GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Dallas Stars – 2:00PM EST, Saturday, March 20, 2010

GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Dallas Stars– 2:00PM EST, Saturday, March 20, 2010.



Afternoon delight?

Ottawa (37-29-5, 79 pts, 2nd in the Northeast and 6th in the Eastern Conference) visit the Stars (30-27-13, 73 pts, 12th in the Western Conference) Saturday afternoon, 2:00PM EST. The Sens are now mired in a 4 game losing streak and all signs point to them matching their season high five game slide. Michalek went down hard after tripping over Hedberg, left the game and did not return. It didn't look good for sure.

Ottawa still has only one win since the Olympic break and take their dismal road record to Dallas to face a struggling Stars team. Don't be fooled though as the Stars have a very nice 19-10-6 record on home ice. The Stars are the clear favourites if you consider the Sens record on the road, the Stars record at home and the overall play of the Sens since returning from the Olympic break. On the bright side the Sens did show some signs of life when they stormed back in the second period to tie the game at 3. It's too bad they couldn't keep it together long enough to at least grab a point. It's like they totally collapsed and forgot how to play the game.

Game Coverage
TV: SNET-E
Radio: Team 1200
Web: check ATDHE.net and Justin.tv

Latest updates:
Michalek out with an apparent leg injury (no word on severity yet) is on the ice practicing and looks fine according to Ian Mendes of Sportsnet.

Lineups

Ottawa
Dallas

Ottawa Key Injuries

Milan Michalek (leg??)

Dallas Key Injuries

None

Game Day Previews:

ESPN Preview

ESPN Stats Comparison


Media Links:

Official Sens Twitter
Elliot following the loss
Clouston after the game
SensTVOnline

GO SENS GO!!!

Added a couple of media links and side-by-side.

The Elliot post-game was a little disturbing. He talked about how they didn't do a good job breaking out, and when asked about his own game he said they did not block a lot of shots. Is he starting to lose it? I had the kids bickering in the foreground so maybe I didn't heart it exactly right. Someone else please give it a listen.

Clouston's take on things a bit more balanced. When asked if scoring three goals he still that's still not enough because he needs production from his top 6-7 (I guess with Michalek down the top 6 now include 7). He also felt the turning point of the game was the elbowing call (which he pretty strongly suggested was a bad call), the missed short-handed chance and the ensuing power play marker.

I don't recall him mentioning the power-play. Again, kids, noise, maybe I missed it. Damn March Break!

Here's a recap of the game: http://senators.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009021045

But it must have been written by someone who didn't watch the game. First, he says that Hedberg was irate because Ruutu interfered with him on the second goal (it was Kelly who was standing in the crease and prevented him from getting the paddle against the post to stop Ruutu); then he said that on the tying goal Phillips intercepted an errant clearing attempt. Umm, yeah, those assists to Spezza and Alfie just came from thin air.

Anyone have a video of that elbowing call on Sutton?

wprager wrote:Here's a recap of the game: http://senators.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009021045

But it must have been written by someone who didn't watch the game. First, he says that Hedberg was irate because Ruutu interfered with him on the second goal (it was Kelly who was standing in the crease and prevented him from getting the paddle against the post to stop Ruutu); then he said that on the tying goal Phillips intercepted an errant clearing attempt. Umm, yeah, those assists to Spezza and Alfie just came from thin air.

If you watch the replay on the goal you can clearly see Ruutu interfering with Hedberg and in fact you even catch a little elbow shot to his head. Being that it was Ruutu you have to believe it was on purpose.

Thats not a good sign from Elliott and Im totally shocked. Sounds like there is just no effort in front of him, sounds like A Train is starting to play like he needs a contract for next year and doesnt want to get hurt.

