Ottawa Senators 2007-2008 Thread

[Madferret]

Leafs host Senators to open season
Canadian Press

TORONTO - It won't take long to determine if the Toronto Maple Leafs are an improved team.

They play eight of their first 10 games in Air Canada Centre, beginning with a visit by the powerful Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night, and a good start is imperative if they want to make the playoffs after missing out two years in a row.

TSN's coverage begins at 5:30pm et/2:30pm pt with Molson That's Hockey, followed by Off The Record from the ACC at 6pm et/3pm pt. SPORTSCENTRE will air at 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt followed by the game with coverage starting at 7pm et/4pm pt.

They lost five of their first seven home games last year and, considering that they were one point shy of qualifying for the post-season at the end of their schedule, the poor home-ice start had a big bearing on their ultimate fate.

Captain Mats Sundin doesn't want it to happen again.

"We want to make it known around the league that we're a tough team to play on home ice," Sundin said on the eve of the season opener. "Last year we were slow out of the gate playing on home ice.

"If we want to be a playoff team this year we need to have a good home record. So it's going to be very important to have a good start this year."

Sundin will centre Jason Blake and Nik Antropov on the first line.

Blake, coming off a 40-goal season with the New York Islanders, is the sparkplug of a winger Toronto has lacked on the top unit. He's rarin' to go.

"It's nice being the new guy on the block, the new guy on the line," he said, sweat dripping off his brow under the glare of camera lighting after practice. "You always want to have a good first game just to get it under your belt and maybe feel a little more at ease.

"We've had a good training camp. I know the wins and losses aren't what we wanted but we learned a lot and we've got some systems in place. The guys are ready to go."

Sundin and Blake are still searching for the chemistry necessary to make the two click completely, but he's hopeful. "His speed and his goal-scoring ability is going to help our whole team," said Sundin.

The first-line assignment is a huge opportunity for Antropov. The oft-injured Kazakh scored a career-best 18 goals while healthy enough for only 54 games last season.

"They're still growing into what they can do," said head coach Paul Maurice.

Darcy Tucker, Chad Kilger and John Pohl have been skating together.

Matt Stajan, Alex Steen and Alexei Ponikarovsky are another possible combination, and Boyd Devereaux, Kris Newbury and Bates Battaglia can comprise a fourth line.

"We've got a good solid group of guys," said Tucker.

He doesn't expect anything to come easy, and organizational depth to offset the loss of injured players will be a key, he said.

"It's just a simple fact that every team is going to go through it and we have to find ways to make ourselves better to be a good playoff team when that time of year comes around," said Tucker.

Maurice has paired his two biggest defencemen, six-foot-seven Hall Gill and six-foot-four Andy Wozniewski. He has Bryan McCabe with Ian White and Pavel Kubina with Tomas Kaberle. Staffan Kronwall and Anton Stralman are the extra pair, with one likely sitting out Wednesday.

Incumbent Andrew Raycroft will start tonight over Vesa Toskala.

Forward Kyle Wellwood and defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo are on the injured list.

Forward Mark Bell also is unavailable due to his 15-game league suspension, which was expected to kick in Wednesday after the league receives assurances from doctors that he's satisfactorily completing a substance abuse and behavioural health program.

Toronto and Ottawa meet again Thursday in Canada's capital.

"It's a good gauge for us and we've got to be ready to go," Gill said of the first two games. "Whether we win or lose, we have to keep getting better with every game but, hopefully, we can play well and get a couple of wins here."

Maurice said he expects the back-to-back with Ottawa to feature "very fast and, I expect, quite physical games."

The futures with the team of Maurice and GM John Ferguson hinge on a playoff berth. That kind of pressure comes with the territory, said Maurice.

"This is professional sports," he said. "You're not running at 45 per cent pressure at any point in time, or at 80 per cent.

"You're at 100 per cent and most people who are in this long enough are very good at the 100-per-cent line."

