SENShobo
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And So It Goes
by SENShobo on 01/19/09 at 08:54 AM ET
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One game left before the All-Star break.
If giveaways cost the Sens in a 5-4 shootout loss against the Canadiens, without Koivu, Tanguay, and others as they were, the Capitals will undoubtedly make sure that it’s not a dull game if given the chance.
Ovie needs some practice for Saturday, you see, and there’s nothing quite like a rookie goaltender to try and feed on. Just ask Koivu, Ovechkin’s biggest competition in the Hab heartland, who scored one of Montreal’s two shootout goals on Elliott.
That, of course, is not to take away from Brian Elliott’s great game, especially the many breakaways he stopped. That speed up/slow down technique got him both times in the shootout, but he’ll have his chance to prove himself again come tomorrow night.
As Paul posted earlier, Murray has no plans to lessen Elliott’s offensive support,
“I don’t know that you’d ever not trade anyone, but Jason is not on the trading block,” Murray told Sportsnet prior to Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Canadiens. “He is a guy that you should be able to build a hockey team around.”…
“He’s a good player on this hockey club. I don’t know how you acquire another guy like this if you trade him away,” continued Murray. “My intent is not to do that. I think the core here is a good core. We just have to help them a little bit in a couple areas.”
Coming up on an expected stale cap followed by an expected cap drop, the long-term deal that would have been a selling point will keep teams far away from Spezza. Of late, he has shown marked improvement, a drive that he has not let up, that should indeed impress anyone willing to think about his game as a whole, rather than just focusing on any one single aspect. Even the suggested destinations, Columbus and Atlanta, are locations where star players, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuck, are the intended recipient of his skills. I can’t say that at 25, Spezza has peaked, but I can say that a skilled centerman is a lot harder to find and far more lucrative than almost any package you could get in return.
Also posted earlier by Paul, Ryan Shannon doesn’t feel happy to be in Binghamton,
“Yeah, I’m not happy about being in the AHL,” said Shannon during the league’s mid-season break this week. “I am trying to get (ahead), play my best.”
....
“I just continue to work on my craft, to get to play in the NHL,” said Shannon, who is the B-Sens alternate captain and leading scorer with 10 goals, 26 points in 25 games. “I think of myself as an NHL player. And hopefully it’s just a matter of time before I am back.”…“I felt that my first game they were happy with what I did,” Shannon said of his strong effort vs. the Islanders at Scotiabank Place on Nov. 13. “But, the Ottawa organization right now is going through a lot of, trouble, so… Who knows what is going to happen.”
It was indeed regrettable that Shannon didn’t get a good look in Ottawa due to his injury, but he must remain positive and focused on his goal, not as much on the current lack of success with it. If anything, Ottawa needs to remain focused on their player development goals, Montreal being a good example, as CBC had a video feature of Saturday (follow this link, then click “Hockey Night in Canada” > “Inside Hockey” > “Inside Hockey: Montreal Canadiens”). Patience and hard work will lead to success; making demands (Shannon has not done that) will not (his trade to Phoenix has not helped Nikulin escape the AHL, only drastically reduced his offensive success).
At least there was some positive entertainment to focus on with the Senators’ skills competition, according to the Ottawa Sun, with Ruutu’s getup bringing plenty of smiles, and his puck-on-a-string prank piling on plenty more. Only Dany Heatley will be finding his way to Montreal for the All-Star Game and its skills competition on Saturday.
Busy week ahead for myself, getting work done so that I can attend the All-Star weekend in Montreal, so I will leave you now with some amusing Ottawa-related quotes.
From the Ottawa Sun:
When asked by a young fan what he likes to eat at the rink, Ruutu, suspended for two games a couple of weeks ago for biting Buffalo Sabre Andrew Peters, replied: “Buffalo fingers.”
From the National Post:
“The Sens are like a totalled Mercedes CL 600. Expensive as hell, and yet worth very little.”—Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, on the mess that is the Ottawa Senators.
“An Ontario man has been sentenced to six months of house arrest followed by three years probation for bilking unsuspecting members of the public out of money by posing as an NHL player and charging for appearances. And yet the Ottawa Senators skate free.”—Vancouver comedian Torben Rolfson, on the Web site of the Vancouver Province.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
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