Scarlett Ice

He Ain't Pretty No More

2009-11-24T20:02:00.009-05:00

Yes it's true. The once pretty face of Pascal Leclaire you see above, is no more. The Senators netminder suffered an injury during last night's game against the Capitals. It would appear their may in fact be some kind of hex surronding the position of Ottawa Senators netminder as Leclaire wasn't actually participating in the game at the time the injury occurred. A clearing attempt by Jason Spezza deflected off of a Capital's player then rebounded off of the glass and into Leclaire's beautiful face. He is out for a month with a fractured cheek bone. Ouch. While you have had some untimely gaffe's in the net recently Pascal and showed a pechant for a weak goal here and there I do sincerely wish you a speedy recovery.

Now, I'm sure a lot of you may have noticed the distinct lack of care for this fine here corner on the interweb series of tubes. I wish I could just place all the blame for lack of upkeep at the feet of my co-blogger, but since I'm apparently getting a great deal of credit for the goings on around here lately, I guess it's only fair I shoulder some of the blame.

I must admit I've been pleasantly surprised by the Senators up to this point in the season. They are currently sitting 1st place in the Northeast division and are in the midst of a 4 game win streak having beaten Toronto, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and now Washington. It's been an entertaining ride in this season which is still only a quarter of the way through so it would be hard to blame any lack of motivation to post on the team. One reason for not being around so much might be that I think I've found a new love: Twitter.

Twitter is right up my alley. It suits my lazy writing style (seriousy you have no idea how long it takes me to formulate a real post here) in that I can post what is on my mind right away and with the 140 character restriction I find it makes me choose my words wisely and become a better writer. I don't have to agonize over a central idea for a whole post and I don't have to worry about finding the time to write a large chunk. Twitter is instant, it's easy, it's fast, it's timely and it's fun. (Especially to mock Leaf fans and/or Doug MacLean) That said any of you wonderful people out there who would like to follow me can do so here. I've just found Twitter to be a good suppliment when I can't post here. Also I didn't want to keep using live bloggy goodness as a crutch. I wouldn't want to wear the novelty thin because I do enjoy it so. Once in a while though I like to devote more of myself to watching the game as opposed to following the live bloggy conversation so I feel using Twitter I can post my thoughts as I please and not worry about moderating a conversation while I continue to enjoy the game. Don't worry, more goodness to come. If there are any requests for a specific game to bring the goodness, just let me know.

Now enough of the mushy stuff (aww, I miss you people and love you all so much), let's get on to a little rapid fire Senators stuff shall we.

Mike Fisher: Getting a lot of pub lately for his relationship with one Carrie Underwood. Oh, and also was named NHL Third Star for last week and has 10 goals and 21 points in 21 games this season.

Jason Spezza: Clearly is missing his go-to guy on the offence. 13 points in 19 games and only 1 goal to show for it. Getting a lot of flak in the MSM but every game I've seen he seems to be putting in a good effort and skating hard. He definetly was pressing hard for a goal last night and really seemed to come up snake bitten. It would seem he is more of a target in the national media while I've seen some local praise for a renewed effort towards his defensive side of the game. He's a -2, here is hoping he has a big game to satisfy the naysayers.

Milan Michalek: Continues to impress. 14 points in 21 games, 10 of those are goals. Seems to be willing to get his nose dirty. Slowed down a bit as of late.

Jonathan Cheechoo: According to TSN.ca he's played in all 21 games this season, has registered 2 goals and averages more than 12 minutes of ice time a night. I'll have to confirm this. Oh wait, and is -6. I think I know who they are talking about now.

Matt Carkner: Was fast becoming a favorite of mine until he died last week during the game against the Maple Leafs when he attempted to stop Colton Orr's fist with his face, repeatedly.

Alex Kovalev: Apparently he hasn't been in the lineup for the last 2 games so he could go back to Russia to attend to family matters. No noticable difference was observed.

Alex Picard: Continues his search for a round rink that has no corners.

Martin Gerber: Still waiting by his phone.

Mike Brodeur: About to learn how hard it will be to start a career in the NHL with the last name Brodeur.

Daniel Alfredsson: 23 points, 21 games. Walks on water. Sees you when you sleep. Same old same old.

AGAIN?

2009-11-19T19:33:00.002-05:00

I'm live tweeting the Penguins Senators tonight. This isn't the end of live bloggy goodness I just get to pay more attention to the game for a change than just keeping track of the conversation and the dick jokes.

