Devils Vs Sens Series Thread

[devilsrule33]

I thought we could do this. For sure a game thread still but this is a thread just to discuss about the series and put in some predictions and maybe some articles.

[Zamode]

I can't really predict anything because I have not seen much of the Sens-Phailures series but Sens are speedy! I still think the Devs can do it, it'll be 6 or 7. Marty will have to keep them in it, for one.

[devilsrule33]

What should be interesting is what line Madden shuts down since Hossa, Havlat and Alffy all play on different lines.

[SBT]

Ottawa in 7 close games.

[westcoastdevfan]

Devils in 6 or Sens in 7!

[NJayDevil]

New Jersey Devils in 6.

This team will win it at home, to makeup for not winning at home.

[westcoastdevfan]

some goodies from the Sens official fan forum.

http://fanforum.ottawasenators.com/

"For everything a Devils fan would like to purchase there is American Express.

2 tickets to watch the Devils get creamed $300.00

5 beers to make the night worth while $60.00

The Sens winning the Stanley Cup - Priceless.....

Go Sens Go........"

"dont worry devils fan on the black market u can get 2 tickets for $100

so u can buy depressing pill for the rest lol

GO SENS GO!!!"

I though they were pretty funny.

[SBT]

some goodies from the Sens official fan forum.

http://fanforum.ottawasenators.com/

"For everything a Devils fan would like to purchase there is American Express.

2 tickets to watch the Devils get creamed $300.00

5 beers to make the night worth while $60.00

The Sens winning the Stanley Cup - Priceless.....

Go Sens Go........"

"dont worry devils fan on the black market u can get 2 tickets for $100

so u can buy depressing pill for the rest lol

GO SENS GO!!!"

I though they were pretty funny.

Why would anyone want to buy a "depressing pill"?

[westcoastdevfan]

some goodies from the Sens official fan forum.

http://fanforum.ottawasenators.com/

"For everything a Devils fan would like to purchase there is American Express.

2 tickets to watch the Devils get creamed $300.00

5 beers to make the night worth while $60.00

The Sens winning the Stanley Cup - Priceless.....

Go Sens Go........"

 

"dont worry devils fan on the black market u can get 2 tickets for $100

so u can buy depressing pill for the rest lol

GO SENS GO!!!"

I though they were pretty funny.

Why would anyone want to buy a "depressing pill"?

It must be a Canadian thing.

[SBT]

some goodies from the Sens official fan forum.

http://fanforum.ottawasenators.com/

"For everything a Devils fan would like to purchase there is American Express.

2 tickets to watch the Devils get creamed $300.00

5 beers to make the night worth while $60.00

The Sens winning the Stanley Cup - Priceless.....

Go Sens Go........"

[westcoastdevfan]

some goodies from the Sens official fan forum.

http://fanforum.ottawasenators.com/

"For everything a Devils fan would like to purchase there is American Express.

2 tickets to watch the Devils get creamed $300.00

5 beers to make the night worth while $60.00

The Sens winning the Stanley Cup - Priceless.....

Go Sens Go........"

[Zamode]

Must be the same thinking of those who spell defense: defence and offense: offence. Save some space and sense by shortening words and one run-on sentence!

[devilsrule33]

Whatever, what do yuo expect. Their will be a lot of Sens bashing. The Ottawa sports station every series makes a song or funny thing about the team their playing so thye will probably make their Devils one soon. They did one on Roman Chechmanek last round. To listen to it,

http://team1200.com/ and on the right they have something with Roman Chechmanek.

[sammyk]

$12 beers? They better be BIG!

[westcoastdevfan]

$12 beers? They better be BIG!

[SensSpaz]

$12 CDN gets you the equivalent of 2 1/2 bottles of beer at the Corel Center. That works out to about $7 US....so still a rip off...but atleast it's Canadian beer... LOL!

If you really want something worth the price at the CC check out Tim Horton's coffee.....a Canadian delicacy. Too bad they don't sell beaver tails anymore(mmmmm)(no not real beaver tails...just flat fried batter rolled in cinnamon and sugar)

[SBT]

Canadian beer is pretty good.

But when it comes to lager, the SBT prefers the clean, crisp taste of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

[westcoastdevfan]

Canadian beer is pretty good.

