According to the Senators beat reporters (via Twitter), Jonathan Cheechoo is skating on a line at practice alongside Jesse Winchester and Zach Smith. Translation: Ryan Shannon is out and the Cheech is drawing in.

I Tweeted that the only time Cheechoo should draw into a lineup is if he commited a crime and the police need a witness to identify him. But I'm just joking.

(I think.)

(I haven't actually decided yet.)

 

 

"What are you? An expert?"

And with that, Andy Sutton rhetorically answered Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's question with a question of his of his own and provided Senators fans with their most memorable quote of the 2009/10 season.

It was somewhat ironic, considering that it followed what I'd consider to be one of the most passive and conservative efforts that I have ever witnessed the Senators play. I've never seen this team play that much of a game without possession of the puck.

As a fan who had experienced innumberable Jacques Martin coached games first hand, this game was tense but at times, unwatchable. It was like the Senators were channelling the 1996 Stanley Cup Finalist Panthers. Maybe that's what made the quote so perfect for the Senators collective, listening to Sutton give it to some hack Pittsburgh journalist was pretty damn cathartic.

As much as I had the opportunity and outlet to vent and use an excessive number of superlatives to describe -- Ottawa's east-west style; the forwards innate inability to take a pass or caught flat-footed in the neutral zone thereby fostering a dump-and-chase style that rendered them completely useless -- I decided to pass up the opportunity and wait a few days to see how game three would shake out and get some perspective.

With the way game three settled, even a talent evaluator like Mike Milbury could identify this team's problems for the past two games:

• They're not getting the breaks or bounces
• From backchecking to reaching loose pucks first, Ottawa's getting outskated.
• Brian Elliott has to be better.
• They're not getting the calls.
• And they're not getting enough from Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson or Mike Fisher.
  

Getting lost amidst the concern over the direction of this series is the fact that the series is only 2-1 in favour of the Penguins and that Ottawa's only been outscored by 2 goals.  Although Pittsburgh has gotten progressively better as the series has gone on, they haven't exactly giving off that invincible vibe that they've exhibited in years past.

The general consensus seems to be that Ottawa needs some kind of spark to get back into this series and there's speculation that Jonathan Cheechoo may draw into the lineup and replace Ryan Shannon. When one of my good friends read about this in the Sun, I received the following in an email: Cheechoo is like the government's Sea King helicopters -- slow, useless and will cost the team millions moving forward.

“(He’d bring) some experience. At one time, he was a very prolific goal scorer. We saw glimpses of that this year and he’s a competitor. He’s an intelligent player." ~ Cory Clouston

And at one time, Drake was a dude in a wheelchair on Degrassi. This is like a bad science experiment, replacing the guy with a Cup ring with the shell of a former Rocket Richard Trophy winner. Will it matter? Probably not. But if the team does decide to go with the Cheech, you can bank on me visiting my liquor cabinet for a little pick me up too.

Sutton Wake Up Call?

TSN’s Pierre McGuire says Sutton’s hit on Jordan Leopold in Game 2 served as a wake up call for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were still in a deep slumber after losing Game 1.

“It woke up the entire Pittsburgh Penguin organization,” McGuire said Monday. “They became invested in the series after that hit. It was a clean hit, it was a hard hit, but it was an excessive hit, if you know what I mean.

“He went for the kill shot and the players in Pittsburgh became completely invested in the series after that happened.” via William Houston, Truth and Rumours

Dramatic Effect?

Note to Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman, whenever Senators see that their captain is in obvious discomfort after absorbing a check and then skates back to the bench and goes straight to the locker room, there's no need for you to go all Jim Nantz on us and whisper like Tiger is on the 18th green putting for the green jacket. The dramatic effect is not appreciated or necessary.

Oh, and any time Glenn Healy wants to remove Sidney Crosby's firmly entrenched dick from his mouth, that'd be greatly appreciated too.

Statistics of the Day

Mike Fisher's career playoff totals: 72 GP, 13 goals, 12 assists, 25 points.

