Quick pre-game thoughts

Tonight's game, I believe, is the culmination of a lot of hard work from Senators players over the past 2 weeks. After beating Washington, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo, it seems fitting that the Sens would take on last year's Eastern Conference Champions--the tests just keep coming, and Ottawa seems up to the task at the moment.

Despite various injuries to key players, the Sens have found the depth and strength to move forward. Looking at previous games, it hasn't always been Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, or even Milan Michalek, who have been contributing the majority of the offence.

Against Columbus, Jesse Winchester had assists on both of the Sens goals. When Ottawa took on Washington, Filip Kuba collected three assists and Ryan Shannon, Winchester, and Peter Regin all had points.

I know I've said this before... but this grand scheme from Bryan Murray to add depth to the team might actually be working. Hopefully I didn't put my foot in my mouth just minutes before the game begins. Let's see...

Send me your thoughts during the game @sensarmyblog.

Post-pre-season pre-season post (ha!)

...man that headline's way too clever.

The Senators have to cut about three players before the regular season begins, and made a tough decision today by putting Germany's least-known export Christoph Schubert on waivers. With his relatively cheap contract, NHL experience, big body, and versatility, I believe that someone will pick him up.

That just leaves two or three cuts to make. The only people remaining on the roster with two-way contracts are Peter Regin, Erik Karlsson, Brian Lee, and Matt Carkner. So... that seems like an easy choice. The only other people who might be expendable are Shean Donovan (yeah, my hate for him continues for some reason...) and Jesse Winchester.

One is led to believe that the biggest competition right now is between Lee and Karlsson for the puck-moving-up-and-comer-on-the-blueline spot. It would be a serious career setback for Lee if Special K (ha!) were to beat him for that place on the roster.

It's going to be a tough choice since it turns out that NHL GMs don't want to trade for the guys you're considering putting on waivers anyway.

Opening Night Blog update!

Momentum is building for the largest online meeting of Sens fans ever (I hope). I recently got confirmation from Five For Smiting and Silver Seven Sens are in (yaaaaaaaay!). And as an added bonus, you can sign up on the left side of the page for an email reminder for the big night. We'll be blogging during the game on Oct. 3 - the game's on CBC, so watch it and send us your comments!

I hope to see you then!

All The Way Home: Avs 3, Sens 2 (OT)

Wow. The Senators had 15 points on the road in their first 25 road games, but got nine on this five-game road trip. Says a lot about how this team's been playing of late, and for anyone to get 90 per cent of points available on such a disjointed road trip has to come (all the way) home feeling pretty darn good about their trip.

Ryan Shannon made this game for the Sens. He scored the Sens' two goals, one on a sneaky shot and the other a top-corner wrister from the point. He looks a little unusual playing the point on the powerplay, but it worked tonight. Shannon didn't make much of an impact in his first stint, but his recent seven-game stint under Cory Clouston has re-energized his line with Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno, and his speed is lethal.

In nets, Alex Auld made some big saves tonight, and was one of the main reasons the Sens walked out of the game with even one point. He stopped 24 of 27, including one terrific chance Ryan Smyth had in alone after a lucky home-ice bounce off the back boards.

For obvious reasons, ice time was pretty evenly distributed amongst the players tonight. It's a pretty important coaching tactic when playing the second game of a back-to-back, particularly in the mile-high city of Denver. No one had less ice time than Jesse Winchester's 10:52 (and he still had three shots), and Mike Fisher led the forwards with 18:28 on the night.

Could Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza have been more invisible on the night? Apparently Heatley had three shots, but they couldn't have been very good scoring chances, and the only moments I noticed Spezza were when he looked for an open pass with futility, eventually to lose the puck to an Avalanche player--such as what happened on Colorado's second goal, when Spezza lost the puck and then offered absolutely no defensive coverage when backchecking. They had one shift with any semblance of intensity, and that was with five minutes left in the third; and it didn't even generate a shot on net, as Heatley sent his one chance wide. But then Spezza's inability to get the puck in deep and severely lacking defensive coverage were the chief reasons for Wojtek Wolski's overtime winner. Need more offence than that from these guys, especially in such a difficult game.

In his 1,000th career NHL game, Jason Smith played an effective game. He had 18:11 of ice time, usually with Alex Picard, and he bailed out his younger defence partner a couple of times. And he even had a couple shots on net. As for Picard, I`ll give the guy a break because it was his first game in quite a while, but he didn`t look very good on the whole.

Got to laugh about Chris Kelly's continued offensive drought. The guy doesn't have a goal in 13 games including the Colorado game, and only has six on the year. He had Ottawa's best chance to go up 3-2 with about 80 seconds left in the third, but his clean shot from the slot went high and wide. Coupled with his empty-net post-clanger last night against Nashville, the guy's got to be damn frustrated.

So now it`s back home for a game against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Should be a good game, as both teams are pretty hot right now.

Damn: Habs 5, Sens 4 (SO)

It was an exciting game, at any rate, and the Sens did end up coming out of it with one point. That, however, is small consolation when I've had my hopes so high for so long.

I guess that's my own fault, though.

