NHL Playoffs

[Gangrel]

And us in Ottawa don't care, as long as he does the job this year.

I admit, Emery is hit or miss, and definately benefits from good D. I've seen the Sens about 20 times now this year, including playoffs, and his rebounds tend to be fatter then sumo wrestler.

But so far the D has been good at clearing them, and A-Train has blocked the ones they don't. He had 10!!!! blocks last night i think. 10!!!!

The Sens came out flat aside from the beginning, and some of the 2nd. That 3rd was a total slowdown.

The saving grace for me is that i know the Sens have played a LOT better this playoffs, and the final score was only 3-2. If the Sens can ramp it up again, I like our chances, espeically if the Thugs keep taking penalties.

[TCrouch]

Conversely, the Ducks play A LOT better than that without taking the huge penalties, and actually capitalizing on the scoring chances that they p*ssed away as well. They gave up a 5-on-3 chance and who knows how many shorthanded situations. I think both teams will actually find their sweet spot and it will be a very fun series.

[ocjc]

Not show how the ducks pulled off the 5 on 3 but they did get lucky. Chances are if that happens again, there is no way they won't give up a goal.
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nhl checks

[XXXIV]

Not show how the ducks pulled off the 5 on 3 but they did get lucky. Chances are if that happens again, there is no way they won't give up a goal.
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nhl checks

Ummm...Happened again. No goal.

Great game...Both have been fun. As a fan of neither team I am pretty happy with the play.

[James_E]

F**K me. As a Sens fan I'm very disappointed.

The Sens need to stop giving the damn puck away all the time, and work on maybe being first to the puck now and then. SKATE BOYS!

Then again, the Ducks got good goaltending tonight, are hitting hard, skating hard and have got a nice tactic of being able to hold up a guy chasing after a dump-in, using a pick type play. It's annoying as hell to watch.

What the hell was with those boarding penalties? Cheap calls.

[10spro]

The game could have gone either way, it was really tight with both goalies making some amazing saves. OTT could have scored on a 5 on 3 in the 1st period but M. Comrie missed an open net and towards the end of the game, S. O'Donnell makes a stick save on P. Schaefer with the net open. It's not a case of ANA outplaying the Sens, I don't see that, but I do see the Pahlsson checking line on top of OTT's top line causing too may turnovers.

They have two days to find a way to get to Giguere and solve that asphyxiating ANA checking line.

[pk500]

This series is over. Period. The engraver can get to work now on the big mug.

A just victory for Anaheim tonight. There's no way in hell this game could have gone either way, James -- Anaheim dominated. Keith Jones was right on Versus: This was the most lopsided 1-0 game you're ever going to see.

If not for Emery's brilliance, Anaheim should have won 5-0. Ottawa was an absolute disgrace. Turnovers, losing all the physical battles, terrible backchecking, no ability to carry the puck into the zone, skate or put the puck in deep in the zone. Nothing.

Are we watching the same games, James? Anaheim is most definitely outplaying Ottawa in every facet of the game except for goaltending, as Emery was especially good tonight.

Did Dany Heatley even dress tonight? What about Alfredsson? Spezza was conspicuous only because he looked like a bad member of a team in the Memorial Cup, not the Stanley Cup. He was AWFUL, losing draw after draw, losing every battle for loose pucks, turning over pucks. Spezza's backchecking wasn't bad -- it was non-existent.

The only Ottawa players who even look like they give a sh*t are Chris Neil, Mike Fisher, Anton Volchenkov and Ray Emery. The rest are absolute sh*t. The defensive pairing of Redden and Phillips, together for 10 seasons, looks old and slow. The Comrie line was invisible.

My original prediction was that the Ducks' physical play would wear down Ottawa later in the series, and that Anaheim would win in six. Forget that: Anaheim already has ground Ottawa down to pencil shavings.

This series is over in four or five, tops.