But when it comes to lager, the SBT prefers the clean, crisp taste of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

....and summer ale, winter ale, holiday ale etc. etc.

[SBT]

Canadian beer is pretty good.

But when it comes to lager, the SBT prefers the clean, crisp taste of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

....and summer ale, winter ale, holiday ale etc. etc.

Good point, WCDF.

Samuel Adams has a HUGE selection of fine quality brews.

You probably can't go wrong no matter which one you choose.

[NJDF]

I hope when posting with Ottawa fans we all stay off the US/CANADA B.S.

Two best teams....can't wait!!!

GO DEVILS!!

[sammyk]

Canadian beer is pretty good.

But when it comes to lager, the SBT prefers the clean, crisp taste of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

Ah yes. Now that's a quality beer! B)

[CHICO IS GOD]

keyword: Boston

comment: El chico hates Boston, lol

[E-Devil]

I have been following the Sens quite a bit this year and watching their group of forwards go to work is very enjoyable to watch. Their defensemen sure as heck ain't shabby either as they have guys who can block shots, clear the front of the net, and they have one of the most talented(and very underrated) puckmovers in Redden. Although they are selling me Lalime as a playoff goalie I just don't buy it. He is a good goalie and he deserved an all-star appearance but I haven't seen him steal a game for the Senators like he needed to against Toronto in the past. Although Lalime hasn't needed to carry the team since Ottawa has been moving right along through these playoffs, plus he was solid enough against Philly. I picked Ottawa to beat us in the playoff brackets for the Eastern Coference final and hope I end up wrong again(like I was on Dallas, Detroit, Colorado I seem to jinx teams). One thing I do like is that New Jersey is the underdog. In fact I hope every media outlet in the country rubs it in their face that they can't stand up to Senators. We know what happens to teams who show up overconfident, thinking just by showing up they will outclass New Jersey with their skill. First period opens and Stevens checks a guy so hard he flips over backwards then glares at the opposing bench to let everyone know they might be next and they are by no means going to walk to victory. The team then realizes that going into Devils defensive end is about as much fun as playing scrimage against the Varsity football team when your a freshman in highschool. It seems this team plays its best hockey when people tell them they aren't good enough to play against the likes of Detroit. I sincerely hope Melrose retracts his statement and jumps on the Sens bandwagon and tells them nobody in the league can hang with the Sens and are a lock to win the cup. I can't say I'm superstitous, but Melrose and Clement are always wrong in their predictions and hope it doesn't continue. I hope they say Elias is the most overrated player in the league, Nieuwendyk can't score clutch goals anymore, Stevens is too old to play against the young legs of the Sens, then all of them show the league that they couldn't be more wrong.

[Derek21]

This is a Series Thread and it should include cool articles on both teams. Here's one from the Ottawa side. I'll probably post some more later.

This is just on how they were built. Pretty good read and why they are my 2nd favorite EC team.

http://www.canoe.ca/Slam030506/nhl_ott-cp.html

Sens build through the draft

By NEIL STEVENS -- Canadian Press

A patient nurturing of draft picks, some enormously successful trades and coaching continuity with a defence-first philosophy combined to put the Ottawa Senators where they are today.

With an awesome brigade of skilled skaters up front, especially on right wing with Daniel Alfredsson, Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat, coach Jacques Martin has been able to spread them around to create four potent lines that on any given night can supply the winning goal while giving up nothing defensively.

What was most striking about the Game 6 elimination of the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night was the passing. There were stretches of play during which the Flyers couldn't get near the puck as the Senators' finesse forwards played keepaway.

Martin often uses Todd White between Alfredsson and Magnus Arvedson, Radek Bonk between Hossa and Vaclav Varada, Bryan Smolinski between Havlat and Mike Fisher, and Shaun Van Allen between Chris Neil and Peter Schaefer.

He's not afraid to shake things up though, as he did Monday when he dropped Arvedson to the fourth line and moved Schaefer to the top unit.

On the back end, Ottawa has a big, tough defence that can handle anything that comes its way.

All-star-calibre Wade Redden (6-2, 205) is paired with Karel Rachunek (6-2, 202), the imposing Chris Phillips (6-3, 215) is with towering Zdeno Chara (6-9, 255), and tough rookie Anton Volchenkov (6-0, 209) goes on with seasoned pro Curtis Leschyshyn (6-1, 220).

