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

SensGirl11 wrote:Why did he play then? He's got to stop playing through these killer injuries because it will only slow him down more down the line. I dont' understand. A hurt player like that does nothing to help the team. Captain or not. He can talk to the boys between periods. I would rather he get healthy and ready and completely strong for next year.

Because he is the captain and just as important as his level of play on the ice is his will to compete, lead, and try to the best of his abilities for his team and his city. He leads, that what leaders do, they go above and beyonf the call of duty to inspire, guess certain guys were not inspired by this.

He is going to slow down, people expecting the Alfi from a few years back, be prepared for what is going to happen. It's starting to worry me how fans are reacting based on this... just because he is slowing down and becoming less effective, like an old useless person we throw him in a home and just forget about him? We say he isnt the man anymore (still lead this team in scoring) and guys like Fisher and Spezza who have watched the guy do it for years just dont seem to care or raise their level. Especially Spezza.

I dont think there is anything about Alfi you can question, he's given everything he possibly has for this city. Even if he had a bad series based on just poor play, I would give him a pass. Why? Because he has earned it and lead this team to more success then anyone else ever has.

What saddens me is that at the rate we're going and building, Alfie will retire before we have another real chance at getting him a Cup.

OMG obviously Alfi wont have a chance at a cup in Ottawa, that's been known for a long time, at least it should have been.

I realize he played because he is the captain and he needs to lead by example and all that, but he shouldn't be putting his health at risk, especially when our team shows they don't really care whether he's injured or not. Did anyone go after Crosby after that hit on him? No, and that's how our team protects the captain? I don't care of the hit was clean or not, it's not the point. I can't stand how the team lets that Dung slide. Crosby should be eating through a straw right now after that.

I'm not questioning anything about Alfie and his will at all, all I'm saying is that the team doesn't appreciate him as much as they should and he shouldn't be jeopardizing his health like that especially when we're getting dominated in a series like this.

Again, he should be playing 2nd line minutes next year, the 1st line minutes are too much for him. We need him to be healthy when we get in the playoffs. It's what, the 2nd time he's played in teh playoffs with a terrible injury, and both times have clearly been blowouts for Pittsburgh. It's not worth it if he's not healthy. Period.

shabbs wrote:What saddens me is that at the rate we're going and building, Alfie will retire before we have another real chance at getting him a Cup.

I know, it totally sucks. Maybe he'll ask to go somewhere to try to win. It won't be here, not for another 2-3 years if we're lucky. I think we're building properly, it's just a slow process. We need to move Spezza this summer and get someone with skill and grit up there. He needs to be offensive though, not just hard-nosed.

Alfi needs to do this for the young guys like Regin, Karlsson, Elliott, so on. These are the guys he has to lead and they will learn from this and use his example to become better players. Alfi doesnt need to do this, he wants to, which is what makes him so special.

I actually don't think we'll have a problem moving Spezza, I just don't know what we'll get back for him.

Atlanta is the number 1 place they should be looking. That team is desperate for a name to play there. Edmonton is another place, Columbus, St. Louis, maybe Florida for Wiess and Horton. Something like that.

N4L wrote:Alfi needs to do this for the young guys like Regin, Karlsson, Elliott, so on. These are the guys he has to lead and they will learn from this and use his example to become better players. Alfi doesnt need to do this, he wants to, which is what makes him so special.

I find it interesting that aside from The Alfie, the only other players that really seem to want it are Regin, Smith, Winchester and, oh yeah, Matt Freaking Cullen. What a player!

Volchenkov showed on 2 occasions that he simply does not want the puck. I'm not blaming him on the Spezza giveaway, but not wanting the puck is a major deficiency.

Oh how I wish we could have dealt Foligno at the deadline...

N4L wrote:Alfi needs to do this for the young guys like Regin, Karlsson, Elliott, so on. These are the guys he has to lead and they will learn from this and use his example to become better players. Alfi doesnt need to do this, he wants to, which is what makes him so special.

Again, I love Alfie, a Dung more than anyone on the team and anyone in the league. He's a fantastic player and person and leader. He has already worked wonders with Karlsson this year, those 2 are great when they are out there together. I'm very excited to see how they do next year, with Karlsson a year older and wiser and stronger.