Oh, my. Just watched the highlights. Elliott was a little weak on one of the goals, but that was still a breakaway. The rest, he was given no support from his supposed defensemen. Hedberg stopped two breakaways (why didn't Spezza shoot -- he has a great wrist shot and a so-so back-hand move that hasn't worked since Souray, and that one was in slow motion compared to the breakway); Elliott had a breakway shot along the ice go through this legs -- I hate those ones.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

wprager wrote:Here's a recap of the game: http://senators.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009021045

But it must have been written by someone who didn't watch the game. First, he says that Hedberg was irate because Ruutu interfered with him on the second goal (it was Kelly who was standing in the crease and prevented him from getting the paddle against the post to stop Ruutu); then he said that on the tying goal Phillips intercepted an errant clearing attempt. Umm, yeah, those assists to Spezza and Alfie just came from thin air.

If you watch the replay on the goal you can clearly see Ruutu interfering with Hedberg and in fact you even catch a little elbow shot to his head. Being that it was Ruutu you have to believe it was on purpose.

Hedberg didn't even flinch when Ruutu went past him. It barely brushed him. Kelly, on the other hand, stood in the crease and put his stick down in front of Hedberg's arm, preventing him from getting the paddle to the side. It was pretty clear that Kelly was the one he was upset at.

And Alfie's pass may have been a little errant, but nicely deflected by Spezza to Phillips. It was in no way an errant clearing attempt.

Meh, Elliott needs to make a save at some point in that game, cant make any excusses for him. Im his biggest supporter and he has to do something to help the team when they break down.

N4L wrote:Thats not a good sign from Elliott and Im totally shocked. Sounds like there is just no effort in front of him, sounds like A Train is starting to play like he needs a contract for next year and doesnt want to get hurt.

Must have caught him at a bad time.

Sutton bobbles the pick at his own blue line when he was the last guy back. Partial breakway, goal.
Phillips hands the puck over at the blue line. Quick blast, goal.
Kuba inexplicably moves toward the puck carrier when Karlsson is too far away to take on the guy in front. Quick pass, deflection, goal. (No excuse to Karlsson either, since he has speed to burn and should have been there; Foligno gets a pass because he's playing wing and it's only his third game after breaking a leg; still would've been nice if he took a hooking penalty *there* instead roughing at the end of the game).

Karlsson has had several weak efforts lately. What's going on?
Phillips has had some brain farts lately, as well, and just doesn't seem to be playing with much intensity. Kuba is Kuba, just not a good Kuba right now. Maybe A-Train only wants to block Ovechkin's shots. Maybe it's like Neely said -- doesn't want to risk injury because of contract situation.

N4L wrote:Meh, Elliott needs to make a save at some point in that game, cant make any excusses for him. Im his biggest supporter and he has to do something to help the team when they break down.

Well, I did say that Hedberg stopped his two breakaways, and Elliott didn't. Because it was only a partial breakaway, and because Sutton did keep him to the outside, it really was not a great position to shoot from. Paddle on the ice and it's an easy stop. That, plus the goal on the Phillips giveaway, it looked like he was not ready, and that could be mental fatigue.

wprager wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

wprager wrote:Here's a recap of the game: http://senators.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009021045

But it must have been written by someone who didn't watch the game. First, he says that Hedberg was irate because Ruutu interfered with him on the second goal (it was Kelly who was standing in the crease and prevented him from getting the paddle against the post to stop Ruutu); then he said that on the tying goal Phillips intercepted an errant clearing attempt. Umm, yeah, those assists to Spezza and Alfie just came from thin air.

If you watch the replay on the goal you can clearly see Ruutu interfering with Hedberg and in fact you even catch a little elbow shot to his head. Being that it was Ruutu you have to believe it was on purpose.

Hedberg didn't even flinch when Ruutu went past him. It barely brushed him. Kelly, on the other hand, stood in the crease and put his stick down in front of Hedberg's arm, preventing him from getting the paddle to the side. It was pretty clear that Kelly was the one he was upset at.

