12/21/24
May 10, 2006
The Dominator may be back.: Dom Hasek's practicing again. Ottawa says he won't skate in game three...but if Ottawa can turn this series into a six- or seven-gamer, then Hasek may very well become the x-factor for the Sens against his old team in Buffalo. So he may be back. Will it matter?
posted by diastematic to hockey at 04:14 PM - 32 comments
hb you are exactly right man haha, they had to shoot a puck through a 2 by 4 inch hole where his groin would be. Let's just hope he can't stop the puck.
posted by buffalo will never win at 04:42 PM on May 10, 2006
By the way it was WGR 550 and they rule. GO SABRES!!!!
posted by buffalo will never win at 04:43 PM on May 10, 2006
go leafs go...go leafs go....oops that was 36 years ago...sorry
posted by fieldman at 05:13 PM on May 10, 2006
are you crazy the last thing i want to see is the best golie in the world between the pipes.
posted by brokenfader at 05:19 PM on May 10, 2006
OK, but really...if Hasek comes back, do any of you think he'll be a factor? Putting on my Sabres hat: as much as I'd love to see the Sabres nail him, ya gotta admit that Hasek's still pretty good...while Emery's not performed well at all during this series. More with my hat on: Hasek WON'T be back, because for whatever reason he's never been willing to fight through the slightest amount of pain for his team, especially when they need him most. He wimped out in Buffalo, he's wimping out in Ottawa. All of this, of course, just adds to the drama.
posted by diastematic at 06:44 PM on May 10, 2006
He wimped out in Detroit, too...
posted by lpaulson at 08:47 PM on May 10, 2006
I have loved Dominik since he came to Buffalo, and I still like him, even though he is no longer with us. I think the news of him coming back is about the same as the news of Primeau coming for Philly - something to boost the club. Don't think it will happen and if it does, how effective will he be? Playoffs is where you catch a rythmn. Secondly, Ottawas defense (or the Canadian spelling defence) has looked horrible and Emery has been hung out to dry too many times. Woudl they tighten their play up for the Dominator? Looks like both series in the East will be a sweep. Someone lives in Carolina (from another post) and goes to Hurricane games. I live in Carolina right now and was wondering how the crowd treats people from the opposing team wearing their colors? I want to go see a game between Sabres and Hurricanes.
posted by Stealth_72 at 06:51 AM on May 11, 2006
Don't be a loud-mouth dickhead and you won't get anything but good-natured ribbing. If that. However, there are a metric shitload of you Buffalo people down here and I'm sure y'all are snapping up tickets like mad. I personally know a few that are Sabres fans first, but also are fans of the Canes and go to a lot of games. I'm afraid that the Canes front office is about to get shot in the butt for pissing off their loyal fanbase with the idiotic way they ambushed us with sudden price hikes. There are a lot of folks that are dropping all of their seats. I can pretty much guarantee that those seats will be filled by a Sabres fan.
posted by NoMich at 07:44 AM on May 11, 2006
I went down to Carolina for the Leafs series in 2002 and I can tell you Stealth that it was a fantastic time and the people were wonderful hosts. We all yelled and screamed at each other, then got ridiculously hammered together and had a blast. Go. Hasek may want to play, but I'm not so sure the team management does - they're still mad at him. But down 3-0, what the hell is there to lose? He has a better shot at a surprise shutout stoning than Emery does. The Sens play better in front of Hasek. They play scared in front of Emery.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:16 AM on May 11, 2006
They play scared in front of Emery. Ain't that the truth. I've seen commentary on several blogs talking about how the Ottawa D is over-compensating because they don't trust Emery, evidenced by the pee wee level mistakes on odd man rushes.
posted by garfield at 08:33 AM on May 11, 2006
Too little, too late for the Sens. I think Emery is going to be an alright NHL goalie, his guys are just awful in front of him lately. Ottawa D is the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.
posted by HATER 187 at 10:58 AM on May 11, 2006
The Sens will not make it to game 5 let alone 6-7! This and all of the other series this round are over.. Sharks and Canes .. Sharks in 6.
posted by phillygator at 11:09 AM on May 11, 2006
Don't start counting those chickens yet. The Canes have a few ex-Flyers in their lineup. *cough-choke-cough*
posted by njsk8r20 at 11:50 AM on May 11, 2006
Ottawa's coaching staff definitely doesn't want to put Hasek in there. When asked if he was going to do a goalie change, the coach responded that they weren't going to put Morrisson in net. A bit of a slap, that. It's all moot now anyway. They can put the spirit of Sawchuck in net and it's not going to be enough to bring them back from a three game deficit.
posted by mkn at 12:32 PM on May 11, 2006
I agree the odds are long, and realistically think the Sabres will move on, but this Sens team is one of the few that I would bet could pull off the 0-3 comeback. The Sens need to make some adjustments and take the game away from tbe Sabres(getting lots of shots on a team willing to give up a lot of shots from where they want isn't dictating the game), but on paper they have the personnel to pull it off.
