The last time I put in a full blog seems like quite a while ago – though it has only been a few days really - and for that I apologize. I have had to deal with some work related issues over the past week (the deep fryer was on the fritz and we ran right out of apple pies) but things should settle down after this weekend.
Last we left off, the Sens were in the ninth spot in the East, Alex Auld was the favourite to become the starting goalie, the Sens were actually showing lots of improvement defensively even if they were still struggling to find their offensive game and the FBI had just replaced the stolen files before the nefarious villain noticed they were missing. Not much has changed since then. After playing a very good game against the Flyers, the Sens played a rather boring and frustrating game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The net result: the Sens are back in ninth in the East.
It looks like any team that wishes to make the playoffs will need around 95 or 96 points this year if the number eight seed keeps pace. That number could easily drop – and it probably will - but I expect the total number of points needed to be around what it was last year anyway (94) and not too far below it. Currently the Sens are pacing for 82 points (14 points in 14 games is a point a game) and that’s just not going to get the job done. Fortunately there are still 68 games left for the Sens to pull themselves up and if their play against the Flyers is an indication, they’re quite capable of doing that.
Against the Flyers, the Senators proved they can play a simple brand of hockey successfully. The game was a very conservative one with only 43 shots on net in total. There were however 31 blocked shots, 65 hits and 21 missed shots (many because players were attempting to not have their shot blocked) and the Sens came out on top by a score of 4-1.
What made the game against the Flyers all the more impressive for me was the fact that the Sens held the Flyers, who lead the NHL in goals per game, to only one goal and 18 shots. It wasn’t very surprising to see the Sens score four goals against the Flyers since Philly’s problem is they are 27th in the NHL for goals against per game but I figured at the time it would’ve helped Mike Fisher’s confidence that he had another two point game at least.
The reason I bring up Mike Fisher is this: I just did something I’ve never done before. No, it wasn’t go on a date with a girl or push myself away from the table, thanks a lot though all you jerks who were thinking it. I rewatched the third period of Thursday night’s game before I watched Friday night’s game in its entirety because I wanted to contrast the Sens’ play in both games. I find Mike Fisher an enigma this year. He had a really good game against Philly but, while he did score a rebound goal on Carolina and going to the net does count as good play, he was playing terribly against the Canes. It was like night and day, I found. I can’t figure out why one night he makes great puck decisions and has solid on ice vision and the next it just disappears. I appreciate that he always gives it his all but I’d love to figure out a reason for his up and down play.
But - not to be too harsh on Fisher - all of the Sens looked like they were ready for a nap on Friday night. All of the Hurricanes did too until the third period. Actually I was ready for a nap after watching those first two periods so it would be kind of tough for me to admonish the Sens for that. The odd thing about the first two periods is that while there were lots of scoring chances, no one was connecting with anything and so every time there was a scoring chance, I would practically yawn. The Sens must’ve tried the same set cross-crease pass play a half dozen times and failed to connect even though the puck got through the crease. That’s just a fatigue issue. Players, notably Alfredsson, were missing open nets and really the whole thing was beginning to look like me trying to play NHL 09. It doesn’t matter how nicely I set a play up, I just can’t finish them…thumbs of stone…just pathetic.
What I found was the real story for the Sens in last night’s game wasn’t the lack of finish though; it was the contrast in play in front of Gerber before and after the first goal. When the game started out, the Sens looked sluggish but at least they were playing a confident game like they have been playing in front of Auld. I was really glad to see that because I figured it would give Gerber a fighting chance to get going. Even Hartsburg acknowledged before the game that Auld has looked better in part because the defence has been playing much better in front of Auld than it was for Gerber. I was happy to see that even though Gerber was not controlling rebounds quite as well as Auld has been and he did lose track of the puck a couple times (really standard stuff when a goalie is rusty) he was positionally sound and was making the first saves with little difficulty.
All was well until Mike Fisher scored a goal (I know that sounds odd). That’s when Carolina woke up and the Sens started looking flustered. Carolina dominated the third period and the Senators never really looked like they were in the game after Mike Fisher’s goal. Then the wheels totally fell off the motorized carriage. Volchenkov, not trusting his goalie, was hanging out directly in front of the net even though the puck was not near him and he managed to totally obscure Gerber’s view of Dennis Seidenberg (the puck carrier) as Seidenberg was rifling the puck. That tied the game up 1-1 and it really frazzled the Sens who reverted back to playing like they had played in front of Gerber at the beginning of the year. Then the Hurricanes predictably scored the game winning goal (Corvo strikes again) and the Sens lost.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t think Gerber is a bad goalie. I think he’s an average to above-average goalie. But it really doesn’t matter if he’s good or not if the team is always going to stink in front of him. If it’s a psychological thing the Sens have built up that they just have to coddle Gerber while he’s in net or what, I have no clue. But I do know they don’t play the same way in front of Gerber as they do in front of Auld and if that baggage is holding Gerber down then I think whatever chance he had of climbing back to the starter spot is probably now nil. Whether Gerber is a bad goalie or not, the results are that Auld has the second highest save percentage in the NHL and Gerber does not. By the way, to the guy who accused me of saying I thought the Sens signing of Auld was a great move because you thought I was just happy the Bruins unloaded their garbage on the Sens: take that. Bauldy is just entering the age where goalies are at their best and I think he’ll keep up his good play for a few years to come.
