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Category: Ottawa-Senators

Terry Gregson Defends His Refs

by Paul on 02/01/12 at 08:16 PM ET
Comments (7)

from Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen at Canada.com,

The history between (Paul) MacLean and (Dan) O’Rourke goes back to Jan. 21, when the Senators lost 2-1 to the Anaheim Ducks. Immediately after that game, MacLean said O’Rourke told him that defenceman Erik Karlsson was “a diver,” which was the reason he didn’t call a penalty when Karlsson was knocked to the ice by Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf in the final minute of the game.

Since then, the Senators have been on the wrong end of the referee’s whistle.

In a 4-0 loss to Los Angeles on Jan. 23, when O’Rourke and Tim Peel were the referees, a penalty shot was awarded even though replays showed that a penalty wasn’t warranted. Against Phoenix on Jan. 24, with Peel and Dan O’Halloran serving as referees, an apparent third-period tying goal by Daniel Alfredsson was wiped out by a questionable goaltending interference call. Then came Tuesday’s game against Boston.

Terry Gregson, the NHL’s director of officiating, defended his official on Wednesday.

“You do not work the Stanley Cup finals in this league, as Dan did last year, without being a top-notch official working from an impartial perspective,” Gregson said in an email. “An official must enter each game with the mindset of being prepared, but not prejudging what will occur.”

more

Kerry Fraser of TSN chimes in on this topic too…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, NHL Talk, NHL Officiating | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- Craig Anderson With The Bad Goal Of the Night

by Paul on 01/31/12 at 09:59 PM ET
Comments (1)

Dennis Seidenberg from center ice and the game winner.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Craig+Anderson, Dennis+Seidenber,

Finally A Coach For Spezza

by Paul on 01/31/12 at 10:34 AM ET
Comments (4)

from Ian Mendes of Sportsnet,

It has taken nearly a decade, but the Ottawa Senators have finally found the right coach for their star centre. But that’s not to say that the relationship between Spezza and MacLean is always rosy. In fact, both of them told me that they have passionate - and sometimes heated - debates about how the game should be played behind closed doors.

“Paul has helped out my game a lot. There’s dialogue between us,” says Spezza. “It’s not just him talking to me or me talking to him. We really hash things out and sometimes it gets heated and sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s all part of the emotion of the game and that’s what’s great. He’s an emotional guy and I’m an emotional guy.”

“We’ve had some good conversations between the two of us,” adds MacLean. “How do I like to play and how does he like to play? And we’ve tried to marry some of the things about how I want to play and he wants to play. Now some of the things I like to do, he doesn’t like. And some of the things he wants to do, I don’t like. But through communication and time, we’re able to accept a little bit of this and a little bit of that and come up with the player we have today.”

If you go back and pick out some key words from their quotes, you realize that Spezza and MacLean are forging a true relationship in Ottawa.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jason+Spezza, Paul+MacLean,

Do You Consider Erik Karlsson A Norris Candidate?

by Paul on 01/30/12 at 06:46 PM ET
Comments (6)

from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

It was Erik Karlsson’s time to shine.

While captain Daniel Alfredsson was the star of the NHL all-star show, the Senators defenceman also received top billing as the hockey world found out how good this 21-year-old has the potential to be.

If he wasn’t already getting consideration for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman, he certainly is now.

He probably won’t beat Zdeno Chara or Nicklas Lidstrom in voting, but at least Karlsson should be on the ballot.

“(All-star weekend was) great for him,” said teammate Jason Spezza.

Actually, it couldn’t be better.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Erik+Karlsson,

This Was Alfredsson’s All-Star Game

by Paul on 01/29/12 at 08:41 PM ET
Comments (1)

from Tim Wharnsby of CBC

, Even though Daniel Alfresson’s team was defeated 12-9 by Zdeno Chara’s squad in the 2012 NHL all-star game, the day capped off another incredible chapter in the life of the likeable Ottawa Senators captain.

There were so many periphery issues that enveloped the NHL all-star weekend. First, it was Alex Ovechkin’s infantile decision not to attend because of his three-game suspension. When Tim Thomas arrived in town, it was time to revisit his decision not to join his teammates for their White House visit earlier in the week.

On Saturday, NHLPA executive Donald Fehr and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman chimed in on the looming collective agreement talks. Finally, the Sidney Crosby concussion watch became more muddled with the news that he suffered a serious neck injury along the way, too.

