-The post-game articles after the win over Philadelphia are a mass of cliche-filled back-slapping that includes an acknowledgement of Craig Anderson‘s struggles.  The Ottawa Citizen‘s Wayne Scalan’s article is the best (link), including this bit at the end, “Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette was so annoyed [by the team’s collapse] he could barely speak.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan wonders if Erik Karlsson will break Norm MacIver‘s franchise mark for points from a defenceman (link), which seems a no-brainer as long as Karlsson can stay healthy.

-Ian Mendes Tweets that yesterday’s third period comeback was the fourth time this year they’ve won when trailing by 2+ goals.  No other NHL team has more than two such wins (according to the Elias Sports).

-ESPN’s power rankings are out (link) with Ottawa 10th (Scott Burnside writes, “You can’t deny the work done by Paul MacLean with the overachieving Senators, who have lost just twice in regulation in their past 13 outings (9-2-2) and have surged into the middle of the playoff pack in the Eastern Conference“).

-Joy Lindsay Tweets that Andre Petersson is not practicing (presumably as a precautionary measure).

-Elmira won in a shootout, with both Louie Caporusso and Jack Downing scoring.

–Sportsnet‘s Mike Brophy embarrasses himself with a myopic review of the Leafs (link)–I think it’s the first-ever team review I’ve read where a reporter likes every player’s performance.

-Columbus GM finally fired coach Scott Arniel–three months too late for Blue Jacket fans.  It’s almost comical how badly the franchise has been handled.

January 9, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-No changes are expected for the Sens lineup today

-After the Sens loss on Philadelphia Paul MacLean talked about a lack of respect from referees for Craig Anderson, “I just wish that our goalie, Craig Anderson, who has 19 wins, would get the same respect that the other goaltenders in the league get as far as being allowed to defend his net and be able to play his position. That’s the only complaint that I would have” (link).

-I don’t think the NHLPA’s rejection of the NHL’s realignment plan means much of anything other than a small measure of push back.  I suspect next fall either that plan or one very similar to it will be in effect with the PA’s blessings.

-Binghamton’s two-game winning streak came to an end with a 3-2 loss to Syracuse last night.  Andre Petersson and Rob Klinkhammer scored the goals, with Petersson and Corey Locke both having two-point nights.  Mike McKenna made 25 saves in the loss.  Here is the box score and Joy Lindsay’s game summary.

-With Robin Lehner‘s suspension at an end, Brian Stewart was returned to Elmira

-Elmira won last night, with Louie Caporusso picking up two points while Jack Downing was held pointless.

-Sens prospect Jean-Gabriel Pageau was traded from Gatineau to Chicoutimi as Gatineau gears up its rebuild

-I talked about Bryan Burke’s irrational attachment to enforcers previously (link) and The Hockey News‘ Ken Campbell writes about it as well (link).  He writes in part, “Burke’s problem with the lack of fighting is that he thinks it allows gutless pukes to run around the ice elbowing opponents and smashing them from behind without retribution, going so far as saying, ‘anyone who has watched the last week and is not a little alarmed has not been paying attention.’ Huh? Like that never happened before Brendan Shanahan and the league started to bring the hammer down on these guys? Really? I do not for one minute doubt the sincerity of Burke and others when it comes to their beliefs on fighting’s place in the game. The only problem I have is that no rational train of thought supports the need for fighting in the NHL, but these guys continue to cling to their philosophy. Just because they’re power brokers and have a pulpit and carry a lot of influence, it doesn’t mean we have to believe what they’re saying. Out of one side of his mouth, Burke says the game is better than it has ever been since the NHL has opened its doors. What Burke conveniently forgets is that part of what has made the game so good is players, for the most part, no longer have to worry about having to deal with some one-dimensional knuckle dragger taking their heads off every time they try to carry the puck through the neutral zone, or that players who are too slow, not skilled enough and don’t have enough hockey sense to keep up at the NHL level are on the ice less than ever. Perhaps the most preposterous statement Burke made was that players are now afraid to hit because they’re concerned about being suspended, a development he basically contends will result in the league going to 4-on-4 ringette. What he conveniently forgets, again, is that in the vast majority of cases, players in this day and age cannot apply a clean, hard, open-ice hit to an opponent without having to answer the bell by fighting one of the aggrieved player’s teammates. Using Burke’s logic when it comes to fighting, wouldn’t that mean nobody would hit anybody because they have to fight every time they do?“

