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Classy Olympic Predictions

February 16th, 2010

With the men’s Olympic hockey set to start in a number of hours, there’s no better time for us to roll out our tournament predictions. Especially when you consider that we’ve been talking about this tournament for about 2 full years. Below are each writers Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal predictions. Of course, we’d love to hear your thoughts (you know, if you agree with us or not), predictions and more. Folks, get ready for the greatest hockey tournament you’ve ever seen!

Burgundy’s Olympic Predictions
Gold- Canada; Canada might just have the most well rounded team in this tournament and they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders to defeat Sweden in the Gold Medal game. I believe Canada will move pucks better than any other team and their talent mixed with grit will put them over the edge. I predict Sidney Crosby to be the dominating force Canadians hope he’ll be.
Silver- Sweden; Team Sweden is one of the older teams in the tournament and I believe their experience (and Henrik Lundqvist) will get them through to the Gold Medal game. However, as smart and as well coached as the Sweden team is, I don’t think they’ll be able to keep up with the pace Canada will set in the Finals. Plus, for whatever reason, Crosby always scores a few goals on Lundqvist… yeah, you heard it here first!
Bronze- Russia; No one is giving Finland any love whatsoever, so I’m predicting the Fins meet Russia in the Bronze Medal game. Given the depth the Russians have, I believe they’ll win the Bronze medal by defeating Finland in a closer than expected game. I think the Russians won’t win their semi-final game because their defense and goaltending isn’t good enough. In fact, when you consider the talent they carry in forwards, their defense isn’t even comparable (aside from Markov). This will be the #1 thing that hurts Team Russia in 2010.

Fantana’s Olympic Predictions
Gold- Russia; There’s too much offense on this team to be able to contain it all. If you manage to shut down Ovechkin and Semin, players like Datsyuk and Kovalchuk will step up and lead the way. Their defense isn’t the best in the tournament but I think their goaltending is strong enough to bail the D out.
Silver- Canada; Canada is sending a great team to the Olympics this year and they will definitely make up for the disaster in Turino 4 years ago. Having said that, I don’t think they quite stack up against a strong Russian squad, though it will be close. 2nd place is no shame and I think this is where Canada, as a country, needs to learn that it’s no longer our game.
Bronze- Sweden; In the Bronze Medal game, I think you’ll see a great match with the U.S. and the Swedes going head to head. Both teams are lead by solid goaltending and exciting young players who are emerging as superstars around the world. In the end, I give the edge to Sweden because they’re a little bit older and a little bit more experienced on such a large stage.

Champ’s Olympic Predictions
Gold- Russia; What can we say, the Russians have more fire power than the US army. These guys will just come wave after wave with speed and all out talent and will embarass a good number of teams. This will be the year the Russians return to the top of hockey internationally.
Silver- Sweden; The Gold Medalists from 2006 return with a very strong team and will benefit from players currently playing well for their respective teams such as Daniel Alfredsson. Good goaltending and good defence will help this team do well throughout the tournament.
Bronze- USA; Team USA is going to surprise a lot of teams riding Ryan Miller throughout the tournament. I would be surprised if Tim Thomas or Jonathan Quick even see any action. Look for team USA to be a very fast team that many will under estimate.

Notes: What about Canada you ask? As I said I believe the “jinx” will unfortunately hit the men’s hockey team as well as I believe they will be “shocked” in the quarterfinals once again. My heart truly hopes this does not happen as Champ would love nothing more than to celebrate a gold medal like in ‘02, but my gut tells me it will be for not. Let’s hope I’m very very wrong!

Baxter’s Olympic Predictions
Gold- Canada; All round best team. Motivation to win at home should be enough to be a difference maker. Watch for other forwards to capture the limelight as Crosby will be a marked man the entire tournament.
Silver- USA; Ryan Miller will steal games for the Americans. Offense is not much to write home about, but his stellar goaltending will be good for a few key games.
Bronze- Russia;  Surprise upset prediction. Goal scoring will be not an issue, but preventing goals against will be their challenge.

Stay classy, Olympic Hockey.

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 18

February 1st, 2010

Here we go, week 18 of the NHL Classy Power Rankings! This week, there’s a new number one team with huge jumps from the red hot Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, and the high flying Los Angeles Kings.

The result of the Senators, Canucks, and Kings pushing into the top 10 means a few slides for the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators. The New York Islanders are among the week’s biggest drops with a current 5-game losing streak.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 18

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 30)
29.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 29)
28.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 28)
27.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 27)
26.  New York Islanders (last week: 20)

Virtually the same bottom 5 as last week, with the addition of the New York Islanders, who slide 6 spots after dropping 5 straight games. Of these bottom teams, there’s a few things to note since last week. First of all, Sheldon Souray fractured his hand on Saturday night. The Oilers obviously won’t be able to trade Souray at the deadline. And of course, the big news from Sunday morning – The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired J.S. Giguere and Dion Phaneuf by swapping out 6 players.

