(1) New York Rangers vs (8) Ottawa Senators - Playoffs Round 1

NEELY wrote:Zack Smith is a guy I thought would be an absolute beast in the playoffs and there is still 3-6 games to go before you can make a real judgement but he was AWFUL last night. No jam, no drive, and really didn't show up.

Spezza is another guy that needs to be better although the Rangers focus in on him and give him very little time and space.

The other guy is Michalek, he was in never-never land last. Forgot he was on the team at times.

Anderson was not good. He plays like that and the Sens will not be winning a game in this series. He doesn't need to be Lundqvist but he needs to make a save.

I thought Karlsson was VERY solid all game considering the Rangers entire forcheck was based on rattling Karlsson. He moved the puck, got shots through, and was solid in his own end.

wprager wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:I can't remember seeing the Sens be sloppier in both ends of the ice since our terrible stretch to start the season. Part of that was the Rangers (who do an amzing job of clogging up lanes and getting sticks/bodies on everything), and part of that was the Sens just being bad (nerves or whatever). I fully anticipate McStache righting the ship when it comes to the bad defensive plays and sloppiness up front.

Two guys that stick out as needing to be way better are Spezza and Smith. Hopefully both of those guys can turn it around next game as our group of centers has to be stronger (although for the most part Turris was good last night).

Turris was good last night? He couldn't win a face off until Healey mentioned that he was 2 for 11. Alfie was -3 until he scored his goal. So was Turris until his assists. Foligno was only -2 (again, until his assist) but he was directly responsible for one of the goals. Horrible effort there with the puck to lose it that badly behind your own goal.

Guys, let's not sugar coat this. They stunk last night. Anderson was bad. Alfie was bad. Michalek was OK but no finish. Smith was invisible, as was Neil, mostly (Healy kept trying to show "highlights" of Neil's "questionable" hits and I was laughing because it reminded me of those mostly accidental contacts in House League). Hits were listed as primarily even but I thought neither team brought a strong game. We were all afraid that Karlsson would be targetted and he was barely touched. The Rangers *will* bring a much different game tomorrow night.

I don't know what more you want out of Spezza. Sure, he needs to bring more as in everyone needs to bring more when you lose, essentially, 4-0 with a couple of almost-nothing goals at the end (not sure if those two were good for the Sens or if it will simply make New York more careful to not take them too lightly).

12 bliocked shots. *12 FRIGGIN' BLOCKED SHOTS* Are you kidding me? This is the Stanley Cup Playoffs! No-one on the Sens had more than 2. That is just ridiculous if you want to win.

NEELY wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:I think Karlsson has set the bar so high based on his play this season that it's dissapointing when he has nights like last night. He wasn't bad by any stretch, especially with the amount of pressure they put on him, but he'll need to make better decisions if we have any chance in this series.

It was a tough game to judge last night, as no one really played up to snuff (except Turris, Alfredsson and Neil) which could be because the Rangers are just THAT much better (doubt it) or because of nerves, ect (more likely).

The thing with Karlsson is he is supposed to move the puck out of the zone, up to the forwards, get pucks through, and jump into the rush on occasion... he did that. The guys around him have to be way better for him to have any kind of success in terms of point production. He's doing all the right things out there and if the forwards show up next game the Sens will be fine.

I think last night was a very clear indication of how they are lacking 2, top 6 forwards. Maybe Silfverberg and Zibanejad come in next year and fills those spots but right now it's lacking. A guy like Foligno should be playing his best hockey of his career right now and he looks like nothing other than a 3rd line grinder. It's an issue.

Big Ev wrote:get rid of the yeswecan avatars, they're bad luck and they have no relevance to this series

Big Ev wrote:get rid of the yeswecan avatars, they're bad luck and they have no relevance to this series

Big Ev wrote:how about we just send out Konopka to take out Lundqvist?

Vandelay wrote:Yeesh...you guys are a tough bunch to please. First playoff game for a lot of these guys. Considering, I thought they played very well. Yes, the nerves were an issue and Cowen looked lost. Other than that, we were the better team for most of the game. Not sure what the zone time was but I thought we had more sustained pressure outside of the end of the second and early in the third.
The other thing is, I don't think those two late goals are at all meaningless. Scoring two was/is huge for them. They know now that if they outwork them, Lundqvist is human and they will be rewarded. Great learning experience for them. Saturday should be fun!

SensGirl11 wrote:

Michallica wrote:Sens were actually not bad in this game except for a 6 minute stretch at the end of the 2nd and start of the 3rd where they allowed 3 goals.

What are the chances though that we see the Michalek-Spezza-Alfie line more next game?

And you gotta give John Tortorella alot of credit. THe man had his team ready and hitting everything in sight (which was what I was hoping the sens would do). That timeout saved their hides when the tide was clearly in the sens' favor

I hope we see the big 3 together next game, I think it's definitely time. The game plan clearly needs to change or we'll be swept away. Unless of course we chalk it up it just being a weird 1st game. Weird things always happen in the first playoff games of every season. We did get to where we are with those 3 being separated...who knows...

SpezDispenser wrote:


http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=1163661

A quick guide to Bob Colisms
Now, because CBC hates Senators fans, they have once again put Bob Cole as the play-by-play man for the Ottawa series. People who are unfamiliar with him sometimes get confused with his ... unique way of calling a game. So here's a quick cheat sheet to help you translate:

Gonchar = Erik Karlsson
Kubina = Flip Kuba
"This side" = That side over there. No, the other one.
Karlsson = Sergei Gonchar
"The Ottawa Player" = Somebody who joined the Senators after their last playoff series against the Leafs
Offside = Hand Pass
New York penalty = a penalty against Ottawa
Hand Pass = puck played by a high stick
The Ottawa Sens = trollolol

SpezDispenser wrote:
Yeah, except sandwiched in between was some really serious pressure on NY. Still, I hate to say I agree, come on guys, get it together and stick to what go you here.

On that note...what do you do about Cowen? I love that kid and it's a way better option to have him play and learn than not, but perhaps a game from the press box is in order for him to gather himself if Carkner is ready to go. Poor kid Dung the bed pretty bad last night.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

Big Ev wrote:get rid of the yeswecan avatars, they're bad luck and they have no relevance to this series

We should have a better slogan like "Justice."