GDT: GAME 1 | PANTHERS VS SENATORS | THE ULLMARK ERA BEGINS | Thu Oct 10, 2024, 7PM

[SpezDispenser]

Hey guys! How did Norris look? Hoping his injury troubles are behind him.

He was one of the real bright spots IMO. Engaged in the play, along the boards, faceoffs. If that's game 1 after a long, arduous layoff, I'm very optimistic

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Hey guys! How did Norris look? Hoping his injury troubles are behind him.

I thought he was good on some shifts not so good on others. His line was not as effective as they should be. He was inconsistent with his engagement but he did show more will to engage than we saw last year. He had a good scoring chance early but not much after. Still a work in progress.

 

[BigRig4]

Hey guys! How did Norris look? Hoping his injury troubles are behind him.

Wasn't super noticeable one way or another

 

[WORLDSTARHIPHOP]

FWIW I also don't think we were outplayed as some make it out to be.

First I feel like we had the MUCH better rush chances in this game, Bob had to make quite a few good saves. Most of Floridas pressure was on the cycle, which we were able to keep outside mostly, so it felt like they were over us when the chances are lower xG.

To that point, compared to last year we barely gave up any odd man rushes (maybe one? I don't even recall). I know everyone loving UImark, but I remember many games last year where Korpi would have to face like back to back 2 on 1s multiple times in periods lol.

 

[swiftwin]

We badly outplayed them in the 1st, the 2nd was so-so, and we got badly outplayed in the 3rd.

Anyone is crazy if they thought we could outplay the champs for 60 minutes straight.

Ullmark was fantastic, but I wouldn't say he "stole" that one. We did what we needed to win. Played well enough to get the lead, then weathered the storm and kept things to the outside, limiting high danger chances. Sometimes, that's what you have to do to get the win.

 

[aragorn]

Need to play a team that isn’t Florida to really judge. Last night Linus played great. But we did do a good job at least in the second of keeping them to the perimeter.

Well it stands to reason that if you can beat the defending Champions, the best team in the NHL you should be able to beat anyone. With the improvements Staois has made especially in net IMO they now have a chance to beat any team, although I think we all understand they aren't going 82-0.

 

[bicboi64]

Incoming 40g season for Stu. Had so much fun screaming at the TV, especially in the 3rd!

 

[SensontheRush]

People say they played poorly defensively last night and I disagree. That's just Hockey; a strong team like the Panthers is going to floor it the rest of the game in an attempt to tie it. We did everything that was necessary to hold them back, and kept them to stoppable opportunities for Ullmark to make the save. We remained focused throughout, and demonstrated a true dog-it-out defensive game.

In the past this is clearly a game we lose, but not just because of our better goaltending, but also our commitment to playing the right way.

 

[Big Muddy]

People say they played poorly defensively last night and I disagree. That's just Hockey; a strong team like the Panthers is going to floor it the rest of the game in an attempt to tie it. We did everything that was necessary to hold them back, and kept them to stoppable opportunities for Ullmark to make the save. We remained focused throughout, and demonstrated a true dog-it-out defensive game.

In the past this is clearly a game we lose, but not just because of our better goaltending, but also our commitment to playing the right way.

I think the feedback was generally more specific and what I’ve read multiple times in here is we had trouble getting out of our own zone, which was true. You could see that if you were watching, and the announcers said it several times. For one of those occasions, they specifically mentioned the amount of time the puck was in our zone which was roughly 2 1/2 minutes. There were several instances that the puck was in our zone for extended stretches. Ullmark made the saves though. That part is true.

 

[PatrickEaves]

Well it stands to reason that if you can beat the defending Champions, the best team in the NHL you should be able to beat anyone. With the improvements Staois has made especially in net IMO they now have a chance to beat any team, although I think we all understand they aren't going 82-0.

Speak for yourself. I for one believe we are winning the next 97 games in a row.

 

[Cosmix]

Saying this team needs to improve is like saying water is wet. It's not something that needs to be harped about night in and night out. We've already been through the wringer enough. Sometimes our fans needs something to celebrate. We don't need to constantly hear that improvement is needed. In fact, most of us are smart enough to realize that, so why the f*** say it out loud? Or do you think were all just dumb homers?


This is more like what I saw tonight.

You're too sensitive.

Speak for yourself. I for one believe we are winning the next 97 games in a row.

I am going to create a betting site just for you.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Incoming 40g season for Stu. Had so much fun screaming at the TV, especially in the 3rd!

This isn't as stretch. He was dealing with an injury last year. If I recall, it was a wrist injury. That explains his lowered goal output.

I'm going to say 50+. He's too much of a game breaker. This is going to be the year, at least production wise, that he cements himself in the conversation with the top 10 forwards in the league. I don't see him getting to that McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Draisaitl type tier - but I could see him being in the mix with the dozen or so guys right below them who are all perceived to be franchise type producers.

The guy falls down a lot though.

 

[Big Muddy]

We badly outplayed them in the 1st, the 2nd was so-so, and we got badly outplayed in the 3rd.

Anyone is crazy if they thought we could outplay the champs for 60 minutes straight.

Ullmark was fantastic, but I wouldn't say he "stole" that one. We did what we needed to win. Played well enough to get the lead, then weathered the storm and kept things to the outside, limiting high danger chances. Sometimes, that's what you have to do to get the win.

True, but it's unlikely anybody (or many) thinks or said that. I did see a lot of people mentioning that it was predictable that the Panthers were tough to beat and expected a surge after our strong 1st period.

