GAME DAY: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Ottawa Senators - 7:30pm ET - Thu. Oct. 15th, 2009

Now how many people were saying I was mental for saying Ottawa and San Jose would be neck and neck all year long...? Oh ya...

That Picard/Carkner pairing is pretty close to a perfect 5/6 right now. Carkner is going to get 20 plus points this year with the amount of shots he gets on net and how much he actually pinches in... Love Carkner, sucks for Lee, hahaha, he wont be seeing a second in Ottawa this year.

Got in from the game. Ottawa was good, but Tampa was an embarassment. Down 4 going into the third period, you'd think Tampa would get more than 1 shot in the first 12 minutes.

If the Sens can pick up a win Saturday, this could start a very nice stretch for the team.

N4L wrote:

Gohan wrote:

marakh wrote:Spezza is playing like a beast, still gets only one point. Isn;t that what the whole city wanted?

People are going to complain about it. I can already hear it: "(nasal voice) The Sens score 7 goals and Spezza only gets 1 assist? What's wrrrooong with this guyyyy?? When is he going to wake up?"

Anyone who is saying Spezza isnt playing well should lose their ability to talk.

Neely praising Spezza? I think the sky just fell in.

I agree, tho'. Spezza is looking good out there, even if he isn't earning me big points in my pool. Same with the Picard question, who I have long supported against a long line of detractors. There's no question in my mind that he's pushed Campoli out of the lineup when Kuba returns, especially with the announcement that Karlsson is staying for the year.

Quick quiz question: does this kind of lunch-pail and hard-hat work ethic give Spezza a better shot at Team Canada, or are the offensive numbers an absolute must for him (too)? Tough spot for him, really. The guy puts up unreal numbers but isn't stellar defensive, and people chirp at him. Then he plays great two-way hockey but isn't putting up quite the same numbers, and people chirp at him. People won't be happy until he become Datsyuk II.

Bonus point: when asked what player he would pick in a fantasy pool if OV, Malkin, and Crosby were all gone, Spezza instantly answered Datsyuk. I think that says a lot about who he's modeling his (new?) game around.

Anyone listening to the Team right now?

These nicknames for Michalek are getting funnier by the second. The latest one:

Michalek's Anonymous.

He's the cure to Heatley-ism and he's 12 steps ahead of him.

N4L wrote:That Picard/Carkner pairing is pretty close to a perfect 5/6 right now. Carkner is going to get 20 plus points this year with the amount of shots he gets on net and how much he actually pinches in... Love Carkner, sucks for Lee, hahaha, he wont be seeing a second in Ottawa this year.

Yeah, I agree, Carkner looks v good, and he and Picard work well together. That's a 5/6 pairing I can trust, which is a statement I haven't been able to make about an OTT lineup since, oh, about 2005-06.

As soon as Kuba is back, the fight is on for the prime real estate -- the spot alongside Kuba. The contenders: Karlsson, Campoli, Lee (I guess). Our 2008 1st rounder vs. the guy we gave up a 2009 1st rounder vs. our 2005 1st rounder. Nice battle to have.

Looks like Karlsson's to lose, to me.

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:alright time to get the pp to work

VIAGRA?

PKC wrote:

N4L wrote:That was awesome! Loving this team so far this year.

This is as blue-collar a team the Sens have ever had. I don't want to get excited, but you can't help but feel incredibly optimistic after watching that tonight.

Yes, gotta love the blue collar effort tonight. And, as strange as "blue collar" sounds in a 7-1 win, it's completely appropriate.

N4L wrote:

marakh wrote:BTW, A Picard led the team in TOI tonight, 4 more minutes than Campoli who was 2nd.

Another solid game by Picard, the hate on for that guy has been uncalled for all season.

...and the panic with Karlsson... and that last game vs. Pittsburgh. Too many people reacting too quickly.

Man that was fun. Whew... Nice game to get to go to.

