The Shock Of The Lightning!

It’s a bit of a pisser when your mom calls at 7:25 and requires your full attention so you don’t have the ability to turn the game on right away. As such, I walked right into a 1-0 Tampa lead. Fuckers. The game as a whole was pretty solid after the team woke up in the 2^nd. I get that this game was relatively meaningless for both teams, but floating, at this time of year is intolerable.

Snapping back from a 3-0 deficit to force OT is EXACTLY what I wanted to see tonight. So what if it wasn’t NJ or PIT we were playing, dealing with adversity in any form is a plus at this point, and going into Saturday against Buffalo on a very emotional night at the Salmon Can at 7-1-1 is nothing to be down about.

Overall, I was impressed with everyone last night battling back. I would like to have seen Cowen get a bit more ice time, but truth be told, he’s not a game changer yet, and we needed (and got) one. Good on Furbligno for heeding my threats, I’m sure he’s a regular reader.

Keep rolling boys, those ‘garbage’ goals will earn you the silverware!

~MFP3

Right As Rain

Not really too many better ways to celebrate 1000. A point, to inch him closer to the other 1000 mark. A big win against a lesser opponent, which this team seems to struggle with sometimes. Most importantly, a team that played great all night, rolled four solid lines, and got contribution from everyone.

You could see in the interviews leading up to the game, and the spot with Ian Mendes during intermission that 1000 wasn’t a big deal at this point for Alfie as it came on the road. You and I both realise it’ll really hit home on Saturday when the game will be delayed for the ceremony, and furthered by the longest, loudest standing ovation this team has ever seen. That being said, it was nice to see the Panthers, and all 17 fans pay homage to Alfie with a little montage on the scoreboard. They’ve always been classy.

I looked through the game stats and was surprised to find out that Kovalev was in the lineup. Then I reviewed the game log to see if he’d gone out early with injury, say around the 1:30 mark of the first, because truly, I didn’t see him after that. I saw Neiler get his Gordie, the 5^th such of his career. This lead to a little research to find that the real Gordie only ever got one. Also, five puts the Ginger Dandy into second all-time (ALL-TIME!) on the Gordie list, behind the one, the only …. Brendan Shanahan. I KNOW! That was my reaction too!

All told, it was a great effort by most, and I’m glad the guys all showed up to help the team win on a big night. From here on out, they are all big nights.

And now for something completely different….

There are a few guys who have had lots of time and money invested in their development, who have yet to show any return on that. There are spurts here and there of the potential, but overall, it’s truly disheartening to see them regress. This reminds me very much of the great Smiths track Girlfriend In A Coma. “Do you really think she’ll pull through?” I’m looking at you Furbligno and Shan-WOW! Time for a bit of a return, or perhaps time to try your hand elsewhere.

~MFP3

Oh Captain! My Captian!

I know it’s been awhile since I populated this space with anything. I’m going to try to be much more frequent, and I feel there is no better time to start than now… on the eve of Alfie’s 1000^th game. I’ve been a Sens fan for a while now. I can’t attest to being there from the beginning because I only moved to Ottawa in 1999, but I can assure you, no other team has earned my admiration more than this team, no matter how many seasons have ended in frustration.

The face of this franchise since my arrival has been Daniel Alfredsson. He has been the consummate leader, the lightning rod, the sounding board, and the deflector. He has led this team as far as one man can, through the greatest moments this franchise has experienced. He has often been the focus of criticism, been much maligned for his inability to bring a Cup back to the Capital. What we as fans need to realise is that far more dreams lay unrealised at the end of each season, than those that come true. Ask the great leaders like Ray Bourque, who waited 20 years to finally hoist a Cup, or guy like Pat LaFontaine or Dale Hawerchuk, who never won one at all, and they will all tell you about the anguish of defeat.

So as we sit here heading into a very special, and certainly very emotional night, we can’t focus on what our beloved captain has not done for us, we should count our blessings that we have a man of such fortitude, strength, willpower, and drive, that he has been our captain for a decade, and the greatest player this franchise ever has, or ever will see.

We love you Alfie. Go Sens Go!

~MFP3