GAME DAY: Boston Bruins @ Ottawa Senators - 7:00pm ET - Sat. Oct. 24th, 2009; and post game debate

For me the biggest thing that is not working is Kovalev. HE's also invisible on that PP, it's not Shannon only, especially at 1/10 the price.

Kovalev is producing and was front and center for that 3rd Ottawa goal. The guys around Kovalev are producing.

Shannon doesnt work anywhere.

If Kuba is ready to go next game Shannon better be coming out of that lineup.

well... i was hoping to be wrong and thought i was by the mid3rd period... what a bummer.

N4L wrote:Kovalev is producing and was front and center for that 3rd Ottawa goal. The guys around Kovalev are producing.

Shannon doesnt work anywhere.

That had as much impact as Shannon intercepting that puck on the tying goal against nashville by Michalek (I think)
And Kovalev is playing with Alfredsson, everybody produces with him. I'm pretyt sure you put Shannon with Fisher and Alfredsson, he produces as much.
He still doesn't look like a threat which he should be, and he is a big part of the PP too.
THe PP hasn't worked all year even when Shannon was injured. I put that on the coaching staff.

marakh wrote:[At the moment I'd rather have Shannon and Donovan on this team than Kovalev.

One. Hundred. Percent. Agree. I said it in the pre-season that this has the makings of the worst-signing of the summer. I stand by that. I'm not eager to be right...he just isn't what this team needs. I don't like him at all. Say what you want about his points in the MTL game, but the fact is that when he isn't getting points, he is USELESS << He is the definition of that saying.

edit: scratch that. He's worse than useless. He's a complete detriment to everything this team is trying to stand for.

lets trade kovalev and zubov/draft pick to montreal for Andrei Kostitsyn then

N4L wrote:Kovalev is producing and was front and center for that 3rd Ottawa goal. The guys around Kovalev are producing.

Shannon doesnt work anywhere.

Front and center on a flukky goal? *sarcastic hand claps*...... Diddle that. Kovalev is the worst player on this team, night-in, night out. He keeps trying to slow down the game, but thats not the way the new NHL works. You either get up to speed or go sit in the press box. THAT is how it works.

I'm sick of him.

From a long term macro/big picture point of view though, appart from the PP, the team looks pretty good and for the most part the effort has been consistent for 9 games now. Goaltending might be thte best tandem in the league. I think in April we're gonna be quite pleased.

For a team that has that many new faces it looks pretty satisfying.

Tuk Tuk wrote:lets trade kovalev and zubov/draft pick to montreal for Andrei Kostitsyn then

Hell no! kovy is not living up to what he was in mtl, which isn't saying much but andrei, although young, is not the answer.
kovy needs a motivator. and personaly it's gonna have to come from the fans at the rink. he needs to be thought of as a god, then he'll try to live up to it. sorta worked in mtl. as far as the 1st line, i we should keep it intact, there's a great chemistry building and i can even see michalek getting 35-40 if he stays healthy. for cheechoo, like i said when we got him, if he nets 20 i'll be happy... and they'll come.

Flo The Action wrote:

Tuk Tuk wrote:lets trade kovalev and zubov/draft pick to montreal for Andrei Kostitsyn then

Hell no! kovy is not living up to what he was in mtl, which isn't saying much but andrei, although young, is not the answer.
kovy needs a motivator. and personaly it's gonna have to come from the fans at the rink. he needs to be thought of as a god, then he'll try to live up to it. sorta worked in mtl. as far as the 1st line, i we should keep it intact, there's a great chemistry building and i can even see michalek getting 35-40 if he stays healthy. for cheechoo, like i said when we got him, if he nets 20 i'll be happy... and they'll come.

There was some sarcasm in my post

I thought Shannon actually had a good game. He was dangling out there, moving the puck well. He had 1 shot on goal, 1 blocked shot and and 2 shots that missed -- that's 4 attempts. By comparison, Spezza had 5, Michalek had 8, Kovalev had 1. And he was not instrumental on the third goal -- it went it off a skate of a Bruin who wasn't even covering him. Kovalev was going to the net, sure, and he had a guy with him, but he had as little to do with that goal as Cheechoo had with Michalek's goal.

Alfie was great on the shortie but, again, there were several times I was screaming at the TV. I would not be surprised if he's got a bit of the flu because he has made several uncharacteristic giveaways the last two games.

One of my two biggest beefs about the game is that Donovan didn't play. But not because I thought Shannon was useless, but because Boston is his previous team. Guys always get "up" for a game like that. And, of course, Shannon hadn't done anything to deserve being in the lineup over Dono. But, again, I don't think Shannon was useless out there last night.

