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Sens shutout Devils...well...sort of :) |
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The Ottawa Senators travelled to Newark, NJ this past weekend to play the New Jersey Devils in their first home game in their new arena, the Prudential Center. Kevin Lee and I were able to travel to New York City for the weekend and explore firsthand the new arena and even get a bit of sightseeing in. We made it to downtown New York to explore the shops and stopped in on the new NHL store. They had some wicked gear including old school logos on merchandise. The clerk at the store was saying that aside from Rangers fans, he sees the most Ottawa fans come in to the store. He wasn't lying because almost everything with a Senators logo on it was sold out!! It’s a pretty cool store complete with larger than life player cut-outs and an XM radio studio.
First off I would like to discuss the location of the rink and I have to say, I was scared for my life! I have no idea why they would put the rink in such a rough area of town? Fans aren't even able to walk around the rink safely and never mind trying to find a nice restaurant or bar to relax before or after the game. I think they took the location into account and went the extra mile inside the rink. It's a wide open concept with gourmet food and beautiful suites and VIP clubs. But even with all these great amenities, they still weren't able to sell out the opening home game in a brand new rink!!
The opening ceremonies were great, they introduced the 2007-2008 Devils team to a very loud and enthusiastic crowd and the first period was underway. To tell you the truth, there's not much to say about the first period, no goals, and a lot of shots by the Devils. They outshot the Sens 17-5 in what looked like a game of catch up by the Sens. Much of the unnecessary skating was due to the amount of face-offs lost by Ottawa. Jason Spezza was only 33% in the circle which forced his team to overcompensate.
The Sens didn't let the excess skating wear them down. After a week off, they were back in the second period and dominated the game from that point on with their endless forecheck and created scoring chances from the Devils turnovers. Martin Gerber was on the ball last night and kept his team in the game while the Devils pressured the Sens in their own end. As I've said a hundred times before, he's ALWAYS in position to make the save and seems to have been working on his rebound control, because he was almost perfect last night. Gerber gets it, it doesn't matter how you stop it, as long as it doesn't go in the net. As stated in my blog title, despite all the shots in the first period, Gerber almost had a shutout. That is until Brian Gionta used Anton Volchenkov’s skate as an offensive tool and registered the Devils first and only goal of the night.
Several players on the Sens squad were on their games last night. Chris Phillips had four hits and four blocked shots, tied with A-train who combined defensive skills to shut down the Devils. Luke Richardson and Patty Eaves were both responsible defensively throughout the game by sacrificing their bodies in front of the net and stopping big rushes by the Devils.
A few unnecessary penalties were taken by Dany Heatley last night and he was caught not moving his feet when he was put in the box for slashing and crosschecking in the second period. Coach John Paddock didn't seem too impressed by the play of Heatley and Spezza and took Daniel Alfredsson off the first line in hopes of making those guys play harder. Alfie and Fisher work well together but then again, stick Alfie anywhere and the players around him seem to come alive.
This isn't the first time Ottawa has taken something special from the Devils. The Sens were the last team to beat the Devils in their old arena and the first ones to beat them in the new one! I think they're making the Devils pay for the fact that they won game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship back in 2003 when then went on the win the Stanley Cup. The Devils have always been a strong team and in years past you always knew what you were getting from them. They played a trap and were a strong defensive team that made a transition team like Ottawa work that much harder. Now with their new system and coach Brent Sutter, the team seems to be in an adjustment period. For the sake of that team and their fans, I sure hope they find their "identity" soon enough because last night they were far from the New Jersey Devils that most of us have grown to love/hate.
A la prochaine, Katie V.
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