The focus, however, kept coming back to the Senators and even former Ottawa players like Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa and Brian Elliott as well as former Ottawa 67’s junior Logan Couture. But it was the 39-year-old Alfredsson who stole the show with his class, charm and hospitality.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Daniel+Alfredsson,

Will Ottawa Owner Get His Money Back?

by Paul on 01/26/12 at 06:54 PM ET
Comments (1)

from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

Eugene Melnyk will finally face off with Dany Heatley in court once the two sides can agree on a date.

League sources confirmed Thursday, almost three years after filing a grievance to get the $4-million bonus the Senators owner paid to Heatley on July 1, 2009, the case is inching closer to being heard.

Independent arbitrator George Nicolau had agreed to a March 23 hearing in New York, but the date didn’t work for either side and is being rescheduled — soon.

As first reported by QMI Agency in November, 2009, Melnyk filed the grievance shortly after Heatley refused to lift his no-movement clause and accept a deal to the Edmonton Oilers (for Dustin Penner, Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid).

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Dany+Heatley, Eugene+Melnyk,

Refs Costing Senators Valuable Points?

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 08:32 PM ET
Comments (11)

from Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun,

Now people are blaming Ottawa’s coach, Paul MacLean, for all of this. Guilty as charged. At least he’s guilty of being a first-year coach. Of being a passionate, honest, straight-shooting communicator — the qualities that will find him plenty of success at this level. And apparently, he’s also guilty of breaking some bizarre code that says what goes on on the ice, stays on the ice.

Rookie mistake.

But it’s a good thing this past week wasn’t a HBO 24/7 special somehow featuring Ottawa’s Senators and co-starring the NHL’s referees. Then the whole world could see how O’Rourke’s remark to MacLean started a chain reaction that played a huge role in Ottawa’s Senators crashing back to the treeline with two more consecutive losses.

Slash or no slash?

You’re fooling yourself if you believe O’Rourke being revealed for calling Ottawa’s best, brightest young star, defenceman Erik Karlsson, had nothing to do with O’Rourke’s partner the very next game, Tim Peel, keeping his whistle in his pocket while Karlsson almost slid into him after he was obviously tripped, and leaving it there while Ottawa’s defenceman Chris Phillips had his stick chopped in half out of his hands as he helped kill a penalty. Can’t remember if the two minutes were those Peel gave Ottawa’s defenceman Mark Borowiecki for barely shoving a Los Angeles Kings player soon thereafter,

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

NHL All-Star Game Ticket Prices Booming In Ottawa

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 02:57 PM ET
Comments (0)

Graph supplied by TiQIQ, which you can click if you need ASG and event tickets.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: 2012+ASG,

Ottawa Owner Just Wants To Keep Winning

by Paul on 01/23/12 at 07:34 PM ET
Comments (2)

from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

“Nobody expected us to be where we are,” said (Eugene) Melnyk in a telephone interview with the Sun on Monday, before the Senators faced the Los Angeles Kings. “We’re 27-17-6, when people thought we’d be 17-27-6. We went through a rebuild and it was very, very, very tough.

“I keep a close eye on the games that we have in hand, and we’ve just got to keep looking forward and just keep winning because it’s so tight. You lose a game and you can drop one or two spots, so you’ve got to keep playing hard. I’m just delighted to see where we’re at in a rebuild.

“What’s scary is: These are all kids. By NHL terms, imagine them when they’re (Jason) Spezza’s age? A guy like (Erik) Karlsson. You’ve got Mika (Zibanejad) coming over, (prospect) Jakob Silfverberg and we’ve still got a draft ahead.”

Last season, Senators GM Bryan Murray hung up a For Sale sign at the deadline. Veteran players such as Mike Fisher, Chris Kelly, Jarrko Ruutu and Alexei Kovalev were sent packing, while goalie Brian Elliott was dealt for Craig Anderson.

Melnyk credits the team’s success to way the veterans have stepped up, the work done by Murray, assistant Tim Murray and the scouts and the coaching staff, led by newcomer Paul MacLean.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- I Think We Can Agree, These Are The Kind Of Hits We Want To See

by Paul on 01/21/12 at 11:32 PM ET
Comments (2)

First, Chris Neil on Luca Sbisa and below is Zach Bogosian on Tomas Kopecky.

Both clean hits, no retaliation, players just got up and continued to play.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Chris+Neil, Zach+Bogosian,

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