Sens Comeback To Beat Leafs

The Sens got down 2-0 early in the battle of Ontario tonight, before displaying the resilience and comeback ability they've shown all year to score 3 unanswered and beat the Leafs in their own building in front of a shocked Leafs crowd. Kyle Turris scored the game winner in his first battle of Ontario, but the unquestionable star of the game was the Sens Craig Anderson, who made 37 stops in the important win. With the W the Sens are now 9 points clear of the Leafs, who are surprise surprise, out of a playoff spot at the moment.


 

Team Unit Betrays Team Unit

Blue Jays players and Team Unit members JP Arencibia, Brett Lawrie, Ricky Romero and Casey Janssen at SBP

Many of you may be wondering who Team Unit are. It's a collabo between a bunch of Toronto Blue Jays players and Toronto Maple Leaf players, who support each other and rep the teams of Tdot. But a funny thing happened yesterday when the Blue Jays caravan hit Ottawa. Seems the Jays players smartened up and rocked Sens jerseys instead and then took in the Sens 6-4 win. I applaud the decision.

And here they are again posing with Sens players. Looks like they found out who the best team in Ontario is. I wonder how Leaf Nation will take this?

Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1

The Bruins raked the Leafs out of the Garden Saturday night, beating Toronto for the fourth time and clinching the season series. This is a matchup that favors the Bruins in so many ways. Toronto's offense is based primarily on their Power Play. The Bruins have one of the best PK units in the League. Toronto's forwards don't get involved in defense (See: Kessel), while the Bruins' defensemen get very active in the offense. The Bruins score when they win battles on the boards and control the crease in front of the opposing goalie. The Maple Leafs don't win battles against physical forwards, and they don't have many guys who can clear out the crease.

The Bruins' specialize in eliminating Toronto's strengths, and have the exact kind of players to take advantage of Toronto's weaknesses.

Chris Kelly's goal was the type of thing that Toronto struggles to prevent. Ference pinched, so Kelly covered the point. He was being covered by Phillipe Dupuis, a center. But Kelly went from acting like a defenseman, to acting like a forward, breaking toward the net. And Dupuis was simply mismatched to cover another forward. Kelly drove to the net, Peverley sent him a brilliant pass, and a goal resulted.

The Krejci line, especially Krejci himself, has been reborn. That lines plays the best when all three forwards share the load. Krejci doesn't need to be too clever, he just needs to be smart. Lucic doesn't need to throw everyone around, he just needs to be physical. And Horton is a little of both. Krejci has 2 goals and 5 assists in the last 5 games. When this line gets hot, the Bruins have one of the deepest offenses in hockey.

Joe Corvo's fight was a great example of how everyone on this team contributes. It was Corvo's first fight in the NHL, and he's the 8th Bruin that has dropped the gloves this season. It's not that this is a team of brawlers, but it is a team of guys who stand up for their teammates and stand up for themselves. Every minute of every game, there is a Bruin on the ice that's willing to fight if necessary.

During this stretch, everyone has contributed. And each individual contribution by one player has helped others to contribute. Rask has gone 4-0-1 since the start of November, which has also allowed Thomas to take 5 games off. Chris Kelly has 8 goals in 14 games, but he's been set up beautifully by Rich Peverley, who has 11 assists in this span.

When one Bruin excels, he helps another excel, and so on.

The schedule gets interesting as the Bruins are in Pittsburgh tonight, facing the top team in the East. Then they're in Winnipeg Tuesday night. Then they host the Southeast leading Panthers on Thursday. Fun week.

GDP #12: Battle Of Ontario II

The Sens are back at it tonight, looking for their SIXTH consecutive win, as they take on Toronto at SBP in the second installment of the Battle of Ontario this season. The first was a very exciting affair in which the Leafs held on to win 6-5 at the ACC, so expect another entertaining matchup.
Craig Anderson will likely start again, while Robin Lehner backs him up, and for the Leafs, it will be Jonas Gustavsson getting the start. Both goalies played yesterday and both were winners. The other big news is of course the cheap shot from Wolski on Alfie yesterday. The captain will be out of the lineup, so Nikita Filatov has been recalled. I have to say I applaud the move. We could use him.

It's hard to imagine that the Sens will make many changes, if any after this win streak. Only question will be where Filatov plays. Will post the lines once they are available.

Update @ 12pm: Filatov has been called up to sit in the press box. Bobby Butler will suit up instead and Robin Lehner will start tonight.

Prediction: Both teams played yesterday and won, and both have to travel, so it's even on that front, although this is the only time this year the Leafs will play the day before they play us and we played too so no advantage there. These games are very hard to predict because standings don't matter, but no way I'm betting against the team right now. I'm rolling with them until they lose. Sens win 5-2.

Record this season: 8-3 with zero exact scores predicted.

Be sure to follow me on twitter @SensTown for live tweeting throughout the game. Join the convo.

Pre game thoughts?