posted by garfield at 12:42 PM on May 11, 2006
Garf - it's funny you should mention that. I just get the general feeling that this second round has been a yawner and that the planets are aligned and moon is in the seventh house and that the Sens are going to rise from the dead. Plus, somebody has to do it. The Red Sox did it. And this is the kind of cursed franchise - blessed with wall-to-wall talent and no success - that fits the storyline well. Remember, God writes these scripts and obviously hates Buffalo (see Super Bowl; Brett Hull). Bearing in mind that I am not psychic, have no reason to think this, and am a Leafs fan.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:24 PM on May 11, 2006
Weedy, it feels like we are breaking some cardinal sin of Leafdom merely by entertaining such a possibility, but there are several factors working in the Sens favor: a.) They've been in every game thus far and just aren't getting the puck luck...yet b.) They still have two games in Ottawa if they can stretch out the series, including a possible game 7. c.) If Hasek comes back anywhere near a level of play he is capable of, he can provide 1.5 wins by himself. d.) Not even the evil Senators deserve this kind of treatment by the Hockey gods. e.) It is about time the Sens learned how to win a game 1-0. f.) Might as well face adversity at some point. Look what it has done for the Sabres. Uh-oh, I've worked in 'sin' and 'god' in a non-traditional context into my comments....I might be in trouble. Do we have a Spofi Constitution, and is one of its founding principles the separation of church and sport?
posted by garfield at 01:43 PM on May 11, 2006
I can pretty much guarantee that those seats will be filled by a Sabres fan. Don't worry NoMich, even though Cole won't be playing, my whole hometown will probably still descend upon Buffalo in Canes Jerseys to even it out on the other side.
posted by Bernreuther at 02:40 PM on May 11, 2006
Thanks man. I really miss seeing him on the ice. He's been such a joy to watch all this season. Oh well, he'll be back next year. Near the end of last Saturday's game, he came out of the locker room and stood next to the bench. A camera caught him standing there so they put him on the jumbotron. The arena went absolutely coo-coo bananas.
posted by NoMich at 02:56 PM on May 11, 2006
Last week CBC showed Cole running over his old neckbrace with his truck. He now has a new, "small" one, which is still freaking huge. Damn shame, this injury.
posted by qbert72 at 03:07 PM on May 11, 2006
Weedy, it feels like we are breaking some cardinal sin of Leafdom merely by entertaining such a possibility, but there are several factors working in the Sens favor: And one huge factor working against them: They did not knock Leafs out of the playoffs. They had a chance on the last Saturday of the regular season, but they weren't able to get it done. Until that moment comes, they will not win the Stanley Cup. They must get past that hurdle first.
posted by grum@work at 03:07 PM on May 11, 2006
GBert, thanks for that link. Good read. Kind of annoying that Google News never showed that to me. I had been searching for info more definitive than a rotoworld article for a while. So there's no chance he'll be able to suit up in the finals, if they got that far, which is a real shame, since that would make him ineligible to have his name on the cup. Not good. Looks like Orpick is going to have a little something to worry about next year when they play...
posted by Bernreuther at 03:30 PM on May 11, 2006
second round has been a yawner The NJ and ANA series, sure, but did you see the game last night? All, what, five hours of it? Amazing game.
posted by mkn at 05:02 PM on May 11, 2006
So there's no chance he'll be able to suit up in the finals, if they got that far, which is a real shame, since that would make him ineligible to have his name on the cup. Not good. I'm not so sure about that. "...players appearing in 40 regular-season games or one Stanley Cup Final game for the championship team have seen their names engraved on the Cup. The NHL makes exceptions for players who do not meet the standard because of injury." Cole has 60 games played, so he'd definitely get his name on the Cup.
posted by grum@work at 05:36 PM on May 11, 2006
Oh, thanks. I could swear that a couple years back some announcers were talking about it and said you were required to have dressed for one game in either the playoffs or the cup series. Must have been someone who was hurt in the playoffs and also acquired by trade at the deadline. Now go get that cup, Canes!
posted by Bernreuther at 06:57 PM on May 11, 2006
Or maybe I could read the link and see that it was exactly that example, Jiri Slegr, that I was half-recalling.
posted by Bernreuther at 06:58 PM on May 11, 2006
Don't stick a fork the Sens yet, fellas! There is life in them thar hills.
posted by NoMich at 09:55 PM on May 11, 2006
Grum@work I'm also pretty sure that Vladmir Konstantinov had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1998.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:45 AM on May 12, 2006
One win ain't nothin'. If the Sens can dominate Game 5 and win big, we have a series on our hands. But the 2-1 nailbiters won't cut it for Ottawa at this point. If every game is as close as last night's, they're bound to lose one more. Fortunately, the real Senators -- the team that scored 312 goals this season -- have yet to show up in this series. Here's hoping they arrive Saturday night, in time for the game.
posted by Succa at 08:00 AM on May 12, 2006
I think Ottawa will win 5-2 next game, Succa. Unless Buffalo scores early, they'll likely see their real opportunity in game 6. But the first ten minutes of this next game will be played whilst on fire. It'll be break-neck speed. I can't wait.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:59 AM on May 12, 2006
You dreamers are beautiful.
posted by qbert72 at 10:27 AM on May 12, 2006
I think the Sabres would LOVE a chance to play against Hasek -- they're still pretty sore at him for leaving -- I think I heard something on the Buffalo sports radio station about a contest where you have to try and hit a cut-out Hasek in the groin.