SenShot - An Ottawa Senators Blog

Looks to me like Nick Foligno is doind his best to avoid Mike Smith, but Smith not giving him much of a chance. PHOTO: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

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Here are the top 3 NHL stories from yesterday:

1.  Subban grabs some pine -  Enigmatic defenseman PK Subban of the Montreal Canadiens was benched for the entire second period of the Habs’ game against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.  He took a needless elbowing penalty late in the first period and didn’t see action again until the third.  In a week that has seen a public verbal confrontation between Subban and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur, followed by the benching, is Subban going to be around Montreal much longer?

2.  Neal replaces Ovi – Pittsburgh Penguins winger James Neal, who probably deserved to be in the game from the start, was finally named to replace Washington Capitals’ winger Alex Ovechkin, who withdrew from the festivities following his three game suspension on Monday.

3.  The Week of Celebration Finally Begins -  After months of anticipation, the week that puts Ottawa in the NHL spotlight has finally arrived.  All-Star week festivites kick off tonight in Ottawa, with the Fan Fest opening up at the Congress Centre, and the All-Star Fantasy Draft at Casino Lac Leamy tonight.  Many of the best players on the planet will be coming to Ottawa to glad-hand with sponsors and put on a display of skill for fans both here and around the world.

The Ottawa Senators are running a special promotion for the first two games back at home following the lenghty road trip and All-Star Break.  Our Account Manager at the Senators asked me to pass along this message to SenShot readers -

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Hi there Hockey Fans!

Welcome back the Ottawa Senators after the All-Star weekend and the West Coast road trip with this limited offer.

Get TEN lower bowl tickets for the NY Islanders and/or Nashville Predators, PLUS your choice of either: (valued at $160/ticket) Continue reading this post »

Here are my top 3 stories from around the NHL on Tuesday:

1. Ovechkin Suck-Fit – Washington continues to be the epicentre of NHL political statements.  First, it was Tim Thomas skipping the Boston Bruins’ White House vist, now the Capitals Captain made his statement.  Alex Ovechkin, upset at his 3 games suspension, has withdrawn from the NHL All-Star festivities later this week.    In a very stoic interview, he expressed his displeasure with the suspension, and asserted, that alhough the suspension didn’t include the ASG, he had no intention of going while under suspension.

2.  Perreault Tricky – Mathieu Perreault made up for the absence of Ovechkin, scored his first career hat trick in Washington’s 5-3 win over the Boston Bruins Tuesday night. Perreault has played only 30 games this season, but his output last night nearly doubled his goal ouput for the season (he now has 7), and he was the recipient of a shaving cream pie from the suspended Ovechkin, who proved that he hasn’t lost his sense of humour in the suspension and subsequent suck-fit.

3.  Breaking Away – With 28 teams finishing their pre-All-Star schedule, airports around North America will be busy with a number of destinations in mind, including Vegas, New Orleans and of course, Ottawa.  Our city becomes the focus of the hockey world for the first time since the 2009 NHL Entry Draft with the All Star Week festivities.

Zack Smith and Kyle Chipchura square off early in the second period (PHOTO: Norm Hall NHLI via Getty Images)

Pregame Warmup

The Senators depart California on a  two game losing streak, and need a win in the final game before the All-Star break against the Phoenix Coyotes to avoid some nervous feelings around the city of Ottawa over the next week.  The focus will be onKyle Turris tonight as he makes his first appearance in his old building that wasn’t very good to him early on in his career. Continue reading this post »

So I caved in and bought the Daniel Alfredsson replica All-Star player jersey seeing as this is likely his last  All-Star appearance. Unfortunately though, the quality of the replica All-Star player jersey is noticeably worse than that of the regular team jerseys (all produced by Reebok). Here’s a quick review of the jersey:

FRONT:

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Tuesday January 24th, 2012

9:00 pm

SNET-E, Team 1200

5th East (27-18-6)  @  12th West (21-20-8)

The Senators finish off their western swing with a game against the struggling Phoenix Coyotes. This is the first and only encounter of the season between these two teams, Ottawa winning the only meeting last year by a score of 5 to 2. The Senators begun a strong month in January but have been having some trouble lately. They were able to defeat the surging Sharks 4-1 before being held to a single goal in losses against the Ducks and Kings to end their California trip. The most recent a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, the worst defeat the team has suffered in the new year. However the Sens once again take on another set of back-to-backs, so they don’t have to wait long for a chance to redeem themselves. Continue reading this post »

Here are the top 3 stories from around the NHL yesterday:

1.  Presidential Snub – The Boston Bruins visited the White House and President Obama yesterday, minus Conn Smythe Trophy winner Tim Thomas.  Thomas skipped on the event for political reasons, and explained those reasons on Fcebook:

“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People,” Thomas’ statement read. “This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.”

“Because I believe this,” the statement continued, “today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.”  – From TSN.ca

I don’t agree with him missing a team sanctioned event for personal reasons.  He didn’t need to have an in-depth conversation with the President but at least showing his face there with his team would have been appropriate.

2.  Ovechkin Banned – As mentioned yesterday, Alex Ovechkin had his hearing with the NHL player safety committee, and the result was a three game suspension.  Although the suspension blankets the All-star break, Ovechkin will be allowed to participate.  However, there were rumours out of Washington that he was considering pulling himself from the event as a sort of protest over the suspension.  We should learn more today.

3.  All-Star Replacements – Speaking of All-Star weekend (which is now upon us), some injury replacements were announced, as Jordan Eberle, Kris Letang and Nick Johnson (as a rookie) were named to replace Mikko Koivu, Dustin Byfuglien and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins respectively.  There may be additional replacements needed as Jonathan Toews is now on the shelf.