GNT: Sens @ Flames

[KennyBanyeah]

My team versus Dash's. The loser will be booed until my throat is sore!!

Sens lineup:

Greening - Spezza - Michalek
Foligno - DaCosta - Alfredsson
Daugavins - Smith - Condra
Winchester - Konopka - Butler

Kuba - Karlsson
Phillips - Lee
Cowen - Gonchar

Anderson

Injuries:
Matt Carkner
Peter Regin
Chris Neil

Scratched: David Rundblad


Who cares about the Flames lineup, but it goes something like this:

Iggy and some other guys at forward

Giordano, a rich MoFo, and some other guys.

Kipper in nets.

 

[forty_three]

Scratched: David Rundblad

Brassard for Rundblad? I'll take it.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Brassard for Rundblad? I'll take it.

[YOUTUBE]WDgq-K2oYLo[/YOUTUBE]

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Seriously though Rundblad has shown what everyone was hoping to see.

Great vision on the ice. Ice in his veins. Smooth hands. Can beat people one-on-one. Even likes to go for the big hit from time to time (his skinny ass usually bounces off the guy, but he likes to hit).

They're just worried about him fatiguing over an 82 game schedule and letting learn a few more reads in his own end and the neutral zone.

The kid is going to be a pretty special player when he grows into the NHL game.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Sens win it on 2 by Bobby Butler

Entertaining game.

 

[esls79]

That GWG by Butler made Jaw Blow look like a fool.

 

[dash]

Congrats, Kenny, Urkie, and forty_three, nice effort by the Sens last night, the wrong Butler had a great game.

As for the boys in red, the young guys were fine, it's the veterans that are pissing me off (aside from Kipper), Iggy had a terrible game (his neutral zone turnover led directly to Alfie's goal), Tanguay was invisible. The less said about Giordano and JayBlow, the better.

 

[dash]

Somebody else did the numbers and the Flames have to play a little over .600 hockey the rest of the way to get to 95 points. When you consider the fact that has it has been a cupcake schedule to this point, it's not looking good.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Somebody else did the numbers and the Flames have to play a little over .600 hockey the rest of the way to get to 95 points. When you consider the fact that has it has been a cupcake schedule to this point, it's not looking good.

I thought Giordano looked OK.


Bouwmeester was Redden-esque out there. Yikes.

Yeah. The playoffs look unlikely especially given how surprisingly strong the NW division has been this year. Is it time to blow it up like my Sens did last year?

I can see us being true contenders in 2-3 years. It's a lot easier to handle losing watching these kids bust their asses then it was watching some of the vets last year just circling aimlessly on the ice. I think Calgary fans would tolerate a rebuild (albeit a quick one).

 

[dash]

Aside from the young guys, the only guys I would keep on this current edition of the Flames would be Kipper, Iggy, and Giordano. Other guys will be tough if not impossible to move due to either dollars (JayBo) or suckage (Stajan), but Feaster should be working the blower like crazy.

Also, Brent Sutter needs to be shown a pink slip and the sooner the better.

 

[Urkie]

I thought Anderson had a really solid game. The Flames had a few chances right in front of the net about 3 or 4 times and he saved all of them. The Flames just have no finish though. Hopefully that improves for them as the year goes on.

As for the Sens, I've been really impressed with Daugavins. He's single-handedly improved the PK since he was called up and it's something that is going to keep him in Ottawa the rest of the year. Same with Zack Smith who is another guy I'm starting to really like.

I've also been impressed with Gonchar and Kuba lately. Yeah, I've been hard on both of them in the past but they've come to play this year and it's allowing Karlsson to just do his thing. It was good to see Butler finally get one to go in the net too. The last few games I've noticed him gaining confidence and maybe now he'll start to contribute more on a regular basis.

I am a little confused about how they are dealing with Rundblad. He had one bad game and then he sat out and ever since he's seen little ice time and made some errors that made it seem like he was rusty.

I think Da Costa needs AHL time. He's not used to playing this many games and he needs to get stronger and used to board battles and such. If Regin was healthy then I think that's where he would be but because he's not...I think Murray is looking at getting a center in the meantime.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

I thought Anderson had a really solid game. The Flames had a few chances right in front of the net about 3 or 4 times and he saved all of them. The Flames just have no finish though. Hopefully that improves for them as the year goes on.

As for the Sens, I've been really impressed with Daugavins. He's single-handedly improved the PK since he was called up and it's something that is going to keep him in Ottawa the rest of the year. Same with Zack Smith who is another guy I'm starting to really like.

I've also been impressed with Gonchar and Kuba lately. Yeah, I've been hard on both of them in the past but they've come to play this year and it's allowing Karlsson to just do his thing. It was good to see Butler finally get one to go in the net too. The last few games I've noticed him gaining confidence and maybe now he'll start to contribute more on a regular basis.

I am a little confused about how they are dealing with Rundblad. He had one bad game and then he sat out and ever since he's seen little ice time and made some errors that made it seem like he was rusty.

I think Da Costa needs AHL time. He's not used to playing this many games and he needs to get stronger and used to board battles and such. If Regin was healthy then I think that's where he would be but because he's not...I think Murray is looking at getting a center in the meantime.

They're really sheltering Rundblad and making sure he doesn't burn out during an 82 game schedule. It's been made pretty clear that while he needs to learn a lot, and that he should be doing some of that from the press box, he is not being scratched as punishment for bad play.

Lee has looked pretty solid recently too.


I agree on DaCosta. He's a little overwhelmed out there right now. Regin can't return to health too soon, IMO. I'd like to see the Sens grab a young C with top 6 potential who is a little more ready than DaCosta but those are hard to come by.

On another note Cowen has been pretty solid. Starting to look more and more comfortable out there. He's going to be a beast of a PKer.

 

[Urkie]

They're really sheltering Rundblad and making sure he doesn't burn out during an 82 game schedule. It's been made pretty clear that while he needs to learn a lot, and that he should be doing some of that from the press box, he is not being scratched as punishment for bad play.

Lee has looked pretty solid recently too.


I agree on DaCosta. He's a little overwhelmed out there right now. Regin can't return to health too soon, IMO. I'd like to see the Sens grab a young C with top 6 potential who is a little more ready than DaCosta but those are hard to come by.

On another note Cowen has been pretty solid. Starting to look more and more comfortable out there. He's going to be a beast of a PKer.

Yeah, I can see why they'd want to shelter Rundblad but I think he's only going to learn from playing games. Sitting out every other game isn't going to cut it I don't think. He looked great the first 10 or so games he played and that's because he was playing and learning. I think the only time he should sit out is if there's a back to back. Otherwise he should be playing. That's just my opinion though. Obviously MacLean is being very careful with him and that's what he think is best but I don't necessarily agree.

I do agree on Lee. He's been pretty solid and it seems like him and Cowen make a pretty good tandem. Speaking of Cowen, yeah I agree...he's been excellent. He's not a guy that you notice a whole lot (unless he throws a big hit) but he's just solid. My hope is that he develops a bit of an offensive game but if he just becomes a defensive stud then that's okay too. He has also really helped the PK lately.

I saw a rumor that Murray was interested in Brassard and I think that's a good guy to go after. He's a local guy with the potential to be a really good center down the road. At the very least he can handle 2nd line minutes which is something Da Costa is showing that he can't. Even if it's not Brassard, I feel like Murray has to get somebody because Da Costa is really looking overwhelmed and another month of it isn't going to help.