GAME 4 - 2010 Stanley Cup GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators (1) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2), Tuesday Apr. 20, 2010 - 7:00PM EST.

Big Ev wrote:

PKC wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:well i sent my conplaint to the NHL ref website... not much it will do but i guess if enough people do it they might be forced to take a look at it.

bad game but one posotive is there was more intensity then in the last game.

fact of the matter is, the pens are a much better team. ottawa's goaltending has been shaky. we have 3 key players out with injuries. the pens:leopold.

so come on, did anyone expect us to win this series with half a bank and a couple of shinniy pennies? please.
i love this team but take it for what it is, playoff experience for the young ones. wait till the pens can't resign gonchar, lose fedotenko, guerin and poni... it's a thin line to ride and the salary cap is working against them. thier time will pass and our time will come. we are well on our way...

mark, you don't think hoffman is for sure gonna play with us? he's improved so much. as fo skinner, the way we are falling that pich should line up with our draft spot.

I'm sorry. But that's just not true.

Are you serious? They are an elite team and this series is just a warm-up for them. Sens fans severely understimated Pittsburgh in this series.

An "elite" team wouldn't have a 56% penalty kill through 4 games of their first round series against a supposedly far inferior team missing three of its offensive weapons. Nor would they have a 46.6% face off rate. And their Stanley Cup winning goalie wouldn't be rocking an underwhelming .870 save percentage.

I'll give them credit for the fact that they are turning broken plays into goals. But there's been a lot of Dung going on this series. Anyone who thinks the Penguins are some kind of superhero outfit is out to lunch. We're just playing ourselves out of the series - with a little help of course.

PKC wrote:

Phoenix30 wrote:

N4L wrote:Ill never understand how Spezza has people making excuses for him at all times no matter what he does. Pathetic to say the least.

Whats pathetic is those who go on and on and on about 1 or two players. He isn't alone on how poor this team has done.

He's supposed to be the best player on the team - and he's paid accordingly. Not Fisher, Foligno, Karlsson, Phillips, Volchenkov, Regin, Elliott, Leclaire, Carkner, etc... Those guys are role players.

All are paid to play regardless. Fisher, Alfie, Atrain, Phillips have not played to their capabilities and are paid very well for what they do. Yes Spezza has not performed and maybe its time to move on without him. What about Alfie. Yes he has done a lot for this team and the community but maybe its time to change the guard. Same goes for Fisher. He finally has a good season compared to the past few but where is he in the playoff's. Do we all need to go on and on and on and on about 1 player when its a team game. If this team falls flat on their face in game 5, I suspect big changes will occur and it goes beyond Spezza. Its the same story every year. The core is not getting it done.

What bugs me even more is the BS Ref's and the bogus calls or non calls. The Sens are getting ripped but they need to play through the adversity and match the penguins play but they aren't...If they did this would be a whole different series.

marakh wrote:What is it, 3 games in a row now Crosby is the first star? Just amazing, really.

I thought the zebras got the first star?

I don't get why we only started playing after Elliott was pulled?

Phoenix30 wrote:

PKC wrote:

Phoenix30 wrote:

N4L wrote:Ill never understand how Spezza has people making excuses for him at all times no matter what he does. Pathetic to say the least.

Whats pathetic is those who go on and on and on about 1 or two players. He isn't alone on how poor this team has done.

He's supposed to be the best player on the team - and he's paid accordingly. Not Fisher, Foligno, Karlsson, Phillips, Volchenkov, Regin, Elliott, Leclaire, Carkner, etc... Those guys are role players.

All are paid to play regardless. Fisher, Alfie, Atrain, Phillips have not played to their capabilities and are paid very well for what they do. Yes Spezza has not performed and maybe its time to move on without him. What about Alfie. Yes he has done a lot for this team and the community but maybe its time to change the guard. Same goes for Fisher. He finally has a good season compared to the past few but where is he in the playoff's. Do we all need to go on and on and on and on about 1 player when its a team game. If this team falls flat on their face in game 5, I suspect big changes will occur and it goes beyond Spezza. Its the same story every year. The core is not getting it done.

What bugs me even more is the BS Ref's and the bogus calls or non calls. The Sens are getting ripped but they need to play through the adversity and match the penguins play but they aren't...If they did this would be a whole different series.

Alfi has been battling this entire series, you see the effort, hell you feel it. He's doing everything he is physically and emotionally able to do. On top of that, he's playing injured like everyone in the media has mentioned. Phillips played well, his partner has sucked it up in a huge way. I agree, Fisher should have done more and didnt play very well.

Now, all that said, NONE of them made the bone headed plays Spezza did in this series and none of them were out worked like he was.

stempniaksen wrote:In this series Spezza has been absolutly brutal, there's no arguing that. But he's not the only one who has struggled, not even close.

Other core players like Alfredsson, Volchenkov and Fisher have been downright awful so far in this series, and I don't see anyone wanting them traded.

Spezza was easily our best player in the second half of the year, and without him this team would be nowhere near the 5th seed in the east.