A little interesting tidbit going into tonight's game. Ottawa's next 4 games are against the top 4 teams in the conference. If they wanted to legitimize themselves it might be a good time to string together some wins.

Live Bloggy Goodness... Sort Of

2009-11-17T20:02:00.002-05:00

I'm live tweeting the Battle of Ontario tonight. Yes, I'm to lazy to set up the chat window.

Live Bloggy Goodness: Ray Ray Edition

2009-11-11T23:41:00.002-05:00

That's right kids... the Ottawa Senators are going to the city of brotherly love to battle their former brother in arms. Ray Emery will be backstopping the Philadelphia Flyers when the Senators come to visit thursday night. I can't think of a better excuse for a live blog (except maybe I don't seem to post much else lately). So come one come all, bring the funny. All the usual OBC rabble will be there as well as a few assorted guests. Hope to see you there. Game time is 7pm, TSN, the goodness starts 15 minutes before puck drop as always.

Senators @ Flyers

Live Bloggy Goodness: Game 13

2009-11-05T17:25:00.002-05:00

Ottawa Senators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning it what appears to be a weekly occurence now. Puck drops at 7:30pm EST, TSN2. As usual the live blog fun will start 15 minutes before puck drop. Please join us won't you? Some of the regular OBC rabble will be making an appearance as well maybe some of those fine folks from the BoO and the always hilarious Stay Classy crew. Remember as always, bring the funny.

Punch and pie not included.

Lightning @ Senators Lucky Game 13

Game Night: Boston Bruins

2009-10-24T09:07:00.010-04:00

The "B" stands for Band-Aid

The Boston Bruins bring their travelling road show to the Bank tonight. They are coming in a banged up team and this might bode well for a Senators squad that for the past few seasons has struggled against the big bad Bruins. (1-5 against the Bruins last year)

Boston is 4-4-1 on the young season and trying to re-establish themselves as a premier team in the East while both Marc Savard and Milan Lucic are making extended visits to the IR. As fellow OBC blogger SLC intimated "if we could somehow arrange for Tim Thomas to be victimized in a tragic, if non-lethal, mishap involving a piano and a Puerto Rican hooker, we're golden folks." With it still being early in the season and the Senators struggling to establish themselves as a contender, I'll settle for any advantage they can get.

Thursday's game against Nashville looked from the score to at least be an entertaining affair. At most it was probably the robbery of a pity point. Ottawa was down 3-0 early so you could say I was more than surprised to see the team was able to tie the game at 5 with seconds left to force the overtime.

Things of note from the game include the fact that the offence continues to be balanced with 5 different players tallying to make the extra frame possible. While a come from behind win in OT would have been glorious it was not to be since M.C. Hammer decided he'd celebrate his new 2 year deal by taking a break in the box for interference in the OT. (seriously? An interference call in OT? Don Cherry is rolling in his grave!) Mistakes happen and I'm not about to burn Carkner at the stake for taking a questionably bad penalty in OT because he recently signed a new deal. His minus 4 in the game was also not a brightspot but I think we need a little persepctive here.

I've been as surpsied by Matt Carkner as most since his surprising start to the season but listen to me when I say, Matt Carkner is just a guy. I didn't really expect huge things from Carkner going into the pre-season. He's been a career AHLer and no matter how dellusional some might be after his 7 game performance he won't even qualify for the Calder since he's the ripe old age of 29. I'm not knocking the guy at all. He was a pleasant surprise in the preseason and earned himself a role on this team. He brings a bit of fire with him to the lineup that I enjoy seeing and someone like him probably plays with a little chip on his shoulder since it's taken him so long to make the show, but again... he's just a guy. He signed a 2 year deal for $1.4 million. That doesn't even come CLOSE to the league minimum. Yes it's a one way deal and yes I don't quite understand the urgency on the Bryan's part to sign him so early into the new season but to tell you the truth I'm not losing a lot of sleep over the personel decisions regarding one M.C. Hammer. He's just a guy. People are blowing the idea of this "local boy done good" way out of proportion on both sides of the fence and lets wake up here...(say it with me) he's, just, a, guy. If the contract turns out to be bad let's remember, a $1.4 million "gamble" really pales in comparison to something like, ohhhhh, I don't know, maybe paying a quality goalie a little less than $600,000 a year, over 4 years, to play for any team not named "Senators".

