Ottawa Senators 2007-2008 Season Thread

[PEI Golfing]

" how "this guy is a cokehead and no wonder he's playing like ass."

Now I wonder which player(s) that would be............?????

[leftylucas]

Well after the Mtl game I thought I would eat my words that Ott would not go very far in the playoffs wiht inconsisten play and lack of defence. They played a very good game, very sound defensively. I thought, hey maybe they are really turning the corner then comes the Carolina game. I guess the fact that Ottawa has the 3rd worse GAA of the current 16 teams in a playoff spot will be a factor form here on in. Many tough games coming up and all except the St Louis game are against teams that need points or wish to make a statement against Ottawa (Leafs). Ottawa has to play desperate disciplined hockey from here on in because the playoff formula to beat them will be easy stop the 1st line and you win.

[Hacker]

He then went on to tell me that he thought part of the reason is that, in most US hockey cities, fans go to the games, cheer for their team, and then go home content to be entertained. Of course, they want their team to win and the fans are no doubt passionate.
HOWEVER, it usually stops there. There aren't crazy fans....

And therein lies my point - most US hockey cities are NOT Hockey Towns. I bet these same fans who only go to hockey games to get entertained are calling into the sports talk shows and *ing around the water cooler when their favorite NFL, NBA, MLB or College Team aren't doing well - hockey is just an after though in most US cities and that makes it very comfortable for the players.....I mean wouldn't it be easier for you to do your job if no one really cared about the job that you were doing and your level of performance?

Being able to perform and being able to perform under pressure are two very different things. Joe Corvo couldn't handle the pressure and his agent said as much

[Colby]

Pavel Bure wanted a trade out of Vancouver because he could not take the pressure. He was much more suited to the anonymous lifestyle in Florida...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...22/ai_21076290

[sensfan63]

Pavel Bure wanted a trade out of Vancouver because he could not take the pressure. He was much more suited to the anonymous lifestyle in Florida...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...22/ai_21076290

Well my underlying point in all of this is...why don't we as fans, and this includes the media as well (some are fans, some say they are not), go a little easier on the players and see what happens? We as Sens fans think we should have won a Cup or two by now...we think our team is supremely talented...if what we've done hasn't worked, why not try something different?
I know it's tough to control what the media does, but let's face it, we can control their questions somewhat if we demand they be more positive. We are the consumers of the newspaper, after all.

[jonf]

Well my underlying point in all of this is...why don't we as fans, and this includes the media as well (some are fans, some say they are not), go a little easier on the players and see what happens? We as Sens fans think we should have won a Cup or two by now...we think our team is supremely talented...if what we've done hasn't worked, why not try something different?
I know it's tough to control what the media does, but let's face it, we can control their questions somewhat if we demand they be more positive. We are the consumers of the newspaper, after all.

See, the thing is, I do not think we should have one a cup or two by now. We have never entered the playoffs with a team that was cup worthy. If we had a team with the skill to win, I might agree with you. However, the fact is, we have a team that is overloaded at the front end. The Sens are underskilled both in net, and in their defensive corps, and their front end is really just one line. The team isn't really underachieving. Every year they achieve just about what they should as an unbalanced team. We don't have the grit, or the consistency to be a cup contender. We're achieving what our team should achieve, but nobody realizes changes are necessary in order to achieve more. Put this team in LA, and they'd still get blown out.

[sensfan63]

See, the thing is, I do not think we should have one a cup or two by now. We have never entered the playoffs with a team that was cup worthy. If we had a team with the skill to win, I might agree with you. However, the fact is, we have a team that is overloaded at the front end. The Sens are underskilled both in net, and in their defensive corps, and their front end is really just one line. The team isn't really underachieving. Every year they achieve just about what they should as an unbalanced team. We don't have the grit, or the consistency to be a cup contender. We're achieving what our team should achieve, but nobody realizes changes are necessary in order to achieve more. Put this team in LA, and they'd still get blown out.

I don't know, contending for the Presidents Trophy every year for the last four or five years makes us a fairly consistent Cup contender, no? Every time we lose a playoff series, we seem to think we were favored to win. And remember, we weren't always a one-line team. Havlat often played on the third line, for goodness sake. We had Chara too.

[leftylucas]

Sensfan, there is a big difference when you get to the playoffs

[sensfan63]

Sensfan, there is a big difference when you get to the playoffs

Yeah, no kidding, I know that. I'm not new. But winning games in the regular season should provide a reasonable barometer for how you do in the postseason. For example, Edmonton snuck in as an 8 seed two years ago and made it to the Finals, but we never see that. Once in how many years?

Anyways, I have gone into the last four or five playoff seasons expecting to do very well. I like our team's chances, always have.

[Mattchew]

it seems like this team only gets up for the really big games this year Detriot/Montreal....so lets hope a playoff game is big enough for them!

[3Jack]

An elite goaltender would have made the difference over the past six or seven playoff seasons, and may have given Ottawa two or three Stanley Cups. Ottawa had one with Hasek two years ago, but everyone knows what happened that season.

[pheenster]

Interesting thought that was shared with me today by a Canes fan. First he asked me when the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup. I responded that it was 1992-92 (I thought) when Montreal won the Cup against LA.
He then went on to tell me that he thought part of the reason is that, in most US hockey cities, fans go to the games, cheer for their team, and then go home content to be entertained. Of course, they want their team to win and the fans are no doubt passionate.
HOWEVER, it usually stops there. There aren't crazy fans, telling everyone who will listen, how much more they know than the coach, how "so-and-so should be playing with this guy," how "our goalie isn't a Stanley Cup caliber player," how "this guy is a cokehead and no wonder he's playing like ass."
Players for US teams typically are not under the microscope, aren't subjected to six beat writers for three different newspapers plus all the TV stations in the city wanting to know why you suck so much.
They just have fun, play hockey, aren't subject to RIDICULOUS scrutiny, and thus they perform well.
Just a thought.
And please, I know someone will say "suck it up, you're a professional." So don't.

"Having fun and playing hockey" is for house league teams, not for guys making millions per season. For every Joe Corvo (or Paul Kariya), there is a player out there who would kill to play for a Canadian team. Darcy Tucker has said repeatedly that if he cannot play in Toronto he will retire (disclaimer: NOT a Leaf fan). Patrice Brisebois signed on to be a Black Ace in a town where the media practically ran him out of town on a rail two seasons ago. The only place Trevor Linden plays well is Vancouver.

And if you wind up on a Canadian team and doen't want to be there? You're making money most others could only dream of to play a game you're supposed to love. So suck it up, you're a professional.

[sensfan63]

"Having fun and playing hockey" is for house league teams, not for guys making millions per season. For every Joe Corvo (or Paul Kariya), there is a player out there who would kill to play for a Canadian team. Darcy Tucker has said repeatedly that if he cannot play in Toronto he will retire (disclaimer: NOT a Leaf fan). Patrice Brisebois signed on to be a Black Ace in a town where the media practically ran him out of town on a rail two seasons ago. The only place Trevor Linden plays well is Vancouver.

And if you wind up on a Canadian team and doen't want to be there? You're making money most others could only dream of to play a game you're supposed to love. So suck it up, you're a professional.

Yeah, I kind of figured someone would give an answer like this. That's all well and good saying, suck it up, you're a professional, but my point is, NOBODY seems to be "sucking it up" come playoff time on a Canadian team. If they did, a Canadian team would win the Cup (statistically) once every 5 years.

Maybe it's time the focus is shifted, that we (and I'm lumping the media in here too) get back to being "fans" and not "critics."

[sensfan63]

An elite goaltender would have made the difference over the past six or seven playoff seasons, and may have given Ottawa two or three Stanley Cups. Ottawa had one with Hasek two years ago, but everyone knows what happened that season.

They have gotten "elite goaltending" before and failed to advance, ie. Lalime in the year before he was run out of town.

[spackler]

Yeah, I kind of figured someone would give an answer like this. That's all well and good saying, suck it up, you're a professional, but my point is, NOBODY seems to be "sucking it up" come playoff time on a Canadian team. If they did, a Canadian team would win the Cup (statistically) once every 5 years.

