Preview: Battle of Ontario Round 2

Pre-Game: 7:00 p.m., Leafs TV
Broadcast: 7:30 p.m., Sportsnet, Leafs TV Interactive, AM640
Post-Game: 10:00 p.m. Leafs TV
Post Video: mapleleafs.com

 
Mmmmmm, Feisty!

Previous Meetings

Did you know?

"I have to play smart, I have to take care of my own end first," said Deveaux, who was a teammate in junior with centre Matt Stajan with the Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League.

Oh Godd no! Another Belleville Bull! Don't forget to choose another number rook.

REMEMBER YOUR SPG PICKS

I hope that the sens wear their new jerseys tonight!

So, how many is that now, Roy? Eight? Nine? I'm pretty sure it's nine. We've been in the League for 16 years, and we've had nine different jerseys. Look, I understand how you want to milk us for everything we have...after all, "fan" is short for "fanatic" and those skull waxes ain't going to pay for themselves. But could you at least pretend you're putting a little effort into it? Your latest bit of marketing "genius", following hard on the footsteps of our friend Spartacus and (blech) "A Force United!" looks like it was cobbled together by very enthusiastic yet slightly delayed preschoolers.

Poor Eugene. Lost his company, under investigation, and trying to revive the team with new jerseys.

James Gordon, of the actually quite good newspaper blog Hockey Capital in the Ottawa Citizen, picks up on one of the more obscure potential digs about the new jersey...err uniform system:

Say you're a Florida Panthers fan who got some free tickets to a game for being alive. You might go to the game, see "Sens," and wonder: "What exactly is a Sen?" You might even go home and Google "definition of Sen." If you did that, you would get sites that provide definitions like:

- "The term 'Special Educational Needs', or SEN, has a legal definition." - BBC

That is both hilarious and quite fitting. Not to belittle those that work with those with special needs but maybe an educational campaign aimed at rectifying the defect that is senators fandom could be launched to help those poor unfortunate sould. Things in ottawa are so bad that even "national affairs" writers can pick the club apart:

You could look long and hard but you will not find a more frank or critical piece written on the Ottawa Senators and their recent history than the sledgehammer that Jeffrey Simpson brought down today in the Globe and Mail.

Perhaps it takes the perspective of the outsider which might be the reason that no local beat writer has taken on the task of penning such a thought out and all-encompassing take on the Senators precipitous drop of the last two seasons.

Jeremy Milks tries valiantly to respond to the criticism in a balanced way (he succeeds while Graeme Nichols flails about like a scorned woman) but the conclusion is a painful one:

There are worse places to be.

Like Tampa.

At least the Senators don't have their nickname on the front of their...errr.. nevermind.

Painful for them of course, not for us. While we still can, let's take a look at something else that must be painful for senators fans:

SENShobo has a comprehensive preview for the game tonight and brings up a hopeful thought: 

If there was a night for a smoldering rivalry to burst into flames again, it’s hard to imagine a better one than at home against the Leafs.

Just please, Andre, Leafs, don’t look to make an impression on Leafs fans, part II, with White’s and Fletcher’s advice on how you should play.

In case you were wondering how best to make a great first impression Andre:

If you are a quick typer, tonight Scarlett Ice will be hosting a Battle of Ontario liveblog using Cover It Live. I'll be by in the intermissions (here too of course) to rub salt in the sens fans' wounds as the Leafs open the gap over their provincial rivals.