And Alfie's pass may have been a little errant, but nicely deflected by Spezza to Phillips. It was in no way an errant clearing attempt.

I can't say who Hedberg was mad at but, in the replay I watched, you actually see Ruutu give Hedberg a shot to the head and Hedberg's head jolt as he's falling down. I'd say that's more than a flinch.

Like I said back in Jan, if The Sens are depending on a 19 year old kid to carry the load, they are in trouble. He's going to be a star, but he is a 19 year old rookie and plays like one. Elliott is still basically a rookie. Those are the two guys that were carrying the team on the back end during that 11 game streak.

The future is bright for Ottawa and Ive never lost sight of that, but this team was never as good as that winning streak and they are not as bad as this losing streak. Right now though, it's a bad time to go on that losing streak.

wprager wrote:

N4L wrote:Meh, Elliott needs to make a save at some point in that game, cant make any excusses for him. Im his biggest supporter and he has to do something to help the team when they break down.

Well, I did say that Hedberg stopped his two breakaways, and Elliott didn't. Because it was only a partial breakaway, and because Sutton did keep him to the outside, it really was not a great position to shoot from. Paddle on the ice and it's an easy stop. That, plus the goal on the Phillips giveaway, it looked like he was not ready, and that could be mental fatigue.

Putting the teams hope and dreams on a guy that's been in the NHL for just over a calender year, tough to play like that.

Like I said, the leadership has to do something, Spezza, Kovalev, Alfi, Fisher, and Phillips (A Train is as good as gone, at this point I couldnt be happier about it). They need to step up in a large way.

A Train is starting to show his true colours, gutless efforts so he doesnt risk getting injured and can get his big pay day.

wprager wrote:Anyone have a video of that elbowing call on Sutton?

Do a search on youtube. "Horrible call" should do it.

OK, I didn't hear Elliott's interview 100% correctly. Here's what he said:

When asked about his own play, Elliott said: "It's tough, they do a good job criss-crossing in the offensive zone, and creating opportunities and shooting lanes. I don't think we could block as many shots as we normally can. But then, I have to be better and make the big save at a time when it's needed."

Still, when asked about *his* own play, he talks about how Atlanta's criss-crossing made it difficult to block as many shots as usual. He eventually said the right thing, but it still sounded strange to bring up shot blocking, or lack thereof. Plus there was the other part that the article doesn't mention, where he was talking about their inability to breakout.

Thats more like Elliott.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

wprager wrote:Anyone have a video of that elbowing call on Sutton?

Do a search on youtube. "Horrible call" should do it.

Nope. Just basketball and baseball:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=horrible+call&aq=f

If the Sens can somehow put out a strong performance and secure a win tomorrow I'll have a tonne more faith that they'll step up in a critical game vs. the Habs on Monday.

Should the Sens pull out another stinker vs. the Stars then I'll expect them to be embarrassed on Monday in Montreal.

I don't know about you guys, but I am totally in favor of letting Alfie sit out the next 3-5 games. Alfie's best stretch this season was right when he came back from his injury, and had time to recover (though I still think he came back earlier). He needs maintenance days every week, and he's getting older. Screw the 1000 game celebration.

This will hopefully:
a) force the other players to work harder since they've basically forgotten that all together
b) enforce someone else to take leadership and start giving a Dung about the season, cuz there's no guarantee we make it
c) play tighter defensively since we lose alfie's offence.
d) Wake Kovalev the Diddle up maybe?
e) Alfie heals, comes back and takes over like a mother Diddler

Is anyone else concerned with Michalek's injury??

SDH89 wrote:Is anyone else concerned with Michalek's injury??

No, I don't care about Michalek for this season. He needs to get back to his 65 point self next season.

Ya, your leading goal scorer going down isnt a concern. Why do you talk?

N4L, if you don't like my posts, don't read them. I'm surprised you haven't got the boot as well, as your attitude towards other members is just as bad as cloverleaf's.

