At least it wasn't a Baker's Dozen!

That's right people... Finally the Senators waltzed into a Western market and played with passion, drive and determination to come out with two full points!

Granted, winning did not change a thing. The Sens are still low in the standings -- in fact that lost a spot in both the east and the league overall despite the win -- but should they build off of this win then they could actually do something with this season rather than scrap it.

Brian Lee: First NHL Goal and it was a biggie. Getting a game winner against a tough tightly fought game is huge, but doing it on the road is even more huge. Grats to the kid!

Martin Gerber: I am still and probably will forever be exceptionally nervous whenever he is in net. His rebounds are frightening. His adventures out of the crease give me cold sweats and his lack of trapper usage makes my stomach bind in ways that no mortal man should feel. However, if the team can back him up and we can get value for him on a trade then I don't mind a few games there to make him into trade fodder.

Chris Phillips: What on earth did Hartsburg say to him after his Alfie mess up that led to a goal? Now, sure, Alfie should NEVER in a zillion years lug the puck in close quarters to the net and go up through the middle. He should use the back boards or glass for the safe play, but when your captain is cut off and it leads to a goal there has to be something. After that Philly played with such intensity I almost forgot about his +/- stat!

Fisher/Foligno/Vermette: You naysayers out there in la la land who say Fisher does nothing can now cram it. No points, sure, but how many points did they prevent? How many shots did they fire? How many penalties and second chances did they produce. There is more to hockey then firing the puck and scoring on every shot.

Van-City Blanks Visiting Sens

What can I say that has not already been said?

Gerber is horrible in net. Period. Rebounds popping out... Cheating on break aways and getting caught falling over while poke checking instead of playing big ... Long bomb shots finding a hole the size of Stanley Park on him. Ultimately, Gerber simply did not play a half way decent game.

What about the rest of the team?

A total write off.

I'll write more later when I am not so disappointed and angry at this Bantam A effort.

Flames burnover Sens and more trade talks surface

Sens lost 6-3 in Calgary after blowing a 2-0 lead ... What else can I say? Inconsistent, sloppy and lacked desperation.

Is Murray a buyer or a seller up to the trade deadline?

He could easily be both, but neither will give him an impact player to the club, but rather signal that the era for the Sens getting the cup has come and passed for the next few years.

Over the last month I have seem some pretty stupid ideas about trades. I don't meed to call the posters themselves stupid, but rather that the trade itself was stupid to begin with. Fact is that no matter who Murray trades out of Ottawa he will not see the same calibre returning.

Fisher: Snake bitten, for the most part, since last January and unable to find consistency. A change in scenery may help him, but no club wants to take a chance on that far into the season.

Vermette: Much the same as Fisher's situation.

Schubert: A tough and rugged blue liner who is often shunted to fourth line forward despite his preference. People complain about how come he sucks on the blue line, but the reality is Heatley would suck out of position too. Trading Schubert would make him a better player for another team if they let him play his game.

Gerber: My favourite is to send Gerber away and call up Elliott. Two problems with this ... Gerber was supposed to be the #1 but sucked hard again. No one wants him at all. Bringing up Elliott, on the other hand, would take away from his development. Goalies get better when playing in goal. Auld will more than likely be given the ride until the end of the season.

Spezza: Just signed a new and very cheap contract. He is the smartest of all of them to trade, but under these desperate circumstances teams will gladly try to take Spezza for less than what he is worth. Murray won't likely look to make this move unless it is mutual in return as it is to giving away.

What made Ottawa terrible this year then?

On paper they were supposed to be absolutely fantastic. The reality is that they simply aren't ... If we look back over the past few years Murray and Muckler picked apart this club. Signing Gerber and then turfing Emery because of attitude. Corvo wanting out of the media hungry market and taking Eaves for Commodore and Stillman who both left in the off season. Chara over Redden; in the end both left for free. That's just to name a few! I like Bryan Murray as a coach more than I do a GM because at least then he seems to have a passion for the game. At this point and with each point slipping out of the hands of the Sens it seems more apparent that this season is a write off. What do we have to look forward to next year? Much of the same?

- W

A Comedy of Errors...?

Watching tonight's no contest for the Thrashers was mind boggling. Yet another team sending in their back up against the Sensators, but worse ... they are struggling to keep the biscuit out of the basket! Looks like tonight was the rare exception for the Thrashers, yet par for the course for Ottawa.

Light Play:

All around the team has been playing light. There is no jam.... no sticking up for one another (rare case being Neil and Ruutu) and no real desire. Sure the media scrum produces the same idiotic cliches about how badly they want to win, but when they hit the ice they rather go for a skate. Watching tonight's game was like watching a beer league team being thumped by a PeeWee team. What gives?

cASH Line:

We always look to this line to produce goals, but not energy. Sure you can get energy from goals ... yet Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley do not play for one another nor do they put their body on the line. They don't go to the corners and they won't lay a hit. Other teams are well aware of this and when these three hit the ice it is rather easy to play around them rather than checking your time and space. Maybe for once this line can be asked to actually hit ... not that they should be asked. I mean, this is hockey after all ... Not soccer.

Tempo Killer:

Right after Neil flattened Little, Ruutu had a dance with Slater. The tempo was back in the building, but Hartsburg decided to follow up this tempo with the cASH line. Like I said above ... no jam in that line. You think because the crowd is cheering suddenly these three give a damn about energy production? No! The other team is going to check harder, be more vicious on the puck and contain whatever offence is being created. That is EXACTLY what they did! My god... Why on earth would you follow up tempo with a lull?

Hartsburg:

I didn't like the idea of Hartsburg or DeBoer coming into the NHL because they are not tested. I thought Paddock too was a poor choice, but hey, no one listens to me. DeBoer has proven to have some worth, but I am not sold on Hartsburg yet. I mean, yeah, he has tightened up the D-game, but let's face it ... He has only continued the shitty record and inconsistency. However, it isn't all his fault. There is something to be said about Murray and how he built this team in the off season to be grittier, but watch any interview and you see veteran Senators, not new ones and you get the sense there is a divide in the room.

Murray: Buying or Selling?

Selling. I told people early in the season to wait til Christmas to pass judgement and I am passing it now. Time to trade off players for prospects and picks. There are a number of players that can easily be swapped around to rebuild, but for the love of all things sacred, do not wait too long. The long Murray waits the less likely teams will want to take a chance on a dead fish player. Some of our cheaper "home discount" players are a gold mine for problem cases like this.

Thoughts?

Oh how I should be studying...

yet, here I am posting another little diatribe about how the Ottawa Senators are totally floundering...

Wait... They won last night didn't they!? Oh well then! Let me put on my lucky Sens cap and get to breaking down how I felt the game went!

Big Three

CASH (that's Captain Alfie, Spezza and Heatley for the uninitiated) really lit the lamp list night! The first period was the best 20 minutes the Sens have played all season with big goals and big kills. These three potted a goal each and managed to give the upward momentum this club is in desperate need of. However, was 20 minutes enough? Nope... kept on rollin'!

