It's Over! Its finally over.

The Preseason is over. And the Sens went undefeated against all opposition- "Good for them" - I just wish I would have seen some of the great plays that I heard over the radio, but I guess you gotta be grateful that this stuff is being broadcast in any form. Thankfully the commentators on the TEAM1200 are always top notch.

Well it's time to get down to business.

The Leafs are up first.

I'm hoping for a heated contest, something that will give a little spark to the battle of Ontario, like some of the leafs having a mad-on for Jason Spezza. I just hope all you SENS fans get out to Scotiabank place on Thursday and show the cockroaches that there is no longer room for them in the building. Good Luck!

What Steve Downie recieved...

Steve Downie is 20 years old.
He got Tweny games. I say, lets forget about him now, he's had his 15 minutes.

Why the preseason SUCKS!

Nuff' said!

Actually it isn't enough. I'm sorry to keep bitching about this... but I see it as a very real problem. And something obviously needs to be done.

When will this hair brained "Interview" idea come to an end. If you want players to prove themselves make them do it at training camp. This is especially important when these players are only trying for a 4th line job or spot on the healthy scratch list for the rest of the season. It totally blows my mind that the NHL would decide that an preseason should include the amount of games it does for the teams in the NHL.

New 42" Plasma!

As I mentioned in the last post that I have a new TV. A 42" Hitachi Plasma.
All I've got to say about it right now is..... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! To bad the only thing on was Hockey Central, I should have just tuned it off and took the picture. Just kidding.

Two More Games

Two more games that I cannot watch on my new big screen...
Still waiting for games that aren't practice or job interviews...

Final Scores

Ottawa 2
Montreal 1

Ottawa 4
Toronto 3 <---(notice the nice colour)

That's about the size of it. We beat two of our division rivals and Jason Spezza held onto the puck deep in Leafs territory for what seemed like a lifetime.

Now we just have to play the other two teams in the division, Boston and Buffalo, and we can get on with the season right?....

Right!!!

The Pre-"is it over yet"-Season

No it's not over. And I will continue to complain until it over, or shortened to 3 or 4 games and placed in the first week of september.

Here's a few thoughts on the second game of the Pre-Season.

It's SENS vs. CAPS next on the TEAM1200.
That's right people. I can only listen to em for now.

So it's top line for Patty Eaves tonight, sounds like there could be some "creativity" showing up early on from that group. Now that I think about it (Heatley - Spezza - Eaves) would make up a pretty youthful line for an NHL club.  

Ok. I get it. There are only three numbers that belong together on the top line (19-15-11) it's just that sometimes we need to mix it up to throw the other team off their game.  Makes sense... scratch that... Makes PERFECT sense.

Overall it sounded like a pretty good game. I'm a little shy of high-scoring games, being a goaltender and/or defencemen all my life, but I sometimes find that once the floodgates are opened in a game the players seem to play with more abandon. And that's something we can all appreciate, unless someone get's seriously hurt... in a game that really doesn't matter.

Don't you just love the Pre-Season?

Final
Ottawa            5
Washington    4

The Pre-Season Schedule & Game One

Tue Sep 18, 2007 Senators vs. Flyers (London, ON) 7:00 PM
Thu Sep 20, 2007 Capitals vs. Senators 7:00 PM
Sat Sep 22, 2007 Senators vs. Canadiens 7:00 PM
Mon Sep 24, 2007 Senators vs. Maple Leafs 7:30 PM
Tue Sep 25, 2007 Flyers vs. Senators 7:00 PM
Sat Sep 29, 2007 Canadiens vs. Senators 7:00 PM
Sun Sep 30, 2007 Senators vs. Capitals 5:00 PM
That's the Pre-Season.

And most likely my last choice for a post topic before the season starts, unless something big happens. <-- Hint, Hint again Mr. Murray!

