–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan writes about last night’s game (link), with Paul MacLean talking about the trapping style used by the Capitals, “We have to break out the ’03 tapes to figure out a way to break the trap again, to get some execution and do things properly, but we’ll break them out and get things done.  I thought our team came out and had a good start to the game. Second period they got momentum off of their power play and we didn’t execute vs. their trap and gave them some more offence. But at the end of the day, we came back to get the game tied up and get a point.  We blow a tire in overtime, stuff happens once in a while, but, for the most part, we end the road trip with a good record.  We’ve grown a lot as a team, now we get to go home and practice as a team, then get playing again.”

-Brennan’s potpourri article (link) looks at the success of Kaspars Daugavins who discusses his gregarious nature, “I hang with everybody, anywhere. Even when we were kids, there were groups on the teams that would hang out, but I’d try to hang out with everyone. Makes some friends.  Everybody laughs at my accent.  I guess that’s why they hang out. I have some funny jokes, too, once in awhile.”  I echo Brennan’s opinion that scratching Filatov last night was a surprise, “I don’t think MacLean is showing enough patience here. Filatov has only played two games, plus a handful of shifts since being recalled.”

-Brennan gives five reasons why the Sens can make the playoffs (link):
1. Paul MacLean – Brennan points out he was a good assistant coach and good in the minors, ergo he will continue to deliver this season.  As good coaching credientials describe the majority of NHL coaches, I don’t see them as distinguishing MacLean from his peers.
2. Special Teams – Brennan says the powerplay is good and the penalty-killer is improving.  If the former remains potent and the latter continues to improve I agree they will help the playoff drive.
3. Craig Anderson – Brennan says the goaltender will definitely improve.  I’d like to believe him, but Anderson has let in at least one bad goal in each of his last five starts.
4. Daniel Alfredsson – Brennan talks about the emotional lift he gives the team.  This is hard to measure, but I have no problem agreeing that the captain is an important piece to the team’s success.
5. Bryan Murray – Brennan believes Murray will make a deal if the Sens are close to the playoffs, but I hope he doesn’t.  Murray’s track record with deadline deals has not been great and the team isn’t deep enough to give up good prospects for a rental.

–The Silver Seven‘s exuberant Ryan Classic writes about last night’s game (link), which he thought was boring but loved everything about the Senators and how they played.

-Joy Lindsay has post-game comments up from Binghamton’s loss last night (link), with Kurt Kleinendorst saying, “We played a pretty good road game. Throw out the shot clock, which really I don’t think was all that indicative of the game. They get a lot of shots on net, that’s what San Jose does. We get the lead late, then there’s a very questionable call on Da Costa in the offensive zone, and with 10 seconds left on the power play, they outbattle us around the net. We were 10 seconds short of killing that, and if we do, we’re in pretty good shape. And then, one more unfortunate read off a rush, and next thing you know we’re down by a goal late. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it goes.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Bruce Garrioch’s potpourri column (link) talks about division and conference realignment (nothing new) and the possibility of Randy Carlyle going to Winnipeg–despite the team being high on their current coach (Claude Noel) and the problem the Jets have is taking too many penalties (a constant in Anaheim under Carlyle).  Finally, Garrioch speculates the Flames might try and land Filip Kuba to replace Mark Giordano.

December 4, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Ottawa lost their second game in a row tonight, a game in which they were mediocre and probably deserved to lose.  The entertainment value was missing tonight and the Sens racked up their second game in a row in which they only enjoyed one powerplay.  For the box score go here link.  A look at the goals:
1. Washington, Backstrom
Chris Phillips inexplicably backs off and let’s Backstrom fire the puck home from the slot
2. Karlsson (Spezza)
Floats the puck in from the point through a Greening screen
3. Washington, Brouwer
A bad angle goal given up by Anderson
4. Michalek (Alfredsson, Foligno)
Foligno gets the puck to the net and Michalek bangs it home
5. Washington, Laich
Karlsson falls giving up a 2-on-1 that Laich nicely finishes

