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.

Send Karlsson to Bingo (and the D lineup)

First, the disclaimers so I don't get slammed in the comments: I didn't take into account who plays left or right (they don't even do that in the Sens program anymore), and it's a bit of wishful thinking, and what I've heard in the newspaper.

Basically, I can't imagine this any other way. I know that Erik Karlsson is The Great Blond Hope, and probably the Ottawa Senators best prospect since Jason Spezza, but from what I've seen of his defensive skill, he's just not ready to take on the towering, powerful forwards of the NHL.

To be completely fair, I do think he's capable of getting 30 points in the NHL this season, but the cons outweigh the pros for now. Even compared to the not-terribly-large Brian Lee, Karlsson is small. Lee also has parts of two NHL seasons under his belt, and weighs 25 pound more than Alfie's babysitter. He's the better choice for this year's squad.

I've had sweet, sweet (non-sexual!) dreams of General Lee and King Karlsson throwing the puck along the blueline on the Sens power-play. Dancing between slower defenders, and setting up one-timers for Dany Heatley Jonathan Cheechoo. But I don't think this is the season to make it happen.

Karlsson is a better puck-handler than Lee (though Lee is no slouch), but the defensive aspects of his game need work. Perhaps when he was paired with towering defender Victor Hedman, he was able to get away with certain defensive lapses against smaller competition, but that won't be the case this season. Karlsson need the AHL experience to gain some grit, put on pounds, and delay his rookie season.

Alex Picard, for example, was not born in 1990, is 6' 2" and 225 pounds, and will pick up 25 points this season. It's a crowded blueline roster, and there's no harm in giving the NHL contracts a chance to prove themselves before making room for the rookies.

I think the rest of the lineup is a gimme. Except for Christoph Schubert, who has been on the trading block for all of last season.

Miscellaneous observations from Saturday night:

Thanks to SBP for making free wireless internet available during games, it's great for twitter during the games (and I took full advantage in case you didn't notice).

Are the NHL refs now wearing strange NFL-style stripes? It sure looked like it to me.

And man! Is Ryan Shannon ever small! I didn't really notice until Saturday's game. He looks like a leftover from the intermission Timbits game.

So, if the Sens can beat the Bruins...

How the hell does this work?

Somehow, the Senators have established that they're superior to the Montreal Canadiens and (on one occasion) the Boston Bruins, and yet they're not going to the playoffs. Just goes to demonstrate how little enthusiasm the Sens had at the beginning of the season.

As a commentor pointed out in the last post, this enthusiasm is most evident in Dany Heatley. It seems to me he just woke up mid-way through this season. He's got 4 points in his past three games. 38 goals on the year. Is it fair to expect 50 from him every season? 40 ain't bad... He could have hit 50 if he played like this all year.

You know who I'm really excited about? Ryan Shannon. This young guy is so fast, plays an energetic style, and can score. We haven't seen a guy like this since Martin Havlat... I hope I didn't just curse Shannon.

The 30 saves from Alex Auld makes a great case for Brian 'excellent but inconsistent' Elliot to be sent to the minors next season. Won't happen. Contract year.

This win set a franchise record for most consecutive wins at home, with nine. The last few times the Sens have played the Bruins, they've been close games, so we shouldn't be surprised that Ottawa pulled off the win here. Tim Thomas was usually the difference, and Fernandez did his best but didn't play like a mad-man, as Thomas usually does.

Can we start the 2009-10 season now?

Welcome to the dead zone

Remember that dead zone that everyone in the media is warning the Senators not to get stuck in? The place where they'll neither get into to playoffs, nor secure a good drafting position? Well, that's where the Sens are stuck now.

Ottawa has dropped out of the magical top-5 draft position and has less than a 5% chance of getting the top pick (If we do land it, please don't draft Andrea Barngani). With one more loss, the playoffs will become a practical impossibility.

To look at the positives, prospects (or are they?) like Ryan Shannon and Brian Elliot are performing beautifully. Combined with a new #1 goalie (or is he?!) coming in next season, things are looking up. Let's not ruin it by looking at the standings and draft position... I'm trying not to.

They'll be off notice on Thursday.

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.