Still, through it all (if you watched the whole thing), the Senators kept us entertained. The Sens came out pretty strong in the first, but ran into penalty troubles early. It was a combination of the team playing precariously on the edge, and some weak calls. I don't like to blame refereeing, and I won't, but some weak calls--particularly Jason Spezza's second consecutive penalty, a slash on Andrei Kostitsyn mere seconds after A-Kost had blatantly tripped Dany Heatley, which was followed just eight seconds later with another weak penalty (to Daniel Alfredsson, no less) that set the Sens on the wrong side of a 5-on-3 that the Habs capitalized on--really set the Sens back. Ottawa had six penalties, and Montréal only had two; that wasn't the true case, if you measured actual infractions in the game.

Nonetheless, it happened, and the Sens were on their heels for a time. But a little more than four minutes after Alex Kovalev scored the first goal of the game, Chris Kelly replied to tie the game, and keep Sens fans in the game for the moment. The goal was resultant from some very solid board work on the part of Jesse Winchester (whose strength is in the trenches, and could stand to get back to it more often) and a nice pass from Jarkko Ruutu.

A-Kost scored a semi-weak dribbler a couple of minutes after Kelly, and late in the second Matt D'Agostini scored thanks to some weak coverage, and the Sens were down 3-1 and it looked all but over. The Sens got something they haven't gotten a lot of this season, though: A good break. A failed Habs pinch brought about a a 3-on-1 for the Sens, and Heatley "looked away" Jaroslav Halak while breaking down on his off-wing, and just snapped a wrister far side.

Then the Senators had to deal with something they've seen all too much of this season: A weak goal against. Tom Kostopolous fired a snapshot that Brian Elliott got a piece of, but not enough, and the Sens were back down two goals. After that, though, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Sens' big guns went out and took charge. Heatley scored his second of the game with assists from Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, and later on Mike Fisher fired one hell of a slap shot (I knew it would be lethal if he would just hit the net) thanks to another oh-so-unexpected pass from Chris Neil (two sick set-ups in two games? Where is this from, Neiler? Keep it up, though). We were off to overtime, and then a shootout, and the Senators' continued their shootout struggles.

I'm not going to rag on Elliott. In fact, I think I'm going to give him a pass all season. It's not just because he has Casey Jones painted on his helmet (but how freakin' awesome is that), I just think the kid's been thrown into a circus, and he's already done better than either of the other two goalies have done. He allowed two weak-ish goals, sure, but he also made two sick breakaway saves to keep the game from getting out of hand really quickly. Judging by body language, those saves were more inspiring than the weak goals were deflating. It seemed, at times, that the team was actually playing for one another; the skaters knew that Elliott deserved better than an uninspired loss, so they picked it up and salvaged something from the game, at the very least.

It wasn't a win, and it's all the more disappointing that it wasn't a win because it was against Montréal. Still, it had some good signs, and it's five of a possible six points in the last three games. At least there's that. Bring on Washington on Tuesday.

No-trick pony: Rangers 2, Sens 0

Another loss. Another ugly loss. Maybe they didn't play that badly, but they paid for their mistakes, and the Ottawa Senators didn't take advantage of mistakes the New York Rangers make. So the resulting 2-0 loss should be no surprise.

Still, despite his first NHL loss, you've got to give Brian Elliott credit. He came into the game looking extremely confident, and made plenty of big saves--none bigger than a breakaway save he made in the third period. I'm not sure if he should want to stay in Ottawa, considering the shit he'll get here compared to the All-Star start he'd get in the AHL, but Bruce Garrioch is under the impression that the Sens are on the verge of waiving Martin Gerber, so Elliott might be up here for a while.

(In another strange development, the Senators seem to be closely linked with All-Star goaltenders everywhere: Elliot was voted to be the started in the AHL's all-star game, and Ray Emery might have been the best goaltender in the Continental Hockey League's all-star game last night. It's too bad we don't have an NHL all-star.)

I'll also give Filip Kuba credit for his play in his return to the Sens lineup. He got a bum rap in the Sun for some of his board work, but Kuba had good defensive coverage and a definite positive effect on offensive zone pressure. Too bad he can't score goals. Still, he pinched in to help out a few times, and was good at getting back into position quickly.

Rough game for Jesse Winchester. He had one shift with two terrible giveaways, and didn't look solid on the night. For Winnie to get success, he needs to get back to the simple, reliable play he was executing earlier in the season. Come to think of it, a lot of Senators could use to simplify their game significantly.

It really is a shame that Christoph Schubert doesn't want to play forward. He's about ten times more effective as a forward, as evidenced by his team-high four hits last night. And even when he takes a shot and has it blocked--as happens extremely often with Schubert--at least he's not the last line of defence before the opposition gets a breakaway. Stick with forward, Schubert, you're better at it, and Ottawa's better for it.

Pre-game: Sens v. Leafs, Jan. 3, 2009

The Sens haven't lost a game since last year! Let's run with that, alright? Yeah, that works.

With Anton Volchenkov and Jesse Winchester both returning from their respective injuries, Ilya Zubov was sent back to Binghamton, and I'm betting Christoph Schubert will be scratched tonight. Zubov did well when he was in Ottawa, but I think he's still got some work to do on getting his decision-making speed up to NHL standards before he becomes an everyday scorer. His defensive awareness was better than anticipated, though, and he's got a place on the team in the future. As for Schubert, he was improved in the recent games, but Brian Lee has been better.

The forward lines, according to TSN, will look like this to start the game:

Heatley - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Neil
Vermette - Kelly - Ruutu
Donovan - McAmmond - Winchester

And, assuming Schubert is scratched, the d-pairing will probably look like this:

Phillips - Volchenkov
Bell - Picard
Smith - Lee

And Martin Gerber will get the start in nets. No comment. Okay, comment. I'm not sure how he earned the starting role, but he's got it now. For the time being.

