Series 5: Sens 3 - Chumps 1

Game 1 vs Tampa Bay (Lose 3-1): Johan who? He was great in this game, but was pulled against Washington in his next start. Is this a case of the Sens making an average goalie look unbeatable? *cough*Tim Thomas*cough* The Sens have been hot as of late, so I'll give them the mulligan on this game. I'm sure the Lightning players wanted some revenge against the Sens for being knocked off easily in the playoffs last year.

Game 2 vs Carolina (Win 4-1): Oh Gerber. That is the first time I've seen a goalie get their skate stuck in the net, oh well. You made up for it the rest of the game with ok goaltending. The Canes didn't seem to have much of anything going, with Gerber's rebounds being easily cleared by the Sens D. The Sens capitalized on giveaways and were able to convert on odd-man rushes. Quality win in my books, even if the Canes were sub-par.

Game 3 vs Florida (Win 6-0): Nothing much to say here. Thumbs up for the team effort, Alfredsson showing some toughness, and Emery getting a well deserved shutout. Thumbs down to the glass at the Sc'ank breaking and injuring two young ones. I hope they are ok. Update: It turns out the family is none the worse for wear and they get to watch a game for free in Eugene's private box, not bad.

Game 4 vs Tampa Bay (Win 5-2): This game was basically a repeat of the Minnesota Wild game. The Sens came out strong in the first, forgot to come out for the 2nd, but held strong enough to preserve the victory in the 3rd. Both of Antoine Vermette's goals were nice, but his first one with the nifty between-the-legs-from-the-side-of-the-net was quite stellar, even if Johan was not covering the left post(who woulda thought someone could shoot from that angle anyways?). There have been far too many games where the opposition goalie has been pulled in the first period in favour of a lesser backup who the Sens are afraid to shoot on. It's boring when games are decided in the first period, but a win is a win.

Series 4: Ottawa Sweeps a Series!

Game 1 vs Buffalo (Win 4-1): A 60 minute effort, who woulda thought? Honestly, that's all this team needs right now to win. It sounds so simple, yet it seems so hard for them to grasp.

Game 2 vs Minnesota (Win 5-3): You can throw the 60 minute game thing out the window because the Sens only really needed 30 minutes to win this game. With Emery in nets they can actually do it. The SHG near the end leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but a win is a win.

Game 3 vs Philadelphia (Win 3-2(OT)): Another come from behind win! The Sens usually play to the level of their competition and this game was noo exception. The Sens looked every bit as slow as the Flyers, and for the first half of the game looked less skilled. This all changed when Fisher and Alfie managed to tie the game in the second period and after Emery bailed the boys out in the 3rd, Hasek Jr. managed to win the game in OT with a wrist shot from the high slot.

Game 4 vs Florida (Win 6-4): The Sens give up a lead and come back all in the same game! Gary Roberts is still a thorn in this team's side, but I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Sens uniform for a playoff push. If only Belfour was that bad 2 years ago when he was a Leaf.... oh well. It was an entertaining game with a lot more scoring that I thought would go down, maybe Jacques has changed his game plan. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be working at all.

Series: Win in a 4 game sweep!
Relative Difficulty: A 1st round matchup against the Lightning
Up Next: A bunch of mediocre teams bunched in with some under-achievers.

Which Sens team will we see next?

There is no real point on remarking on the positives and negatives of each game right now because nobody knows which Senators team we will see when they play. Two great efforts against Buffalo before and after a stinker in New Jersey. I hope we can get Buffalo-esque efforts on a consistent basis, but that remains to be seen. You don't play every game against Toronto and Buffalo.

So from now on (or until I get bored), I am going to pretend that each stretch of 7 or less games (depending on the results), will be a kind of playoff series. I want to see how many series the Sens can win before the playoffs begin. I still have faith they will make it this year, but of course them making it to the big dance can be considered an assumption.

Looking back on the season the Sens lost their first series 4-2, with Colorado finishing them off. Then they came out strong with 3 straight victories yet lost 4 straight with Washington beating them in OT for another series lose. The Sens lost their next series 4-2 with the deciding game being in New Jersey on Friday. That is 0-3 in series' so far this year if anyone cares. :)

The Sens have started their next series strong with a victory yesterday over Buffalo, but the odds aren't in the Sens favour to carry this victory over to tomorrow's game against the Wild.

We have to wait and see.

Devils 3 - Senators 2

I have to be honest and say I didn't watch this game. I try to avoid Sens games against the Devils and Bruins because they are so damn boring. From what I've heard so far, it was a typical inconsistent effort from the Sens where they really only bothered to showup in the 3rd period when they finally realized what the score was. Something is indeed wrong with this team. I honestly don't know what they did wrong today, but the result speaks for itself.

I would gladly appreciate some insight into what you guys think is wrong with this team.... and if you'd be so kind, what happened tonight against the Devils? Did the Devils play lights out because of the embarassement they suffered a few Saturdays ago?

I'm puzzled.

Message from Roy Mlakar

If you talk bad about my team, I will destroy you.

Props to the Globe and Mail for this.

Why would you want to quiet your fans? We are the reason you have a job. Think about it.

Senators 4 - Sabres 2

Finally, an effort any Sens fan can be proud of. We've seen what the Sens can do with a dependable goaltender in nets. They also seem to play harder in front of Gerber, but I think it has more to do with the key saves Emery can provide them than anything else. You didn't see any long shots magically get through Emery.

My heart was pounding during the final minutes of this game. I think there is something wrong with me when a puck being fired in a different city, in a different country, in November can make me jump up and down with glee or curse in disgust. On second thought, I'm probably one of many who were on the edge of their seats through the entire game.

I kind of wish the Sens didn't score the empty-net goal at the end so they could be credited with a one-goal game victory. I don't like that stat very much, but I don't have enough time to get into that right now.

Studs:

Anton Volchenkov:

Big hits, good defensive play, sliding blocked shots. What a turn-around from earlier this year.

Ray Emery:

He stopped the puck! He had a few too many big rebounds for my liking, but most were cleared away.

Mike Fisher:

He does it all. He may be snake-bitten around the net, but 2 assists ain't shabby along with playing in every position.

Dany Heatley:

Good effort, strong fore/back checking. I wouldn't mind splitting him for Spezza though...

Jason Spezza:

Big goal on the PP to tie it up. He was standing in front of the net and made a sweet tip. He took a dumb penalty near the end though, but I still like him.

Daniel Alfredsson:

He actually was leading by example. Showed emotion as well, and made the shot that was tipped for the winner!

Duds:

Andrej Meszaros:

Played a horrible first period but was better as the game went on. His giveaway on the first goal was unacceptable.

Denis Hamel:

He was given top line power play time and extra minutes and didn't impress me. Maybe less is more with this guy? No doubt he has scoring touch but there is something about him I don't like.

Martin Gerber:

Just because.

Links:

Box Score
Recap

Next:

In East Rutherford on Friday to face the New Jersey Devils. I hope the Devils aren't still mad over this.

My Least Favorite Kind of Cheese

Is it wrong to be scared everytime a puck is heading straight for your starting goalie?