Playing to your strengths

Biggest news in Senators land right now has got to be the entirely unexpected success that Cory Clouston has had since taking over the head coaching mantle. Throw into the fire that was the Ottawa Senators terrible season so far, Clouston came in with confidence and excitement, and that has visibly transferred to the players under him. You've got to wonder, though, why has he been so successful (so far, at least, by going 4-1-1) where three other coaches failed?

I think it has a lot to do with playing to the team's strengths. John Paddock failed last year because, according to GM Bryan Murray, he didn't do enough to get himself and the team ready to play every night. He overused the CASH Line to start the season, and lost the dressing room at some point. He wasn't able to regain the room, and the team couldn't gain any semblance of consistency. So Murray canned Paddock and went behind the bench himself, but to no avail; the team continued to plummet, and Murray's one big trade did nothing to help when they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.

Craig Hartsburg came in this season with plenty of fanfare. He was absolutely convinced that this team, even without truly elite defencemen, just needed a defensively responsible system to play within to compensate. He forced square pegs into round holes, telling offensive players to play defence instead. And, to be honest, I did think that was what the team needed. We had weak defence and weaker goaltending (this was before Brian Elliott saved us), but good offensive firepower. The unintended effect of this, though, was that offensive players, particularly Daniel Alfredsson, tired themselves out in defensive work and others, such as Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, looked lost at times in a system that just didn't work for them. That's not to say Hartsburg was a bad coach, he was simply a coach who wasn't right for the team and wasn't able to change his approach to suit its players.

Clouston's has been tremendously different, though. He's reinstituted the run-and-gun style that these Senators have had their most success with, and the players look like they're having fun with it. Ottawa is still a team with good speed--especially on the second, third, and fourth lines--and a hard forecheck as has been practiced takes the pressure off Ottawa's defence and puts it on the opposition's. And, with a goaltender who by all appearances may be able to steal a game (or at least preserve a game) in Elliott, the inevitable defensive gaffes won't be as costly as they once were. This may not be a team that will win games with stifling defence, but they might be good enough to outscore their opponents--which is a lot more exciting than games were earlier in the year.

The new coach has also given a new life to a few of Ottawa's prospects, whom he was familiar with in Binghamton. Brian Lee (now playing with Filip Kuba after Clouston (rightfully) reunited Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips) continues his solid play, but that started before Clouston came around. But Clouston has placed Nick Foligno in a second-line role position with the opportunity to succeed, and Foligno has responded well. He's used Brendan Bell effectively, limiting his even-strength ice time to that against weaker opposition and maximizing his powerplay time. He brought up Ryan Shannon, who rejuvenated the Senators' second line and has also been seeing powerplay time on the point.

It's still very early in Clouston's career. The last six games have been impressive, but it remains to be seen whether the players are only relaxed because they now have no expectations, or whether they're still running on the wake-up call that a coaching change represents. As a few more games are played, though, we'll start to see the real team come about--hopefully it will look like the one that's played the last six games rather than the one that was around for the year prior to them.

Workin' on a dream: Sens 5, Flyers 2

How many good things are going to come out of Binghamton this season? Cory Clouston appears to be making a significant difference in the approach this team takes to their games. Brian Elliott is playing unbelievably well. Brendan Bell is quarterbacking the powerplay like no one else has this season. Ryan Shannon, along with Nick Foligno, is making a second line into an actual second line. Brian Lee is solid defensively, and can move the puck up better than any other defenceman. Is this what a farm team is supposed to offer?

Starting in nets, this game could (and likely would) have been completely different without Elliott. He played out of his mind hockey, stopping 34 of 36 shots including plenty of good opportunities. Ottawa was massively outshot (36 to 23) on the night, but Elliott was up to task. One of the two goals he allowed was off an unfortunate rebound, but his defencemen gave him no help on the play. And Mike Richards scored on a breakaway; anyone could let that guy's shot in.

Of course, Bingo callups didn't do everything for the team. The CASH Line played a large part in the win, as well. Although I didn't get to see the whole thing, Dany Heatley responded to criticism with two goals on four shots and three hits, if you'll believe it. He was named first star as a result. Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist, and Daniel Alfredsson also had one assist.

Secondary scoring kicked in with the rest, with Foligno scoring what turned out to be the game-winner (and what looked like the easiest goal in the world) and Antoine Vermette actually scored, his third in six games, on a solid solo effort cutting to the net (Vermette added an assist, to boot).

