Bad Romance

Last night’s game was another classic in the Senators-Flyers history book. Everybody will remember the 2003 Playoff Run, the Record Breaker in 2004, and now, this one. It had it all. Defense, hits, questionable calling, and two disallowed goals. It doesn’t matter though, the National Hockey League gives the win to Ottawa, a 2-0 victory with goals from Chris Kelly and Daniel Alfredsson.

First off, Chris Kelly was flying all over the ice. He got the goal on a sick wrister than eluded Flyers’ netminder Brian Boucher, and was on the ice during the 5 on 3 penalty kill. He’s got 14 goals which is pretty good for Mr. Hands of Stone, and can likely make it 15 by season’s end. Brian Elliott recorded his second-straight shutout, his 5th of the season. I would be very surprised if he does not play the rest of the games from here on, even during the back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. He’s been given the rings and has shown to be a real team leader with them. Nobody on Philadelphia could get a crack on him, and his save on Scott Hartnell on the mutiny play was spectacular.

Even though that’s all great, the story of the game was Anton Volchenkov and the refs. Too bad it is for the wrong reasons though. Volchie played intense and with a physical presence I’ve never seen him before. He and Sutton, though on different pairings, make up an amazing tag-team match on the defensive side. The hits both of them made, almost none were illegal or dirty. Volchenkov on Carcillo was a good, clean hit. I had to endure the Comcast Sportsnet broadcast, which was provoking me beyond human experience. Volchenkov never through the shoulder, he checked him hard into the boards. Do remember, this is Daniel Carcillo we are talking about. This guy has as much guts as a horse in the glue factory. Volchenkov on Gagne was a bit different, even though it was not as dirty as the Philly guys made it. I do understand he was hit from behind in a vulnerable position, but was Simon Gagne sleeping, or what? You have to realize what you’re sacrificing when you’re in that kind of position.

Of course, the disallowed goal was controversial. I think it did go in, but I understand Toronto’s decision. The angles shown during a telecast aren’t always the truth, and different angles show different things. From a bird’s eye p.o.v,  the puck didn’t cross the line fully. From a “Kimmo Timmonen” p.o.v, it did fully cross the line. That’s not something you can wager on, especially at this time of the season. Therefore, it’s to iffy to determine. Plain and simple.

What I would love is ap layoff matchup between these two teams, even though it’s a bit unlikely. Tonight’s match on TSN between the Canadiens and Sabres has divided me a lot. If Montreal wins, their 2 points within us and we would be 5 points within Buffalo for the division. If Buffalo wins, they’ve likely got the division snatched up and it would be even harder for Montreal to catch us. That’s why I’m going with…

GO SABRES! KICK SOME HAB ASS!!!