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Someone Light A Fire Under These Guys, And The Curious Case Of Ricochet Ruutu
by SENShobo on 11/19/08 at 09:12 AM ET
Comments (5)
Injury updates, thoughts on Ruutu’s ‘curious’ shootout attempt on Lundqvist, and the secret shootout star that didn’t make the cut, but first…
From TSN, Hartsburg’s thoughts on the reunited top line,
“At the end of the first period I had to go in and give them all crap - the three of them,” said Hartsburg. “Because they didn’t play the right way and as the game went on, they started to be better. They got us a goal - they gave up a goal.”
‘Crap’, the first hint of a little bit of coaching heat, but how much longer before the Sens get on fire?
From the Canadian Press, via the Globe and Mail, Spezza on the many recent meetings the team has had,
It’s never a good sign when an NHL team is spending as much time in meetings as it is on the ice, according to Jason Spezza.
....
“When you’re losing, it’s never fun and you always meet more than when you’re winning,” the star centre said Tuesday.
....
“Whenever you’re losing hockey games, it feels like crisis mode and we know that we have to get better,” Spezza said. “Sometimes a meeting is a good way to talk things out and get everybody on the same page. They’ve showed us a lot of negative stuff and lot of positive stuff, too, in the last couple of games and it just kind of gives you a good idea of where you have to be as a team.”
From the Ottawa Citizen,
Players would love to imagine a repeat of the situation two seasons ago, when the Senators got off to a 7-11-1 start before turning their season around with a 4-1 victory in Buffalo on Nov. 18 of 2006. Only once did they again lose three games in a row the rest of the season. All was well that ended well.
There are plenty of signs that this is not the same team, and not even the same league.
As head coach Craig Hartsburg pointed out yesterday, every team and its mascot can play defence today. The best clubs in hockey, the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks or New York Rangers (I’m not sold on them yet), all play strict systems and produce offence from other teams’ mistakes.
The Senators have made their bed, now they must lie in it. The team has fallen precipitously this season, but the surprise of the fall means that it should not be too surprising to see them rise. 14th in the East, they are indeed a mere 3 points out of 8th place.
The pieces are still there. Auld’s .926 Sv% is a shining stat that the Sens have largely been without during their streak of playoff appearances. The team has given up as many shots as they’ve taken on average, so is it any surprise to find Anderson (.940), Smith (.929), and Lundqvist (.931) stealing wins from us? In most games, it has been the Sens letting themselves get outplayed that has cost them, even when they could have taken control and outplayed their opponent.
It was upon the strength of the top line that the Sens plowed through three playoff rounds two seasons ago, and should they turn it on, the pressure might ease up on secondary scorers, not that players like McAmmond, Donovan, and Ruutu haven’t contributed. Consider that Alfredsson is on pace for 19 goals, his lowest total in a decade, Spezza on pace for 27, the lowest of his last three years, and even Heatley is on pace for 45, his lowest rate of return in the past five seasons.
Being stymied has become a trademark of the Sens of late, not being able to handle rejection through their spurts of offense, or able to outplay hardworking teams like the Leafs and the Isles. They did play their first complete game against New York, and perhaps another will come Saturday. Along with the fire Ruutu’s likely to draw in both that game and Thursday’s against the Habs, there is hope that this team can get its performance up. If not, they better start picking up a copy of Central Scouting’s rankings.
Some updates on injuries, starting with the Ottawa Citizen on Shannon,
Shannon has been riding a stationary bike for the past two days and hopes to be cleared to skate on his own today.
“For the first three days, I just sat around and watched TV,” he said. “The last three days, I’ve been feeling a lot better, the fogginess is a lot better. I will do whatever the trainers say. I guess (recovering from concussions) is all based on symptoms now.”
From the Ottawa Senators’ website, on Neil,
Neil, who left Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders because of a knee problem, admitted today “it feels better than when it first happened but there’s still some issues there.
“It’s hard to say (when he’ll be back). The sooner, the better is my priority. If I’m out any (length of) time, I’ll just work hard to get back as soon as possible but, hopefully, that’s not the case.”
