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SENShobo

Fisher Finds Best Way To Beat A Slump

by SENShobo on 11/05/08 at 08:56 AM ET
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Today’s Ottawa Senators stories,

• Fisher leads Sens to 2-1 OT win over Caps.
• Completely unrelated to the Sens, Emery spotted in Ottawa.

• Fisher netting his first goal and assist start breaking him out of slump, propelling Sens to a win and .500 (Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun, NHL.com).

“It feels pretty good, no question, to get one in overtime and contribute a little bit more,” said Fisher. “I was just trying to be hungry and to shoot everything. It was just a matter of time, I was trying to go to the front of the net more, being more hungry.”
....
“He was really good,” said Hartsburg. “He played the same game the other night in Tampa, but this time he got rewarded for it. It was a great play by (Alfredsson) in overtime. Everyone was happy to win, but they were really happy for Fish. He’s a guy who cares, who works hard for his teammates every day.”

After working hard since returning from his sore groin and being stonewalled every time, Fisher’s efforts finally paid off with a goal and an assist in last night’s 2-1 win over the Caps. This was no lucky bounce: Fisher lead both teams with 6 shots and two more that missed the net, and was the only Senator above 50% with a faceoff percentage of 56. He sent a pass to a penalty box escaping Heatley who broke in on Johnson to open the scoring, and took a cross-crease pass late in OT from Alfie to end it.

Who could ask for anything more? If it wasn’t for the Caps’ Johnson, the Sens would have truly been making up for last season’s four game series sweep at the hands of the Caps, when they were outscored 22-12. That they recorded 41 regulation shots on goal (44 overall) — and never fell below 13 shots in any given regulation period — shows a bit of the consistency the Sens have been searching for.

Auld continued to be a steady rock in net, stopping 26 shots. He now ranks fourth in the League with his .935 Sv% behind Thomas’ leading .944, and third in the League with his 1.96 GAA, behind Miller’s leading 1.62. Kuba. Kuba had a good night too, adding an assist to find himself second in the League with 13, sandwiched between Malkin’s 14 and Crosby’s 12. The team also found itself more balanced, with nine players logging 20 minutes or more of ice time, led by Kuba’s 26:03.

Sure, they could have scored with a 5 on 3 that lasted 1:57, or a four minute powerplay thanks to a Federov double minor, they trailed in hits 20 to 27, and were weak in the faceoff department, but there’s plenty to be proud of and build on. Thursday and Friday against Philly and the Canes will take just as much responsibility, as their League-leading 3.91 and 3.08 G/G respectively should make our defensive aspirations higher, especially as neither team has averaged even 30 S/G to get there. Given that Philly leads with 3.91 G/G on only 27.3 S/G, Auld might be a better choice for starter if duties are to be split, but don’t count out the chance of hunger after any stellar performance giving him both. Time to continue the solid growth, guys.

• Where better than Ottawa for Emery to take a short schedule-break vacation? (Ottawa Sun, Ottawa Citizen).

Back in his old Ottawa stomping grounds these days while Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League takes a break is the one and only Ray Emery. Tending the goal for Mytishchi Atlant, the former Senator is 7-4-0 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.

As the best goalie in the loop, he’s apparently been on the cover of Russia’s Sports Illustrated, with Jaromir Jagr. Word is Emery’s had numerous offers to return to the NHL, but has no plans to do so this year because he feels his Russian team has been too good to him

I suppose that says a fairly obvious something about how much draw there is to come back to North American soil, and I’m feeling more and more confident that we’ll see Emery back in the League again. The Citizen would argue with Brennan that Emery is on those covers as the best goalie in the loop though.

Unfortunately for Emery, he’s not the best goaltender on his team. Vitaly Kolesnik, who was named CHL goaltender for October, has a record of 9-0-4, with an average of 1.35 and save percentage of .949.

As good as Emery’s numbers are, Kolesnik’s are head and shoulders above them. I’m sure there’s more than numbers to explain Emery’s game and cover shot. I’d guess part ‘welcome to our League’, and part headhunters proudly displaying their collection.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
 Tags: Mike+Fisher, Ray+Emery,

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