Ottawa

**betplom** · 04-15-08, 01:25 AM

As a Leaf fan I couldn't be happier with the Senators situation.

They have looked terrible in many games this year.
Against Pitt in this series they look like an AHL team.
No heart whatsoever, stick a fork in them, they are done.

The night they clinched a playoff spot was a night I learned not to bet too much on them. They played without any intensity and lost the game against Boston that would have cinched a playoff spot, however, Carolina also lost, which got the Senators in the playoffs. I remember seeing the Ottawa crowd cheering like they just won the cup when the announcement was made over the PA system.

This team is a shell of the team that made the finals last year. Even then they had zero heart playing against Anaheim.

Poor Ottawa, the city desperately needs a winner.

**matskralc** · 04-15-08, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by cobra_king

Is there a more heartless team in any professional sports league? I couldn't imagine being a fan of this team and watching that display last night. Things like letting Malkin skate the puck 100 feet up the ice without an Ottawa player coming within 3 feet of him. Or on the penalty kill, just skating/turning away from the guy with the puck, giving the Pens a chance to set up with no pressure. Or watching Chris Neil get another ridiculously selfish penalty.

I don't know that I've ever seen a team more aggressive after the whistle than before it.

Teams that have the most success on the penalty kill against the Penguins are teams that pressure the puck. But you have to watch that you don't get caught overpursuing the puck because Pittsburgh is not a team you want to leave somebody wide open for too long. Too many shooters on the power play (the first unit, anyway. The second is pretty weak).

Neil and Martin Lapointe are hilarious. Those two are just machines at taking bad penalties at bad times. Lapointe was in the box for Malone's game winner in game two. Neil took three penalties in game three and all three of them were just horrifyingly stupid . It's tough to win when you spend all your time killing stupid penalties.

I think the story of the mural in the hallway sums up their attitude (for those unaware, the Senators had a giant photo of the Pens shaking their hands at the end of last seasons' series put up by the visitors' locker room). They thought they were getting the same young, dumb, inexperienced hockey team they manhandled in 5 games last season. Lesson learned, Ottawa fans hope.