If you do then this swift exit could be a blessing is disguise!
Face it, this team, no matter how many bounces & breaks it got, wasn’t going to win the cup. So changes need to be made. Some drastic ones. Had they gutted out a win in Round 1 and maybe even in Round 2 then certain players would have demanded higher salaries this summer AND it would have been harder to remove people that clearly need to go.
Now, Murray will have absolute carte blanche to change key pieces on this team.
Let’s state the obvious - Afredsson, Heatley and Spezza all had injuries. In the case of Healtey and Spezza they seemed to be nagging ones more than anything. They probably should have played better. BUT the problem does not lie here. These guys have shown to be solid playoff performers in the past two seasons…they’re young guys who got caught in the implosion of this year’s Senators.
This team’s problems - including a lack of forecheck, seeming effort AND scoring - were the symptoms of more devious culprits. (1) A lack of confidence in room and (2) a lack of team chemistry [which both caused and was the cause of the lack of confidence]. Continue reading ‘The Question is: Do you trust Murray?’
Might have been a while since an NHL club rallied from 0-3 in a series…but the Sens can look to the 2004 Boston Red Sox for a recent example of what it takes. The Sox were down 0-3 versus the Yankees in what amounts to the semi-finals but rallied to win in 7.
Realistically, this team seems to be a long way from having any Cup winning mojo…let alone the ability to crawl back into this series. Perhaps what we’ll see tonight is a battle…a battle for jobs that is. GM / Coach Bryan Murray is going to be making some changes this summer for sure.
You have to think UFAs like Redden, Commodore, Richardson & Robitaille are gone for sure. But, their remain question marks around RFAs like Vermette and Meszaros. Also, Spezza and Heatley might be feeling the pressure a bit too. They both signed mammoth deals in the first 1/3 of the season for 6 and 7 years respectively. They remain, in my opinion, goods deals from a Senators stand point. But, rumours did start to circulate on last weeks CBC HNIC Hot Stove that Murray would look at dealing Spezza…especially if a top flight goaltender (like Luongo) could be had in return.
While Luongo’s probably unobtainable - dealing Spezza might still be in the cards. Despite superior playoff performances than Heatley for three straight season’s AND being the highest PPG Senator this year and last - he remains the whipping boy for many Sens fans. So I’m looking for Spezza to play this one out with some fire in the belly.
I won’t proceed to to breakdown this team until it’s officially over…but I will say that for my money Spezza, Heatley, Alfie, Phillips and Volchenkov are the untouchables on this team. Despite the struggles of 19 and 15 in the post-season it’s inaccurate to call them non-playoff performers. Let’s not forget that they essentially led the league (w/ Alfie) in playoff points last year and both were averaging over a PPG in the playoffs heading into this year. The problem lies elsewhere on this club…more on that later!
The book on Chris Neil in 2006 was that here was a guy came up as goon and worked himself into a respectable hockey player. It seems that since the end of the 2006 playoffs his skills have been regressing as has his apparent desire to win or generally care about his team or teammates.
Here’s a solid example of Neil’s increasingly selfish play this post-season:
What’s more, is that he goes after guy’s at the worst times and takes dumb penalties BUT when a teammate needs help or the game is out of hand and some good gooning is in order (see Game 1) Chris is nowhere to be found. He has been a net loss on this club for the past two seasons.
In his limited time with the big club - Cody Bass has already proven himself to be a more than adequate replacement for Neil. Unfortunately I’m not sure Murray has the balls to get rid of Neil who remains a hero amongst the idiot Sens fans amongst us.
DISGRACE #1 - I don’t have much to say about the game. What a bust. How could a team with their season on the line come out so unfocused, undisciplined and effortless in the third period.
Big guns were useless. Neil took dumb penalties. It simply wasn’t pleasant.
DISGRACE #2 - Almost as distressing as the game was their playoff introduction where a fat guy dressed like a Spartan walked past the players and and rambled on (with the mike cutting out) about a Sens Army fighting. It was the most awkward thing I’ve ever seen. It was embarrassment to the players, the fans, the organization and the city. Here it is:
DISGRACE #3 - On top of that they kept having this guy’s lame clips chanting “defend” or “attack” throughout the game. It really killed the atmosphere during the game. Everyone, accept for (I guess) the audio/visual guys could see how lame this was. Everyone should be ashamed. I’m not sure why Murray even allowed the players to take part in the video.
DISGRACE #4 - THEN - for the first time in franchise history, the team didn’t come out to their theme song. The standard Sens opening with the beat followed by the Sens theme is epic. Here it is classic Sens intro:
I was shocked that it was cancelled in favour of the shit we saw. What a-hole let that happen? They should be shitcanned immediately.