As for other headlines, the Ottawa Sun is reporting that GM Bryan Murray is looking at trading the first-round pick acquired from Tampa Bay (which was San Jose's originally) for some immediate help for the team. Apparently the players on the roster have a low market value, which I find hard to believe.

And finally, James Mirtle from Around the Rink has Daniel Alfredsson ranked fourth on his Selke Watch of the league's top defensive forwards. His measure is based on the quality of competition players usually play against, and the goals against they are on the ice for. Three Minnesota Wild forwards are ahead of Alfie on the list. Although Alfredsson definitely deserves consideration for the award, it's not going to be based on statistics.

Gearing up for the Flames

After taking in the WJHC Germany vs Kazakhstan game this evening at 7:30pm (possibly dressed as Borat and spouting the inferiority of both Canadian potassium and Canadian hockey), I will settle down this evening and catch the Sens vs Flames at 10pm. I'm sure that Sens fans will experience the usual emotions of watching a game lately: hope, disappointment, resolve, anger, sadness, self-pity, and acceptance.

The Flames are 19-11-4 heading into this game, and the Sens are at 12-15-5. If you want to look on the bright side, the Sens are 4-5-1 in their last ten games, but haven't won one of the past ten road games. Oh sorry, I forgot about us being optimistic.

It's the same old crap on the Sens' bench. Craig Hartsburg can't decide whether Spezza and Heatley should be on the same line, Bryan Murray can't find anyone to trade with, and Sens beat writers have exhausted all possible talking points.

"Time for the players to take some of the blame. They are the ones not performing."
-Bruce Garrioch.

Insightful.

Don Brennan, in a few sentences, became my favourite sports writer:

"So you think they should deal Spezza? I don't. They do and they'll spend the next five years looking for a first-line centre who can score 100 points. I don't think you win without one."

Let common sense reign.

Injuries have cropped up for the Sens recently. Anton Volchenkov may not play tonight and Filip Kuba is not expected to dress. I'm going to keep a close eye on Brian Lee tonight to see if there's any chance he will play all of next season with the big club.

Jesse Winchester didn't travel with the team... and I hate to say it, but his year with the Senators is looking a lot like Randy Robitaille last season. He was expected to perform in the top two lines, but has only got 7 points in 29 games this year (Robitaille scored 29 points last season and signed with a Swiss team in the off-season).

Now I'm off to the Civic Centre to watch the Germans and Kazahks compete for 8th! The real thing I will be observing tonight is how bad the Kazahk goalie is... hmmm... will the Canadians score 4-7 goal? 8-10?9-12? or 12+ tommorow afternoon?

New lines released: Bass up, Lee down, Zubov out

According to Sportsnet, the Sens have released line combinations for the Sens' game Friday against the New Jersey Devils:

Vermette - Fisher - Alfredsson
Foligno - Kelly - Heatley
Ruutu - Spezza - Neil
Schubert - Bass - Donovan

According to the same report, Ilya Zubov will not be making the trip because his work visa has expired (how does a professional hockey team let that happen?), Jesse Winchester has an upper-body injury and didn't travel with the team, either, and Dean McAmmond is close to returning after a bout with pneumonia that has kept him out of the lineup for nine games. Which is why Christoph Schubert is dressing as a forward, and why Cody Bass was recalled from Binghamton.

I get that there are people who don't like the way Jason Spezza plays. But he's not a third-line player. He's been playing harder then I remember ever having seen him play before, but maybe this is just a sign for him to wake up and start generating--and capitalizing on--his own scoring chances. But playing him with Chris Neil? That's just not fair. Jarkko Ruutu can at least receive a pass, but I don't understand the idea behind putting Spezza with a couple guys who can hardly finish plays at all. If he is going to succeed, he's got to keep it simple: Send the puck to the front of the net, and hope that--if it doesn't go in on his shot or a deflection--Neil and Ruutu are right there to hammer home some garbage.

On defence, Anton Volchenkov is back from his injury. I guess they had to special-order some replacement pieces from Russia or something, because the robot had missed two games with his lower-body injury. As a result, Brian Lee is back to Binghamton after a solid two-game stint with the O-Sens.

I guess we'll see how it all works out. Hopefully one of the lines steps up and scores a freakin' goal.

The Game That Never Happened: Sens 1, Caps 5

This photo was constructed in Photoshop. There was no game in which it could have been taken.

Let's just pretend that there was no 5-1 loss last night. It will be easy for me because I didn't watch the game that didn't happen, so we'll just act like the Sens only play 81 games this regular season. Awesome.

We can still give statistical credit to the players who took part in The Game That Never Happened, though; Jesse Winchester scored his third goal of the season, because he needs it, and Nick Foligno and Alex Picard still notched assists.

There is, however, the unfortunate incident of trying to explain Anton Volchenkov's fluke injury. It's easy, really; he was using his snowblower on the outdoor rink, and when he ran over a puck it shot it out--but Volchenkov jumped in front of it, out of habit, and suffered an injury. For that reason, Brian Lee has been recalled from Binghamton. Even though Brendan Bell is already here, as is Christoph Schubert. But whatever.

