-As a sign of desperate times Paul MacLean is experimenting with Alfredsson on the point on the powerplay–I don’t think he has the foot speed to do that anymore (link)

–The Silver Seven‘s Adnan wonders if the Sens should call up Robin Lehner, and while I agree with him that Lehner would have better numbers in the NHL, he’s not fully healthy and I don’t think the Sens would consider it until he’s played a few games in Binghamton

–Don Brennan writes about Jason Spezza‘s point drought and Milan Michalek‘s goalless streak, but doesn’t put his finger on the real issue: rotating linemates and the failed Bobby Butler experiment.  I like Colin Greening on the line as a defensive safety net, but think the move to put Erik Condra there provides something similar.

–ESPN and The Hockey News‘ power rankings have Ottawa 12th and 13th

–Mike McKenna is expected to start for Binghamton, but as yet the lineup for tonight has not been posted

–Corey Cowick has been re-assigned to Elmira; Cowick, who was off to a better start this season, is on a nine-game pointless streak.

–Hockey’s Future‘s staff writes about the hot/cold prospect through January, singling out Andre Petersson, “Since his return [from injury] in early January, Petersson has been one of the most dominant players in the AHL, a feat all the more extraordinary considering the middling season the Baby Sens are having. Through eight January games played, Petersson managed eight goals and seven assists, more than doubling his point total on the season. His numbers could have even been greater if he had not made his NHL debut on January 21st, skating five minutes in place of a banged-up Bobby Butler“, and Shane Prince, “Snubbed by USA Hockey to represent his country in the U20 WJCs, Shane Prince took whatever anger or frustration he felt and put together one of the most prolific stretches of hockey in his young career.  On December 28th, shortly after Team USA finished getting drubbed by upstart Finland, 4-1, Prince began a torrid offensive pace that would see him produce 14 goals and 13 assists over the next 14 games. He would do it with authority too, managing seven multipoint games and being held off the scoresheet only once during the stretch. His pace would be the most prolific of any OHL player during the month of January, producing 10 goals and 11 assists in nine games dating from January 8th to the 29th. Why such a prolific offensive player would be left off the Team USA roster remains unclear, though there is ample speculation his absence from the roster was for political reasons, as he opted to play in Canadian Major Juniors rather than with USA Hockey.”  They also mention David Rundblad dominating in the AHL (6-3-4-7).

February 3, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Don Brennan believes the Sens have made themselves a target for officials, “Have the Senators been getting jammed by the referees ever since coach Paul MacLean told reporters O’Rourke declared Erik Karlsson guilty of embellishment? Yes. Is it a coincidence that there’s been controversial calls or non-calls favouring the opposition in each of their next three games, all losses? Not likely. Members of the officiating fraternity have each other’s back.”  The Sens themselves are dismissing the notion.  For an interesting look at the Boston game in particular check out Kerry Fraser‘s column (he argues the only missed call against Boston was Milan Lucic‘s boarding of Erik Condra).  Ken Warren says NHL director of officiating Terry Gregson spoke to both Paul MacLean and Dan O’Rourke following the Anaheim game.

–Joy Lindsay Tweets Binghamton’s lines at practice: Klinkhammer-Locke-Downing, Hoffman-Da Costa-O’Brien (Lessard), Dziurzynski-Cannone-Petersson, Cowick-Hamilton-Bartlett (Grant).  Mike McKenna is expected to start tomorrow.

-Joy also reports that Andre Petersson was named AHL rookie of the month; he had 15 points in 8 games.

-Elmira lost 4-1 last night, with Brian Stewart taking the loss; Louie Caporusso was not dressed (I assume he’s injured)

-I missed the CHL Top Prospects Game last night, with Team Orr beating Team Cherry 2-1.  Branden Troock, Griffin Reinhart, and Dillon Fournier scored the goals.  Troock and Matthew Murray were named players of the game.

