GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ New York Rangers - 7:00pm ET - Sat. Oct. 3rd, 2009

SpezDispenser wrote:I'm trying to keep upbeat right now - it's the first game of the year, there's a lot of rust etc. etc. etc., but the Rangers were very active in taking 90% of good opportunities away with their sticks. They were solid in most respects, while we wilted in moments. Not sure what to think right now, that's one of the best goalies on the planet and he showed why, the first serious assessment can come after Tuesday's game, see where we're at. We're still not scoring either. That frustrates me to no end - felt exactly like last year - or even when it was under Hartsburg.

I only caught some of the game, but it was nice to see Spezza on the PK. Rather it's nice to see Clouston trusting him out there. I think that will be a real shot in the arm for Spezza, if he's willing to take the ball and run with it. He showed some real potential from what I saw though. He could be a real effective PKer provided he moves his feet and works hard. The hockey sense is definitely there and will serve him well, if like I said, he wants it to.

From what I caught, the Sens had stretches of dominance and so the signs are there. They had the misfortune of running into an all-World goaltender. It's game one, so way too early to panic, and this is coming from the guy who pulled the plug on last season by early November lol.

All in all, we have to take the good with the bad this early in the year. It's just nice to see hockey again at full speed. I was worried about Carkner (I know he impressed, but pre-season is a different animal) keeping up, but from all accounts, he didn't look out of place which is nice to hear.

Did I dream that we got ripped 5-2 by the Rags last night and totally stunk it up?

No?

Crap.

Spezza had one shot on goal last night... ONE. WTF?!? Foligno had none, as did Kovalev. Eek... that's gotta change.

Sens19 wrote:

marakh wrote:

Sens19 wrote:the Leafs look like they're going to be real good this year. I hope we play much better than we're doing against them. They at least tried to come back into it and scored 4 goals

Typical case of a team (Was) leading by 5 and relaxing a little.

Meh maybe, but I still think the Sens should take the Leafs seriously

Why wouldn't they?
The most important thing right now is develop chemistry and implement a system. Not choosing who they have to show up against, I would think.

On another note, Peter Regin is gonna be an awesome NHL'er.

Next game for the Sens is the Leafs on Tuesday in Toronto. Hopefully they've figured a few things out by then.

I'm trying to keep upbeat right now - it's the first game of the year, there's a lot of rust etc. etc. etc., but the Rangers were very active in taking 90% of good opportunities away with their sticks. They were solid in most respects, while we wilted in moments. Not sure what to think right now, that's one of the best goalies on the planet and he showed why, the first serious assessment can come after Tuesday's game, see where we're at. We're still not scoring either. That frustrates me to no end - felt exactly like last year - or even when it was under Hartsburg.

I realized that last night. I was thinking that our chances were there but that we weren't scoring because we ran into a hot goalie. Shortly after that I remembered thinking that for the first 10 losses last year.

I didn't like what I saw last night too much but we did win our first game last year and look what that did for us... in the end it's pretty meaningless.

Meh maybe, but I still think the Sens should take the Leafs seriously

Sens should take everyone seriously. We're not good enough to approach it any other way.

I'd rather see us play like that (many offensive opporunities), make some mistakes early to learn from and lose, than play like crap and get dominated like the Habs and still win the game.

I'll wait until the 10 game mark before making any judgment.

Yeah... get it all out now...

The two things that I couldnt stand from last night were A Train and Clouston. A Train was awful, no excuses for how bad that guy was. He cant keep playing like that otherwise he will get shipped out, especially to make room for someone like Lee and eventually Cowen.

As for Clouston, if there was one matchup in that game where we were domianted, it was coach vs coach. He had no clue what to do, how to get things going, and anything that was successful in pre season he just ignored. Why was Foligno not with Regin and Fisher. Why would you have Karlsson and Campoli out together? Even to generate offense that is not a good idea, at all, especially in the first game of the season where Karlsson was showing he was a rookie.

As for someone who said I trash Lee and said he was an NHL bust. Ya, never said he was an NHL bust, said he was a 1st round bust, get it right. I also said there is a lot of potential there on numerous occasions and said he needs a big shut down partner with him (like Phillips or Cowen) to make him a better D man and possible after a decent amount of time, part of a 3/4 pairing. We have had lengthy discussions about it that I invite you to join to you dont run your mouth and say things that are not true.

I re-read what I wrote about A Train there, came out wrong. I didnt mean we should deal him to make room for Lee or anyone else, just that he would be the guy getting dealt, especially if they are going with Cowen and Lee next year. Get something for the asset.

On top of that, A Train didnt have a strong finish to last year on top of getting off to about the worst start you could this year. If he doesnt improve he will be dealt, garenteed. You would rather give Lee a shot and gain some expierence and put up with his young mistakes then A Train's. That was a BAD BAD game by A Train.

Cheechoo looked good though, impressed with him. Alfi looked like Alfi. Carkner was fairly impressive in that 6th role, worked Brashere too. Regin looked good, he's just going to get better. LOVED Neil, looks like his old self again. Spezza has to be better, plain and simple, that was not a good start for him either. I like his effort for the most part bt he got nothing done offensivly.

I hate Michalek on that top line, they are not clicking at all. Put a guy who doesnt have the puck much, has a good shot, and can score goals, like say ummmm, Cheechoo! This has been the most obvious combo since the trade. A 2nd/3rd line of Kovalev/Shannon/Michalek isnt a bad idea.

Only the first game of the year but the two beefs we fairly big problems IMO.

N4L wrote:The two things that I couldnt stand from last night were A Train and Clouston. A Train was awful, no excuses for how bad that guy was. He cant keep playing like that otherwise he will get shipped out, especially to make room for someone like Lee and eventually Cowen.

As for Clouston, if there was one matchup in that game where we were domianted, it was coach vs coach. He had no clue what to do, how to get things going, and anything that was successful in pre season he just ignored. Why was Foligno not with Regin and Fisher. Why would you have Karlsson and Campoli out together? Even to generate offense that is not a good idea, at all, especially in the first game of the season where Karlsson was showing he was a rookie.

As for someone who said I trash Lee and said he was an NHL bust. Ya, never said he was an NHL bust, said he was a 1st round bust, get it right. I also said there is a lot of potential there on numerous occasions and said he needs a big shut down partner with him (like Phillips or Cowen) to make him a better D man and possible after a decent amount of time, part of a 3/4 pairing. We have had lengthy discussions about it that I invite you to join to you dont run your mouth and say things that are not true.

I re-read what I wrote about A Train there, came out wrong. I didnt mean we should deal him to make room for Lee or anyone else, just that he would be the guy getting dealt, especially if they are going with Cowen and Lee next year. Get something for the asset.

On top of that, A Train didnt have a strong finish to last year on top of getting off to about the worst start you could this year. If he doesnt improve he will be dealt, garenteed. You would rather give Lee a shot and gain some expierence and put up with his young mistakes then A Train's. That was a BAD BAD game by A Train.

Cheechoo looked good though, impressed with him. Alfi looked like Alfi. Carkner was fairly impressive in that 6th role, worked Brashere too. Regin looked good, he's just going to get better. LOVED Neil, looks like his old self again. Spezza has to be better, plain and simple, that was not a good start for him either. I like his effort for the most part bt he got nothing done offensivly.

I hate Michalek on that top line, they are not clicking at all. Put a guy who doesnt have the puck much, has a good shot, and can score goals, like say ummmm, Cheechoo! This has been the most obvious combo since the trade. A 2nd/3rd line of Kovalev/Shannon/Michalek isnt a bad idea.

Only the first game of the year but the two beefs we fairly big problems IMO.

I certainly don't disagree that A-Train could be dealt, but I think his contract status may have more to do with it than his actual play. That and the fact that we are clearly going with a youth movement back there going forward. Plus, I think he's got some real value, particularly at the deadline when a guy like him will be at a premium, but I don't think he's being moved to make room for anyone this season barring a trade. I won't touch the Lee thing again, since you obviously backpedalled on that. The only thing I can ever remember you saying even remotely postive about him was that he formed a nice pairing with Cowen - a guy who isn't here. I have no beef with you are doing it now, but don't pretend you haven't had a massive hate on for the guy historically. Funny, how selective your memory is.

I don't think Lee is ready for a full time role considering the other bodies we've got atm, including A-Train.

As far as Volchenkov goes, I'm not ready to start saying he needs to pick it up etc. It's one game, and yes, he wasn't stellar last season, but neither was most of the team. He's done enough for this team to at least earn a grace period from criticism,at least from me.

I'll agree that Michalek and Spezza shouldn't be together. I'd like to see Michalek with Shannon and Fisher, two guys who've got nice speed to compliment Milan. Spezza and Kovalev would be another tandem I'd like to see together to see if they can generate some chemistry.

marakh wrote:I'd rather see us play like that (many offensive opporunities), make some mistakes early to learn from and lose, than play like crap and get dominated like the Habs and still win the game.

