Yesterday the BSens lost their third straight game against the Checkers and, like their previous game against them, did so after getting an early lead. Notably the game had just one official and that is legendary AHL referee Terry Koharski (whose brother Don was a long time NHL official). Terry has never been good enough for the NHL and does things his own way in the AHL–this is nothing new and the BSens should have been well-aware, but as we’ll see below, they chose to ignore this reality. Before I get into further observations, here are the basics (and the box score):
Shots: 23-33
PP: 0-3
PK: 2-4
Goaltender: Chris Driedger earned his first start and was fantastic in goal (he had thirteen key saves); Andrew Hammond backed him up while Danny Taylor didn’t join the team on the trip due to illness (Marcus Hogberg remained with Brampton). Hammond’s subsequent call-up to Colorado will make the decision tonight an interesting one in goal.
The Opposition
Charlotte is a very talented team (10-7 may not seem to reflect that, but they are). After the quick two goals by Belleville they shut things down effectively and were it not for the goaltending this game could easily have been 6-2 or 7-2.
The Goals
1. Werek one-times a back-hand pass from Perron
2. 28-seconds later Reinhart scores from above the circle far side through a crowd
3. Charlotte PP – top-corner from the point through a crowd (tipped)
4. Charlotte PP – top of the circle scores high (looked like it ramped up Perron’s stick)
5. Charlotte – Erkamps turns it over and a quick pass to a wide open Checker beats Driedger
6. Charlotte EN – Jaros turns it over
Scoring chances (8): Werek (x3, pp), McCormick (x2, pp), Reinhart, Randall, Gagne
The Roster
Chabot was recalled to Ottawa, so Erkamps dressed; Ciampini was scratched in favour of Randell (who was injured the last two games, not simply a scratch–alas); Lajoie, who is now healthy, was sent down to Brampton. Why Justin Vaive was dressed is beyond me.
The Lines
McCormick-O’Brien-Gagne
Vaive-White-Rodewald
Perron-Chlapik-Werek
Dunn-Reinhart-Randell
Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Englund-Jaros
Murray-Erkamps
Inexplicably the lines were never Tweeted out, but outside the roster moves they were unchanged (until McCormick was thrown out of the game, moving Rodewald up to the first line); Vaive was frequently replaced by Reinhart on the second line.
Special Teams
Power Play
McCormick-O’Brien-Rodewald/White-Burgdoefer
Werek-O’Brien-Rodewald/White-Burgdoerfer
Gagne-Chlapik-Perron/Murray-Jaros
Penalty Kill
McCormick-O’Brien/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Perron-White/Englund-Jaros (scored on)
Perron-Rodewald/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Rodewald/Sieloff-Jaros
O’Brien-Randell/Sieloff-Englund
O’Brien-Randell/Sieloff-Burgdoefer
O’Brien-Rodewald/Sieloff-Burgdoefer
Perron-Randell/Sieloff-Burgdoefer (scored on)
Werek’s PP appearance was due to McCormick being booted from the game; Randell on the PK again was unfortunate. As much as I like Perron I’m not sure why Kleinendorst is constantly throwing him on the PK.
Notable Plays
The most notable was McCormick getting a penalty and mouthing off to Koharski such that he earned himself an abuse of official penalty–I have no idea why anyone would bother saying anything to Koharski–keep your mouth shut and go to the box; one of McCormick’s scoring chances was on a partial breakaway; early in the second Randell had back-to-back glorious opportunities and couldn’t put the puck on net for either of them; Rodwald made a great rush in the second, but missed the net; Gagne’s chances was on a breakaway late in the second, but he was poked checked and only managed a dribbler on goal; Reinhart flubbed a backhand and missed an empty net in the third.
Player Notes
Erkamps: wears the goat horns for the winning goal against which is not a good look
Murray: not one of his better games, albeit not glaringly bad
Jaros: still getting readjusted after coming back from his concussion, but this was a better game than his last and he played more accordingly (he should have been on the first pp unit)
Englund: I made no notes for him so, largely invisible
Burgdoerfer: the turnover ratio for him is really high given his experience and he needs to be better (putting him on the first PP unit was a bizarre decision–he’d had 1 point in his last 7 games)
Sieloff: played well defensively
Vaive: lumbers around the ice with the impact of an awkward pylon
Dunn: seems to have given up his agitator role, but I don’t know what else he brings to the table
Randell: I don’t understand the coaching love affair with him; he can’t finish offensively and isn’t consistent enough defensively
Reinhart: him scoring is something of a bonus this season, so that’s a win; had no business on the first PP though so I’m glad Kleinendorst removed him
Chlapik: mixed results from him; I don’t think Werek on that line really works (as I’ve mentioned repeatedly)
Perron: pretty quiet game from him; the pass-first thing is occasionally frustrating
Werek: woke up a little in this game, although still doesn’t have much chemistry with his linemates (he’s a crash-the-net kind of player whereas both Chlapik and Perron want to move the puck around and set up a play)
Gagne: relatively quiet (given his linemates that’s not a surprise–he’s a shooter playing with other shooters)
O’Brien: Jimothy was in his quiet place tonight and accomplished nothing
McCormick: with the “A” on his sweater he can’t be getting himself kicked out of a game for nothing
The team got discombobulated the moment that Checkers scored their first goal and had no momentum afterwards. Some of that I put directly on Kleinendorst’s shoulders for stubbornly sticking with line combos (and players) who weren’t getting the job done. Looking at the lines for tonight we can see some proper adjustment, but we’ll have to see how that pays off.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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