-Continuing my look at top-prospects from junior leagues, this time from Europe (in some cases there isn’t significant enough performance to list blueliners as fully):

SEL
Pontus Aberg (Djurgarden) 35-7-7-14
John Norman (Djurgarden) 43-4-10-14
Jonas Hari (MODO) 25-4-6-10
Joel Mustonen (Timra) 22-2-3-5
Konstantin Komarek (Lulea) 38-2-3-5

Niclas Burstrom (Skelleftea) 40-5-4-9
Oscar Fantenberg (HV71) 37-3-4-7
Rasmus Edstrom (Skelleftea) 29-2-5-7
Nils Andersson (Vaxjo) 38-1-6-7
Daniel Gunnarsson (D-Lulea) 38-2-3-5

SM-Liiga
Julius Junttila (Karpat) 42-12-11-23
Jesse Mankinen (SaiPa) 44-12-8-20
Aleksander Barkov (Tappara) 31-7-9-16
Charles Bertrand (Lukko) 40-9-6-15
Teemu Rautiainen (HPK) 34-3-8-11

Rasmus Ristolainen (TPS) 33-3-4-7
Simo-Pekka Riikola (KalPa) 20-1-4-5
Joonas Liimatainen (Tappara) 26-1-4-5
Lauri Karmeniemi (HPK) 34-1-4-5
Otto Raty (Tappara) 21-0-5-5

NLA
Inti Pestoni (Ambri-Piotta) 35-10-15-25
Joel Vermin (Bern) 27-9-8-17
Ronalds Kenins (ZSC) 43-5-12-17
Christoph Bertschy (Bern) 25-8-7-15
Reto Schappi (ZSC) 38-5-6-11

Romain Loeffel (Gotteron) 43-5-11-16
Anthony Huguenin (Biel) 44-0-14-14
Samuel Erni (Zug) 42-1-7-8

KHL
Artemi Panarin (Vityaz) 38-12-14-26
Nikita Tochitsky (Vityaz) 39-6-8-14
Anton Burdasov (Traktor) 45-6-6-12
Filipp Savchenko (Avtomobilist) 31-4-7-11
Sergei Kalinin (Avangard) 40-4-6-10

Roman Kudinov (Vityaz) 21-1-4-5

DEL
Laurin Braun (Berlin) 38-8-12-20
Yasin Ehliz (Nurnberg) 29-3-4-7
Bjorn Krupp (D-Kolner) 41-0-7-7
Matthias Plachta (Mannheim) 38-4-2-6
Bernhard Keil (Straubing) 35-1-5-6

Extraliga (Czech)
Tomas Rachunek (HC Sparta) 45-10-8-18
Tomas Hertl (HC Slavia) 30-9-9-18
Jakub Orsava (HC Trinec) 43-8-7-15
Petr Holik (HC Zlin) 40-9-5-14
Michal Bulir (Bili Tygri) 39-5-5-10

Jakub Krejcik (HC Slavia) 44-2-7-9
Petr Zamorsky (HC Zlin) 30-1-4-5
Jakub Jerabek (HC Plzen) 27-1-3-4
Petr Kousalik (HC Litvinov) 41-0-4-4

Extraliga (Slovak)
Michael Vandas (Poprad) 34-9-23-32
Andrej Stastny (Trencin) 42-7-17-24
Tomas Hrnka (Nitra) 44-10-10-20
Miroslav Priesinger (Bratislava) 42-4-11-15
Martin Sobota (Martin) 42-7-6-13

Lukas Kozak (Martin) 39-2-8-10
Peter Hrasko (Zvolen) 44-2-6-8
Henrich Jabornik (Skalica) 31-1-4-5

Allsvenskan (Swedish minor league)
Marcus Nilsson (Bofors) 41-6-20-26
Adam Pettersson (Sundsvall) 42-9-14-23
Victor Backman (Boras) 34-8-12-20
Markus Ljungh (Vasteras) 41-6-13-19
Markus Kinisjarvi (Vasteras) 39-7-9-16

Jesper Jensen (Rogle) 39-4-11-15
Linus Hultstrom (Oskarshamn) 36-5-9-14
Victor Berglind (Sundsvall) 21-1-7-8

Mestis (Finnish minor league)
Jesper Piitulainen (Jukurit) 39-16-22-38
Juho Iloviita (TuTo) 39-9-12-21
Joni Happola (Peliitat) 36-4-17-21
Oula Palve (JYP-Akatemia) 37-10-7-17
Joonas Sammalmaa (JYP-Akatemia), Joni Karjalainen (Hokki), and Miika Roine (JYP-Akatemia) are all tied with 15-points

