Ottawa Senators: Premiere Weekend Recap

Like a finely-crafted piece of Allen key-assembled IKEA furniture, the Ottawa Senators have arrived home from Sweden in one piece—though there may be a Swiss screw loose.

After a weekend that saw Ottawa come home with three of four possible points, some things have become abundantly clear about the 2008-09 Senators.

First, Martin Gerber was horrible in game one, absolutely atrocious. Even an average goaltending performance could have sealed a victory on Saturday afternoon in Stockholm—but Gerber was unable to supply even that.

I'm not sure what the deal is with Gerber.  Occasionally he looks like he could shut out the 1987 Canada Cup team, then five minutes later he'll let in a floater from inside the blue line.

I'm not certain it is time to cut him loose yet, but he's certainly on a very short leash.  And no, Khabibulin is not the answer, so stop with the rumours.

Another revelation from Saturday's game—though this one is hardly surprising—Hockey Night in Canada hates Jason Spezza. I'm not sure if it's jealousy because a Toronto boy isn't playing for the Leafs, or if Ron Maclean secretly loathes anything with a Don Cherry connection (Spezza agent is Bobby Orr and he played for Cherry's OHL team in Mississauga), but there is clearly an anti-Spezza bias at HNIC.

Yes, Spezza turned over the puck at the Pittsburgh blue line leading to the winning goal, but there are a few factors that need to be considered before publicly ripping the guy on national TV.

1. It was overtime, one point was in the bank, and it was four-on-four—he was trying to create some offence. Spezza is specifically put out there in the dying minutes of OT to try to create offence, he had nothing to lose.
2. The chance he gave up to Tyler Kennedy was a two-on-three.  Yes, that's right, he was still outnumbered, yet somehow a floater from the top of the circle made it past Gerber. The goat on that play is Gerber, not Spezza.
3. The Senators have traditionally been horrible in shootouts, so going for the win at the end of OT is just smart thinking.

Overall, the feeling I got from Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss was overwhelmingly positive. The Sens outshot, outhit and outchanced the Penguins despite some horrific officiating, which by now I guess I should be used to when playing the NHL's favourite team—Sidney and Friends.

Sunday was a continuation of the positives I saw on Saturday, with the added bonus of competent goaltending.

I saw a Senators team that was aggressive on the puck, winning one-on-one battles, being physical, sticking up for teammates, and generally playing a very solid defensive game.

This speaks to my season preview

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