So here we are, 5-3 on the season going into game number 9 at home against a banged up Bruins team. The Sens are probably surprising more than a few people early. Leclaire is looking like we hoped he would, the offence is balanced like we thought it could, (but perhaps lacking a little potentcy where we expected it should), Cheechoo is playing with hands of wood and oh yes, Alex Picard still makes me stabby.

A picture is worth a thousand goals against

The Many Faces Of J Mart

2009-10-17T10:28:00.031-04:00

Now I'm sure many of you may have seen this somewhere before (and done a whole lot better), but I assure you, immitation is the sincerest form of flatery and originality is not my strong suit.

In honour of the Senators taking on the Habs tonight for the first time with J Mart behind the bench I present to you the many faces of J Mart.

For a guy with a reputation of showing very little emotion these pictures present a great deal of evidence to the contrary.

The "Rodney Dangerfield"

The "Your Attorney At Law"

The "So You See, I Had No Choice But To Cut Jason Spezza... Twice"

The "Pavarotti"

The "You Never Know What You'll Get From Google Images"

The "I'm Pretty Sure No One Can See Me Picking My Nose Here"

The "I Wonder What It Would Look Like If You Assembled A Team Comprised Entirely Of Midgets"

The "It's Going To Be A Pleasure Stealing Your Job"

The "Your Mind Powers Will Not Work On Me Boy"

The "I Haven't Looked It Up But I'm Pretty Sure You Can Win A Game With Just Defence"

The "Somebody Made A Stinky"

The "Mom! The Meatloaf! Fuck!"

4 Things About Last Night's Game

2009-10-16T07:20:00.003-04:00

What I like to call "the better half"... of the deal

1. That was the kind of game I've been waiting for. Everyone seemingly clicking together. Balanced scoring. Complete game (more or less).

2. All Hail Michalek. (Making the seperation anxiety that much easier)

3. Matt Carker desperately needs a nickname. (I vote M.C. Hammer... please Carkner don't hurt 'em)

4. As much as I like shorthanded goals I would't mind seeing a little more production on the PP. Of course it's hard to do that when you don't get many either. (I'm looking at you Zebras!)

Live Bloggy Goodness

2009-10-15T07:38:00.002-04:00

Lightning at Sens. Tonight. Fun starts at 7:15pm. Will be joined by Reasonable Doubt of Deadspin and Melt Your Face Off fame. Also some of the usual OBC and BoO rabble will be dropping by. Please bring the funny won't you.

Live Blog Game #6

SensTV: Favourite Toy Growing Up

2009-10-09T23:32:00.001-04:00

Nobody's allowed to say hockey stick! This video is also worth viewing just to hear Nick Foligno's explanation of his Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle pizza truck.

Fisher Scores!

2009-10-09T10:47:00.003-04:00

Game winning goal in OT on Marty Biron (not pictured)

So the Sens are now 2-1. They appear to have a capable goalie (2.34GAA, .918SV%) for the first time since... ummm.... wow let's see... probably it was back... ummm... ya a while.

Is all well with the team? Let me put it this way. In the past three games...

-2-1 Record

-0 powerplay goals... by the team

-7 goals scored... TOTAL

-Kovalev, 0 pts, -3

-Jason Spezza, 1 pt, -3

-Cheechoo 1 pt, -3

-Milan Michalek, 0 pts, -3

These are numbers that are worrying me. While the play of some of the role players is promising especially the performance of Regin and Carkner so far one must take stock that if they are who we are going to count on to carry the load the rest of the way we are in a LOT of trouble.

So that is about it for this post. I'm just about to lick the stamp on it because it's clearly mailed in. Off to spend a weekend with the in-laws. Hopefully all will be well and cured by the game against Atlanta on Saturday. I'm intersted to see who will get the start in net. The suddenly hot Snoopy or will he get a break for Elliott to show what he's made of. Without any inside information and no access to the interwebs for the weekend I've benched Leclaire in my fantasy league just incase.

Ottawa Senators 2 - Truculento Maple Leafs 1

2009-10-06T21:42:00.010-04:00

Stalberg catches the A-train

Truculent, Pugnacious... Winless.

The Ottawa Senators fresh off a disappointing season opener against the Rangers rolled into the ACC tonight to take on the Brian Burke world beaters. Ottawa jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a fiesty (questionable?) goal by SheanDon and a penalty shot marker by The Captain. I especially liked the goaltending by "The Monster", demonstrating to everyone why last year he was the best goalie not in the NHL. The Leafs new wonderkind Viktor Stralberg learned you don't stand on the tracks when the A-Train is coming through. (rookies, they're so silly!) He left the game after attempting the in-human feat. Also of note, the look on Brian Burke's face in the press box when Alfie deked "The Monster" out of his jockstrap. It would have been the funniest thing I saw in the box tonight if it wasn't for Cliff Fletchers blazer which I'm pretty sure a chesterfield gave it's life for.