Apology

I just want to take this time apologize to all of my readers. Since the beginning of the season, I've regularly gone to bat for Alexei Kovalev saying that his signing wasn't THAT bad and for the money and term, a 55-65 point, dynamic player wasn't bad value. I was wrong and so were the Senators and the 28 other teams that completely missed the boat on besting Mikael Samuelsson's 3-year, $7.5 million deal from the Canucks.

Sens fans look for win

By JUSTIN SADLER, Ottawa Sun

Last Updated: April 17, 2010 11:31pm

As the Senators gear up for their first home game of the playoffs Sunday, many fans are approaching this first round not with the unbridled enthusiasm of say 2007, but with guarded optimism.

Carl Radford, a cook at Fil’s Diner on Wellington St. and a self-described diehard Sens fan, said he’s trying not to get too emotionally invested this year.

“I can just see flashbacks to two years ago when the Sens got swept in the first round,” he said. Friday’s loss, he said, was really disappointing.

Radford recalled the crushing end to the 2002-03 conference final series when the Sens lost to New Jersey in the seventh game after Jeff Friesen scored the game winner in the last three minutes of the third period.

“I think I was 14 years old and that’s like the last time I can distinctly remember crying about a sports event or coming very close to tears,” he said.

“I have optimism, but I’m not going to get my hopes up too high because they’ve been dashed before.”

Though he has to work Sunday, he’s doing his best to book off playoff dates so he can watch the games.

Similarly, Graeme Nichols’ enthusiasm is restrained this year, especially now the series is split 1-1. The team has a chance but many of his fellow fans, he said, feel like this is going to be a really tough, long series.

“I’m pretty loyal, I’ve been with the team since Day 1, but after (Friday) night’s game I’m a little frustrated,” he said.

Nichols — the brainchild behind www.the6thsens.com Senators fan blog — has been committed to the team through thick and thin.

“I’ve been through the ups and downs, the whole cultivation of prospects that came through the system, through to when they became a contender,” he said.

Since the team made its first playoff appearance in 1997, Dave Coulier has attended every single playoff home game. But his enthusiasm has also been tempered over the last several disappointing seasons.

“This year, I don’t know. Nobody thinks they’re going to win. I would give them a 40% to 50% chance in the first round, but you keep your expectations in check.” he said. “They’re not favourites by a long shot.”

Like true fans — and despite their reservations — they’re hopeful of a good outcome Sunday night and down the playoff road.

“I’ve seen the Senators play bad hockey, and they’re not playing that right now. They’re split with the defending Stanley Cup champions and that says something considering we didn’t even make the playoffs last year,” Radford said.

“If they somehow manage to escape Pittsburgh, I don’t think there’s a limit as to what can happen,” Nichols said.

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Get your bone on! The Senators are up 1-0 in their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins and there's a new 6th Sens Podcast available for your listening pleasure.

Joining us on the show this week is Brian Metzer: a credentialed media member who can also be heard on XM satellite radio as a Pittsburgh correspondant. He's the writer/editor of From the Point, a hockey blog touching not only on the Penguins, but also other NHL related news and he is also the Senior Penguins Blogger at Hockey Independent.

As always, you can subscribe/download/stream the episode or entire catalogue of episodes from Itunes. Or you can download the file by right-clicking and saving this file. Or you can simply stream the episode below. We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please leave us some feedback in the comment thread below. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy the show.

Tracklist for the podcast: Tears For Fears Break It Down Again; Brian Metzer's selection of Danzig Twist of Cain; Husker Du Celebrated Summer; and Antiflag You'd Do the Same.

 

I never knew when the Michalek's Anonymous term was coined that it would have such a prevalent meaning before the season was done. So it goes with a warning: before proceeding with this piece, go grab yourself a stiff drink and then come back.

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs finally upon us, it's time for the first of what I hope will be many playoff previews for the Ottawa Senators this spring. Time to break it down!