Ilya Zubov was also called up from Bingo today, probably because Craig Hartsburg is going to scratch a forward in an effort to wake up his team. Will it work? Nothing's made them smarten up yet, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a try. I'm not sure, at this point, which player will be out of the lineup. Nor am I sure whether or not Dean McAmmond is ready to play, but I don't think he is.

And Martin Gerber will start tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning? That might be a can of worms you would rather leave closed, Hartsburg. Alex Auld is not the problem here. Hopefully it's just giving Auld another break.

To be honest, I can't believe a trade hasn't happened yet. I would say one is inevitable, but I've thought that trades were inevitable at many points this season and last season, and they just didn't happen.

Winchester guns down Gill while finding his game

Anyone else notice a newfound physical aspect to Jesse Winchester's game recently? Not just because he had his first two fights of his NHL career three games ago, or because he's now inflicted a 2-4-week shoulder injury on Penguins' Hal Gill two games ago. Just in general, though, Winch has been a lot harder on the forecheck and has probably been the Sens' most consistent bodycheck-finisher over the last five games or so. In that span, he's hovered around the 10-11 minute mark, has a combined eight shots on goal, 12 penalty minutes, and a whooping 17 hits. He may only have one assist and be -1 over that span, but at least he's bringing something to the table.

Coming into the season, high expectations had Winchester pencilled in to one of our top two lines. Although he's still got plenty of time to get used to the NHL pace, it's nice to see him play with an edge and perhaps establish a different-then-expected but still effective role for himself. With his ability to set a player up, there might be an opening on Mike Fisher's wing coming up soon, and Winchester could fit in well.

Fight card: Sens v. Thrashers, Dec. 3, 2008

Note Jarkko Ruutu's awesome fu manchu.

Fight card: A new feature, inspired by Pensburgh.com, highlighting the fight(s) that may take place during any given Sens game.

Boris Valabik v. Cody Bass, 8:31 first period:



Verdict: Even. Pretty big buildup, and not too many punches landed when the fight got on. Bass held up well despite a significant height disadvantage (6'0", against Valabik's 6'7"), and ended up on top when the two went down.

Jim Slater v. Jesse Winchester, 13:44 first period:



Verdict: Slater. But give Winnie plenty of credit for his first fight in the NHL: He didn't hesitate to drop them when challenged, and threw his helmet aside for the fight. No good shots got in, but Slater threw the best one, and then threw Winchester to the ice.

Nathan Oystrick v. Jesse Winchester, 10:07 second period:



Verdict: Even. Not reall much of a fight... Winchester didn't even drop both of his gloves. More of a wrestling match along the boards. Oystrick got in more almost-shots, but Winch threw him to the ice. Two fights in the same game to start your NHL fighting career? Congratulations, Winchester.

Thrashed: Sens 5, Thrashers 1

I guess that's why everyone wanted to re-unite the CASH Line, right Craig Hartsburg? Now that they appear to be used to each other once again, they can score their normal six-points-per-game combined, or more.

Jason Spezza looked good. He had a goal, was strong on the puck, and made some good, smart plays with it. But Dany Heatley was better. He was consistently backchecking hard and forechecking hard, had a goal and two assists, two takeaways (versus only one giveaway), and a blocked shot. Best of all, though, was Daniel Alfredsson (what else is new?). Pierre MacGuire climaxed at Alfie's hockey smarts during his penalty killing, and his all-around play was first-star material (even if he only got second star).

Who needs Antoine Vermette to score when we've got Shean Donovan and Brendan Bell? Okay, you're right, the Senators do, but it's really nice when other depth players chip in, too. Donovan's goal was just speed and control, and a nice shot, and it really does look like he might be playing the best hockey of his career. He had seven shots on the night, more than any other Senator, and his 12:21 in ice time was probably a season-high. As for Bell, whos scored a goal and added an assist, this was definitely his best game offensively for the O-Sens, and he looks like he belongs. His puck control along the blue line is really impressive, and that shot he took to score his powerplay goal was a rocket.

Epic penalty killing in the second period. Six penalties for the Sens, including two five-on-three scenarios and more than four minutes straight in the latter half of the period, and no goals against. It was where Alex Auld looked his best on the night, Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov were behemoths defensively, and Alfie and Vermette ragged the puck and blocked shots. It was an impressive show of gritty desperation, and--most importantly--the system didn't fall apart as it was continually pressured. Powerplay was as good as it's been all year, too, and went 2-for-3 on the night.

And it's starting to look like Filip Kuba has got his groove back. After 14 points in 13 games to start the season, he had one point (a goal) in the following eight. He's now got three assists in his last two games, and Orlando Bean (Orlando Bloom mixed with Mr. Bean? Anyone?) has 20 points in 23 games this year.

Jesse Winchester more than doubled his penalty minutes on the year with his two fights during the game. Where did that come from? He's had an edge to his play for the last couple games, throwing some hits and now a couple of fights, and I like it. He's not scoring like a top-six forward, but he's definitely playing like an NHLer. Cody Bass had a fight, too, and fared a bit better than Winchester did. (Check out the blog Thursday morning for a Fight Card of the night.)

Ice-time disparity watch: Mike Fisher led the Sens' forwards in ice time with 20:19, but that's got a lot to do with his time on the point during the powerplay. Lowest ice time was Cody Bass with 7:11, and it really looks like Hartsburg is interested in rolling four lines to balance the attack and keep the top line from wearing out. It might have something to do with playing the Atlanta Thrashers, but it's still an interesting note.