Picard was very, very good tonight. He and Carkner played a heck of a game - actually, pretty much everyone did. Campoli was exposed a couple (more) times, but he had his moments as well.

No need to rehash what everyone has said in here, that was a tonne of fun, Spezza is playing some real hockey finally. Cheechoo is gonna finish, it's a matter of time. Alfie plays 14 minutes and gets 3 assists - ho hum ( ).

Phillips and Volchenkov are back.

Michalek is an absolute stud of a player. What a difference between him and Heatley. He doesn't just sit there with his stick in the air, he has speed, size, awesome finish. He could easily have had 5 goals tonight - easily. It's easy to get enamoured with a new player when he comes in, but I've always really liked Milan and now, seeing him first hand - he's just amazing to have on this team. What a sensational trade to acquire this young man.

PS - Downie's lucky he's not dead. Carkner was going ape on him. Great Diddling win!!!!!!!!

all I can say about last night is thank you Milan for making all of us Sens fans say Dany who? Am sure you will keep it up all season long. Queue the Milan Michalek Appreciation thread just for last night's game alone, hopefully many more like that coming.

Just saw the highlights - holy epic hit on Hedman by Volchie - wow. Fantastic game all around. Great effort.

I was surprised that Smith got the start... I would have figured Niitymaki would have got it since he had 2 wins in a row after Smith lost the first three. Strange decision if you ask me.

And the Habs lost their 100th home opener to boot! Sweet.

shabbs wrote:Just saw the highlights - holy epic hit on Hedman by Volchie - wow. Fantastic game all around. Great effort.

I was surprised that Smith got the start... I would have figured Niitymaki would have got it since he had 2 wins in a row after Smith lost the first three. Strange decision if you ask me.

And the Habs lost their 100th home opener to boot! Sweet.

Honestly the best hit of the night on Hedman was Spezza! I couldn't believe it, had to rub my eyes and double check the number.

just watched the highlights myself, very disappointed that I didn't see Carkner knock down Downie. Also, not sure if it just didn't show on those two plays, but how could Michalek's 2nd goal and Spezza's pass to set up his 3rd not HON candidates? Is the any Sens bias showing through again on TSN?

MurderOnIce wrote:

shabbs wrote:Just saw the highlights - holy epic hit on Hedman by Volchie - wow. Fantastic game all around. Great effort.

I was surprised that Smith got the start... I would have figured Niitymaki would have got it since he had 2 wins in a row after Smith lost the first three. Strange decision if you ask me.

And the Habs lost their 100th home opener to boot! Sweet.

Honestly the best hit of the night on Hedman was Spezza! I couldn't believe it, had to rub my eyes and double check the number.

When was that? I've got the game still on the PVR... may watch it again today...

MurderOnIce wrote:

shabbs wrote:Just saw the highlights - holy epic hit on Hedman by Volchie - wow. Fantastic game all around. Great effort.

I was surprised that Smith got the start... I would have figured Niitymaki would have got it since he had 2 wins in a row after Smith lost the first three. Strange decision if you ask me.

And the Habs lost their 100th home opener to boot! Sweet.

Honestly the best hit of the night on Hedman was Spezza! I couldn't believe it, had to rub my eyes and double check the number.

Spezza threw a hit? On a guy bigger than he is? whoa Things are looking up for this guy.

Edit: here is the video proof.

http://senators.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,83&event=OTT478&fr=false

TSN's report says Shannon sat out with a suspected concussion.
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=294955

Notes: The Senators are in Montreal on Saturday night.
It'll be Kovalev's first game there since leaving the Canadiens to sign
with Ottawa in the off-season. a Centres Peter Regin (upper body), Ryan Shannon (suspected concussion) and Jesse Winchester (knee) and defenceman Filip Kuba (lower body) all sat out with injuries.

Not surprising at all, he was playing like he had one. Sucks he has had so many concussion problems thus far in his career. Well, Regin is back in.