The season opener is a fresh start for men who are blessed with the athletic abilities to earn a living and receive the adulation of fans while shooting a puck around.

"It's a lot of fun," said Tucker. "I'm very fortunate and lucky to be able to play a game that is loved by many in Canada.

"It's a nice night when you walk into the ACC and it's the home opener."

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[Madferret]

Heatley pays dividends in Senators' win
Canadian Press

TORONTO - Dany Heatley didn't take long to justify the Ottawa Senators' faith in him.

Heatley tied the score late in the third period and scored again 2:57 into overtime to give the Senators a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

During the afternoon, he reached agreement with management on a $45 million, six-year contract extension.

"It was nice, it was nice," he said of his big day. "I had a couple of shots early and didn't get the shots through.

"It was nice to get a couple of chances in the third (and in overtime) and finish."

Heatley ended the game by burying a wrist shot from the middle of Toronto's zone between the legs of goaltender Andrew Raycroft.

"I didn't see anything on that last goal," he said. "(Mike) Fisher made a great play through traffic and I just tried to get it away as fast as I could and find a hole."

The assist was Fisher's lone point of the night, but a huge one. He lauded Heatley's finishing touch.

Heatley came up big for us, obviously in the third period and overtime, and showed everybody why he's a 50-goal scorer," said Fisher.

Antoine Vermette and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for the Senators, who pulled out the win for John Paddock in his first game as head coach.

"We finally picked up in the third," said Paddock. "We were pretty lackadaisical in the second.

"We have to play better than we did tonight in some aspects of the game, but we found a way to win, which this group has got used to doing. And I'm glad they did it tonight."

He wasn't the least bit surprised that Heatley was the hero.

"That's what goal scorers are," he said. "You saw Brett Hull many nights, you don't think he's got anything and all of sudden he gets two chances and he scores.

"That's Heater. They were both goal-scorer's goals."

Ottawa improved to 4-0 in visits to Toronto for Leafs season openers.

Nik Antropov scored twice for the Leafs, making coach Paul Maurice's decision to give him a chance on the first line with Mats Sundin and Jason Blake a wise one. Matt Stajan supplied Toronto's other goal.

"I thought we played a pretty good hockey game," said Sundin. "We did a lot of good things.

"I don't think there was one part of the game that we were outplayed or outmatched. We'll take the point."

The teams square off again Thursday night in Ottawa.

Bagpipes and drums of the 48th Highlanders filled the arena with music as has been the case at every home opener since the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens on Nov. 12, 1931. The men in kilts exited playing The Maple Leaf Forever, which put the announced crowd of 19,496 in a good mood.

Vermette turned the smiles to frowns when he opened the scoring at 7:23. A burst of speed sent him past Tomas Kaberle and he fired a low wrist shot past Raycroft.

Antropov tied it at 10:39 when his pass from the side boards struck Chris Phillips' skate and ricocheted past goaltender Martin Gerber, Antropov scored again at 13:59 when he shot between Gerber's legs and Alfredsson made it 2-2 at 14:39 when his low wrist shot eluded Raycroft.

Leafs fourth-liner Kris Newbury fought Wade Redden late in the period.

The Leafs were outhitting and outshooting the Senators and, just as importantly, they were steering clear of the penalty box. Yet, to avoid falling behind again, they needed Raycroft to stop Chris Kelly on a breakaway in the fifth minute of the second period and to come up big during a two-man Ottawa advantage that lasted 65 seconds.

Stajan put Toronto up 3-2 at 15:44 of the second when he slapped a bullet past Gerber.

Redden left the ice a minute later with blood trickling down his face from a forehead cut after a fight with Bates Battaglia.

"That stuff doesn't go unnoticed," said Senators centre Jason Spezza. "It gave us a jolt going into the third period, and it's fun when you see guys competing like that."

The Senators picked up their play - they'd outshoot the Leafs 12-4 in the third - but Raycroft was solid.

