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Found! Actual transcript between Jason Spezza and Bryan Murray

June 6th, 2010

You are in luck. A third Stayclassy post in three days. I guess I am feeling creative or something… (that something might be Justin from the Hockeycardshow suggesting I do this, but whatever…).

Lately there have been some heavy rumors suggesting Jason Spezza might ask to be traded prior to his No Trade Clause kicking on July 1st. It’s been reported by several (read: not credible) sports outlets that this is a result of Senators fans booing Spezza during their 1st Round Playoff exit at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Both Bryan Murray and Jason Spezza have been fairly quiet on the matter (probably a good idea after last summer’s Heatley debachle). Murray has even indicated he hopes to sit down with Spezza prior to the NHL Entry draft to follow up on the previous conversation the two shared days after being eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs (read: weird post-season tournament where all the good teams lost early and screwed up hockey pools around the world).

What many don’t know is this follow up interview has already taken place! Luckily for you I have most of the interview transcribed. Here it is:

Bryan Murray: Thanksh for sitting down with me Jashon. There’sh a few things I’d like to follow up with…

Jason Spezza: Before getting into what I said a few months ago I have to ask. Why did you tell the media about my frustration with being booed? That was kind of a D-Bag move, man.

BM: Look I’m shaawwry about that. That was actually Eugene Melnyk’s fault. He told me to do that.

JS: Since when does he give you advice on running a pro hockey team?

BM: Well Jashon I won’t lie to you. He’s gotten very good at NHL10 on PlayStation. He told me he uses this tactic a lot when trying to make trades in franchise mode. His gamer score is pretty aweshome. I believe him.

JS: Is that the game with me on the cover?

BM: No. You are talking about NHL2k8. Totally different game.

JS: I’m starting to feel this organization doesn’t love me like I want to be loved! I helped design that game and my team owner is off playing another hockey game??? I even included my trademark behind-the-back pass moves!

BM: Yeah I know… that’sh actually a complaint of many players. They say it causes too many nearly-inshtant goals against. Anyways… We really want you to stay an Ottawa Senator. You are a leader of this team and frankly my career needs you to stay here and produce like everyone thinksh you can.

JS: You mean you can’t afford to trade another star player for “top 6 forwards” that are actually role players on 3rd/4th lines?

BM: Exshactly. It might discredit all future interviews I do when I talk about the team needing one final top 6 forward and top 4 defencemen to round out the solid group I have in place.

JS: * Giggles lots * Dude! I totally don’t believe you anymore when you say that — * Giggling increases *

* More giggling transpires… *

* Still going… *

BM: Jashon, you were saying?

* Still giggling… It’s like this giggling is being looped! *

BM: Schtop your damn giggling and get to the point!

JS: Right. OK. We keep getting sidetracked here. None of this conversation changes the fact that I don’t like being booed in my own building. I’m frustrated that the only thing this city shows emotion for is my ‘unlucky turnovers’ and tax season. I need to know what we’re prepared to do to stop the boo’s. It’s the only way I’ll stay in Ottawa.

BM: I have shome ideashs. I’ll call the City of Ottawa and have them indefinitely delay the Queensway expansion to tie up traffic getting to each home game. That way less people will be in the arena for game time. Less people equals less boo’s. It’s physhicshx.

JS: Nice. What else d’ya got?

BM: We could have the Shparta Cat blast hot dogs into the crowd every time you make a bad passh. Fans will never be able to boo because their mouths will be forever loaded with fake meat and bad shoe leather hot dogs! And we could make excuses for you like “Michalek needs another knee surgery”. We can probably get away with that excuse 2-3 times per season.

JS: *Nods in approval*

BM: We could also claim the dressing room lacks character players. I need to resign Nick Foligno soon. I don’t really know what the hell kind of offer to give him so we could make him the scape goat. That helps both of us.

JS: Nice! His nose freaks me out too. Oh! Can we get Mike Comrie back?

BM: Is he still playing hockey? I could probably offer our first round pick for next season. I’d have to check with Eugene but I’m pretty sure he’ll be cool with it. He’s probably already done this on NHL10 anyways. Anything else Jashon?

