I ate a big apple.
off the top:
The Coyotes have funny names. Suchy sounds like SUSHI. Nagy = NAGGY. SPILLER. Then there's SAVAGE. And a few more. Check it out
yourself.
Fun fact: the Coyotes, to commemorate Boucher's record-breaking shutout run, actually GAVE Brian the NET he was in front of when he was finally scored upon. NEAT!
Fun fact #2: since the 1996-1997 season, the Ottawa Senators are 229-12-18-1 when leading going into the third period. And that includes last night's complete and utter fuck-up. AMAZING!
the score:
FIRST PERIOD: The Sens had much more jump than they did during last night's game. As I predicted, Super-K got the start, and was sharp from the first, even during the penalty incurred by Phillips at the 30-second mark. A nice play by Neil and Smolinski gave Spezza a second chance at the net, and he knocked the puck in at a weird angle to put Ottawa up early. It would have been two points, but, yet again, a Schastlivy bullet went way high. He needs some serious batting practise. Apparently, he has ONE ASSIST in his past TWENTY-THREE GAMES. Anyway, at the end of the first, Ottawa 1, Phoenix 0.
SECOND PERIOD: Did you see NASH's hair? I swear it's twice as long as Alfie's. He's more of a muppet, becuase he's a pest, too, and prides himself on being irritating, like his little altercation with Neil, and then Phillips, in the space of ten seconds. I never noticed this before, but as long as you have one foot onside, you're onside. That's pretty cool. There was an odd break by the fourth line in the second, with Neil and Vanner having two really good chances at the net. The resulting penalty drawn by Vanner saw two minutes of steady pressure by Ottawa's power play unit. They barely left the zone, which meant that the Coyotes didn't have a chance to change. They were tired and out played, and Alfie capitalized on that, taking a nice pass from Redden and slamming it home, just nicking off Langfeld on the way in to raise the score a notch in Ottawa's favour. The second period was a very north-south game, with few calls. The stupid tripping call on Wee Tad was an exception. But the period went by very quickly, marked by some fabulous saves by Super-K, including his now-patented "face save," which, it seems, he does on purpose. He's either really brave, or really stupid. Ottawa 2, Phoenix 0.
THIRD PERIOD: Another stellar twenty minutes by Super-K. As his confidence grows, so does his save percentage. I don't know what happened to the Sens' 88% on the PK, but it went to hell in the third. Phoenix would've tied it, but Nagy missed, so only Doan's goal made it past number 31. More action by the fourth line in this period, as well. I'm very impressed that the goon line is offensively productive. Not many teams have four dangerous lines. That's depth. Spezza's second of the night came just as magically as his first, flying in from the corner for a redirect from Smolinski. Spezza didn't get the hat tonight, however, but he came close. He's probably cursing Boucher for robbing him late in the third. Before that, though, there was some serious tension around the empty Coyote net, several good chances before Alfie finally booted it in. His victory was marred somewhat, however, by the fact that when he got back to his bench, he blew his nose onto the ice in an amazingly projectile manner. I don't know whether to be impressed, or puke.
Four guys who played well tonight but never made it on the scoreboard: Chara played his 200th game as a Senator tonight. He was in all the right places at the right times, and his two penalties were solely because he was protecting a teammate (in the first instance, it was Philly, and in the second, it was Neil). Hossa, indubitably the fastest man on the ice tonight, had so many chances it's amazing that he didn't even get an assist on the night. I'm still taking bets on his place in the scoring race. Right now, he's third. Schaefer was another playmaker tonight, using his strength to be gritty when it was needed, and his legs to be speedy when that was important. Phillips, doing a nice job as assistant captain tonight, talking to the officials and giving orders, was extremely effective on defence, using his sheer size to simply shut down his opponents. Well done, boys.
off the ice:
I had a discussion with Jon today about the goalie decision (hell, it was more interesting than the difference between calcareous ooze and siliceous ooze). He made some good points for the Patty school, but I'm glad Super-K started tonight. I don't think Patty's going to rebound like everyone thinks he will. He never seems to. Whenever he makes a bad start and then plays the game after, there's none of that snap that one would expect from someone who just had life slap him in the face. I think Martin's playing of Super-K tonight is a sign of his waning confidence in his number one, and I think we're going to see Super-K play a couple of playoff games if this continues.
Nice to see Langfeld back in the game tonight. Granted, it comes at a price -- Havlat has injured his groin (AGAIN). I'm worried that this will be a continuous thing, like Lemieux's hip.
*Ahem.* I don't know what it is -- perhaps it's just the way he ties his shirt, but Redden's butt looks like a goalie butt -- BIG. (Sorry, Jen, but he looks funny in uniform)
OOOH, next game is against the hated LEAFS! Things you learn from the colour guys: Mike Weir and his caddy, Mr. Little, were in the audience for tonight's game. Weir, a Leafs fan, and Little, a Sens fan, apparently argue stats between shots during tournaments. Anyway, as Dean Brown said, "Hate makes good Hockey." He's right. This should be a good one.
in other news:
I have far too much hockey paraphernalia. Too much. Funnily enough, I only actually purchased three of these items myself. One is an Alfredsson tshirt, which cost me $20, one is a little pewter glove keychain, which cost me $10, and the other is a wee Alfredsson jersey that I got at McD's, and which cost me $2. The rest of it is just scary. I have, in my possession, the following:
Wee Alfredsson jersey
Ottawa Senators glove keychain
Alfredsson tshirt
Hossa tshirt, from Jon
"I love Marian Hossa" tshirt, made lovingly by Jen
Hossa authentic jersey, from my brothers
Alfredsson "Official" puck, from Sam
Ottawa Senators Hossa/Lalime/Spezza poster, from Jay
Ottawa Senators Holiday poster, from Stef
Ottawa Senators "Cuddle Blanket," from Sarah
Ottawa Senators toque and gloves, from Sam
Book of Hockey Trivia, from Jen
Ottawa Senators rug, from my parents
Ottawa Senators remote control zamboni, from Cait
You are only encouraging me, you know!
Posted by Ally at January 29, 2004 12:00 AM