Maybe it's time the focus is shifted, that we (and I'm lumping the media in here too) get back to being "fans" and not "critics."

Statistically, Canadian teams win cups at a rate disproportionate to their population in the league. A Canadian team may not have won in 13 years, but in the expansion era, they've won 16 out of 39 cups, which is 41% of the time or one every 2.5 seasons. The population of Canadian teams in the league never exceeded 33%.

I don't think the current drought has as much to do with media scrutiny, but more to do with the award of freedom of movement to players at a time when the $CDN was worth 2/3 of what the $US was.

[Indio]

Statistically, Canadian teams win cups at a rate disproportionate to their population in the league. A Canadian team may not have won in 13 years, but in the expansion era, they've won 16 out of 39 cups, which is 41% of the time or one every 2.5 seasons. The population of Canadian teams in the league never exceeded 33%.

I don't think the current drought has as much to do with media scrutiny, but more to do with the award of freedom of movement to players at a time when the $CDN was worth 2/3 of what the $US was.

Damn, that sounds like it came from a Habs or Leafs fan!

[Baxter]

Yeah, I kind of figured someone would give an answer like this. That's all well and good saying, suck it up, you're a professional, but my point is, NOBODY seems to be "sucking it up" come playoff time on a Canadian team. If they did, a Canadian team would win the Cup (statistically) once every 5 years.

Maybe it's time the focus is shifted, that we (and I'm lumping the media in here too) get back to being "fans" and not "critics."

I have been thinking about leaving this one alone but enough of this.....Canadian Teams are not winning the Cup because of the Fans and Media in Canada care so much....This logic makes no sense at all. What about Team's in Large Markets that don't win in any sport?
It's not the Teams fault. It's the fans and media....I guess the Cowboys, Pat and Giants will never win the Super Bowl....The Yankees, Redsox, Dodgers, Cubs, Whitesox will never win the World Series......
I'm sorry but get real...Teams don't win because of many issues and none of those are Fans and Media....Toronto Maple Leafs are not winning because of a bad front office and scouts.....Ottawa has not won because they were not tough enough/good enough to beat the Ducks last year. Before that a few moves did not work out....The Yankees and Redsox when they don't win it's because of the players...The front office on these Teams build winners every year now...The Yankees have been doing it since the 30's.
Look at Montreal Canadiens...That Team has always won....They won in 93. They stopped winning as the Team hired bad personal to run the Team. Look at were that Team is headed with the front office that is in place now.
The Flames, Oilers and Sens have all made it to the finals in the last few years. That is amazing when you have only 6 Canadian Teams and 3 have had a chance in the last 5 years
Teams that are winning the Cup have a few things in common....Good Players, Lucky breaks and they always have the most Canadian born players on their Team.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FANS AND MEDIA...The only thing that these two may be able to control is how many people show up to support a local Team and by not showing up they are praying that the Team will listen and start to build a winner to get them back.....

[pheenster]

I have been thinking about leaving this one alone but enough of this.....Canadian Teams are not winning the Cup because of the Fans and Media in Canada care so much....This logic makes no sense at all. What about Team's in Large Markets that don't win in any sport?
It's not the Teams fault. It's the fans and media....I guess the Cowboys, Pat and Giants will never win the Super Bowl....The Yankees, Redsox, Dodgers, Cubs, Whitesox will never win the World Series......
I'm sorry but get real...Teams don't win because of many issues and none of those are Fans and Media....Toronto Maple Leafs are not winning because of a bad front office and scouts.....Ottawa has not won because they were not tough enough/good enough to beat the Ducks last year. Before that a few moves did not work out....The Yankees and Redsox when they don't win it's because of the players...The front office on these Teams build winners every year now...The Yankees have been doing it since the 30's.
Look at Montreal Canadiens...That Team has always won....They won in 93. They stopped winning as the Team hired bad personal to run the Team. Look at were that Team is headed with the front office that is in place now.
The Flames, Oilers and Sens have all made it to the finals in the last few years. That is amazing when you have only 6 Canadian Teams and 3 have had a chance in the last 5 years
Teams that are winning the Cup have a few things in common....Good Players, Lucky breaks and they always have the most Canadian born players on their Team.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FANS AND MEDIA...The only thing that these two may be able to control is how many people show up to support a local Team and by not showing up they are praying that the Team will listen and start to build a winner to get them back.....