Big D

Kuba added two more points to his league leading assist tally ... what an amazing pickup he was. Volchenkov played huge and started blocking shots so much he even inspired Vermette to do the same! It can't be understated how the forwards came back though. I mean, defensively, the Sens had all five guys coming back and ensuring that they trapped the play but still managed to get their asses in the saddle and back up the ice! Not to mention Auld. He played large, in charge and used that glove hand like it actually was meant to stop pucks not simply guide them to a rebound like a certain Swiss goalie may do.

Other Big D

How about the goal by Donovan!? My sweet-baby-christ-on-a-stick-wrapped-in-candy-and-lathered-in-chocolate! As JC put it on SensChirp probably THE play of the season. He not only pulled the puck through a defender, but his shot was picture perfect and added to a lead that the Thrashers simply could not keep up with.

Vermette

A great game by Vermie despite not seeing a tally in his favour, but like I said above, he played a big game. He was all over the place and and played along side Donovan and Fisher on a strong line that kept at the Thrashers as much as young Winchester (who picked up two fighting majors and a few hits) did. Vermette has been known to score plenty of goals in the past, but he simply needs to let of the stick a little and head to the net ... good things will happen and our secondary scoring will be better for it.

Back-stop

Alex freakin' Auld. I mean, his back is to the play and somehow he realizes the puck might squeek over him so he pushes his body up to knock it down and away from harm. It was a little luck, but the rest of the night he was a lot of amazing. He let in one goal on a picture perfect shot, but nevertheless, he was pure amazing.

Attendance

One of the guys I know from school has on his MSN name "I am happy I got to see a game in Atlanta today... wait that was Ottawa couldn't tell the difference with all the empty seats!" Now, by his fault, he is a Habs fan and can not appreciate what it means to have a 3/4 full house on a Wednesday night ... Either way. Yeah, attendance was lower than normal yesterday, but a mid-week game with a slumping club SHOULD by all accounts have a lower attendance ... unless of course you happen to be in Montreal or Toronto where rabid quasi-sports-nationalism runs through the veins of everyone and/or there is just a lot of free money being tossed around. I personally would go to more Sens games a year if the tickets didn't cost me my left testicle and some a few toenail clippings. Seriously!

A-Hole

I know... this is a Sens blog, but I have to do it. Sean "A-Hole" Avery has done it again. He has gone and run his mouth off and split the hockey world between apathy and screaming for his head. I think calling anyone "sloppy seconds" in front of a national broadcast as a way to piss off their boyfriend is classless. He isn't trying to spice up the game, but rather space up his own publicity. Had his terminology not been so crass and he had left it on the ice where the game is played I wouldn't care, but since he waited for the media to be ready, chose his words unwisely and has been a thorn in the side of so many clubs and players ... it's time for him to get his head checked. I think he has a serious disorder he needs fixed. A narcissistic anti-personality disorder. Dallas doesn't have a farm team so I hope they find room for him in some bush league across the pond where he can rot.

--- 'nough from me. I have to scrape dinner up for the missus and I and get ready to finish this semester. Oh and if you're a Philly Fan like my buddy Dan (from the Team 1200's Late Crew) ... keep your gloves on your hands. ;)

1-1 through to the shootout...

Tonight's game against the Buds and the Sens was a tight checking example of semi-elevated play. Yeah, it wasn't the best that we have ever seen, but there was enough passion to keep the knotted game from being totally boring to watch. Toskala made some amazing stops at key times else the game would have been a routing! Not bad for a cocky little twerp only 200 games into his career and sitting third worst in the league... Not bad at all.

Fisher's return to the lineup was felt not only in the game's first and only non-shootout puck in the twine, but also on the body. Just ask Luke Schenn how it felt to be flattened by #12. To the naysayers who claim Fisher isn't worth the money I give you tonight's game as a great example of how he is worth every penny. He hits the ice with such passion and ferocity that even if he doesn't have a scoring chance he still makes sure his presence is felt.

Vermette and Heatley, however, are so gingerly stepping around other players and clutching the sticks way too tightly as of late. Loosen up the play boys and just keep playing your game ... you'll get your biscuits behind the backstop sooner or later. Toskala was murdering the chances, but you can't let that get to you!

Speaking of Toskala, how about Alex Auld? Over shadowed only because Toskala is playing absolute trash hockey as of late, but Auld made some great saves in his own right. Flashing the leather a couple of times and getting back into position when it was needed the most. Like Toskala, if Auld was even a fraction off of his game the score could have been quite different; the Leafs did have their chances.

Overall it was a good game and like Mendez said at the top of the program the Sens "need to get back to remembering how to win". Step one accomplished ... Hard fought win gained. Now let's see a string!

Increased traffic means increased posting I guess...

It's game day and I am sitting here procrastinating one of three papers. I figure it should write itself based on my disconnected thoughts, but telepathy can only go so far. Instead I chose to cruise the sites and see what was in the wind.

1) Bouwmeester is one of the big names on the blueline that Murray would like to see. JC at SensChirp.ca has posted about it twice now in a short period of time, but now it just remains to be seen if we get a shot at him or not. I'll revist this throughout the post.

2) Jacques Martin's problems with Ottawa. That was between Mucks and him to be at all honest. Martin would be insane not to want to cultivate some of the young talent that comes out of Ottawa knowing full well the potential our scouts have. He may not have liked or agreed with Spezza when he was younger, but it is hard to argue -- for example only -- that Spezza is leagues ahead of the average player. What is Martin looking for?

3) Vermette, Lee & 1st or 2nd round pick. That's what it is going to take just to get J-Bo into a Sens jersey. Atop of that there needs to have some cap space cleared in the big club just to accomidate him.

4) Already I have read one account stating that Richardson is now on Waivers. His small salary could be enough to soften up the cap space for a trade, but truthfully Luke should have retired last year ... He wasn't terrible, but the game is just out of his legs really.

So what's all this business about trade rumours in Ottawa? Murray has been shopping around. He is looking for a blueliner and will continue to do so. No doubt he wants another top six forward, but the reality is that the Sens need to have less shots going to their net and more puck movement up the ice in shorter periods of time.

More to come as it comes out I suppose.... and of course, my post-game reaction after the Sens and Leafs battle tonight.

Fiver, rumours and ... Gerz (who, right?)

The number five seems to be something the Ottawa Senators have issues with right now. Five losses in a row with only scoring five goals in total. While the ship is sinking fans are scrambling to make sense of it all. So, what is there to look forward to?