GDP #2: Battle Of Ontario @ Toronto

Proud Leaf fan displaying his pride from 1967

The Senators are back at it tonight, hoping for a better result against a much more manageable opponent in the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sens will be looking to build on a solid 3rd period last night in Detroit, a period that saw them score 3 goals and put a scare into one of the best teams in the league.

Tonight is a match up of 2 non playoff teams, but whenever the Battle of Ontario happens, you can throw the records out the window. If anything, these 2 teams will always play for Provincial pride, but so early into the season, there's a big 2 points on the line. The Sens want to get on the board this year, while the Leafs want to start 2-0.



The lone lineup change for the Sens will be Bobby Butler is a healthy scratch in favor of Zenon Konopka, who gets his first action as a Sen tonight. With the absence of Matt Carkner at the moment, one would imagine that he's in there for his toughness to counter Colton Orr, and to win us some faceoffs. That means the Sens will have 5 centres dressed for tonight. David Rundblad will sit again. Sens head coach Paul MacLean on Rundblad: "we're going to make sure that he's working on his defensive game and he's comfortable before we put him in."

Here's a look at the Sens morning skate at the ACC. Peter Regin continues to wear a non contact jersey, which means he is clearly more hurt than we first thought. I hope he comes back soon, as I feel he has a lot to prove and a hungry, talented player in the lineup is never a bad thing, especially in a contract year.


No local flavor tonight. Hardly surprising given these 2 organizations don't like each other.

The lines should be basically the same, minus Bobby Butler. Because of the 5 centres playing, one line will have 2 playing on it. Most likely the 4th line with Konopka dressing tonight. Craig Anderson starts in net again.

Prediction: It's always tough to call the B.O.T. games because the previous games don't matter. Both teams will always give their all for these 6 games per year. The Leafs are coming off a shutout win, and the Sens played last night and are coming off a loss, a fairly bad one, but for some reason I like the Senators chances. If the top line of Michalek-Spezza-Filatov can find that chemistry again, then we have a good chance and let's face it, the Leafs are more of the Sens speed than Detroit. Sens take it and get their first win of the year 3-2.

Record so far: 1-0 with zero correct predictions

Thoughts? Do the Sens bounce back?

Battle Of Ontario Schedule Is A Joke

NHL commish Gary Bettman and Leafs GM Brian Burke

The 2011-12 season is upon us, in fact it starts tomorrow, with the Sens campaign getting underway on Friday in Detroit. Let's be honest shall we, the Senators are not going to win the Stanley Cup or  be a contender this year. I know it, you know it, hell even the organization knows it. We're in a rebuild, and I'm fine with it. In fact I really like the make up of the team. They're young, fast, physical and very hungry. What we lack in skill, we'll make up in heart. We will lose a lot of 1 goal games this season, that's a given with our inexperienced roster. I just hope we play competitive, exciting hockey. Too bad we're behind the 8 ball thanks to the NHL schedule.



If you can't tell yet, I'm fired up for the new season. I can't wait for it to start again. And it was with that enthusiasm where I found something that frankly just isn't fair. I was looking over the Sens schedule and noticed something that struck me as really odd. I even triple checked it because I thought no way, it couldn't be. No way would that possibly be allowed or considered fair.

In a season with low expectations, Sens fans have little to look forward to. What we have is watching the prospects progress, and our Stanley Cup finals will be playing the Habs and Leafs, with bragging rights being our trophy. It's with that where the issue came from. As a member of our division and our main rival, we play the hated Toronto Maple Leafs a total of 6 times per season. The games are always intense and fun, and arguably one of the best rivalries in the NHL.

So with that in mind, I was looking at the schedule to see when we played our Provincial counterparts. And what I discovered was something that makes no sense. Of the 6 times we play the Leafs this season, we play the night before ALL SIX TIMES. Yes, you heard that right. Every time we play the leafs it will be on the 2nd night of a back to back. How is that fair?

Now some of you may be saying, he that's just the way the schedule works sometimes. Some years you get a favorable schedule and some years you don't. I agree. But this goes beyond that. This is a competitive advantage. And this is just the start, it gets worse.

I thought maybe the Leafs have to play the night before too, so it negates the advantage. So I looked it in and I was right, barely. The Leafs do have to play the night before, ONCE! On October 29th, the buds play the Penguins in Toronto, before traveling to SBP for a game on the 30th. That's the worst they have it all year in the Battle of Ontario. All they have to do is travel down the 401 a few hours. Hardly a big deal.

In fact, other than the one time they play the night before, the Leafs have at least a minimum of a days rest before every game versus Ottawa, and on several occasions they have multiple days off to refresh before taking us on. Meanwhile, we have to play the night before and travel, which is tiring, while the Leafs will be resting and waiting for us.

Now I can understand it happening once. Those are just the breaks. Two times? Ya sure why not. You win some, you lose some. Three times? Ok, we just got really unlucky. It sucks but you move on. Four times? Now something fishy has happened. Five times? That's absolutely ridiculous and shouldn't happen in a professional league with millions of dollars on the line. All six times? That's completely unfair and ruins the level playing field you're supposed to have. Especially in games between Ottawa and Toronto that mean so much to both fan bases.