Aleksi Salonen (JYP-Akatemia) 37-5-8-13
Markus Vastila (LeKi) 35-5-5-10
Miihkali Teppo (Kiekko-Vantaa) 23-3-7-10
Nico Manelius (Kiekko-Vantaa) 23-2-8-10
Miro Hovinen (Kiekko-Vantaa), Ville Pokka (Kiekko-Laser), and Samuli Kankaanpera (JYP-Akatemia) are all tied with 8-points

SuperElit (Swedish junior league)
Tim Werner (Orebro) 20-25-12-37
Charlie Hellstrom (Orebro) 19-15-21-36
Victor Lindman (Valbo) 12-11-34-45
Joakim Axman (Valbo) 14-20-11-35
David Gothlin (Bofors) 11-13-17-30

David Berg (Orebro) 20-6-25-31
Alexander Tyreskog (Jarfalla) 17-8-13-21
Hampus Gustavsson (Orebro) 20-3-15-18
Maximilian Sundqvist (Falu) 17-4-12-16
Sebastien Forslund (Sollentuna) 14-8-7-15

High perfomers in other leagues (NLB, Erste Bank Liga, Bundesliga, Al-Bank Liga, and Get Ligaen)
Mats Rosseli Olsen (GL) 35-17-30-47
Adam Havlik (EBL) 42-14-18-32
Marco Pedretti (NLB) 35-12-19-31
Thomas Spelling (ABL) 27-16-14-30
Patrick Bjorkstrand (ABL) 30-7-21-28

Ryan Kavanagh (EBL) 28-7-10-17
Nicolai Bryhnisveen (GL) 36-6-11-17
Daniel Eigenmann (NLB) 35-5-12-17

February 2, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-I’m not  a Sidney Crosby fan, but I’m praying for his recovery so news about his health will stop dominating the news cycle

–Daniel Alfredsson summed up last night’s effort, “We’ve got to be happy overall. They scored two power-play goals. I thought 5-on-5, we were the better team and it’s frustrating to lose this one. I don’t know how we don’t win it. (When we were ahead 3-1), we just couldn’t get that next goal really separating us from them.”

–Ian Mendes reminds us that the Sens have given up the first goal for the last eight straight games (3-5-0)

-With the approaching trade deadline many rumours (both serious and ridiculous) are floating around.  A few of the serious ones involve Jeff Carter (link), Marek Zidlicky (link), and Tuomo Ruutu (link).  As I’ve said previously (eg link) I don’t see the point in Ottawa acquiring a rental, particularly if this is typical of the crop of players available.  The Sens don’t have a realistic chance to make a deep run into the playoffs and are better off continuing the rebuild.

–Brian Stewart has been returned to Elmira

-Here’s a look at the top-scoring undrafted players (forwards and blueliners) in the major North American junior leagues:

OHL
Tanner Pearson (Barrie) 39-30-43-73
Charles Sarault (Sarnia) 46-15-52-67
Seth Griffith (London) 46-34-31-65
Sean Monaghan (Ottawa) 39-26-35-61
Andrew Agozzino (Niagara) 46-29-30-59

Cody Ceci (Ottawa) 44-10-34-44
Beau Schmitz (Plymouth) 46-12-25-37
Adrian Robertson (Sarnia) 47-9-28-37
Matt Petgrave (Oshawa) 43-8-24-32
Matt Finn (Guelph), Dylan Blujus (Brampton), and Kyle Hope (Owen Sound) are all tied with 30 points

QMJHL
Yanni Gourde (Victoriaville) 51-27-64-91
Zach O’Brien (Acadie) 50-45-43-88
Sebastian Trudeau (Acadie) 51-22-60-82
Matthew Bissonnette (Acadie) 50-35-38-73
Ben Duffy (PEI) 49-28-39-67

Mathieu Brisebois (Rouyn) 49-14-30-44
Mathieu Gagnon (Chicoutimi) 46-6-36-42
Martin Lefebvre (Quebec) 48-10-31-41
Alex Micallef (Blainville) 50-13-21-34
Mikael Tam (Quebec) 49-14-19-33