This is just a case of being outcoached, outworked and outclassed by a better team lead by better players.

Just because we couldn't beat a team that hasn't lost to an EC opponent since 2008 doesn't mean we suck, and it doesn't mean we need to ship all our players out.

I know that Ottawa is used to the team going in as favourites and seeing the team choking, but does anyone think this might just be a case of being beat by a better team?

No he wasnt, he was good for about a 6- 8 week streatch, in that time Elliott was awesome and so was Karlsson. This team started getting hot without him in the lineup just like in years past, to say they are no where near the 5th simply isnt true, it's not like Spezza came in and turned the fortune's of the team around, there wasnt an "omg, Spezza is back, THANK GOD".

Ill used the 3 previous seasons plus his past 3 playoffs (all which happend after signing his contract) as my proof to why he isnt a team player, an elite player, a mature player, or a go to player. It's laughable people think this guy is a true number 1 center in this league.

SeawaySensFan wrote:I don't get why we only started playing after Elliott was pulled?

Maybe it was a case of the penguins letting their guard down? an early 4-0 lead would probably do that.

So I guess one trend ends and another continues. This is the first time since the players started taking part in the winter olympics where the senators failed to advance to the 2nd round in an olympic season. I didn't wanna mention it before since I thought it'd jinx us, but we're fudged anyways.

Finally, its the post-lockout and the sens can't seem to take part in a long hard-fought series at all. Barring a miraculous victory on thursday, this series ends in 5....which is the longest a series has gone for ottawa in the post-lockout era. What does that say about our compete in the playoffs?

PKC wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:well i sent my conplaint to the NHL ref website... not much it will do but i guess if enough people do it they might be forced to take a look at it.

bad game but one posotive is there was more intensity then in the last game.

fact of the matter is, the pens are a much better team. ottawa's goaltending has been shaky. we have 3 key players out with injuries. the pens:leopold.

so come on, did anyone expect us to win this series with half a bank and a couple of shinniy pennies? please.
i love this team but take it for what it is, playoff experience for the young ones. wait till the pens can't resign gonchar, lose fedotenko, guerin and poni... it's a thin line to ride and the salary cap is working against them. thier time will pass and our time will come. we are well on our way...

mark, you don't think hoffman is for sure gonna play with us? he's improved so much. as fo skinner, the way we are falling that pich should line up with our draft spot.

I'm sorry. But that's just not true.

Umm... what???

PKC wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

PKC wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:well i sent my conplaint to the NHL ref website... not much it will do but i guess if enough people do it they might be forced to take a look at it.

bad game but one posotive is there was more intensity then in the last game.

fact of the matter is, the pens are a much better team. ottawa's goaltending has been shaky. we have 3 key players out with injuries. the pens:leopold.

so come on, did anyone expect us to win this series with half a bank and a couple of shinniy pennies? please.
i love this team but take it for what it is, playoff experience for the young ones. wait till the pens can't resign gonchar, lose fedotenko, guerin and poni... it's a thin line to ride and the salary cap is working against them. thier time will pass and our time will come. we are well on our way...

mark, you don't think hoffman is for sure gonna play with us? he's improved so much. as fo skinner, the way we are falling that pich should line up with our draft spot.

I'm sorry. But that's just not true.

Are you serious? They are an elite team and this series is just a warm-up for them. Sens fans severely understimated Pittsburgh in this series.

An "elite" team wouldn't have a 56% penalty kill through 4 games of their first round series against a supposedly far inferior team missing three of its offensive weapons. Nor would they have a 46.6% face off rate. And their Stanley Cup winning goalie wouldn't be rocking an underwhelming .870 save percentage.

I'll give them credit for the fact that they are turning broken plays into goals. But there's been a lot of Dung going on this series. Anyone who thinks the Penguins are some kind of superhero outfit is out to lunch. We're just playing ourselves out of the series - with a little help of course.

That's called experience dude, and experience makes elite teams. You make the most of your chances, bury the opportunities and keep your calm when there's pressure (how many times they scored last night with the momentum our side?)
You don't win the Stanley Cup by outplaying the other team for 60 minutes.
They could have easily scored 10 goals last night. I've seen dozens of 2 on 1s /3 on 2s.

marakh wrote:

PKC wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

PKC wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:well i sent my conplaint to the NHL ref website... not much it will do but i guess if enough people do it they might be forced to take a look at it.

bad game but one posotive is there was more intensity then in the last game.

fact of the matter is, the pens are a much better team. ottawa's goaltending has been shaky. we have 3 key players out with injuries. the pens:leopold.

so come on, did anyone expect us to win this series with half a bank and a couple of shinniy pennies? please.
i love this team but take it for what it is, playoff experience for the young ones. wait till the pens can't resign gonchar, lose fedotenko, guerin and poni... it's a thin line to ride and the salary cap is working against them. thier time will pass and our time will come. we are well on our way...

mark, you don't think hoffman is for sure gonna play with us? he's improved so much. as fo skinner, the way we are falling that pich should line up with our draft spot.

I'm sorry. But that's just not true.

