I sometimes get grief about being a complete homer on the show. I am a big Sens fan. I was born here. I grew up in Richmond. What else would I be? I loved the Habs as a kid and later became a ‘Hawks fan. But when my hometown got a team, the switch was automatic and immediate.
TGOR obviously isn’t the type of show that demands I put that bias away. This just in - we’re more about having fun than objectivity and journalism. Heck, we employ a Leaf fan. While I love doing the show, I’d also have a blast doing a hardcore NHL show. I’d have no problem pretending to put my Senator allegiance away, up on the top shelf where momma keeps the homemade cliches. But I don’t have to.
This is all a long lead up to what I wanted to say today. I’m a Sens fan, not a cheerleader.
When we do get into a serious hockey discussion, I don’t try to polish crap. If the Sens play like crap, I’ll say so. As in, here at the quarter turn, Martin Gerber and the Sens have played like crap. However, through the first month and a half, I’ve said the same thing every day. This team is too talented for the crap to continue all season.
Don’t worry. I’m not sounding the all clear because the Sens have beaten the best team in the NHL twice in four nights. Anybody who does that is as ridiculous as those who’ve been burying the Sens since mid-October. While those wins are encouraging, that’s all they are. Positive steps.
I believe this team will finish in the top 2 in points in the Eastern Conference. That’s not based on these latest two wins or being a fan. It’s just based on a simple comparison of Eastern Conference rosters, something I did in early October. Only the full 82 games will establish the accuracy of that statement. Not 20.
These 20 games will have no bearing on their playoff fate. That will rest on two things. 1) A collective willingness to pay the price, a charge Chris Neil and Mike Fisher have led so far. Others will need to be recruited. 2) A hot goalie.