JS: One last thing. This is kind of random. When TSN and CBC show General Managers on TV in their Suites writing things down, what are you writing and doing?

BM: Well most guys do different schtuff. Personally I like crossword puzzles. And I know Burkie likes Sh… Shudsh… Shudokushs. That’s like the hardestsh word to say!! Anyways between me and you he really sucksh at them. He never uses the number 2… no clue why.

JS: Nice! OK. I have to go stop off at the bank and meet McGrattan and Emery for lunch. Apparently they need me to spot them a bunch of cash for something “fun”. Not sure what that means. See you in a few weeks.

–

I’m sure many fans of the Senators and Spezza will get mad and defensive over this “transcript”. If you are angered please lighten up. In all seriousness trading Jason Spezza would be the worst thing this organization could do for two reasons:

  1. There is no way the Senators can replace a #1 center like Spezza (via free agency or from within their organization).
  2. The Senators cannot afford the negative press that would come from losing another star player for nothing (they wouldn’t get anywhere near the value in return) in consecutive years. Season ticket sales would take an even bigger nose dive and the organization’s reputation would hurt the team for years to come.

Stay classy, Jason Schpezzsha.

***

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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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Thoughts on last night’s Senators-Capitals game

January 8th, 2010

Washington Capitals- 5, Ottawa Senators- 2

Well, last night’s game was quite the stinker, wasn’t it? It was one of those games that you knew how it was going to end within minutes of the opening puck drop. For most of this game, it was 2-0 and 2-1 for the Washington Capitals when it felt like it should have been 5-1 or 5-0. In the end, the score worked itself out to be a little more telling as to how much better the Capitals were last night.

Pascal Leclaire had a night to forget. It would be too easy for me to give Leclaire last night’s Non-Classy. So instead, I’ll address it and get it out of the way prior to getting into other aspects of last night’s game.

Of Washington’s five goals, two of them were complete Leclaire errors. Actually, they were both Nicklas Backstrom goals. Leclaire had no chance on the first two goals thanks to poor defensive coverage and bad decisions. And of course, Alex Ovechkin’s goal was a goal the second he got the puck. Here’s what I don’t get about Leclaire. He’s not a bad goalie, yet it’s very regular for him to let in a weak goal (usually early in games) in most games. And then he’ll come back and make a few highlight reel saves. The best way I can sum up Leclaire so far this season for the Ottawa Senators is consistently inconsistent.

Although both his goals were weak, I absolutely love Nick Backstrom and what he brings to the Capitals. I think he’s one of the top five playmakers in the NHL. I predict he’ll turn a lot of heads at the Vancouver Olympics for Team Sweden.

Without further delay, here are the Classy, Non-Classy, and Could-Have-Been-Classier moments from the Senators-Capitals game.

The Classy

I thought TSN’s Ray Ferraro hit the nail on the head during last night’s telecast when talking about Erik Karlsson’s play. Erik Karlsson was excellent for the Ottawa Senators. Actually, he was the only Senator who played hard all game and who’s name I can use in the same sentence as the word excellent. Karlsson’s positioning was bang on and he used his speed and intelligence to win man-on-man battles. He moved pucks very well and helped create some (albeit small) offensive pressure. This was by far the best game Karlsson has played in the NHL. I believe this is Karlsson’s first Classy performance too.

Non-Classy

I really didn’t like the way the Senators were completely outworked all game. Whether it was 5-on-5 or on powerplays, Washington worked harder, won puck battles, and clearly wanted to win more than the Senators did. A great example of this came from a first period Senators powerplay that saw Mike Green dive to clear the zone while the Senators sat back and watched. I don’t want to put words in the mouths of the Senators players, but their play last night looked like them shrugging their shoulders saying “we can’t match the firepower the Caps have”. That’s true, but you don’t need star players to work hard. Washington’s star players and role players all worked far harder than the majority of the Sens. That’s the bottom line.