From the Ottawa Sun, on Fisher,
Barring a miracle, Mike Fisher is about to miss the 194th game of what will be the 675 he’s been eligible to suit up for through the first 8o seasons of his NHL career.
The good news for the Senators is that the latest damage shouldn’t keep the centre out of many, if any, more than that.
Tests indicate the knee injury Fisher suffered in Monday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers was not serious, but also that chances of him playing tomorrow against the Canadiens at Scotiabank Place fall into the “long shot” category.
For all you folks pulling out calculators at home, that Sun stat means Fisher has been out of the lineup for 29% of his professional career. For reference, Marian Gaborik has been known as an injury-prone player, but in the 7+ seasons he’s been with the Wild, he’s missed 103 of the 590 games he’s been eligible to suit up for (17%).
Anyone who wants to throw Fisher’s name into the rumour mill should be aware that Gaborik (207-208--415 in 487GP) is in his final year of a $6.333 million cap hit year, and he is not selling very well. Fisher (117-128--245 in 479GP) is in his first year of a $4.2 million cap hit contract that lasts five years. Think about that for a minute while you reconsider the names you scout for in the reports, along with the fact that Fisher is heart and soul an Ottawa Senator, and is at the top of the do-not-move list with Alfredsson.
What do the injuries mean? Neil (49) and Fisher (48) lead the team in hits, and Fisher is second to Ruutu (16) among forwards with 15 blocked shots. Adding Schubert’s 22 hits and 11 blocked shots back in will only slightly make up for these losses, so a callup for physical Zack Smith (9-5--14 in 16GP) or Cody Bass (1-1--2 in 16GP) is not out of the question, though the massive injury and callup exodus in Binghamton might leave Hartsburg wanting to avoid this.
Injuries are leaving big shoes for the team to fill; how many more excuses are needed before players really start to step up?
From the Ottawa Citizen, on Ruutu’s emotionally-charged play,
“I love it, it makes it even more fun,” Ruutu said yesterday when asked about being a target for the Ottawa Senators’ next two opponents at Scotiabank Place—the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night and the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. “It’s nothing new. Every game is like that for me. That hasn’t changed me at all. I love those kinds of games where people think there are more things going on than there actually is, but I love the emotional games. I’m happy if they’re trying to come after me. That’s how I play my best.”
An issue from Monday’s game that’s been raised a few times had to do with Ruutu, as many Senators stories seem to of late. In reality, there were several moments in Monday’s game where he featured prominently, ones that might factor into any confrontations come Saturday’s rematch between the two teams in Ottawa, but specifically it was his shootout attempt that drew the ire of the Rangers’ bench.
On one hand, you have CBC’s P.J. Stock, who believes he saw Ruutu taking a rebound off of a Lundqvist save and chucking it back at Lundqvist,
Fast forward a couple of shooters and the Senators decided that maybe Jarkko Ruutu could beat Lundqvist. He didn’t. Lundqvist made the save and re-directed the puck into the corner.
....
Ruutu...decided to take the rebound and shoot it at the Rangers’ netminder. If this was during the play of the 60 minutes of the regular game, Ruutu would have been penalized.Nothing happened, well, except for Aaron Voros wanting to swing his stick from the Rangers bench at Jarrko’s head.
Now my head is spinning. If I’m the next Rangers shooter, do I shoot at Auld’s head? Do I miss and hope for a rebound to chuck one at the Sens keeper? Do I run him?
What if I ran him? There’s no rule that says I can’t. Why don’t teams run the opposing goalie in any game where he’s hot at the end of OT? Or even on the first shot in the shootout?
In the other corner of the debate, there’s TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who believes he saw Ruutu unable to control his deke, then following the errant puck into the corner to take his still-valid shot,
The Rangers were so incensed at what seemed like Ruutu being Ruutu that a few of them even tried to get at the abrasive Finn when the shootout was complete and they had to be restrained by the on-ice officials.
Well, guess what?
If Ruutu had scored on that bad-angle and seemingly late shootout shot, it would have counted.
According to NHL rule 25.2 on penalty shots, or shootouts if you will, that was still a live puck and Ruutu was within his rights to shoot it at Lundqvist.
