Got to start off with Chris Neil fighting Eric Boulton. Neil got in a few good bombs and then seemed to ignore Boulton all together and tried to pump up the crowd by waving his hands – all the while taking three major shots to the back of the head!
I’ve never seen that before. If guys showboat during fights, it’s usually after the fight itself is done. Tie Domi used to do the “heavyweight belt” thing with his hands and other fighters routinely try to pump up the fans by waving their arms. But Neiler did it during a scrap.
Crazy.
Some are saying that was the moment when Atlanta finally galvanized themselves and made a hard run at Ottawa by pumping four straight goals past a struggling Ray Emery. Not so, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In between the second and third periods, assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, nicknamed "The Beast" by the players, tore a strip off the team and challenged them to show some pride. Many are saying that McCrimmon will be named Atlanta's new head coach after all and this is a clear sign that the players respect him. Plus he'll be cheap.
I’ve never seen that before. If guys showboat during fights, it’s usually after the fight itself is done. Tie Domi used to do the “heavyweight belt” thing with his hands and other fighters routinely try to pump up the fans by waving their arms. But Neiler did it during a scrap.
Crazy.
Some are saying that was the moment when Atlanta finally galvanized themselves and made a hard run at Ottawa by pumping four straight goals past a struggling Ray Emery. Not so, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In between the second and third periods, assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, nicknamed "The Beast" by the players, tore a strip off the team and challenged them to show some pride. Many are saying that McCrimmon will be named Atlanta's new head coach after all and this is a clear sign that the players respect him. Plus he'll be cheap.
You have to think that Emery’s positioning may have been a factor more so than Neil’s showboating because Rayzer was beaten by four straight, unscreened, clean shots. Add in the fact that all teams up 5-0 in a game tend to start thinking about where they’re going to drink their beers that night and you get the proverbial “perfect storm”. It didn’t matter in the end because Daniel Alfredsson pumped his 300th career goal into an empty net to cap a four point night.
The fat lady sang. Elvis left the building. The eagle landed. The Thrashers kicked the bucket and bought the farm. However you add it up, it’s racked up as a Senators victory.
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Poor Randy Robitaille got smeared by Garnet Exelby after filling in for the groinally challenged Jason Spezza and scoring two goals. Robitaille had his head down when Exelby came across and bulldozed him. Face meet ice.
It reminded me of the time when I was young and saw my father fall flat on his face because he had his hands in his pockets and couldn’t get them out in time because his jeans were too tight. Seriously. Just like Robitaille, my old man lay there on his face for awhile and then headed up to the bedroom and didn’t return. My mother said he had “facial contusions”.
Robitaille will be back but with questions lingering over him that have haunted him his whole career: Can Robitaille withstand the physical punishment that it takes to play in the NHL on a regular basis? A lot of people have wondered that over the years. The way he went to the front of the net with his head down was like a play you could get away with in Russia (where he played earlier this year) but not against a vicious wolverine like Garnett Exelby. That dude eats pieces of shit like Robitaille for breakfast.
To paraphrase Happy Gilmour: Garnett Exelby eats pieces of shit for breakfast?
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Brian McGrattan was scratched again last night. I’m still not a fan of sitting your nuclear weapon. When the Sens got up 5-0, the game could have easily gotten out of hand. Luke Richardson and Chris Neil fought but really, McGrattan should have been the go to guy in that situation. In fact, the Sens look like they could blow a lot of teams out this year which will inevitably lead to some bad blood in those games. With McGrattan piling hot dogs into his hole in the press box, star players like Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza are going out there with a little less protection than they should. Guaranteed that all the players except the one McGrattan would replace would say that they preferred him in the lineup than out. Just a thought.
The fat lady sang. Elvis left the building. The eagle landed. The Thrashers kicked the bucket and bought the farm. However you add it up, it’s racked up as a Senators victory.
---
Poor Randy Robitaille got smeared by Garnet Exelby after filling in for the groinally challenged Jason Spezza and scoring two goals. Robitaille had his head down when Exelby came across and bulldozed him. Face meet ice.
It reminded me of the time when I was young and saw my father fall flat on his face because he had his hands in his pockets and couldn’t get them out in time because his jeans were too tight. Seriously. Just like Robitaille, my old man lay there on his face for awhile and then headed up to the bedroom and didn’t return. My mother said he had “facial contusions”.
Robitaille will be back but with questions lingering over him that have haunted him his whole career: Can Robitaille withstand the physical punishment that it takes to play in the NHL on a regular basis? A lot of people have wondered that over the years. The way he went to the front of the net with his head down was like a play you could get away with in Russia (where he played earlier this year) but not against a vicious wolverine like Garnett Exelby. That dude eats pieces of shit like Robitaille for breakfast.
To paraphrase Happy Gilmour: Garnett Exelby eats pieces of shit for breakfast?
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Brian McGrattan was scratched again last night. I’m still not a fan of sitting your nuclear weapon. When the Sens got up 5-0, the game could have easily gotten out of hand. Luke Richardson and Chris Neil fought but really, McGrattan should have been the go to guy in that situation. In fact, the Sens look like they could blow a lot of teams out this year which will inevitably lead to some bad blood in those games. With McGrattan piling hot dogs into his hole in the press box, star players like Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza are going out there with a little less protection than they should. Guaranteed that all the players except the one McGrattan would replace would say that they preferred him in the lineup than out. Just a thought.
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