Our good friends over at Silver Seven Sens have an article up detailing how Erik Karlsson scored his first NHL goal. Interestingly, they've elected to break the video clip down and give some intricate details about how the play developed. The inclusion and use of player names and the level of analysis used are enough to put Bob Cole to shame. We at The 6th Sens were so inspired enough by Peter's post that we've decided to pay homage to Silver Seven Sens and systematically break down how the Mike Fisher / Carrie Underwood engagement rumour came to pass. (Ed. note: Even their use of the first person plural has rubbed off on us.)

It may have taken a little longer than he would have liked, or that many had expected, but Mike Fisher may have been given carte blanche to get into Carrie Underwood's pants in the near future. How it happened will likely be forgotten if his career plays out as Senators fans and brass expect him to but if it in any way affects Fisher's production, we will all lose here. That being said, why not take a closer look at how Fisher's alleged engagement to Ms. Underwood has developed while it's still fresh in our minds.

It started off with a Tweet on Twitter. Bit of a weak-looking rumour, a user under the name Colin Peter tweeted that he attended a Christmas party with Fisher's cousin, who received a call from family to share the news. Got that? It's the patented friend of a friend rumour! Regardless, he did what was most important: He planted a seed. But more importantly, he left a smiley face at the end of his Tweet. Congratulations to mike fisher and Carrie underwood! We just got the call at our family Christmas get together :)

After Peter made the Tweet, Fisher's Wikipedia page had been updated to indicate the change. Meanwhile, someone hadn't taken the time to update Carrie Underwood's Wikipedia page or her personal website apparently, they were too busy trying to hold private conversations with Colin Peter after he had protected his account due to mass attention. If not for the work of one dedicated fan who claimed that Peter had confirmed the news in a private message, this rumour may have died a slow death.

With these Tweets in the Twittersphere, the attention has drawn mainstream media outlets toward the rumour -- and away from common sense -- in an effort to chase the news. Once the Twittersphere had dried up, the mainstream media looked to the celebrity blogs and websites for some confirmation that they had wasted 15 minutes of their lives trying to chase down the truth in a classic friend of a friend rumour.

Cue the Monday morning Senators practice. We've heard a lot about the engagement rumour, but haven't had much of an opportunity to let Fisher have his say and poo poo these rumours. Hopefully Fisher's comments can follow up the perfectly-timed deletion of Colin Peter's Twitter account so that Sens fans can breathe a little easier knowing that a Mike Fisher engagement has been postponed.

And the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch has confirmed the rumour:  This morning, a source close to the couple confirmed to the Ottawa Sun that Fisher popped the question and Underwood has accepted the proposal. Great. Brace yourselves for an onslaught of Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia jokes. And God forbid that some Tony Romo parallels are drawn if Fisher's production begins to wane.

Minnesota Wild (17-14-3) Vs Ottawa Senators (17-13-4) @ SBP, 7:00pm ET; Televison: CBC

“We spend two weeks trying to break in skates,” he said. “I’ve never heard of anything like this in my life. When I first heard about it, I thought it was some kind of a joke.”

Havlat also questioned whether they should play.

“How tough is this going to be on the goalies? he asked. “They have to get comfortable in their equipment.” ~ Martin Havlat via Ottawa Sun

There is no Ottawa Citizen prediction panel for today's game but that won't stop me from making a 4-2 Ottawa winning prediction.

Martin Havlat can talk all he wants about how the Minnesota Wild are at a disadvantage now that their team has had all of their equipment burned because of a fire. But it's not the first time in history, a team has re-upped their equipment and swag and gone onto to do some great things. Does anyone remember Gordon Bombay approaching his boss, Gerald Ducksworth, to sponsor a hockey team? And does anyone remember how the team immediately showed signs of improvement by tying their next game? Exactly. A complete makeover can in fact be directly correlated with a miraculous improvement in ability and skill. Okay, granted, it's a Disney script. However, the important lesson here is that if there's precedent, then there's nothing for Havlat to complain about. And who knows, maybe the rest of the Western Conference can come down with measles so that the Wild can sneak into the playoffs too. The NHL, where anything -- other than a suspension to a star player -- can happen!

Reason #1 Why Cory Clouston is Awesome

When asked whether or not he thinks it's fair that the Minnesota Wild have to play tonight's game with new swag or with an AHL goalie who has his own equipment, Clouston responded with this gem, “Ask Pascal (Leclaire) if he has any sympathy for bad luck.”

Line Combos & A Goaltending Note

The line combos look to be the same from the past two games.

Michalek - Winchester - Alfie

Regin - Fisher - Kovalev

Ruutu - Kelly - Cheechoo

Campoli - Shannon - Hennessey

Mike Brodeur will be starting in nets.