On a Winch and a prayer: Sens 4, Flyers 1

I wonder how much cheesier headlines can get than "On a Winch and a prayer". Probably not much cheesier, but I'm sure the Ottawa Sun could find a way. (EDIT: They did, with their headline "Just like Auld times".) No matter how much cheese you have to cut through, the final result is the same: A mostly dominant 4-1 Sens victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Speaking of Winch, one of the game's biggest storylines was Jesse Winchester scoring his first NHL goal mid-way through the second period. As Winchester cut to the front of the net, Daniel Alfredsson sent a glorious pass his way, and Winnie tucked a backhand underneath Philly goaltender Antero Nittymaki. Winchester's celebration was at least as good as his goal: He stared, dumbfounded, for a few seconds, until his right hand shot up into the air, and then his left hand followed a second later. Hilarious. Then he skated over to Mike Fisher, and was joined by Alfredsson in celebration. It's pretty amazing how popular Winchester has become, because the building got really loud when he scored--his style of play has endeared him to Sens fans.

Since being 'demoted' to the second line, Alfredsson has transformed the Senators into a multi-threat team, and ended two goalless streaks (Winchester's on Thursday, and Fisher's on Tuesday) in just a few games. My girlfriend and I were talking last night, and we are both baffled by the fact that Alfie doesn't win the TEAM 1200's Hardest Working Senator award every night. Because he's having a great season so far.

Although the Sens let up a bit for the second and third, the first period was complete dominance. They outshot the Flyers 12-3, and had goals from Anton Volchenkov (laserbeam of a shot high glvoe side) and Dany Heatley (after Jason Spezza sent him a pass I still can't comprehend). A five-minute penalty assessed to Braydon Coburn after he hit Antoine Vermette from behind certainly helped the Sens get off to a good start, but they were well on their way before that penalty. I was kind of expecting the Sens to pad their powerplay stats after scoring just 30 seconds into Coburn's penalty, but they didn't really get much of anything after that goal.

Once again, we've got to give credit to Alex Auld for the win. Although the Flyers only had 18 shots on the night, some of them were bona fide scoring chances. It wasn't a cake walk for Auld, but he provided the stability in nets that the Sens need to win games. Over at Scarlett Ice, they posted a comparison between Auld and former Sens netminder Patrick Lalime, and I think their big-body, positional styles are very similar. There's one difference, though: Auld doesn't seem to get frazzled by anything.

And is anyone else supremely please with Filip Kuba? Okay, everyone except Don Brennan is happy with the way this guy is playing. He's got 14 assists so far, and has at least one in 11 of the Sens' 13 games so far. His poise on the powerplay is great; he makes decisions more quickly han Wade Redden used to, and he makes far fewer mistakes than Andrej Meszaros did. The composure comes in handy when the Sens are short-handed, too. He's leading all Senators in ice time, averagin 24:33 per game, and is a team-leading +5. I thought he would be reliable, but Kuba has really stepped up and filled the void on the Sens' blue line.

Funniest moment of the game: When Christoph Schubert, demonstrating tremendous speed, blasted around the Flyers' D and cut in front of the net, only to overskate the puck at the top of the crease. Then he got demolished by Mike Richards. I tried not to laugh, but when I found out it was only Schubert's pride that was injured I couldn't hold it back. I've got to give the guy huge credit for his breakaway speed, and for setting up what would have been a great move. Here is the clip, for anyone who didn't see it:

Hilarious, once you realize he's not hurt badly. That's a blooper reel classic.

Anyway, the Sens play again tonight, this time against the Carolina Hurricanes. Martin Gerber will get the start, and if he has any chance of regaining the starter's role that he has lost (or even if he has any hope of signing an NHL contract next year).

Sens get shotout: Bolts 3, Sens 2 (SO)

Naturally, I didn't get to see the game last night because it wasn't on TV anywhere, but I did get some impressions based on what I heard on the radio and have read in the newspapers. Overall, the impression that I get is that the Senators had a solid game, but came up against a hot goalie in Mike Smith (who stopped 29 of 31 shots on the night).

The first period, and especially the first few minutes, were dominated by the Senators. I think I heard Jesse Winchester's name half a dozen times in the first few, and he sounded like he was buzzing even if he's still looking for that first NHL goal. And Daniel Alfredsson had a great chance on an open net just 18 seconds into the game, but it went wide harmlessly and the period ended in a scoreless draw.

Antoine Vermette ended his pointless streak eight minutes into the second, and added an assist on Dany Heatley's goal later in the second. His play recently has been very good, and it sounds like he's starting to develop some chemistry with Heatley and Jason Spezza. I'm glad that coach Craig Hartsburg decided not to cancel the CASH-Line-split at the first (or second [or third]) sign of adversity, because a few minutes in a couple of games is not long enough to find out if it will work or not. And it's not like he has a disinclination to reuniting them at key points in games and on the powerplay.

Once again, Alex Auld had a solid game for the Senators. I really hope he continues doing so, because I can't stand talking and reading about goaltending so much.