He's the best captain in the league. There are few like him. I really hope we can win with him playing, I still thinik we can be really good next year, but we have a lot of work to do. Alfie is the Dung, I am not angry at him, I just wish he would play a little less and stop sacrificing himself for a team that doesn't appreciate him.

It is refreshing to see the young kids stepping up and giving it their all... very nice. And hopefully a preview of what is to come over the years in Ottawa.

Sens will be OK next year, probably something similar to this season. With or without Spezza. The biggest question going into next year is how young will The Sens be, how much have they grown from this year, and will they continue to grow?

Guys like Alfi, Kelly, Neil, Phillips, and Fisher can lead this team, but having a cog like Spezza ruins a lot of what they are trying to build.

Im hoping he ends up in Atlanta, that is indeed a perfect place for a player like him.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

N4L wrote:Alfi needs to do this for the young guys like Regin, Karlsson, Elliott, so on. These are the guys he has to lead and they will learn from this and use his example to become better players. Alfi doesnt need to do this, he wants to, which is what makes him so special.

I find it interesting that aside from The Alfie, the only other players that really seem to want it are Regin, Smith, Winchester and, oh yeah, Matt Freaking Cullen. What a player!

Volchenkov showed on 2 occasions that he simply does not want the puck. I'm not blaming him on the Spezza giveaway, but not wanting the puck is a major deficiency.

Oh how I wish we could have dealt Foligno at the deadline...

Like most people have said, A Train is a limited D man in what he can do. If he leaves that blueline there is a hole, but someone else can defently step in and play with Phillips, who will probably make them look as good as he made A Train look.

Right now is when The Sens need to really evaluate their core leadership, front to back. Yeah, Fisher didnt have a good playoff, they needed more from him, he is still a leader that is needed and his work ethic cant really be questioned. They need him for that purpose. I would even go as far to say Kovalev is somewhat of a leader and a guy that will help this team in the short term in more ways then one.

The two guys that they need the most right now are Alfi, and most of all, I truly believe this, is Phillips. With the young group of D men coming in and his leadership, overall skill, and his ability to play the game, he is more important then anyone in Ottawa.

I do love the young guys on our team for sure. We were a much more hard-nosed team this year than we were in the past 3 or so. We finally got an identity back after losing it along with Chara. Thank god we didn't have loser Heatley on our team this year. Now all we have to do is trade Spezza and get some more hard-nosed skilled guys come in and we should be even tougher to play next year. We really need to work on our D too.

All I know is that we outscored Pittsburgh 4 - 3 after Elliott was pulled and you could see the difference in how the team was playing.

As we all said prior to the game, they had to play that way for 60 minutes. They didn't. So, once again, we beat ourselves.

N4L wrote:Atlanta is the number 1 place they should be looking. That team is desperate for a name to play there. Edmonton is another place, Columbus, St. Louis, maybe Florida for Wiess and Horton. Something like that.

Sign me up for that Wiess and Horton deal. I'd love Horton in a Sens uni. Imagine if we could re-sign Cullen too? A Horton, Cullen, Fisher, Kelly middle sounds excellent to me.

SeawaySensFan wrote:All I know is that we outscored Pittsburgh 4 - 3 after Elliott was pulled and you could see the difference in how the team was playing.

As we all said prior to the game, they had to play that way for 60 minutes. They didn't. So, once again, we beat ourselves.

I think it's the previously unwritten 4 goal rule. Score 4 goals on the Sens and they wake up and play with intensity in the playoffs.

SensGirl11 wrote:I do love the young guys on our team for sure. We were a much more hard-nosed team this year than we were in the past 3 or so. We finally got an identity back after losing it along with Chara. Thank god we didn't have loser Heatley on our team this year. Now all we have to do is trade Spezza and get some more hard-nosed skilled guys come in and we should be even tougher to play next year. We really need to work on our D too.

Horton is the guy. He'll replace a lot of Spezza's offense but he'll bring a Fisher/Cullen type hard nosed effort and work ethic.