January 8, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

The Binghamton Senators have played 38 games, which in the AHL’s new schedule is the halfway point.  It’s been a topsy-turvy few months dominated by injuries to key players.  First, a look at the standings (keeping in mind that Binghamton has played more games than any other team in the league): they are 4th in their division, 11th in the Eastern Conference, and in a three-way tie for 21st overall.  They are in a three-way tie 14th in goals scored, and sit alone at 29th in goals against.  Pat Cannone leads the team in points with 22, while Mark Parrish has the most goals (11) and Corey Locke the most assists (15).  Despite missing 12 games this season Patrick Wierioch is tied with Mark Borowiecki for the most points by a blueliner with 12.  Tim Conboy leads the plus/minus category at +9 while Craig Schira is at the bottom with -9.  The loss of Corey Locke in particular has had a huge effect on the team, as they’re 10-7-0 with him in the lineup and 6-13-2 without him.

Here’s a look at player performances based on categories (SCR=scratched, INJ=injury):

Veterans
Mark Parrish 28-11-10-21 -6 INJ 10
Corey Locke 17-3-15-18 +1 INJ 21
Rob Klinkhammer 16-9-7-16 -4 (acquired by trade)
Tim Conboy 27-2-4-6 +9 INJ 11
Francis Lessard 30-1-1-2 -1 SRC 3 INJ 5
Mike McKenna 22-10-9-0 2.70 0.925

Prospects (not rookies)
Mike Hoffman 38-9-12-21 -8
Patrick Wiercioch 26-2-10-12 -8 INJ 12
David Dziurzynski 34-4-6-10 +1 INJ 4
Corey Cowick 36-4-5-9 -4 SCR 2
Eric Gryba 37-2-6-8 -5 INJ 1
Jim O’Brien 19-2-4-6 -2 INJ 19
Craig Schira 36-1-4-5 -9 SCR 2
Robin Lehner 19-6-12-1 3.10 0.910 INJ 6

Rookies
Pat Cannone 38-9-13-22 Even
Andre Petersson 26-9-10-19 +6 INJ 12
Stephane Da Costa 17-6-9-15 -2
Derek Grant 24-4-8-12 -1 SCR 1 INJ 13
Mark Borowiecki 38-2-10-12 +4
Wacey Hamilton 38-2-2-4 -8
Louie Caporusso 7-0-0-0 -2 SCR 2 (ECHL 19-8-11-19 +3)

AHL Contracts
Josh Godfrey 18-1-3-4 Even SCR 4 INJ 11 (ECHL 2-0-2-2 +1)
Bobby Raymond 26-0-4-4 +1 SCR 6 (ECHL 8-2-3-5 Even)
Jack Downing 14-0-1-1 -3 SCR 2 (ECHL 19-8-7-15 -5)
Maxime Gratchev 12-0-0-0 -7 SCR 4 INJ 8 (ECHL 13-5-6-11 -3)
Brian Stewart 9 games backing up (ECHL 19-13-5-0 2.93 0.913)

Call-Ups
Mike Bartlett 22-2-2-4 Even (ECHL 6-2-4-6 -1)
Riley Armstrong 5-1-2-3 +1 (ECHL 9-3-4-7 +1; now playing in Finland)
Mike Ratchuk 8-0-1-1 Even (ECHL 20-3-8-11 -8)
Brandon Svendsen 5-0-1-1 +1 (ECHL 26-11-20-31 -3)
Mike Radja 3-0-1-1 +1 (ECHL 30-16-17-33 +7)
Mike Campanale 1-0-0-0 Even (ECHL 26-3-4-7 +8)

No Longer On the Team
Nikita Filatov 15-7-5-12 +3 (KHL)
Kaspars Daugavins 7-4-2-6 Even (NHL)
Shaun Heshka 10-0-1-1 -8 (traded-AHL)
Matt Carkner 3-0-1-1 Even (NHL)

Binghamton Scoring by Points-Per-Game (minimum 10 games played, excluding those no longer on the roster; I’ve included last years’ AHL PPG where applicable in brackets)
Corey Locke 1.05 (1.25)
Rob Klinkhammer 1.00 (0.60)
Stephane Da Costa 0.88
Mark Parrish 0.75 (0.91)
Andre Petersson 0.73
Pat Cannone 0.57
Mike Hoffman 0.55 (0.33)
Derek Grant 0.50 (0.42)
Patrick Wiercioch 0.46 (0.26)
Jim O’Brien 0.31 (0.75)
Mark Borowiecki 0.31
David Dziurzynski 0.29 (0.26)
Corey Cowick 0.25 (0.13)
Tim Conboy 0.22 (0.17)
Josh Godfrey 0.22 (7 AHL games last year)
Eric Gryba 0.21 (0.10)
Mike Bartlett 0.18 (0.25)
Bobby Raymond 0.15 (9 AHL games last year)
Craig Schira 0.13 (0.19)
Wacey Hamilton 0.10
Francis Lessard 0.06 (0.08)
Maxime Gratchev 0.00 (0.30 in 09/10)
Mike McKenna 2.70 (3.05) 0.925 (0.893)
Robin Lehner 3.10 (2.70) 0.910 (0.912)

On the whole the season has been disastrous.  I don’t think the organisation thought Binghamton would struggle as much as they have.  While the team wasn’t expected to challenge again for the Calder Cup again, they were expected to be competitive.  The disappointment is tempered by the parade of debilitating injuries along with the accretion of players–the retirement of Lee Sweatt, the failure of Shaun Heshka, the permanent call-up of Kaspars Daugavins, the loss of Nikita Filatov, and the fact that Jared Cowen and David Rundblad were never sent to Binghamton.

On the individual level I think they got exactly what was expected from their veterans (with the Klinkhammer trade looking great in the early going).  Among the prospects Jim O’Brien‘s production has to be disappointing, as he was expected to help carry the offensive load, while Craig Schira will likely be looking for a European or ECHL contract somewhere else next year.  More offence may have been expected from Mike Hoffman, but he’s improved enough over his rookie season that another gear can be imagined.  Among the rookies the quick adaption by Andre Petersson and Mark Borowiecki stand out.  Wacey Hamilton seems like a disappointment, but as the second youngest player on the team expectations have to be tempered.  Louie Caporusso is the only prospect who has been unable to consistently play in Binghamton, but he seems to have adjusted to the ECHL level and may (like Corey Cowick) make the adjustment in the second half of the season–although as a four-year college player it’s a surprise how much time he’s needed.  There have been no real surprises among the AHL contract players, with the best two being second round pick Josh Godfrey and Mike Barlett (who spent all of last year with the Milwaukee Admirals).

January 7, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Senators Extra‘s Ken Warren writes about last night’s win (link) and agrees with me that it was Craig Anderson‘s best performance of the year.  Daniel Alfredsson said, “I don’t know what the shots were for awhile there, but the coach wasn’t too happy with us on the bench and (Anderson) was keeping us in it.”  Kyle Turris, meantime, talked about his first goal, “The biggest thing is confidence. The guys on the team and coach MacLean have given me that.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan gives coach Paul MacLean most of the credit for the team’s success thus far (link) and it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t played a big part in getting the team to believe in itself and never quit.  I think a pat on the back also has to go to Binghamton coach Kurt Kleinendorst, given that six players on the team were part of his Calder Cup winning roster from last year.

-Joy Lindsay Tweets Binghamton’s projected lines: Klinkhammer-Locke-Petersson, Hoffman-Da Costa-Grant, Dziurzynski-Cannone-Bartlett (O’Brien), Cowick-Hamilton-Lessard (Gratchev); Gryba-Borowiecki, Raymond-Conboy, Godfrey-Schira; Mike McKenna will start.

-Both the Edmonton Journal (link) and Calgary Herald (link) write about Sweden’s victory 1-0 over Russia at the WJC for their first gold medal since 1981.  Mika Zibanejad scored the OT winner on a great individual effort.  Canada won bronze against Finland in a game that was largely one-sided.

-Toronto GM Brian Burke finally acknowledged reality by sending one-dimensional Colton Orr to the minors, bemoaning the change in the game that requires enforcers to do more than fight (link).  The myopia of people like Burke truly boggles the mind.  Fighting came to prominence in the 1970s as a form of intimidation, not policing.  Even in the 1980s, the heyday for the one-dimensional enforcer, the tough guy defended the rats too, so there’s no halcyon point in time when the NHL didn’t have dirty and borderline players.  More to the point, the whole idea of having players police themselves is absurd–it runs counter to how sport is played and how society functions.

–Sports Illustrated‘s Stu Hackel is exasperated by Brendan Shanahan’s unwillingness to follow through with his tough talk and suspend players significantly (link).  The inability to deliver shouldn’t surprise Hackel.  Shanahan is from the same school as Colin Campbell and the entire NHL establishment.  The only way NHL discipline will change is if it’s someone outside the inner circle who is given autonomy to make judgements (something I don’t see happening).

January 6, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-No lineup changes are expected for tonight other than Sergei Gonchar being inserted.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Ken Warren doesn’t mind that Kyle Turris hasn’t started scoring yet (link), which varies from his response to other players who haven’t immediately started scoring (eg Nikita Filatov).

-An interesting fact Tweeted by Ian Mendes: “Of the Sens 20 wins this season, only once did they score 1st and hold the lead for the entire game: Nov. 17th at EDM.”

-Fans voted in four Sens for the All-Star game this year: Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek.  I’m not a fan of the game or the event, but players still enjoy the honour so kuddos to all those who voted.  On the AHL side of things Corey Locke was named to the All-Star team.

-Binghamton pulled out a 4-3 win over Adirondack after blowing a 3-1 lead.  Both Corey Locke and Andre Petersson had three assists while Rob Klinkhammer scored twice with Corey Cowick and Tim Conboy adding the other goals (Mike McKenna picked up the win).  Here is the box score and Joy Lindsay’s game summary.  It’s a great return for Petersson who looks to stake a permanent claim to the first line.

-Joy Lindsay Tweets that Jim O’Brien is expected to return next weekend.

–Hockey Futures‘ John Henkelman writes about the Sens prospects in the AHL (link).  Unfortunately, there’s not much indepth analysis in the piece (and includes a minor error in the number of games played by Louie Caporusso), but for those who haven’t kept tabs on Binghamton’s season it’s worth reading.

January 5, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Chris Phillips is out with a concussion (link), leaving the Senators blueline very thin only weeks after it was full enough to move David Rundblad.

-There’s chatter about re-signing Erik Karlsson, but as engaging as it is the discussion is moot as it’s inconceivable the Sens won’t re-sign him.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Wayne Scanlan wonders if Karlsson could get Norris consideration (link) and the simple answer is no.  The NHL almost never rewards blueliners who are considered one-dimensional.

-TSN, THN, and Sports Illustrated‘s power rankings are up (link, link, and link) with Ottawa 17th, 14th, and 16th.  SI’s Adrian Dater says “This has become one of my favorite teams, just for the purely random good record the Sens have posted. They were awful the first week of the season, but hats off to new coach Paul McLean for rounding these guys into a competitive bunch. The Sens were a lottery team last year, but here they are right in the playoff mix.”  The Sens record was awful the first week, but that shouldn’t be the basis for analysis.

–Robin Lehner was suspended for three games, which is considered a very light sentence for abuse of officials (clearly the AHL thought the linesman should have been better occupied).

-Joy Lindsay reports (link) that if Andre Petersson plays tonight Maxime Gratchev will be scratched, with Kurt Kleinendorst saying, “I think Wacey (Hamilton) did a nice job when we used him up there. I put (Max) Gratchev up there, and Max did a nice job. And I think Corey Cowick took a couple shifts up there. But as much as I appreciate them … you need a special player in that spot, and I think Petey‘s that guy.”  Brian Stewart has been recalled due to Lehner‘s suspension.

-I watched both WJC semi-final games, where Finland’s decision to sit back and try to defend a 2-0 lead wound up costing them and Canada’s goaltenders inability to make a save ultimately prevented an incredible comeback against the Russians.  I was surprised by the Russians, whom the Czech’s badly outplayed in the quarters.  The one thing Canada did not do that worked for the Czech’s was establish a forecheck and I don’t think we’ll see much of that from either the Swedes or the Russians in the gold medal game.

January 4, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment