GAME DAY: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Ottawa Senators - 7:30pm ET - Mon. Oct. 12th, 2009

I personally hoped for a win last night but did not expect it. Ottawa, IMO, will be scrapping it out for 7th or 8th so this is going to happen to them against elite team. Baby steps here. They kept Malkin and Crosby off the score sheet.

Sens19 wrote:

asq2 wrote:Yeah, Cheechoo looked very good. I think Spezza's the guy on the team to bring the best of them. Michalek seemed to complement Spezza much better than he has in the past few games - perhaps it was because the Spezza I saw (in the third) was doing more than just camping out on the perimeter.

He's so dangerous when he skates like that and attacks the inside.

Its the wooden sticks

I thought Spezz finally changed over to the composite sticks now, unless he reverted back again.

SensFan71 wrote:

Sens19 wrote:

asq2 wrote:Yeah, Cheechoo looked very good. I think Spezza's the guy on the team to bring the best of them. Michalek seemed to complement Spezza much better than he has in the past few games - perhaps it was because the Spezza I saw (in the third) was doing more than just camping out on the perimeter.

He's so dangerous when he skates like that and attacks the inside.

Its the wooden sticks

I thought Spezz finally changed over to the composite sticks now, unless he reverted back again.

I thought that he changed because they stopped making the wooden sticks.

Tough loss last night. I only caught the first two periods. Surprised to hear the crowd bood the Sens at the end there. Not good. First two goals by the Pens were flukes. The third was a laser that beat Leclaire. I didn't see the 4th. Our PP needs a lot of work. The game was a lot closer than the score indicates. And this was against the champs.

SensFan71 wrote:

Sens19 wrote:

asq2 wrote:Yeah, Cheechoo looked very good. I think Spezza's the guy on the team to bring the best of them. Michalek seemed to complement Spezza much better than he has in the past few games - perhaps it was because the Spezza I saw (in the third) was doing more than just camping out on the perimeter.

He's so dangerous when he skates like that and attacks the inside.

Its the wooden sticks

I thought Spezz finally changed over to the composite sticks now, unless he reverted back again.

He was trying out some wooden sticks in the morning practice... maybe he's looking to switch back.

shabbs wrote:Tough loss last night. I only caught the first two periods. Surprised to hear the crowd bood the Sens at the end there. Not good. First two goals by the Pens were flukes. The third was a laser that beat Leclaire. I didn't see the 4th. Our PP needs a lot of work. The game was a lot closer than the score indicates. And this was against the champs.

well let's hope Clouston's next practice focuses on the PP, figured this would not be the weakness of our game since Kovalev was in town, but which Kovalev played last night? the "floating" Kovy or the "dominant" Kovy, I was watching House instead of the game since it just did not seem to go well, I agree that the bounces might not have went our way, but this team needs to start finishing their plays. Spezza hasn't scored yet, Cheech hopefully stays with Spezz and Michalek, they seem to be getting some chemistry.

Michalek scoring near the end of the first was great. If that lucky bounce doesn't happen we go to the dressing room up 1-0 and on a high. Instead it's 1-1 and the adrenaline is gone. Maybe a bit of inexperience on Clouston's part not having a great speech prepared for this kind of situation.

I said a while back that I don't seen any reason other than their 1-way contracts for Campoli or Picard to be here over Lee. Our defense is really struggling. Just think how much better it would be if Campoli/Picard were replaced by Kuba/Lee. Not that I'm all that high on Lee, but he plays more physical than either of those two, and is a decent passer. Maybe he can work on his shot?

I don't mind Karlsson learning the ropes and making mistakes as he goes along, but pairing him with Campoli is sucking the wind out of him. He needs someone to help *him*, not the other way around. If Kuba is not ready to go Thursday then it's time to split Philchenkov up. And if we have the cap room, bring up Lee and sit Campoli. Pre-season plus 5 games -- that's enough for me to make up my mind.

We played a good first period and got burned by the bounce. This team has so many rookies or near-rookies on D that they are lacking the confidence to bounce back when things don't go their way. They need Kuba back -- what the hell is wrong with him anyway? He's only played, what, two games? Suck it up and get back in there. Campoli should realize that this lifestyle -- including the supermodel gf -- is just one demotion to the minors away from going poof! Give an effort out there for crying out loud. Picard, you're not good enough defensively to just stand there and not get physical; you're not Kuba. Use that body for what God intended it -- hitting, shoving, getting in the way. Or sit the hell down.

I'm a little frustrated because the two teams we faced that are *not* a lock to miss the playoffs both beat us. And it took us OT to put away the winless-in-five Leafs. Yes, it's only 5 games and, yes, we're missing Kuba. but I am beginning to get a little worried. The schedule is kind to us the first doze or so games, and we could have an inflated record that could give us a false sense of security. This was a game we could have had -- Malkin and Crosby were held off the score sheet. We scored first. We had a long 5-on-3, Pittsburgh went 0-for-3 on their PP. If you had told me all this prior to the game, I would definitely have expected a win.

So, not panicking yet, just a little ticked off that a great opportunity to go up 4-1 was wasted.

shabbs wrote:

SensFan71 wrote:

Sens19 wrote:

asq2 wrote:Yeah, Cheechoo looked very good. I think Spezza's the guy on the team to bring the best of them. Michalek seemed to complement Spezza much better than he has in the past few games - perhaps it was because the Spezza I saw (in the third) was doing more than just camping out on the perimeter.

He's so dangerous when he skates like that and attacks the inside.

Its the wooden sticks

I thought Spezz finally changed over to the composite sticks now, unless he reverted back again.

He was trying out some wooden sticks in the morning practice... maybe he's looking to switch back.

good on him, there is nothing worse than having a composite stick fly apart on you when you got a good shot lined up. Nothing irks me more.

We are missing Kuba big time.

shabbs wrote:We are missing Kuba big time.

won't be back at least until Saturday from what Clouston said, which really hurts Karlsson as Kuba is his mentor in this role. Too bad we didn't have another veteran puck mover in the organization, but then again, if we did, then Karlsson might not even be here, so scratch that idea. Kuba will be back soon and he will settle the kid down.

At least we've managed to get some wins without Kuba in the lineup. I remember our stretch last season without him and it wasn't pretty. Once Kuba is back that should give us 2 capable pairings to shut down teams top lines.

well we are definitely not in panic time anyway, I rather have these nagging injuries now than say in March or April when the games could be very important. Right now we are first in the Division, albeit the weaker division in the East I am sure, but with the Bruins and Habs faltering right now, Ottawa stands a real prime chance of getting some space between them and the rest of the teams if the little things start going right for them, and the one huge thing, the PP. Goaltending has been stellar, defense, meh, and offense, meh, but that is due more to lack of finish, if they keep shooting, the goals will come.

Just like the NY game, that third goal really took the wind out of the sales.  I thought the team looked good for the first two periods.  A lot of negativity towards our D and team in general but credit has to be given to the pens.  We played a great team and I thought we did quite well.  The second line looked frustrated by the third period and our D had their hands full with the penguin fore-check but what did you expect?I think the team has made positive steps every game.  We competed with the best of the east and for me that's enough.  Of course, there are areas that need improvement and as long as they are addressed by Thursday and we keep moving forward, I'm not really sure what reason we have to be so distraught.

Vandelay wrote:Just like the NY game, that third goal really took the wind out of the sales. I thought the team looked good for the first two periods. A lot of negativity towards our D and team in general but credit has to be given to the pens. We played a great team and I thought we did quite well. The second line looked frustrated by the third period and our D had their hands full with the penguin fore-check but what did you expect?I think the team has made positive steps every game. We competed with the best of the east and for me that's enough. Of course, there are areas that need improvement and as long as they are addressed by Thursday and we keep moving forward, I'm not really sure what reason we have to be so distraught.

your synopsis was definitely accurate Van, and a lot of the times I forget that this team has gone through a minor face lift in the off season, so we can't expect them to be clicking on all cylinders like the Penguins have (who barely made any changes on their forward ranks). This team should hopefully get things going soon and if the D sorts itself out, we could be a force to deal with come November on to the rest of season, here's hoping anyway, if not, better times are on the horizon with Cowen and Weircioch on the way plus with Lehner.

So... after 5 games we're 3-2. We've beat teams we were expected to beat (Leafs, Islanders and Thrashers) , and lost to better teams (Rags and Pens). The team has shown that it is still adjusting and improving. I think we are right about where we should be with the face lift we went through and all things considered. In fact, I suspect we're above where everyone else expected us to be.

shabbs wrote:So... after 5 games we're 3-2. We've beat teams we were expected to beat (Leafs, Islanders and Thrashers) , and lost to better teams (Rags and Pens). The team has shown that it is still adjusting and improving. I think we are right about where we should be with the face lift we went through and all things considered. In fact, I suspect we're above where everyone else expected us to be.

I agree, I don't think anyone would have said at this point of the season or any point that the Sens would be at the top of the NE division, albeit it's only 5 games and I am sure the Bruins will wake up at some point and play like they did last year, they can't actually be as bad as they looked some nights. The Leafs will flounder at the bottom, and it will be the Habs, Sabres, and Sens fighting for the 2 through 4 spots.

Vandelay wrote:Just like the NY game, that third goal really took the wind out of the sales. I thought the team looked good for the first two periods. A lot of negativity towards our D and team in general but credit has to be given to the pens. We played a great team and I thought we did quite well. The second line looked frustrated by the third period and our D had their hands full with the penguin fore-check but what did you expect?I think the team has made positive steps every game. We competed with the best of the east and for me that's enough. Of course, there are areas that need improvement and as long as they are addressed by Thursday and we keep moving forward, I'm not really sure what reason we have to be so distraught.

Agree with you on that point...if the Pens hadn't had scored two fluke goals -- which is exactly what they are -- and the Sens had lost 2-1 while holding off Malkin-Crosby from the scoresheet, everyone would be in here saying how great of a game it was.

You guys are too much in here with pessimism. The Sens played a fantastic game...they flat-out OUTCHANCED the Pens by a massive margin. By my count, the Sens had about 12 scoring chances to the Penguins 3. And I'm talking dangerous chances, not shots on net.

I'm overall impressed with the Sens so far.

They seem to be putting a pretty good effort.

We're going to lose games due to bad luck, and yeah players are going to have off nights sometimes.

We still need to build chemistry, get a real PP going as well as sort out the defence(ie. Karlsson's status, Lee, Picard, Campoli staying/going etc.)