An honourable mention for the Non-Classy goes to the powerplay, again. It’s not working and I think I know why. The Senators are not moving around enough. The more every player moves around and cycles, the more it pulls the defending team’s players out of position. The Senators need to employ multiple powerplay set ups in the same shift in order to do this. Right now, the Senators players are standing around and it’s easy for the opposition to set up a box and aggressively attack the Senators standstill set up. They should listen to me for no other reason than because what they are doing right now isn’t working and hasn’t for the last few weeks dating back to 2009.

Could-Have-Been-Classier

Ottawa had limited scoring chances against the Capitals last night. Partly because the Capitals did a great job shutting them down and partly because Ottawa didn’t play well enough. The chances Ottawa did get were blown by bad shots on goal. How many quality scoring chances did the Senators get where the shot hit Caps goalie Jose Theodore right in the chest? I think to Nick Foligno’s nice deke/walk out or the Jonathan Cheechoo shot on the 3 on 1, plus many other point shots from Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips. It’s not like the Senators had any kind of net presence either. A shot at the chest of an NHL goalie with no net presence or screens has a likeliness of 0.000121 per cent chance of going in. Maybe less. Theodore didn’t have to be spectacular last night, but Ottawa didn’t really test him.

Honourable Mention for Could-Have-Been-Classier goes to the Senators dump-ins. There were way too many dump ins that weren’t well placed or followed by aggressive forechecking. Even when changing lines on the fly, there should be one player going in to push the other team. That either didn’t happen or the player couldn’t do anything effective because the dump ins weren’t shot into strategic areas. Rarely did any dump in last night give Ottawa a chance to win an offensive battle and stood as a big reason why Ottawa didn’t have much going in the way of puck possession time in Washington’s zone.

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Up next for the Senators is a Saturday night home game against the struggling Florida Panthers. The Panthers have lost five of their last six games, despite finally having Nathan Horton and Steven Weiss (finally) play well. Following Saturday’s game, the Senators start a five game road trip that will see them play the Hurricanes, Thrashers, Rangers, Canadiens, and Bruins within eight days. Five road games in eight nights might prove ugly with the Senators injury woes and poor play.

Lastly, Milan Michalek left last night’s game in the first period with what’s believed to be an upper body injury. Michalek didn’t return to the ice following a collision with Mike Green. For those keeping track, that’s the Senators entire first line injured. At the moment, Michalek is expected to miss at least the next two Senators games starting Saturday against the Panthers.

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators.

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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 Senators-Sabres game

December 27th, 2009

Ottawa Senators- 3, Buffalo Sabres- 2, Shootout

The Ottawa Senators shootout win on Saturday night continued their recent dominance over the Buffalo Sabres. Coming into last night’s game, the Senators had won six straight games against the Sabres. Make it seven. Last night’s Senators win was pretty big for a struggling Ottawa club who were missing Jason Spezza and captain Daniel Alfredsson with long term injuries. Earlier on Saturday, the club announced Alfredsson having a separated left shoulder and could be sidelined for up to six weeks.

While the Senators outshot the Sabres 40-22, this wasn’t a runaway game. Sure, the Sabres registered only one shot on goal in the first period, but this wasn’t a pretty performance from the Senators. This was one of those games many would describe as gritty and “blue collared”. The Senators understood that they’d need to get into the tough areas and win one-on-one battles without their top two stars.

Without further delay, here are the Classy, Non-Classy, and Could-Have-Been-Classier moments of last night’s Senators-Sabres game.

The Classy

Last night’s classy player of the game was Chris Neil. Neil made the most of his 16:44 of ice time, proving to be a thorn in the Sabres side and even contributing on the scoreboard (Neil scored the Senators second goal). Neil played the ‘love him on your team, hate him against your team‘ role perfectly while agitating most of the Sabres roster, most notably Adam Mair. This was exactly what Ottawa missed when Neil was out of the line up for most of December. It was nice to see Neil find his groove after running around a little too much in Wednesday’s disastrous loss to Pittsburgh.