I think the Sens need to score the 1st goal, and I also believe if they do that they will win all their games from now on.
When everybody is playing like Dung, all you have to do is get some confidence because it's evident the leadership is total FAIL.

Nah, it isnt. I just call out stupid comments like it's not worrysome when your leading goal scorer goes down when your team cant score goals. Or even better, "The Washington Capitals are The Phenoix Suns of The NBA".

You want to make comments like that, better start backing them up with some statistics or fatcs, or better yet, logic. You jump around here saying absolutely insane things that make no sense and when ONE thing happens in a game you say "see, I told ya". Be it Carey Price having one good game where he lost or The Sens coming back.

If you want to post, you better make sure you actually have some idea what you're actually posting. Stupidity and ignorance is unacceptable here as the monitors have made this a site where a lot of good and in depth conversation take place. There is a reason why posters that I loved dont post here as much anymore and it's because of the stupid comments that come from your mouth and douche bags like Notch/Cloverleaf.

Rooney doesnt post much anymore, Gohan, Robby, all the guys that have a good persepctive.

In all seriousness, your post kill the site and the reputation it actually once had. The last thing anyone wants around here is for it to turn into HB or HF, you might be better off there with a lot other simps.

marakh wrote:I think the Sens need to score the 1st goal, and I also believe if they do that they will win all their games from now on.
When everybody is playing like Dung, all you have to do is get some confidence because it's evident the leadership is total FAIL.

Dude, Ive said it forever, Spezza as your highest paid player is a fail from the begining. A missed playoff spot or a 4 game sweep, I dont see how you dont move Spezza in the off season. Hopefully he tears it up in that time but this team needs to be torn down in a few spots because there is defently a young core to be excitted about and it's impossible to sell.

It's not like Ottawa fans dont know what to expect during a rebuild and like Edmonton will support in a big way.

Hopefully they can get it turned around a bit and build on something, but right now it looks bleek.

All that said, The Sens wont lose their final 11 games, hell, I think they play at worst 500 the rest of the way but they need to be putting in solid efforts and not squeeking out wins and getting murdered during their losses.

My point exactly...you're added to my "foes" list.

OH NO!

all right. I really don't have a dog in this fight, but there were a couple of other posts right before Big Ev's that you could have contributed knowledge to, yet you chose just to tear apart his history on this site. Your reactions to those posts aren't really helping the credibility of this site either. Its just non-sensical arguing about a difference of opinions.

Like I said, I'm not really taking sides here, but just ignore it if you don't like his post why is that so hard? You do it every freakin' time, and its not like ppl listen to you anyways. Just sayin', save your energy

N4L wrote:Ya, your leading goal scorer going down isnt a concern. Why do you talk?

Is it though? Yeah, he has more goals than anyone else on the team, but he also started the season with 15 goals in 20 games IIRC... That means he has 7 goals over his past 44 games ... He gets plenty of chances but he has no finish whatsoever. He's 5 points ahead of Chris Kelly and truly doesn't add a whole hell of a lot to the offense when he isn't burying his chances. He's also a minus-11 and seemingly hasn't found a place in the lineup, despite being attached at the hip to Spezza (a duo that I find incredibly mismatched).

I know everyone loves the guy because he is the anti-Heatley, but he hasn't done a whole lot to endear himself to me, beyond showing up and putting in a solid effort (which is Imo nothing more than what should be a given for a professional athlete). He has all the skills and plenty of potential, but he's going to have to find some finish if he is ever expected to live up to that potential. I personally don't think it's a very big loss for this team, right now. All it takes is for the 18M in offensive talent to find a little spark and the team will be fine.

N4L wrote:Ya, your leading goal scorer going down isnt a concern. Why do you talk?

I wouldn't say it's a huge concern personally. He hasn't done much recently, he probably needs to watch from the press box and get some added perspective on how this season's shaking out.

