GDT: No Spezza? Inexperienced Defense? Backup Goalie? 5-1 Loss.

[DaveG]

I agree with this statement. I thought both played really well, and this was probably the most capable the D has looked this year IMO. Corvo never really even got in a position to burn himself and his teammates, so that was also a victory.

Also, I think I had a DaveG sighting prior to the start of the game. That was probably the lucky push we needed.

If it was somewhere between 314 and the west entrance that sounds about right. Had a book about brewing with me.

hi canes fans!
i was wondering if you think picking up semin in a fantasy hockey league would be a good move. he had a great night against us sens tonight. has he been looking good all season, is he heating up, or was this the first time you guys have seen him play great as a hurricane?
semin has always been a senators killer, on top of the sens always having trouble against the canes and spezza missing, i knew we had no chance from the start
anyway, good luck this season!

He's been our best player this season and he's been starting to click with Eric from about the game 3 timeframe on. Good pickup if you can get him.

 

[PaulProteus]

If it was somewhere between 314 and the west entrance that sounds about right. Had a book about brewing with me.

Well, I didn't see your book but it was near the West escalators. We're 304, so that's our usual entrance.

 

[DaveG]

Yep, sounds about right, that's usually where I head up.

 

[tarheelhockey]

After sleeping on it, I wonder if our defense was that good or the Sens offense was that bad.

 

[DaveG]

After sleeping on it, I wonder if our defense was that good or the Sens offense was that bad.

I think the answer is "yes". The Sens did seem disorganized without Spezza providing the offensive punch down the middle. But that said, our defense did a fantastic job last night. Closed the lanes nicely on two-on-ones, blocked the point shots on the PP and cleared out the garbage limiting their opportunities there to low percentage off-angle shots. And just team backcheck from our forwards that we haven't seen this season really mucking up any kind of transition that Ottawa wanted to get going in the offensive zone.

 

[caniac315]

The Sens are going on and on about how bad our ice was. Maybe like the diving comments, it's just one more excuse for them losing. I wasn't at the game, but I would think as cold as it it, the ice would be in pretty good shape.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

The Sens are going on and on about how bad our ice was. Maybe like the diving comments, it's just one more excuse for them losing. I wasn't at the game, but I would think as cold as it it, the ice would be in pretty good shape.

Maybe, but it can't be understated that since Donnie Mac's death it seems that have been more comments from opposing team fans about the quality of our ice whereas there used to not be as many.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The ice quality did suck, but not as bad as the Sens offense. Let's be serious here. Their top line was basically a good second unit, and they were all but shut down by the Bowman-Jokinen-Dwyer line. Basically, we were rolling out the two best forward lines in the game and negating their best with our 3rd. Strong play by Anderson kept it 1-0 instead of 3-0 or 4-0. That doesn't exactly suggest that better ice would have led to a bunch of success on their end.

 

[nobuddy]

Maybe, but it can't be understated that since Donnie Mac's death it seems that have been more comments from opposing team fans about the quality of our ice whereas there used to not be as many.

Yep. The ice has been terrible ever since then. Crosby even said our rink was his favorite before Donnie Mac passed away.

 

[nobuddy]

But yeah, the Sens fans are 100% right. The ice quality was awful last night. Zibanejad, Pitkanen, Gleason, Neil x2, ref x2 I saw fall out of nowhere last night and there were much more. That's just off the top of my head.

 

[Sasha Cares]

Feb 01 '13 OTTAWA 0 CAROLINA 1
Dec 23 '11 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 2 OT
Oct 25 '11 OTTAWA 3 CAROLINA 2 SO
Mar 22 '11 OTTAWA 3 CAROLINA 4
Nov 17 '10 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 7
Mar 04 '10 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 4
Jan 10 '10 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 4
Mar 25 '09 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 2
Nov 07 '08 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 2
Mar 16 '08 OTTAWA 1 CAROLINA 5

I had no idea we were 9-0-1 in the last 10 home games... And them this inept offensively

 

[DaveG]

Yep, Ottawa's one of those teams that we're usually surprisingly good against for some reason. Didn't realize we had THAT kind of a streak going. That's like some Thrashers vs Canes type streak there.

 

[NyQuil]

Yeah, we can't seem to beat you guys.

And it's one of those weird streaks where the personnel on both teams change but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Gerber stoned us regularly, and thought that it must have factored in when Ottawa picked him up.

The games are usually entertaining, and this one was, in a kind of waiting for a car crash kind of way, cringing because the first goal would be huge.

Goalies were excellent.

Ottawa was skating well, but not connecting. Carolina was doing a terrific job of keeping Ottawa's players to the perimeter, and out of the slot. With Ellis strong on rebounds, there wasn't much, and a few good chances by Sens were flubbed (Greening, Gonchar, Michalek). Carolina played good team defence.

Semin continues to own us. Not sure why, but he is a Sens killer.

Even Karlsson had trouble keeping up with him, and that's about the highest compliment I can think of.

Solid win, they took the advantage and didn't let up, but I think it was pretty close which is what made it an entertaining game in the end.

 

[HisIceness]

Like I said, Ottawa is a team we can beat at home no problem. Winning at their place though is difficult.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The games are usually entertaining, and this one was, in a kind of waiting for a car crash kind of way, cringing because the first goal would be huge.

Like waiting for a crash between two cars that are 5 miles apart and operating on lawnmower engines.

 

[NyQuil]

Like waiting for a crash between two cars that are 5 miles apart and operating on lawnmower engines.

There's a certain agonizing fascination.

 

[NyQuil]

 

[DaveG]

About as spot-on for a clip as is out there anywhere.