Are you serious? They are an elite team and this series is just a warm-up for them. Sens fans severely understimated Pittsburgh in this series.

An "elite" team wouldn't have a 56% penalty kill through 4 games of their first round series against a supposedly far inferior team missing three of its offensive weapons. Nor would they have a 46.6% face off rate. And their Stanley Cup winning goalie wouldn't be rocking an underwhelming .870 save percentage.

I'll give them credit for the fact that they are turning broken plays into goals. But there's been a lot of Dung going on this series. Anyone who thinks the Penguins are some kind of superhero outfit is out to lunch. We're just playing ourselves out of the series - with a little help of course.

That's called experience dude, and experience makes elite teams. You make the most of your chances, bury the opportunities and keep your calm when there's pressure (how many times they scored last night with the momentum our side?)
You don't win the Stanley Cup by outplaying the other team for 60 minutes.
They could have easily scored 10 goals last night. I've seen dozens of 2 on 1s /3 on 2s.

I'll tell you what. If Fleury and the Penguins improve next round and make it to the Conference finals then I may start to drink the kool-aid. If Fleury and the Pens makee it back to the Finals then I'll drink some of that kool-aid. If the Pens aren't embarrassed in the Finals, assuming the make it, then I'll drink a whole jug of the stuff. For now, this ain't the 80's, Crosby ain't Gretzky and never will be, and MAF ain't Fuhr.

Umm Crosby might honeslty be better then Gretzky, the kid is phenominal. Gretzky never had the drive and will to win that Crosby does and the tallent level is pretty close to the same.

I agree with Mara when he say Crosby is now a top 5 all time player.

N4L wrote:Umm Crosby might honeslty be better then Gretzky, the kid is phenominal. Gretzky never had the drive and will to win that Crosby does and the tallent level is pretty close to the same.

I agree with Mara when he say Crosby is now a top 5 all time player.

Well for his teams sake I hope he can "Will" Fleury above a 900 save percentage and below a 3 GAA because IF they make it to the Conference finals vs. Washington the Caps will match the fire power and then some of the Pens. If Ottawa's PP is ripping it up now just wait for Washington. They'll have a 75% success rate the way the Pens kill penalties.

Maybe, but people have doubted Crosby and Pitts a lot and they were defently the better team in this series.

I think Wasington goes to the finals this year and they beat out Pitts, but I thought that at the end of the series last year.

N4L wrote:Umm Crosby might honeslty be better then Gretzky, the kid is phenominal. Gretzky never had the drive and will to win that Crosby does and the tallent level is pretty close to the same.

I agree with Mara when he say Crosby is now a top 5 all time player.

Totally disagree there. Gretzky won 3 or 4 Cups didn't he? Didn't he also make careers out of lesser players just by playing on his line? Gretzky is on another plain. Crosby is a great player but just another great player in a league with guys like Ovechkin, Backstrom, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Scott Neidermeyer and so on.

Kurri, Messier, Coffey, Anderson, so on. Crosby is on another level then all those guys with MAYBE the exception of Ovechkin. Crosby has had a lot less help then Gretzky ever did, he won a cup at a younger age, and he's already a Canadian Icon based on The Olympics.

Crosby is on the same level as the best of all time at this point and he's 23 years old. This guys might have another 20 years in the league. Put Crosby in the 80's and he's getting 200 points a year too.

Gretzky didnt really do all that much when he left Edmonton and the supporting cast he had.

N4L wrote:Kurri, Messier, Coffey, Anderson, so on. Crosby is on another level then all those guys with MAYBE the exception of Ovechkin. Crosby has had a lot less help then Gretzky ever did, he won a cup at a younger age, and he's already a Canadian Icon based on The Olympics.

Crosby is on the same level as the best of all time at this point and he's 23 years old. This guys might have another 20 years in the league. Put Crosby in the 80's and he's getting 200 points a year too.

Gretzky didnt really do all that much when he left Edmonton and the supporting cast he had.

Gretzky took the Kings further than they ever should have gone. Do you think people would know who the hell Bernie Nichols is without Gretzky? Crosby has Staal, Malkin and Gonchar which are hardly a poor supporting cast.

Ummm yes, he scored a ton of goals everywhere he went. Nichols was a good player.

Point being is Crosby is playing with a lot less tallent, in a league that has way better goaltenders and D men, and he domiantes. There is no way people in Ottawa can sit here and say that Crosby is one of the best of all time, that's just letting hard feelings get in the way.

Crosby is nothing short of the best player in this generation. He's done everything he can possibly do except for the COnn Smyth before most guys see a playoff game.

Terrible game last night, especially from our goalies. What do we have to do to get one of them to stop the puck for Diddle sake? Unbelievable. We're mounting a comeback and they Dung everywhere. Very frustrating. Not just them obviously, but to me last night I will put a lot of the blame on them and on Spezza and Alfie. Brutal! Oh well, it's going to be another long summer boys and girls. I guess I'll start cheering for anyone who's playing against the Pens, I dont' ever want to have to play that team again, what an embarrassment.