The shootout is still a huge weakness for the Senators (add it to the list, I guess). The team is 7-18 all-time in shootouts, and 0-1 this season. Maybe it's because the best all-around players are assumed to be the best in the shootout, which is obviously not the case: The Sens' first shooter was Vermette, which was fine and fair, but choosing Alfredsson--who missed the net, is 4-for-15 now, and admitted that he doesn't like the shootout--and Heatley--who is 3-for-17 and terrible in shootouts--ahead of the Sens' best shooter-outer (there's got to be a better word than that) Jarkko Ruutu--who is 7-for-13 and hilarious--doesn't make any sense. Ruutu was the fifth shooter, and to save the best shooter-outer until after the game could logically be over is simply dumb. The Sens' shootout depth chart should, in my opinion, read as follows:

1. Antoine Vermette
2. Jarkko Ruutu
3. Jason Spezza
4. Daniel Alfredsson
5. Dean McAmmond
6. Dany Heatley
7. Mike Fisher
8. Nick Foligno
9. Chris Kelly
10. Jesse Winchester
    

Interestingly enough, defenceman Filip Kuba--who added to his point total last night with an assist--has tried three shootouts, and is 0-for-3 so far. Let's save him until later rounds.

And under the 'give Donovan some credit' file, Shean Donovan had less ice time than any other player on either team once again Saturday, with 6:38 played. Which is higher than his 5:46 season average. He had one shift in the third period, which lasted 34 seconds. The guy is fifth on the team in scoring, for crying out loud, and he works as hard as anyone on the team. If the system is going to be hard forechecking, backchecking, and bodychecking, Donovan is your exemplar. So why underutilize him? I'm not proposing he play anything like 20:00 a game, but is 10:00 so much to ask? Especially in a game where special teams didn't play such a role, like last night. Give the guy a chance.

Alfie's knee goes under the knife

From TSN:

The Ottawa Senators announced Friday that Daniel Alfredsson will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and the team doesn't expect him to miss more than a couple of weeks.

Great! Well, I guess it's better to get what seems to be minor surgery now than wait a little bit and see if it gets worse. Two weeks isn't too bad, given the fact that the Sens play tomorrow and then have almost a week off until the next game (Oct. 17).

With Alfie out, Dany Heatley is captain? Step it up, Heater. Jason Spezza, you'd better step it up, too. Missing Alfie won't be easy.

Oddly enough, TSN said that Jarkko Ruutu will step up to the front line. Despite the fact that Ruutu is a natural left winger. And despite the fact that Jesse Winchester did pretty well on that line in the pre-season. I guess it's a worthy experiment, anyway.

It remains to be seen whether or not Mike Fisher will return from his injury, but if he doesn't look to Cody Bass to re-join the Sens.

3 of 4 points in Stockholm: Sens 3 Pens 1

A great all-around effort for the Sens made it a positive weekend, and the 3-1 win over Pittsburgh gave Ottawa a very respectable 3 out of 4 possible points in Swedish premiere.

To a man, the Senators had a very good game. It was an effective shut-down system, and I have to agree with Jeremy of Black Aces in saying Craig Hartsburg deserves a lot of credit for the Sens' solid all-around good game. The way the Sens were able to shut down the Penguins, especially the powerplay, brought me back to the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were so frustrated at their inability to generate chances. It's still very early, but there are good signs, and it's a good feeling.

First off, Alex Auld played incredibly well. He was about one second away from a shutout, and anyone who comes that close to shutting out Crosby and the gang is in pretty good shape. Ben and I were watching the game together, and beforehand he mentioned that with the Sens' goaltending luck, Auld would play the best game of his career. I'm not sure if it was his best-ever, but it definitely throws a wrench in the plans for Martin Gerber to take the starting role and run with it. But this controversy is much cleaner than last year's, because Auld has earned another opportunity to start, whereas last season Ray Emery didn't even earn a shot. Gerber may not like it, but he's made his bed. Hopefully Hartsburg can manage this situation a little better than John Paddock did last season.

Apparently giving Dany Heatley the 'A' was a tremendously good investment for Hartsburg and Co. He played out of his mind today, and not just because he scored two powerplay goals (giving him three on the season). He was hitting, blocking shots (including a really solid block at the end of the second), and just playing a good all-around game. His rounded game might be rubbing off on Jason Spezza, too, as Spezza seemed to have learned from his mistake yesterday (please, God, let him retain this lesson) and made the smart plays when they were called for. One thing that Hartsburg will have to watch out for, though, is not wearing out the big guns too early in the season. Each of Heatley, Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson played over 21 minutes on the game, while Shean Donovan played an effective game once again, his second in a row, but was given less than three minutes of ice time. Donovan was one of the Sens' best players in the playoffs last year, and certainly has a role to play. Jesse Winchester has a solid game considering it was his third in the NHL, and made some really smart plays. I'm very excited to see what he'll be able to do once he really gels with whatever linemates he plays with--especially if that is Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette, who might end up being the best two-way line in the league.

Defence is obviously a key part of Hartsburg's plan, and the defenders didn't disappoint. To a man they played well, and combined to block nine shots on the night. Auld looked better positionally than Gerber, and his big size means that a lot of his saves are lining up so the puck hits him (rather than acrobatics); with the defence able to clear rebounds and forwards collapsing down low, this system plays right into Auld's style. Filip Kuba got another assist (three on the year) and three blocked shots in just under 25 minutes, and looked very comfortable alongside Jason Smith (who also had a solid game). Toughness is a huge part of the Sens' d-corps this year, with all players over 200 lbs and 6', and Chris Phillips demonstrated it--along with a newfound team pride--when he ran over Maxime Talbot after Talbot ran Alfredsson. Brian Lee and Alex Picard both showed some great poise in the game, particularly when Lee deked around Crosby on the powerplay to get a shot on net.