Dave Schreiber Retiring From the Airwaves

Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk has declared that today will Dave Schreiber Day at SBP and in a classy move, the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch has procured letters from the NHL, the Senators, Steven Harper, the 67's and Larry O'Brien. We at The 6th Sens would like to also congratulate Schreibs on a glorious broadcasting career and wish him all the best in the future.

This might make my gameday prediction for the Wild on Saturday. All pictures are courtesy from The Score...

Earlier this season the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch dedicated an article that championed Mike Fisher's candidacy for a Team Canada Olympic roster spot. At the time, even the most ardent of Senators supporters dismissed Garrioch's notion like it was one of his Sunday rumour suggestions. Although Fisher was producing at such a torrid pace, he was also a notoriously streaky offensive contributor who was coming off a disappointing 2008-09 campaign in which he only registered 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points. For Sens fans, there wasn't a question of if Fisher would stop producing, it was a question of when.

A funny thing has happened though, as the midway point of the season and as the Olympics draw near, Fisher's production hasn't waned. His torrid start has carried on and Fisher's still producing at close to a point-per-game clip. Through 31 games, he has 15 goals and 13 assists and is well on his to shattering his 2006-07 best 48 points. Even outsiders are noticing Fisher's production as TSN's resident number cruncher, Scott Cullen, has Fisher listed as the second most productive Canadian born center in the NHL behind Sidney Crosby this season. Cullen uses a complex formula to determine player rankings that are based on statistical production and are intended to value the impact a player has on the game.

While Fisher has always exhibited a physical dimension and some defensive prowess, his offensive numbers have allowed Fisher to surpass or at least be on par with other Team Canada bubble candidates. Have a look at the numbers...

• Mike Fisher -- 33 GP, 15 G, 13 A, 28 points, +9
• Brendan Morrow -- 34 GP, 13 G, 10 A, 23 points, +1
• Shane Doan -- 35 GP, 7 G, 12 A, 19 points, -6
• Brad Richards -- 32 GP, 10 G, 27 A, 37 points, -1
• Jeff Carter -- 31 GP, 11 G, 14 A, 25 points, -3
• Mike Richards -- 33 GP, 13 G, 14 A, 27 points, +4
• Martin St. Louis -- 34 GP, 6 G, 29 A, 35 points, -7
• Patrick Sharp -- 31 GP, 9 G, 15 A, 24 points, +10
• Jonathan Toews -- 26 GP, 9 G, 12 A, 21 points, +15
• Jordan Staal -- 35 GP, 10 G, 11 A, 21 points, +6

To help petition and raise public support for Mike Fisher's candidacy, a website called Mike Fisher for Team Canada 2010 was created. Here is the website's mission statement,

Hey, Steve Yzerman, GM of Team Canada, I believe Mike Fisher deserves serious consideration for Team Canada in Vancouver. He skates fast, hits hard, has a nice scoring touch and is having a career year with the Ottawa Senators. He's a team player through and through and his heart for hockey is as big as our country. Go for the Gold, GO CANADA GO!

Fisher 2010. Lend your support!

Tonight, Sens fans will get their first glimpse at what the next four to eight weeks might hold for a Spezza-less Senators team. Personally, I think it's frightening and regardless of how Ottawa performs, it has negative consequences. Allow me to explain. On one hand, if the Senators play well in his absence, Spezza naysayers win and they'll boast that he isn't a winner. If the team fares poorly, Ottawa could wind up outside of the playoff picture when Spezza returns. And to make matters worse, the team's first game without Jason will come against a Buffalo Sabres that likely won't feature Patrick Lalime between the pipes. Hopefully on the television broadcast of the game, they won't pan the camera onto Lalime on the bench, it'll bring back too many repressed memories. God, these next few weeks are going to be a blast...

Via Twitter, Brent Wallace helped perpetuate the notion that Ottawa may not miss Spezza that much because in 2007, the Senators went 9-3-2 without Spezza in the lineup. Although I'm sure that if he wasn't limited to 140 characters in his post, Brent would have recalled that the Senators were deeper, more talented and didn't feature a blueline with guys like Picard, Karlsson, Carkner or Campoli. Hell, even Jonathan Cheechoo scored 37 goals and 69 points in 2007. Shit changes.

To further update Spezza's situation, Sportsnet's Ian Mendes has confirmed that Spezza has a torn MCL in his right knee. So while it was speculated early on that Spezza would be on the shelf for 4 to 8 weeks, this tear will likely push his return back to that latter date.

"We're not expecting him back before the Olympics at this point," said Bryan Murray, who added he will not make a deal at this point and the answers will have to come from within. ~ Ottawa Sun

While that scenario isn't necesarily the most positive situation for Sens fans, at least we can feel fortunate that his ligament damage precluded his ACL. The good guys over at Silver Seven Sens raised an interesting point by stating that Spezza's absence will afford him the time to let his ailing back recuperate. From a superficial perspective, it's a great idea but Spezza's back is fine. People need to quit making excuses for his poor play. Right Brennan?