According to Mendes, Michalek is fine, he's on the ice now practising. Good news for sure, although I think 5 games would have done him good.

I certainly wouldn't put him up on the top line anymore, I would keep Cullen there. Cullen looked right at home on the top line.

Yeah I agree.

SpezDispenser wrote:According to Mendes, Michalek is fine, he's on the ice now practising. Good news for sure, although I think 5 games would have done him good.

I certainly wouldn't put him up on the top line anymore, I would keep Cullen there. Cullen looked right at home on the top line.

That's amazing to me. I guess it was one hell of a wicked charlie horse?

I do agree Cullen looked good up there. Leave him up there for a while and see if he can find some finish because he had a number of nice chances last game. It can't hurt. Michalek has been given 40+ games to muster up 7 goals so it's worth a shot.

I updated the latest updates.

So we're in agreement

Cullen - Spezza - Alfredsson
Michalek - Fisher - Kovalev
Foligno - Regin - Shannon
Ruutu - Kelly - Neil

Looks good to me!

SpezDispenser wrote:So we're in agreement

Cullen - Spezza - Alfredsson
Michalek - Fisher - Kovalev
Foligno - Regin - Shannon
Ruutu - Kelly - Neil

Looks good to me!

I'd be tempted to swap Foligno and Michalek and make Michalek earn his way back to line two.

SpezDispenser wrote:So we're in agreement

Cullen - Spezza - Alfredsson
Michalek - Fisher - Foligno
Shannon - Regin - Kovalev
Ruutu - Kelly - Neil

Looks good to me!

little tweak... How about having to deal with that 2nd line

Gohan wrote:

N4L wrote:Ya, your leading goal scorer going down isnt a concern. Why do you talk?

Is it though? Yeah, he has more goals than anyone else on the team, but he also started the season with 15 goals in 20 games IIRC... That means he has 7 goals over his past 44 games ... He gets plenty of chances but he has no finish whatsoever. He's 5 points ahead of Chris Kelly and truly doesn't add a whole hell of a lot to the offense when he isn't burying his chances. He's also a minus-11 and seemingly hasn't found a place in the lineup, despite being attached at the hip to Spezza (a duo that I find incredibly mismatched).

I know everyone loves the guy because he is the anti-Heatley, but he hasn't done a whole lot to endear himself to me, beyond showing up and putting in a solid effort (which is Imo nothing more than what should be a given for a professional athlete). He has all the skills and plenty of potential, but he's going to have to find some finish if he is ever expected to live up to that potential. I personally don't think it's a very big loss for this team, right now. All it takes is for the 18M in offensive talent to find a little spark and the team will be fine.

For a guy that has no finish that says very little for the rest of the team. Michalek until this point in his career has always created chances one way or another and usually has someone else that can finish plays as well. Just because he doesnt score on every chance doesnt mean there isnt a lose puck waiting for someone to put it in on a rebound. If he wasnt creating chances or involved on most night, then ya, I would tend to agree, but the fact remains that he is an explosive player who can score at any given moment or make a big play.

I love Alfi but he isnt the guy that will drive the net with Michalek, Spezza, well he goes no where near traffic. There is a lot of garbage around the net when he is on the ice.

Michalek might be inconsistant but who on The Sens isnt? There is no positive in your leading goal scorer being out, only negative. Not to mention he does work the pk and pp... not a lot of guys beside Alfi and Fisher who do that. Michalek is about the only guy that gets in front and take punishment on the PK in front of the net as well. You can say what you want about Michalek and I dont disagree for the most part, but there is no way him being out of the lineup helps this team or actually makes them better. Hell, this team is better without Spezza statistically and that is proven almost every year.

As for Chris Kelly, well, he might be our most consistant forward in Ottawa this year which is a little sad. Whether The Sens are winning or losing, his production stays very much the same and his role is exactly the same. He may very well center the best 4th line in the league, a 4th line that has 30 goals right now.