The only hope Ottawa has -- and I mean ONLY hope -- is that the ice at the Scotiabank Place is better than the ice at the Honda Center. The ice in Anaheim is an absolute f*cking DISGRACE. Pucks bouncing and rolling constantly, passes moving with no velocity, etc. That's the fun you get for playing the game in Southern California in late May.

But the slow, sh*tty ice definitely favors the grinding style of the Ducks and helps to cover for Giguere's only weakness -- his slow lateral movement. Ottawa can't make short, crisp passes side to side on this ice. But then again, Ottawa can't even get the puck into the Anaheim zone, either.

These have been two very entertaining games. But anyone who thinks Ottawa is in this series either is a Sens' fan, deceiving themselves or on acid.

Take care,
PK

[10spro]

Yeah I hear you PK, and I for one wouldn't be surprised if the Ducks win the SC but for that same dominance, the SOG, the absurd turnovers by the OTT team and the outstanding game by R. Emery, they still had a chance to tie it. The least. Yet it was 1-0. I look at the 1st period alone and Giguere was just great stopping that 5 on 3 PP that could have changed the momentum.

Going home 0-2 is tough for the Sens but for the team that they have, I expect way more from them. We'll see, it takes four games to win Lord Stanley and OTT is running out of games if they don't win at home. But for now, they have to find a way to solve the Pahlsson line.

[pk500]

Going home 0-2 is tough for the Sens but for the team that they have, I expect way more from them. We'll see, it takes four games to win Lord Stanley and OTT is running out of games if they don't win at home. But for now, they have to find a way to solve the Pahlsson line.

Well, Murray already played his trump card tonight by moving Alfie to Fisher's line for a while, and it didn't work. Zero goals.

Again, I agree with Versus' Keith Jones, who has been excellent: Move Fisher up to the first line and drop Spezza to the grind line.

Fisher has enough speed and skill to compliment Heatley and Alfie, and he also provides a physical, tough element that all three members of that line lack. Plus maybe Spezza will learn how to play with passion and grit while seeing the work of his new linemates on the grind line.

Speaking of taking shifts off, Getzlaf will be an absolute monster in this league once he learns to skate hard EVERY shift. That will come with experience.

Take care,
PK

[TCrouch]

It's been tough for me to post much about the playoffs, because #1 I'm not a hockey guru or anything, I'm more of a follower of one team and not the traditions and whatnot, and #2 I'm a follower of the Ducks, so I already know I see what I want to see in the playoff games, so to speak.

But last night...sure, Ottawa could have tied the game, or best case scenario won it 1-0 or 2-1. On the flip side, Anaheim could have destroyed them 6-0 if Emery wasn't standing on his head. They were outshot what...something like 31-16? It's like 63-36 shots for the series so far? I don't care how many ways you spin it, if you aren't getting the shots and Giguere is in net, you are going to have a rough time. There will be a lot of "had a chance" thoughts and posts right up until they're eliminated.

The fact that Murray broke up the vaunted top line already in game 2 to try and generate some other offense speaks volumes. Who in the entire world could have predicted that so early? Nobody I know, but that's not saying much. I'm in California where hockey is as engrained in the culture as nude basket weaving.

Either way, I thought that was the most dominant 1-0 game I've ever seen, but also thought it was particularly odd that Ottawa came out so determined to initiate the contact, check hard and "play physical". The Ducks are USED to p*ssing people off and having them come back at them. That plays right into their game, and I personally think it's insane for Ottawa to fall into that trap. If they try and play a physical series and outhit the Ducks, it will be over in no more than 5 games. I know that they have to do something to get the puck in deeper and get past the checking crew, but they flashed that ability from time to time. It's not that they can't do it, it's like they're caught up in the moment and absolutely flabbergasted that the Ducks are hitting them.