One concern has to be the number of penalties the Senators took. Although the penalty kill was very effective, the team can't afford to take as many penalties--15 short-handed situations over the course of the weekend--and expect to continue to stay in games as well as they are. As it is, though, killing off 14 of 15 (93%) and offsetting that one blemish with one shorthanded goal is a pretty good way to start the season. And 27% on the powerplay (3-for-11) would have led the NHL last season, even if the sample size is pretty small.

So the Sens have to be very happy with three of a possible four points, even though it was very realistic to have gotten four. They fly back to Ottawa tonight, presumably to readjust to the time difference as soon as possible, and will be playing the home opener Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. As I said earlier, it's very early, but it's good to see some solid, unified, team play.

Sens lose opener 4-3 in OT

For a first game of the year, it was alright. The Sens had some good things to take out of the 4-3 OT loss to Pittsburgh in the season opener in Stockholm, Sweden--notably one point in the standings. But it still left something to be desired.

I will begin with the most obvious: Martin Gerber had a terrible game. All four goals were stoppable, and three of them were of the very weak category--including the one off the first shot of the game. I'm sure Gerber will be the first to tell you how disappointed he was in his performance. I assumed, however, the team would go back with Darth Gerber for today's rematch, but apparently the team has elected to start Alex Auld, instead. Apparently his play wasn't the deciding factor, but it must have factored in at some point. Let the haters hate, I still think (hope?) Gerber can bounce back. At the outset of the season I predicted 35 wins or more for Gerber.

After Gerber, it was evident that Brian Lee and Alex Picard struggled at times. They are both young, and I expect nothing less than some time to adjust to the speed of the NHL game and each other's style. Filip Kuba wasn't tremendous, although he wasn't bad, but Jason Smith was just as described. He was also a pretty good passer, which isn't why he was signed but is a nice bonus. Team defence was pretty good at clearing Gerber rebounds away from danger, which is one thing that Gerber needs to be an effective goaltender--his game is supposed to be sound positional hockey, stopping the first shot so the team can clear the rebound. All he has to do now is stop the first shot.

The second-most evident shortcoming was an errant Jason Spezza dump-in that turned into the game-winning goal. It was a poor play from a player who, up to that point, had a great game. It was the same kind of mistake Spezza has been making since junior. It is something he will have to learn from, and move forward without repeating it. I don't buy the argument that asking Spezza to make the smart play when in a vulnerable position is stifling to his creativity; it's simply smart hockey.

Dean McAmmond and Shean Donovan were effective on the fourth line, and combined to score a great goal. Chris Neil had a good start to the season, drawing a penalty and showing good discipline in not retaliating. He'll have to keep that up. Nick Foligno had a solid game, but should be given an opportunity to play second-line minutes to be truly effective. And Jesse Winchester was rarely visible, but his game isn't flashy.

As much as some personal faults are to blame in this game, you've also got to chalk some up to adjustment. The team has had limited practice time, and is very different than it was last year. The season look ugly at the start, but Craig Hartsburg is implementing a new system that all parties will have to get used to.

So the rematch comes today, at 2:30, and the Sens will have an opportunity to turn this road trip around. With a win, the team will have earned 3 of a possible 4 points in a difficult road trip.

No Fisher for season opener

Well, it's finally here: Just a couple hours until the Sens begin the season. Unfortunately Mike Fisher's groin injury hasn't heal well enough, so he's decided to take it easy and sit this one out. So that means that it's not serious, just precautionary, or that it's very serious, and the team is downplaying it. Who knows.

This likely means that the second line will be three (natural) centremen: Nick Foligno, Antoine Vermette, and Jesse Winchester. Chris Kelly may jump up, but he might play third line once again instead. Maybe we'll see the Cockroach Line (get it? Pests?) of Jarkko Ruutu, Chris Neil, and Cody Bass. One of Shean Donovan or Dean McAmmond will be suiting up with Fisher out.

For the record, neither Andrej Meszaros nor Wade Redden have stood out too much in the Rangers/Lightning game. So far, at any rate.

CASH in the bank: Sens 3 Habs 1

Mark it down, fellow Sens fans. It took just over one game before new Sens coach Craig Hartsburg gave up on the 'spreading the offence' idea and re-united the CASH Line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza. And, once again, it worked in sparking the Sens to come back from a 1-0 deficit and beat the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 3-1.

I have a feeling that after watching Alfredsson play like he was 10 years younger gave Hartsburg all the proof he needed that the reunion would work. Alfie had a whale of a game, turning pucks over, forechecking hard, and just playing the 'accountable, responsible, blue-collar' game that Hartsburg is trying to build into the team culture. When the captain buys in and leads buy example, others are usually to follow. Heatley seems to be buying in, and he's been playing a more responsible game so far this season--it brings to mind the game he played in this summer's world championships.

Last night, however, demonstrated the incredible frustration that comes with watching Jason Spezza. He played his typical game: pretty soft on the puck, quick to concede battles in the corners or along the boards, throwing blind passes into the slot (and, inevitably, down the ice back into the Senators' end), and trying to deke through players instead of around them. He was only tagged with one giveaway, but he lost the puck a bunch of times. But then he makes an incredible play like the 120' pass he made to spring Alfredsson on a breakaway, and that's all anyone will be talking about the next day. Hence the frustration.