25.  Boston Bruins (last week: 22)
24.  New York Rangers (last week: 19)
23.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 25)
22.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 17)
21.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 26)

Cue the Vincent Lecavalier rumours… it appears the Lightning are in the process of being sold to a new owner and whispers suggest the new owner may (I stress may) want to cut payroll. Instantly, Lecavalier to Montreal/Los Angeles stories are popping up. I highly doubt this. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins continue to slump with bad goaltending and little scoring. They are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. For the Rangers, they may (again, I stress may for multiple reasons) get a boost in scoring as a trade with the Calgary Flames has been reported but not yet completed (or may not happen at all).

20.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 24)
19.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 15)
18.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 16)
17.  Florida Panthers (last week: 23)
16.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 21)

The Anaheim Ducks signed Jonas Hiller to a 4-year extension on Saturday and the Florida Panthers got a big boost to their lineup as David Booth returned in Sunday’s win against the Islanders (Booth recorded an assist in his return). The Minnesota Wild have reportedly terminated their 1-year contract with Peter Sykora after he didn’t report to the AHL.

15.  Dallas Stars (last week: 18)
14.  Calgary Flames (last week: 14)
13.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 13)
12.  Nashville Predators (last week: 10)
11.  Colorado Avalanche (last week: 5)

The Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators slip out of the top 10 because of sub-par weeks and big winning streaks by other teams. It will be interesting to see how the Calgary Flames look with 4 new players in their line up. For the record, the Leafs/Flames don’t hook up again until next year… unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Fina… wait. Nevermind. I’ll stop there. They’ll next meet in the 2010-2011 season.

10.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 12)
The red hot Ottawa Senators have won 9 games in a row against some impressive teams. They’ve really set themselves apart from the 6th-13th seeded teams in the Eastern Conference and are 3 points back of Pittsburgh for 4th in the Conference. It’s not all great news for the Senators – Nick Foligno is out for 6-8 weeks with a broken leg after blocking a shot on Saturday.

9.  Pittsburgh Penguins (last week: 8)
It’s hard to knock the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the most part, they play like an experienced playoff team with a pretty deep roster. I’m interested to see what they do between now and the March 3rd trade deadline (some rumours suggest they are looking at Toronto’s Alexei Ponikarovsky).

8.  New Jersey Devils (last week: 4)
The New Jersey Devils have hit a bit of a rough patch lately – they are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and Martin Brodeur has been showing some signs of shakey goaltending we saw during the conclusion of the Hurricanes/Devils playoff series from last year.

7.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 11)
The Los Angeles Kings just wrapped up a road trip that saw them go 5-0. They’ve won 6 games in a row and are really starting to gel as a team. Rumours continue to name the Kings as one of the frontrunners for Ilya Kovalchuk, but as of now (Yeah – I sort of buy some of it), there doesn’t seem to be much to the stories.

6.  Phoenix Coyotes (last week: 9)
The Phoenix Coyotes had a nice week topped off by a win in Dallas on Sunday night. It was Dave Tippett’s first time in Dallas  since being fired by the Stars last year. The Coyotes have won 5 of their last 6 games and are starting to get contributions from a few of their young kids.

5.  Buffalo Sabres (last week: 6)
After going winless on their 4 game Western road trip, the Buffalo Sabres turned in 2 straight home victories against Eastern Conference teams. Good timing for the Sabres who now hold significantly reduce 5 point lead on the Northeast Division.

4.  Vancouver Canucks (last week: 7)
The Vancouver Canucks are one of the hottest 3 teams in the league! They’ve just set out on a NHL record 14 game road trip (making way for the Olympics) and are firing on all cylinders. The only question I have for the Canucks right now (beyond what, if any moves they may or may not make at the deadline) is if they are peaking too early in the season.

3.  Chicago Blackhawks (last week: 3)
With Dave Bolland scheduled to return to the line up this week (per Harken), the Chicago Blackhawks will be as close to 100% health as ever. It’s arguably the deepest roster in the NHL, so it will be interesting to see how the players and coach Joe Quennville handles it. Of course there is trade speculation, but we’ll have to see. The Hawks are 6-4 in their last 10 and currently hold a 15 point lead on the Central Division. The team is only 3 points back of the NHL lead in points.

