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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
4 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Vikrant Singh 9 months ago
Great Article. i agree with what you said about needing average goaltending to win that game on Saturday. If Ottawa can get a goalie that can just make the saves that should be made, we will be just fine. We have a surprisingly good defense, and even the forwards are coming back to help clear out the second and third chances. All we need is someone to not let in the fluke goals. Going back to when Ottawa made the cup finals, Emery wasn't spectacular the whole playoffs. He just didn't let in the bad goals, and the team on front of him was good enough to dominate. The only time Ottawa needed him to be spectacular was in the cup finals, where he continued to play average.
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Eric K 9 months ago
The old cliche about Ruutu that says "it's always better to play with him than against him" looks like it is holding true for Sens fans as well. Of all the departed Penguins this off-season, I have to say that Ruutu was the hardest guy to watch walk out the door. He is the epitome of an agitator on the ice, and his personality and character off of the ice does wonders for a teams' chemistry.
Nice article, I'll be looking forward to the rest of the Pens-Sens matchups throughout the season, and who knows, maybe even a 3rd straight meeting in the 1st round of the playoffs.
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Spencer Callaghan 9 months ago
You should be weeping for Malone too, I have no idea why re-signing that guy wasn't a priority, really bad move by Shero.
I'll admit to bitching about Ruutu in the past, perhaps even in the comments of one of your articles, but you know what they say...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I think Ruutu will be my next jersey purchase.
I have to say I'm kinda glad we got two Pittsburgh games out of the way early, I'd like to have some more time for the team to gel before we play them again, but I'm quite impressed with how well we contained and shut down Sid and Gino.
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Eric K 9 months ago
Yeah I agree, Vermette did an unreal job of shadowing Crosby in the offensive zone almost every time he hit the ice. Ruutu and Neil is going to cause alot of problems for alot of teams this season. That's gonna be one of the most entertaining lines to watch, and I have to say I'm a little envious of you in that respect.
Malone was a big loss, but he's definitely replacable. His numbers were inflated last season because he was relied upon to be a scoring winger (before Hossa came along), and playing with Gino and Sykora all season helped. I'm not downplaying his value to a team at all, he's in the prime of his career and should have a few solid years in Tampa, I just think Fedotenko is a legitimate replacement for Bugsy. Even if it is weird as hell to see the lifelong Pittsburgh boy wearing a Bolts jersey. There was a time when Ryan Malone WAS the Pittsburgh Penguins, but thankfully that time has come and passed.
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