Alrighty, I want to use this next portion of the blog to point out some players who I think have been playing very well even though they might be unsung heroes:
- Antoine Vermette only has four points but his level of play tells a different story as of the past three or four games. It’s almost frustrating to watch as he controls the puck, makes responsible plays, skates hard and then just can’t complete a pass or a shot. I think he’s trying to be too fancy still and if he simplifies but keeps up the other areas of his game besides offence, he will do very well. I previously advocated less ice time for Antoine, and I still think it might be a good motivator for him to make more efficient use of his ice time (keep it simple).
- Filip Kuba is quietly tied for second place in the entire NHL for assists. I don’t know if he’s been a McGuire’s Monster this year or not (by the way, why doesn’t the NHL consider that an official award) but I’ve really not heard much buzz about Kuba at all. The only real knock against Kuba so far is that he hasn’t scored a goal though he has had plenty of chances.
- Christoph Schubert’s point total won’t blow anyone away but I like what I see from Christoph and I think he still has lots of untapped potential. He hustles and he has a solid shot. He is really only hampered by the occasional poor decision.
- Alexandre Picard may not be a dominant d-man right now but his play has improved drastically since the start of the season when he looked downright scared to be on the ice. Maybe I shouldn’t call him an unsung hero but I am glad to see he has been improving.
And some of the guys who I think need to get things going a little more:
- I hate to say it but I think Alfie has been having some problems that he can’t seem to shake. While he is still playing at a level above most NHLers and I can’t complain too much about a guy who has 14 points in 13 games, he doesn’t seem to be finishing on scoring chances like he has in years past (he is shooting at 8.6 percent which is not good for Alfie) and he is still giveaway prone, though he is often capable of fixing his own mistakes.
- Ruutu has been playing some responsible hockey and he does get his chances in front of the net. He hasn’t been a terrible player by any stretch but he has been missing the edge he is supposed to bring to the team. Although resident agitator Chris Neil has been stirring things up, Ruutu has actually been rather quiet. He has only 8 penalty minutes in 14 games. Last year he averaged almost two penalty minutes a game. Maybe he has been asked to be good?
- Nick Foligno is -7 right now and I think he will continue to find himself struggling to get minutes on the ice if he doesn’t become more of a two way player.
A couple of blogs ago, I asked for people’s opinions of Jason Smith’s play so far and whether or not he was a good pickup for the Sens. I have received some great answers from readers and I will share them in the next blog. One or two people (fortunately that’s all) seemed to think I was throwing Jason Smith under the bus. This wasn’t my intention at all. Think of it more like a poll done for fun or a question put out on a call in radio show. It was a genuine question and not really a condemnation. But since I mainly got very constructive and intelligent answers to the question, I thought it would be fun if I posed another one to let people write in on. So here it is:
If you could drop any one player on the Sens in exchange for any one player in the NHL, who would those players be and why?
Send your answers to
[email protected] and I’ll post them on the blog if I think other people will want to read them.
Also, send me your jokes because today is the absolute deadline!
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Remember the contest ends today!
And finally, I thought I would get this blog started the right way: WITH A CONTEST!!!
That’s right, it’s time for another “win something decent and also an item from Gerz’s basement” contest. The rules are simple. This time around, I want people to come up with original hockey related jokes. It could be about a team you like, a team you hate, the sport in general, whatever. When you come up with your joke, post it on the forum here or e-mail it to me (
[email protected]) and when I feel like I have enough, I’ll take the ones I consider to be the funniest and post them in a blog. Once I do that, we will get the readers to vote (again by forum posts or e-mail) on which joke is the best.
The winner will receive some paraphernalia related to their favourite team (mug, t-shirt, key chain), a copy of Sonny Chiba’s classic film “Samurai” on DVD, a tweety-bird PEZ dispenser and more (will be announced as the contest continues). Also, as a bonus, if you live in the Ottawa area and win this contest, I will deliver the prize to your house/apartment/box along with some piping hot, that’s right – piping hot, take-out food (your choice of location).
The contest is open to everyone and I will ship the prize anywhere within Canada or the US (including the freak states).
-Gerz
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