2.  San Jose Sharks (last week: 1)
It’s pretty amazing a team (Capitals) can win 10 games in a row and still not lead the NHL in points. The reason for that is the 8-0-2 record of the San Jose Sharks over their last 10 games. The Sharks have quietly been winning nearly every game they play. In fact, they’ve only lost 10 games all year (in regulation). I’m pretty sure the Edmonton Oilers have dropped more games than that in 2010 alone…

1.  Washington Capitals (last week: 2)
The Washington Capitals are the hottest team in the league with 10 straight wins! The bad news is Mike Green was suspended for 3 games after a bad elbowing incident. In the same game Green suffered a knee injury, however, Capitals insider Tarik El-Bashir believes the injury isn’t too serious.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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The Senators toying with everybody all this time?

January 26th, 2010

Oh how quickly things can change in today’s NHL!

Afternoon sportsfans, Champ here feeling the winds of change (insert mandatory Scorpions plug here) in the Nation’s capital with the Ottawa Senators suddenly rolling over opponents like a fat kid at the all you can eat buffet (chubby & blimpy kids association please send your hate mail to the following email address mantooth@stayclassy.net).

Daniel Alfredsson - Ottawa Senators

Daniel Alfredsson has a lot to do with the Senators recent success. Classy.

The Senators, winners of 6 straight, are looking like the Harlem Globetrotters of the NHL right now. With Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, and Jason Spezza now all back in the fold, they really look to be pushing for a top 4 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Goaltending, which was horrendous for about a 10 game stretch (almost Red-Light Rocicot-ish), is suddenly quite solid and providing the Sens with a chance of winning every night. Even the powerplay is putting pucks in the net – something Senators fans haven’t seen all season long.

The are even reports that Bryan Murray will be an active buyer at the March 3rd NHL trade deadline. Murry has made no bones about wanting to add additional scoring depth to this seemingly potent lineup. It’s believed he’s looking for a top 6 forward (Carolina’s Ray Whitney or Edmonton’s Andrew Cogliano come to mind) without changing the current roster.

It should make for an interesting conclusion to this hockey season after the Olympics. Either the Senators will keep plowing through teams or will suffer another bi-polar episode and go on a losing streak of epic proportions. It will surely keep fans glued to their televisions to see how this season plays out.

Until next time,

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators Fans.

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 17

January 25th, 2010

Finally, week 17 of the Power Rankings are here! We have a new number one team and jumps from the Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, and Ottawa Senators (each team are currently riding six game winning streaks).

As with any Ranking system, there were some notable falls this week. The Edmonton Oilers fell to the very bottom of the league (as I predicted… but seriously, who didn’t see this coming?) while the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins suffer drops in the Classy Rankings with their poor play, too.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 17

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 29)
29.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 28)
28.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 30)
27.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 27)
26.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 25)

To no one’s surprise, the Edmonton Oilers have finally hit rock bottom. They are the worst team in the NHL. They haven’t won a single game in 2010. All this while the Carolina Hurricanes have started playing slightly better. Last week, the Hurricanes announced Eric Staal as the new team captain, with Rod Brind’Amour remaining an assistant captain. The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to lose ground on a decent finish to the season and the playoffs seem nearly impossible at this point. Right now, last year’s record looks pretty good to the Leafs. The Thrashers and Blue Jackets are still hovering around the bottom five positions in the league… or more importantly, the draft lottery sweepstakes.

25.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 26)
24.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 21)
23.  Florida Panthers (last week: 24)
22.  Boston Bruins (last week: 14)
21.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 19)

The Boston Bruins suffer the week’s biggest drop from 14 to 22 following four straight losses. They are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference with the Islanders. For the St. Louis Blues, they are 5-2-1 in their last eight games and have some wondering if they can reproduce a similar late season run into the playoffs like they did last season. (If any team could do it this year, my money is on Anaheim). The Blues and Minnesota Wild are on the outside of the playoff race right now, but still in the mix. They’ll both need about two-three solid weeks of strong results to really have a shot at getting into the playoffs. I don’t like their chances though.

20.  New York Islanders (last week: 17)
19.  New York Rangers (last week: 16)
18.  Dallas Stars (last week: 18)
17.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 20)
16.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 22)

Montreal, Philadelphia, and the New York Rangers are currently in playoff positions while the Stars and Islanders aren’t. In the case of the Islanders, they are one point back and the Stars are three points out of the last Western playoff spot. The Flyers inconsistency still bothers me and I’m impressed with the Islanders fight to stay in the playoff hunt. I find you can always tell when the Rangers are struggling as John Tortorella’s press conferences start becoming “can’t miss events“. Of course, with any anticipated Tortorella press conference comes a fantastic quote!