So, incredibly, the Senators have now won three in a row (first time this season), and are 3-1-1 under Clouston. Elliott is (knock on wood) undefeated on the road. Still 14 points back of a playoff spot, but it's nice to see some good effort on the ice.

Sens Army Blog news update

Hey folks,

After a minor surgery, posts on the website have been limited recently. Mostly to No Habs No! letters, which are certainly fun (and one for Dion Phaneuf, which will completely avoid any mention of sloppiness, seconds, or anything of that nature, will be forthcoming), but are lacking in the depth readers expect.

Although not analytical, here is at least a run-down of the most recent Sens' news to keep you abreast of the issues:

• Android Volchenkov kills Thomas Vanek. Okay, 'kills' is a strong word, but Vanek's likely out for a month after Volchenkov shot him in the face. With a puck.
• Ryan Shannon contributing. He looks good... will it last? Here's to hoping.
  
• Dany Heatley disagrees with coach Cory Clouston. But then, mere hours later...
• Dany Heatley agrees with coach Cory Clouston. Fabricating stories, and then reporting on the response to said fabrication, is a great way to sell papers.
• Clouston running the Sens ragged in practice. Good?
  
• Speaking of Clouston, one thing I hadn't noticed but is certainly noticeable: New ice time allottments. Nick Foligno (20:29) played more than any of Heatley (19:43), Jason Spezza (19:40), or Daniel Alfredsson (19:27) against Buffalo. And Brendan Bell (20:30) played more than Volchenkov (18:16), Jason Smith (20:05), and Chris Phillips (19:54). Is it a good idea? Well, they won, and Foligno and Bell each had a role in the win.
• Chris Neil is out for two weeks with a lacerated calf (on his leg, not a baby cow). Questions abound as to whether we'll see him in an Ottawa uniform again, or if he'll be traded.
• Shean Donovan should be back on Wednesday, according to the above-linked story. Alex Picard won't be yet, but may be soon.
  
• Carrie Underwood will be alone on Valentine's Day. But would like Mike Fisher to make her a home-cooked vegetarian meal. Why the hell do I know this?
• And holy shit, MLS soccer in Ottawa? About Eugene Melnyk's bid, the MLS commissioner said, "It’s highly unlikely and almost inconceivable that with a stadium deal in place we would not grant an expansion team to Ottawa." I didn't think it was likely.
  

Shannon up, Regin and Hunt to Binghamton

The Senators today announced that Ryan Shannon has been recalled from Binghamton to play in Ottawa. Just an assumption, but I'm going to say that new coach Cory Clouston is looking for more pure offence, and Shannon is the most purely offensive player in Bingo.

To make room for Shannon, Peter Regin has been sent back to Binghamton. Regin was lots of fun to watch, and made plenty happen, but at this point in his career he seems more like a third-liner, which Ottawa has plenty of. I look forward to seeing what he can bring next year, with a bit more size and a full year of North American pro under his belt/

Finally, former Senators assistant coach Curtis Hunt announced that he'd accept the head coaching job in Binghamton. I guess you could say it's semi-interim, depending what happens with Clouston this year, but Ottawa's paying Hunt anyway--might as well have him working somewhere.

Only one constant in Bingo this year: Success

About a week ago, Bingo beat writer and blogger Michael Sharp documented the adversity through which the Binghamton Senators have, somehow, successfully navigated to get off to their best start in franchise history: Then 21-12-6 (48 points), now 23-13-6 (52 points). He offered a list of some of the things the team has overcome (directly quoting Sharp):

• "Brad Isbister, sold to B-Sens fans as a potential top-six forward here, opts to head to Switzerland, rather than report in training camp.
• "Second-year center Alexander Nikulin, last season's third-leading scorer, and another top-six guy entering the season, threatens to return home to Russia if he is not traded. Eventually, he gets his wish, getting shipped to the Phoenix organization the same day he walks out on the B-Sens.
• "Second-year center Cody Bass, while playing on recall with Ottawa, is lost for the season with a shoulder injury.
• "Rookie forward Kaspars Daugavins chooses to return to juniors in late December. He had just three points in 23 games, but he'd been playing on a line with Josh Hennessy and Ryan Shannon just before his decision.
• "This first half has featured 14 call-ups to Ottawa, most recently goaltender Brian Elliott, an all-star and arguably the team's first-half MVP. It doesn't appear he's returning any time soon.
• "Eight players have missed at least eight straight games with an injury down here. That doesn't include Shannon, who missed time with a concussion while on recall with Ottawa.
• "Brendan Bell and Brian Lee, two top-four defensemen for Binghamton, appear to be sticking in Ottawa. Bell has been there since Nov. 16. Lee has already logged 18 games with the big club.
• "The schedule was ridiculous in November, with two stretches of seven games in 10 days. One stretch included a lengthy trip to Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. And both came amidst a period of heavy injuries and call-ups."

