Game Day: Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators - 7:00pm ET, Thurs. Nov. 7th, 2013

Michallica wrote:That was a TERRIBLE game by the sens. Maybe terrible is too strong a word

Yeah, terrible is too strong a word. Yeah, they didn't play great, but it was a step above some of their previous efforts.

If you want to take this whole thing a step further, you could say the team hasn't been playing great for about a year. We've received top-notch goaltending and timely scoring, but as a whole, it's still a young group figuring things out (coach included).

tim1_2 wrote:You'd have to be Cussing brain dead mind Cussed challenged as Diddle to think that Murray would ever be willing or in a position to take on Brian Campbell's salary.

Probably the type of D man they need right now but the salary is hefty.

Also, Huberdeau isn't going anywhere lol.

Sens are inconsistent... shocker they are the youngest team in the NHL.  I guess if the game was played without goalies then the Sens would have been killed last night.

I thought Cowen was fine as well... him and Karlsson didn't really allow a lot of quality chances while they were on the ice.  The only line that really struggled was Spezza's, they couldn't get out of their own zone 90% of the time.  That's where a lot of Montreal's opportunities came from, that line is being dominated on a nightly basis.

Does no one else find it somewhat concerning that every player they put with Spezza, that player struggles? Ryan, Michalek, now Zibabejad who came in flying to start has slowed right down. Maybe the Sens don't need wingers for Spezza, maybe the Sens need a center for their wingers.

Ev wrote:How was Cowen awful last night?

They won by 3 goals. How is that terrible?

Lehner was good but the shots weren't indicative of the play. Lehner didn't steal it.

Missed assignments man, there were several moments last night MTL players beat him to the pucks. Gryba was the worst offender last night. Giveaway after giveaway, it's gotta stop already.

What's discouraging me is usually going through a playoff experience and 2nd round to boot prepares and makes our youngsters more battle ready. Doesn't feel that way one bit.

Not enough credit to Methot these days. Guy is solid as a rock.

On another note, can we acquire both hartnell and simmonds?

SpezDispenser wrote:Not enough credit to Methot these days.  Guy is solid as a rock.

On another note, can we acquire both hartnell and simmonds?  

Only 28 and plays and acts 35. Even brighter day still ahead.

NEELY wrote:Sens are inconsistent... shocker they are the youngest team in the NHL.  I guess if the game was played without goalies then the Sens would have been killed last night.

I thought Cowen was fine as well... him and Karlsson didn't really allow a lot of quality chances while they were on the ice.  The only line that really struggled was Spezza's, they couldn't get out of their own zone 90% of the time.  That's where a lot of Montreal's opportunities came from, that line is being dominated on a nightly basis.

Does no one else find it somewhat concerning that every player they put with Spezza, that player struggles?  Ryan, Michalek, now Zibabejad who came in flying to start has slowed right down.  Maybe the Sens don't need wingers for Spezza, maybe the Sens need a center for their wingers.

I don't think Sens are youngest any more. I heard something like 9th youngest.

I went back and replayed a couple of the shifts where they had trouble getting out of their zone. In one case Spezza was fairly deep in his own zone, so couldn't lay blame on forwards being too far away. But he was covered and not really in a good position to receive the puck, yet the defenseman fed it to him anyway. Spezza had to make a pretty hard stick move to receive the puck and pass it along and out of the zone; Habs recovered quickly at center ice but it could have been a way worse outcome. Conacher and Zibanejad were nowhere near. The second time the pass went to Conacher who promptly gave it away.

Once thing common on both plays, it wasn't Karlsson carrying the puck out of the zone. So I did a bit of looking around:

http://www.shiftchart.com/

Select yesterday's date at the top then pick the Habs/Sens game from the pulldown list next to the date. Then sort players by "On ice". That nicely puts together who played with whom. The Turris line was almost always out there with Karlsson/Cowen. I don't think it's coincidence.

Spezza's average shift was 16 seconds more than Turris which isn't surprising and makes total sense.

NEELY wrote:Spezza's average shift was 16 seconds more than Turris which isn't surprising and makes total sense.

Another surprising stat was total ice time -- Spezza had the most of all forwards. I don't get it. What's PMac trying to do there, work him into shape?

Sens 5-0-2 against the East.

Ev wrote:Sens 5-0-2 against the East.

In the entire NHL, there are only two teams who haven't lost a regulation game against an Eastern Conference opponent -- the Sens (5-0-2) and the Hawks (7-0-2). Couple more games against very beatable teams and we could well be there.

Oh, and one of those 7 wins for Chicago was when the Sens had a 2-goal lead against them and let it slip away.

Ev wrote:Sens 5-0-2 against the East.

Jesus, what are you, the echo of W.P. Rager's Twitter feed?

The one impressive victory was over Detroit. The other 4 wins were over sub .500 teams.

Let's not try and find things to show that our team is playing well. They aren't (other than the Turris line), but things are starting to move in the right direction.

So? It's still our conference and division (unbeaten in the division). Toronto has played all these weak Donkey teams,. and we've played the best teams in the West and got them out of the way.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:Spezza's average shift was 16 seconds more than Turris which isn't surprising and makes total sense.

Another surprising stat was total ice time -- Spezza had the most of all forwards.  I don't get it.  What's PMac trying to do there, work him into shape?

Spezza can't come off because he gets hemmed into his own zone, simple as that. Not MacLean's fault at all, shift length is a great indication of who can't get off the ice.

Brennan says Lehner to start Saturday.

Ev wrote:Sens 5-0-2 against the East.

Spezza +5 against the East. As Spezza goes, so do the Sens.

WPrager why do you follow Curtis Lazar's 17-18 year-old girlfriend?  

Ev wrote:So? It's still our conference and division (unbeaten in the division). Toronto has played all these weak Donkey teams,. and we've played the best teams in the West and got them out of the way.

I believe the point is that we've beaten weak teams and been beaten by good teams.

You can watch the games yourself; the Sens are still not playing great hockey, other than the Turris line. Things are heading in the right direction though.

To quote you, you're just being challenged.