The last 48 hours have been a perfect example of how Jason Spezza is the most polarizing figure on the Senators roster. http://www.cowboysstore.us.com/Black-70-Zack-Martin-Womens-Jersey/ . On Monday night, many fans in this city placed the blame squarely on the captain for his role in the James Neal overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the very next night, Spezza answered his critics with a clutch three-point performance that included a pair of beautiful assists in a stunning 5-4 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues. On both nights, our radio station was flooded with calls and e-mails from fans wanting to talk about Spezza. The first night we heard from his detractors and, on the second, we heard from his defenders. Its a predictable pattern with the fans here in Ottawa. When Spezza plays poorly, his critics say you cannot win with him. When he generates offence, the negative comments disappear into the cold night air. There is no arguing that Spezza has had a rough season in 2013-14. In many ways, Spezza is having a similar season to Eric Staal in Carolina. Staal has 14 goals and 44 points and was left off Team Canadas roster because of his slow start. Spezza has 15 goals and 42 points – numbers that look awfully similar to Staals. The Sens captain sits 24th in scoring amongst centremen in the NHL, a ranking that suggests that he is still a legitimate number-one centre in a 30-team league. Spezza is also only one point behind Kyle Turris on the team scoring list without the luxury of playing with the same quality of linemates so far this season. And while everyone can agree that Turris is trending upwards, most believe that the opposite is true for Spezza. Those who are into analytics have been trumpeting Spezzas poor Corsi numbers all season long as tangible proof of his declining skills. After Monday nights loss, where Spezza failed to clear the puck out of his own zone, many fans who arent into advanced stats said they had reached their breaking point with the captain. We were bombarded with "Trade Spezza" e-mails and calls and there seemed like a growing distaste for his style of play in Ottawa. One of the most common complaints I heard from fans is that Spezza needs to earn his $7 million salary. But what fans need to remember about Spezza is that his contract is set up very favorably for next season. While he carries a cap hit of $7 million, he will actually only get paid $4 million in actual money for the 2014-15 campaign. (Spezza is being paid $5 million this season as his front-loaded contract starts to decline). And for a team like Ottawa that is desperate to reach the salary cap floor, this contract is an absolute dream. For next season, the Sens are getting $3 million of salary cap space eaten up for nothing. If the Sens were a spend-to-the-cap team, this deal would be an issue for them, but the exact opposite is true and that is why I would expect the Senators to hang onto their captain. He gives them $7 million of salary cap space for the price of $4 million. And now ask yourself this important question: Would you pay Jason Spezza $4 million to play next season? Of course you would. In a world where the oft-injured Martin Havlat will be making $6 million next season and Mike Ribeiro will be making $5.5 million, Spezza is absolutely a bargain at $4 million in real dollars. He wont even rank among the top 50 forwards in salary next season. As his salary is lowered, perhaps the expectations on Spezza could follow suit. He is 30 years old and no longer surrounded by snipers like Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson. But at $4 million dollars next season, Jason Spezza will be worth every penny that he is paid. Cowboys Jason Witten Jersey .C. -- The Edmonton Oilers used a late-power-play goal to get a hard-fought road victory. Cowboys Bob Lilly Authentic Jersey . MARIE, Mich.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Ryan Suter had a career-best performance, and the Minnesota Wild made NHL history -- all part of one impressive comeback Saturday night. Suter had Minnesotas first three-goal game by a defenceman, helping the Wild rally for a 5-3 win over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Minnesota earned its second straight win despite being outshot 30-11, becoming the first team since the NHL officially began tracking shots on goal in 1973-74 to score five goals on fewer than 12 shots, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Suter completed his first career hat trick with the biggest goal of the game, putting the Wild ahead 5-3 seconds after Minnesota had killed off an opportunity for Washingtons power-play unit, which ranks No. 2 in the NHL. Suter jumped into the play straight out of the penalty box to create a 2-on-1 with Clayton Stoner, and then beat Braden Holtby from the left faceoff circle with 12:23 to play in the third. "I came out of the box and saw some of their guys were changing there and Stony made a great play getting the puck over," Suter said. "I was hoping he was going to pass. I was just hoping I didnt miss the net." Minnesota shut out Ovechkin, the NHLs leading goal scorer with 31. Ovechkin hit the post in the final minute as the Capitals tried to rally from a two-goal deficit. Mike Green had two goals and Marcus Johansson also scored for the Capitals, who are 1-3-3 in their last seven games. "Were going through a lousy stretch right now where were playing some good hockey and getting some lousy results," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Eleven shots (allowed) on the road should be good enough. But its not, so we need to find a way to play just a little bit better." Washington controlled the action early on, outshooting Minnesota 11-1 in the first and taking a 2-0 lead with two goals in a 13-second span midway through the period. Johansson pushed a rebound past Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom for a power-play goal. Then off the ensuing faceoff, Jason Chimera picked up a loose puck at the Minnesota blue line and passed to Green, who made a move around Minnesotas Matt Cooke and beat Backstrom with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. "The first period, I really dont think we couldve scripted that any better," Capitals centre Brooks Laich said. "Two-nothing lead, they havve one shot, theyre not in our zone, theyre getting booed off the ice after 20 minutes by their own fans on a Saturday night. Cowboys DeMarco Murray White Jersey. . Were in total control of that game." But the Wild rallied in the second, thanks to a couple of ill-timed penalties by the Capitals. Suter scored twice on the same power play after the Capitals took two minors in four seconds. He tied the game on a wrist shot from between the circles with the Wild on a 5-on-3 advantage. He then gave Minnesota the lead 42 seconds later when his shot from the same spot on the ice slipped past a screened Holtby, erasing the sour taste left by the games first 20 minutes. "Yeah, first period was terrible," Suter said. "(We) didnt have a lot of energy. We came in here, got yelled at, and went out and played the way we needed to play. (Dany Heatley) did a good job on those two power-play goals. He was in front of the goalie and he couldnt even see the puck. The little things are making the difference." Green caught a break with an odd bounce for his second goal of the night, tying it at 3. Off a faceoff, he flipped the puck off the end boards, but it caromed off Backstroms left skate and into the net. Jason Zucker tied it three minutes later with another power-play goal after a second Washington penalty for delay of game when Mikhail Grabovski shot the puck into the crowd. "Putting it in the stands - we talk about details all the time and we get two of them tonight and they score on both of them," Oates said. "Its just frustrating in general, for all of us." Minnesota snapped a franchise-record six-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Buffalo on Thursday. Now it heads West for a road trip with a little momentum after the victory over the Caps. "When you have that consistency in your game, thats when you get consistent results, and so thats our challenge now," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "We have to come into our next game and we have to be determined to be better than we were tonight." NOTES: Ovechkins assist in the first-period was the 376th of his career, passing Dale Hunter for third place on the Capitals franchise list. ... The Wild put D Jared Spurgeon on the IR with a lower-body injury and recalled RW Brett Bulmer from Iowa of the AHL to replace him on the roster. ... After going 40 games without a goal this year, Suter now has five in his last four games. ' ' '