What he said.

The only thing I'd add is that it's not the media's job to be "fans". It's the media's job to report and comment on the team they cover in order to sell newspapers (or radio ad time, or whatever). If we as consumers don't like the job a media outlet is doing, we are free to not consume their product.

[sensfan63]

What he said.

The only thing I'd add is that it's not the media's job to be "fans". It's the media's job to report and comment on the team they cover in order to sell newspapers (or radio ad time, or whatever). If we as consumers don't like the job a media outlet is doing, we are free to not consume their product.

Completely agree that it's not the media's job to be fans...but do they have to run people out of town (ie. Corvo)? Is that their job? Corvo was the third or fourth worst d-man that we had, and yet the focus was on him all the time (hello? Paging Wade Redden! Where are you?).

Anyways, I just want them to do well. I was presenting an alternative viewpoint, one that was brought up to me by a Canes fan in Raleigh, and I expanded on it. We'll see what happens in the playoffs.

By the way, Dave Bullis, the Cubs never win the World Series. Get your facts straight.

[Mattchew]

an article in the sun today....not to sure what to think but, I have shaken my head at a few of his calls and none calls this year!

http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Sena...44426-sun.html

[Baxter]

Completely agree that it's not the media's job to be fans...but do they have to run people out of town (ie. Corvo)? Is that their job? Corvo was the third or fourth worst d-man that we had, and yet the focus was on him all the time (hello? Paging Wade Redden! Where are you?).

Anyways, I just want them to do well. I was presenting an alternative viewpoint, one that was brought up to me by a Canes fan in Raleigh, and I expanded on it. We'll see what happens in the playoffs.

By the way, Dave Bullis, the Cubs never win the World Series. Get your facts straight.

The Cubs were added to my post not because they won or did not win the World Series. It was added to show how stupid the comments are on how a Big Markets' Fans and Media can effect a Team's winning or losing. The Cubs have lost / not won, because of bad luck(Bartman) and a bad front office over the last 10 years.

The Cubs have won the world Series and they were also the 1st in MLB History to win Back to Back World series..
In 1907 the Cubs won their first World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers and Ty Cobb, 4 games to 2. They followed this up in 1908 by winning their second consecutive World Championship, repeating their World Series victory over Detroit, this time 4 games to 1.
So my facts are good.....

[Baxter]

an article in the sun today....not to sure what to think but, I have shaken my head at a few of his calls and none calls this year!

http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Sena...44426-sun.html

Things that make you go ..Hmmmmmmmmmm

If the Official in Question or his co-workers saw an article like this, would it or could it cause them call more or less against the Sens???

I would hope not, but I did hear the Media has a lot of Power.....

[sensfan63]

Things that make you go ..Hmmmmmmmmmm

If the Official in Question or his co-workers saw an article like this, would it or could it cause them call more or less against the Sens???

I would hope not, but I did hear the Media has a lot of Power.....

well, let's just say that the article won't have a positive effect on the refereeing of Bill McCreary...only contact lenses or glasses would help.

[Big Johnny69]

OK, someone give me the lowdown. What happened tonight? I was listening on the radio and heard a dominating first period performance. What happened after that? To lose two games at home in a row to the Leafs, and get outscored 10-4 is not good.

[PEI Golfing]

OK, someone give me the lowdown. What happened tonight? I was listening on the radio and heard a dominating first period performance. What happened after that? To lose two games at home in a row to the Leafs, and get outscored 10-4 is not good.

Poor Defense once again................ and Toronto is like Dracula...........they will not die.................

Here is the 2nd & 3rd period recap:

Toronto tied it on Wellwood’s power-play goal 4:14 into the second and took the lead when Steen was left alone in the slot, beating Gerber low glove side at 12:39.
Ottawa then scored three goals in a span of 2:27, tallying twice on the power play.

