My finger is close to the panic button.
We’re down to 2 games left for the Ottawa Senators, and we still haven’t cinched a playoff spot. I’m a concerned and a little worried, but I’m not ready to panic yet (as much as one can panic when it comes to cheering for a sports team). As of this post, the Sens are in 6th place in the conference, tied with Boston at 92 points (but we have more wins, hence the 6th position). The Flyers are in 8th with 91 points, and close behind are the Capitals with 90. If we lose the last 2 games, and all those teams win at least 1, it will be the first time in 11 years that the Sens wouldn’t make the playoffs.
2 days, 2 games, that’s all there’s left to determine the Sens spring destiny. As a fan, one can hope that they can flick the switch and win at least one of those games. As cliche as it sounds, their destiny is truly in their hands right now, only they can insure a spot in this year’s playoffs. I’ve heard different rumours as to why the team is in this situation, and all we can hope for is that they put aside their individual differences, egos and issues and start playing as a team. Something happened earlier this year to fracture the team and their confidence, and both are not easy things to overcome.
At this point, the way the Sens have been playing, even if they do make the playoffs they won’t go far unless they can put aside overcome the internal issues that exist. I know the playoffs is a completely different beast compared to the regular season, and often we’ve seen teams that barely make the playoffs completely dominate come springtime. I fear that this isn’t going to be one of those times. Regardless of how much longer the Sens are on the ice instead of the golf course, I’ll be cheering my team on for as far as they go.
Luc "Sandman" G. 
Last night I took 2 of my nieces to meet Antoine Vermette, Chris Kelly and Chris Phillips from the Ottawa Senators. All 3 players were at a local car dealership signing autographs. It was the first time I ever met any Sens players and it was pretty cool. We got there a little late, but luckily that meant there wasn’t much of a lineup. We only had to wait 15 minutes or so in line behind 15-20 groups of people. Katrina, my youngest niece in attendance, was very excited to finally meet some of the players she’s been watching on the ice.
Another week, another few snowfalls. We’ve had like 10 feet of snow fall this winter, with another 1-2 feet being announced for this weekend alone. This is getting ridiculous. Any more snow, and I might have to start piling it up in my garage as I’m running out of room! It’s just crazy!
Man o man, do weekends go buy way too quickly. You blink and boom, there they went. 3 day weekends every week? I could go for that! On Saturday we went and saw my nieces perform their yearly skating recital. Due to some very crappy parking (or lack of), we ended up missing their part of the show. There’s always next year! 😛 We had to endure watching 3 to 10 year olds put on a skating show loosely based around High School Musical. [sarcasm] There’s 2 of my favorite things in the world. Ice Skating and High School Musical. [/sarcasm] It made for a very long afternoon. This means that I missed the Sens vs Penguins game. I did manage to catch part of the 3rd period on the radio, and from what I could gather they were playing with a lot more energy and resolve compared to the last few weeks. There were still a few too many giveaways and defensive mistakes, yet things are getting better. There are only 16 or so more games left until the playoffs, so we fans can only hope things will keep on improving, or else it will be a quick exit out of this year’s playoffs.
Quite a bit of excitement in the last couple of days. Tuesday was trade deadline day in the NHL. Murray didn’t do much for the Senators, bringing in Martin Lapointe from Chicago for a sixth-round draft pick. Lapointe isn’t expected to make a big splash on the ice (where he will likely replace the injured Chris Neil), but more for his leadership in the locker room. The big shockers at the trade deadline was Pittsburgh winning out in the Hossa sweepstakes. No one saw that one coming. Everyone believed Hossa would end up in Ottawa or Montreal. The Penguins will definitely be a team to look out for in the playoffs. They certainly won’t be pushed over like they were last year by the Sens. The lack of trades by Ottawa at the 2008 deadline said 2 things to me. Murray was giving a wake up call to the team, telling them they are good enough as it is. Secondly, that Paddock’s time as a coach was running out unless things changed. The Sens showed their appreciation to Murray by losing 4-0 to Boston. This was their first back-to-back zero goal losses since 2000! I thought they hit the bottom of the barrel with the 5-0 loss to Toronto on Monday. I guess I was wrong.