 

[Cosmix]

I think what I’ve read multiple times in here is we had trouble getting out of our own zone, which was true. You could see that if you were watching, and the announcers said it several times. For one of those occasions, they specifically mentioned the amount of time the puck was in our zone which was roughly 2 1/2 minutes. There were several instances that the puck was in our zone for extended stretches. Ullmark made the saves though. That part is true.

Yes we did have trouble getting the puck out of our zone.

Part of it was caused by the Panthers strong forechecking (they are very good at it); part of it was caused by exhaustion (certain players stayed on the ice too long); and part of it was caused by being outplayed due in some cases to being less skilled.

There is still much work to be done by the coaching staff to get the team to play a consistently better defensive game (they have only just begun). There is also work to be done by the GM to get better players (e.g., 3rd pair D) but that will take more time too (e.g., Waiting for Yak, not Godot).

 

[DrEasy]

One day after Game 1, some general thoughts:

- we all seem to agree that many of our wingers were unnoticeable or unengaged: Giroux, Tkachuk, Batherson among them. I wonder if this is a system problem or due to individual performances / babies?

- defensemen skating with the puck out of the zone, slowing the game down when needed: we didn't see enough of this. We saw instead some quick passing, which sometimes worked, especially in the first period, not so much the rest of the way. Is this a system decision, or was Chabot bad? Wish we had another D on our 3rd line who could do this, we used to have one...

- 4th line: as many predicted Gaudette is not a fit there. I didn't watch pre-season, so I can only rely on HFers observation than Jenik may be a better fit. I thought Cousins was good, and Gregor had his good moments where his speed shined. But I imagine next game they might just replace Gaudette with MacEwen.

 

[bicboi64]

This isn't as stretch. He was dealing with an injury last year. If I recall, it was a wrist injury. That explains his lowered goal output.

I'm going to say 50+. He's too much of a game breaker. This is going to be the year, at least production wise, that he cements himself in the conversation with the top 10 forwards in the league. I don't see him getting to that McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Draisaitl type tier - but I could see him being in the mix with the dozen or so guys right below them who are all perceived to be franchise type producers.

The guy falls down a lot though.

If he scores 50g that'd be phenomenal. I'm going to hope for just a conservative career high of 40g lol

 

[Cosmix]

Fantastic win against the best forecheck in the league.
Florida is a wagon. We looked a hell of a lot better against Florida than perennial playoff team Boston.

The team is getting better. Hat off to Staios for the Ullmark trade and signing.

 

[DrEasy]

Watching the highlights now and I must say it was a great debut for the new play by play guy in Matt Cullen

In case people are wondering, Matt Cullen the announcer is not to be confused with the one who played in the NHL. I checked wikipedia.

 

[LiseL]

I just wagered way too much on the sens and sens players to score. I am committed to this team, are you?

You won on the win, did you win on the players too? Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[LiseL]

I’m in. Logging in now. 100 on money line and another Hindi on the spread. 50 Pinto to score. God help me I’m pumped.

Great call, that Pinto goal was a beauty. Love that APP line (Amadio, Pinto, Perron). Need a goal? We've got an APP for that . Not my invention, someone in the Coming in Hot podcast came up with it. Just wanted to share cause I thought it was so good.

Ya tough for the Panthers. They escaped Florida and hurricane Milton only to run into hurricane Stützle

A little clairvoyant are we? Great call, Stu is back.

 

[lang006]

They really are impressive. Every single guy on that roster fights hard to win every single puck battle like they're in game 7 of a playoff series. Kudos to Paul Maurice for getting those guys to play that way.

But, I'll also point out that they do a TON of interference.... really pushing the rules to the edge. If the Sens did that they'd be killing penalties the entire game.

Agreed on the interference calls or lack thereof. Mikkola was shocked when they finally called him for it. I think they only did call it because there was a couple non calls that Florida got away with right before that play. When you become a top team and establish a style you can often get away with more than the bottom feeders. Hopefully we are on our way to not being a doormat any longer. I liked the battle the guys showed last night against a heavyweight team. Hope it continues.

 

[2CHAINZ]

You won on the win, did you win on the players too? Enquiring minds want to know.

I won on the moneyline; I won on sens -1.5. I won Sanderson point, Sanderson assist, Sanderson pp point, stu goal, stu pp point, stu point, Norris pp point, Norris point. I also won 2 parlays, including a same-game parlay with a Sens win, a Sanderson assist, a Norris point, and a stu point. I also won a four-game parlay with Sens, Boston, St. Louis, and Kings.

I lost all my other bets but profited around 1800.

I also want to make sure I say I put no thought into what I was doing and just purely gambled like an idiot. Don't do what I did and gambling is stupid

 

[lang006]

In case people are wondering, Matt Cullen the announcer is not to be confused with the one who played in the NHL. I checked wikipedia.

Thanks for digging into it. I was actually wondering that last night. I got to figure it’s mainly just color commentary guys that are former players.

 

[Blotto71]

Fantastic win against the best forecheck in the league.
Florida is a wagon. We looked a hell of a lot better against Florida than perennial playoff team Boston.

Upon reflection, I've come to appreciate your point of view.

 

[LiseL]

I miss this

I just sent a message to the Sens on Twitter asking them if it was ever coming back. Maybe if enough fans tell them how much they like it, they'll consider bringing it back. I don't think of it as part of Dorion/Melnyk but part of the Sens identity. Andlauer and Co. have been really good at honoring the Sens past/history, hopefully the intro song falls into that category.