Just when it seemed as if the Leafs might be able to run out the clock, Heatley struck. Andrej Meszaros fed him a cross-ice pass and he buried his shot in the open side of the net at 14:24.

It would be decided in overtime on the play generated by Fisher and finished by Heatley.

"I just threw (the puck) to him and somehow he corralled it and got it away really quickly with a couple guys on him," said Fisher.

Heatley has haunted the Leafs throughout his career. In 25 games against them, he has 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points.

As for the team's effort, "We started out sluggish, but got better in the third period and obviously when the chips were down, we made it count," said Fisher.

Blake had an impressive outing in his first game with the Leafs. He picked up an assist on Antropov's first goal.

"We generated enough offence, except for our power play," said Maurice. "Defensively, we have to be better."

The crowd got on Raycroft after Ottawa's second goal.

"I thought the first two (goals) were tough," said Maurice. "They were good shots but . . . clearly he was not loved (by the crowd) early but I think he did a really good job settling into the game, and after that I thought he was very good."

Notes: Ottawa had a 30-29 edge in shots. . . . On power plays, Ottawa was 0-for-4 and Toronto was 0-for-7. . . . Sundin picked up two assists to move within five points of Darryl Sittler's club-record 916. He remains one shy of Sittler's club goals record of 389. . . . Redden hadn't been in a fight since the 2005-2006 season, and he was in only one that year. . . . NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance. . . . Joe Bowen, who has broadcast play-by-play of Leafs games for 25 years, was honoured in a pre-game ceremony. . . . Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy sang the anthem. . . . Wade Belak of the Leafs and Luke Richardson of the Senators were available healthy players who were scratched. . . . The importance of a good start: the last 10 Stanley Cup champions had a combined October record of 78-17-14.

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[Darsehole Tucker]

Sweet, we're already on pace for an undefeated season and Heatley's on pace for 164 goals. Should be a good season. At the game tonight Ferret? (are you still even in Ottawa)

[Madferret]

Sweet, we're already on pace for an undefeated season and Heatley's on pace for 164 goals. Should be a good season. At the game tonight Ferret? (are you still even in Ottawa)

Still in the KW.
Reddens on pace for 164 fights.

[Madferret]

Leafs, Senators ready for round two
The Sports Network

(Sports Network) - The Ottawa Senators will try to sweep a season-opening home-and-home series this evening, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Place.

The Senators were able to earn an overtime win in Wednesday's meeting at Air Canada Centre. Dany Heatley celebrated his new contract by scoring the game- tying goal late in the third and netted the deciding tally in overtime, lifting Ottawa past the Maple Leafs, 4-3. It was the first game of the regular season for both clubs.

Earlier in the day, the Senators reached a six-year agreement with the left winger. Heatley scored 50 goals and had 55 assists during the 2006-07 season.

Antoine Vermette and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for the Senators, while Martin Gerber turned away 26 shots. Gerber is filling in for injured No. 1 goaltender Ray Emery, who will also miss this evening's game with a wrist injury.

The Senators are coming off the most successful season in franchise history after picking up the team's first Eastern Conference championship and making it to the Stanley Cup finals. They made some personnel changes in the offseason, as last year's head coach Bryan Murray vacated his position to become the franchise's general manager. John Paddock takes over for Murray as the new head coach.

Nikolai Antropov had two goals for Toronto, which held a lead twice in the game. Andrew Raycroft turned away 26 shots in a losing effort.

Raycroft earned the start despite the presence of Vesa Toskala, who was obtained in a trade from San Jose on June 22 along with forward Mark Bell. Toskala was expected to become the starter for the Leafs, but Toronto head coach Paul Maurice surprisingly went with Raycroft in the season opener. Toskala could make his Maple Leafs debut tonight.

Toronto's 36-year-old captain Mats Sundin inched closer to one milestone, as he posted a pair of assists in the losing effort. Sundin enters the 2007-08 campaign ranked second in Maple Leafs' all-time goals, second in points, and third in assists.