I'll wait until the 10 game mark before making any judgment.

Way too early for that, yeah. If we are still having serious questions in 2 months, then I start to hit the panic button.

There is, once again, no reason Lee cant make himself a valueable player to The Sens doing that job, and with A Train being close to leaving town, it is time Lee does everything he can to make it in Ottawa. The only way he is gonna get people to look at him is by doing the things no one else likes to do. He isnt as good offensively as Karlsson, Kuba, Picard or Campoli. He doesnt have the expierence Phillips has, and he hasnt shown what he is willing to do for his team like A Train has. The only one of those things he can change is his dedication to The Sens. That means blocking a shot in the 2nd period in game 22, that means shutting your mouth when you go to the box, that means taking a hit to make a play... These things are far from impossible to do, but take a ton of character to want to do. That's what Lee has to do, if he does and gets bigger and stronger, he will find a job in the top 4 being as good a skater he is and the ability to move the puck.

Early September I said that. Even an A Train statement.

N4L wrote:There is, once again, no reason Lee cant make himself a valueable player to The Sens doing that job, and with A Train being close to leaving town, it is time Lee does everything he can to make it in Ottawa. The only way he is gonna get people to look at him is by doing the things no one else likes to do. He isnt as good offensively as Karlsson, Kuba, Picard or Campoli. He doesnt have the expierence Phillips has, and he hasnt shown what he is willing to do for his team like A Train has. The only one of those things he can change is his dedication to The Sens. That means blocking a shot in the 2nd period in game 22, that means shutting your mouth when you go to the box, that means taking a hit to make a play... These things are far from impossible to do, but take a ton of character to want to do. That's what Lee has to do, if he does and gets bigger and stronger, he will find a job in the top 4 being as good a skater he is and the ability to move the puck.

Early September I said that. Even an A Train statement.

Agreed. Will we ever actually see all of that consistently from him though? I'm certainly not holding my breath, but it'd be nice for sure. He's a guy that could replace Phillips in the long run, if he put it together.

I'm gonna chalk up all comments before page 13 to post game binge drinking...really lacking perspective.We're one game into the season!  I guess if you went in thinking Leclaire was getting a shut out and the team was going to score 5+ goals, last night didn't look good.  I went in looking for positive steps and although I had to resort to listening on team 1200, sounded like some good things happening.Not sure why Clouston waited so long to mix up the lines...Kovalev didn't do anything all night.  Although Spezza didn't have a lot of offensive chances, he played well defensively (that in itself is a huge fist positive step).We use these fist 10 games to figure out what works and what doesn't.  By game 11, Clouston will know what works and what doesn't.  Until then, a little less emphasis on the win/loss column will be good for everyone's liver.

He will get pissed eventually about playing down in Bingo. He's not going anywhere and he's a RH shot to paly with Phillips or Cowen in the future.

So ya, don't say I have never said anything positive about Lee because it simply isnt true. I think what I said in Sept is 100% accurate about him.

As far as A Train goes, he needs to step up. The finals were a long time ago. He isnt as valuable to a team trying to make the playoffs as opposed to a team looking to win the cup.

Vandelay wrote:I'm gonna chalk up all comments before page 13 to post game binge drinking...really lacking perspective.We're one game into the season! I guess if you went in thinking Leclaire was getting a shut out and the team was going to score 5+ goals, last night didn't look good. I went in looking for positive steps and although I had to resort to listening on team 1200, sounded like some good things happening.Not sure why Clouston waited so long to mix up the lines...Kovalev didn't do anything all night. Although Spezza didn't have a lot of offensive chances, he played well defensively (that in itself is a huge fist positive step).We use these fist 10 games to figure out what works and what doesn't. By game 11, Clouston will know what works and what doesn't. Until then, a little less emphasis on the win/loss column will be good for everyone's liver.

Ottawa can't afford to be droping games early, thats the thing. The East is way too tight and the schedual is way too weak for The Sens to be playing anything other then winning hockey.

Couston was my biggest concern last night for sure along with A Train. I didnt really go off about anything else.

N4L wrote:

Ottawa can't afford to be droping games early, thats the thing. The East is way too tight and the schedual is way too weak for The Sens to be playing anything other then winning hockey.

Couston was my biggest concern last night for sure along with A Train. I didnt really go off about anything else.

Agreed...but less emphasis doesn't mean no concern over a 0-10 record.  We'll win some games, we'll lose some.  I just think early on the focus should be on figuring out what works and what doesn't and it didn't seem like Clouston was doing that last night.