Karlsson t-shirt winner

First off, thanks to everyone who entered the contest for the Erik Karlsson jersey t-shirt. I wish I could give each and every one of you something, but at the same time I'm not independently wealthy, so there can only be one winner.

I was impressed at the originality of some of the nicknames, and it was really hard to pick a winner, but in the end I went with Dan's entry of 'Special K'. The rationale behind it? According to Dan, "the obvious... Karlsson starts with a K and he's a special player but also like the drug his play makes you believe you're imagining it at first". Congrats, Dan, I'll be e-mailing you shortly to grab your info.

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and look for more awesome stuff in the near future!

Would you start Leclaire?

This picture: Relevance? None at all. Awesomeness? Directly proportionate to the mustache.

So last night's game saw the Sens suffer a complete ass-kicking at the hands of the Flyers. A couple of early tipped-in goals were all the goals Philly needed, but they kept pouring them on. Ottawa, meanwhile, looked sloppy in our defensive end. Our offence had no spark. Our shit-disturbers were taking more penalties than they were drawing. At the end of the day, it was just a miserable team effort.

The team is flying back to Ottawa today for Daron Richardson's funeral, which is definitely a class act, before heading to Raleigh for a game against the Hurricanes. Clouston can say they "need a better-rounded game" all he wants, but after a game like that, changes have to be made. This is a team that won seven of their last nine games prior to last night, but a blowout like that kills so much momentum.

So why not shake things up by putting in Leclaire? After the game in Vancouver, Leclaire was scapegoat #1, despite the team not playing well in front of him. There were a few goals he should've had, yeah, but the same could be said about Elliott last night. Most people, myself included, seem to think that the Canucks were too much, too soon for the newly-healthy Leclaire. Why not play him against a weaker team and get his confidence back up? No disrespect to the Hurricanes, but they're not in the same class as the Canucks.

I'm no fan of the 'win-and-you're-in' methodology, don't get me wrong. But after the game in Carolina, the Sens go on to play the Blues, the Kings and the Stars, three great Western Conference teams. If not against Carolina, when does Leclaire get his next start? Pittsburgh? Too good of an offense. Toronto? Sure, why not throw him to the wolves if he stinks it up? If not Carolina, the next best option would probably be the lowly Oilers on November 29th. A goalie like Leclaire just doesn't do well if he sits on the bench for a long time between starts. Though, for that matter, Leclaire doesn't do well if he sits on the bench, period. Still, no pucks to the face this year yet.

The stats speak in Elliott's favour against the Hurricanes. He has a lifetime record of 4-1 and a 1.87 GAA against the 'Canes, compared to Leclaire's 1-3 record and 2.88 GAA. But y'know who else Elliott has a good record against? Philadelphia. And we all saw what went down last night.

Is playing Leclaire tomorrow the smartest move? Maybe, maybe not. But this team needs to be shown that efforts like last night's will result in change. It's only one game, so I'm not proposing trading everyone and their mothers. I'm just suggesting a minor shakeup. Besides, between a few bloated contracts and having Hale and Lee up, but not playing, it's not like we have much wiggle room to call up Zack Smith or Bobby Butler.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section. Also, don't forget that you have until the end of the day tomorrow to get in your nickname ideas for Erik Karlsson to thebreakoutpass [at] live.ca. My favourite suggestion wins an Erik Karlsson jersey t-shirt, size large.

Thrashers Quick Hits and a contest!

Quick hits on last night’s game

• Campoli looked very solid, yet again. He already seems far more poised and calm around the puck than he did last year. Who knows, maybe the deal to get him in Ottawa could still work out.

• Alfredsson seemed a bit slow and uneasy, almost like his head wasn’t in the game. He’s due for a good game. If my memory serves me right, his last GOOD game was in Phoenix in late October… and yet he’s still putting up about a point per game. Amazing.

• Spezza’s been doing a hell of a job being in the right place at the right time. If the rumours of him wanting out were true, I’m glad we weren’t able to find a new team for him. I don’t know how we could possibly be doing anywhere near as well if we had traded him for lesser parts.