It's as if they watched no film on the Ducks at all this playoff run. Complaining about Emery getting stick-jabbed so much that the referees are blowing pucks dead that are behind the net because they want to protect him? Valid, very valid. But they had to experience it to know this? They did it to every goalie in the playoffs, particularly Hasek in the WC Finals. It's not like it's a news flash here...but perhaps I'm just an ignorant "noob" fan of the NHL. It seems like a severely under-prepared team just getting beaten at the point of attack time and time again.

I hope, for Ottawa's sake, that the ice at home is nice and smooth and they can do something to make it interesting, because if they don't generate something massive in period 1 at home on Saturday, you can just write them off, despite the players saying otherwise.

[pk500]

Give yourself some credit, Terry: Your analysis is spot-on.

Take care,
PK

[10spro]

For someone that it's a Duck fan, that's a very accurate post TCrouch. True they are 2-0 in the series but I don't see an overwhelming superiority where one can say they are a much better team. In game one thay got that tie late in the third which gave them energy, a game where both teams were a bit flat but they showed more grit in the end.

Last night, even though they carried the play to the Sens, the game was still 0-0 until Palhsson broke the tie again late in the third. Whenever a goalie keeps the game that close, you have to give yourself a chance. And OTT has an offense that can explode anytime but so far, they can't just solve Jiggy whether 5 on 5 or more importantly during their PP's which has been great until now.

What they need is more heart, a M. Fisher type of guy and the Captain to continue doing what he did up to this series. Easier said than done of course, ANA is a very physical team and riding all the confidence with a 2-0 stronghold.

[Sudz]

Great series.

a GREAT 1-0 game last night.

how did CRL/CAL give up on "Jiggy"...

fools

[TCrouch]

True, but there's another side to that "closely contested, so anything can happen" theory...and this is most DEFINITELY going to be some Ducks homerism coming through.

If it's close...tied, or one goal up OR down for Anaheim late in a game...you can practically guarantee Anaheim will make the plays needed to win it or tie it. I have no idea how they do it, or why they do it. Ask Red Wings fans (47.3 seconds left and they tie, then the win in OT in game 5 despite playing like crap). If it's overtime in the playoffs...what is Giggy, like 12-1 career? I don't know the numbers but I know Anaheim is deadly in close games, so the closer it stays, the worse it is for Ottawa.

Their best bet is for the "stars" that haven't shown up yet for the Sens absolutely come out on fire like their season is on the line from the first drop of the puck on Saturday. They need to put a couple of goals up quick, and in a 5-on-5 situation to get past that mentality that's undoubtedly settling in that J.S. Giguere is just in the zone and unbeatable. Everybody knows he is, but when you have wide open nets and he kicks it away or one of the Anaheim defensemen is ALWAYS in the right place to get a "lucky" redirect away from net, that has to bug.

I don't know...I just have such an unbelievable belief that the Ducks will pull it out of it's tied or a 1-goal differential late in a hockey game, because they've proven time and time again that they don't crumble under the pressure; they excel.

[XXXIV]

Brett Hull is the king of hypocracy.

He scored what was THEN an ILLEGAL goal to win a CUP and now hes upset about a goal call?...I wanna puke...

Get the dumbass out the studio and back in an adult book store where he belongs.

[pk500]

A gutsy win for Ottawa. But it's a false dawn for the Senators because their top line of Spezza-Alfie-Heatley still is missing in action, and its top defensemen, Phillips and Redden, have been awful.

There's no way Ottawa will win this series if that top line and D men don't get going because you can't count on grinding lines to play as well offensively every night as Ottawa's did tonight. Plus Chris Neil's wife can't have a baby every day.

Still, Ottawa was much better tonight because its grind lines showed the way by moving their feet. Ottawa's speed prevailed tonight, but in a much different way than most pundits expected. It wasn't a case of the top line flying through the neutral zone and making pretty plays; it was more of a case of the grind lines, with Fisher and McAmmond leading the way, getting the puck in deep and then using their speed to beat the Ducks to the pucks in the corner and behind the net. Then Ottawa got its cycling going behind the net, continuing to move its feet, and was very effective.

