GAME DAY:Ottawa Senators @ Columbus Blue Jackets - 7:00pm ET - FRI. New Years Eve 2010

Useless like a screen door on a submarine.

I just watched the last 2 minutes and the OT. What a brutal play to lose on. Karlsson is standing behind the net picking his nose, and Campoli is standing off to the other side of the goal scratching himself. Two defensemen on the ice and neither one thought it would be a good idea to be closer to the crease than the opposing forward? I realize that Karlsson thought Kovalev had control, and perhaps he was waiting for a pass. But a short-pass like that in a 4-on-4 situation is not the best thing to do. He could have stepped up to the front of the net and let Kovalev take the puck behind the net to wind up for a rush (not that he could have, since it was at the end of a long shift); still, he had a half excuse *being* where he was, but the nonchalance was ridiculous -- it's the freakin' OT for crying out loud; be on your toes all the time! I don't think I can come up with an excuse of why Campoli was where he was.

Here's where Fisher is going for the puck, Campoli is standing off to the side -- not sure why:


And here is where Voracek skates into the picture, and Campoli is still standing in the same place -- no, actually he skated further away from the crease:




And we all know what happened next.

Sens got behind, stormed back to tie it up, had several good chances in OT before that brain cramp.

Wouldn't it be Karlsson's fault as well? He's also just standing there doing nothing.

All five players on the ice contributed to the goal.

SDH89 wrote:What a useless comeback.

Not at all IMO. If they had let the BJs beat them soundly without pushing back, the team is done, but they pushed back really hard and got a point out of that game - probably deserved two when all is said and done. If they build on it, then they might still have a chance, if they lay an egg, they're all but done.

Big Ev wrote:Wouldn't it be Karlsson's fault as well? He's also just standing there doing nothing.

Like I said, he was standing around picking his nose. But at least there was a half expectation that he might get a pass from Kovalev. Also, he was already behind the goal line when everything started -- he was there after a bit of a battle with a forward. So, yeah, I would have *preferred* for him to skate back in front, letting Kovalev the that slingshot around, behind the net, but since he was already there behind the goal I put the onus more on Campoli to slide over in front of the goal.

And if I was Clouston, I don't think I'd have Campoli with Karlsson out there in OT. That was a weird pairing. If he wanted to go for offense maybe three forwards and Phillips would have been better.

dennycrane wrote:All five players on the ice contributed to the goal.

I don't think you can blame that on Elliott, though. And Fisher pushed the puck to Kovalev, who was open, with Karlsson a few feet away. It wasn't the wrong play for him to put the puck behind the goal (or try to). Kovalev flubbed it, plain and simple, and he flubbed it in the worst possible way by losing the puck in front. If he "lost it" behind the net, Karlsson has it; back toward Fisher, and it's a battle along the boards -- Fisher with the advantage, I think.

Then, again, if Phillips doesn't have that brain cramp on the second goal (I think it was the second) then perhaps we win in regulation.