Depth? You bet. Fourteen different Senators have scored goals during the team's 11 playoff games.

The playoff setbacks of years past have instilled a hunger in the entire group.

"I think we've learned every year and that's been the key with our hockey club," says Martin. "This year we've shown a lot of resiliency.

"We've shown a lot more determination and a lot more character."

These characteristics were evident in the first-round elimination of the New York Islanders and again during the second-round triumph over the Flyers.

"I thought as the series went on we would be able to wear on them," said Flyers centre Keith Primeau. "But they were the ones that were bigger and stronger and it seemed we became tired and weren't able to keep up."

Ottawa's lineup was pieced together over many years. This didn't happen overnight. Ten players the team drafted were in the lineup against the Flyers. The scouting department can take a bow.

Alfredsson and Bonk were drafted in 1994, 133rd and third, respectively. Phillips was the No. 1 pick in 1996. Hossa (12th), Arvedson (119th) and Rachunek (229th) followed in 1997. Fisher (44th) and Neil (161st) were selected in 1998, Havlat (26th) was drafted in 1999, and Volchenkov was picked up (21st) in 2000.

Keeping a core group of highly-skilled draftees together over the years was a key to unlocking the success being realized today.

Seven others were acquired in trades.

Former GM Pierre Gauthier got Redden in 1996 in a multiplayer deal with the New York Islanders. He was a big addition and quickly became an integral member of the core group.

Former GM Marshall Johnston got Lalime from Anaheim for two players no longer in the league, and he rid the team of big-ticket playoff underachiever Alexei Yashin to get Chara from the Isles along with the draft pick used to acquire Jason Spezza, who will be an important part of the NHL club in years to come.

The Senators have been a tougher team since acquiring Chara, the biggest player in the NHL. They had lacked toughness. That hasn't been the case since he arrived. He was hurt last spring, which is a big reason why Ottawa fell to Toronto in the second round. The insertion of Volchenkov during these playoffs has added further oomph.

Lalime has emerged as a top-flight goaltender. He has a 1.49 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage through two rounds.

Johnston also snared White when he was a free agent three years ago, and he picked up Leschyshyn for a third-round draft pick two years ago.

John Muckler, who took over as GM last summer, brought Van Allen back to Ottawa in a free-agent signing, and acquired the irritable Varada, smooth Smolinski and pesky Schaefer in trades.

It's all been done with a modest budget compared to what many other teams spend. Ottawa's payroll is about $30 million US.

Through it all, there has been the continuity of Martin's coaching. The low-key Martin, 50, was hired in January 1996 and has been a steadying influence in nurturing the young talent through all of the ups and downs.

He demands that his players pay attention to defence first. Then, when they get the puck, they are expected to be creative on the attack.

Management stuck with Martin, and now that loyalty is paying off in a big way.

Martin's assistant coaches also have played prominent roles. Perry Pearn has the team's special-teams units among the league leaders, and Roger Neilson's analytical insights are priceless.

Everything has fallen into place for the Senators.

"I have a great feeling about this team," says Alfredsson, the captain. "I really like what we have here."

The Senators got through two rounds without serious injuries, which always is a big factor at this stage. Van Allen was hurt in Game 5 against the Flyers but returned to play Game 6.

This is a team primed to go all the way, and set to dominate again next season with all but Redden, Havlat and Arvedson already under contract for 2003-2004.

[Derek21]

An interesting Havlat article on how he killed the Cryers with a twist. Some interesting things here.

http://www.canoe.ca/Slam030506/col_brennan-sun.html

Havlat takes a flyer

Haunting Philly becoming habit for speedy Senator

By DON BRENNAN -- Ottawa Sun

Martin Havlat's habit is killing the Flyers.

He did it last spring -- scoring the Game 5 overtime winner at First Union Center to eliminate Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs --and he did it again last night.

Havlat's phenomenal pass that gave Peter Schaefer an open net only moments into Game 6 of the conference semis was as good as or better than Brad Richards' unbelievable bent-armed feed to Tampa teammate Fredrik Modin from behind the net earlier in the post-season tournament.

The main difference, of course, is that the Havlat to Schaefer goal was much, much bigger. It propelled the Senators to their first conference final appearance in franchise history as it put the Flyers in a hole from which they could never emerge.