The longest-tenured player on the team, Sundin still needs just one goal to tie Darryl Sittler for the all-time franchise mark, and now needs five points to match Sittler for the franchise scoring lead.

The Senators have taken six of nine and 13 of the last 17 contests with Toronto. Toronto has also been defeated in six of its last eight trips to Ottawa.

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[Madferret]

Alfredsson pots two as Sens beat Leafs
Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The Toronto Maple Leafs showed plenty of heart Thursday, but not enough smarts.

And after back-to-back games against the Ottawa Senators to open the regular season, they have just a single point to show for their efforts.

Daniel Alfredsson scored his second goal of the game on the power play with less than five minutes remaining and lifted the Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Leafs in the back end of the home-and-home series.

It was Ottawa's second goal with the man advantage on the night and it came on the Senators' 10th power-play opportunity.

''We just have to work a little bit smarter,'' Leafs goaltender Vesa Toskala said after seeing his regular-season debut for Toronto spoiled when Chad Kilger took a holding penalty - one of three straight minors called against the Leafs in the final nine minutes - and Alfredsson converted. Toskala made 26 saves and otherwise looked sharp, saying he felt good overall.

''I gave us a chance to win. I think we for sure deserved at least a point from this game,'' he said. The Leafs outshot the Senators 43-29, but also gave up a power-play goal to Dany Heatley in the second period. Meanwhile, they went 0-for-7 with the man advantage themselves and, despite rallying from a 2-0 second-period deficit, failed to earn at least a point.

''I think we're concerned about taking (the penalties). I think Ottawa's probably concerned about taking them,'' said Toronto coach Paul Maurice, who felt the play that produced Alfredsson's winner was a tough break.

''The Chad Kilger one . he got his stick stuck in the glass and I guess he's supposed to release his stick, but he's not trying to hold anyone up. It was clear early on that those were for the most part going to get called tonight and we took too many of them.''

Heatley, who scored the winning goal in overtime Wednesday night in Ottawa's season-opening 4-3 victory at the Air Canada Centre, also added an assist before a sold-out crowd of 19,857 at Scotiabank Place in the Senators' home opener.

Wade Redden and Jason Spezza each recorded a pair of helpers. Martin Gerber stopped 41 shots in goal for the Senators.

The Senators improved to 8-4-3-0 all-time in home openers and are 14-2-2 in their last 18 regular-season meetings against the Leafs.

Heatley has 17 goals in 18 games against Toronto as a member of the Senators.

''For us generally as a team, you play your big rival and you get both wins, it's a good start,'' Gerber said.

Mats Sundin and Matt Stajan replied for Toronto.

''I think we had a great effort, but when you win, you deserve to win and when you lose, you deserve to lose,'' Maurice said. Sundin's goal was his 389th as a member of the Leafs, moving him into a tie with Darryl Sittler for the most in franchise history.

''I'm very proud of that, it's something I'll enjoy more at the end of the season obviously (as) we're right in the middle of things,'' Sundin said. ''I'm proud of being in a group with Darryl Sittler and those guys.''

Before the game, the Senators raised a banner to commemorate their own piece of history - the Eastern Conference title they won last spring.

Alfredsson had received the loudest cheer of all during player introductions, and he gave the crowd more to cheer about when he opened the scoring at the 8:18 mark of the first.

In the second, Heatley redirected a pass from Spezza that Toskala appeared to kick out and play continued until the next stoppage. But after a review, the goal was ruled to have crossed the goal line and Ottawa led 2-0.

Less than three minutes later, however, the Leafs were right back in it after Sundin and Stajan scored just 32 seconds apart, both off goal-mouth scrambles.

But with Kilger in the box for holding, Alfredsson fired a shot over Toskala's shoulder with 4:59 left for the winner.