Non-Classy

Coming into Saturday night’s game, the Senators hadn’t scored a goal in their last 18 powerplays. You can make it 0-21. To say Ottawa’s powerplay is scoring as much as Tiger Woods is with his wife, Elin Nordegren is probably accurate. In the Senators final powerplay of the game – with three minutes remaining – there seemed to be little urgency or puck pressure. Long gone are the days of the Senators sending a defenseman down for the back door play (a throwback to the Redden or Chara’s hay days). Those plays are all I could think of watching Kovalev handle the puck on the half wall, looking for a pass – not seeing a pass – and ultimately taking a weak shot on the NHL’s hottest goalie Ryan Miller.

Could-Have-Been-Classier

In what seems to be a troubling pattern, the Senators came out very strong in the first period and died off as the game wore on. By the time the Senators got into overtime, it seemed apparent they weren’t trying to win the game, but rather, trying to ‘not lose the game’. A perfect example came off the opening faceoff in overtime. Buffalo won the faceoff and immediately sent both forwards and defenseman Tyler Myers into Ottawa’s zone. Moments later, after finally breaking out of their zone without a turnover (yeah, it took a while), the Senators offensive rush featured Milan Michalek on a 1-on-3. I saw this same sequence happen over and over again during the quick overtime period. It’s not like the Senators were playing for the shootout (the Senators are a miserable 13-26 all time in shootouts prior to Saturday’s game). It can’t be…

An honourable mention for Could-Have-Been-Classier goes to Alex Kovalev. While he registered an assist and scored the winning shootout goal, he was invisible throughout most of the game. In a time where the Senators need him most (I know, it’s becoming as cliche as calling every December game a “must win game”, but still…), he barely showed up. Talking with friends on Twitter, it was agreed he showed some signs of life. While true, he’s got to show much more than that if the Senators hope to survive the next month without Spezza and Alfredsson.

- -

Up next for the Senators is a game on Monday night against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotibank Place. This game is the first of a five game home stand for the Senators – a critical stretch of the season to distance themselves away other teams trying to sneak into the playoffs. Ottawa’s December slump finds them with only two points more than the 9th place New York Rangers. With their big OT win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens are one point back of the Senators for 6th in the Eastern Conference.

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators.

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Ottawa Senators game day predictions (Sens/Devils)

December 18th, 2009

Tonight the Ottawa Senators have a date with Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.  The 23-8-1 Devils are coming off 2 straight wins and have only played 1 road game this month (and that was the game Marty Brodeur tied Sawchuk for the shutout record). As a brief side note, will every New Jersey Devils game be previewed as “Can Marty Brodeur set the all time shutout record tonight versus …” until he actually does it?

Back to the Devils – they are hot with 6 wins in their last 7 games and playing some of the most exciting hockey I can recall a Devils team playing. This will be another big test for the Ottawa Senators, who will still be missing Nick Foligno, Jason Spezza, Pascal Leclaire, Chris Neil, and Shean Donovan. Please note there will be no game review for this game, or tomorrow night’s game against the Wild. Reviews will resume next week when the Senators play the Boston Bruins.

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

Ottawa Senators vs New Jersey Devils – 7:00pm EST, Sportsnet East, RDS

Burgundy: New Jersey- 3, Ottawa- 2; The Devils have quietly put together a great group of forwards who are helping put solid wins together, along with a very low profile defense team, and Martin Brodeur. With Ottawa’s injuries and New Jersey’s depth, I think they’ll be too much for the Senators.

Fantana: Ottawa- 2, New Jersey- 1; The Devils are 6-2 in December, and have been playing some strong hockey as of late. While everyone seems to be anticipating every game as the one where Brodeur finally breaks Terry Sawchuk’s all-time shutout record, it’s going to have to wait until the Sens finish with the Devils. This game will be a tight-checking defensive affair. I’m calling Milan Michalek to pot the game winner.

Mantooth: Ottawa- 2, New Jersey- 1; OK, the Sens have lost the last 9 meetings against the Devils… I think its about time we take it to them! Elliot has been off and on, but against the Sabres, he played a tight game! In fact almost all of the Sens seemed to be playing well. It was hard to tell that we were missing some key players. The Devils have been playing some of their best hockey in years, but Dorothy Mantooth is a devout Christian, so I am forced to always cheer against the Devils.

Stay classy, New Jersey Devils.

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Ottawa Senators game day predictions (Canes/Sens)

December 12th, 2009

The Carolina Hurricanes come into Ottawa tonight after an 4-3 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals last night. A game that saw the Hurricanes completely outshot and outplayed, despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Tonight marks the final game on the Hurricanes road trip that will see them finish their 4th game in 6 days. The Canes are 1-1-1 on the trip so far and could start the game slow after playing last night.

The Senators are fresh off a 2-0 shutout over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night and are expected to replace Chris Campoli with Alex Picard for tonight’s match up.

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

Carolina Hurricanes vs Ottawa Senators – 7:00pm EST, CBC, FS-CR

Burgundy: Ottawa-3, Carolina- 1; A rested Ottawa team will come out strong in the first period, while the Hurricanes will struggle to keep up. The Senators will take advantage of a tired Hurricanes team and end the second period with a 2-0 lead. They’ll trade goals in the third and Daniel Alfredsson will score the winning goal. I expect the Senators to turn in a very dominate effort tonight.

Tambland: Ottawa- 6, Carolina- 2; Ottawa is going to be coming into this one with a new found confidence in Brian Elliott. To top it off, I expect that Milan Michalek is probably due for a big game about now. I’m thinking Jason Spezza just might string together a multi-point night as well.

Mantooth: Ottawa- 4, Carolina-1; If the Senators don’t win this game tonight, I am going to snap! Elliot’s confidence should be up, after the shutout victory over Flyers on Thursday. The lone goal by the Hurricanes comes from Eric Staal in the second period. Sens goal scorers Michalek (he’s due!), Foligno (driving to the net!), Phillips (from a messed up angle), and Alfredsson (because he’s awesome!). Still up in the air about Kovalev, expect a couple of sweet moves followed by some coasting.

Fantana: Ottawa- 3, Carolina- 2; I hate to call games in the middle of December “must win” games, but with the Carolina Hurricanes struggling so much this season, these are 2 points that Ottawa should be able to take. Coming off their solid 2-0 victory against Philadelphia on Thursday night, the Sens should be able to ride that momentum on home ice against the ‘Canes, who are a terrible 1-11-4 on the road.

Stay classy, Carolina Hurricanes.

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Ottawa Senators game day predictions (Sens/Kings)

December 3rd, 2009

Another late game for the Ottawa Senators tonight as they continue their west coast road trip with a game against the young Los Angeles Kings. For anyone who doesn’t follow the Kings, they are similar to last year’s Chicago Blackhawks with less flash and virtually no buzz. They are a young team with a lot talent and it will be interesting to see how the Senators play after Tuesday night’s loss to Dany Heatley and the San Jose Sharks.

**Afternoon update: Senators forward Nick Foligno will be a healthy scratch tonight, as reported by Senschirp.ca on Twitter.

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

Ottawa Senators vs Los Angeles Kings – 10:30pm EST; TSN, FS-West

Burgundy: Los Angeles- 4, Ottawa- 3; The Los Angeles Kings haven’t been the same powerhouse team they were since Ryan Smyth got hurt, however, they’ve won 2 straight games. They’ve been slightly better than Ottawa in their last 10 games and I predict them to win tonight. I’ll even go as far as saying Ottawa will hold the lead in this game, but ultimately will lose. Wayne Simmonds will have a strong game for the Kings, too.

Fantana: Ottawa- 4, Los Angeles- 3 (OT); I like the Sens to win this one but I think it will be a tight, fast-paced game. Milan Michalek has been hot lately and the ageless Daniel Alfredsson continues to lead this team to success. The Kings powerplay has been very weak since Ryan Smyth got injured, and Kopitar’s hot streak ended around the same time. The Kings will give the Sens a good run for their money.