Best goalie not in the NHL last season, for a reason

Granted this Leafs team as mentioned is still winless, and it remains to be seen if they will even be a serious contender this year (except for PeeWee championships of course, according to Coach Ron Wilson) but I'll savor this victory in the BoO and take a W anyway they come. A win now is just as valuable as a win in January or a win in March. LeClaire made some decent saves when he had to and had just a wee bit of luck from the post (TWICE!) to preserve the win. Surprisingly the Leafs didn't resort to dropping the gloves and gooning it up to win the game. My understanding was that would have resulted in a Leaf win, no?

Spontaneous Battle of Ontario Live-Blog: Part the 1st

2009-10-06T19:08:00.034-04:00

I haven't blogged in awhile and I apologize. Work has been insanely busy for me but how could I not settle in for the first edition of the Battle of Ontario? I'm sitting here with my laptop, proudly wearing my Sens jersey. Let's get 'er done boys!

7:04 - That TSN opening montage took 4 minutes long. The cheesy voiceovers, the panoramic views of the Canadian landscape...but I'm more concerned about how long these players practiced their Blue Steel in front of the mirror.

7:10 - Dave Hodge has a new segment called "Hodge Mail". My co-worker pointed this out, why didn't they just call it "Hodge Podge"?

7:12 - Jack Layton's still going at it eh? Good for him...? We go back to a new view of the giant screen outside Gate 5 of the Air Canada Centre. It looks pretty darn awesome actually. Shot of Pascal Leclaire to open up. I will definitely be on a look-out for the Snoopy on his mask tonight.

7:14 - Here's an easy drinking game rule for you: any time "Monster" is mentioned tonight. With P-Mag between the benches tonight, I'd perhaps dilute your drink lest you want to pass out before the 1st period is over.

1st Period
19:35 - Kaberle comes close. Senators pinned in their zone. I'm not sure I'm liking how this game is going so far.

17:57 - Stempniak steps up. Seriously, I'm not really liking how easy it is for those Leafers to get into our zone. We finally get a shot which Gustavsson stops.

17:33 - Carkner shot that makes it through traffic, Gustavsson saves. So he's not just for pushing people around!

17:17 - Donovan gets checked by J. Mitchell but he stays on the puck. I've said it before but I'll say it again, I like the cut of his jib.

For somebody whose nickname is "Monster", I was really hoping his mask would be more interesting. And is it just me or is the crowd at the ACC even quieter than usual? Is it because it's a Tuesday?

16:33 - Good moves by Karlsson to get the puck and get it out of the zone. Fisher flattens Blake and I'm kind of gleeful about it.

15:21 - Spezza connects with Michalek nicely but Volchenkov, to quote Chris Cuthbert, "couldn't get good wood on it". Sometimes, hockey...you make it too easy.

13:20 - Liking the moves on Peter Regin and Erik Karlsson so far.

13:03 - It took 7 minutes, but I'm at my first "Shut Up, Pierre" of the night.

12:21 - Almost a minute gone in this penalty. Chris Kelly is in the box. Leafs haven't had a good scoring chance yet. At least our PK still looks competent.

11:26 - Kovalev with his first shot, a short-handed shot on goal. That's officially one more than he had in the Rangers game! See? Continuously improving that one.

10:25 - Guys, it's only John Mitchell. He shouldn't have been allowed to dance past ALL FOUR OF YOU.

9:?? - My time/score bar has gone missing. It's jarring.

8:10 - Ruutu with a shot, hits Donovan. Nice try though, boys.

6....?? - Spezza's pass goes off a skate and right onto the stick of Colton Orr. Okay, that wasn't technically his fault...was it? At least it didn't result in anything. Spezza makes it up to us by planting somebody into the boards in the corner.

4:?? - Ruutu with another shot. Does Ruutu officially have more SOGs than Kovalev? My goodness.

4:37 - Stalberg comes down the ice and falls. He just lost an edge but I'd like to think he got intimidated by Karlsson. Yeah...that's it.

2:45 - Scramble in front of Leclaire but the Sens clear! That was too nerve wracking.