''I didn't have much to shoot at, but I was able to put it in the corner,'' Alfredsson said.

Notes: To celebrate the start of the Senators' 15th season, former Ottawa captain Laurie Boschman dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. . In addition to goalie Ray Emery (wrist) and centre Dean McAmmond (concussion), who are both out day-to-day with injuries, defenceman Luke Richardson was scratched from the Senators' lineup. . Ottawa plays host to the New York Rangers on Saturday. . Defencemen Anton Stralman and Wade Belak were Toronto's scratches. . Next up for the Leafs are the Montreal Canadiens, who visit the Air Canada Centre.

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[grim]

Hello? Is this thing on? Hellooooo? The microphones at these East German websites are so, uh, full of voice box crushing restrictions. Grüß dich? I was at this... ice... hockey... game. Gerber yes. Spezza stop that. Corvo eeeaaayuck. The old lady near me had it right about Ottawa's newest free agent .... "Get yer ass moving Donahue!!!" Now that's an old lady with sass. Or an old lady who forgot her meds...

[Darsehole Tucker]

It's hard to argue being 9-0 since training camp started though.

[Madferret]

Rangers-Senators Preview
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Oct 6, 2007, 7:00 PM ET

Although the Ottawa Senators have been without No. 1 goaltender Ray Emery their first two games, backup Martin Gerber and Dany Heatley have done more than enough to offset his loss.

The Senators seek their second 3-0 start in three years on Saturday night when they host the New York Rangers.

After leading the Senators (2-0-0) to the Eastern Conference title last season, Emery had left wrist surgery in June and is not yet completely healed. That left the starting job to Gerber, who lost that position last season to Emery in mid-November.

Gerber stopped 26 of 29 shots in Ottawa's season-opening 4-3 overtime victory Wednesday at Toronto. He was even better Thursday as the Senators completed a home-and-home sweep of the Maple Leafs with a 3-2 win, making 41 saves for his highest total since he made that many against the Rangers on March 14, 2006 with Carolina.

"You play your big rival and you win both games - it's a good start," Gerber said.

Emery isn't expected to miss too much more time, but Gerber's strong play means the Senators have no need to rush him back.

While Gerber has provided strong goaltending, Heatley has been an offensive force in each of the first two games. He has three goals and a team-best five points on only seven shots.

Heatley, coming off back-to-back 50-goal seasons, should be poised for another big season after signing a six-year, $45 million contract extension on Wednesday.

"It feels nice, no question," Heatley said after Wednesday's win. "It was a good day. I've said before, I love Ottawa, I love the fans, it's a great organization. So I'm just thrilled to be here for six years."

Captain Daniel Alfredsson scored his second goal of the game - and third of the season - on a power play with 4:59 remaining Thursday to keep Ottawa perfect.

"I didn't have much to shoot at, but I was able to put it in the corner," said Alfredsson, who has 12 goals and 18 assists in his last 22 games against the Rangers.

Ottawa's big three of Heatley, Alfredsson and Jason Spezza has combined for six goals and five assists in the first two games. That trio accounted for 113 of the team's 288 goals last season.

New York's two biggest offseason acquisitions - centers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez - made their Madison Square Garden debuts Thursday as the Rangers rallied for a 5-2 season-opening win over Florida.

Drury's first goal with his new team snapped a third-period tie and was his 38th game-winning goal in the regular season, and 53rd including playoffs.

"Same answer I always give: right place at the right time," Drury said.

Gomez didn't record a point in his Rangers' debut following seven seasons with rival New Jersey.

New York was outshot 21-9 over the first two periods, but Henrik Lundqvist gave his team a chance to come back by limiting Florida to two goals.

"As a goalie when your team struggles for a little bit, you just have to hang in for a few minutes," Lundqvist said.

Lundqvist is 2-5-0 in eight career games against the Senators, but has allowed only six goals in his last four appearances.

Rangers star Jaromir Jagr, who opened his 16th season Thursday with two assists, has two goals in his last 16 games against Ottawa.