• Matt Carkner’s mustache is far more impressive than Erik Karlsson’s, begging the question: next Movember, will Carkner finally challenge someone who can actually grow facial hair?

• Best sign seen at the game: Free Mustache Rides, held by a guy sporting a Mario mustache.
  

• On that same note, the Sens have not lost this year when I’ve been at the game. Just sayin’. Also, I was impressed at the great view from section 316. Thanks to The 6^th Sens and the Ottawa Senators for the seats!

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This past Monday, I had the opportunity to listen in on a discussion with Ian Mendes (Sportsnet), James Gordon (Ottawa Citizen), Erin Nicks (The Universal Cynic) and Sean McIndoe (Down Goes Brown) regarding the usual traditional media vs. blogs debate. Though the closing message seemed to be that there aren’t many jobs to be had in sports journalism these days, something was said that really hit home with me: blogging should be treated as a hobby. A lot of hobbies people undertake cost them money, and little to no recognition comes out of it other than self-pride. But, blogging is free to do and any money you make is a bonus.

But my favourite part of blogging isn't the cost (or lack thereof). It's not the fact that it doesn't feel like work because it's fun. It's not even having a venue where you don't have to censor yourself. For me, the best part of blogging is the awesome people you can meet through your writing. And, though this blog is still pretty much in its infancy, it always brightens my day when I get people telling me I write well, or that a piece is well-thought out or well-detailed. And, for all the times I’ve had my day brightened by you guys, it’s my turn to return the favour.

So, here’s the deal: I’ll be giving away an Erik Karlsson jersey t-shirt (size men’s large). Entering the contest is quite simple: send me an e-mail at thebreakoutpass [at] live.ca, suggesting a new nickname for Karlsson. I’ll pick my favourite, and that person will get the shirt. It’s that simple!

The contest will close on Wednesday, November 17^th at 11:59 p.m.

Also, be sure to follow @thebreakoutpass on Twitter!

Thoughts on the Islanders game

Mercifully, this jersey didn't make an appearance.

Sorry I didn't get much of a chance to write a summary of the Islanders game, but chances are that either a) you've read/seen enough to know what went down yourself, or b) you just don't care. The upshot of it is that there's not much to recap, anyways. It was a sloppy game, a cheap win and most people will agree that Smith's hit in the first was reckless, unnecessary and left us in a terrible place to start the game.

I was in attendance on Thursday night, and the one thing that really hit me, and that I tweeted about unnecessarily on my personal Twitter account, was the sheer amount of Jersey Fouls seen in Scotiabank Place. I guess part of the experience is tackiness and personalized jerseys, but this just left me overwhelmed. I've been to somewhere between 10-15 games since I started following the Sens, and never before have I seen such an array of failure. Jerseys I saw include:

• "Sens R" (number 1)
• Toronto Maple Leafs (to be expected, I guess)
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Manitoba Moose
• Val D'Or Foreurs
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Team Sweden (Forsberg on the back)
• Calgary Flames
• Not technically a foul, but a Daigle jersey worn unironically
• A "Jim Watson" (number 10) jersey.
• A Kovalev jersey, no number
• A Heatley jersey, no name. I understand taking off Heatley's name, but now that Smith has the same number there's no excuse.
  

It just seemed so asinine at the time, and still does. Where's the logic behind wearing any jersey but the teams who are playing? Would you wear a New England Patriots jersey to a St. Louis Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game? Probably not.

Irritation at the jerseys aside, I particularly enjoyed the fight near the end between Zack Smith and Matt Martin -- not necessarily for the entertainment value, but because there were only a handful of us left in the stands, and it's the perfect reason why you should stay until the end of a game. It astonishes me that people will pay $100+ for a seat in the lower bowl but leave before the final buzzer. I don't know about you, but if I'm shelling out that much money to attend, you'd better believe I intend on getting as much value out of it as I can.