It is unlikely the Senators will face another 1994/95 style season and will most likely rebound, but in order to do so they may need to make a deal and shake up the room. There are players in the room that have absolutely no confidence -- Vermette? Break away failed and then was put in a shoot out situation? There are others that are brimming with so much confidence that they carry on with individual play -- Spezza? Nice that you can undress the blue liners, but bad when you can't pass the puck without first knitting a sweater to prove how awesome you are. The Senators need to return to what works for the Senators before it is much too late. Play their game, their tempo and play for the jersey not the name. If they must play for a name then play for either Alex Auld or Jarkko Ruutu ... easily the best Senators on the ice as of late regardless of losses and/or suspensions. At least they are not quitting on themselves or the team.

Who would we trade into the club and who would be leaving? I have been reading and hearing about Boumeester from Florida... de Vries from Nashville.... Ohlund from Vancouver and even the return of Forsberg to the NHL here in Ottawa. However, for any of these players the club would need to give up a snakebitten player and sweeten the pot in most cases (de Vries could be a straight up trade though and Foppa would be a matter of moving cap space) just to get the deal done. Is Bryan Murray ready to do what Muckler did not have the back bone to do and make the blockbuster? He has done it in other markets, but I am a little apprehensive to say he's going to go for gusto and get the Senators a big deal. Murray has long said he is looking for a puck moving blue liner, but there isn't the market or movement he is willing to do. He also stated in the off season that this is a season of retooling the club. We just have to wait and see.

Moving on to this Gerz character. Stop reading here if you don't want to read me trash someone from Hockeybuzz.com or you have sensitive sensitivities. Mmm, redundant!

Who the hell is Gerry Bourdeau and how come he blogs on Hockeybuzz.com for the Ottawa Senators fans? The latter I am not entirely sure, but the former I am dead positive about! From his patriot "Don't Tread on Me" facebook picture to his Boston Red Socks and Boston Bruins jersey, he is a son of Massachusetts. Now, his profile claims he is from Ottawa, but the circumstantial evidence is a little unnerving. It would not shock me that the site that hosts Eklund and his wondrously wrong predictions also has a jerk from Boston posting for the Ottawa Senators blog. What happened HB? Did JC at SensChirp tell you to stuff it? Rightly so if they did too!

Oh on that note: congratulations to SensChirp to getting a real domain name! Must be nice.

PANIC BUTTON ... ENGAGE!

Where is it!?

.... where did I put it!?

No... that's not it. That's the staples Easy Button!! Will it work though!?

... Ok. So it seems my big red panic button I keep on hand for when the Sens tank out has been swiped by one of the rabid fans out there and pressed furiously.

Coming off of a loss to the Habs, on their ice, in their 100th year, on their pre-determine, self defined manifest destiny and being blown out 4-0 is not a huge shock to me! Yup. It's not. The Habs suffered a humiliating 6-3 loss their previous game and they were shot in the arse by their coach to get some dignity back and lay out the law. Our boys just happened to be in there and incidentally got their arses handed right to them.

What I did not like about the game:

Defencive breakdowns. You play for the goalie regardless of how the situation looks.

Ruutu's dirty hit. You don't elbow a guy in the noggin' just because you're losing and you are frustrated.

Price is not right ... Yeah, I didn't like that he stood tall to the phenom title. I like the guy, I love the play, but darn it let us have one!?

What I did like.

Spezza had a lot more jam than he usually does.

Tempo was quick desipite the loss. The Sens did not go down throwing phantom punches; they actually were trying hard to get a point, but the Habs simply out classed them in every category.

Auld stands tall, Fisher pockets 2 points and Winchester's first goal

It is almost like the title of this post says it all isn't it?

Ottawa played a little sloppy in their own end for brief parts of the game, but overall Auld played like he was the size of the net and kept the Sens in it when the boys got a little slow. Regardless of that, Winchester's first goal as a Sen and starting his NHL career was great and Fisher picked up another couple of points. So what's bad?

Not much!

Ruutu continued to make me smile. Volchenkov doubled up his goal count for last season and is on the way to beating his season high of three goals... Shut down defencive specialist that can snap at the twine now and again is just fine!

I am one happy fan tonight. Monkey is officially knocked off Fish's back for a bit.

Ottawa Senators goal and his first of the season...

MIKE FISHER!

Not only did he spot Heater on a clear break to setup the first goal of the game, he capped off the overtime with his own goal and shook the cobwebs and the doubt off of his shoulder.

Long have I said that Mike Fisher's contract is not intended to encourage him to go out and pocket 40 goals. Murray signed him to play the same tough, hard nosed and inspired hockey that he has been the past few games. For Fish to pick up 2pts in this game against a team that torched the Senators last season is the exclamation mark on his patience.

As for the rest of the team... my only concern came with too many lallygags down ice that would park themselves onto a patch of ice and wait for the puck and the man to come to them. I won't name names ... I think they were caught up in the US election and trying to sort out who'll win and lost their head.

Hunting Buffalo in Northern New York

What more can I say other than "WOOHOO" after downing the Sabres 5-2 on their own ice?

Two things:

Alfie, sir, captain my captain, the grand poobah.... harder on the puck to clear.

Fish... Please get a couple of points on the road. I keep sticking my neck out there for you.

In the game of bad versus bad ... bad won!

Leafland is happy this morning. They were able to beat a team that has been struggling since last Christmas and this gives them justification to say their team is complete. I kid you not. Look at some of the headlines like "Proof Positive" (thank you TSN for reaffirming your hockey world bias). All the Leafs did was that they can beat the Senators, but only when they are down and out. Congrats. Too bad the Leafs are far from a complete team and free of blunders (scoring on your own net?) that fans and media gloss over simply because they beat the Senators. Only zealots of either team knew that last night's game was a matchup between two bad teams fighting for identity and purpose. Gasp. So let's get to the boys in red and talk about some of the issues.

The injury

I don't believe one iota that Martin Gerber was injured; not in the least. This is a classic case of coach and GM protecting a fragile goalie in the midst of trying to build some sort of bank roll behind him. That or they are trying to send a clear signal to Gerber by putting him in IR and showing him that Auld doesn't let beachballs pass by and Elliott is hungry to start in the big club. Either one of those options, but Gerber is NOT hurt ... pride doesn't count. Why?

Pre-game

Bryan Murray was asked just before the game if he felt "Alex Auld was the number one goalie at this time." Either Murray was being coy or deaf, but he answered the question initially with "Who?" When he collected himself he insisted that Gerber's injury is to be short lived (I'd say after we face enough division headache in Buffalo and they head to Florida), but he also instead that Gerber was still the number one. Technically that isn't true, but nevertheless, it sounded more like posturing and trying to create a market of interest or Murray was trying to convince himself that Gerber was as good as he dreams. Nevertheless, Auld started and played an OK game ... not spectacular. How come Ottawa lost by one goal?

Penalties

The first is that there were too many phantom calls. Volchenkov getting the gate for interference when both he and his man were playing for the same puck and space was a little insane. When Alfredsson got the gate for holding when he was held up was also insane. The game was very lopsided on the calls and it appeared as though Toronto had the favour in the calls at most opportunistic times. My least favourite was the non-call on Luke Schen for instigating and/or fighting with a visor. Either one of these calls should have been made. Neil laid a hit, Schen was the third man in and went at Neil with his helmet and visor still on. Listen... if you want to fight then take off your damn helmet if it has a visor. Most tough guys will let you get your gear off because they respect that the fight isn't just for giggles.