The Senators won the final three meetings against the Rangers last season after losing the first matchup 3-1 on Dec. 9.

Ottawa has won 14 of its last 18 games against New York, going 7-1-0 at home.

[Madferret]

Senators aim for fourth straight win
The Sports Network

(Sports Network) - The Ottawa Senators aim for a fourth straight win to begin the season this afternoon, when they host the New Jersey Devils at Scotiabank Place in a matinee matchup on Thanksgiving Day.

Today's game is a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference semifinal series, which Ottawa won in five games.

The Senators are off to a 3-0 start for the second time in three seasons. Ottawa began the 2005-06 campaign with victories in each of its first six contests.

Ottawa started the 2007-08 schedule with a home-and-home sweep of Toronto and then downed the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Martin Gerber made 35 stops to record his first shutout of the season and lead the Senators to the 2-0 home win over the Rangers.

Gerber has started all three games for the Senators this year, as No. 1 netminder Ray Emery continues to recover from surgery on his left wrist. Emery is expected to sit out at least one more week.

Daniel Alfredsson and Andrej Meszaros tallied on Saturday for the Senators, who are wrapping up a three-game homestand today. Ottawa was 25-13-3 on its home ice last season.

The Devils, meanwhile, are playing the third test of a season-opening nine- game road trip. New Jersey is away from home until October 27, when it will host the Senators in the first-ever game from the brand-new Prudential Center in Newark.

After dropping a 3-1 decision in Tampa Bay to begin the season, the Devils were able to post a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday. John Madden scored a pair of goals to help New Jersey beat Florida and spoil the Panthers' home opener at BankAtlantic Center.

Andrew Greene and Mike Mottau also tallied for New Jersey, which secured Brent Sutter's first victory as an NHL coach. Sutter, who took over the team in the offseason, was one of six brothers to play in the NHL and is now the fourth member of the famous hockey family to become a head coach in the league.

Kevin Weekes ended with 32 saves in the win as the Devils opted to give future Hall-of-Famer Martin Brodeur a rest. Brodeur has started at least 70 games in nine straight seasons, but the Devils brought in Weekes this offseason to try and give the three-time Vezina Trophy winner some additional days off this season.

Brodeur is expected to be in net this afternoon for New Jersey.

The Devils went 3-1 against in the season series against Ottawa last season before falling to the Sens in the playoffs. Jersey has taken four of the last five regular-season meetings with Ottawa and has won in four of its last six trips to Scotiabank Place.

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[Iced Tea]

I watched the Sens vs Rangers on Saturday.

The Sens were so good, they made the Rangers look like a beer league team. If Lundqvist didn't play like an all star, the Sens would have scored 10 or more goals.

The Rangers' big money acquisitions looked like duds in this game. I thought Jagr and company stayed home and let some kids wear their jerseys. Maybe the Rangers couldn't show any of their super skills because the Sens were all over the Rangers; it was like the Sens had ten skaters out at a time, swarming the Rangers puck carrier. The Sens were skating circles around the Rangers. It was like a Harlem Globetrotters game.

Gerber played well in this game. He's making it difficult for the coach to give the starting job back to Emery.

I watched the first three Senators games, and they are firing on all cylinders out of the gate. I know it's early but good to see the Sens continuing what they have done the last few seasons.

A thumbs up to Wade "Mad Dog" Redden for his increased toughness. :thumb:

I'm glad I have NHL Centre Ice so I can watch the Sens more than the few times CBC shows their games this season. Go Sens Go.

[grim]

Gee Tea. *blushes* Thanks for caring. As a show of gratitude.... I will go back in time and program our robot Jacques Martin to just give the best goalie in the world to Vancouver for basically nothing after he arrives in Florida. Let me know if my magic trick works.