WHL
Adam Hughesman (Tri-City) 46-29-43-72
Brendan Shinnimin (Tri-City) 43-27-44-71
Dylan Wruck (Edmonton) 51-18-46-64
Justin Maylan (Prince Albert) 47-20-41-61
Hunter Shinkaruk (Medicine Hat) 48-32-26-58

Ryan Pulock (Brandon) 51-12-33-45
Eric Roy (Brandon) 49-7-32-39
Dalton Thrower (Saskatoon) 48-12-26-38
Matthew Konan (Medicine Hat) 48-7-29-36
Collin Bowman (Calgary) 47-12-23-35

BCHL
Paul De Jersey (Prince George) 44-37-41-78
Wade Murphy (Penticton) 45-29-46-75
Connor Reilly (Penticton) 45-32-40-72
Joey Benik (Penticton) 45-21-49-70
Travis St. Denis (Penticton) 39-28-41-69

Graeme McCormack (Nanaimo) 44-10-36-46
Craig Dalrymple (Powell) 44-19-26-45
Clinton Atkinson (Coquitlam) 44-5-38-43
Ben Woodley (Prince George) 44-3-29-32
Troy Stecher (Penticton) 39-4-27-31

USHL
Kevin Roy (Lincoln) 36-29-26-55
Austin Farley (Fargo) 37-24-24-48
Daniil Tarasov (Indiana) 36-24-23-47
Nolan LaPorte (Green Bay) 36-23-21-44
Taylor Cammarata (Waterloo) 34-18-22-40

Jordan Schmaltz (Green Bay) 32-9-16-25
Nolan Zajac (Omaha) 37-5-18-23
Greg Amlong (Cedar Rapids) 35-8-14-22
Markus Lauridsen (Green Bay) 37-5-17-22
Ralfs Freibergs (Lincoln) 36-7-14-21

NCAA
Nick Sorkin (New Hampshire) 25-6-21-27
Conor Sheary (U. Massachusetts) 24-8-18-26
Daniel Carr (Union College) 27-12-13-25
Daniel Bahntge (Mercyhurst) 28-8-17-25
Shane Berschbach (Western Michigan) 26-7-17-24

Joey LaLeggia (U. Denver) 26-10-18-28
Nate Schmidt (U. Minnesota) 29-2-25-27
Frankie Simonelli (U. Wisconsin) 26-3-19-22
Andrew Prochno (St. Cloud) 27-4-17-21
Torey Krug (Michigan State) 27-6-13-19

February 1, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Craig Anderson will start against the Bruins tonight; Brian Lee is still out with a lower body injury

–Don Brennan reports that Peter Regin underwent successful shoulder surgery.  It will be interesting to see if the Sens retain his rights or allow him to become a free agent.

–Jesse Winchester has returned to practice after suffering a concussion December 20th

–Dmitry Chesnokov Tweets that Nikita Filatov has been demoted by CSKA Moscow to their MHL affiliate (the Russian junior league).  CSKA is a deep team and I have to think there’s not much point in Filatov playing third or fourth line minutes there, but it’s still a disappointment.  I wonder if he’s suffered after effects from the two head shots he took in the AHL (the biggest was by Tim Sestito October 29th).

–Stu Hackel of Sports Illustrated has a look at both the rise of concussions across the league and the how the NHL handles injury statistics.  Gary Bettman reported that concussions were up 10% from last year, whereas blogger Dustin Fink (link) says they are up 60%, “‘Last year at this time there were 54 concussions reported/found in the NHL….The current total sits at 90,” Fink writes. ‘Last year the entire regular season produced 98, and including the playoffs, 114.’ The figures may vary substantially, but both Bettman and Fink agree that the increase, whatever it may be, has to do in part with both better awareness and the players taking the situation more seriously than in the past.”  Regardless of which number is more accurate, it’s an indication that the NHL’s efforts to reduce the number of head injuries has failed dramatically.  In terms of overall injuries, Hackel points out the strange way the NHL reports injuries, “the NHL leaves that to the clubs. One of the most interesting stats the league itself does not formally track is Man Games Lost to Injury. It is not a readily available figure to the general public,  clubs compile and publish their own in game notes that are distributed to the media by their public relations departments prior to each contest. It would be good info for fans to have, if only to gauge which clubs are banged up and which have relatively good health.”  I’ve heard arguments that team’s should be allowed to disguise player injuries to avoid being targeted, but given that the NFL is explicit with their injuries I don’t think that argument holds water.  Hackel lists the man-games lost per team (Ottawa has lost 144, making them the 12th healthiest team in the league–Boston is first, Pittsburgh last), pointing out that there’s no correlation between travel and injuries and that bigger teams seem to suffer less (given that his sample size is the first half of this season means one has to take these numbers with a grain of salt).  All in all it’s interesting food for thought and the entire article is worth reading.