Cowardice

Hollweg was part of the issues that sent my mother's cousin out of the NHL and to Russia to play (he currently has 109pim and 6pts in 14 games). He has been hitting people from behind and getting away with it as much as Chris Pronger gets away with stomping on players (another reason why Chris Simon doesn't play in the NHL any more). However, my issue is with Chris Neil... When you want to spark some anger in your team you don't do it by taking a 10 minute misconduct. If Hollweg wants to be a gamer with you ... drop em. Sean Avery is a punk who goes after the under classed fighter ... don't be that guy Neil. Most importantly do NOT go offering to Hollweg to come cross check you in the back and expect the refs to giggle it off. Chirping is good to a point, but sometimes you need to clam up and shoot the puck or drop the damn gloves.

Checking is also part of the cowardice issue. The Senators are playing for their name on the back of their jerseys and not for the logo on the front. This is most evident when your top forwards go in to forecheck and don't bother laying the body. If the defence of the opposition can move the puck without thinking "jeez, is Spezza going to railroad me into the boards" there is something wrong. Stripping a player of a puck is awesome to watch, but on the forecheck it only works if there is support... otherwise, hit the damn guy in the opposite jersey!

That's all I can stomach to write. Hopefully I can start singing the praises of the team in the coming weeks instead of these pissed off criticisms.

Dear Ron Wilson...

Listen... I like you. You are one of two Leafs in history that I can honestly say that I like. You and George Armstrong. That's some pretty elite company. I like that you want to have your team inspired and that you want them to take pride in the history of the club. I like that you don't care if they are new or old to the club... you want their best. That said ... get Joseph ready to play our Senators because backups who should not have a prayer against the boys from Bytown are dominating the game. It is not a hidden or even whispered secret that the Ottawa Senators are in a huge slump. Case in point I am writing this during the third period while the Senators are down 4-0 to the Ducks.

On a nice note... Corey Perry actually got a point tonight and he's in my hockey pool. About damn time, but I am gonna have to ship him off for a better winger.

Who is more the fool? The fool or the fool who follows?

Tonight the Senators were not downed by a superior team. The Panthers are an OK team, but they should not be able to dominate the Senators so easily. What did our boys in?

Goaltending:

A friend of mine got to chatting on MSN during the second intermission and we talked about the Gerber situation. He was shopped around in the summer and absolutely nobody wanted him; we know there is nothing that can be done about that. No one will take him. My buddy said that something, however, has to be done "because right now the fans are being played for fools." He is right.

Ride him out:

Since January, Gerber has posted horrible stats. I know, people love to say "that was then; this is now," but the reality is that Gerber is a 34 year old goalie and is not getting younger by the day. The Senators management has been determined to ride Gerber and the only reason I can think of is to try and get him some wins to show that he is capable of going to a different market as a viable net minding option. Riding Gerber for the rest of the season will have the Senators missing the play offs and you can mark my words. I questioned bringing him to Ottawa in the first place and I was one of very few people who did not jump on the "Darth Gerber" bandwagon sensing an unease in the force. As an older goalie, Gerber's days are not just numbered in Ottawa, but for his career.

Sit him:

Alex Auld is a younger goalie and in his own right has never really had a crack at the number one position in any club. He has also has had decent starts with Ottawa in this very young season, but is that enough? The team does not play for Gerber very much -- nor itself for that matter -- but can Auld steal a game? Truthfully this is a good option for the Senators because it has an old goalie ready to take a relief game or two should Auld run into any snags, but is there not a better option? I know a lot of fans want to see Elliot brought up to backup or even start and I know it is an option, but it isn't a good one. Elliot needs time to develop much in the same way Lee does -- explaining why Lee was sent back to Bingo today.

Buy him out:

There is no way B-Murda (I know, I am a cliche freak) wants to do this mess again. I mean look at the last guy he bought out, Ray Emery. Ray was a stellar goalie in his first full season with the Senators and then he comes back to find an old fart playing good hockey taking his job. Yeah, I won't get back into this again, but I bet you a dollar that Murray would rather a young upstart with a bad attitude over an old dog with no tricks. At least the young upstart can be trained and taught. As for buying out Gerber that is a lucrative contract that has to be gobbled up. That said, I think this is Ottawa's best option despite how unlikely it is going to happen. Get the cash out of the books as fast as you can get him out of the roster.

Waive him:

Of course, they could waive him outright and see if another club picks him up or force him into retirement. It's less graceful and could run the risk of getting nothing for him, but let us be brutally honest ... All the fans and the club are getting for Martin Gerber right now is squat. He plays small in the net, lets in weak goals and does not show any signs of desperation in his game. The problem, as far as I can see, of waiving Gerber is that it is as embarassing as buying him out and admitting that the club has no real number one; just two backups.

Final note:

Our energy line is a saving grace. All lines should play with that kind of determination and pressence.... but what's with this no fighting thing for the Senators? Is this a coach rule or is no one in the mood to stick up for one another!?

Ugh... consistently inconsistent!

If you scroll down a couple of inches into the previous post you will find me hoping that we'll see some consistency. Yup, the team has that, but the showing of inconsistency. The Bruins have a decent club and a physical one at that, but there could have been a better effort tonight.

Goaltending

Gerber got the nod for the second night in a row and for the second night in a row he played very well when called upon, but the soft plays ended up popping juicy rebounds. That said, it wasn't his fault this game was lost. Not by a long shot.

Defence

Combine slow and sloppy with youth and brash; what do you get? Bad blueline presence. Though they bailed Gerber out on his juicy rebounds, but the blueliners were not the entire down ice quandaries. The players coming back were often lazy and did not do well to commit to the passes thus coughing up turnover after turnover.

Checking

There was some and in the last six minutes leading to Heatley's dumbdumb penalty there was a little more grit from the Senators, but overall, there was a laziness to the physical game. Combine this with soft passing plays, poor nuetral zone coverage and sloppy defence and you get the Senators losing 4-2.

Now string them together and you might read an apology...

The game tonight was boring from the stand point that our arena is dead silent unless there is a big check, a goal or a fight. However, six goals is hard to say that it was a complete sleeper so I suppose I can say a few words.

First is about Gerber. I know I have been hard on his sloppy goaltending; that will not change. He was still popping out rebounds, but he actually did the one thing I have complained about for quite some time now and he actually stole a game. Yup. I will admit to that. Gerber played quite well. The defence, sadly, played like they were asleep and by the third period the entire team showed that they were off for eleven days.

Spezza ... Definitely leaving it there on the ice. He was much smarter this game and played a great up ice and a good down ice game. What else can I say? His numbers speak louder than my words, but he needs to show consistency before I get off his back.