DISGRACE #5 - BUT the organization didn’t stop their with their bad decision making. Rather than playoff towels OR red pom poms - Sens fans were treated to a single thunderstick each. Which (1) doesn’t come through on tv as looking like anything AND (2) you can’t make any noise with because they only gave each fan ONE!
DISGRACE #6 - THEN there’s the mural put up in front of the Penguins dressing room of the Senators eliminating the Penguins last season. As if the Pens needed any more motivation to get up for this game. Show a little class front office. And even if they decided to put it up before they knew they were playing the Penguins they could have easily painted over it.
Spezza has been confirmed for tonight, while Alfredsson rumours are flying everywhere. The SUN makes the captain’s return more seem more imminent than does TSN.
The SUN makes Alfie’s return sound more imminent than TSN.
SUN:
But the biggest surprise is captain Daniel Alfredsson will likely return tonight as well.
Senators GM/coach Bryan Murray hinted today that Alfredsson could be in the lineup tonight for Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins after confirming that the injured forward had also skated on Sunday.
Alfredsson skated by himself at 6 p.m. and met with Murray this morning to discuss the situation. The two will meet again later today and Alfredsson will take the pre-game warmup for tonight’s game at Scotiabank Place (7 p.m., CBC).
TSN:
Ottawa may also be getting a bit of a surprise boost as general manager and head coach Bryan Murray isn’t ruling out a return ofDaniel Alfredsson to the lineup.
Well tonight shit hits the fan at the Sc’ank.
In the 3rd period of Game 2, for the first time, the Sens actually looked like a team that could play with the Penguins. Oddly enough, it was propelled by 3rd and 4th liners - whilst Spezza and Heatley remained dormant.
Tragically Martin Lapointe’s negligent high stick “cost us the game” (Lapointe’s own words). I’m glad he realizes it. While I’m sorry that he feels sorry - the fact is he’s right. The Sens had all the momentum and he blew it. Oh well - onto game 3.
The other two Eastern teams down 2-0 (Bruins, Devils) won Sunday night…here’s hoping the trend continues.
According to the Sun Spezza missed Sunday’s practice and is questionable (but still likely) to play in Game 3. Alfie, Fisher and Kelly are all still no shows, but…
The club called winger Alexander Nikulin from its AHL affiliate in Binghamton. He will play no matter what Spezza’s status is.
Which has to mean Randy Robitaille is out…which is good news for hockey fans everywhere!
Assuming Spezza plays - him and Heatley simply need to produce in Game 3 or it’s over. If the crowd can get the team going and they can score early then maybe the Sens can pull back into this series.
The ideal result would be if the Sens come out physical, get a healthy lead (3+ goals) heading into the third…and then simply start line brawls with the Penguins. This team needs to start showing they give a shit about each other. That would be a good way to start. To start the line brawls perhaps devastating hits on Roberts or Commodore would be appropriate - either one works for me.
IF you haven’t seen Sean Avery’s antics from Sunday’s Rangers/Devils game - here it is:
Every commentator is calling this dishonorable, a disgrace to the game and crying for the NHL to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
For my money everyone’s just a little pissed off Avery, a guy everyone loves to hate, came up with a completely legitimate way to get a goalie off his game. Ron MacLean, who is almost always on the mark, goes on in the above clip about how this is Unsportsmanlike Conduct per R75.4(3) because Avery is engaging in conduct “to incite an opponent into taking a penalty”.
Well for my money Ron - you’re imputing some bullshit intention into Avery’s head. Any other time people screw with a goalie it’s not to “incite him into taking a penalty” - it’s because they’re trying to get him off his game so he’ll let in a bad goal. And that’s exactly what’s happening here. Brodeur had a seriously miserable time focusing on the play with Avery acting like a one man freak show in front of the net. And truth be told, Avery scored on that very powerplay within in the minute!
If the NHL and/or the Refs decide do crackdown on this behaviour I would be quite disappointed because they would be making up the rules as they go along simply because one of the “bad guys” (Sean Avery) is actually beating up on one of their “good guys” (Marty Brodeur).
From TSN,
“I think the cut is fine, if it feels okay he will play,” said Ottawa head coach Bryan Murray. “He (Volchenkov) said it’s hockey, sometimes you have to play hurt. That’s his attitude. I suggested he mention it to a few other players too.”
Chris Kelly has been out with a fractured leg but coach Murray explained they are hoping he can begin skating in three or four days.
The news was not as optimistic about Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher. Murray gave reporters no indication when they would be able to return.
Fisher is still walking with a limp.
1. Murray’s quipping left, right and centre this week…hopefully he’s got some answers for their play on the ice.
2. Mike Fisher’s been playing with a limp all season.