Although it's not confirmed, it sure looks like Elliott will be in Ottawa for the rest of the season, and one of Bell or Lee will more than likely stick around, as well. Binghamton coach Cory Clouston has taken his fair share of criticism, but he's got to be commended for keeping this team rolling. And Sens GM Bryan Murray and Assistant GM Tim Murray both have to be commended for, at least to date, re-stocking the Senators minor-league pro depth.

Sens speak on Avery, Shannon back to Bingo

First off, the Ottawa Sun had asked a couple Senators what they thought about Sean Avery's comments (which I'm sure you know about by now), and they weren't surprised. Jarkko Ruutu, a charter member and Pestmaster General of the NHL Pest Association, suggested that Avery went against the "code" or pestmanship. From the Sun:

"It wasn't a surprise," said Senators winger Jarkko Ruutu. "If you want people to respect you off the ice, you better behave off the ice. Stuff that happens on the ice, stays on the ice. I think that's been the code forever. You've got to be smart with what you say. No one can dispute (he crossed the line)."

Daniel Alfredsson also commented on the off-colour remarks, saying that it was "immature". I've got to agree with both Senators, and suggest that it wasn't just immature--it was plain stupid. He's said stupid things before, including unproven remarks to Georges Laraque, but an off-the-ice comment denigrating someone who's not even a hockey player is beyond unacceptable.

Really interesting to see what Dallas coach Dave Tippet said about Avery, that basically suggested he's not welcome back on the team. It's got a lot to do with Avery's behaviour with his teammates prior to this event, but his recent comments were the straw that broke the camel's back. Kudos to Mike Modano for calling it all the way.

Onto a small roster note (well, small for Ottawa, but huge for Binghamton): Ryan Shannon has been reassigned to Binghamton. Because, according to Sportsnet, Chris Neil expects to play on Saturday against the Penguins. Not sure if Dean McAmmond will be ready to return, I expect that will be announced sometime in the next 24-48 hours.

Line shuffling

CASH Line stays together, everything else is different. Ryan Shannon is back in the lineup. Dean McAmmond is still injured. Chris Neil's rehab is progressing, and he might be good to go on Saturday. Christoph Schubert will play defence because Alex Picard is still out. Alex Auld is starting again.

The lines are almost all different:

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson

Vermette-Fisher-Donovan

Winchester-Kelly-Foligno

Ruutu-Bass-Shannon

McAmmond out, Schubert might be in

According to Sportsnet Dean McAmmond won't be playing tonight because of a cold. Must be a bad cold... but it's not expected to be a long-term injury, so D-Mac's day-to-day. Since Ryan Shannon hasn't yet been cleared to play after his concussion, Christoph Schubert might draw into the lineup as a forward, even though coach Craig Hartsburg said he wanted to avoid doing so.

Fisher to play Thursday: Sportsnet

According to Ian Mendes on Sportsnet, Mike Fisher participated in a full practice today, and will be back in the lineup on Thursday against Toronto. Ryan Shannon was in the practice, too, so if he's ready to return it's likely that he (or possibly Cody Bass) will be re-assigned to the Binghamton Senators.

Chris Neil is expected to have his arthroscopic surgery on Friday, so he remains out for at least a little while. And Dean McAmmond missed the practice on Wednesday, but it's reported to be just a cold, so he should be fine.

Finally, Alex Auld will get the start. Is that really a surprise to anyone?

Fisher and Shannon close to return

According to reports in the Ottawa Sun, both Mike Fisher (knee) and Ryan Shannon (concussion) were back skating today, and one or both could be ready to go for the game on Thursday. Which is good, because Ottawa is short one forward with Ilya Zubov being re-assigned to Binghamton and coach Craig Hartsburg apparently reluctant to use Christoph Schubert as a forward.