Stillman tied it 2-2 when he got two chances at the side of the net. Just 58 seconds later, the Leafs were caught out of position and Lapointe was left alone to beat Toskala.
Heatley made it 4-2 with his 37th goal. The Leafs salvaged the period, however, scoring with 54 seconds remaining when Tucker put in a rebound.
The Leafs rode the momentum into the third and scored twice in a span of 41 seconds to regain the lead.
Poor defensive play by the Senators allowed Tlusty to draw out Gerber and beat him on the backhand. Seconds later, a bad giveaway cost Ottawa when Stajan made it 5-4.
Ottawa had a power play in the final minutes and pressured to get the tying goal, but Heatley, who fired a shot with seconds left, across the crease. Fisher had a chance to put the puck in the net, but was pushed away from the play on a great Toronto defensive play.

[jonf]

Poor Defense once again................ and Toronto is like Dracula...........they will not die.................

Here is the 2nd & 3rd period recap:

Toronto tied it on Wellwood’s power-play goal 4:14 into the second and took the lead when Steen was left alone in the slot, beating Gerber low glove side at 12:39.
Ottawa then scored three goals in a span of 2:27, tallying twice on the power play.

Stillman tied it 2-2 when he got two chances at the side of the net. Just 58 seconds later, the Leafs were caught out of position and Lapointe was left alone to beat Toskala.
Heatley made it 4-2 with his 37th goal. The Leafs salvaged the period, however, scoring with 54 seconds remaining when Tucker put in a rebound.
The Leafs rode the momentum into the third and scored twice in a span of 41 seconds to regain the lead.
Poor defensive play by the Senators allowed Tlusty to draw out Gerber and beat him on the backhand. Seconds later, a bad giveaway cost Ottawa when Stajan made it 5-4.
Ottawa had a power play in the final minutes and pressured to get the tying goal, but Heatley, who fired a shot with seconds left, across the crease. Fisher had a chance to put the puck in the net, but was pushed away from the play on a great Toronto defensive play.

On the fifth goal I wanted to add one thing. On top of a neutral zone giveaway by Lapointe, Richardson also succeeded in the absolute worst display of 2-on-1 positioning I've seen this year. He was about 5 feet from getting in the way of the first pass across, and even further away from the return feed. painful to watch.

[PEI Golfing]

On the fifth goal I wanted to add one thing. On top of a neutral zone giveaway by Lapointe, Richardson also succeeded in the absolute worst display of 2-on-1 positioning I've seen this year. He was about 5 feet from getting in the way of the first pass across, and even further away from the return feed. painful to watch.

Richardson often looks lost out there........ Good example of local Ottawa player who came home to finish his career for a bargain. Richardson signed a 1 year, $500,000 two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators after most of the hockey world thought he would announce his retirement from the NHL.
He should not be getting the amount icetime he has........

[Shivas Irons]

Toronto is like Dracula...........they will not die....

Actaully they'll die on April 5th, just like last year, and the year before that, and the upcoming year.

[golfott]

too true,

but what will we call the sens death about days later, sympathy death?

Actaully they'll die on April 5th, just like last year, and the year before that, and the upcoming year.

[Hank Hill]

Ottawa were actually playing a pretty good game. Physical good forecheck but then lost the game when they dozed off at the very end of the 2nd and Tucker got an easy rebound from a horrible rebound. This gave the Leafs the shot in the arm that they needed and the Senators panicked at the start of the 3rd, instead of playing the good patient hockey, that they were playing earlier, chipping the puck in deep if nothing was on, they started to activate the D and got caught pinching with 2 terrible giveaways.

I am hoping that they have pretty much decided that 4th 5th or 6th will suffice and that they are keeping something in the tank for the playoffs, but the decisions they make out there leave one scratching ones head at times. They are playing a more physical emotional style under Murray, but the bonehead plays of the Paddock era seem to be a hard habit to shake.

Anyway, a new season starts on the 9th or 10th of April and hopefully they will surprise us a bit and get back to the smart hockey they played last season. I don't think that they will, but I can dream.