Remember Us? Well Like Our Team, We've Got Something To Say

Remember us?

We're a little blog that started up in March of last year. Followed the team down the stretch and into the playoffs and like the Sens, after a little break for the summer, we are back and ridiculously pumped to see how this year's version of the Ottawa Senators tackles the NHL from Pre-Season until Post-Season.

I say UNTIL Post-Season because I am sure (like Dion Phaneuf about his Leafs, but better looking and probably smarter) that this year's team is as good if not significantly more dangerous than last season's version.

THN says 10th in the East. Tenth. From a leading hockey publication. Pre-season NHL power rankings over at TSN aren't complete but I'll put money that the Sens barely crack the top 20 in their esteemed opinion.

And yet there is optimism among Sens fans. Look over at SensChirp and he says second in the East. Yost? He thinks the Sens need Thomas Vokoun to do it, but predicts a second round appearance. Canucnik goes as far as to call the Sens the BEST TEAM IN THE EAST. "Bar none".

So how could there be such a divide between the "experts" and the true fans in the blogs and message boards? Homerism and Kool-Aid gone wild?

Maybe.

Or maybe because the Sens don't have the sexiest, most exciting team in the league, so most people don't bother to look twice at the talent assembled here.

We don't have a Crosby or Ovechkin. Hell we don't even have a Kovalchuk, Luongo, pair of Twins or a Stamkos.

We don't have highly touted young stars like Doughty, Toews, Kane, Duchene or Ryan.

We don't have a fancy exciting starting goalie like King Lundqvist, Miller or Halak.

But does this mean we aren't a talented team?

The exact opposite actually.

We instead have a 26 year old true point per game centre, the longest serving captain in the league (who is 3rd in points since the millennium), the 2008 NHL shutout leader, the leader in rookie scoring for the first round of the playoffs, and the 2nd highest scoring defenceman since the lock-out.

Not to mention the supporting cast.

Kovalev? One of the most skilled players around, his SKILL cannot be argued.

Regin? Couldn't be contained in the playoffs.

Michalek? Couldnt be contained at the beginning of the year before losing his centreman and his knee.

Fisher? A serious consideration for the Men's Olympic team playing with Kovy last year.

KellRuutNeil? A third line that gave the Penguins absolute fits.

The Big Rig? The better, more steady half of Philchenkov. How do you think Volchy was able to go out of position to block all those shots and make those hits?

Get the point yet?

Look, I'm not saying we have the best team in the East. I'm not even saying we will finish second. My honest opinion is 3rd or 4th. I think Gonchar frees up room for Kovy and Spezza on the PP, I think Leclaire has a career year knowing that if he doesn't his career is over and I think that Karlsson produces at the pace he did at the end of last year.

Or we could end up with injuries. But I think healthy, this is a fantastic, VERY dangerous team, and I'm actually starting to enjoy that everyone else doesn't notice.

It'll feel better when we rub it in their faces later. The high octane Sens are back, and we're back. Now let's get some hockey discussion going on here, and let's get this season started.

Well Hello There, Chicken Little

Well....

That sucked.

Running around the Sens Blogosphere this morning, I noticed a common trend.

A total lack of swagger, and in some case, hope.

Coming out of the gate, the Sens took one from the Big Bad Crosby's....Ummm I mean Penguins (I get confused when the media acts like they only have one player)

Where was I? Ah yes, we took a game from them. In their barn, without Kovy, without Kuba, in the first game in the playoffs for a lot of our rookies.

And Sens fans believed. We had swagger. In this very blog I titled a blog called Eat It Experts. That's cockiness.

And since then, we lost the second one in Pittsburgh, despite leading for the Majority of the game and Hockey Jesus pulling the win off the goal line, and last night, lost a game where nothing went right.

Literally.

Nothing.

I am with many of the blogs in thinking that last night may have been a recipe for the most painful/upsetting/frustrating game to possibly watch as a fan. Let's look at the checklist, shall we?

• Disallowed goal (right call, but was still unlucky that no stick touched it): CHECK
• Missing of Open Nets (looking at you Cullen) : CHECK
• Awful Reffing. Just. Awful. : CHECK
• Dominating play for 30 seconds, the puck goes the other way once and it goes in: CHECK
• Missed Goaltender interference call on game winner : CHECK
• Extra frustrating because it's Crosby goal, so no one talks about it : CHECK, CHECK
• Second game in a row puck gets pulled off the goal line : CHECK
• Captain gets sat on his ass by the only hit Crosby will ever make : CHECK
• Forcing plays where there aren't any: CHECK
• Demoralizingly AWFUL goal allowed less than 2 minutes in: CHECK
• Fact that McKee was more effective than Leopold : CHECK
• Fact that Sutton WASN'T because he looked afraid: CHECK

Most importantly, that we lost home ice advantage, just like that. CHECK.

And now, we have no swagger. People are just expecting us to lose. The thing is, without half the list above, the Pens are down 2-1 not up 2-1.

We are due to get some bounces.

So chin up, cheer up Sens fans, the sky isn't falling. Not yet at least.

NOTE: I only could write something like this the day after. If I had done it last night, this would have looked different.

QUESTION: What was the most frustrating part of last night's game? Feel free to let out a rant here.