ottawa senators

Yes, The Senators Are Still Boring

The best way to shut anyone up—the best comeback for literally anything critical anyone is saying about your team—is to score a whole bunch of goals. The Senators, very accurately derided as a “boring” team to watch thanks to their neutral-zone-coagulating defense and a drowsy transition game, exploded for four goals…

Phil Kessel Yelled A Lot And Scored

Phil Kessel is relatable, which is a nice way of saying that he’s large and goofy. But as with all world-class athletes, we must resist the urge to see too much of our pathetic selves in him. Kessel is, obviously, one of the most talented offensive players in hockey—he’s quietly having a hell of a postseason, now up…

Bobby Ryan Overtime Goal Earns Ottawa Game 1 Win

Bobby Ryan’s goal five minutes into overtime put Ottawa up 1-0 in their Eastern Conference final series against Pittsburgh after the Senators claimed a 2-1 win over the Penguins.

Erik Karlsson Put The Senators On His Back

If you want a measure of how valuable defenseman Erik Karlsson is to the Ottawa Senators, all you need to do is look at how much they use him.

Ottawa Takes 3-2 Series Lead On Kyle Turris Overtime Goal

Jimmy Vesey’s heroics did not hold up as Ottawa tied up the Rangers with 90 seconds remaining in regulation and then scored 6:28 into overtime as Kyle Turris scored his third career playoff OT goal to give the Senators a 5-4 win and a 3-2 series lead.

The Rangers Are Too Much And Too Fast For The "Kanata Wall"

The Senators are not a fast team, or at least that’s not how they want to play. They are a team designed to win close, low-scoring games, and they’ve generally done so with an effective defense designed by coach Guy Boucher to funnel everything to the sides of the ice. But the Rangers are barging straight ahead.

In Praise Of A Perfect Helper

The Rangers’s 4-1 pummeling of the Senators in Game 3 was maybe the most expected thing in the world. New York is almost certainly the better team to begin with in this series, and has played like the better team for long stretches of it. Here’s a stat: Still down 2-1 after last night’s win, the Rangers have now led…

Erik Karlsson Won Game 1 On A Freakishly Lucky Goal

The longer the Ottawa Senators stay alive in the playoffs, the more recognition Erik Karlsson is going to get for being one of the greatest hockey players on the planet (and certainly the most underrated). Though Karlsson’s game-winning goal is not exactly evidence of it.

Clarke MacArthur Isn't Here For The Feel-Good Story

A few months ago, Clarke MacArthur was thinking about retiring. He didn’t know if he’d ever be cleared to play hockey again, and even if he were, he didn’t know if it would be safe. Now he’s a huge reason the Senators are moving on.

The Bruins Can't Catch A Break

Don’t look now, but the Senators have won three straight since we all made fun of that tweet. Smart-asses that we are, maybe we shouldn’t have decided to forget, for the sake of trolling, that possession stats tend to show up on the scoreboard eventually.

Yeah, The Bruins Got Hosed

When writing a gamer, it can be tough to find just the right verb. You can’t just say a team “won” every time, or that they “beat” their opponents, because overuse gets boring, and you want to convey something of the substance of the game. Did they “dominate,” “thrash,” or “spank” the other team? Or did they merely…

Erik Karlsson's Hail Mary Set Up A Marvelous Goal

Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson set up Mike Hoffman’s opening goal against the Bruins this evening with an inch-perfect pass he lofted over the heads of a few defenders from his own goal. Hoffman received it coolly and banged in a sly little finish of his own.

The Senators Gave Up Two Goals In The Third Period And Lost. Can A Social Media Editor Tell Us If That Is Good?

Mark Stone Knocked Out Of Game By Being Checked In The Head

Jacob Trouba’s shoulder cracked Mark Stone’s face and knocked the Senators forward out of the game—drawing just a two-minute minor penalty, to the dismay of Ottawa fans and coach Guy Boucher.