Groundhog Day

If the sens beat the Sabres again it will definitely feel like one of those days for fans of the Buffaslug.

Past Meetings

Oct 7: 4-3 Sabres win in Ottawa

Nov 15: 4-2 sens win in Buffalo

Nov 18: 4-1 sens win in Ottawa

Dec 16: 3-1 sens win in Buffalo

Jan 3: 6-3 sens win in Ottawa

With the Sabres having a bit of an up and down 2007 and the sens having a strong 2007 so far it looks like the sens could run out of the Queen City with their fifth straight win over the 2006-2007 Stanley Cup Champions. As a Leaf fan it would be nice to see the smug Sabres fans reminded that they have not won squat but it would also be nice to be able to catch the sens sooner rather than later.

Prediction:

sens 5
Sabres 3

And as with all meetings between two hated teams I will be cheering for the meteor.

Tight Like A Tiger

Here are the standing as of this morning. It really is a tangled web that that Eastern Conference has weaved. Only Washington has really fallen off the pace and a good run could put them right back into the race. Oh and the Flyers who were out of it about 3 minutes into the season. I can say that I doubt anyone related to this site has anything other than positive feelings about the Flyers' predicament.

On another note, look out Ottawa because here come the Leafs! Also, be careful of falling Habs.

Which one is Raycroft?

I have no idea who this guy is or why this picture came up when I googled Raycroft. It must be a sign, that big huge shiny trophy. Or is it the empty stands that carries meaning? Go on and give your interpretation if you so desire.

Anyway, the one and only Razor picked up the first star in a snoozer in St Louis. Final was 2-1, with Steen getting the winner on a sneaky little play.

Maddeningly Toronto is still in 9th place despite their 5th straight. They do move within 3 points of Ottawa, and four points out of 4th place.
It's getting tight, to say the least.

A Late Afternoon Dream

David Johnson has put into writing the thoughts I was loathe to utter before Saturday night: The Leafs are good. Not just good but potentially very good. In the comments he goes over some relevant statistics.

The recent resurgence of Andrew Raycroft has started to highlight the Leafs' strengths. Since January 1, 2007 he is 9-4 with a 2.52GAA and .914Sv%. Those numbers would have him in the top 12 for GAA and top 10 for Sv% over the course of the season. If he can maintain his new-found consistency then the Leafs will be a dangerous team in the playoffs. Sure, it's probably a pipe dream but here are the current standings. The Leafs are not necessarily destined to scrap for 8th place. They are within striking distance of 4th. The key will be maintaining their recent consistency. The Leafs can extend their four game winning streak with a win against the St. Louis Blues tonight (8PM Sportsnet Ontario). Here's the Tale of the Tape.

Prediction:

More great goaltending from Razor and John Pohl makes the Blues pay for giving up on him with two powerplay goals.

Leafs 4
Blues 1

He's all grown up

Our Yoda has accepted the challenge and started up the Battle of Pennsylvania blog. He's looking to add some bloggers:

If you are interested in contributing to the Battle of Pennsylvania send me an email at battleofpennsylvania@gmail.com I will also be scouring the web to see if I can find some guys/ladies to contribute.

Chug if there's a fumble....

Thanks to Sherry for pointing out this quote from a Sens player:

"Everybody has to watch the Super Bowl, so I'm going to go over to Wade Redden's house, watch the game and drink all his beer."

Brashear takes a shot at Neil

Eric McErlain has a nice article on nbcsports.com about (start music) The Code (end music) and the instigator rule. Near the end he talks to Brashear:

"It's not the same (since the end of the lockout) and it makes it that much harder. ... Before that's how you would get your message across. If you do something wrong I could be coming the other way," Brashear said. But now, Brashear said, there are a number of physical players who are taking liberties with skill players that they wouldn't normally have in the past.

In particular, Brashear singled out Chris Neil of the Ottawa Senators as just one such player.

It's a little bit of a low blow in my opinion - not the first time for Brashear.
Neil suffers a bit from the perception that he's a heavyweight in this league and people continue to view him from this angle. I don't think he ever was. He played that role because he wanted to play on this team in this league and the team needed him to.
Neil plays on the 2nd or 3rd line regularly - averaging 14 min a game this year. He leads the NHL in hits. He's physical with the skill players because he's physical with everyone.

UPDATE: On a related topic, Eric links to a Vancouver Province vote on the best fighter in NHL history - it's a multi-round voting setup.
How much does effort count? Wendel gets a spot in the top 16 Leaf fans. Of course Tie is in there as well as fellow Leafs Tiger Williams, and Kordic. The Sens get some rep from Chara, and can I count Rob Ray as a Sen?

There He Goes Again

Sun rumor monger Bruce Garrioch, in The Hockey News Trade Buzz:

Sens want Roberts on their side

While GM John Muckler only has a limited amount of cash to spend after picking up center Mike Comrie from Phoenix, Ottawa has admitted it would like to add one more veteran with playoff experience. The player who fits into that category best is Florida winger Gary Roberts. He's nursing a hip injury, but the Senators were interested in signing him before he agreed to a two-year deal with the Panthers in August 2005. Roberts has always been strong against the Sens in the playoffs and there's a chance the Leafs will also make a pitch for his services.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it Garrioch who got this one started last year? Are his sources actually his own previous rumors?

Seriously, where do you get the room to acquire Roberts? Our old friend Jack Martin is going to want more than a roll of hockey tape and we're all out of disgruntled Russian centers.

Murray saves me a trip to the Thesaurus

From the Sun:

"I was really disturbed after the second. I really didn't think we were competing on the body the way we should have, but we started to do that in the third and we could have had a couple more."

I tried to come up with a better descriptor (agitated, troubled, nonplussed?) for my mental state watching the Sens retreat into whatever that timid, stick-waving parody of a penalty kill formation was leading up the Sundin goal (they did it again during the four-on-four OT), but I think that works best.

Then there's this:

"We had no contact whatsoever in the first two periods. I went in after the second and I suggested that (it might help) if one forward on our team could make a bodycheck on a defenceman. You can't give them that much time to be creative."

It was too late. Leafs were in control by that point and the best they could hope for was to come away with at least one point.

Onward to Buffalo and a huge home + home with Montreal. Both of these are logical Emery starts (8-1 against Sabes lifetime, .500 vs. Habs), however, let's see if Gerber sees some action against the Habs (3-0, 2.00 GAA last season). Let's also see if Jason Spezza can kick the habit of throwing passes behind his back in time for the playoffs.

NHL Rights Wrong

After seeing Razor robbed of Saturday's first star by the biased Ottawa star-choosers the NHL decided to right the wrong by naming Andrew Raycroft the past week's number one star. He backstopped the Leafs to three wins including the latest installment of the BoO and put up an impressive 1.33GAA with a .960Sv%. Those are the sorts of numbers Leaf fans could get used to seeing from the Belleville native.


What's your name now?

Razor Is Dead, Long Live Razor

Leafs Nation invaded the Bank last night and saw Razor match his former namesake save for save until the shootout when he stopped 3 of 4 shots to get the Leafs the two points. The almost 50-50 split created an amazing atmosphere and the blue and white saw the good guys build a 2-0 lead on a Jeff O'Neill tap-in and a Sundin snipe. In the third the senators took the game to the Leafs and tied the score at 2. That set the stage for John Pohl and Andrew Raycroft to play the heroes. Long live Razor!

Are you READY TO RUM-BUUUUUUUUULLLLL!?!

Round 1: 4-1 Sens in Toronto
Round 2: 6-0 Leafs in Ottawa
Round 3: 6-2 Sens in Toronto
Round 4: 7-2 Sens in Ottawa.
Round 5: 3-2 (OT) Sens in Toronto.

TV: 7pm on Hockey Night in Canada coast to coast

I'll keep this post at the top until the game is over for game comments.

Remember, at stake is the Razor nickname. The losing goaltender can no longer be referred to as Razor.

Stay Tuned

From the hurting mike w at Covered:

The Bertuzzi/Luongo trade may have to be the most lopsided trade ever, with Joe Thornton for Sturm and Stuart a close second. Any other horrendous Eastern Conference deals up for grabs, jerks?

I think JFJ will have the final hilarious word on that, but with the buds recent record it looks like he's holding off on the Exploding Death Star option for this season.

Predictions (from my Sudafed/Advil/Fisherman's Friend induced delirium):

6-2 Sens. Heater with a quad, Spezz / Fish with one each (gotta love this new second line, 'specially against the Leafs). Sundin and Ponikarovsky keep it close early, but then they roll over in the third like they're supposed to.

Us against the world

Sportsnet joins in the fray....

The Sportsnet site just changed this to its top story. Right.

How can Ottawa compete with this? Maybe the CRTC can somehow shut down these propaganda sites.

I've got four words for you: His name is Ray.

Big money at play in Razor game?

It seems that Toronto's old money is influencing the print media in their campaign to keep the Razor nickname in Hogtown. They convinced the Sun papers to carry this headline on their AP summary of Wednesday's game - a headline that has very little relevance to the story that followed:

Razor holds his edge
Leafs goalie stops 37 shots
By IRA PODELL

NEW YORK (AP) - Mats
Sundin put 16 years of experience...

While that Toronto money may be able to buy off the Sun headline writers, it won't be able to influence the game when the players are on the ice.

Or will it?

A reliable source has informed me that a significant number of NHL referees are from the Toronto area or within a few hours drive or may have some family members living somewhere in or around Toronto. Can they be influenced?

Ouch

Gare Joyce talked to some of Ian White's former team-mates.

We're It!

Sherry of Scarlett Ice has tagged the BoO in the latest round of blogger hijinx: "If I were a hockey player". E at A Theory of Ice has a roundup of some of the answers so far in what has become an interesting insight on the personalities behind the blogs. Since I am looking at a deluge of snow outside my window now is the time to daydream:

Team: God's Team. The Toronto Maple Leafs for the uninitiated.

Uniform Number: 22

Position: Right wing on the top line - might as well dream big.

Nickname: Most inappropriate for printing but probably Hector.

Dream Linemates: Dougie at centre and Wendel on the wing.

Rounding out the PP: Kaberle and Mats

Job: Finishing Dougie's passes and riding shotgun to Wendel.

Signature Move: Cutting in off the wing and ripping a wrist shot high on the glove side. It might miss, it might get caught, but when it goes in, oh boy!

Strengths: Size, speed (In this alternate universe I still have the speed from my youth), and silky smooth hands.

Weaknesses: The Flamingo, Cherry would hate it but I would make up for it by teaming up with Wendel for the most fighting majors by linemates in NHL history.

Injury Problems: I'm fine, stop asking me. I wouldn't tell you anyway!

Equipment: Same as now but I would make Bauer bring back the Supreme 3030 Stiff Flex. Sticks need to be heavy!

Nemesis: I would be Old School. Anyone without a Maple Leaf on their chest would be my enemy.

Scandal Involvement: 'Sean, I have no idea how Elisha ended up in my hotel room but she is most definitely not the Girl Next Door.'

Who I’d face in the Stanley Cup Finals: Since I would only be able to break the sens and Habs hearts in the first three rounds I would have to settle for one of the teams from Western Canada. I'll go with Edmonton.

What I’d do with the Stanley Cup after our victory: A month-long 5-city tour of the other Canadian NHL cities to share the moment with the Leafs legions of fans. Features of the trip would be Queen's We Are The Champions being in heavy rotation, large billboards of the Cup presentation being put up in highly visible areas, and an (Insert Canadian team) futility counter in front of each of the five arenas. Yes, if the Leafs win the cup I will be releasing a lifetime's worth of pent up rage.

Would the media love me or hate me?: They would love my grit, heart, Old School approach to hating everyone not on my team including any former teammates that would dare to leave, and my frequent dalliances with Hollywood's leading ladies (McAdams, Johansson, and Snow, Oh My!). Plus I would be a quote machine.

This should be a fun exercise for the boys during the break before the Name Game. I will tag Ninja, Bitter Leaf Fan, Wardo, and J. Bluebud in the hopes that they'll keep the game alive.

The Battle of Ontario 'Name' Game

Frequent commenter THM has penned a stirring prologue for Saturday's game:

Two goalies, both alike in nickname,
In fair Kanata, where we play our game,
From B-o-O* grudge break to new mutiny,
Where dropping gloves makes penalty score sheets unclean.
From forth the final blocker saves of these two foes
A pair of points teams take their season record;
Whole misadventured piteous blog posts
Do with their G.A.A.** bury their fans' strife.
The fearful passes of their Swedish captain's puck,
And the continuance of their fans' rage,
Which, but their coaches's firing end, nought could remove,
Is now the three periods' traffic of our rink;
The which if you with high-priced tickets attend,
What here shall miss, our nickname sharing shall strive to end.

*Battle of Ontario
**Goals Against Average

The MSM has to appreciate any attempt to tie a sporting event to history's greatest writer.

Wow

The idea to make the game on Saturday the way to decide who gets to keep the Razor moniker has really blown up. Expect to see BoO members on your local telecasts and radio shows over the next few days and a special CBC HNIC segment.

The teams are really geared up for it. Jason Spezza was quoted as saying; "We're really going to go out there and try to win this for Razor. That's the real Razor I'm talking about - Ray Emery."

Andrew Raycroft tried to downplay the event as just another game and that the two points would be victory enough but didn't hide the fact that the nickname meant a lot to him; "Yeah, it's important. My Grandfather gave me that nickname when I was just a few years old. He caught me playing with his old straight edge and the name stuck I guess. I'm dedicating this game to him."

The Senators confirmed today that former Canadian Heavyweight Champion Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock will be on hand at the game to drop the ceremonial puck at the start of the game.

Anyone surprised?

How else are the Leafs going to win?
Maurice set the stage a month ago or so by bitterly complaining about the number of penalities that were getting called on them - I guess it worked. He must have been watching Quinn.