January 31, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-There are many stories summing up the all-star game, but the best is ESPN‘s Pierre LeBrun’s.  Daniel Alfredsson said, “It’s been surreal, it’s almost like you’re walking on Cloud 9. It’s been almost overwhelming, to be honest. You can never dream of anything like this. You don’t really know how to embrace it, really. I don’t think, until tonight when the kids go to bed, you can kind of sit and relax. I’m sure I’ll be dead tired, but take it all in and realize that this is something that not everybody gets to experience. I don’t know if I deserve it or not, but it’s definitely humbling.”

–Sports Illustrated‘s Michael Farber writes an interesting article where he bemoans the NHL’s lack of dynastic teams and star players.  Here’s a look at the first part of his argument, “The absence of spectacular teams was all but mandated by the salary cap that  was hammered into place the last time owners locked out the hockey help, in  2005. The cap was going to level the field to a degree, in dollars if not in  terms of the hockey smarts of general managers who are still wrestling with the  CBA just as it is about to be renegotiated. Forget about building the Canadiens  of the late 1970s or the Islanders of the early 1980s, the last teams to win  more than two straight Stanley Cups. Because of the cap system, you couldn’t  even put together a veteran team like the 1999 Stars or dream of stockpiling a  roster like the 2002 Red Wings, which should have its own wing in the Hall of  Fame. Parity. The calliope music was stilled and the circus was leaving town  forever, replaced by the egalitarian notion that everyone could win a Stanley  Cup and be special. Even Columbus. This has left the NHL with … what?”  I disagree with Farber’s thesis entirely–the days of dynasties were boring.  Predictable results do not make for engaging sport, nor has parity hurt the NFL (a model the NHL would love to emulate).  As for his second argument, “The prevailing theory is that individual greatness has been muffled by the  increasing sophistication in coaching. Says the NHL GM, ‘Like baseball with  pitching coaches and batting coaches and third base coaches … we’ve gone down  that road. The coaching is so thorough, the video preparation so solid, that  it’s difficult to stand out. It’s tough finding individual guys that you can  sell all on their own. I bet with the NBA you could come up with a list of 10  pretty easily.’ ‘I think what’s been lost is the distinctive style of teams,’ a veteran coach  tells SI.com. ‘At one point you knew that the Calgary Flames were going to play  a certain way, a big marauding team that was going to be physical with you. You  knew the Dallas Stars had a certain way of playing. New Jersey played their way.  Edmonton. The Rangers would try to play a lot like the Oilers. That’s been  lost.'”  While I agree with Farber’s general point I think much of what he quotes and says is either hyperbole or simply wrong.  Star players produce points and the NHL has been squeezing down goals since the first few months of the new CBA.  Each year more and more interference is allowed and officiating becomes more and more inconsistent.  Like many problems the solution is simple: call the rule book–but the league turns away from that again and again.