Top-performers (no one had a great game, nevertheless):
Milan Michalek – largely invisible, but still lead the team in scoring chances and scored the game-tying goal

Players who struggled:
Jared Cowen – a rough night as he lead the team in turnovers
Bobby Butler – got his chance on the top line with Filatov scratched and was completely invisible; I have to wonder if he’ll be in the lineup next time
Brian Lee – couldn’t make a pass and couldn’t defend

Binghamton lost another regulation game tonight.  Despite being badly out shot (35-22) they still managed to lead the game in the third on a goal by Pat Cannone before losing (Mike McKenna took the loss).  I did not see the game so I’m reliant on reports about it.  For the box score go here link and for Joy Lindsay’s game summary go here link.

Elmira won 3-1 tonight, with Brian Stewart getting the win, Jack Downing kept off the scoreboard and Louie Caporusso didn’t play.

December 4, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–The Ottawa Sun and Ottawa Citizen‘s Don Brennan and Allen Panzeri continue their habit of writing articles on the same topic (link and link), which is how much it will cost to re-sign Erik Karlsson.  Both refer to Viktor Hedman‘s new deal with Tampa (5 years/4.0) and talk about how Karlsson likes it in Ottawa (Ian Mendes Tweets (link) he likes the Kris Letang comparison, 4 years/3.5).  It’s all much ado about nothing.  There’s no question Murray will re-sign Karlsson and with the cap space the Sens have his number isn’t that relevant–he’s the best blueliner on the team so he’s not going to upset any comparables.

-In Brennan’s potpourri article (link) he says Chris Neil will be in the lineup for the game against the Caps.  He also talks about how few powerplays Ottawa gets (something that troubled them last year), with Daniel Alfredsson saying “I asked one of the refs the other night, ‘what do we have to do to get a power play?’ He just said ‘move your feet, work through it’ so I guess that’s all we can do.”

-Binghamton beat Manchester 4-1 in Matt Carkner‘s first game since February.  Andre Petersson pushed his point streak to seven games, while Stephane Da Costa had two assists in his Binghamton debut.  Robin Lehner made 27 saves for his first AHL win since October.  For the box score go here link and for Joy Lindsay’s game summary go here link.

-Joy Lindsay has extensive post-game notes (link).  Kurt Kleinendorst talked about the win, “We did some really good things. Our first period was real good. Our second period was very sloppy. And then I thought we settled it back down in the third period, and it was a good period with a two-goal lead. And in the second period, we were sloppy because we were turning pucks over in the neutral zone, not getting pucks deep — which is always part of the game, but I would have thought we would have learned our lesson last week against Wilkes-Barre. And that’s where Robin kept us in there. I thought in the second period, Robin was probably the difference in the game, in the second period, for sure.”

-The Senators also made a trade to help Binghamton, acquiring Rob Klinkhammer out of the Chicago organisation for a conditional 2013 7th round draft pick (the conditions are that Klinkhammer plays for Ottawa at some point this season).  The 25-year old, 6’3 left-winger went undrafted out of the WHL and is in his fifth season in the AHL (306-56-77-133).

-Elmira won in a shootout last night, with Jack Downing scoring while Louie Caporusso was held pointless and Brian Stewart picked up the win.  Elmira won on Wednesday as well, Stewart with the win, Downing with an assist, and Caporusso pointless.

-Pierre McGuire writes for Sports Illustrated‘s that “Scouts from at least 20 NHL teams have journeyed to the heartland to watch 6’8 defenseman Andrej Sustr, a 20-year-old Czech-born sophomore at Nebraska-Omaha. Slow to develop, he went untouched through three drafts, which means he is now an unrestricted free agent. His role model is 6’9″ Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, though most scouts feel Sustr will be less of a developmental project than Chara” (link).  Sustr is a right-shot blueliner who came to North America in 2008-09 to play in the NAHL (much like Stephane Da Costa).  He plays with Sens prospect Bryce Aneloski and leads the team in blueline scoring (16-3-8-11).  In the 2010 draft he was ranked #195 by Central Scouting and #264 by Red Line Report.