Okay, I'm back to "Shut up, Pierre"

1:55 - Volchenkov just DESTROYS Stalberg. That makes me giddy. Regin goes in with some fancy, maybe too cute moves, looks like he might get the puck taken away but TOTALLY STAYS ON THE PUCK. He's NOT just a pretty face.

0:09 - Spezza flattened referee Wes McCauley. Nice effort! Do that to one of the ones in blue next time.

7:54 - Bob McKenzie just called this the "Polite Dispute of Ontario". He follows up that zinger with calling Stalberg "Michael Renberg". Oh, Bob. We were doing so well.

7:57 - I have to say, I really do enjoy that Midas "Canadian Police Chase" commercial with the two cars stuck in the snow. It's very witty and the marketing geek in me is pleased.

That's it for me tonight for the live-blog. As always, GO SENS GO!

I Love Legitimate Theatre

2009-10-04T22:49:00.007-04:00

Your tax dollars, hard at work!

Bob Probert as one half of a pairs figure skating duo. *cringe* I don't think it could get any more akward than that unless Tie Domi was actually his partner.

The CBC works so damn hard to continue perpetuating the typical Canadian stereotypes. Also, I think Kelly Hrudy needs to get laid.

Third Post Is A Charm

2009-10-01T20:29:00.003-04:00

2008-2009 Ottawa Senators, Let's Not Fuck This Season Up Shall We?

Alright you've all been so nice to hang with us through the first 2 parts of our season preview so let's jump right in and get this puppy finished.

Sherry: Staying with the Northeast, has Montreal completely lost its mind blowing their wad on all those free agents or should we actually be afraid of their fire power now?

Dany Heatley Speedwagon: I have obviously heard the biggest criticism of the habs is that the team bus has been replaced with a clown car, but I'm left to wonder what fire power are you referring to? I dont see that top tier superstar in Montreal. That is what I thought was their problem forthe past couple of seasons. AK27was the go to player and he scares the crap out of me thinking we have to rely on him in only a secondary role. Again, similar tothe Bryan in a way, a lot of moves but probably not the right ones.

Q: Time to check up on everyone's favorite former Sens goalie and pugilist enthusiast... Ray Ray. Will he be the starter for philly this season and does he take them to the playoffs? (For the record I think the Flyers are a playoff team... I'm just asking is he going to be the guy in between the pipes when they get there) If he succeeds do you feel the Sens blew it?

Sherry: Considering Philly's back-up is Brian Boucher, who all told was not a complete disaster last year in San Jose when he, you know, actually got a chance to play, I do think Ray Ray will be the starter for Philly this season. For all of his drawbacks you can't argue against Emery's athleticism and potential. That being said, given the way things turned out in Ottawa I really don't think they blew it in letting him go because the situation had come to a point where they really had no choice. They blew it in how they dealt with the situation in not addressing it sooner but hindsight is 20/20 you know? I do wish him well and hope he makes the most of this chance.

Q: We all know you need a new man-crush. Any front runners for the title?

Dany Heatley Speedwagon: I think I'm harmed too much from the last crush to fall in lust oh so easily again. That said I've always been a Fisher fan but dagnabbit his inconsitency can drive you crazy.

Alright well it might be time to wrap this little exercise in blogging up but I think I'll finish with just a little prognostication and a very simple yes/no question.

Q. Do the Sens make the playoffs this year?

Sherry: As much as it pains me to say it...no. That way we'll be pleasantly surprised when and if they do!

Q: Same question to you and I guess we can wrap it up there.

Dany Heatley Speedwagon: I have read all the previews and I have seen all there is to see when it comes to this Sens team and for all the question marks, all the what-ifs, all the change and all the promise I do think the Sens CAN make the playoffs this year. Obviously I'm chickening out a little bit on this question because I'll say that I can't tell the future and I can only HOPE they make the playoffs but I honestly do think on paper the pieces are there and the fan in me is going to be really optimistc (foolish?) and say that they will at least get enough of the breaks they need in order to begin the healing and make us all forget the playoffless season that was in 2008-2009.

I'll leave you all with a little anecdote. Basketball has the tip-off and football has the kick-off, hockey is coming and I'm ready for the puck-off!

Drop the puck... game on!

This Is The Post That Never Ends

2009-09-30T18:43:00.007-04:00

Picture size reduced for your eye protection

Moving right along with where we started yesterday we continue the season preview conversation between yours truly and our wonderful blog creator, Sherry.

Dany Heatley Speedwagon: Finish this sentence: Pascal Leclaire...

Sherry: ... sure is skinny.

