PRESIDENT’S 2 CENTS: Eastern Conference CHAMPIONS! In the aftermath of the euphoric series-clinching overtime win over the Sabres, it is the duty of any Ottawa scribe to remind the denizens of our fine city that, with one skilful swipe of Alfie’s sizzling stick, the Senators have just accomplished something their rivals in Toronto have been unable to do since 1967: make it to the Stanley Cup final. Replayed countless times amid the red fallout that ambushed Elgin Street afterwards, the goal itself, of course, comprises both sweet revenge and irony for the captain. Not only did he stick it back to the Sabres this year in overtime in Game 5 on the road—just like 2006, when Jason Pominville skated around Alfie and ended Ottawa’s season in Game 5 at the Bank—he did it with Pominville on the ice. After disposing of former playoff nemesis New Jersey in five following a penguin cull, the Sens get another proverbial postseason monkey off their back. And this time, the highest-scoring team in the league finished the series with two power-play goals against the mighty Ottawa PK. Three high-fives to take the entire East? Who woulda thought … On the subject, who woulda thought the Sens could steal this thing on the road after racking up all those third-period penalties, the PK track record notwithstanding? Notably, gotta love Tiny Mike Comrie’s slide into home plate, er, the net, knocking it loose to save what was for sure the go-ahead goal. Not only that, he did it in such a way that he let on as if the call was preposterous. And as pointed out in an Ottawa daily, if Tiny Mike had pulled that stunt in the last two minutes, a penalty shot would have been awarded. With a nod to Belly’s hot new track currently burning up Ottawa airwaves, the Sens are ballin’ like Comrie. Y’all better surrender calmly … Calm was the theme as the Sens attacked in OT, after facing adversity and Sabre momentum from the tying goal, courtesy of Maxim Afinogenov (in humble presidential opinion, the scariest Sabre on the ice). It was eerily similar to Game 2, when Daniel Briere tied the game from the same side of the net, only to have his team lose in extra time on Joe Corvo’s knuckleball. Notably calm going into OT was Ray Emery, stopping Drew Stafford on a wraparound attempt on the same side as his Game 2 overtime robbery of Thomas Vanek with an outstretched leg. This, of course, gave his Sens life and eventually allowed Alfie’s OT winner to happen. However, the save of the game came from Sabres star backstopper Ryan Miller in OT, as he robbed Jason Spezza of a sure goal in eerily similar fashion to Jose Theodore’s legendary stick save in Montreal’s 2002 series vs. Boston. With all these eerie similarities, Miller sure is hoping he doesn’t turn into another Jose Theodore. All bets are he won’t. Count on it …
… So the Cash Line bounces back after a shaky Game 4, in which the Sabres expectedly came to play with their season on a thin, sweepy line. The tic-tac-(terrific!)-toe goal didn’t exactly go according to Spezza Script, as in this case he was the recipient of a slick feed from Alfie, who benefited from fantastic, blue-collar backchecking work from Dany Heatley. Still, no one’s complaining … However, Spezza and Razor surely were the target of complaints from Bryan Murray after the first goal, where Razor was as sharp as a bald tire on his only giveaway of the game, which led to the Jochen Hecht goal. Spezza was right on the doorstep and could have tried harder to clear the biscuit. It was the result of excellent Buffalo pressure as they dominated the opening frame with fantastic energy and check-finishing. But as it was towards OT, the Sens calmly answered back, in this case with two straight goals, including the PP marker from Heatley to tie it … Speaking of that PP goal, Ottawa’s first, it wouldn’t have happened if Wade Redden didn’t patiently wait for the right shooting lane with time winding down on the power play. The shot got through and Spezza was able to convert a nice rebound into a Heatley one-timer. A plus-1, Wade led all Sens with 28:08 in playing time, corralled the puck nicely on what was a terribly bouncy surface (again), and overall made smart decisions. He notched Ottawa’s first shot on goal in the game with similar precision to the PP setup. In the third, he calmly took the puck away in front of Razor, and followed that up moments later with a solid but subtle check on big Sabres D-man Toni Lydman. Plays like these are what sometimes what Redden’s armchair critics don’t see or take into account when jumping on his hiccups. Unfortunately that’s what a $6 million price tag comes with …
… If anyone deserved to win this thing for Buffalo, it was co-captain Chris Drury (with 15 playoff OT game-winners to his credit), who came to play after a lacklustre first three games, blocking everything in sight with every part of his body, including his head. Speaking of which, it would be funny if he was related the guy in the third row who got quite the headache from the glass falling on him. Both had great playoff beards … Another big performer was Toni Lydman, who blocked five shots to help the Sabres out-block the Sens a whopping 21-7. The Sabres also won five per cent more faceoffs, had only two less missed shots, and spent nearly half the time in the sin bin as the Sens. However, the Sens led the OT shot count 6-2 and that was the difference … Bob Cole Line of the Night: “Somebody interfered with somebody,” he observed intently, after Neil would get sent off to the box … Harry Neale offered up this gem, referring to the late, great Sens assistant Roger Neilson: “He’s watching tonight in HD, ‘Heaven Direct.’” … After getting their ultra-convenient and preferred 2pm start time, NBC broke away from overtime to broadcast the Preakness. If afternoon games apparently grow the game in the U.S., fine, but don’t cut those viewers loose by scheduling two events close enough to overlap. Way to ruffle feathers, peacock network …
… Random Anthem Observations: Jason Spezza was mouthing along the words to “O Canada” while Russian teammate Anton Volchenkov, standing next to him, seemed to still not know the words. And is it just me, or does anyone else expect Buffalo anthem singer Doug Allen to say “Deal or no deal?” at some point? The Howie similarities are there. Maybe we can get the Scotiabank Place ice-clearing girls to carry the briefcases … Interesting Stat of the Night: Daniel Briere was the most penalized Sabre heading into Game 5. Normally you wouldn’t really think so, but that hit from behind on Kelly sort of re-affirmed it … Good Karma of the Night: Ray Emery shaved his head just in time for Game 5. Result? The W … Last but not least: only four more wins separate the Sens from Stanley. Whether it was the impromptu Parliament Hill post-game rally, the incessant Elgin Street motorists’ horn-honking from Alfie’s winner until well past 1 am, or the “Go Sens Go” cheers emanating out of the Elgin Street Diner (which has the best Philly cheesesteak poutine in town), or the Senssquatch’s patrols, or the flag-and-radio-equipped rickshaws, or Mayor Larry O’Brien sporting a Sens tattoo on his bald dome, or the van with a Daniel Briere roadkill effigy on the front, this city certainly is showing that it realizes how close this team is. The Sens Mile was the place to be on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon and evening, and let’s hope the party continues.
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