-Prior to Binghamton’s last two games PTO Andy Thomas was returned to Trenton

-Prospect updates (their position in team scoring is noted in brackets, defence compared to defence; I’ve also indicated if the player’s scoring position has change (with a + for up, – for down, and = for unchanged):
CHL
Mark Stone (RW, Brandon, WHL) 46-32-47-79 (1st=)
Shane Prince (C/LW, Ottawa 67s, OHL) 39-28-35-63 (2nd+)
Stefan Noesen (C/RW, Plymouth, OHL) 44-20-37-57 (1st=)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (RW, Chicoutimi, QMJHL) 32-30-23-53 (3rd=)
Matt Puempel (LW, Peterborough, OHL) 30-17-16-33 (5th-)
Darren Kramer (C/LW, Spokane, WHL) 47-18-14-32 (5th=)
Jakub Culek (C/LW, Rimouski, QMJHL) 38-8-15-23 (7th-)
Jordan Fransoo (D, Victoria, WHL) 49-2-12-14 (2nd=)
SEL
Jakob Silfverberg (C/RW, Brynas) 36-15-19-34 (1st=)
Mika Zibanejad (C/RW, Djurgarden) 15-3-4-7 (17th-)
Fredrik Claesson (D, Djurgarden) 36-1-5-6 (5th-)
Allsvenskan
Marcus Sorensen (RW, Boras) 23-7-6-13 (6th=)
NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (C, CCHA-Ohio State) 25-5-13-18 (3rd=)
Michael Sdao (D, ECAC-Princeton) 20-6-9-15 (1st=)
Chris Wideman (D, CCHA-Miami) 28-1-14-15 (1st=)
Max McCormick (LW, CCHA-Ohio State) 19-7-7-14 (4th+)
Bryce Aneloski (D, WCHA-Nebraska-Omaha) 26-3-10-13 (1st+)
Ben Blood (D, WCHA-North Dakota) 27-2-11-13 (t-2nd+)
Jeff Costello (LW, CCHA-Notre Dame) 22-3-6-9 (10th=)
Brad Peltz (LW, ECAC-Yale) 7-1-0-1 (20th=)

January 30, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Eugene Melnyk is chasing the bonus he had to pay Dany Heatley two years ago (link).  I’m not a legal expert, but it’s hard to imagine Melnyk winning the case (clearly there was no clause in Heatley‘s contract preventing him from collecting it, nor is it against any element of the CBA).

–Sports Illustrated‘s Michael Farber writes about the influence of John Collins on the NHL since 2006.  “[He] helped turn the frigid and nearly-forgotten 2003 Heritage Classic, which had no  visibility in the United States, into a phenomenon, at least in relative terms.  HBO’s 24/7 … that’s him. The NHL’s media and digital revolution also has his  fingerprints all over it.”  Collins has been pushing to make the game about the athletes, which makes me wonder if he’ll manage to get rid of the dinosaurs responsible for player safety.  It’s an interesting article and worth reading in full.

-Binghamton continued its winning ways by beating the Penguins last night, scoring seven times on only twenty-one shots.  David Dziurzyski scored twice and had a four-point night (a career high), Andre Petersson scored twice, while Mike Hoffman, Corey Locke, and Jack Downing rounded out the scoring.  Mike McKenna picked up the win.   Click here for the box score and here for Joy Lindsay’s game summary.

–Maxime Gratchev, who has spent the bulk of the season with Elmira, was traded to the Springfield Falcons (Columbus’ affiliate) for future considerations.

-Elmira lost last 4-1 last night (Louie Caporusso did not play).

January 29, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-The Sens news is all-star related this weekend, but there are a couple of things to note

-Binghamton extended its winning streak to three games last night, with Mike McKenna making 38 saves for the victory.  Andre Petersson scored twice and Jim O’Brien got the winner short-handed.  Click here for the box score and here for Joy Lindsay’s game summary.

-Joy Lindsay Tweets that “Patrick Wiercioch got [the] hard hat in his return to the lineup tonight. He could come out tomorrow, just to avoid back-to-backs. Wiercioch said it was almost like a full summer off missing those 7 weeks, but he feels good, didn’t feel out of place on the ice.”

-Elmira lost Thursday night, with Louie Caporusso getting a goal and an assist and Maxime Gratchev adding an assist.

January 28, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Not surprisingly, Daniel Alfredsson is talking about coming back for another season (TSN, Senators Extra, The Ottawa Sun, etc).  Before the season he said his decision would be based on his health and how the team was performing, so assuming he stays healthy I’d be shocked if he didn’t come back.

-Joy Lindsay Tweets tonight’s expected lineup (including the return of Patrick Weircioch, his first game since suffering a throat injury December 9th): Klinkhammer-Locke-Petersson, Hoffman-Da Costa-O’Brien, Dziurzynski-Cannone-Bartlett, Cowick-Hamilton-Downing; Henningson-Gryba, Wiercioch-Schira, Raymond-Godfrey.  Mike McKenna is expected to start.  Mark Borowiecki is sick and is out of the lineup, but the biggest surprise for me is Derek Grant as a healthy scratch–he hasn’t been the same since returning from injury (two points in eleven games, including an ongoing stretch of nine games without a point).