Q: Aside from EVERYBODY, who is expected to step up their game this year?

DHS: Tough question for a team full of underachievers a year ago but I'm going to go with Jason Spezza. Last 4 seasons, 68 GP 90 Pts (1.32 per), 67 GP 87 Pts (1.30 per) , 76 GP 92 Pts (1.21 per), 82 GP 73 Pts (0.89 per). Anyone noticing a disturbing trend here? I think Spezza needs to have a powerful season and silence his critics (about as likely as his defensive game improving) once and for all. His first full season in 4 years was also his lowest in terms of point production, which doesn't bode well for the nonstop trade rumours that always seem to follow our boy giggles. As much as hewhoshallnotbenamed ruined my summer his movement is a blessing in that it was one of, one too many, big contracts the Senators needed to shed. The team has committed to the Spez dispenser and I think he needs to prove that the team was right to sign him to a big dollar deal and show that he can be a top line player in this league. Parting ways with Spezza now would pretty much obliterate any chance the team has of convincing itself and its fans that they are a legitimate contender. With numero uno cinqo gone, trading Spezza isn't as attractive as it once was.

Q. What do you think the Senators are missing going into this season?

Sherry: I think the Senators are missing what I thought they've been missing since Chara left: adequate D. Don't get me wrong, I like what Chris Phililps and Anton Volchenkov bring to the team, but there just hasn't been that skill and talent on the blueline since Chara left.

Q: Which one of the young guys do you think has the most potential (currently on the team, not a prospect)?

DHS: I'd say Ryan Shannon, hands down. His size could be a problem but some of the speed he showed last year definetly got me excited in the pants. Shannon and Fisher seemed to have a chemistry when they played together. I can see him being the player I wanted Mike Comrie to be. I've also liked some of the fire and excitement I've seen from Pinchy Winchy but I think Shannon has showed some of the best skill and promise. It concerns me this is already his third team is it but I think The Bryan went out and got him for a reason.

Q: It seems we've covered all the traditional issues that season previews cover, worsening D, questionable goaltending, secondary scoring so lets delve a little more into the Northeast division and of course our favorite team to hate... the Leafs. With the truculance infusion and both teams seemingly attempting to return themselves to playoff contention and quite possibly fighting for the same playoff spot will we see a return of form in the Battle of Ontario? It has seemed the last few years the focus has shifted to an equal degree of ire spread out evenly amongst the Northeast Division. (boy, that was a long question)

Sherry: We might see a return to the Battle of Ontario as I feel like the teams are both sort of evenly keeled now in terms of talent (or lack thereof). Both teams have major question marks still and I don't think either one will be Northeastern Champs but it would definitely be interesting to see some of the competitiveness and...spiciness back into this rivalry. The BoO was built on the playoffs and since that hasn't exactly happened recently, it'd definitely make it a lot more interesting to see some edge back into the regular season match-ups, especially if we're going to be seeing the Leafers so many times.

Come on back tommorow for the trifecta finale of the awesomeness that is our blogger questionaire. We'll talk about former Senators, my namesake and we'll get to exactly how both of us feel about the teams chances at the post season.

Time To Get Along

2009-09-29T22:11:00.004-04:00

Well it's been just over a year since Sherry made the mistake of getting herself a co-blogger. In that time Sherry and myself have done a pretty good job of keeping out of each other's way with the exception of the occaional live blog.

With a new season comes new fun so we've decided to team up for a psuedo, sort of, full-assed season preview type thingy post. I assure you it will be as awesome as it sounds. Also, we can both take credit for finally posting something! I figure it's better to do this than rehash my anger at the whole situation and resulting trade windfall from the departure of Hewhoshallnotbenamed. (What is more useless now, my moniker or my number 15 jersey?) So here is how it's going to work...

About a week ago I emailed Sherry and asked if she was on board with this and she was. So we started bouncing emails back and forth off each other with an assortment of questions revolving around our favorite team and the upcoming season. It's pretty long so I figure best to break it down into a few parts and spew it out at you over the next couple days leading up to the season opener saturday. Strap yourselves in and here we go... question the first:

Dany Heatley Speedwagon: On a scale of 1 to 10, on this the 23rd day of september where would you rank your excitement for the upcoming season?

