Silver nuggets: Sens' new lines, Lady Gaga's "Pokerflames", and some old friends
"Silver nuggets" is the lame, stupid, cheesy themed-title I've chosen for Sens news as well as the quirkiest crap from around the league. Got something better? I'd like to hear it.
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First off, the Ottawa Sun is reporting that the Senators are sticking with the line combinations Cory Clouston threw together for Ottawa's come-from-behind victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. They look like this:
Dany Heatley-Jason Spezza-Ryan Shannon
Mike Comrie-Mike Fisher-Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno-Chris Kelly-Chris Neil
Jarkko Ruutu-Jesse Winchester-Shean Donovan
In related news, expect Nick Foligno's production to fall off completely. What did he do wrong to end up on a line with Chris Kelly and Chris Neil? Maybe they'll start producing offensively. And maybe the Sens will make the playoffs.
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Playoff anthems are usually pretty fu. In Ottawa, we've had "All the Leafs Stink", a local classic from the Team 1200, and the classic song from world-renowned (okay, Ottawa-renowned?) rapper Belly's "Go Sens Go" tune. This Calgary Flames playoff anthem is... well... just listen:
(via Puck Daddy)
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Remember Wade Redden? Hate to pour it on to the guy, who was great for the Senators for a lot of years and great for Ottawa for even more, but he's not having a great time over in New York these days, as iterated in New York Post columnist Jay Greenberg's recent submission:
Wade Redden, who either needs to have his attention caught at the end of the bench or simply can't play in the NHL anymore, probably would be helping the Rangers best from Hartford, but there is no alternative to him in the system and, with five years to go in a depressing, cap-killing, six-year, $39 million deal, surely no takers. So what is a new coach to do besides what the old coach did?
[...]
Redden didn't lose this game by himself, but do you need a full hand to count one he has helped the Rangers win?
Anyone who thinks it was a mistake to let Redden walk this off-season just needs to ask a Rangers fan how they feel about him. Maybe it was a mistake not to find a genuine puck-mover, but--the way Redden is playing--he wouldn't have addressed that need, anyway.
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Speaking of former Senators defencemen, remember Brian Pothier? He had a couple decent years playing alongside Redden on Ottawa's blue line, and it's great to see he's back in the Washington Capitals' lineup after missing more than a calendar year--including 41 NHL regular-season games, 7 NHL playoff games, and 65 AHL regular-season games--with concussion problems. Wish him all the best in the Caps' playoff run.
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Sean Allen of ESPN went over the best producers on the NHL's (probably) non-playoff teams, and highlights Ottawa's highlight-worthy players of late: Brian Elliott, Nick Foligno, Mike Fisher, Ryan Shannon, Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, and--most of all, says Allen--Chris Campoli. He sounded pretty impressed with Campoli's eight points in 11 games as an Ottawa Senator, which is pretty impressive if you think about it.
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Finally, pretty cool piece on the Minnesota Wild website about the work players do to get their sticks in game shape. It's prudent given the recent controversy surrounding Spezza's customized sticks, but the funniest story was one about Dave Andreychuk:
"When I played in Colorado," Wild veteran Martin Skoula said, "my teammate Dave Andreychuk carried an old wooden stick with him from his rookie year. He used it as the pattern to measure and cut all his new sticks. Andreychuk carried the stick around with him for 18 years."