2007-08 Regular Season, Game 25

Rangers 5, Senators 2

PRESIDENT’S 2 CENTS: Almost there, but not quite. Blair Betts’ (he played a pretty good game on the back end) empty-netter off a brutal cross-ice giveaway by Joe Corvo was significant, in that it spelled out how playing half a game isn’t good enough to snap the worst losing skid in seven years. Up till that point, the Sens overcame a sloppy first period and made a game of it, outshooting the Blueshirts 27-11 and outscoring them 2-0 after dropping the first four goals on 11 shots against. Of course, like Thursday’s Russian roulette display vs. the Predators, giving up the first goal kind of opens a floodgate. For the second game in a row, the defence and Martin Gerber kind of teamed up to chip in with enough mistakes to make sure the game was out of reach early on. The worst one? Jaromir Jagr walking right out into the slot and roofing one on Gerbs. There’s debate as to whether Alfie tipped it, but the captain didn’t by much if he did. Gerbs had a good look at it. The resurgent Sens netminder is in as much of a slump as the team as a whole, and everyone will be out of it soon enough … Speaking of good looks, the Rangers had more than the entire cast of Desperate Housewives. At the net, that is, especially the Jagr marker. They just did a good job of walking in, on the road, and firing biscuits at a struggling goalie and D. Makes you wonder if some of the Sens’ wives are reluctant to bring up their hubbys at dinner conversations these days, with the losing streak and all. At least we know Mike Fisher can go home alone (yes, he’s single, ladies) to a nice hot tub (designed by The Artistic Group, you know the overplayed commercial) and forget about it all. Maybe he, for one, has been in the tub thinking way too much about his personal scoring slump, now 13 games without a goal. That and his clearing attempt which found its way to Martin Straka on the left point, who had loads of time to feed Brendan Shanahan a perfectly-placed shot to tip in … On the subject, Dany Heatley should have had about three goals on the night. He did connect off of a gorgeous give-and-go from Jason Spezza, but that cross-ice slap pass from the Spezz Dispenser was thwarted by the steady Henrik Lundqvist, as was the power-play attempt where Spezza shook off two defenders to find Heatley alone in the slot. Lundqvist’s now got 11 wins in his last 14 battles, and was solid when the Ottawa skaters could actually muster either a good shot or a second chance at him. Rather ironic that he’s now stolen the torch—for how long, we don’t know—from the guy at the other end …

… Sometimes coaches are a tad reactionary when things go into the tank, and that’s what bench boss John Paddock seemed to be after the Sens coughed up four goals. He yanked Gerber after the first period, then started shuffling lines like a blackjack dealer. At first glance, it seemed kind of ridiculous. He broke up the Cash Line after the fourth goal and had a unit of Alfie-Kelly-Robitaille going for awhile. Then it was a return to Cash money, Corvo scores, and a switch back. In the third period, it was Fisher centring the captain and Kelly. Finally, Dealer Paddock throws out the full house, and Heatley scores with the help of fellow aces Spezza and Alfie. Seemed having the captain help to spread out the defensive awareness on another line helped give a comeback a chance, and putting him back with the Cash unit was timely for the scoring opportunites … An opportunity is something Brian McGrattan has been looking for, and he was arguably the Sens’ best player in the first period. A couple of strong drives to the net and an attempt to engage in fisticuffs with fellow pugilist Colton Orr helped to set a stronger tone for the second …

… It just wasn’t the same out there without shot-blocker artiste Anton Volchenkov. Or was it? Christoph Schubert, back on the blue line and helping to fill in for the A-Train, blocked one during a first-period penalty kill and got hurt (he kept playing and blocked one more). A-Train’s injury happened in the first as well … Speaking of “breaks,” (sorry A-Train!), Ottawa couldn’t buy one, seemingly, in any area of the game. Two icing calls in a row against the home team were followed up by one against the Rangers, a shift in which the Jagr line was tired. No change, right? Well, didn’t matter, as a TV timeout came right afterward … Joe Corvo played an otherwise solid game, despite the giveaway at the end. Two goals in two games for the slick-skating defenceman, who also had four more shot attempts blocked. In fact, it was Joltin’ Joe’s fleet of foot that made the difference between his hauling-down of Petr Prucha during a breakaway ruled as a minor penalty, and not a penalty shot …

FUNNY STUFF: Jim Hughson, calling the game on CBC with Garry Galley (he usually does the Western games), is one of the best at his craft. The Line of the Night, courtesy of him, came in the first: “Get some oxygen, take a number, you’ll be ready to go,” he said of Chris Neil, when Neiler tried to fight Colton Orr at the end of a tiring shift … As mentioned, Brian McGrattan played a fantastic first period and helped to get his team going. So much so that during a rush into the Ranger zone, his stick got hacked out of his hands by Fedor Tyutin and it twirled up and into the timekeeper’s bench. Smart move by Grats. May as well bribe the timekeepers with a souvenir or two and ensure some, you know, home cooking? … The Viagra advertising sign has been moved around a bit between the home and visitor’s benches lately. Before being moved back to the Ranger side for the third (same thing happened at the Predators game), it was right beside a McDonald’s ad in front of the Ottawa bench, which said—you guessed it—“I’m Lovin’ It.” Insert your own joke here … Speaking of jokes, CBC had to be joking when it showed a comparison of last year’s standings and this year’s, which is OK except when shown in the form of Ron MacLean’s spotty penmanship. Co-host P.J. Stock “complimented” it … Last but not least, how’s this for the Chummiest Interview of the Year? After the game, former Team Canada captain and gold medallist Cassie Campbell interviewed Rangers coach Tom Renney, who coached the Canadian men’s program for years. It just gave off a vibe of a chat between friends, especially when Cassie said “Do you want to say hi to anyone back home?” It was a clever way for Cassie to remind Tom to wish his parents a happy 62nd wedding anniversary, if he had forgotten.