Sherry: I'd have to say around a 7 but most of it is for the hockey season finally starting. Usually I'm cautiously optimistic about how the team will perform, this year...not so much. I think the whole entire Hewhoshallnotbenamed drama has just taken a bit of a toll on all of us. I want the team to go out there and give it their all but realistically looking at this team, I think we all should learn not to set the bar too high. I believe Clouston will be good for the team and he'll get through to them, but assessing the talent and skill level of this group, I'll count making the playoffs as a victory.

Q: How do you think Bryan Murray did this off-season?

DHS: I would have to say public perception is probably that The Bryan did the best he could with what he had to work with, given the situation and yadda yadda. My own perception is that while he probably won't lose his job and that the trade for hewhowillnotbenamed actually worked out pretty well, things could be better still. CheeChooChrain ain't what he used to be but M&M is the centre piece of the deal plus they also got a decent pick. I'm more concerned with the fact Chris Neil is back for the same amount of time as Colton Orr at double the price, and the defence wasn't really addressed, oh yes and Alex Kovalev was hired and it's not to pilot the charter. Visably it looks like The Bryan made a lot of moves but I'm skeptical they were the right ones. I think the biggest change for this team will depend just as much on players rebounding from awful performances last year as it will on any moves that were made by Herr Bryan.

To be continued tommorow, where we will talk about the goaltending, the division and of course how we actually feel about this team's chances at making the playoffs. (Because everyone still has a chance... right?)

Male, Female, Striped, Polka-Dotted Hockey Fans

2009-08-28T21:07:00.010-04:00

I'm going to preface this entry by saying that the fact that the whole entire exchange occurred over Twitter makes it all the more hilarious and was even enough for me to not make me want to comment on it. But hey, I am a modern woman and these are clearly the sign of the times. To be honest, something as silly and petty as this probably shouldn't be enough to make me finally break my blog-silence but happily enough, this coincided with my week off work.

In a nutshell, Puck Daddy got some flack from my fellow female hockey blogging brethren (sisthren?) about Carrie Millbank being one of the female hockey fans featured on their "5 Reasons I Love Hockey" series. For those who don't know Millbank is the host of NHL.com's The Hockey Show, which I confess to having never seen so I wouldn't be able to comment on its quality.

I'm not really taking a side on the issue. When I saw it I kind of just rolled my eyes and said "Boys drooling over girl with cleavage. Next." I get what the point of Millbank is and maybe I'm just too jaded and cynical to get all that worked up about it. I'm no fan of Millbank because there are a ton more females who are more qualified for her job than she is and the truth is she probably only got it because she has a great rack and looks great in booty shorts and that, to put it as eloquently as I can, really really sucks. It perpetuates an image of what a female's role within the sporting world is and it doesn't do us any credit.

That being said, I have no reason to doubt that she genuinely loves hockey (even if I do disagree with her on some points) and isn't that what it's all about in the end? Having a genuine passion for the game? If you happen to like wearing booty shorts as well that's your prerogative.

But ladies, let's not take it out on poor Puck Daddy shall we? True, there were a ton of other female fans that could have been featured (I won't take offense that I wasn't even asked, Greg because uh...this place has hardly been a hot bed of activity recently) but I'm sure that was the case for male bloggers as well. Carrie Millbank is popular. People know who she is and I'm sure they're curious about why she does what she does and why she would even bother devoting her time to a hockey web show when I'm sure she would make more money posing for Victoria Secret or something.

The plight of the female fan and female blogger to be taken seriously is well known and has been talked about at great lengths already. I suppose there are still ways to go, but I dare say that the landscape has changed since I first started blogging nearly three (!) years ago. We're not such a novelty anymore and I think we've proven that we can do it just as well as the boys but we shouldn't need their acknowledgment to feel like we've accomplished something.

Or maybe there's just something I'm not getting about all of this. Just my $0.02.

(We know return you to your regular scheduled programming of absolute silence for another month).

Temporary Hiatus

2009-08-04T06:50:00.001-04:00

Hello all, as you can tell this place has taken a somewhat involuntary temporary hiatus. We just ask for your patience as we sort everything out here at this place. We thank you for your patience and hopefully we'll get this place up and running before Dany Heatley gets traded.

Gird Your Loins, Ottawa

2009-07-11T11:22:00.003-04:00

It has been confirmed that yours truly will be making a visit to the nation's capital next weekend to yell at the team...but mostly to get drunk. I know, it's the most exciting thing to happen to the city since we signed Geoff Kinrade the other day.

As always, your suggestions on the best places to get silly are welcome.