The second beef I have about the game is the refereeing. Not that it cost us a game, but why exactly did they let Julien call two timeouts in the last two minutes? Clouston was screaming at the refs, holding up two fingers. Yet they continued. The cameras showed the bench and he clearly had the team huddled around him, giving them a strategy lecture. And it wasn't a TV timeout since it only lasted about 30 seconds. Also, with all the crap non-calls the whole night (again: interference, tripping, holding, hooking) they call Foligno in OT? Sure it was a penalty, but so were at least a half dozen other situations that went *against* the Sens.

I really don't like using refereeing as an excuse, but this team clearly isn't good enough to overcome bad refereeing, even against teams devastated with injuries. We are *not* finishing 5th in the Conference. Not unless the return of Kuba transforms us.

Mental mistakes in the last 90 seconds cost us this game. The players didn't execute to secure the win.

I'm still on the Kovalev bandwagon.  When BM signed him, I really think he had that second line spot in mind for him just like he immediately wanted Michalek on the top line.  He thought Kovalev would work with Alfie and Fish and I think he's right.  I think for those that hate him, he's misunderstood.  His game style is not like Alfie's or Fisher's and that's why that line works.  He setup Alfie for a perfect pass that would have ended with a goal against any other goalie in the league.

wprager wrote:I thought Shannon actually had a good game. He was dangling out there, moving the puck well. He had 1 shot on goal, 1 blocked shot and and 2 shots that missed -- that's 4 attempts. By comparison, Spezza had 5, Michalek had 8, Kovalev had 1. And he was not instrumental on the third goal -- it went it off a skate of a Bruin who wasn't even covering him. Kovalev was going to the net, sure, and he had a guy with him, but he had as little to do with that goal as Cheechoo had with Michalek's goal.

Alfie was great on the shortie but, again, there were several times I was screaming at the TV. I would not be surprised if he's got a bit of the flu because he has made several uncharacteristic giveaways the last two games.

One of my two biggest beefs about the game is that Donovan didn't play. But not because I thought Shannon was useless, but because Boston is his previous team. Guys always get "up" for a game like that. And, of course, Shannon hadn't done anything to deserve being in the lineup over Dono. But, again, I don't think Shannon was useless out there last night.

The second beef I have about the game is the refereeing. Not that it cost us a game, but why exactly did they let Julien call two timeouts in the last two minutes? Clouston was screaming at the refs, holding up two fingers. Yet they continued. The cameras showed the bench and he clearly had the team huddled around him, giving them a strategy lecture. And it wasn't a TV timeout since it only lasted about 30 seconds. Also, with all the crap non-calls the whole night (again: interference, tripping, holding, hooking) they call Foligno in OT? Sure it was a penalty, but so were at least a half dozen other situations that went *against* the Sens.

I really don't like using refereeing as an excuse, but this team clearly isn't good enough to overcome bad refereeing, even against teams devastated with injuries. We are *not* finishing 5th in the Conference. Not unless the return of Kuba transforms us.

The 4th line isnt supposed to dangle, dish, and w/e. They are supposed to go out there, drive the net, create a forcheck, and get some real energy going. That's why Shannon shouldnt be out there because he cant do that. That's why Donovan, Kelly, and Ruutu WERE/are so good together, because they are relentless.

Thought I would wake up a little less pissed about Dono not playing, but I still am.

As for the Kovalev hate here, he's a game breaker. He'll score when no one expects him to or he has been inviable. That's what you pay for, I havnt had a problem with thus personally.

Gohan wrote:

N4L wrote:Kovalev is producing and was front and center for that 3rd Ottawa goal. The guys around Kovalev are producing.

Shannon doesnt work anywhere.

Front and center on a flukky goal? *sarcastic hand claps*...... Diddle that. Kovalev is the worst player on this team, night-in, night out. He keeps trying to slow down the game, but thats not the way the new NHL works. You either get up to speed or go sit in the press box. THAT is how it works.

I'm sick of him.

He is what he is. I get frustrated watching the guy play too but I know exactly what you pay for. He's playing ok and once he get rolling a bit I think he will be better.

Oh, and Ryan Shannon is the only player on The Sens without a point... ya, he should really be in there. He's tied with Lecliare and Elliott in scoring. How is that possible with the amount of PP time the guy gets?

N4L wrote:Oh, and Ryan Shannon is the only player on The Sens without a point... ya, he should really be in there. He's tied with Lecliare and Elliott in scoring. How is that possible with the amount of PP time the guy gets?

He's game has changed a ton this year. He's not driving the puck to the net, he's not getting into the high concentration areas, he's timid with the puck on his stick and he's refusing to go in deep on the forecheck -- all things associated with concussion-related issues.

Sucks to say it, but he might be washed up if he can't overcome the stigmas associated with his concussion issues. He's just too reticent to do the grinder things that the other 17 players on the ice are doing.