At any rate, we play the Habs tonight in Montreal. We've been pretty bad on Saturdays recently, as detailed by Jeremy Milks at Black Aces. Let's hope that this recent streak-ish thing we've got going (4 wins in our last 6 games) keeps rolling. 7:00 start on CBC, AND we won't have to put up with Cole or Healy.

Coyotes recap/Panthers thoughts

Maybe the idea of 'tough love' isn't as efficient as it's suggested to be.

After a few days of the media focusing on Clouston's new "good cop" routine in practice, (as opposed to the bag skates and screaming of the few practices beforehand) the Senators came out and played their best game of the season Tuesday night against the Coyotes. Kovalev looked inspired, Campoli and Karlsson were at their play-making best, Alfredsson was showing shades of his 2005-06 self, Elliott didn't let in any deflating goals, and the 3rd and 4th lines provided energy every time they hit the ice -- in a nutshell, nearly everything that was going wrong seemed to right itself. Hell, even the powerplay was strong.

It's important to keep in mind, first of all, that the Coyotes played 3 games in 4 nights. Weak excuse, maybe. But there's no denying that they looked sloppy in the first period and only appeared to get going in the second. Secondly, take back the weak goals Jason LaBarbera let in by Kelly and Kovalev and it's a whole new game. And thirdly, while it'd be amazing to say that the team has turned a corner and are back to our usual selves, it's just one game. You can't make the playoffs by just winning one game. Unless it's the last game of the year and you're tied for 8th... but I digress.

Tonight's game against the Panthers should be a much better test for the team. Florida, coming off a controversial 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs in which the game winner came as goaltender Tomas Vokoun was essentially being assaulted in his own crease, will be fighting hard to avenge this loss.

A few key points to consider:

• Milan Michalek has missed the past two practices and will play, despite his knee not being 100%.
• There's a huge difference in penalty minutes between the two teams: Ottawa has five players (Neil, Ruutu, Carkner, Fisher, Michalek) with more penalty minutes than Florida's PIM leader (Wideman)
• Ottawa won the last matchup between these teams by a score of 5-2.

It should be a good game if the same team as Tuesday shows up tonight. The game's on at 7:00 p.m. on Sportsnet Ottawa.

ALFIE!

I'm going to take a page out of The 6th Sens book and recap this game with a haiku.

Daniel Alfredsson
The man, the myth, the legend
Nothing more to say.

Disaster Strikes

Amazingly, still better than his play last year.

Frustrating. Aggravating. Irritating. Pathetic. Hopeless.

Pick any three, and that pretty accurately describes what it was like to watch the Senators get spanked by the Penguins last night. Sure, 5-2 doesn’t look HORRIBLE, but don’t let the score fool you—they really, really were that bad. If you didn’t see this game, consider yourself lucky. The entire 60 minutes of play was a frustrating combination of no firepower, even less defense and a general inability to stop even a feather, let alone a Penguin, from getting into the offensive zone.

About the only highlight worth mentioning is that Robin Lehner, wunderkind extraordinaire who came in halfway through the second to replace Elliott, still hasn’t let in a goal at the NHL level and leads the league in save percentage and GAA. You know you’re reaching for a silver lining when your subject hasn’t even played in a full game yet…

Flat-footed, uninspired, effortless games like those seem to be the norm so far, this season. Brian Lee, for one, seemed way more useless than usual. It’s still too early to write the team off for the year, but they need some wins and they need them fast. Of their next three games, (Buffalo on Friday, Montreal on Saturday, Phoenix on Tuesday) our best chance to win looks like Buffalo. The team having Tuesday through Thursday off will undoubtedly be dedicated to bag skates, intensive workouts and a lot of yelling from Cory Clouston. And for all we know, this might help. It definitely can’t hurt, anyways.
It’s the lean days like these where you can really separate the true Sens fans from the bandwagoners, but goddamn do I miss the days where it was easy to be a supporter. The days where we had secondary scoring… hell, the days when we had primary scoring. The days when our defense was the class of the league. The days where our goaltending sucked a bit less. But what about the days when players still gave a shit? Because I’m not seeing any of that so far this season.