But unless Alfredsson, Heatley and Spezza decide to do the same thing, Ottawa won't win. Heatley might be the most invisible 50-goal scorer in the NHL since Mike Bullard. The guy just does nothing out there.

Heatley should take a cue from Fisher, who is a f*cking man among men. What a leader to hog-tie Getzlaf -- a big, strong boy -- in that scrap and pin his mouthy ass to the ice. Fisher could have DESTROYED Getzlaf with UFC-style submission punches if he wanted but instead obeyed the code and instead just put his forearm across Getzlaf's throat to keep him pinned.

Man, I love Mike Fisher. If Ottawa had 12 of him at forward, this series would be 3-0, Sens.

Emery was solid, but Trampoline Ray is back. Some of his rebounds were just ridiculous. A good goalie coach really needs to work with this guy over the summer to teach him how to control rebounds. Some of his rebounds are fatter than Rosie O'Donnell's thunder thighs.

Ottawa also is very fortunate that the Selanne-MacDonald-Kunitz (Marchant after Kunitz's injury) line was very quiet tonight, damn near invisible. The Pahlsson line also was quiet offensively, but remained very effective defensively against the big line for Ottawa.

Another player who was bad tonight was Pronger, and it's very, very rare that you'll see that. He knocked the puck into his net for one Ottawa goal and was out of position on another. He also was rattled by forechecking hits by, you guessed it, Fisher.

But it's a moot point, as I highly doubt you'll see Pronger in Game 4, anyways. That elbow he threw on McAmmond was WAY more brutal -- and late -- than the forearm shiver on Holmstrom in the Detroit series, for which he received no penalty but a one-game suspension.

I'm sick of the Pronger apologists saying he hits high because he's 6-6. Bullsh*t. Pronger is one of the most composed, smooth defensemen in the league, with incredible body control, so he knows exactly what he's doing when he goes high. A cheap f*cking shot, period, on a guy that was running Anaheim hard with his effective forechecking.

Finally, and this is a small point, the ice was MUCH better in Ottawa than in Anaheim. Passes were faster and more crisp, and you saw the puck sitting flat a hell of a lot more than the first two games. That helps Ottawa slightly, as it's the speed and precision team.

But Ottawa will not win this series if Spezza-Alfie-Heatley continue to play as soft as the Stay-Puf Marshmallow Man and if Redden and Phillips look slow and rattled by Anaheim's constant hitting.

Take care,
PK

[XXXIV]

A
I'm sick of the Pronger apologists saying he hits high because he's 6-6. Bullsh*t. Pronger is one of the most composed, smooth defensemen in the league, with incredible body control, so he knows exactly what he's doing when he goes high. A cheap f*cking shot, period, on a guy that was running Anaheim hard with his effective forechecking.

Yep.... Its pretty obvious he is a head hunter.

I dont think Ottawa will win the series either. Though they did play better last night...They had some luck in winning the game..

[Jimmydeicide]

Well its sunday and i just watched the game on dvr .

Yeh Ottawa were better and perhaps deserved the win but im putting it all down to the NHL on this one. That kicked in goal was a clear case of we have to count this goal to a tleast make it a series wether good for NHL or TV i knew they were gonna count it.

Now Pronger is gonna be suspended (rightly so) and Ottawa will have yet another small advantage and a chance to tie up this series. They can play it out nicely like an episode of 24.

I wanted a long series too but not this way no way there was enough evidence to overturn the refs call of no goal.

But atleast its game on.

[pk500]

Now Pronger is gonna be suspended (rightly so) and Ottawa will have yet another small advantage and a chance to tie up this series. They can play it out nicely like an episode of 24.

Not so fast, pillow biter. Remember what happened the last time Pronger was suspended for a game, against Detroit: The Ducks smoked the Wings with Prongs out of the lineup.