Yes, I'm Still Alive

2009-07-10T12:05:00.003-04:00

Just incredibly lazy as you might guess. Thanks to my lovely co-blogger DHS for picking up the slack a bit. That's what I have a co-blogger for! In any case, my lack of posting has been a combination of laziness, business with work and business with an actual social life. Amazing I know. There's also been a lack of content for me to post since there is only so many ways I can say "Heatley is still inexplicably a Senator".

So, as a bit of a summer diversion, watch as Alex Kovalev attempts to convince you signing him for $5 million a year is not a mistake. I think it's a sure sign of my cynicism that as I'm watching this all I'm thinking about is how each one of these ends up in our net:

Dany Heatley Is Not A Dallas Star...

2009-07-08T20:27:00.005-04:00

... but Alex Auld is. The Senators apparently didn't see a need this season for a quality backup making only $1 million who posted a 2.47 GAA with .911SV% and 16 wins last season. Granted it was in 43 games but it was for the bag of suck that was your 2008-2009 Ottawa Senators.

While I'm not entirely surpised by this move I thought perhaps if/when this move was made it might garner a bit more in return than a sixth round pick.

Definetly a risky move on the Sens part in my humble opinion. Clearly the Sens moved Vermette near the deadline in order to acquire goaltender of the future, Pascal LeClaire. However with the injury questions surrounding LeClaire as well as the fact that he will be performing with a non-Hitchcockian system in front of him it's a big gamble if LeClaire stumbles leaving Brian Elliott as the backup. While I think this move was made more than anything to get a bit of cap relief (although Elliott is an RFA still to be signed so the savings might be moot) Auld may have been a decent insurance policy in the event LeClaire needed more time and it would also enable Elliott to continue his development in Bingo. Not to mention wouldn't Auld be worth keeping around until the deadline when perhaps a contender is desperate for a backup insurance policy?

In any event the 2009 offseason roller coaster continues. Good luck to Auld with his new job in Big D. I for one want to thank him for his brief time in a Senators uniform and he definetly performed admirably last season especially considering the circumstances. (Circumstances being the Sens were AWFUL)

Alex Kovalev Signed By Sens... To Play Hockey

2009-07-06T18:48:00.003-04:00

Glorious news today in Senators land, the Senators have signed Alex Kovalev to a 2 year deal to the tune of $5 million per season. According to reports he will be playing on the right wing and not flying the charter jet. Hopefully he'll only be paid for the games in which he shows up. HEYO!

Also Dany Heatley continues to remain the motivating factor for many a drinking problem among Sens Nation faithful.

The fun offseason continues!

The Heat Is... Gone? UPDATED

2009-06-30T20:35:00.004-04:00

***UPDATE***
The Senators apparently have a deal in place with the Oilers that involves Dustin Penner, Ladislav Smid and Andrew Cogliano. Heatley however has exercised his non-trade clause in order that he be allowed to "sleep on it". No idea what that bullshit means but if this deal goes through at least the Sens aren't getting back 3 complete shit baggers like the Bruins did when they sent Thornton to the Sharks. Clearly Cogliano is the centre piece of the deal with Penner a throw in contract that the Ducks didn't even want to begin with and now the Oilers are regretting. Smid, well I recognize the name but honestly can't say I know a whole lot about him. Well I'm off to work to celebrate Canada day by boosting the economy. Maybe Sherry will keep you updated, if not I'm sure there is no lack of places out there for info.
end ***UPDATE***

Rumour going around that Heatley will be dealt to the Rangers tonight. Was Gomez the piece of the puzzle the Rangers needed to move to get Heater into their cap picture? Who will the Rangers send back in return? Will I get rid of this damn cold that has been nagging me for a week? So many questions.

Taking a quick glance at their roster I see exactly... zero players I'd be happy having come back the other way. Okay, with maybe the exception of Lundqvist I see no players I'd be happy having come to the Senators. Maybe if it comes to fruition it will be a multi-team deal, but I'm not holding my breath.

Stay tuned.

Draft Schmaft

2009-06-29T20:35:00.003-04:00

While we wanted to say something intelligent about the draft, unfortunately DHS and I both ended up missing it due to this thing called a "social life". I know, I'm just as shocked as you that we actually have one. However, once I have the time to compile some information on Jared Cowen, or whenever Dany Heatley FINALLY gets traded, whichever comes first, we'll have something intelligent to say.

In the meantime, enjoy another Haiku:

Did you sneak in a
can of beer or are you just
happy to see me?
- Pg. 74

From ""Hockey Haiku: The Essential Colection" by John Poch and Chad Davidson.