I'll just add some thoughts on what I heard over internet radio, when I listened to the game on TEAM1200 for example, and enything I observed watching the various TV channels later on.

Right now I'm listening to the Philly/Ottawa game on the Team1200 and I think Kelly or Eaves just drove up to the drive-thru lane, pulled up to the window and ordered a double cheeseburger and fries! - boy do I love listening to Dean and Gord.


Final Score
Ottawa                      4
Philadelphia              0

As I heard it. Gerber was spectacular, which could help his bid to be traded. But he needs to start drinking some clear coloured drinks out of his water bottle. He's beginning to look like an extra from the Exorcist Movie. - Thank you Dean and Gord, you make listening to the games on my computer fun again.

Intrasquad Fight?

Jeremy Yablonski decided that the best way to get noticed was to fight Chris Neil.

Excellent choice of sparring partner.

Why?

I can take a guess - If I didn't it wouldn't have been much of a blog.

     Chris is not just a fighter called up for "sticky situations." He is a genuine Ottawa Senator, and plays an important role on the team outside of scrapping. He's shown some soft hands over the past couple of seasons and I think this trend will continue for him.

Then we can add the Pest factor.

     Chris Neil is one of those guys that other fans don't want to see play their team, let alone come and wear their teams colors, granted he isn't one of the most hated guys in the NHL like Pronger, but he does have the ability to get under the skin of the opposition.

     Fighting with a guy who's worth to the team has done nothing but increase in the past two years is a good way for Jeremy to show that he's ready to step into the role that McGratton isn't quite fast enough for, yet.

Although the Big EARN did pull quite the move as I'm sure all the talking heads pointed out when the highlight reel was rolling.

I looked everwhere for pics or even a video. If anyone knows where I can find some leave it in the comments for this post. 

Something more than a Script.

I remember seeing this when it first aired.



I wish there was more of this interaction with the players, instead of the "Post Game/PreGame Shows" where all the players sound like their reading from a script.
I remember this segment really cementing my respect for the guys willing to go outside the box with Shaun Majumder -Yes even Hasek. I enjoy being able to see what it's really like for NHLer's outside of the regular interviews and highlight reel spots. It can only improve the fan/player(team) relationship for the better. Just keep watching these things and the NHL "MIGHT" catch on, and actually invest in solidifying the current teams in the league's fan-base.

Pre-Season = 7 Games, Wasted?

Just an opinion from me, because most people think that dropping teams out of the current 30 team league is the best way for the NHL to get better.

I'm not sure why the Pre-Season is 7 Games long. The pre-season could be four games long,start in early September and leave room for playoffs that start in March (or earlier if the season was shortened). This could move the NHL playoffs into a position to possibly be the only thing happening in sports at the time. I'm thinking that this MIGHT BE GOOD for the NHL and it's fans, and may even help bring in some new fans at the same time.


Here it is in language the NHL can understand:

Make the pre-season shorter (four games or less).
Only have a 74 game season.
No division leader gets a top three playoff spot (give them a banner or plaque).
Enforce new rules evenly across entire league, for the ENTIRE season and playoffs.
Yearn for a Canadian team. Don't stop eveyone who said it in their bid for a franchise.

That's pretty clear... Right? Anyone who has trouble understanding should ask and I will explain fully what I mean above. I can only imagine what it would be like to witness a playoff series without hearing about the ice conditions. Just trying to follow a bouncing puck, while beating the heat with a cold Canadian in my hand, is hard enough.

I can dream can't I?

A New Era Begins. Welcome to Sens Watcher!

This blog is my P.O.V. on the Ottawa Senators and the happenings around the NHL. Since I just started this blog you can expect a very sparse number of Blogs until the NHL season kicks off later this month. Hopefully there will be something to blog about, within the next couple of days, on the trade front for the Senators. <- Hint, Hint Mr. Murray

You can also find me, in blog form, at www.sensunderground.com an excellent site dedicated to the Ottawa Senators.