Yeah, that Alfie call was just bizarre. He clearly kicked it in. It's almost like Colie Campbell, whom I read last night at TheHockeyNews.com personally overturned the call in the video room in Toronto, wants a closer series. So your conspiracy theories are spot-on, mate.

Take care,
PK

[XXXIV]

Now Pronger is gonna be suspended (rightly so) and Ottawa will have yet another small advantage and a chance to tie up this series. They can play it out nicely like an episode of 24.

Not so fast, pillow biter. Remember what happened the last time Pronger was suspended for a game, against Detroit: The Ducks smoked the Wings with Prongs out of the lineup.

Yeah, that Alfie call was just bizarre. He clearly kicked it in. It's almost like Colie Campbell, whom I read last night at TheHockeyNews.com personally overturned the call in the video room in Toronto, wants a closer series. So your conspiracy theories are spot-on, mate.

Take care,
PK

I dont buy the conspiracy but that was definately a bad decision. It looked like a text book kick in.
The funny part to me was Hull complaining about it. Irony eh?

[pk500]

The funny part to me was Hull complaining about it. Irony eh?

Exactly. I'm sure a few TVs were blown out, Elvis-style, in Buffalo as Hull uttered those hypocritical words.

Take care,
PK

[10spro]

The funny thing about Alfredsson's goal is that even himself looked shocked that they counted the goal. And that's what OTT needed to get back into the series. Forwards crushing the net, ugly goals, C.Neil being a superpest and showing his physical game, although if A. McDonald catches his potential hit to his head we would all be talking about him instead of Pronger. The intention on that hit was more malicious than Prongers' cheap shot. Sure their top line is still being overshadowed by ANA's checking line but as long as their grinding line does their job, I still expect the the Alfie-Spezza-Heatley line to eventually score when it matters.

The home ice definitely helped the Sens and they must take advantage of it on Monday again, if they win it's a whole new series. OTT loses an important penalty killer in veteran D.McAmmond and they'll miss him, but not as much as the Ducks missing Pronger. Although it's been proven that they can win without him too, as people like F. Beaujemin and C.O'Donnell will pick up the extra minutes in D and strategy wise the team will clog the middle zone even more.

But on the subject of cheap heads shots, the NHL must again get their act together this time as GM's gather together tomorrow for meetings with the league. It's good that everyone in ANA even GM B. Burke admit that it was a cheap shot on Pronger's part but while we all bury him, his positives plays for the team far outweighes his negatives. PK, I thought his hit on Hommer was way more malicious than this one. But, who cares, he's suspended for one game and OTT must take advantage of his absence. Maybe, it's just what their top line needs to wake up in this series.

[Feanor]

The funny part to me was Hull complaining about it. Irony eh?

Exactly. I'm sure a few TVs were blown out, Elvis-style, in Buffalo as Hull uttered those hypocritical words.

Take care,
PK

Hull's goal was legit according to the rules at the time.

Last night's goal was obviously kicked in and I'm shocked it was let go.

[XXXIV]

The funny part to me was Hull complaining about it. Irony eh?

Exactly. I'm sure a few TVs were blown out, Elvis-style, in Buffalo as Hull uttered those hypocritical words.

Take care,
PK

Hull's goal was legit according to the rules at the time.

Last night's goal was obviously kicked in and I'm shocked it was let go.

The opposite is true. Hulls goal was illegal according to the rules of the time.. It would be legal today but was quite illegal then.

[Feanor]

Nope. The Hull goal was legal at the time because the rules stated that a player with possession of the puck may proceed the puck into the crease, just like they can proceed the puck into the offensive zone.

NHL officials supervisor Bryan Lewis stands by his explanation: "Can he have a foot in [the crease] and the goal count? Yes. He played the puck from his foot to his stick and shot and scored. He was deemed to be in control and possession of the puck even if a skate was in crease."