GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Florida Panthers - 7:30pm Oct. 30th, 2008

...although...Auld's due for a stinker. Are we?

504Heater wrote:...although...Auld's due for a stinker. Are we?

I don't think (hope) two consecutive wins schedules us for a stinker.

Auld isn't making death-defying, highlight reel saves, either. He hasn't needed too. He's just good positionally and big. He's almost like a poor man's Giguere.

asq2 wrote:
I don't think (hope) two consecutive wins schedules us for a stinker.

Auld isn't making death-defying, highlight reel saves, either. He hasn't needed too. He's just good positionally and big. He's almost like a poor man's Giguere.

LOL, fair enough. Let me re-phrase: Auld will probably have a bad game or two if he gets to play a fair stretch of games. I just hope (and this is just my personal preference of Auld over Gerber) that we don't have to revert back to Gerber as our 'bonafide' number one if/when that happens.

504Heater wrote:

asq2 wrote:
I don't think (hope) two consecutive wins schedules us for a stinker.

Auld isn't making death-defying, highlight reel saves, either. He hasn't needed too. He's just good positionally and big. He's almost like a poor man's Giguere.

LOL, fair enough. Let me re-phrase: Auld will probably have a bad game or two if he gets to play a fair stretch of games. I just hope (and this is just my personal preference of Auld over Gerber) that we don't have to revert back to Gerber as our 'bonafide' number one if/when that happens.

Ah, I see.

I figure we've made allowance for more than a few Gerber bad games, so I can't see Hartsburg automatically reverting to Gerber out of one Auld mis-hap, unless Gerbs knows things Hartsburg never wanted anyone to know.

asq2 wrote:Ah, I see.

I figure we've made allowance for more than a few Gerber bad games, so I can't see Hartsburg automatically reverting to Gerber out of one Auld mis-hap, unless Gerbs knows things Hartsburg never wanted anyone to know.

:D In all seriousness...Hartsburg doesn't look like the type of guy you want to **** with too much.

asq2 wrote:

hemlock34 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Bouwmeester might be the best skater in the whole league.

I can't imagine anyone being a better pure skater than Gaborik.

Me neither. I think he might be the best skater since Bure.

Mattias Tedenby (I think a NJ draft pick) is freaking fast as well. So is Mason Raymond in Vancouver.

Gaborik seems to float just above the ice though. I was trying to find a clip I'd seen awhile back to prove my point. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone and just turned up ice and skated by everyone. This wasn't a broken play either, just that noone on the opposing team was prepared for that kind of speed. The truly best skaters seem to do it better than everyone, and do it effortlessly.

shabbs wrote:

hemlock34 wrote:

504Heater wrote:Man, that was a game that usually wouldn't go our way. It was sooo friggin hard getting through their neutral zone - and I guess vice-versa. I like that we fought through it and like most of you, I felt really good knowing that Auld was back there.

Boy...when that Neil - Kelly - Ruutu line gets going, it's really fun to watch their forecheck.

I like this win a lot - it was really gritty.

I only heard the first on the radio, but things weren't going well. Sounds like they gutted one out. These are the types of wins that the team needs to get things going. All and all, a good day in Sens land.

That was also the type of game that could totally deflate a team if they lost it. Let's keep this momentum going... TBay on Saturday! GO SENS GO!!!

TBay had a big win tonight too. Stamkos had a big night with 2 and a helper to get the monkey off his back. TBay seems like a Jekyll and Hyde team to me. When they are on, they have the offensive guys to torch anyone, so hopefully the strong defensive play keeps up. Looking forward to seeing how Mez will matchup against his former mates. I hope he does well, but the rest of them suck. I hold no grudges against Mez. He could still blossom into what we all wished he would be in Ottawa.

hemlock34 wrote:

asq2 wrote:

hemlock34 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Bouwmeester might be the best skater in the whole league.

I can't imagine anyone being a better pure skater than Gaborik.

Me neither. I think he might be the best skater since Bure.

Mattias Tedenby (I think a NJ draft pick) is freaking fast as well. So is Mason Raymond in Vancouver.

Gaborik seems to float just above the ice though. I was trying to find a clip I'd seen awhile back to prove my point. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone and just turned up ice and skated by everyone. This wasn't a broken play either, just that noone on the opposing team was prepared for that kind of speed. The truly best skaters seem to do it better than everyone, and do it effortlessly.

I still say J Bo is the best pure skater in the league. Gaborik might be the fastest, but no one gets up the ice and back like J Bo, no one. Not since Paul Coffey have I ever seen anyone make it look so effortless.

asq2 wrote:Ah, I see.

I figure we've made allowance for more than a few Gerber bad games, so I can't see Hartsburg automatically reverting to Gerber out of one Auld mis-hap, unless Gerbs knows things Hartsburg never wanted anyone to know.

I still see us as a team with two backups. And in those cases you go with who's hot. If Auld has a clunker he may still find himself on the bench. Say what you will about Gerber, but it wasn't the Senators' inspired play that led to that league-best-ever start last year. They were playing badly on many occasions and he saved their bacon. Both he and Auld are capable of going on a tear for 10-15 games, just as both of them cool off eventually. I'm not sure but it's possible that Auld handles pressure better, having played in hockey-hotbeds like Vancouver and Boston.

Look, I'm happy with Auld's play lately, but I'm not fooling myself, and neither should/would Hartsburg.

hemlock34 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:

PKC wrote:So when do we waive Gerber?

When we need the cap space, other wise he will warm the bench. No point in creating BS and then giving Elliott no games. Unless we take on a big salary then its not gonna happen.

Well...according to Eklund were are E4 on Khabi.....oh wait, that was two days ago.

Apparently, now the NYI are basically going to take Khabi as a salary dump so they can auction him off at the deadline. :lol!:

HB gets more ridiculous by the day.

Oh and is Spezza not going to the Flames anymore?

Neely4Life wrote:

I still say J Bo is the best pure skater in the league. Gaborik might be the fastest, but no one gets up the ice and back like J Bo, no one. Not since Paul Coffey have I ever seen anyone make it look so effortless.

Really? You don't think Scott Neidermeyer ranks ahead of Jay Bo? Keep in mind he's won fastest skater competitions at the Allstar game and his skating looks totally and completely effortless IMO.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:

I still say J Bo is the best pure skater in the league. Gaborik might be the fastest, but no one gets up the ice and back like J Bo, no one. Not since Paul Coffey have I ever seen anyone make it look so effortless.

Really? You don't think Scott Neidermeyer ranks ahead of Jay Bo? Keep in mind he's won fastest skater competitions at the Allstar game and his skating looks totally and completely effortless IMO.

I always found Paul Kariya to be as smooth as they come...

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:

I still say J Bo is the best pure skater in the league. Gaborik might be the fastest, but no one gets up the ice and back like J Bo, no one. Not since Paul Coffey have I ever seen anyone make it look so effortless.

Really? You don't think Scott Neidermeyer ranks ahead of Jay Bo? Keep in mind he's won fastest skater competitions at the Allstar game and his skating looks totally and completely effortless IMO.

I haven't seen much of Bouwmeester to be honest, but if someone asked me who the best skater in the league was, I'd say Niedermayer.

Or McGratton, one of the two.

I thought McGratton was the best passer? :lol!:

He's only the best skater in this realm of the event.

Just watch Bouwmeester. I don't think he ever has competed in the skills competitions at the All-Star games. But just watch him. The only player that I can think of that comes close to him is Mason Raymond.

Mason Raymond. There's a guy who I know plays LW for the Canucks, but is completely off my radar as far as knowing his game goes.

To give him that sort of praise for his skating says maybe I should have been watching him more closely.