15.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 23)
14.  Calgary Flames (last week: 12)
13.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 13)
12.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 15)
11.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 11)

The Calgary Flames could very well find themselves out of the playoffs by next week’s Power Rankings. They are on a five game losing streak and have only won two games of their last 10. A far cry from the “contender status” they started the season with. The Red Wings continue to get healthier in their drive for the playoffs. Looking at the Western Conference right now, the Wings are the one team not in the playoffs who I expect to make it come April. Finally, both the Ducks and Senators enjoy huge jumps this week with red hot play. The Ducks are 8-2 in their last 10 games and could be considered a dark horse team to make the Western Conference playoffs (to me, it’s between them and the Wings). The Ottawa Senators have won six straight games and are nearly 100% healthy again with big impact returns from Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Filip Kuba, and Milan Michalek. The Sens recent hot play means Melynk’s at it again. Urrrgh.

10.  Nashville Predators (29-19-3, 61 pts; last week: 6)
The Nashville Predators fall this week after losing three straight games, particularly because of a loss to the Leafs – a team they should beat. The Predators are in the middle of a four game home stand with games against the Red Wings and Blue Jackets this week.

9.  Phoenix Coyotes (29-18-5, 63 pts; last week: 7)
The Phoenix Coyotes also drop this week as a result of losing two of their last three games. The Coyotes were lit up 7-2 by the Sabres last Monday and lost a close one to Washington after taking too many penalties. This week, the ‘Yotes play the Red Wings, Flames, and Rangers.

8.  Pittsburgh Penguins (32-20-1, 65 pts; last week: 9)
The Pittsburgh Penguins move up in this week’s rankings largely because the Coyotes and Predators moved down. The Penguins still aren’t looking like the Stanley Cup Champions with a terrible powerplay and too many blown games. Sidney Crosby continues to score goals at a torrid pace and Marc-Andre Fleury is expected back from his finger injury this week.

7.  Vancouver Canucks (31-18-2, 64 pts; last week: 10)
The Vancouver Canucks are really starting to heat up. What’s impressed me most about the Canucks has been the firepower from their forwards. Sammuelson, Kesler, Burrows, Raymond, Sedins-squared make up a great top two lines and the Canucks are getting strong play out of Alex Edler and Christian Ehrhoff too. This week, the Canucks play the Sabres, Blues, and Maple Leafs.

6.  Buffalo Sabres (30-13-7, 67 pts; last week: 5)
The Buffalo Sabres have dropped three of their last four games against Western Conference teams. Allowing 15 goals in four games against the Coyotes, Ducks, Kings, and Sharks makes me wonder if the Sabres are benefiting from a weak Division/Conference or if this is merely a slump against good teams. The Senators are now seven points back of the Buffalo for the Division lead and the Sabres will look to add some distance this week in games against the Canucks, Devils, and Bruins.

5.  Colorado Avalanche (30-15-6, 66 pts; last week: 8)
The Colorado Avalanche are the second team this week to have six straight wins. Last week, the Avalanche knocked off the Oilers and Stars and have two shutouts in their last three games. After a few days off, the Avs will play the Wild and Stars in back to back games this week.

4.  New Jersey Devils (34-15-1, 69 pts; last week: 4)
The New Jersey Devils have been very mediocre in their last 10 games (5-5) in comparison with the rest of their season. While recent losses against the Canadiens and Islanders are concerning, this is a very strong team that will challenge for a Division title and the Eastern Conference championship this Spring.

3.  Chicago Blackhawks (35-13-4, 74 pts; last week: 1)
I wasn’t terribly impressed with the Chicago Blackhawks last week. They came out flat against the Senators and Canucks and are 3-2 on their season long road trip so far. The Road trip wraps up this week against the Oilers, Sharks, and Hurricanes.

2.  Washington Capitals (33-12-6, 72 pts; last week: 3)
Along with the Senators and Avalanche, the Washington Capitals are among the hottest teams in the NHL, having posted six straight wins. The team are 9-1 in their last 10 games and have lost once since making Alex Ovechkin team captain. Not bad…

1.  San Jose Sharks (35-10-8, 78 pts; last week: 2)
The San Jose Sharks are back to the number one position in the Classy Rankings! We’ve talked a lot about the Capitals, Senators, and Avalanche having six games winning streaks, but the Sharks are no slouches either. They’ve won five straight games against good teams (including the Sabres, Kings, and Ducks). The Sharks have three games at home this week against the Hawks, Wild, and Red Wings.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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Does Henrik Sedin’s breakout season make Sweden an Olympic gold medal threat?

January 25th, 2010

Watching the transformation of Henrik Sedin this season has been amazing. He’s always had an incredible chemistry with his brother Daniel but I never really saw Henrik as a true number 1 centre in the league. He had incredible talent, but I never really saw him as an incredible player. In fact, I always saw Henrik and Daniel as the best 2nd line in the NHL. Maybe that’s because I don’t watch the Canucks play as much as I should, and maybe it’s because I live in Toronto and there isn’t much Canuck coverage here. Or maybe they just seemed so comfortable in their role on the 2nd line back when the Bertuzzi-Naslund-Morrison line was ripping it up. Am I really getting that old? It’s hard to say.

