Ottawa Senators

ShareThis People have been writing off the 2013 Ottawa Senators since before the season even started. ShareThis

ShareThis In the great tradition of NHL playoff hockey, the Ottawa Senators have soared the heights and plumbed the depths. ShareThis

ShareThis Daniel Alfredsson took a beating Thursday in the court of public opinion for stating that the Ottawa Senators would "probably not" be able to overcome a 3-1 deficit and defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins. ShareThis

ShareThis When the meltdown occurred and the Ottawa Senators fell apart Wednesday night, an odd thing happened in the crowd. ShareThis

The Penguins explode for 7 goals in game 4, giving them a 3-1 series lead If you didn't watch last night's game, and have somehow made it through the day without hearing about it, here's the link to NHL.com's boxscore. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty if you're a Sens fan. You know that feeling you get when your alarm goes off Monday morning after a long-weekend. Well that's what last night's game was for Senators fans: a rude awakening signalling troubling times ahead. Now down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series, the Senators are one loss away from hanging up their jerseys for the season, and one of them might be hanging it up for good. Now it's hard to find the right words when talking about the admiration and respect the Senators' fans have for their captain. After last night's loss, I was quickly reminded that it may have been the last home game EVER for number 11 and quickly became sick to my stomach. That said, I'd like to sincerely thank everyone at Scotiabank Place who stuck around until the very end regardless of the final score. Like our captain, you showed great class by sticking it out. As if watching these games hasn't been difficult and heart wrenching enough as is, now they're in a do-or-die situation and I'll be making sure a defibrillator is within arms reach while watching game five. Bottom line is: they need to win. Win it for themselves; win it for the city; but most importantly, win it for Alfie. Regardless of his post-game comments, we all know Alfredsson will play hard on Friday and do everything in his power to win the game —as he has done in every game he's ever played. I guess the main message here is that lowering your expectations won't stop you from being disappointed if they lose. So expect the best-case-scenario; expect them to win. Being a true fan means being able to support your team no matter how bleak and improbable a victory may seem (see Leafs fans for the last decade). All we can do is: The Sens are down, but they're not out. The Penguins explode for 7 goals in game 4, giving them a 3-1 series lead If you didn't watch last night's game, and have somehow made it through the day without hearing about it, here's the link to NHL.com's boxscore. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty if you're a Sens fan. You know that feeling you get when your alarm goes off Monday morning after a long-weekend. Well that's what last night's game was for Senators fans: a rude awakening signalling troubling times ahead. Now down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series, the Senators are one loss away from hanging up their jerseys for the season, and one of them might be hanging it up for good. Now it's hard to find the right words when talking about the admiration and respect the Senators' fans have for their captain. After last night's loss, I was quickly reminded that it may have been the last home game EVER for number 11 and quickly became sick to my stomach. That said, I'd like to sincerely thank everyone at Scotiabank Place who stuck around until the very end regardless of the final score. Like our captain, you showed great class by sticking it out. As if watching these games hasn't been difficult and heart wrenching enough as is, now they're in a do-or-die situation and I'll be making sure a defibrillator is within arms reach while watching game five. Bottom line is: they need to win. Win it for themselves; win it for the city; but most importantly, win it for Alfie. Regardless of his post-game comments, we all know Alfredsson will play hard on Friday and do everything in his power to win the game —as he has done in every game he's ever played. I guess the main message here is that lowering your expectations won't stop you from being disappointed if they lose. So expect the best-case-scenario; expect them to win. Being a true fan means being able to support your team no matter how bleak and improbable a victory may seem (see Leafs fans for the last decade). All we can do is: The Sens are

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Soo.... yikes. In the span of about four hours last night, the mood around the Ottawa Senators, its fans changed considerably. The way the team is viewed by the national media and fans from around the league, seemed to have changed. I understand that this time of year people are very emotionally invested in the team, and while a double overtime win can help your spirits soar, the drubbing the Sens took last night is tough. So here we are. The morning after. Yesterday we were talking about how pesky the team was, how they never say die. Experts were saying they had a good feeling about them, because they never quit. Today? We sit here bombarded with questions about Daniel Alfredsson's leadership. About Paul MacLean blowing his stack last night. About how, "it has been a good run". About the "Pesky Pens". I think, however, that I can find some digital ink to talk about some positives from last night and going forward into game 5. So in honour of Paul MacLean's 13 second press conference, here are my top 13 positive thoughts. Craig Anderson: The guy was lights out in the first half of the game. It slipped away from him like it did for the rest, but his record after being pulled is something else. Erik Karlsson: No, he is not the Erik Karlsson of old, and yes he is still getting caught defensively on occasion. But he was in the play more last night, and had 2 assists to show for it. The Powerplay: Actually didn't look horrible (though it barely saw the ice). If Jason Spezza scores instead of hitting the post, this is an entirely different game. The Penalty Kill: Sure is getting a lot of work, and while it gave up a couple last night, it has been strong in this series against a Penguins powerplay that is almost unfair. Tomas Vokoun: Not sure how he is getting the job done, but he is. Fact is, he looks shaky and is giving up rebounds galore, and that means there are goals to be scored there. We scored first: And that means we held a lead. In fact, we held a lead twice. Which means we can. This team doesn't give up leads often, so don't expect it to happen again. Erik Condra, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Colin Greening: Need I say more? This line has been excellent especially in Pittsburgh where the Sens will need a spark. Milan Michalek's Speed: Has been lacking. Last night he flew for that goal. That speed on the PK may give the Pens something to think about. Kyle Turris: How awesome has he been? His 5th goal of the playoffs last night and he is doing a great job head to head with Sidney Crosby, no small feat. No Pressure: Would be stretching it if I said the Sens have them right where they want them, but the fact is all of the pressure is on the Pens to close this out. Speaking of which... Pens are 0-6 under Dan Bylsma when trying to close a series in Pittsburgh. (Trib) Perspective: There are 15 teams in the East. After tonight, there could be 3 left standing and our Senators are one of those teams. Impressive. (Yost) It is not over: Despite the obit nature of some of the articles you are seeing, we get at LEAST one more Senators game this year. Its been a fun ride, but we aren't at the end yet. Feel a little better? Sens Links: Let us get this out of the way: Alfie's "Probably not" comment. [PD] Recaps of the game [SSS] [Globe] [Pensburgh] Aftermath [6thSens] [Milks] [Warren] Paulrus Presser [PD] [SE] See you in Pittsburgh.

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A 7-3 loss at home, and most of the attention over the next 24 to 48 hours will focus on the post-game reactions from captain Daniel Alfredsson and head coach Paul MacLean. For those who don’t feel inclined to watch the video, Alfredsson was asked by a reporter whether the Senators could come back from a three games to one series deficit. “Probably not. With their depth and power-play right now, it doesn’t look too good.” There’s no question that Alfie is going to catch flak from the sect of the fan base or media-types that will see this as weakness or the sign of a poor leader. They will admonish the captain for not throwing out some clichéd answer that describes the process of going balls to the wall, guns blazing, having to play the full 60 minutes and take it one game at a time while skating the whole 200’ and blah blah blah. Alfie spoke the truth and I don’t see anything nothing wrong with that. Sure, maybe there is something to be said about the concerns for how this kind of quote could rub off on some of the team’s younger and more impressionable players, but the time for talk is over. As a seven seed that is down three games to one, he’s right when he says that it’s going to be difficult to win three straight against the Eastern Conference’s best team. That is the reality of the situation that the Senators are in. It can be done. The Senators have come back from a 3-1 deficit to push the New Jersey Devils to the brink in the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, but it’s going to be tough and he recognizes that because he’s been through it before. Frankly, Alfie could give some Any Given Sunday-like speech a la Al Pacino, but it won’t matter any if the team comes out in Pittsburgh on Friday and just rolls over. All that we can expect as fans is for this team to put forth an honest effort and let the chips fall where they may. There’s no shame in that, especially when Paul MacLean can rally the troops with this gem… See you in Pittsburgh.

These were Alfie's comments after a game 4 beating. You can just see in his eyes, and hear in his voice how disheartened he is while answering. The media and fans are making a big deal out of his comments. They're saying he's admitted defeat and has given up. I don't see it that way at all. He was being realistic.He didn't say he wasn't going to play hard. He didn't say it was over. He didn't even say they had no chance. What he did say was that we probably wouldn't come back from a 3 games to 1 deficit against a powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins team. And you know what? He's right.The odds are certainly not in our favor. It's nearly impossible to come back from 3-1, even if you're the superior team, let alone a pesky overachieving bunch like us. But here's the thing, the media and fans are always going on about how they hate cliche, boring, robotic answers. They want the truth. But when Alfredsson did just that, everyone bitches and reams him out. He's simply stating, when asked I might add, what everyone is thinking. No need to kill him for it. It's a nice moment of honesty, in an otherwise usual world of lies.If there's anyone who's ever put on an Ottawa Senators jersey that we can count on to never, ever give up, it's Daniel Alfredsson.