October 15 – Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ottawa Senators

With all the talk about how the secondary scorers have been stepping up for the Ottawa Senators, we completely forgot about the primary scoring.

Well it came out in droves last night, and the special teams even quieted a few critics for now, with two SHG and on PPG. Maybe we should just call it the Michalek Teams, as each one of those goals belonged everyone’s new favourite #9. As Graeme over at The 6th Sens pointed out so eloquently, Michaleks’ Anonymous Unite!

This game seemingly had lots to offer for everyone, including clutch goaltending, lots of scoring, free pizza, and a little retribution for past grievances against Ottawa.

So with that, I present the Classy, the Non-Classy, and the Could-Have-Been-Classier for last night’s game.

The Classy

I think it’s really hard to argue with the end result of this game, and where the Classy will be awarded. So I thought I would toss out a few of the Honourable Mentions first.

HM number 1 goes to Anton Volchenkov, who continues to throw hits at rookies in this league. Last night’s installmant of the A-Train files; non other than the second overall pick from last year’s draft, Victor Hedman. Given his reception here in Ottawa during the World Juniors, and now this, you’d think Hedman doesn’t like it here two much.

HM number 2 goes to Chris Neil and Matt Carkner, who between the two of them let Steve Downie that he may run away to the Southeast Division, but he can’t hide. If he thinks that is the end of his getting his ass handed to him by this team, he has another thing coming.

HM number 3 goes to Stuntman Stu, who let the crowd announce Ruutu’s name when he scored the last goal of the evening. That was one of my favourite parts about last year, listening to the crowd after Stu announces the first name. It definitely gets the fans into the game a bit more, and it probably sounds intimidating as hell for opposing players. I hope Stuntman Stu continues in this tradition, because come playoff time, that building is going to be rocking!

With that, I present last night’s Classy. He really needs to introduction given his performance last night. The one, the only, Milan Michalek!

What else can you say about a guy who shows a willingness to go to the net, has hands that could carve a Buddha in butter, and the speed of, well, really fast stuff. Each one of his goals was a thing of beauty last night, and I get absolutely giddy when I think about that Jason Spezza, behind the back, through the legs, across the crease pass to a wide open Michalek. Number 9 now has 4 goals on the season, and I can’t wait for more!

The Non-Classy

The Non-Classy is a bit of a no-brainer here. It goes to Steve Downie. Because he’s tiny, stupid, and should have known that one day we would call up Matt Carkner to the NHL to kick his ass.

The Could-Have-Been-Classier

People need to understand that no matter how cold it is outside, and no matter how much you like that dome on the top of your head, when a player gets a Hat Trick, you throw that hat onto the ice with reckless abandonment! I saw a few hats that made it on the ice last night, but there’s needs to be more. I’m talking delay of game type quantities. But remember everyone, it’s a team effort. If you’re sitting in the 200 level and hat falls on your lap, don’t look at it and think it’s your lucky day. And if you’re in the 100 level, don’t complain to the ushers that you were accosted by flying objects from the levels above you where, surely, the lowly fans up there don’t appreciate that hockey is a gentlemen’s sport. You grab that hat and run it to the glass and over!

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Shoutout to DHS over at Scarlett Ice for hosting a Live Blog of the game last night. If you’ve never had a chance, you should stop by. The ridiculously hilarious comments alone are worth the price of admission.

Thanks again for joining us for this addition of the Classy, Non-Classy and Could-Have-Been-Classier! Next up, Montreal and their second home game of the season. Seeing as last night didn’t work out too well for them, they’re going to be coming out firing and looking for that first home win. Maybe we can get another Alfie chant going in the Bell Centre.

Stayclassy, stayclassy.net readers.

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