out fat paycheques to players who aren't ready to buy in and bust their guts every night.

You don't see players making lame excuses for poor performances.

You don't see Babs or Sutter giving the 'stars' a pass for mediocre play.

In Detroit and New Jersey, if you coast, you're toast.

Clouston gets it. Alfie gets it. And some of the team--like Elliott, Foligno, Shannon, Bell, Donovan, Neil--get it.

Hopefully the message is sinking in across the board.

Squeaking into the playoffs, playing spoiler, or hoping they'll finish low enough to get the juicy draft pick, is not where the Sens--or their fans--want to be.

Exactly DTR.

I truly believe next year's team and the ensuing season will be used as a measuring stick and the results and data collected will be indicative as to how management moves forward.

You've gotta admit though N4L. Heatley is really starting to get it. You always rag on him pretty hard but lately he has been playing inspired hockey and last night he was really good. Spezza was okay but I think he really benefited from some other guys working hard last night.

I agree with your point though N4L. You see certain guys show up and give it their best effort night in and night out. That's the reason we've seen the improvement lately. Because more guys have been buying in and contributing.

Urkie wrote:You've gotta admit though N4L. Heatley is really starting to get it. You always rag on him pretty hard but lately he has been playing inspired hockey and last night he was really good. Spezza was okay but I think he really benefited from some other guys working hard last night.

I agree with your point though N4L. You see certain guys show up and give it their best effort night in and night out. That's the reason we've seen the improvement lately. Because more guys have been buying in and contributing.

Heatley was absolute awesome last night. He is a world class player for sure. Dealing Spezza or at least getting Heatley away from Spezza would be the best thing for this team and Dany Heatley. The guy is dominate when he wants to be.

Spezza doesnt get it, plain and simple. He never will in Ottawa.

I don't think you can say that about Spezza. He's 25, he's competing harder, he has brain farts from time to time, but I see him developing the way we've wanted him to under Clouston.

You can be sure that Clouston had words for him after the 1st period last night - and he definitely responded.

I think it's too late for you NL4, you've made up your mind about Spezza and he can't do anything right from here on in. If he had played the way he played in the first for the entire game last night, I'd be singing a different tune, but someone had a chat with him - and he came out and was directly responsible for the 1st goal and the GWG.

Your point is valid, but this is not the best example. The guy's clearing saying that it's *his career* at stake; he doesn't say anything about the team. Which is not to say that Bell would not lay it all on the line for the team if the circumstance presented itself. It's just that in this particular case what he's getting is that there is no free meal ticket.

The problem with some players is that with a long-term, multi-million dollar contract, this particular sentiment ("My career is at stake") is not going to affect them at all.

Now, if Bell had come out and said "Look, I don't care if I am on a two-way contract or making $5M a yer long-term, I just want to do my best for my team mates and the team's fans" -- that's the kind of sentiment that needs to sink in.

Neely4Life wrote:

davetherave wrote:This from Brendan Bell in his postgame:
"My career is at stake here," said the 25-year-old Ottawa native after the first two-goal game of his 88-game NHL career. "The better I play down the stretch, the more opportunity there is going to be for me. I'm going to try to keep playing like that and make it as hard on them as possible."

He gets it. Good on him.

Glad someone gets it in Ottawa. There has to start being a standard in Ottawa, where players come here to play for the team and city, not themselves. That is why NJ and Detroit are always on top, ALWAYS.

There are still players here who dont get it and that has to change, even if there is no one coming into replace them immidatly. I would be hard pressed to say Travis Zajac is a "1st line center" but he has a world class winger making him look like one.

There are guy here fighting tooth and nail for everything they are getting, buying into the coach and system, and the team concept. Thats where this thing has to start in Ottawa.

Then its the goaltending, then its the defense, then you worry about your offense. You have your goaltending set, because even if Leclaire isnt healthy, we now know Elliott has the ability to play in the NHL and WIN. (13-4-3 this year). You need that stud D man and if get him one way or another, I will put the Sens blueline up against any teams in the East. Offense will work itself out, even if we dont have 3, "ppg" players up front.

The NJ and Detroit models are what the Sens should follow in the sense the last thing they worry about is offense.

504Heater wrote:I don't think you can say that about Spezza. He's 25, he's competing harder, he has brain farts from time to time, but I see him developing the way we've wanted him to under Clouston.

You can be sure that Clouston had words for him after the 1st period last night - and he definitely responded.

I think it's too late for you NL4, you've made up your mind about Spezza and he can't do anything right from here on in. If he had played the way he played in the first for the entire game last night, I'd be singing a different tune, but someone had a chat with him - and he came out and was directly responsible for the 1st goal and the GWG.

Spezza made two awesome passes, for sure. But on the winning goal, wasn't he the one who lost possession getting into the Buffalo zone, which resulted in the odd-man rush the other way? And when Kuba stopped the play at our own blue line, Spezza was behind the play, which resulted in a nice *long* pass being possible. Kinda like Malkin that time he was dogging it getting back out of the offensive zone, suddnely finding himself with the puck and no defender within 50 feet

Spezza's got the high-level skill to finish on that play, but he was very lucky it didn't end up being a scoring chance for Buffalo since he lost the puck and was late coming back.

504Heater wrote:I don't think you can say that about Spezza. He's 25, he's competing harder, he has brain farts from time to time, but I see him developing the way we've wanted him to under Clouston.

You can be sure that Clouston had words for him after the 1st period last night - and he definitely responded.

I think it's too late for you NL4, you've made up your mind about Spezza and he can't do anything right from here on in. If he had played the way he played in the first for the entire game last night, I'd be singing a different tune, but someone had a chat with him - and he came out and was directly responsible for the 1st goal and the GWG.

He can compete all he wants, work his Donkey off, w/e, but if the guy doesnt buy into or generally get a grasp of the team concept in terms of playing defense and working hard in all 3 zones, then its pointless to have him here. It seems when the team has a "slow start" and we get scored on first, who is the guy that is always out there? Its usually Spezza and Heatley. Spezza does not understand the defensive side of the game, he does not understand that he is responsible for a lot of things being the "number 1 center". You have to be skating hard all the time, be able to read the play from the defensive side of the puck as well as know where to be at certain times and who to support in your own zone. He still gets away with it, and there is nothing this team can do about it. You are dependant on him to produce and be responsible, they have to be with the amount he makes, the cap room he takes up, so on.

My mind isnt "made up" about him, its the fact I am at every home game, watch him without the puck (which cant be seen on TV for the most part) and he lacks in so many ways even if you discount his effort at times. He does not understand the complete team concept and it will take something major for him to get it IMO. He may get it somewhere else, he may turn into a complete player than we wish we hadnt traded, but he wont do it in Ottawa. Ottawa is damned if they do, damned if they dont with him.

He might be only 25 but he will have had 7 years in the NHL playing under a lot of good leaders, good coaches (aside from Padock and Hartsberg), and having all of this shoved down his throat by coaches, players, media, and managment. Ottawa has already started to go into another direction with the team, and Spezza looks out of place.

That 3rd goal the Sens scored was ALL Kuba, he made an amazing playing in the nutral zone, covered Spezza's Donkey and he just happend to be slacking on his way back. Nice pass to Alfi, no doubt, but Spezza did very little on that play. Again, that goes the other way and Kuba doesnt make that play, its 3-2 Buffalo, not Ottawa. He got rewarded for lazyness again.

^ Possibly, he'll have to limit the turnovers. But the other guy in that play was Alfie don't forget - and they were pretty much neck and neck coming back on Buffalo (until Kuba made that incredible play).