Here is the lineup for tonight's game: Michalek-Winchester-Alfredsson; Regin-Fisher-Kovalev; Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo; Campoli-Hennessey-Shannon. (Ed. note: No, you did actually read that correctly.) Chris Campoli will make his debut as a Senators forward in tonight's matchup because Nick Foligno is out with and undisclosed lower body injury. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Campoli drop back and log some powerplay time on the blueline. Hopefully this versatility will help increase Campoli's trade value more than it ever did for Christoph Schubert's.

There's no question that the injury to Spezza will put an enormous amount of pressure on Mike Fisher. As if Fisher needs any more attention. It's not like he's dating Carrie Underwood or is coming off a terrible season and is already producing at rates well above his career norm. It's not too much to ask, right?

Too Many Reminders of the Havlat Trade

First the injury to Patrick Wiercioch and now Josh Hennessey has been recalled by the Senators to take Spezza's roster spot on the Senators. With Hennessey's contract due to expire at the conclusion of this season, this could very well end up being Hennesey's last opportunity to play at the NHL level for the Senators organization. If you're going to make an impression Josh, now's the time to do it.

Ottawa Senators (16-11-4)

Vs

That Team Whose National Coverage Gets Shoved Down Your Throat (11-14-7)

Isn't it a tad early for Leafs fans to be jumping aboard the playoff bandwagon this season?

Nah, it's a great time to be a Leafs fan.

Brian Burke dealt away what could have been two lottery picks and a 2nd rounder for Phil Kessel. (As an aside, Phil Kessel's a great player. But even with Kessel, the Leafs may finish in a lottery position.) Dealing the picks wouldn't even be a concern if the organization was brimming with prospects. However, their golden boy, Luke Schenn is currently rotting away in the pressbox and Nazem Kadri is the only blue chipper in the system. Even if Jonas Gustavsson's future is clouded with doubt as he has already undergone his second corrective heart surgery in less than four months.

Had Toronto maintained their losing ways, it would have been conceivable to see Tomas Kaberle dealt away for a package involving prospects but because of his NTC and with the way their team is flirting with playoff contention, that doesn't look like it will be happening in the foreseeable future either.

But hey, they're in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and are teasing their fans with relevancy. Congratulations. Who knew that the allure of eighth place in the East and the inevitable first round sweep really enticing enough to overlook the future of the franchise? Apparently Brian Burke's predecessors were bad enough for fans to instill blind trust in whatever Burke says or does.

You would think that after years of ineptitude and falling just short of the postseason, that they've been conditioned for the inevitable disappointment of finishing as a nine to eleven seed. Or maybe it's just Leafs fans believe that it's their divine right to be on every HNIC broadcast since they've had their nuts suckled by every national sports media outlet for years.

Anyways, here's my prediction that ran in this morning's Citizen Prediction Panel...

Senators 4, Leafs 2

Even though Toronto's 14th in the Eastern Conference, I'll give credit where credit is due. They have strung together some victories recently and have teased their fans with some relevancy. And I for one could not be happier. As much fun as it would be to rib Leafs fans for losing out on a lottery pick, it's sometimes easy to forget that Boston's also a division rival of Ottawa's and I would hate for them to be afforded that same luxury. Since Gustavsson is still recovering from his second ablation surgery and because Ottawa's highly paid offensive talents are finally starting to show some life, I'll pick the Senators. Besides, Alfie always seems to respond well to the incessant booing at the ACC.

Lineups:

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson

Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev

Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo

Regin-Winchester-Shannon.

Campoli remains a healthy scratch and Elliott will be back in nets.

Update: 4pm ET

Here's an interesting article penned by Bruce Firestone regarding why Leafs fans boo Alfredsson. My only qualm with the article is that Bruce should add a #6 to his list. They're assholes.

Puck Daddy Float Contest

The good folks over at Puck Daddy had an idea for a contest in which readers created Photoshopped float concepts for a Winter Classic Parade. We submitted a Flyers float entry (to view it click here) that features:

• John Stevens and Broad Street hanging from the gallows.
  
• the float being pulled by Emery's hummer which is in turn pulling Brian Boucher on a sinking ship.
  
• Chris Pronger wearing Mike Richards' captaincy
• Mike Richards and a porn star
• Pierre McGuire being flanked by Team Canada hopefuls Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne
• Ray Emery being flanked by Peter Laviolette who mentioned that he thinks that Ray was deserving of the third goalie role on Canada's Olympic entry.
• A Matt Bradley tombstone
• And the Liberty Bell redesigned using Chris Pronger's front teeth. Notice that the crack in the redesigned bell still exists.