–Sports Ilustrated‘s Stu Hackel talks to Scotty Bowman about a number of things (link) and the whole article is worth reading.  He talks about what went wrong in Washington, “I don’t know how good that team is. They’re always in a weak division. They’re always with teams that have no money or don’t spend to the salary cap. They get in the playoffs and their competition is tougher.  I think what happened with Boudreau, he replaced Glen Hanlon, and they weren’t playing for him.  They bought in Boudreau, some guy from the minors, and they started to win by playing all-out offense. They didn’t play any defense. Then they started to lose in the playoffs and he tried to change.  I don’t think you can change. It’s too bad for Boudreau, but he bounced back right away.”  He talks about the problems in Anaheim, “Carlyle, I don’t understand. He was a big line matcher. He always had a defensive line. The year they won the Cup (2007), it was Sami Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Robbie Niedermayer. He changed on the fly (to get them out against their opponent’s best forwards) and they played a very disciplined game.  I’ve been watching them the last month and a half.  The goalie [Hiller] wasn’t what he was, but their defense corps is horrible. And Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan, they weren’t good in their own end. I know he didn’t have a checking line anymore because all those guys are gone. You know when you get star players, you can’t ever get them thinking that you want them to fail. You got to make them believe you’re always in their corner, you’re always trying to insulate them. I don’t know what he was doing.”  He says Carolina is simply not talented enough (thus the firing of Paul Maurice) and relates the success of Ken Hitchcock in St. Louis to their imitation of Detroit’s style of play.

December 3, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan writes about last night’s game (link), with Paul MacLean saying “The first 55 minutes, I thought we played real well. Unfortunately in the last five minutes we got defensive and couldn’t get out of our end when we had opportunities.  When you have the lead in this league, you have to continue to play hard. You have to make sure you stay committed. I think it’s part of the learning process for us, of how to win games on the road.  You can’t take things for granted that things are going to happen. You have to go on the ice and dictate the way the game is played. Make sure you’re strong on pucks and you’re strong at your net. We weren’t those things in the last five minutes.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Aedan Helmer writes a brief update about two Sens prospects (link) via Pierre Dorion: Mika Zibanejad “I think the initial shock of being in the NHL one day and then the next day you’re on a plane back to Sweden, there was definitely some disappointment there. He admitted to us he was tired, but we’ve had scouts at three or four games this year and he was one of the best players on the ice.”  Jakob Silfverberg “It’s a league where they try to make the perfect play. When someone produces, that just shows you (Silfverberg) has that offensive upside we’re looking for. But Jakob’s game is a complete game, he plays the penalty kill, plays defensively and plays well in tight areas.”

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Wayne Scanlan writes about the changes that have happened in Anaheim and Ottawa since they met in the 2007 Cup final (link), within which Scanlan makes a couple of arguments I disagree with.  He writes “the Ducks may now also be en route to a rebuild based on their current 14th  place standing in the Western Conference and a salary budget that has its  limitations. Toss in the future retirement of Selanne, likely next spring, and  pending free agents in Saku Koivu and Jason Blake and the Ducks could be reloading with the help of a lottery pick.”  The Ducks have a very good roster even now (which is why many experts picked them to be in the playoffs this year), they are simply underperforming.  The retirements he cites are important, but (other than Selanne) those are the kind of pieces that can be replaced.  The second point I disagree with is “Bob Murray might want to look in the mirror, because it was his trade of Lupul and Gardiner for Beauchemin that badly hurt the Ducks while boosting Toronto into a playoff contender.”  I think Murray overpaid, but I don’t think the trade came anywhere near gutting the team.  Lupul has never had a season like this before (his previous best was 2004-05), while with Cam Fowler in the fold Gardiner became expendable.