“The original loss of the puck was not on a shot,” NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkon told TSN. “Therefore, the puck is live until it comes to a complete stop or the puck completely crosses the goal line.”
Sure enough, in this case, the puck was still moving when Ruutu got to it and it had not crossed the goal line. The play was alive even though most of us, including the Rangers, thought it was dead.
To make your own decision, the best footage currently available can be found at the 1:16 mark of the TSN highlights (be warned: trying to advance the player manually often results in a freeze).
Having watched the game, the MSG feed had an excellent replay, showing Ruutu trying to deke to his left, but failing to get his blade on the puck. The TSN highlights even believe that Ruutu made a shot, looking to Lundqvists’ flinch. Really, the flinch was likely either reflex or seeing Ruutu’s stick attempting to shoot, and you can see the puck slowly drifting away from Ruutu when he pulls it back on the deke, continuing its gentle glide until he picks up the shot.
At best, you could try to complain that it was invalid due to the rule where the motion of the shootout attempt must always be forward, though many a shooter has taken a side-to-side or a puck flipped back approach, and to no avail (this includes Auld appearing to contest a shootout goal from St. Louis 0:33 in, suspect under this very rule). I found myself expecting P.J. Stock to include a reference to Alfredsson in his discussion of tactics.
Where is the MSG view that shows Ruutu clearly not taking a shot on Ruutu though? Considering the assumed slight against Lundqvist incensed the Rangers so much that some chose to challenge the refs for Ruutu’s head rather than take part in the team’s nightly salute to the fans, why would you want to lower or confuse that passion?
That footage is probably parked alongside any shot of the stick swung at Ruutu’s head, the footage of a potential goal apparently ‘cut off’ during the Sens loss against Tampa. It was, if I’m not mistaken, a Dallas crew finding their compelling footage of the Pronger on Kesler stomp at the Ducks-Canucks game that helped make the case for the 8-game suspension, and unless League oversight or mandates demanded it, I wouldn’t expect teams to give up any opportunities presented to them.
All you can really say here is that it was a legal shot, though most shooters would not take the puck to the corner for a sharp-angle attempt, and that the frustration came from a misunderstanding of the rules, and perceptions on Ruutu, though his aggressive pest play does not leave you surprised on that count, and the Sens would not have him any other way.
From the Ottawa Sun, on the secret weapon the Sens could have used in Monday’s shootout,
“Brendan Bell is 13-of-15 in the American League,” coach Craig Hartsburg informed reporters after yesterday’s team meeting at Scotiabank Place. “He’s 3-for-3 this year. He was on our list.”
Not high enough, apparently.
“I wasn’t going to be the one to say it,” Bell, who was playing his first game as a Senator, replied when asked about his showdown success yesterday. “I mentioned it to Chris Phillips and he passed the word on, but it was a little too late. It’s something that I’d like to add, something I enjoy doing.”
Perhaps this is a lesson to the whole team, to speak up. It is Hartsburg’s job to organize the team as best as he sees fit, but it’s not a situation made most effective through one-way conversation. A little communication, revealing the tendencies players are feeling and the strengths they feel they are revealing, can go a long way.
As for the shootout, many were surprised at the selection. Ruutu? He actually has the team’s highest success rate, 50% (7 of 14), and Spezza is the next highest, 39% (5 of 13). Despite his goal against Lundqvist, Vermette made as much sense as Alfie, seeing as how it was Vermette’s missed opportunity that dropped him to 26% (5 of 19), compared to Alfie’s 22% (4 of 18). By far the biggest factor was Lundqvist, without a doubt, something the Senators had no control over.
Perhaps shootout practice should be taken, discussions had with Auld and Gerber about what has stymied and fooled them the most. The techniques can be used on breakaways as well, but it might even be nice just to see a forward on a powerplay, not properly covered and moving in towards the net, faking out the goaltender and defenders shootout-style. Plus having it as a part of practice would only help to lighten the mood, get some smiles cracking, and helping to get everyone in the sniper’s frame of mind, exactly where every player should feel they can be.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
Tags: Brendan+Bell, Jarkko+Ruutu,
Comments
Interesting commentary on Ruutu- I’m not a fan of the guy, as is probably clear from my comments on the “how one could defend...” thread, but I think he was definitely in the right in the shootout. I don’t think he was trying to take a shot at Lundqvist but, more than anyone, the shooter knows if he’s shot the puck.
