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Sens Snap Streak, Stun Rangers
by SENShobo on 11/22/08 at 06:52 PM ET
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After six straight losses — some earned, some misgiven — the Senators finally break through, beating the Rangers 4-1 to christen their new third jerseys.
The Canadiens’ and Rangers’ wins over the Sens earlier this week were not of the convincing variety, but tonight’s game was paid for in full with 60 minutes of hard work. Heading into tonight, over the past 11 games, the Sens averaged 2.00 GA/G (Minnesota leads the League with that number), and so getting getting goals from Spezza, Alfredsson, Winchester, and Foligno helped make it an all-around victory.
And yes, once again, goals were of the controversial and disallowed variety.
Right from the start, the Sens controlled the game. Every loose puck was jumped on, and it was no small change to see players always moving, never waiting around for plays and opportunities to develop. It was 13 minutes into the game when New York got its first shot, shots being 14-1 at that point.
After the uproar amongst Rangers over the perceived slight of Ruutu’s shootout shot earlier this week, he had attention whenever he was on the ice, and had 13 minutes of it this afternoon. He wasted no time, drawing a penalty five minutes in, and the Senators’ powerplay went to work, opening the scoring as Heatley pushed into the zone, covered by three Rangers, and he got the puck to Spezza, waiting for Valiquette’s leap before putting the puck in the net.
Where the Sens had soured before — letting up after first-period pressure had been established — they resisted today. 28 shots through two periods, but even the lack of goals did not stymie them. Foligno appeared to have a goal that was waived off, raising his stick to deflect a shot which then beat Valiquette. The call was a high stick, and at the time, video available to the Toronto War Room could not conclusively disprove the on-ice call.
The bench was visibly frustrated; Foligno and Hartsburg both incensed. Later on, it will likely rise — dampened only by their victory — as a replay showed Foligno raising his stick high to deflect the puck, but lowering it to the point where his upper arm was pointed down and his forearm pointed forwards as the puck made contact, the ref likely jumping on the initial high stick, and the goal coming from a legal lower deflection that the War Room did not have access at that point to footage of. Raises the question of why all cameras aren’t connected to a common system or feeder, that could have a buffer, saving a minute or two of the pre-whistle action, and all could be recalled to Toronto at a moment’s notice.
Hard work did pay off though, late in the period. Vermette, snakebit as he’s been, was not able to connect on any of his four shots, but with two minutes left, he sprung Winchester on a breakaway. Holding off a Ranger, Winchester was able to chip the puck in, and it rolled off Valiquette’s pad and in, a goal he surely would have liked to have back. Only 82 seconds later, Alfie would have the puck on the wall, and be allowed to walk out, lasering the puck into the net to finish the period up 3-0. Here, the disallowed goal was partially counteracted, as Ruutu was by Valiquette and hit his arm, goalie interference of course, and despite being able to move his stick fine afterwards, he could not stop the shot, and it should not have been allowed.
The third would not start well; Naslund would break in and get a saucer wrister over Auld’s stick and between its legs, trickling out behind him and into the net. It was the Rangers’ best period, managing a game-high 7 shots. By far the first questionable goal Auld has allowed, and the only one he would allow all game. In addition to drawing ire and penalties from the Rangers, Ruutu got a shot on net halfway through the third, and Foligno’s carefully placed skate would deflect it in, completing the perceived process of making up for his disallowed goal.
As the clock ticked down to the last five minutes, Colton Orr would take exception to Ruutu, drawing four minutes for himself, as both would look up to check that the clock was still a few seconds from the five-minute mark, avoiding an instigator penalty, along with its mandatory suspension and fine.
The 36-19 lead in shots, along with 31-28 and 16-3 leads in hits and takeaways respectively (from NHL.com), could not fully capture the Senators’ dominant play. The six-game losing streak is over, a convincing win is in the bank, and hopefully the five days between now and their matcup with the Leafs on Thursday won’t slow them down, only help them to reflect on everything that went right.
It was just one single game, but one heck of a game it was.
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Who is SENShobo?
Fully addicted to hockey, Andrew Dodds finds it safe to live in the alleys, considering his allegiance to the Ottawa Senators in the middle of Leaf County. He tries to bring you as many worthwhile Sens stories as he can find, along with his musings on the team and the NHL in general; musings indeed since he is but a humble hockey hobo.
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The Professionals
An excellent win for the Senators, and a crucial one. It is fair to say it is the first time this season we have seen Ottawa play ‘Hartsburg Hockey’ with all hands on deck for the entire game. Everyone knew their role and executed, from Spezza to Ruutu. Outstanding positional play, strategic and smart effort.
The youngsters from Binghamton have added energy and competitiveness: Foligno looks much more at home with his contemporaries and the results showed.
Is Alex Auld the next goaltending revelation? He is certainly playing like one.
This win takes enormous pressure off the team and management. There are still improvements that can made, but the solutions appear to be coming from within.
The grudge match on Thursday with Toronto could not be more important.
IMHO Ottawa fans have many reasons to cheer their team.
Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 11/23/08 at 08:31 AM ET