According to TSN.ca, Fisher was projected to return in mid-December. If he rushes this injury and re-aggravates (or worsens) it, it's bad news bears. Given his history with injury problems, the last thing the Sens need is for him to play on an unhealed knee and push it into a chronic problem.

If both are ready to return, I'd venture to guess that Shannon would be reassigned to Binghamton. Cody Bass, who was called up last week, has played well as a fourth-liner, and Bingo needs all the scoring help they can get.

No word on Chris Neil, who was projected to have a shorter rehab time from his arthroscopic knee surgery (listed as 'day-to-day' on TSN.ca) than Fisher.

Shannon indefinite with concussion, Pock gets five games

A little fallout from the elbow Islanders forward Thomas Pock threw to the head of Senators forward Ryan Shannon came out today. TSN is reporting that Pock has received a five-game suspension for his part, and Michael Sharp has quoted Sens coach Craig Hartsburg in saying that Shannon's status is indefinite with his concussion.

Since Shannon will obviously not be in the lineup tomorrow night, Ilya Zubov has been recalled from Binghamton; no word where he'll fit, but he's an offensive player so he'll likely be placed with other offensive players.

I'm not sure how I feel about the suspension. It depends how much the injury is supposed to weigh in on the final verdict, I suppose. I guess five games is probably fair.

Game day: Sens v Isles

The Senators hope to rebound from their... umm... un-pretty loss to the Montreal Canadiens tonight when they begin a home-and-home series at Scotiabank Place against the Islanders. It's on Sportsnet locally, and the TEAM 1200.

The only roster change is Ryan Shannon joining the big team after Jarkko Ruutu was suspended, and reports are that Shannon will play alongside Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley on the top line (was I the first to predict this?). I think it's a good move; you've got to put players, especially younger ones, in situations where they will fit and where they can excel, and Shannon is definitely a scorer. It also means the line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jesse Winchester, and Mike Fisher, which has been playing well, is preserved. That leaves, in all likelihood, Chris Kelly centring Antoine Vermette and Nick Foligno on the third line, which has the potential to be dynamic and defensively responsible, and a fourth line of Dean McAmmond and Shean Donovan with Chris Neil (although Foligno and Neil might be swapped).

Alex Auld is in nets, as it should be. Martin Gerber will get his chances later on, but there's no sense screwing with goaltending when there are other problems which are more pressing.

Keep an eye on the powerplay tonight. I have a feeling that Shannon will be on the second unit, at least, but there are more problems with that line--and especially with the defensive pairing of Chris Phillips and Christoph Schubert, who don't look at all comfortable together on the point. With a much weaker penalty-killing unit on Long Island, though, the Sens might have a bit more luck. Just watch out for Dick Park, who is awesome.

It should be interesting to watch the game tonight. Hard work wasn't the issue against Montreal, the players just weren't on the same page. With a bit more intensity (the kind we heard about in practice yesterday) as well as some more systemic play and solid defence, there's no reason Ottawa can't manhandle New York (who are the worst team in team in the league, statistically speaking, even if they're only four points behind Ottawa).

And, just to update any interested parties on Binghamton, captain Denis Hamel and enforcer Jeremy Yablonski should return to the lineup, according to Bingo blogger Michael Sharp. So, although they'll miss Shannon's offence, they'll get a boost from a couple of veterans.

Alfie's pissed

According to the Ottawa Sun, Daniel Alfredsson expressed his frustration in practice today by smashing a pane of glass with his stick. Apparently Dany Heatley also had a "heated discussion" with Chris Kelly, and then Heater had a long talk with Craig Hartsburg. You can watch a video on SUN Video here (but don't expect to see the glass actually get smashed).

This is all second-hand information from Bruce Garrioch, so I don't know how 'heated' the discussion was, or exactly what precipitated Alfie's outburst (apparently it was because the team couldn't complete a drill). But I'm not sure it's a bad thing; at least it's some emotion. The team is obviously searching for answers after a pretty thorough beating at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. Given some criticisms about Alfredsson's leadership or hesitance to make his feelings known, I think everyone knows where he's at right now.