Why did the CASH Line reunion work? Well, it was mostly the inspiration that comes with watchign your three best players dominate on the ice, I think. But it was also the play of the second and third lines, who scored the other two goals on the night. Nick Foligno continues to impress, and scored a beautiful goal--while falling down--on Habs goalie Marc Denis. Foligno is proving why he's been slotted to play second-line minutes, and definitely looks like he'll be a valuable asset to the Sens. Chris Neil did take a stupid penalty early on in the game, but he settled into his normal hard-checking role later on, and was rewarded for his efforts with a pretty nice garbage goal while taking punishment in front of the net. The Sens' fourth line was also effective, and although Dean McAmmond, Shean Donovan, and Zack Smith didn't get on the scoresheet, they played good, hard hockey and got some good pressure on the Habs.

The Sens' defence, thankfully, was stronger than it was in Friday's 5-0 loss. Although the Habs were missing some (okay, most) firepower, the Sens still held them to 19 shots, and Martin Gerber kept his head on pretty well. He probably should have stopped the one Habs' goal, which was just a straight shot that beat him, but Chris Phillips shouldn't have pinched to create the 2-on-1 that led to the goal.

The powerplay has to be a huge concern for Hartsburg. The Sens' tried Alfredsson with Filip Kuba on the point with Heatley, Spezza, and Jesse Winchester on forward, but nothing doing. The Sens' are now a pathetic 1-26 (I believe) on the powerplay in the preseason. It underlines the urgency in GM Bryan Murray's quest to find a puck-moving offensive defenceman, because even if the Sens make it through the regular-season without one, you need a good powerplay in the playoffs.

The penalty kill was at least solid for the Sens. The Sens used four pairs of solid killers last night, Alfredsson and Chris Kelly, Jarkko Ruutu and Cody Bass, Donovan and McAmmond, and Heatley and Spezza. Each pairing did a great job, and at least that can take a load off Hartsburg's mind while he tries to figure out the powerplay.

Sens' prospect recap, after (most of) training camp

Below is the rankings of the Sens' prospects based on readers' votes. The percentage is how many readers felt that individual would (or at least should) make the team. In brackets are the actual number of votes, based on 146 total votes.

1. Nick Foligno: 79% (116 votes)
2. Brian Lee: 78% (114 votes)
3. Jesse Winchester: 71 % (105 votes)
4. Cody Bass: 56% (83 votes)
5. Ilya Zubov: 13% (19 votes)
6. Brian Elliott: 2% (3 votes)
7. Alex Nikulin: 1% (2 votes)
8. Peter Regin: 0% (1 vote)

These rankings reflect pretty much what I expect will happen. Foligno was not just one of the best prospects in training camp, but was one of the Sens' best players. He's basically cemented himself a spot on the roster, and has certainly earned it. I'm excited to see how this guy develops, because he sure seems to have his mind in the right state.

Lee is largely benefitting from the lack of offensive abilities within the D-corps. There are a lot of expectations heaped on this kid--he is still a kid--and he's got something to prove. Although his pre-season play was a little here-and-there, his play last year was solid, and the same will be expected this year. If anything goes wrong, and he fails to score a passing grade, then the Sens will have to decide whether to send him to the AHL or to end Project Brian Lee a little early, and send him packing for a more established blueliner.

Third in the rankings was Winchester, and he was given the best chance to excel among the Sens prospects. Playing alongside Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley will make a lot of players look good, but Winchester silenced a lot of critics--at least for the time being--with his play. He demonstrated good strength, with and without the puck, and an ability to keep up to his all-star linemates in both speed and finesse. His contract was one sign, but his play certainly proved that he's worth an extended look on the top line--or at least in the roster.

Last of those who are still on the roster is Bass, whose effort against Philadelphia demonstrated his best assets--a willingness, and even eagerness, to stand up for teammates. Bass is a sparkplug. He's a solid grit player, and seems to relish that role. Although it's uncertain whether or not he'll stay on the roster all year, it is certain that he can and would contribute if he does. And he seems like the kind of player GM Bryan Murray and coach Craig Hartsburg are looking for, so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

Elliott is simply out of luck due to the presence of Alex Auld and Martin Gerber. It is commonly assumed that this season will go a long way to determining what the Sens do with goaltending next season, and whether Elliott can be an NHL starter. Or whether Gerber should be re-signed. Or whether Auld isn't really a backup. Or whether we need a new goalie because all of our plans and back-up plans were proven wrong.

As for the bottom three skaters, Zubov, Nikulin, and Regin have already been sent to Binghamton (EDIT: Whoops, my bad, Regin hasn't been sent to Binghamton yet), and Zubov--who received more votes than the other two--was the best throughout training camp. Although he certainly must have impressed Murray with his devotion and conditioning this off-season (he stayed in North America instead of going home, and trained with Chris Neil), I guess Murray believes another year in the AHL is necessary. As for SputNik, his blog (translated here on HFBoards) indicates that he'd thought a spot on the NHL team was all but guaranteed. He didn't impress as much as Zubov, and probably won't be very happy with the demotion. Still, if he accepts it as a challenge, rather than an insult, perhaps he and Zubov will train together in the off-season, and will return as seasoned players with two full years of North American pro experience. And Regin was in his first training camp, so it's no big surprise he's being given a season in the AHL (EDIT: Regin hasn't been sent down yet, as I said above).