FINAL 3 Ottawa Senators @ 0 NY Rangers Jan 12, 2012 7pm.

Ottawa can compete with any team in the East right now other than Boston. Best spot for Ottawa to finish would probably be 6th but that would mean a 2nd round meeting with Boston... for an extended run probably 4th as that mean they probably won't end up playing Boston in the 1st or 2nd round but Philly or NYR is a much harder out than Florida.

NEELY wrote:Ottawa can compete with any team in the East right now other than Boston. Best spot for Ottawa to finish would probably be 6th but that would mean a 2nd round meeting with Boston... for an extended run probably 4th as that mean they probably won't end up playing Boston in the 1st or 2nd round but Philly or NYR is a much harder out than Florida.

I want them to play Toronto at some point. If the beat the Leafs in the 1st and then are out in the 2nd I'll be OK. There are still players on this team who remember.

As for Boston, I still maintain they cannot keep this up for close to 200 games. This isn't the '70s when guys could start training in training camp,smoke in-between periods, and still win 4 Cups in a row.

I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:Ottawa can compete with any team in the East right now other than Boston. Best spot for Ottawa to finish would probably be 6th but that would mean a 2nd round meeting with Boston... for an extended run probably 4th as that mean they probably won't end up playing Boston in the 1st or 2nd round but Philly or NYR is a much harder out than Florida.

I want them to play Toronto at some point. If the beat the Leafs in the 1st and then are out in the 2nd I'll be OK. There are still players on this team who remember.

As for Boston, I still maintain they cannot keep this up for close to 200 games. This isn't the '70s when guys could start training in training camp,smoke in-between periods, and still win 4 Cups in a row.

Having 2 goaltenders that stop everything means they can take nights off and still win... like they did tonight. Boston literally has no weakness, none. There is nothing bad about that team.

SpezDispenser wrote:I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

Unless a major injury hits or they somehow go on some wierd, extended losing streak, they are a playoff team. How people still doubt that at this point is beyond my understanding.

At this point the very worst Ottawa can finish is 9th and that's if everything goes wrong from this point on. 9 points behind any team at this point in the season and there is pretty much no chance they catch them.

Last year NJ went on a run where they won 22 of 24 games or something like that and they still were no where near a playoff spot... it's next to impossible.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:Ottawa can compete with any team in the East right now other than Boston. Best spot for Ottawa to finish would probably be 6th but that would mean a 2nd round meeting with Boston... for an extended run probably 4th as that mean they probably won't end up playing Boston in the 1st or 2nd round but Philly or NYR is a much harder out than Florida.

I want them to play Toronto at some point. If the beat the Leafs in the 1st and then are out in the 2nd I'll be OK. There are still players on this team who remember.

As for Boston, I still maintain they cannot keep this up for close to 200 games. This isn't the '70s when guys could start training in training camp,smoke in-between periods, and still win 4 Cups in a row.

Ha. Toronto has to make the playoffs, first. We'll see.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

Unless a major injury hits or they somehow go on some wierd, extended losing streak, they are a playoff team. How people still doubt that at this point is beyond my understanding.

It's not like it's a guarantee by any stretch.

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

Unless a major injury hits or they somehow go on some wierd, extended losing streak, they are a playoff team. How people still doubt that at this point is beyond my understanding.

It's not like it's a guarantee by any stretch.

Ha. Neely only speaks in guarantees.

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

Unless a major injury hits or they somehow go on some wierd, extended losing streak, they are a playoff team. How people still doubt that at this point is beyond my understanding.

It's not like it's a guarantee by any stretch.

Pretty close at this point. Besides the 1-5 start Ottawa has been a top 5 team in the NHL on a pretty consistant basis. Win can't catch them, Montreal can't, Tampa, NYI, Carlolina, Buffalo can't either. Double digits is next to impossible to over come with less than 1/2 the season left.

spader wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

Unless a major injury hits or they somehow go on some wierd, extended losing streak, they are a playoff team. How people still doubt that at this point is beyond my understanding.

It's not like it's a guarantee by any stretch.

Ha. Neely only speaks in guarantees.

Doesn't that mean he's a Sith or something?

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I still want to just make the playoffs. Everything else we'll deal with later...just make it in at this point.

Unless a major injury hits or they somehow go on some wierd, extended losing streak, they are a playoff team. How people still doubt that at this point is beyond my understanding.

It's not like it's a guarantee by any stretch.

Pretty close at this point. Besides the 1-5 start Ottawa has been a top 5 team in the NHL on a pretty consistant basis. Win can't catch them, Montreal can't, Tampa, NYI, Carlolina, Buffalo can't either. Double digits is next to impossible to over come with less than 1/2 the season left.

I guess...I can't bring myself to get too excited until the end of January. Still seems surreal.

If Ottawa beats the Jets on Monday, that burries the Jets in terms of them finishing ahead of Ottawa.

Go look at the standings... Buffalo and Montreal are what? 13 and 14 points back? You know the two teams that were supposed to be playoff guarantees.

Even if people use the games in hand thing, those teams have to win all of their games to jump ahead of the Sens and that's not going to happen.

Time to go get that thumping bottom pair D-man - unless Carkner wants to step up.

...and maybe a back-up goalie - unless Auld wants to step up.

SpezDispenser wrote:Time to go get that thumping bottom pair D-man - unless Carkner wants to step up.

I hope Carkner never sees the ice from here on out.

I wouldn't trade anything of any real signifigant value for a pure rental at this point... aside from the 1st rounder every single pick could be traded and it really wouldn't matter. Ottawa has prospects coming out of everywhere and there is literally only so many players you can have in an organization.

SpezDispenser wrote:...and maybe a back-up goalie - unless Auld wants to step up.

That is an issue for sure.