–The Silver Seven‘s Adnan takes a look at Milan Michalek‘s hot start and compares it to his start in 2009-10 (link), with the stats being incredibly similar:
2009-2010: 25 Games, 15 goals, 5 assists, 74 shots, 20.27% shooting
2011-2012: 25 games, 15 goals, 6 assists, 74 shots, 20.27% shooting
“In the first 25 games of 2009-2010, Michalek had three multi-goal games and scored in 11 of the 25 games. In 2011-2012, Michalek has had four multi-goal games and scored in 11 of the 25 games.”  But Adnan doesn’t believe he’ll completely fall off the map as he did two years ago, “If he falls back to his career shooting percentage for the rest of the season, but continues to get the same number of shots, Michalek will score 35 goals over 82 games this season.”

-Joy Lindsay has posted the probable lineup for tonight (link), with Mark Parrish a game-time decision: Corey Cowick-Stephane Da Costa-Mark Parrish/Riley Armstrong, David Dziurzynski-Pat Cannone-Andre Petersson, Mike Hoffman-Derek Grant-Mike Bartlett, Gratchev-Wacey Hamilton-Francis Lessard; Mark Borowiecki-Eric Gryba, Wiercioch-Matt Carkner, Bobby Raymond-Craig Schira.

-Joy Lindsay posted various quotes (link) with Robin Lehner talking about his game of late “I’ve been in a little bit of a slump. I think I’ve been putting my efforts out there. I think this year in total I’ve been playing pretty good. I had the off game in Ottawa there, but since then, I think we’ve been playing good, the whole team. I think my efforts, too, have been good overall. But I think the bounces and stuff are not there right now, and I think the momentum is not really there. But it’s up to us to try and change it, and I’m looking for turning around my losing streak, too. Obviously, it’s hard mentally, but we kind of look at reality and see, if you play pretty good, it’s going to turn around.”  Stephane Da Costa talked about what he needs to work on, “I think defensively, I’ve got to work on. I’ve got to work on my speed. I don’t know, I’ve got a lot to work on, because I’m still young. …I’m a center, and my game is to have the puck a lot, so when I have the puck, I feel confident. So I think confidence is going to be a big part.” And “I feel good. Young guys, so I like being here. I know most of the guys from training camp, and I know most of them, all of them, so it’s going to be good.  I think, like I talked to (Senators General Manager) Bryan (Murray), I struggled with confidence. For the first five, six games, I had confidence, then maybe I couldn’t score, or I got scored on, and my confidence went down a little bit. It’s hard to get it back up when you’re in the NHL because it’s a big league, and it’s the best league in the world, so it’s tough.  I mean, obviously. It’s a big jump from college to second-line center in the NHL, so I had some pressure, and had the pressure to do well every game. That maybe killed my game a little bit.”

–Hockey Futures‘ Tony Piscotta looks at Calder candidates (link), with Colin Greening ranked 9th (“Still technically a rookie despite appearing in 24 games with Ottawa in 2009-10, [he] enters the poll in the ninth spot due primarily to his two-way play and the fact that he is skating on the top line for the Senators. After opening the season with eight points in twelve games, his offensive numbers decreased in November – he scored two goals in 12 games. However, during that stretch the Senators gained points in seven of 12 games, with Greening averaging over 16 minutes of ice time per game. Like Couturier, Greening‘s value is in his two-way play, particularly along the walls and in tight spaces. While his offensive game is limited, he should have more scoring opportunities as he continues to play alongside Ottawa’s leading scorer Jason Spezza“).

-The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their sterling record with top draft picks, as Derick Brassard‘s agent fired shots at coach Scott Arniel (link).  Speaking of top Columbus picks, Nikita Filatov had some chances last night, but needs to show a bit more on the back check.

December 2, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Ian Mendes Tweets (link) to remind us that tonight will be only the third time Brian Lee and David Rundblad have played in the same game, the last two times being 7-goal losses.  As amusing as this is, those were very early games in the season (4 and 6) and aren’t very indicative.