Very interesting. That said, I don’t blame the rangers for reacting the way they did (being angry, not being stupid and swiping at him as he skated by- that kinda stuff is not excusable). His reputation precedes him, for better or worse and it’s not at it’s best right now.
On a more random note, since you referenced it: Has Alfie ever commented on or explained the Neidermeyer slapshot incident? I’d be interested to hear what he said abotu it if so. I love Alfie, and hate the ducks, so I always figured there was more than meets the eye there. I’m just sad it wasn’t a slapshot to Pronger’s knee!
Posted by shanetx on 11/19/08 at 07:41 PM ET
They were angry most likely because of a confusion on the rules, and any stick-swipe is more inexcusable than anything Ruutu did in this game, but he certainly made his presence known during the game, and frustration on the Rangers’ bench from the game as a whole, directed at Ruutu, is both expected and, from Ruutu’s perspective, highly desirable.
Here are Alfie’s comments, and others.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 11/19/08 at 09:13 PM ET
That footage is probably parked alongside any shot of the stick swung at Ruutu’s head
Well, the MSG coverage showed both before tonight’s game vs. Vancouver. So the footage is not “lost.” I don’t know if it’s online anywhere, but from what I saw it was actually Dubinsky and not Voros, and he didn’t swing his stick, but it did look like he wanted to poke Ruutu with it.
As for the Ruutu shootout thing, the MSG staff also had a chat with the league about it and they were told that it would not have counted, because Ruutu lost control of the puck. Apparently if he had gone to the corner on purpose it would have counted, but since he lost control after fanning on the shot, the play was dead. I don’t know, sounds like a bunch of BS to me, since I’ve seen guys lose control of the puck for a few seconds before they attempt a shot.
Posted by K24 from NYC on 11/19/08 at 09:32 PM ET
To be precise, the shootout does call for penalty shot rules to be applied (Rule 25)
The rule McKenzie brought up is again as follows:
The puck must be kept in motion towards the opponent’s goal line and once it is shot, the play shall be considered complete. No goal can be scored on a rebound of any kind (an exception being the puck off the goal post or crossbar, then the goalkeeper and then directly into the goal), and any time the puck crosses the goal line or comes to a complete stop, the shot shall be considered complete.
“Kept in motion” is likely what is debated, but it is hard to argue that the puck moving due to a player moving it with his stick, intentional or not, is still a puck kept moving. The puck was also still in motion towards the goal line but not past it, and so MSG would appear to be wrong, or merely trying to keep the Ruutu-Wrong-Lundqvist train steaming along.
And an interesting rule that hasn’t been violated, but whose violation would not surprise me if we see another Rangers-Senators shootout on Saturday:
If, while the penalty shot is being taken, any player, goalkeeper, Coach or non-playing Club personnel of the opposing team shall have by some action interfered with or distracted the player taking the shot and, because of such action, the shot should have failed, a second attempt shall be permitted and the Referee shall impose a bench minor penalty to the offending team, and if a player or goalkeeper on the bench is responsible, a misconduct penalty on the player or goalkeeper so interfering or distracting shall be assessed.
If, while the penalty shot is being taken, any player, goalkeeper, Coach or non-playing Club personnel of the team taking the shot shall have by some action interfered with or distracted the goalkeeper defending the shot and, because of such action, the shot was successful, the Referee shall rule no goal and shall impose a bench minor penalty to the offending team, and if a player or goalkeeper on the bench is responsible, a misconduct penalty on the player or goalkeeper so interfering or distracting shall be assessed.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 11/19/08 at 10:13 PM ET
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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
Once again, an excellent blog. You have identified and addressed all the key issues. Many thanks!
Posted by davetherave on 11/19/08 at 11:04 AM ET