Vancouver Canucks star Henrik Sedin leads the NHL in points this season, classy.

Vancouver Canucks star Henrik Sedin leads the NHL in points this season, classy.

Regardless, while I applauded Mike Gillis for resigning the Sedins to reasonable contracts this past summer (cap hit of $6.1M over 5 years, each), the lingering thought in my mind was that they would have to really earn that money now. Those new contracts meant first and foremost, that the Sedins had now absolutely become Vancouver’s top line. And they have definitely stepped up, especially Henrik.

Henrik currently leads the NHL with 74 points in only 51 games, including 23 goals. Assuming he stays healthy, that puts him on pace to score 36 goals and 118 points, both of which would be career highs. In fact, Hank has already achieved a career high in goals this season – as the 22 goals he scored last season was his best previous tally. You can attribute his goal scoring explosion this season, in part, to the fact that he’s simply shot the puck more. He’s taken 105 shots this season compared to 143 in all of last season. I think he’s also played a much stronger defensive game, which has made him a tougher player to shut down and play against. He’s +23 this year, which is a currently a career best as well. Finally, he’s done a lot of this while Vancouver have battled two significant injuries: Roberto Luongo was out for a couple weeks and brother Daniel missed 18 games – at the same time. Henrik’s emergence as one of the top players in the league has come from the simple fact that he’s become the go-to player for the Canucks and that’s kept them in a tight battle with Calgary and Colorado for the division lead. There’s a quiet argument out there that Hank should be a serious contender for the Hart Trophy this year and it’s an argument that’s quickly gaining momentum. At the very least, Henrik Sedin has been one of the best and most consistent players in the NHL this season.

All of this leads me to one question – Does Henrik’s emergence as one of the NHL’s best players make Sweden a real threat to win gold in Vancouver next month? I’ve believed all along that the fight for the gold medal will be a three-horse race between Canada, Russia and a dark horse American team. But like most, I hadn’t really considered Sweden a real threat, despite the fact that they took gold 4 years ago in Turin. To me, the thing that’s always separated the Canadians, Russians and Americans from the rest of the pack was the fact that they all have two, maybe even three lines capable of being their number 1 line. Their depth of high-end talent up front seemed to be too much for the teams from the Czech Republic, Finland and even Sweden.

Yet, when you look down at Sweden’s roster, their top 3 lines look like this:

Daniel Sedin –  Henrik Sedin –  Henrik Zetterberg

Daniel Alfredsson – Nicklas Backstrom – Loui Eriksson

Patric Hornqvist – Peter Forsberg – Tomas Holmstrom

That’s a pretty strong top 9 and I think they’ll be a very good team. I think they’ll be a much stronger and tougher team to play against than most people think. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them earn a position on the medal podium. They’ve got strong goaltending and pretty solid defense, so it could happen. And when you’ve got an emerging world-class player like Henrik Sedin riding a major hot streak, it could definitely happen.

Your Reporter in the Field,

Fantana

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The Ottawa Senators new anthem?

January 14th, 2010

“Ya I’m free… Free falling”
The new theme song of the Ottawa Senators 2009-2010 Season

Morning Sportsfans, it appears Tom Petty hit the nail right on the head with his popular song. The Ottawa Senators seem to be spiraling out of control with no end in sight. The injury bug has bitten the team like a black fly in Muskoka at the end of June (if you’ve ever been there you’ll understand the reference).

As of writing this, Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, Filip Kuba, Milan Michalek, and Jesse Winchester are all out with various injuries. That’s a ton of money sitting on the sidelines (approximately $248,875 per game, using the cap hits from NHLNumbers.com).

To further compound the Senators problems, goaltending has been horrendous as of late (that’s probably why goaltending coach Eli Wilson was fired yesterday). Taking it a step further, it was reported this morning that Pascal Leclaire is now injured (again). The Senators are in New York tonight to face the Rangers. It’s expected Mike Brodeur (who’s 1-0 in his NHL career) will get the start in goal for Ottawa.

Oh and let’s not forget that the team also can’t seem to buy a power play goal… or any goals for that matter. The Senators have only scored five goals in their last five games. The team currently sits tied for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and every team with the exception of the Edmonton Oilers appears to be playing better than the Senators right now.

As a fan it’s difficult to watch, and numerous fans will likely start jumping off the band wagon… if they haven’t already. But those fans faithful to the Church of Alfie will see the team get through this slump once key players return from their respective injuries. Let’s just hope the Senators can regain some chemistry and make a push for the playoffs. One can only hope!

And besides… at least we still have our first round draft pick!

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators.

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What can NHL teams do to improve atmosphere?

January 8th, 2010

It’s a tough thing, the business of in-game entertainment. A slow, boring game can sap the life out of an arena pretty quickly, and pockets of empty seats can stop “the wave” dead in its tracks.

