The Universal Cynic

Initial thoughts on Game 2...

Ottawa showed improvement -- they outplayed Buffalo for the vast majority of the game. However, Ryan Miller will be completely redeemed after tonight because Ottawa pelted the Buffalo goalie with 43 shots over 60 minutes. On the other side, Emery probably won't get a free pass from the critics, because he only faced 17 shots and barely a handful of serious chances. In other words, he has yet to squelch the criticism that began Friday night.

I don't know whether it's better to assume Daniel Alfredsson and Zdeno Chara are suppressing undisclosed injuries, or to surmise that they're simply demonstrating indifferent play. It pains me to suggest the latter, specifically in Chara's case (remember that he sat out of a recent practice, which could indicate something's up from a physical standpoint). Don Cherry referred to Alfredsson as "disinterested" tonight. I think that's the wrong choice of words. But his play definitely lacks passion, and there must be a reason behind it. Tonight's game was one of significance -- you could even use the term "desperation game" in Ottawa's case. Chara and Alfie's respective games said otherwise. But we have yet to understand the reasons why.