Havlat added Ottawa's final goal late in the third period -- remember, he also scored and assisted in the Game 5 clincher against the New York Islanders in Round 1 -- and he did so using his trademark speed. It is that pair of wheels which have to be giving the New Jersey Devils much food for thought right now.

Havlat was Ottawa's top scorer in four regular-season games versus New Jersey, with three goals and four assists. While they do have the nimbled-footed Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski, the Devils also employ Ken Daneyko and Colin White and Scott Stevens. And because the Senators carry numerous weapons, the mismatches will be obvious.

In short, Havlat should be able to eat the Devils' defence for lunch.

For that's been a habit of his, too.

The playoffs are often a different animal. I wonder how he will fare in this series.

STARTS AND STOPS: It says something about the two personalities, to be sure, that Jacques Martin looked just as sullen shaking Ken Hitchcock's hand as Roman Cechmanek's grin was wide when he congratulated Marian Hossa after the game ... The best three players for the Senators this series? Hossa, Patrick Lalime, Cechmanek ... Speaking of Mike Fisher's goal during the first intermission, Jeremy Roenick told Hockey Night in Canada:

"It was a perfect shot. You can't fault Roman on that. You can't get it any higher in the net than he did."

To which we say, how diplomatic of J.R. Goalies are not supposed to be beaten from that far out. Especially big goalies. Especially on the blocker side ... The Flyers even resorted to using footage of the late Kate Smith singing God Bless America (along with the very live Lauren Hart). Their record when the video of Smith singing by herself is used: 66-15-3 ... The Flyers were 3-1 when Smith, who died in 1986, performed the song in person ... After Bryan Smolinski's goal to make it 4-0, Bob Cole exclaimed: "And this baby is almost done in the second period." Meanwhile, many of us were thinking "surely, that's gotta be it," after Fisher made it 2-0 in the first ... The fact Peter Schaefer scored two goals in a row (the last one in Game 5 and the first in Game 6) clearly threw even Schaefer for a loop. No, the series was not tied 2-2 heading into the game, despite what Schaefer said in the second intermission ... Once again Keith Primeau proved that the 'C' on his jersey stands for Classless. He could have at least ran Lalime when the tactic might have affected the outcome. <_<

This part is bizarre .

BETWEEN PERIODS: For what it's worth, Chris Jericho is on record as saying New Jersey will beat Ottawa in four straight. But then, the WWE bad boy was doing this silly little sweeping motion while making the prediction -- and oh, there's also the possibility he was trying to incite fans at the Corel Centre -- so his credibility can be questioned ... Was Jason Spezza told he'd be getting into an NHL playoff game this spring? Or was the told he'd be getting into an NHL playoff game pre-game skate? Because if the Senators only promised the latter, then they honoured the deal last night .... The playoffs are full of unsung heroes. Like, what about the driver of a Molson Canadian RV (carrying Mike Wallace, Sean Rutherford and friends) that broke down during a one-day visit to Philly? Buddy boy didn't attend the game he drove eight hours to get to because somebody had to wait for the mechanic's house call ... The Senators have won exactly 62% of the 100 games they've played this season, including exhibition and playoffs.

CHANGING LINES: In the first period, Zdeno Chara crushed Roenick with a hip check. In the second, Chara fired a shot off Roenick's ribs. Wonder if the Flyers centre still thinks the Big 'Zee' is such a great guy ... Also shining in games versus the Devils during the regular season was Shaun Van Allen. In four games, he had two goals, four assists and a team high plus-6 rating ... Meanwhile, Vanner has now gone 54 career playoff games without scoring .... This series could have turned out differently had Kim Johnsson made good on his chances. The Flyers defenceman has the hockey sense and speed to get into position, but he's also got the hands of a brick layer ... Disappointed in the Flyers loss had to be our friend Picabo Street. The former Olympic skier is now a nurse in Philadelphia, which we found out during a recent visit to a hospital around the First Union Center. Walking outside the intensive care unit, we heard her answer the phone. "Picabo, I.C.U." .... The next time Daniel Alfredsson shows up to play a game, he should have baby vomit on his lapel ... In case you missed it, Roenick's post-game prediction for the Eastern Conference final -- "I like Ottawa in six."