Silver Nuggets: Game three to be a physical affair

by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 18, 2010 1:00 PM EDT in Silver Nuggets

Headlines for the Ottawa Senators heading into game three of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins:

Ottawa's got no lineup changes, which means Ryan Shannon remains in the lineup and Brian Elliott starts. (Garrioch)
The prediction panel tonight is split: Three see Pittsburgh keeping the momentum, three see Ottawa regaining it thanks to home ice advantage. Guess which side I fall on! (Citizen)
Jay McKee will draw into the Pens lineup in place of Jordan Leopold, who is 'day-to-day' but didn't travel with the team to Ottawa. That roster change will likely increase the physicality of a series that's already up there. (Sun, TSN)
Cory Clouston wants the Senators to increase their physical play to match the Penguins; he wants guys to be like Andy Sutton. (I'm guessing he wants them to score more than he does, though.) (Citizen)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article: "View from Ottawa: Senators need Crosby clone" Newsflash: So do 28 other teams, and the Pens probably wouldn't mind one to go along with the original. (Post-Gazette)
Not something you see everyday, but a good article on Bleacher Report about Sutton's hit: "you can't blame Sutton because Leopold had his head down. That hit needs to be made or Sutton isn't doing his job." (B/R)

Tweet Comment 16 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Clouston is right about the physicality

I don’t think the Senators were outhit as much as the box score indicates (that’s a pretty unreliable stat, usually home team ends up with much better stats), but the Senators were definitely getting hit more often than they were hitting.

Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.

by DarrenM on Apr 18, 2010 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

Physicality

Hitting is great, but so is scoring :)

by Stadtfeld on Apr 18, 2010 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh Ruutu, such a diver

Silver Seven - The Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators Blogs

by Mark Parisi on Apr 18, 2010 2:16 PM EDT reply actions

How dare you.

by Mike Hurley on Apr 18, 2010 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions

He leads with the chin on purpose

www.silversevensens.com

by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 18, 2010 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Hope the Focus

I just hope since its been a year away and there are lots of newbies the team doens’t get caught up in the hype and just plays their game. Hopefully, the haven’t brought in too many friends and family that it becomes a distraction. I mean if you ask the little chicky on some of the Fisher board, he should of skipped the games so he could go to the award show with Carrie tonight. Get real people. Maybe the need to atleast for the playoff become more Clouston like- T3000. Wonder if he brought his family in, probably think it would distracted him. It’ work 24/7

by sjb1191 on Apr 18, 2010 2:36 PM EDT reply actions

Just curious ...

Do y’all have any opinions about Alfredsson’s play? Some reporters were making noise about his performance in the first two games, and I’m curious to know whether you think there’s anything to worry about. I haven’t really noticed him one way or the other so far, and the stats for 2 games aren’t enough to paint a picture for me.

Leafs fan living large in the Pitt and pretending like the drought is over. Go Pens!

by PopRocks on Apr 18, 2010 3:30 PM EDT reply actions

P.S. Please don’t send your lynch mob after me! I promise I’ll pretend like I’m not a Leafs fan while I’m here :)

Leafs fan living large in the Pitt and pretending like the drought is over. Go Pens!

by PopRocks on Apr 18, 2010 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Alfie's biggest asset can also be his biggest flaw

I think he often tries to do too much. The strength of his game lies in his intelligence… reading the play and being in the right place at the right time. Alfie has been trying too hard in this series, and we can’t forget that he’s 37. He doesn’t have the physical skills he once did, even though he’s still a top tier player. If he stops trying to create the play and instead lets the play come to him, you’ll see a big difference in the impact he has in the game.

That’s easier said than done, though, because the Pens are all about forcing our guys to make a play.

Silver Seven - The Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators Blogs

by Mark Parisi on Apr 18, 2010 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Ah … so he’s kind of like your version of Billy Guerin (although lately Guerin seems to be doing a bit too much of the ‘waiting for the play to come to him’ thing, and not enough actually following the play … which is a whole different issue).

Leafs fan living large in the Pitt and pretending like the drought is over. Go Pens!

by PopRocks on Apr 18, 2010 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Alfie's been below his usual standards

His line should be able to generate far more chances and maintain consistent pressure more than they have. He hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t been his usual great self.

Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.

by DarrenM on Apr 18, 2010 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I think he's also got other things

His line isn’t just asked to provide offence, but they’re also tasked with shutting down Crosby. Alfie might be focussing a bit too much on the reactive, defensive aspect of that instead of the proactive, offensive side.

www.silversevensens.com

by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 18, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Alfie

One report kinda hinted towards an injury on twitter this morning.

by sjb1191 on Apr 18, 2010 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

Well he's clearly not 100%

Hence the whole skipping practice often thing. But he doesn’t need to be 100% to be effective, so unless something major is hindering him, its moot.

Watch for him to explode at home. I believe Clouston will place Fisher against Crosby, in lieu of the Spezza-Alfie line. Should pit the Alfie line against Malkin et al, giving him more room to breathe offensively.

by LeTigre on Apr 18, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Alfie routinely misses practice

I do think he’s always got something nagging him (he’s not as young as he used to be), but I don’t think that’s the reason. And Alfie would be the last guy to use it as an excuse.

www.silversevensens.com

by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 18, 2010 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions