A Capital Victory

The Ottawa Senators came into their home opener against the Minnesota Wild with a record of 0-2 and frankly, no one was really surprised. They were struggling in the few seasons past, and are most likely to continue the struggle for a little while longer.
Sens fans were not in a pretty mood at the beginning of the game, not only booing former Senator Dany Heatley as he skated onto the ice, but also current roster member Sergei Gonchar.

The first period didn't give the fans much more to cheer about, as the Wild proceeded to build up a 2-goal lead. Halfway through the second, youngster Nick Foligno put a wrister past Niklas Backstrom to cut the deficit in half.

But the third period was where the game really got interesting. The Wild's Nick Johnson scored an unassisted goal in the first 2 minutes of play, but was answered by --not one, but two!-- goals from the Senators' Chris Neil and Colin Greening. Craig Anderson managed to stave away a third regulation loss for his team to send the game to a shootout.

Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza potted their first two attempts easily, while Mikko Koivu's failure to score put the game in Daniel Alfredsson's hands. And those very capable hands delivered, as the captain made no mistake as he calmly but beautifully tucked the puck right over Backstrom's shoulder. The team captain scoring the GAME-WINNING SHOOTOUT GOAL: nothing says storybook ending quite like it.

It was a much-needed win for the Senators, and it couldn't have happened in a better place than on home ice.
The team plays another home game against the Colorado Avalanche before hitting the road to face against one of the NHL's elite teams, the Washington Capitals.

Ottawa Senators vs Minnesota Wild, October 11th, 2011

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Yes, it was a much anticipated day for me as my 2 favourite NHL teams were taking to the ice (not against each other, but it still made for a very entertaining few hours of TV).

First, the Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Carolina Hurricanes, and although it seemed like an easy win for the defending Stanley Cup champions, the game went all the way into overtime and Brian Pothier delivered a snapshot that made the final score 4-3 in favour of the Hurricanes.
The 2 more renowned Staal brothers (Jordan and Eric) each scored a goal for their own teams, while Matt Cooke attempted to shake the negative scrutiny from his hit to Marc Savard off by scoring a goal with a slick backhand.
It's a well-known fact that the Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby does not like to lose, but his team's fall to the Hurricanes doesn't hurt their chances too much. Pittsburgh has a 21-point lead over Carolina, and is sitting comfortably in the 5th spot in the league.

Things just keep getting hotter for the Calgary Flames, who extended their winning streak to 4 tonight against the Ottawa Senators. It was a relatively slow game, with the entire second period remaining scoreless, but nonetheless the Flames took the win with a final score of 2-0.
In the first 5 minutes of the game, former Maple Leafs forward Jamal Mayers scored his first goal as a Flame. The Flames maintained the single point lead until the last 10 minutes of the third period, when Christopher Higgins' slapshot pushed it up to 2. It was Higgins' second goal since with Calgary, proving to doubtful Flames fans that Darryl Sutter made the right choice when trading him from the New York Rangers for Ollie Jokinen. Mikka Kiprusoff, often called "the hardest working man on the Flames roster," earned his 34th career shutout to match the number he wears on his back. The Flames are now only 2 points behind their Canadian counterparts.




Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Carolina Hurricanes, March 11 2010

Whoa, Canada!

All across Canada, hockey fans were glued to their TV screens watching as their teams did battle on the ice. Today, all 5 Canadian teams played, and it was a good day for Canadian hockey indeed.

The only losers of the Canadian NHL clubs were the Edmonton Oilers, who can't seem to get out of their downward spiral. The Oilers, who currently sit very last in the league, faced off against the Ottowa Senators on home ice. Perhaps it was no surprise that the Sens swept the game 4-1, given their outstanding season, and the Oilers' disappointing one.
The solitary goal for Edmonton was scored by Fernando Pisani, his third of the season. Goals scored by the Sens were made by Cullen, Fisher, Michalek and Kelly, respectively.

While the Sens continued their hot streak in a win against the Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks were busy jumping over their northwest rivals the Colorado Avalanche to claim the top spot in the division. It was an exciting game that boasted several goals during each period. Though the first period was owned by the Avs (3 goals, 2 of them by Matt Duchene and the other by Chris Stewart), the second period saw the Canucks answer back with 3 goals of their own. But by the third period the Canucks managed to come back from a 1 goal deficit and bring the final score up to 6-4. Daniel Sedin played a major part in the comeback, scoring the first hat trick of his career.

The Montreal Canadiens took to the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning and came out victorious, with the final score at 5-3 in favour of the Habs. The first goal was shot in a power play, by Glenn Metropolit, less than 3 minutes into the first period. Scott Gomez followed it up 10 minutes later, giving the Habs a 2-0 lead going into the second. Though the Lightning did their best to tie up the score in the second by scoring twice, those goals did not go unanswered, as Benoit Pouliot and Mathieu Darche made sure the Habs maintained their 2-goal lead.
In the end, despite the Lightning's best efforts, the Canadiens did manage to keep that 2-goal lead and skate off with the win.

Luca Caputi played his first game as a Maple Leaf tonight against the Boston Bruins, and it was a good one. Caputi scored one of the goals that put the Leafs ahead, and led them to a 4-3 victory over the Bruins. Primeau and Gunnarsson also contributed to the regulation time goals but it was Nikolai Kulemin who scored the winning goal in overtime.
A little over 19, 000 fans packed the stadium to watch their team win, and it was a much-needed win for the Leafs, who have lost 3 of their last 5 games.
Maybe homegrown Caputi, who is from Maple, Ontario, could be the good luck charm for the struggling team?

And it was a great day for Calgary Flames fans, who anticipated the big game against the Red Wings in Detroit today. The Red Wings sat in 8th in the western conference, just ahead of the Flames, denying them that spot into the playoffs. But the Flames and their fans waxed optimistic, given the Flames' stellar performance in their past 2 games.
The entire first period went by with neither team making it onto the scoreboard, but shortly into the second the Flames gained the lead courtesy of Daymond Langkow. As the period progressed however, the Red Wings rallied not only to tie the Flames, but take the lead, with Holmstrom and Datsyuk each claiming a goal. Coming into the third, Jarome Iginla stepped up and reminded the NHL once again why he remains one of Canada's current hockey heroes with a powerful backhand. Iginla followed that up with an assist for Rene Bourque, and in the last 2 minutes of the game, Christopher Higgins earned his name as a new Flame in the recent trade, by delivering a slapshot and taking the final score to 4-2, Calgary.

It was the third straight win for the Calgary Flames, who, prior to the Olympic break, were sliding down a slope of back-to-back losses. The Flames had not had a 3-game winning streak since early December of last year.

The Vancouver Canucks lead their Canadian counterparts in league standings, sitting pretty at #4, while the Calgary Flames have moved up one spot to cinch 13th. They are followed closely by the Montreal Canadiens, who are at #16, while the Toronto Maple leafs (#29) and the Edmonton Oilers (#30) are expected to watch the playoffs from a distance, holding the last 2 places in the NHL.

Flames vs Red Wings, March 9th 2010