In my opinion, it just shouldn't happen and it is an unfair advantage for the Leafs to have. I don't know if the blame belongs to the league, the arena availabilities, the teams, or all of the above, but wrong is wrong, and this is wrong.

Thoughts?

The Schedule for the 2011-12 Battle of Ontario:

Game 1: Saturday October 7th in Toronto @ 7pm (Sens play night before in Detroit.) (Leafs last played Thurs Oct 5th vs Montreal at home)

Game 2: Sunday October 30th in Ottawa @ 7:30pm (Sens play night before in New York) (Leafs play night before vs Pittsburgh in Toronto)

Game 3: Saturday November 12th in Toronto @ 7pm (Sens play night before in Buffalo)  (Leafs last played Nov 10th in St Louis)

Game 4: Tuesday January 17th in Toronto @ 7pm (Sens played the night before vs Winnipeg) (Leafs last played Jan 14th in New York)

Game 5: Saturday February 4th in Ottawa @ 7pm (Sens play night before vs Long Island) (Leafs last played Feb 1st vs Pitts in Toronto)

Game 6: Saturday March 17th in Ottawa @ 7pm (Sens play night before vs Montreal) (Leafs last played March 15th in Tampa)

Neil Suspension Coming?

Given all the suspensions for head shots and illegal hits this pre-season, one would have to assume that Chris Neil will be getting a call from Brendan Shanahan for this play from last night. I could see him getting a game or two. Grabovski didn't have the puck and it definitely wasn't a clean play. Look for Neil to be a bit lighter in the wallet soon.

What do you guys think, suspension worthy?

Fake GDP # 6: Sens v Toronto

REALLY!?!

I'm not quite sure where this came from, out of nowhere seemingly, but Dave Hodge isn't exactly someone who says things just to say him. The veteran broadcaster is usually quite credible, so when he tweeted this I have to think he at least believes it to be true. My take: I can't see Spezza being traded anywhere, especially to the hated Maple Leafs, no matter what they were to offer ( do they even have any attractive assets?).

For a team extremely light on scoring, trading away their #1 point producer would be ridiculous.

Cowen vs Phaneuf

Fake GDP #1: Sens @ Toronto

Most of the stars aren't playing except for Karlsson, but we will get a look at a bunch of up and comers like Filatov, Zibanejad, Cowen and Rundblad. Auld starts and Lehner finishes. There is no TV coverage of the game unless you have Leafs TV and if you do, I don't know why you'd be on this blog. No TV is kind of a big fail to me, especially when playing Toronto. At least hockey is back.

Sens Win In OT, Sweep Rookie Tourney

It may only be a rookie tournament, but anytime you can beat Toronto you do. The Sens rookies went a perfect 3-0 at the tourney and win the fake championship. An excellent start to the new campaign. The future looks bright.

Thoughts?

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This Won't Last Long

Matt Puempel and Stuart Percy at the 2011 NHL Draft

Yes that's Ottawa Senators prospect Matt Puempel and Leafs prospect Stuart Percy posing together, looking as happy as can be at the 2011 NHL Draft. Maybe they don't know it yet, but this won't fly in the future, and is pretty gutsy for them to take this picture given the maniacal fanbases of the two franchises. Lesson learned lads, don't do it again.

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Pre Season Schedule Released

For those of you who can't wait until the 2011-12 season starts, I bring good news. The pre-season schedule has been released and it's familiar foes on the calendar. The Sens will take on division rivals Toronto, Montreal and Boston twice each, one home and one away, as well as participating in the Hockeyville game for a 2nd consecutive year. This time the lucky town is Conception Bay South, Newfoundland that has a population of around twenty thousand. We will be taking on the new Winnipeg franchise on the rock September 26th. I would imagine that Newfie Colin Greening is excited about the news.

The full schedule is as follows: (all times eastern)

Monday, Sept. 19: Ottawa at Toronto, 7 p.m.


Wednesday, Sept. 21: Boston at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 23: Montreal at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 24: Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 26: Ottawa vs Winnipeg, Hockeyville, Conception Bay South, N.L.

Tuesday, Sept. 27: Toronto at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29: Ottawa at Boston
 
 
Thoughts?

Sens Ranked 82nd Best Franchise In Sports By ESPN

In a piece that came out yesterday in their magazine, ESPN ranked all the franchises in North American pro sports. They took every team from the NHL, NFL, MLB and the NBA and assigned them their rankings based on 21 different catgeories. The Senators came in at #82 overall, a significant drop from the #49 they were the previous season, mostly due to their performance on the ice in 2010-11. If you're wondering where we rank in terms of NHL teams, it was 22nd overall, which isn't very good, being in the bottom third of the league.

The only good news is the Toronto Maple Leafs came in dead last in the NHL rankings and 3rd last overall at #120.

Thoughts?