[Madferret]

Ellliot wins debut as Sens stay unbeaten
Associated Press

ATLANTA - Antoine Vermette scored the tie-breaking goal early in the third period, Brian Elliott won his NHL debut in goal and the Ottawa Senators remained unbeaten with a 3-1 victory over the winless Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night.

The Senators improved to 5-0, just one win off the franchise record for most consecutive victories at the start of the season. Ottawa won its first six games in 2005-06, and began 2000-01 by going unbeaten in nine.

Then there's Atlanta, which hardly looks like the defending Southeast Division champion. The Thrashers have lost their first three games, managing just four goals.

Chris Kelly gave the Senators a quick lead, scoring an unassisted goal on the first shot of the game. Ilya Kovalchuk tied it for Atlanta with his first of the season, but Vermette scored the winner with 18:18 remaining.

Chris Phillips cleared the Ottawa zone with long pass off the boards, and Vermette hustled past the Thrashers defence to beat Kari Lehtonen with a blistering shot over the goalie's glove hand from the left faceoff circle.

Defenceman Joe Corvo also scored for Ottawa.

Elliott, the 291st overall pick in the 2003 entry draft, claimed a spot on the Ottawa roster while Ray Emery recovers from off-season wrist surgery. The rookie watched Martin Gerber put up a 1.73 goals-against average in the first four games, then finally got his shot.

Elliott stopped 27 shots, including a brilliant save on Alexei Zhitnik about a minute after Vermette's goal. The Thrashers defenceman got free at the side of the net on a give-and-go pass, but Elliott sprawled back with his right pad to keep the puck out.

It was tough night for Zhitnik. Later in the third, he was sent off for hooking; just 18 seconds later, Corvo scored on the power play with a screened shot from just inside the blue line that dipped under Lehtonen's blocker.

Atlanta tried to get heat on the rookie, but its best chance clanked off the post.

Kelly put the Senators ahead at just 1:14 of the first, taking advantage when Thrashers defenceman Ken Klee got tangled up at the blue-line. Kelly beat him to the puck and fired a wrist shot past Lehtonen for a rather soft goal.

Kovalchuk answered about 5½ minutes later. He knocked the puck away from one Ottawa player at the blue line, stole it away from another along the boards and ripped a shot over Elliott's left elbow before Phillips could get over to help.

The Thrashers got a scare later in the period when Kovalchuk went off holding his right arm after taking a hit on the shoulder from Mike Fisher. The Atlanta star headed straight to the locker room, in obvious pain, but returned for the start of the next period.

Notes: Atlanta had to go without RW Marian Hossa, who was scratched after injuring his groin in practice Monday. . The Thrashers outshot Ottawa 10-8 in the second period _ the first period in three games they've had more shots than their opponent. . Ottawa finished with a 36-28 edge.

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[Max Power]

Gee Tea. *blushes* Thanks for caring. As a show of gratitude.... I will go back in time and program our robot Jacques Martin to just give the best goalie in the world to Vancouver for basically nothing after he arrives in Florida. Let me know if my magic trick works.

That's why Martin didn't take the Havlat, Volchenkov and Emery offer? For a second there I thought Martin was the new Mike Millbury.
Speaking of Millbury what the hell is TSN thinking making him one of their analysts. That’s like asking me to host a knitting seminar

[Iced Tea]

The new goalie, Elliot, looked good last night. Never heard of him but I certainly liked what I saw. The Sens are now deeper than most teams in the goaltending department. The Sens are deep at every spot.

The Thrashers put up more resistance than I thought they would but in the end, the Senators won again.

I'm so happy I bought NHL Centre Ice this season.

:eek: the Hurricanes have a 2 - 0 lead on the Sens in the second.

[grim]

The Sens are deep at every spot.


Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone Tea.... but we have Oleg Saprykin available to trade. For the right price. Maybe that Naslund guy. We could reunite the shunned Bert and Markus N. on the 3rd line with Jaarko Ruutu. Or is that Jarkko? Bah... who cares.