Tambland: Ottawa- 3, Los Angeles- 2; I’m pretty sure I called the last game against the Sharks by picking with my heart instead of my head. Well, no more of that, I say. Ottawa is probably feeling like they might have let one get away with stupid penalties and sloppy play. Expect a tighter game here tonight, with Cheechoo, Foligno and Kuba all putting up the goals. Drew Doughty will make an awesome diving play in the second period which will have Pierre McGuire screaming about his monstrous proportions as a young defencemen, or something like that.

Champ: Ottawa- 4, Los Angeles- 2; The Senators will have adjusted to the time change and will come out with a much stronger effort. The return of Chris Neil will add more jam to the senators play. Look for the hot hand of Milan Michalek to continue filling the net.

Mantooth: Ottawa- 4, Los Angeles- 3 (OT); The Kings have been playing very solid of far this year, but with Volchenkov back for his 2nd game since a long break, expect him to get back into his groove. Michalek has been hot with 4 goals in his last 2 games, expect that to continue with another goal tonight. This will be a very close game, expect a back-and-forth battle. I wanted to use the word “Transgressions” in here, but just couldn’t work it in.

Baxter: Los Angeles- 2, Ottawa- 1; The Senators road trip has been tough so far. Watch for Kopitar to wake up from his mini-slump and have a strong game.

Stay classy, Los Angeles Kings.

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Thoughts on last night’s Senators-Sharks game

December 2nd, 2009

San Jose Sharks- 5, Ottawa Senators- 2,

Let’s get this out of the way – last night’s Senators-Sharks game didn’t feature any (Heatley) dramatics that will keep office water coolers busy all morning. That said, the game featured some pretty entertaining hockey and I found it particularly interesting to see how the Ottawa Senators played against the NHL’s top team.

A quick glance at the final score might suggest the Sharks easily won, however, the score could have been a lot different had a Chris Kelly tip gone in or if Jason Spezza buried a nice cross-ice pass. Excuses aside, the Senators played a decent road game, but it was clear they were out of their element versus the San Jose Sharks.

So without further delay, here’s last night’s Classy, Non-Classy, and Could-Have-Been-Classier moments.

The Classy

It feels like Milan Michalek is the Classy point of every Ottawa Senators game and last night was no different. I really liked Michalek’s neutral zone speed throughout the game. The San Jose Sharks did a good job of clogging the neutral zone and Michalek’s speed helped push back the Sharks defense to open room for the Sens as they broke out of their zone. (which says a lot considering how much trouble the Senators defense were having with standard breakout passes). Both of Michalek’s goals were the result of smart, go to the net plays Senators fans have become accustomed to. A great effort from Michalek in his first return to the Shark Tank.

An honourable mention goes to the quality of hockey played between the Senators and Sharks. While the game wasn’t a typical “emotional game” that featured unnecessary fights, lots of pushing and shoving after whistles, etc… the game featured solid hockey at a pretty fast pace.

Non-Classy

The Ottawa Senators defense were playing way out of their element last night. Kudos to Cory Clouston and the coaching staff for realizing the need to change styles in order to compete with the aggressive Sharks, but it wasn’t pretty. At one point or another, every Senators defenseman made costly giveaways that lead to the Sharks first 4 goals. A number of 2-on-1′s were given up early in the game as a result of defensemen being overly aggressive in the offensive zone. On top of that, it was apparent the Senators defense were having a hard time breaking out of their own end. Many routine passes became turnovers (Alex Picard and Matt Carkner come to mind), which turned into quality scoring chances for San Jose and probably nervous moments for Clouston.

Could-Have-Been-Classier

There were two area’s of Ottawa’s game that I felt could have been classier. Firstly, Ottawa took 3 straight penalties in the first half of the game – 2 of which being lazy ones (too many men and delay of game-puck over the glass). The Senators were playing with fire and eventually got burned just after the Carkner delay of game penalty ended.

Secondly, I was frustrated with how many Ottawa Senators shots missed the net, either wide or high. Clearly the Senators identified high shots as a weakness for Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss, but cross-ice shots fired wide often result in quick breakouts for opposing clubs. San Jose’s speed certainly caught Ottawa’s defense off guard a few times and let’s face it, Ottawa doesn’t have the quickest defense to begin with.

Special Dany Heatley Review

I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, but given the level of interest in this game, I’ll provide a quick Dany Heatley summary.  Heatley ended the game with 2 assists, a +1 rating, and 8 shots registered (although he probably attempted 12-15 shots). Heatley had some quality scoring chances and showed a bit of extra jump to his game. Oh, and he did have a few “stick in the air one-timer moments” Senators fans know all too well. Overall, a good game for Heatley. He’s probably glad to have that game out of the way.

- -

The Senators continue their road trip to Los Angeles to play the Kings on Thursday night in what should be another good test for Ottawa. The Kings have struggled lately, despite a win Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks. Chris Neil could suit up for the team although it’s not certain at this point. Anton Volchenkov made his return to the Senators line up last night, but wasn’t nearly as effective as he was a few weeks ago. I expect him to be better on Thursday. Chris Campoli was a healthy scratch to make room for Volchenkov.

Stay classy, Milan Michalek… and Dany Heatley.

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Ottawa Senators game day predictions (Sens/Sharks)

December 1st, 2009

Apparently some hockey player in California is about to play his old team tonight. I’m pretty sure it’s not Wayne Gretzky, although I’m not positive. I think (**think**) it’s some dude named Dany Heatley. I had a hard time remembering his name for a moment or two (thanks Wikipedia). But seriously folks: Easiest. Sports story. Ever. It’s almost like a day off for reporters and bloggers everywhere. Thanks Dany!

As you probably know, we’re really getting into this whole game day predictions thing for the Ottawa Senators. We’re hoping James Gordon at the Ottawa Citizen likes our predictions. Especially considering he hasn’t asked the Classiest bloggers on the internet for their predictions at all this season.

(By the way, we’re just having fun with James. We mean no ill will… we are classy people you know…)

Alright. Here we go. Sens and Sharks. Here’s our predictions - do you agree? Let us know below.

Ottawa Senators vs San Jose Sharks (and Dany Heatley) – 10:30pm EST; Sportsnet East, CSN California

Burgundy: San Jose- 4, Ottawa- 2; First of all, the media is focusing on the wrong story for tonight’s game. This is the big return for Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo! I predict Cheech to score against his former team tonight. Kidding, obviously. But I think Michalek will score a goal. And yes, I think Heatley will score too. But I predict Ottawa to be so focused on shutting Heatley down that they’ll forget about 4th highest goal scorer in the NHL, Patrick Marleau.

Fantana: San Jose- 6, Ottawa- 4; Ottawa are 3-4-1 on the road while San Jose are 7-1-2 at home. The Marleau-Thornton-Heatley line continues to rip it up and I’m willing to bet they do some serious damage again against the Sens. My Heatley prediction is that he’ll score 2 goals against his former team.

Tambland: Ottawa- 4, San Jose- 2; I spent a lot of time looking at this game trying to figure out what significance, if any, I could find. And then it hit me: this will be Jamie McGinn’s first game against the city where he played his junior hockey as a member of the Ottawa 67s. That said, I think the Senators will have some added motivation since the loss against Boston on Saturday. They know San Jose is going to be a tough task, so they should come out strong and win won for the gipper… as they say.

Champ: San Jose- 5, Ottawa- 3; Three Senators try and run Heatley and there’s a good chance he loses another tooth!

Mantooth: San Jose- 3, Ottawa- 1; Ottawa finally gets to see Dany Heatley since this summer’s “trade request” over a “diminished role”. Don’t expect anyone on either side to hold back anything. Its hard to argue that the Sharks are the far better team offensively, and don’t expect much to change this time around. I don’t think that Elliot stands a chance against the Marleau/Thornton/Heatley line, but who knows, we might see another upset like that Sharks/Hawks game last week.

Stay classy, Ottawa Senators… ummm… and Dany Heatley.

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