As a frequent attendee of hockey games, I’ve been fortunate to witness the best from hockey crowds, and unfortunate to see the worst as well.

Recently, Erin Nicks at Universal Cynic posted a statement from The Real Sens Army about some mistreatment they received at Scotiabank Place. Root of the problem: the group intended to cheer loud and proud for the Ottawa Senators at a recent home game, but were shunned, exiled and even kicked out for ‘rowdy’ behaviour.

Now I don’t intend to cast guilt on either party. I wasn’t there, and I can’t speak to what happened. But it does raise some interesting issues about Scotiabank Place crowds.

So how do you get the crowd more involved? What elicits a response from crowds, and what is downright cheesy? I think there’s a few things we can look at, which hopefully find their way to the right people.

1.  Fans aren’t stupid.

- There is an absurd amount of coddling that takes place during hockey games. To think of a few: the noise-meter, the red light, the “Noise” wordmark that travels around the arena. All of these seek to create a response, but in my opinion, do nothing but offend the fan. I understand the necessity to fill dead air with noise, but fan responses are…

2.  …organic.

- That’s right. Fans are an organism. If you look at the fan base as a body or structure, it is filled up of many moving parts. In unison, it can work marvellously; however, it also has the ability to appear discombobulated without a unified goal. I know it sounds like I’m saying one thing and preaching the other, but fan responses (the best ones at least) come from the grassroots and not from a fancy graphic on the scoreboard. Not once have I ever seen the scoreboard tell fans to Boo the referee, but yet these are some of the loudest moments in a game. Same goes for booing individual players. As such, in-game entertainment should seek to complement this organic and grassroots movement, rather than force it. Which leads me to my next point.

3.  Fans often come up with better choices than they’re given.

- This might offend a few people in the marketing department, but it is a difficult point to argue against. After all, the marketing department is at the arena every single day. It must be hard to not have apathy find it’s way into the job, and sometimes it’s easier to look at what other arenas are doing and just emulate that. But like the booing of a referee or a player, fans respond better to the mob mentality than they do to big brother. Think back to a few years ago during the playoffs when the “Alfie chant” first emerged. No prompting from the scoreboard. No explanation from Stuntman Stu. Pure, unadulterated passion from the fans. In my opinion, the marketing department should be taking a long look at stuff like that, and trying to complement it rather than replace it. I think throwing “Alfie, Alfie, Alfie” on the scoreboard is a lot more effective than “Noise!”

4.  We’re there for the hockey game, but the marketing should be about us.

- The Senators have tried this over the past few years, but ‘Sens Army’ just hasn’t taken off as well as I thought it would. But the marketing should be about the fans and their contributions to the game and the team. The 13th Man for the Saskatchewan Roughriders (sorry, the irony is too much) is a classic example. But again, fans aren’t stupid. A simple slogan of ‘Wear Red’ might work for a few, but pictures and movies of an arena awash in red is much more effective. We want to know that our contributions to the game are being recognized, rather than being told what to do. The Senators have done an okay job at this, sometimes. A few years ago they had a video playing about the run to the cup, but this is still the closest I’ve seen them get to celebrating the fans. The Montreal Canadiens, on the other hand, make you feel like you’ve been around for the entire 100 years of the organization; that in some microcosmic way, the fans have contributed to the franchise’s success. I don’t need to see highlights of goals and saves anymore. I need to see the fans.

5.  Fans respond to one another.

- This is the simplest of all. It’s a mob mentality out there, but good ideas don’t go unnoticed. Even the shyest individuals will join a chant if enough people are involved. I like to think of the J-Block at Arthur Ashes stadium as a classic example. Whenever James Blake plays in the U.S. Open, the J-Block is full of fans cheering for Jason Blake, wearing matching shirts and going absolutely nuts for him. Why not block off a section of Scotiabank Place, and advertise it as a fan zone. But not a GM Fan Zone. Advertise that this is for real fans only. Noisemakers, signs, capes and flags are not only there, but strongly encouraged. I have no doubt that it would take off and maybe even grow.

–

I’m not sure if any of these ideas will actually go anywhere, but I had to write it down. I’ve grown so tired of going to games and watching fans sit on their thumbs. Maybe I’m way off base on these ideas, but hey, I tried. And I’m not even getting paid for this.

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators crowds.

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Thoughts on this afternoon’s Flyers-Senators game

January 3rd, 2010

Ottawa Senators- 7, Philadelphia Flyers- 4

Before getting going on this game recap, the score should probably read Alex Kovalev defeats the Flyers or something to that extent.

For everyone who didn’t watch the Flyers-Senators game, this wasn’t a dominant Senators blowout win. Far from it, sort of. After jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead (on Pascal Leclaire’s first of three weak goals against), the Flyers played terribly and allowed the Senators to score four more before the end of the first period. In the second period, the Senators and Flyers reversed roles. The Senators didn’t show up for the second period and let the Flyers back into the game, ending the period tied at four. In the third period, the Senators woke up and capitalized on more bad Flyers defensive play. Both starting goalies (Leclaire and Michael Leighton) were pulled before the half-way mark of the game, too. This game was one of the strangest Senators games I’ve watched in awhile. The way each team played, it felt like I was watching a junior game and not an NHL game. There were too many simple mistakes made, turnovers handed out like gifts, and momentum tossed back and forth like it was Tiger Woods call girl.

At any rate, here’s the Classy, Non-Classy, and Could-Have-Been-Classier moments from the Flyers-Senators game.

The Classy

For the first time in awhile, Alex Kovalev showed up for the Ottawa Senators. And he did so in a very big way. Kovalev was the game’s first star, scoring four goals and adding an assist in the win. Kovalev has stepped up for the Senators over the last few games dating back to shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres after Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza went down with long term injuries. This afternoon’s game against the Flyers was Kovalev’s “coming out party”, of sorts (sorry – that’s a terrible nod to TSN’s Bob McKenzie whom I greatly respect). For all the goals Kovalev scored in last night’s game, I was equally impressed with his skating and desire to get to open area’s of the offensive zone. And given how well Kovalev skated in this game, I’ll temporarily relinquish the “Koastalev” nickname. This was the second game this year Kovalev has scored three or more goals in a game for the Senators (he has 11 goals this season).

Honourable mentions to go both Chris Kelly and Ryan Shannon. Like Kovalev, Shannon and Kelly have elevated their play as of late and have helped make a difference for the Senators in a key time. The team are 3-1 4-1 since Alfredsson’s injury and many (myself included) questioned if the key players like Kelly and Shannon could step up for the team. It’s nice to see players like this rise to the challenge.

Non-Classy

In a game like this one, it’s easy to pick out Non-Classy moments or players. Don’t worry, I have a few. The easy one is Pascal Leclaire who allowed three goals on 10 shots and generally looked out of it during his limited action. There isn’t much else to say on Leclaire’s performance from this game. Needless to say, he’ll look to be better in his next outing.

In a game where the Senators scored seven goals and nine players got points, it’s surprising Milan Michalek wasn’t one of them. In fact, Michalek hasn’t scored a point in his last seven games. Since scoring two goals and playing a strong game against his former team – the San Jose Sharks – on December 1st, Michalek has just one goal and one assist in his last 17 games. Non-Classy.

Could-Have-Been-Classier

While Ottawa’s powerplay continues to struggle, this game’s Could-Have-Been Classier goes to Nick Foligno and his head down tendencies. He never makes the right play because his head is always down looking at the puck. He frequently drives nets with speed (which is good), but never realizes how little space he has to shoot/make a move/pass the puck. It drives me up the wall because Foligno has all the things you want in a checking forward; skill, size, heart, etc…

Most players are taught to skate with their head up at the Peewee level (approx. 12 or 13 years old), yet Foligno continues to do his thing. I know it’s another nit-picky point of mine, however, I strongly feel if Foligno played with his head up, he could score 20-25 goals per year and perhaps be the top 6 forward the Senators so desperately want him to be.

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Up next for the Senators is the final game of a five-game homestand against the Boston Bruins. The Senators have been very strong on home ice this season with a record of 16-6-3 at Scotiabank Place. It’s another critical game between these two Northeast opponents as the Bruins currently sit one point above the Senators for second place in the division. It’s possible Milan Lucic could return from his injury for this contest.

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators.

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Thoughts on last night’s Avalanche-Senators game

December 31st, 2009

Colorado Avalanche- 4, Ottawa Senators- 3

Kind of a predictable game and result from the Avalanche and Senators last night. Craig Anderson had another strong performance (it’s becoming routine this year), the Senators finished the game off strong despite some weak play early on, and breaking out of their own end proved to be difficult for the Senators (as it has all season long). Colorado’s speed was difficult for the Senators to handle and the young Avalanche kids were certainly a factor all game long. It was nice to see Alex Kovalev (or Koastalev as he’s known to our classier readers) driving the net and Ryan Shannon showing some strong play Senators fans got used to towards the end of last season. It should be noted Nick Foligno returned after missing seven games and Erik Karlsson was a healthy scatch for the third straight game.

Here’s the Classy, Non-Classy, and Could-Have-Been-Classier moments of last night’s Avalanche-Senators game.