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan’s potpourri article (link) includes comments from Chris Phillips about the team, “Guys look comfortable playing with each other. You see some chemistry starting with (Kaspars) Daugavins, (Erik) Condra, (Zack) Smith. You get some character lines in there that are really starting to get their own identity as lines, and with partners. That’s stuff that does take time, and it’s starting to take shape for us now.  We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s a long season. You try not to ride the ups and downs, just stay consistent. It sounds boring, but we just take it day to day. We have to do that. We can’t dwell on losses and we can’t be wondering about what’s going to take place at the end of the season.”

-Brennan looks at the performance of Zack Smith (link), with Paul MacLean saying “I think in our last 10 games his line has probably been the most consistent line, from game to game to game. They’ve done a good job killing penalties and done a good job against the other team’s second- or first-best line. To their credit, they’ve kept the game simple and done what we’ve asked, and they’ve been rewarded.  I like the role he plays on our team right now. That’s enough for him to get used to, without putting any more added pressure on him to do something different, things he can’t do. We just want to make sure he becomes Zack Smith.”  Smith himself said “The playoffs (in Binghamton) were good for my confidence. Handling the puck … I got to play in some situations like the power play, with (Ryan) Potulny and (Ryan) Keller, and I think that’s a big part of my confidence this year. I think it’s had everything to do with it. (The B-Sens run) was the best possible thing that could have happened to a lot of us. But I think I’ll always be known as a defensive guy. That’s something I’ve kind of worked towards my whole career. Something that coaches have established since I was young.”

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Allen Panzeri looks at Ottawa’s win over Winnipeg (link), with Paul MacLean saying “It was a great credit to our team and our resiliency. We bent a bit — we bent a lot — but we didn’t break, and at the end of the night we found a way  to win the game, and that’s a great part of the learning curve for our team,  learning how to win on the road.”  Ottawa has come back in seven games thus far this season.

–Senators Extra‘s Ken Warren (link) takes a look at the Senators numbers thus far this year: He references Ottawa’s surprising goal-scoring, poor defensive numbers (which he blames on Karlsson (-2), Gonchar (+2), and Rundblad (-6); presumably Cowen‘s -6 and Lee‘s -4 aren’t worth mentioning; he’s also very forgiving of Craig Anderson‘s lousy numbers), Ottawa’s 7-0-0 record when leading after two periods, their 4-7-0 record when trailing after the first period, and their PK to PP ratio (something I think less an issue of play and more about the vicissitudes of officials).

-ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside grade the NHL (link), giving Ottawa a C+ (8th in the East) saying “Hey, most people figured the Senators to be in the vicinity of “F” so kudos to Paul MacLean for keeping his team from sliding off the map after a dreadful start. Ottawa’s young defense is learning on the go, but the fact the Senators are hanging around the playoff picture at this stage of the season is a bonus. Trending: Neutral. Not sure the Sens can keep this up as the season moves along, especially with the worst goals-against average in the NHL, but so far so good.”

-Joy Lindsay Tweets Binghamton’s lines at practice (link): Cowick-Da Costa-Armstrong, Dziurzynski-Cannone-Petersson, Hoffman-Grant-Bartlett, Gratchev-Hamilton-Lessard; Borowiecki-Gryba, Wiercioch-Schira, Raymond-Godfrey.  Lehner will start tomorrow.

–The Hockey News‘s Adam Proteau looks at the top-ten worst NHL cliche’s (link):
10. A two-goal lead is the hardest to protect
9. We didn’t play a full 60 minutes
8. That’s a goal-scorer’s goal
7. 110 percent
6. Dirty areas
5. We have to take it one game at a time
4. Obviously/Like I said
3. Moving/going forward
2. At the end of the day
1. It is what it is
His top-four don’t bother me much, but the list reminds me of how I have to endure pointless between period interviews with players–they never say anything, so what’s the point?

December 1, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment