–Paul MacLean reflected on their loss to Carolina:
I think our execution level again is something we need to continue to work at. I thought the game was pretty fast I thought they were at times quicker than we were, especially on their forecheck, which led to some poor execution by us. But at the same time, it was a 1-0 game and we had an opportunity to tie it late in the game
I have to agree wholeheartedly with MacLean that a lack of execution was a big problem in the Sens loss. Scott had the scoring chances 16-21, which seems about right.
-MacLean expects no lineup changes played for this afternoon’s game against the Habs (5-2-0); Montreal is lead by Andrei Markov and Raphael Diaz (8 points each) and backstopped by Carey Price (5-1-0 1.82 .932).
–Nichols wonders both about the long term future of Jason Spezza as well as the short-term impact on the Sens this season. In terms of the latter, I agree with Nichols that it’s a excellent opportunity for the centers in the organisation to try and impress. Fans need to remember the organisation is still in the midst of a rebuild and making the playoffs is more of a bonus than a necessity (particularly given how good the draft class of 2013 is). In the former case, the future, I think the Sens have to hope that Kyle Turris can step into Spezza‘s shoes, given that I agree with Nichols that Jason‘s injury history is a big red flag.
-It was a rare telecast of the Binghamton Senators last night (a 1-0 loss to St. John’s; here’s the boxscore) and I caught the action and have a few thoughts:
>Robin Lehner was excellent
>the dumb penalty quotient was high, with Danny New, Derek Grant, Chris Wideman, and Darren Kramer all taking them; Kramer‘s was by far the worst as it not only lead to a goal, but it was the first of four straight which killed whatever momentum Binghamton had at that point
>the team had an awful start and didn’t generate a scoring chance until the 14 minute mark of the first period
>Eric Gryba was far and away the best defenseman for Binghamton, although he did get burned on the IceCaps only goal as O’Dell simply skated around him
>Ben Blood continues to struggle; losing battles along the board and getting lost positionally
>It was a game of ups and downs for Jean-Gabriel Pageau; he had some golden chances in the game, but also made a brutal turnover in the third period that lead to a 2-on-1 for St. John’s; he also ate a huge hit by Arsene and I’ve noticed throughout the year that he struggles to avoid open ice hits
>Pat Cannone needs something to change; his body language is terrible and he clearly lacks confidence (even failing to make an open five-foot pass on the powerplay)
>Hugh Jessiman was completely invisible for two periods
>Tyler Eckford‘s only notable play was to make a lazy turnover on the PK in the third
>Grant had the best chance offensively for Binghamton
-Elmira defeated Evansville 3-1 last night; Louie Caporusso picked up a goal
–Stu Hackel looks at Gary Bettman’s 20-years as NHL commissioner and its worth reading.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
eyeonthesens 