Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sporting new sweaters the Sens snap their skid


The Ottawa Senators introduced their third jersey on Saturday, a solid black fashion statement with Sens emblazoned across the front. A not particularly impressive piece of clothing as the Ottawa Citizen puts it, but if it means a few W’s in the proper place in the standings then by all means don’t go changing.

The Sens found Saturday afternoon hockey to their liking, as they handled the New York Rangers quite handily on the way to a 4 - 1 victory at Scotiabank Place. The early game in Hockey Night in Canada’s much discussed Original Six night found the Rangers struggling while the Senators returned to the form that many had been hoping for when the season started.

The Senators main line of Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson had possibly their best game as a unit this season, completely in control of the puck whenever they were on the ice. Between the three of them, the first line Senators fired off sixteen of the thirty six shots taken at New York goaltender Stephen Valiquette. The Rangers as an entire team could only manage nineteen shots of their own at Alex Auld, who once again played well in the Ottawa end of the rink, this time rewarded for his hard work with a Win from his team mates.

Overall, the win was a team affair for the Senators, with all of the lines providing for input into the win, in particular Jarko Ruutu who used his aggravating style to perfection, managing to get the Rangers completely off their game and spending far too much time showing him with attention that might have been better spent elsewhere.

Superstition is a key element for many NHL players, considering the Senators struggles so far this year and the rumblings of discontent among the fan base in the nation’s capital, one wonders that with Saturday’s breaking of the skid, that those third jersey’s will be used a little more frequently than originally planned.
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