The Classy

Hey, what’s up with Ryan Shannon lately? He’s like… scoring. Weird. Shannon now has four goals in his last three games and he came through with some big goals for the Senators last night. Yes the first goal went off  Kyle Cuminskey’s skate, but his second goal was a great shot and came at a critical time in the game. I found Shannon’s positioning excellent all game. He’s finding dead area’s in the offensive zone and is moving his feet well. When he’s on his game, he reminds me of a less (much less) physical Mike Fisher. When he’s not on his game… I don’t notice him. Like Jonathan Cheechoo or Alex Kovalev (wow, two low blows!). For Shannon’s sake (and the Senators), I hope he can continue this kind of play. His improved play has really helped this team since Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson went down with serious injuries.

Non-Classy

The sum of Pascal Leclaire’s rebounds and the Ottawa Senators defencemen (and forwards)’s inability to clear Leclaire’s rebounds makes last night’s Non-Classy mention. I lost track of how many routine shots became high risk rebounds… and three of those rebounds turned into Avalanche goals. To Leclaire’s credit, he didn’t have much chance on those goals, but the defence was suspect to say the least. The Senators defencemen were simply out of position or standing around on each of those three goals. Ryan O’Reilly’s game winning goal was a great example of Jonathan Cheechoo not paying attention. Chris Kelly did a great job to hustle back into the play (and nearly caught Darcy Tucker), but it was the third trailing man (O’Reilly) that Cheechoo needed to pick up. He didn’t and the Sens lost because of it. As far as the Matt Duchene goal, I’m sure it’s one Leclaire would like to have back (on a side note: that was a bullet of a shot from Duchene).

Could-Have-Been-Classier

Maybe this is a small thing I’m giving too much attention to, but did anyone else notice Adam Foote dropping to his knees more often than a Tiger Woods transgressioner? It seemed like his default “defensive positioning” to drop down on his knees to take away shots and passes each time the Senators had decent in-zone pressure. However, in doing so, he was leaving just enough room for the super Senators puck handlers to deke around. Don’t worry Adam, Cheechoo, Shannon, and Kovalev thank you. Call it a late Christmas gift or something, but only Shannon could cash in.

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Up next for the Senators is a game tonight against John Tavares and the New York Islanders. The Islanders are 5-5 in their last 10 games and are coming off a home shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. I’m sure many broadcasters will be all over the fact that a year ago today at Scotiabank Place, Tavares had the huge hat-trick performance against the United States in that epic World Junior Canada/US battle. Prediction: the billing will read “Can Tavares do it again?” or something to that extent. I predict the Senators to win the game with Brian Elliott in goal.

Please note we won’t be providing thought’s from the Islanders/Senators game as our complete and undivided attention will be on the World Junior showdown between Canada and the United States. And as well, we’ll be “recovering” from various pool parties. That said, you can expect a full Winter Classic review on the evening of New Years Day.

Happy New Years Eve, classy readers.

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators.

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Ottawa Senators game day predictions (Avalanche/Senators)

December 30th, 2009

Tonight the Ottawa Senators will host one of the Western Conference powerhouse teams, the Colorado Avalanche (who thought you’d reading that prior to this season starting?). The Avalanche are a quick team with young stars like Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly, as well as veteran players like Milan Hedjduk, Wojtek Wolski, and Kyle Quincey. Goaltending for Colorado is one of the main reasons the team has won so many games. Craig Anderson has been one of the best goalies in the the NHL this season.

Meanwhile, the Senators continue to move forward, despite injuries to key players like Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson.  Nick Foligno is expected to return to the line up as the Sens go for their third straight win.

Here’s our predictions - do you agree? Let us know below.

Colorado Avalanche vs Ottawa Senators, 7:30pm, TSN

Burgundy: Colorado- 4, Ottawa- 2; At some point, the Senators injuries are going to catch up with them and I expect that to be the case tonight against the Avalanche. Although the Sens have been getting big goals from unlikely players (Shannon, Neil), their defensive play is suspect. I don’t think they’ll be able to get away with it against Colorado like they did against Montreal. Finally, I believe Anderson will outplay Leclaire.

Champ: Colorado- 4, Ottawa- 3 (SO); Avs are a surprisingly strong team this year and the Sens will have their hands full. Look for Leclaire to have another strong outing.

Fantana: Ottawa- 3, Colorado- 2; Ottawa has been playing strong hockey as of late, and have been led by their role players. Look for this trend to continue against the Avs tonight. Having said that, Colorado are no slouches either, having won 7 of their last 10 games. This will be a fast-skating game but it’s difficult to argue with the Sens Eastern Conference leading 14 home ice wins.

Mantooth: Ottawa- 3, Colorado- 1; First and only meeting of these two teams this season. The Avs are starting a three game road trip here in Ottawa. The Sens are coming off a great comeback win against the Canadiens, without superstars Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza in the lineup. Expect guys like Mike Fisher and Chris Neil to continue to step up in their absence.

Stay classy, Colorado Avalanche.

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