In his search for answers, Hartsburg scrambled the lines today in practice:

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

Obviously Jarkko Ruutu is now suspended, and it's unclear where callup Ryan Shannon will fit into the lineup. Given his defensive lacking and offensive flair, I think Shannon might pull right up onto a line with Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out for sure.

It was also announced today that Alex Auld will be in nets again on Thursday against the Islanders. He's earned at least a few starts with how he's been playing.

On the farm: B-Sens roll on

After a tough four-game losing streak to end October/start November, the B-Sens got back to their winning ways with victories over Syracuse (Nov. 7, 4-1) and Worcester (Nov. 8, 5-4).

Recently-acquired defenceman Drew Fata proved his mettle in his first game for Bingo, scoring a goal and taking nine minutes in penalties including a fight against the Crunch's Craig MacDonald. If history serves, don't count on many more goals from Fata, but look forward to a lot more fights, and even more penalty minutes. I'll let Binghamton blogger/beat writer Michael Sharp give you a game recap:

"They avoided that first-period hole, re-established themselves on the penalty kill, kept those first-line guys ([Zack] Smith, [Ryan] Shannon, [Ilya] Zubov) rolling, struck quickly in the second after Syracuse rallied to tie the game (Zubov and Fata scored 48 seconds apart), and then they kept pushing in the third, with Brendan Bell getting that all-important insurance goal on the power play."

That line of Smith-Shannon-Zubov combined for four points (2G, 2A) and are in the top-four in team scoring.

For the win against Worcester, it was a different story. The B-Sens got out to a 5-0 win on four power-play goals, and then let the Sharks back into it, and almost blew the lead. Again, here's Sharp's post-game synopsis, from his blog:

"Overall, Binghamton owned a 5-0 lead and a 15-13 advantage in shots at that 4:23 mark of the second. From there, though, Worcester outscored the B-Sens 4-0 and outshot them 39-7."

So... yeah, holy shit, 39 shots in less than two periods for the Sharks. Worcester outshot Binghamton 52-21 overall, so goaltender Brian Elliott has to get a lot of the credit for the win. Zubov had a goal and two assists, Shannon had three assists, and defencemen Brendan Bell and Mattias Karlsson each had a goal and an assist.

The B-Sens are fourth in the East Division, and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Zubov is 11th in league scoring with 14 points (7G, 7A) and Elliott is eighth in save percentage and tied for 13th in GAA. Here's the B-Sens top-five scorers:

1. Zubov: 14P (7G, 7A)
   
2. Shannon: 14P (5G, 9A)
   
3. Bell: 11P (4G, 7A)
   
4. Smith: 10P (8G, 2A)
   
5. Karlsson: 8P (1G, 7A)
   

At least the B-Sens are winning

The Binghamton Senators are now 4-0-1, with four wins and a shootout loss in their first five games. They are tied for second place in the league, just a point behind league-leading Hershey Bears, with a game in hand. And they're winning games with a pretty strong defence, too, with just nine goals against in the five games (or about 1.8 per game).

Goaltender Jeff Glass is second in the league in both goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.960), although he's only played on game, and started Brian Elliott has been extremely strong, fifth in goals-against average (1.68) and sixth in save percentage (.940).

Defencemen Brendan Bell and Tomas Kudelka have four and three points, respectively, and the defence will only get better if Brian Lee is down there for a little while.

Secondary scoring has become primary scoring, as Zack Smith, Ilya Zubov, and Ryan Shannon are outscoring Denis Hamel and Josh Hennessy--the latter two were last year's leading scorers.

As described so well by the big man in B-Sens land Mike Sharp, Bingo's enforcers are protecting their skilled players: Mixed martial-arts veteran Jeremy Yablonski (who I'd love to see up here for a game) pummeled Tim Conboy after the Albany defenceman kneed captain Hamel (who, unfortunately, is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after the event). And then to add insult to injury, Smith dangled around Conboy to tie the game in the third period, and then won it in overtime--make them pay physically AND on the scoreboard. Genius.

How come the Binghamton Senators seem to have addressed all the problems the Ottawa Senators seem to be dealing with right now?

At least it's reassuring that prospects like Elliott, Glass, Smith, Zubov, and Kudelka, along with guys like Mattias Karlsson and Peter Regin are developing as expected. They may be called on for help sooner rather than later.