Ruuuuuuuuutuuuuuuu ... Every game, every shift, every hit, shot and annoyance this guy does makes me giddy. Two goals in this game just added to the man-crush list and I am about ready to name my first born Jarkko.

Checking: The team needs to do a LOT more of it. We got stronger, grittier and tougher all around during the off season, but I didn't feel as though that were true. Take a lead from Volchenkov. He will knock a player on his rear, block a shot in the next transition and take shots on net. Now granted he has only scored 11 goals in his NHL career -- one of them coming tonight -- but he's a good example of a strong, punishing player. Oh and Vermette, helicoptering Fisher does not count as a check. ;)

More tomorrow when the Sens host Beantown. I hope that my next blog post doesn't have me returning to my annoyed rants about poor consistency.

Giving away the game!

There are two things I absolutely hate about Jason Spezza. First and foremost I hate how he does so many interviews. Yes, he's a top flight centerman for the Ottawa Senators, but he is neither the spokesman for the club nor is he the best there is in the league. Jason, do the fans and the city a favour and shut up, play hockey and let the points do the talking! The second thing I hate is the thing that cost us the home opener against Detroit ... forced and/or blind passing!

For a couple of years I have griped about how often Spezza tried to thread the needle and how very frequently it goes wrong. I usually get the idiotic response from Spezza lovers of "yeah, but when it works it's AWESOME OMG!" Yeah, when it works... Simple plays lead to goals more often than fancy plays. If you have no option then put the puck on net. It's a whole lot better than firing between your legs back towards the blueline where it is picked off and starts an odd man rush!

Now, I know a lot of people will be sore about this, but c'mon Gerber. Three goals? Seriously? The first goal I can admit that Volchenkov MAY have screened you a bit, but you knew if it won't hit him it'll come up. The second goal there was no excuse ... you cheated and dropped early. The third goal hit Kuba's stick and wobbled, but hit the netminder and still got through. I don't mind a sloppy goal now and then, but when the Sens had actually played decent defence for most of the night I expect the goalie to bail the club out on a bad change. Yeah Gerbs played well other than those three goals, but the ones that go in are the only ones that count.

Stockholm... games one and two

I chose to wait until the second of the back-to-back games in Stockholm were concluded for selfish reasons. I really didn’t feel like writing two days in a row. That said let’s move on to the meat of the matter.

Goaltending Controversy ... round two!

In game one Gerber showed very little poise and let in three bush-league style goals. These goals were the product of poor position play and even worse they came without any screening. In game two Auld showed poise under fire and even when he made small mistakes he made up for it with smart plays. I said it last year and I’ll say it again this year ... Martin Gerber is not Ottawa’s starting goaltender. He could come ‘round and dance on his head proving me wrong, but I don’t work on the concept of faith. I like to be shown the truth. Will Auld be #1? I don’t know, but the home opener in seven days will be a shocking if Auld is not in net after how he played this game. His only goal against came in the last second and was no fault of his own.

The youngin’s and the old folks...

Winchester had a great camp, but let’s be honest, he has had even better start in the NHL. With Fisher out (again) with a groin injury there was a need for a good two way player to step up and work like Fish does and Winchester is a good substitution. Lee, although committed a nasty give away in the first game, has also stepped up his game and become a bit of a presence on the back end and contributed to Vermette's shortie in game two, but what about Jason Smith? Going to task on Crosby isn’t an easy order especially when Sid the Kid can fly past most players, but the older slower Smith got in his face sure enough. It got to the point where Sid hacked at Smith and all the veteran did was crack a grin at the kid and continue on.

The PEST line ...

There is absolutely no need to give a name to the Neil – Faligno – Ruutu line. Call it exactly what it is ... It’s the PEST line! They are fantastic. I won’t lie. I hated Ruutu right up until the game started on Saturday, but moving forward into Sunday I was even more in man-crush territory. Putting him out there with Neil for added agitation and toughness was a no-brainer, but Faligno too? Now that’s a heck of a combination! This just leaves to question what will happen when Fisher returns? Winchester goes back down and Faligno shifts lines? As much as I think Mike Fisher is amazing, I don’t think it would be a wise move unless you want that line to net goals.
Penalty Kill ...
Through 14 power plays the Senators only allowed one goal and it came in the last second of the second game. That is absolutely astonishing considering the talent of the Penguins. Moreover the Senators kept the Penguins to the outside or running around in their own end for the puck ... not to mention the short handed markers in both games.

Defence ...

You cannot have good PK without solid defence. The one thing everyone was saying when Redden and Meszaros left was that we lost a lot of defence. Ironic to that statement is that in their last two games Redden and Meszaros have gotten points on the board ... Defence? True, the Senators need a puck moving defenceman, but it seems that this club has started to transition well. Perhaps we won’t see a major shakeup if the club can come together as a team as they showed in Stockholm. I have long said this club needs to be tougher on the puck both up and especially down the ice.

Grit ...

See the above mentioned really. Smith, Neil, Ruutu, Phillips, Volchenkov even Alfredsson ... The Senators played with much more grit and intensity. Hartsburg could very well be the catalyst for this, but the players must continue to want and need to play for one another just like this.

Mesz to Bolts for Kuba, Picard and 1st rounder

Oh thank you Bryan Murray, thank you!

Now don't go getting your panties in a twist... I have read a lot about how Meszaros was supposedly an elite defenceman experiencing an off year. I am sorry, but that is about as insane as Bruce Garrioch calling a trade with any sort of validity until four other creditable outlets have already announced it. Meszaros going to Tampa Bay may be good for the kid, but ultimately he flourished with Chara -- who wouldn't -- and the buck stopped when Chara went to Beantown.

Now, Kuba I have been a fan of for a bit. He's a little grittier and able to gobble up some time and being a little older is set in on his salary range without demanding millions more than what he is actually worth. This, as someone else classified, was an old time hockey trade and I think Ottawa got the upper hand. They not only shipped out someone who was unproven to show progress, but also potential salary problems down the line for a little more solid addition of maturity and even a little youth with Picard coming with the deal. To sweeten the pot we picked up a First round draft pick acquired from San Jose by Tampa...

... Question now remains: do we use it in a bid for a top shelf calibre player to round things off completely or do we roll with a mix of youth and experience? I am leaning toward the latter much more than the former.

The Big A question

I am going to borrow liberally from SensChirp (http://senschirp.blogspot.com/) and their poll they have. Since Wade Redden was one of our alternate captains and he is no longer with the club, who should take over his big A? Well, I am going to break down my opinion based off of the four candidates SensChirp presented.

Dany Heatley:

The second I traded Wade Redden away on my copy of NHL08 for the Xbox 360, Heater was awarded the alternate captaincy by the computer. I didn't bother to fix it because I honestly don't care and the game certainly doesn't either. Unfortunately this isn't a video game and there are some big time things to consider. Heatley is already our premiere player who typically will be on the ice with Alfredsson most of the time. Backing up on the blueline there stands a good chance that Big Rig, Chris Phillips, will also see a lot of time with Heater on the ice. That is reason enough to waive Heater from contention -- who wants to see all "leaders" on the ice at once? Spread the love around. Is he qualified? Sure. Would he respond to the pressure? More than likely, but there's no reason to bunch our eggs in the same basket.

Mike Fisher:

Last year he was wearing the A when Alfie was injured and the media asked him how it felt. He jokingly responded "right where it belongs". Nevertheless, he could very well be right. Mike is a tireless force who is always there for the team. He doesn't have the same scoring touch as say Heater, but he is a solid player with a presence of mind both up and down the ice that a leader requires. Atop of that he is a fan favourite in Ottawa and is signed for a number of years to come.

Jason Smith:

I am not a huge fan of honouring a previous captain of another team with a A or C for their current club. Respect is something earned and not given immediately regardless of tenure in the league. The guys may know of Smith, but may not know him very well. As it stands he would be a short term alternate captain and though he could probably do the job justice we would return in a year or two and ask this very question again.

Chris Kelly:

Former captain of the Binghamton Senators and one of the Sens smartest young players, Kelly has a total package of a born leader. He is, however, young though the club seems to respond well when he is on the ice. For him to get the Big A would require more ice time than he current is afforded and his presence with that time would need to increase quite a bit.

So what do I think? If you know me then you know my obvious answer is Mike Fisher. I am a big fan of Fish -- to me the quintessential Canadian hockey player -- and I think it's high time we recognize his accomplishments.

What's with all the Swedes?!

To be honest I am not sure if I should be impressed by the ignorance or bravery of some fans. There has been a lot of rumbling around the groups about picking up some Swedes low in the draft and how it is signs of Sens scouting going to the proverbial water closet. Today I am going to chime in on this hot button topic -- since it seems that the Meszaros rumours are pretty lax as of late and Murray is not budging one iota on his contract -- and talk about the Swedish picks.

The Ottawa Senators have always been an organization to step away from the conventional scouting of the NHL. I don't mean to boast liberally, but it is the truth. When you pick someone who is so low down that they're not seen as neither an impact player or a depth player and they turn out to be the rookie of the year and our longest standing captain ... that's pretty outside the box. The Senators knew then what they still know now: central scouting is focused on North America from a purely economical stance. It is cheaper for teams to keep their scouts in the continent than it is to jet set them around the globe to seek talent outside of the pool. However, they have been keen on placing key people in positions where they can get a feel for what is outside of the Stars and Stripes as well as the Maple Leaf. My return question is ... why are people surprised by the Sens drafting from Sweden?

Consider two major things. Daniel Alfredsson -- that low pick, then rookie, now captain Swedish kid -- does have a bit of a say with the team's direction. Not that I am implying that he makes all the calls, but if he knows of a kid back home that is being overlooked then why would he sit on it and not share this information? Further to this point the Senators will open the NHL season in Sweden against the Penguins. Again ... a chance for a couple of up and coming hockey stars to play on home ice could be foreseeable, but also helps build some reporte with the country that the NHL is not Euro-phobic.

What should really shock Sens fans it that Bryan Murray has stepped out of his comfort zone of favouring Canadian boys. Perhaps picking Karlsson -- top defenceman of the u-18 tournement -- wasn't entirely bad idea. Now that the cliche that only clubs captained by a Canadian is busted -- thank you Nik Lindstrom -- the blow hards in the media that I so faithfully adore can lay off just a touch. Did it surprise me that Murray picked a Swede first (or a few times for the matter)? No. Does it bother me? No. Do I want to see more Canadian kids in the NHL? That's complex. I want to see the best game put forward by the best players out there. I don't care what country they come from, their religious practices, their sex -- yup, I said it, sex. For those not in the know ... women's ice hockey prior to the WWII was brutal and spectacular ... too bad it's "girls" now -- or even what kind of food preferences they have.

Why should you?

Sum-sum-sum-summertime.

I know. It looks like Big Will abandoned his big heart in March and walked away from the team. That's not true. Regardless I am back and ready give my input on all things Senators. Where to start?

Let us roll back to the embarrassing playoff performance of our beloved red team. I was dead wrong with how Murray coming back to the bench would change many things, but I was dead right that entering the playoffs would not change a thing. The truth is that the team sucked as a team and that blaming any one individual seems like scapegoating -- I'll get back to this.

Let us fast forward now to the draft. What a wonderful weekend in Ottawa. Although the Sens were not high ranked in the picks we managed to add a little depth on the lines with some Swedish and Canadian kids. Kind of surprised me a little that we picked a couple of prospects from Sweden, but it is nice to see the recognition that the Canadian game has branched out and it might be a bit of a nod to Alfie and his host country. That and the NHL season openers being played in Sweden between the Senators and the Penguins may have something to do with it to. What about goal tending?

Remember that bit about scapegoating? Ray Emery was the toast of the town a year ago for taking the team to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in modern history ... on a broken wrist no less. He was always known for his egomaniac lifestyle and cocky attitude, but when he was playing it was no big deal. Soon as Gerber was hot Emery was out while his rehab took longer than usual and soon he became an apparent distraction with his antics. Last I checked we are fans of grown men playing a game in which they make millions to do so per year ... If they are rattled by one guy then they all should retire. Thankfully I don't buy this for one second despite Emery being bought out and turned into the black eye of the league. That is what you call a scapegoat. We did the same thing to Lalime after he fell in front of the Leafs regardless of standing up for the team and himself in previous season -- let alone the shutouts he had in the playoffs as well. Will Emery fail to bounce back like Lalime did? Patty never got it all back, but I think Ray is too cocky to be kicked down and kept there for long.

Moving on we saw Wade Redden leaving the orginization. We all saw that happening. We have also added to our roster the links of Jarrko Ruutu -- who adds the pest factor --, Alex Auld -- who replaces Emery to contest for the starting goalie netminder job --, Jeson Smith -- yet more grit and defensive prowess -- and Brendan Bell -- starting to sense a theme of grit here? I am --. We also re-signed Donovan, Glass and Vermette. I cannot wait for the the training camp to begin so we can get a closer look the team.

Now to a more serious note. One of my favourite sports media personalities in Ottawa, if not the world, passed away only a week ago. Tim "Buzz" Kilpatrick was one third of the popular Team 1200 morning show Three Guys on the Radio. Throughout my school days I would wake up around 6:00am and flip on TGOR for a good morning fix. Maybe I am bias because my first Senators game in five years came from writing them an email, but I became an instant fan and listened almost daily (live or through podcast). Listening to the tribute show that Steve Warne and Stuntman Stu put on with Kenny Walls (producer) was tear jerking and heartfelt. Buzz you will be sadly missed.

Lastly, but not leastly, the blogs and the future. So, I noticed that there is a new blog out there called SensChirp (http://senschirp.blogspot.com/) dedicated to the rumour mills. So far this summer he has only been dead wrong once which makes me wonder who he is sleeping within the organisation. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but still ... he has some serious connections. He makes both Eklund and Garrioch look infinitely more terrible than they already are at keeping track of rumours with the Ottawa Senators. Another blog is by a friend of mine and is amusingly named Don't Pick Daigle (http://dontpickdaigle.blogspot.com/) that is much like this one really. Brad puts his heart and soul into talking hockey, but we're often quite different in opinions so if you don't like what I have to say you can always go read his. Ha! Finally, Sens Undgerground podcast ... I gave them a listen once. I really didn't like what they had to say, but I decided to turn over a new leaf with them and give them another listen. I am currently wating on their latest podcast to download and I will give it a listen.

So there you have it Sens Fans and Fanatics. Big Will's summer wrap up (at least up to the end of July). As news and rumours break I will take a few minutes to respond whenever I have the time. Other than that let's get ready for the 2008-09 season and see how this new face of the Ottawa Senators looks with a few less teeth and a whole lot more grittiness.

"Lady Luck is in the building and she is wearing red!"

Gord Wilson was right; Lady Luck was on the side of the Ottawa Senators last night, but that wasn't the only factor in defeating the Bruins to the tune of 4-1.

The Ottawa Senators came off of a disappointing western road swing with 3 of a possible 8 points, but had a spark in their last game against the Coyotes with Mike Fisher's two goals that lead them to a victory. The number one issues on the road was that Bryan Murray had just taken the position of coach back after firing John Paddock from the position and there was little time to have a full practice with the Senators.

Tuesday's game against the Boston Bruins looked like the Murray coaching system was put back into place as very few mistakes occurred, yet when they did there was a second effort to correct or make up for the mistake. The Ottawa Senators were hard on the man as much as they were hard on the puck winning the small battles against the boards while busting the trap of the Bruins more often than not.

Goaltender Martin Gerber was absolutely stellar last night giving his team a chance to pelt the Bruins netminder (Auld) to the tune of 32 shots leading to 3 goals on him and 1 empty netter to complete the hattrick for Dany Heatley.

All in all, this was a quality game by the Ottawa Senators to show the fans and the league that being middle of the pack is a dangerous spot for this club. They may be six points from the eight spot and sliding into the obscurity that only the Toronto Maple Leafs are used to, but they are also only 2 points behind the conference leading Montreal Canadiens. Maybe Lady Luck can transfer some of the puck luck from the home arena to the Bell Centre on Thursday and push the Sens over the Habs for a tying drive at first. I would be absolutely beside myself watching my childhood team and current time pressing hard to one up one another for the top spot.

Once the playoffs begin...

This phrase seems to spark a lot of hope for the Senators fans 'round here. "Once the playoffs begins..." we should see the team rejuvenated; "As soon as the playoffs being..." they'll find their feet again; any variation on the hopes of playoff production will really fit into this lump, but unfortunately, this is a fan base that puts a lot of hope and prayer into their team.

Reading the posts on the Internet about the Senators and the woes that the team is dragging themselves through is tiring. The posts kind of remind me of those Q-Ray bracelets that you see mid-day on the crappy TV stations that attempt to hook in some slob without much of a hope in the world. Both are gimmicks to help encourage the user to believe in something that may or may not work.

Back to my remark about the Senators dragging themselves through these woes for a moment. On paper this team should be one of the best teams in the league. They have the top scoring line with some of the top defence both on and off the blue line and two starting goaltenders. Off paper and into reality they have very little focus and absolutely no determination. Sure, the interviews all sound amazing with promises of being better, but perhaps it's just simply time to stop doing interviews to give hollow hope to the Q-Ray fans and start actually doing something about it.

The playoffs are not a magic pill. The fans are saying it enough to lead me to believe that they are hoping for the cure to the disease known as the Senators Skid, but that cure isn't an externalized thing. To fix what has happened with the Senators from midway through November to the present day will come from within. They must look to themselves and sort out exactly what it is they believe in. It doesn't matter what that is, but each member of the team must buy into that belief and strive to grasp it. That sounds rather simple and in all truthfulness it is that simple ...

Perhaps the Ottawa Senators, like their fans, believe that getting into the playoffs will cure everything. With only a dozen or so games remaining in the regular season, however, the Senators and the fans need to come to grips with reality; this team may not make the playoffs if delusions continue.

Arena to Arena ... is there a level playing surface?

Last night the Ottawa Senators played in the city of the Ducks; they lost to the tune of 3-1. The big story wasn't how the Ducks played or how the Senators were robbed by J.S. Giguere, but rather that the Ottawa Senators bench boss was ejected from the game late in the third period. Bryan Murray was absolutely ticked off with with how the game was being officiated and this sentiment has been echoed in the media before.

Gord Wilson (colour commentator for the Ottawa Senators on SportsNet and/or Team 1200 broadcasts) echoed the fans on a televised broadcast just recently when he questioned the officiating. He again did the same on a radio broadcast a few days later when he brought up Stephane Auger's persistence to call an often tighter than tight game. As a fan, I have felt quite miffed at the officiating that seems to go against my team, but I truly don't think it is the referees against the Ottawa Senators, but I do believe that there is a lot of inconsistency.

Depending on which Arena you are in and which officials are picked for the game the outcome can be vastly different. The officials for the NHL are not only there to provide a fair and neutral playing surface for the players, but I believe they are there to ensure fairness to help keep fans interested. Last night was a tough game to watch for the Sens fans not only because of the lateness of the game, but because the Senators were bullied into the ice with cross-checking, boarding and hits from behind that all went uncalled. There simply is no consistency with officials in the NHL city to city.

Bryan Murray wanted to talk to the league about the officiating and with his ejection from the game last night he will certainly have the chance. If the NHL wants to continue to grow they must flatten the playing surface with the referees and ensure that what is called in Ottawa is called in Detroit. What is a cross-check in Montreal is a cross-check in Los Angles.

Pens @ Sens

To be fair, the Senators did play better, but like the captain said in the post game interviews ... they could have been better.

Yesterday afternoon’s game against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins was a good game to watch from about 11:30 onward in the first period. Before that it seemed as though the fans at Scotiabank Place were content to sit on their hands and give no emotional surge to the building. It wasn’t until after the TV time out around that time that the Senators woke up and started going to work; Gonchar must have wished he wasn’t on the ice last night.

The energy level was ramped up and the hitting was reflective of the frustration, determination and resolve of the Ottawa Senator. They repeatedly laid the body on the opposition, but most notably on Gonchar. Even young forward Antoine Vermette showed his rough side when he dropped the gloves ... if only he had an assist so he could have gotten a Gordie Howe hattrick. Even the Big Rig, Chris Phillips, decided enough was enough when he took a cheap shot from Pens’ Malkin and almost everyone from each side of the game came flying into the corner to have a say in the matter.

Goals came from not only the big line, but also from Vermette and LaPointe (his first as a Senator) lifting the Senators past the Penguins 5-4. For those things that looked right for the Senators –the big line scoring, secondary scoring, emotion and intensity – there were of course some downsides.

Martin Gerber, arguably, played a good game. He made some fantastic stops, but in Gerber fashion, he also let in some questionable goals. However, this win should prove to be a much needed shot in the arm to the embattled Swiss goalie come Monday night when the Senators get a rematch against the Anaheim Ducks (who last saw them in game five of the Stanley Cup finals).

As for the officiating, I hate to write like I am a Leafs fan or something, but it was absolutely horrible. Stephane Auger has to be one of the biggest mistakes in refereeing along with Bill McCreary. Usually these two dictate the pace and the game so drastically that it is often difficult for the Senators to get a win out because they spend plenty of time in the box. Thankfully the Penguins’ took bonehead penalties like Gonchar’s double crossing checking, but nevertheless, there was still a lot of suspect uncalled infractions that would benefit the Senators (the Gill sweater that Spezza wore as compared to the McAmmond lifting the stick as a hooking call).

All in all, though, this game was much better by the Senators. As it started out there was a lot of soft passing, but this seemed to correct itself. Players went below the goal line in droves, but again this seemed to correct itself. Shots were taken with no traffic ... yup, this too corrected itself. It was a back to basics, hardnosed, well fought effort that lifted the Sens to a victory. Now, all we need is to string together another five or six of these to quiet the naysayers and doubters from inside and outside the fan base.

By the way, Gerber or Emery, I really don’t care who is in net. Both are weak on one side or the other, but both will be more confident and play better with a team that wins.

Where's the panic button!!!!

A new bench boss typically does not signal an immediate string of successes, but rather it signals changes. Quite often these changes are slow paced, for better or worse, and they take time to come to fruition.

Bryan Murray took over for the Sens to face the Flyers on Thursday night’s game and although there were significant improvements the team did not win. There was more grit, emotion and hitting in the game, but overall, the game was a trial of errors and struck with bad luck.

Top flight centre Jason Spezza, while celebrating his goal, was confronted by Flyers goalie (Biron) with a cross check that Spezza did not appreciate. Quickly the referees did their jobs and got in there to break up the scrum, but several Flyers took exception to Spezza asking what Biron’s problem was and dragged him out by his collar. Spezza’s emotional response of butt-ending a player got him ejected from the game and it knocked the wind out of the sails of the Ottawa Senators. They lost the 1 goal lead shortly and would not get back into it. To make matters worse, defensive specialist Anton Volchenkov had been suffering the effects of the flu and ended up getting winded. He ended up leaving the game and did not return.

A shining moment came when Mike Fisher took exception to Steve Downie, who all Sens fans remembers well for laying a dirty hit on McAmmond that side lined him for quite some time, and Fisher absolutely cleaned Downie’s clock. It is unfortunate that despite the efforts, Biron was the answer for the Flyers and the Senators were held at bay.

This morning the media and the Internet were both abuzz with the fair-weather attitudes of a tired fan base. Many questioned the coaching change immediately, some thought that Gerber being named as our start on Saturday was bad, and some even said that the team was hopelessly adrift. This last bit is for you ...

Murray was the coach last year and this year is almost done. He has to get back in the saddle and feel out the attitude of the team while attempting to challenge the players to be their best. Keep in mind that all year long he has had a coach who was the buddy to the team and rarely, if ever, played the bad guy. Paddock quite often got away with speaking his mind with the media because the players didn’t look up at him, but looked at him equally ... What the Ottawa Senators require is a basics game with a coach who tells them when they did good or bad. There are seventeen games in the schedule left and though the protective cover is off it is not time to press the panic button. Give Murray a couple of games and we will forget any of this ever happened.

On Monday we saw our team host the Maple Leafs ... the laughing stock of the NHL. With the trade deadline looming I expected both teams to play like pros because jobs were literally on the line for each club. The Senators were coming off one of the worst months for any hockey fan to watch. Close games are nice, but not when they have to go to extra time to resolve them because the supposedly hottest team in the NHL can't collectively stop a goal against. When Monday rolled around it looked like Emery had passion to play again, but it could have also been the bolstering of trade interest that kept him between the pipes; either way, he was keeping the guys into it until they faced Toronto.

Losing so decisively was not because the Leafs were simply stellar. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, but they were no better than they have been all season long (exception being Tucker ... I may hate the guy as a player, but he played a great game). Last year I watched a spot when Alfie called out Emery at practice, asking him if he could stop a beach ball or not and I was reminded of that again on Monday. Not only did Emery drop the ball, but the team in front of him simply couldn’t do anything to battle back against one of the worst teams in the league.

Tuesday simply could not come fast enough and I am sure the players thought the same thing as they rolled into Bean-Town. I sat watching the trade deadline come, acquire LaPointe, laughed at the Penguins who blew away some future life and shook my head as Huet hit the Caps for a pick; it was an odd day of silliness, but I thought the Senators were free and clear. Again the Senators allowed another shutout and with the trade deadline passed there as only one thing the team could do ... fire John Paddock.

Wednesday afternoon the fans of the franchise, on the par, got their wish and Paddock (along with Low) was fired. Each have been rumoured to have offers within the organization, but I don’t know the validity or likelihood of those. What I do know is that I have been somewhat vocal, but patient with how this team has been split at the seams. So, with Murray back as the couch, what does this mean? I have made a short list of changes we’ll see pretty quickly based off of past successes.

- No more two or three men below the goal line pretending to be Gretzky
- No more cycling the puck around away from high percentage scoring zones
- No more open shots at the net without traffic going to get some garbage
- No more soft plays with no responsibility and accountability of each player on the ice
- No more quiet bench boss who’s too afraid of his shadow to actually yell at a player
- An immediate sense of urgency as the players are now facing the reality that they may lose their playoff contention if they do not turn it around now
- No more of Jason Spezza’s drop passing to the slot, no more Meszaros’ wimpy hands up checks, no more Alfredsson’s single handed passion, no more goaltending cry baby antics from either one of them and most importantly, no more skating around with the puck, standing still without it and not actually hitting someone ...

Welcome back to the era of Murray. The basics of hockey, hardnosed, fast paced, tight checking kind of game where you make a mistake you get told it. With Murray at the helm this Titanic may actually avoid that iceberg and turn itself back to home ... the same home as the Stanley Cup. Lapointe said it best this morning in a spot with TGOR (http://www.team1200.com/tgor/index.asp) that the team needs to have a common goal in mind and once everyone is on the same page the team will succeed.

So welcome to my first blog post about the Senators. During the regular season and playoffs I will do a post-game insight into how I thought the game went. This means I may be dead wrong, but that's OK. I am a fan ... I get some liberties of being dumb now and again. When we hit the post-season I will only post the big ticket things that happen until the training camp.

Cheers,

Big Will