–Brian Elliott is back in town for the all-star game and talked about the impact of the media during his struggles last year, “Obviously, the Canadian media is pretty harsh on goalies and in Ottawa it’s been kind of a focal point for them in years past. They like to throw people under the bus. I try not to think about it too much. I never really read into any of it. The guys know how you are in the locker room and that’s all that really matters.”  I was a fan of Elliott‘s when he was here, so I’m happy to see him land on his feet in St. Louis.  While some of the criticism he received was justified, I think it was more than was deserved.

January 27, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-There are many all-star stories, but as the event means nothing to me I won’t bother summarizing

–Andre Petersson and Mark Borowiecki were returned to Binghamton

–Don Brennan thinks Ottawa’s problems with officiating go back to the days of Bryan Murray as coach, writing “Murray had tantrums of all-star proportions. Some were to get his team going. He’ll admit that now. And some were because he was genuinely mad at the ref.”  I’d like to think Brennan isn’t serious, but to look at the issue itself I think the explanation is pretty simple.  In terms of the overall season officials have long given preferential treatment to veteran players and Ottawa is a young team.  The particular events of the last few games are a reaction to Paul MacLean speaking publically–no doubt officials believe their conversations with coaches should remain private and were ticked off with what was reported (particularly given how absurd the comment was).

–Sports Illustrated‘s power rankings have Ottawa 13th

–Joy Lindsay assesses Robin Lehner at the mid-season point.  Goaltending coach Rick Wamsley said, “I thought he got off to a decent start at the start of the year. We didn’t score a lot of goals for him, the way the games went. Lately here, his game hasn’t been where it needs to be or where we want it to be. It’s a good challenge for a young professional, when things aren’t going well, to just kind of get your nose back to the grindstone, get back to fundamentals, limit your game in terms of how much you’re trying to do, just do the basics and grow out from there.” And “He’s not the only guy on this team who played in the playoffs last year that’s struggled a little bit. But that’s all part of growing up, that’s part of developing, for me, is going through adversity.”  Kurt Kleinendorst said, “If there has been a falloff in Robin‘s game, he’s 20 years old. He’s very young. I don’t think that it’s a major issue, other than just a young player learning and growing. But I will tell you that I have seen a lot of growth in Robin as a person. I’ve seen him become a better teammate, a better team player. I’ve seen a lot of things I like in how he’s coming along.”  Lehner himself said, “It’s been, gone both good and bad, I think. The positive note is that I’m getting better. I feel better now than I felt last year in practice and certain spots of the game. I think that outside of the ice, there’s been lots of progress, too. Still, there’s been a lot of games that I’ve been showing a lot of really good things. The negative note is this year has been hurting, it’s been hurting all of the statistics and all that stuff. But, you know, my talk with all the coach and all that stuff, we can’t really think about all that stuff. It’s … we’re last. We’re last in the league, I think. We’ve been struggling this year, and it’s not really easy for any of us. And I think that’s been reflected in all of our statistics, everyone on the team. So, yeah, that’s … I can’t look at numbers too much, either. We average, I think Mike (McKenna) and I average, about 37 shots (against) a game. I think it’s not just shots, it feels like it’s a lot of chances. It’s not an easy game for us. But you know, lots of credit to ourselves, and the guys, too. We’re fighting through it. We’re trying every game and stuff like that. It’s going in the right direction.”

–Joy provides the lines at practice: Rob Klinkhammer-Corey Locke-Jack Downing, Mike Hoffman-Stéphane Da Costa-Jim O’Brien, David Dziurzynski-Pat Cannone-Mike Bartlett, Corey Cowick-Wacey Hamilton-Derek Grant (Francis Lessard); Dan Henningson-Eric Gryba, Patrick Wiercioch-Craig Schira, Bobby Raymond-Josh Godfrey (Andy Thomas).

January 26, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Erik Karlsson was magnanimous in his comments about officials today after the diving flap in Anaheim, “I’ve been a ref myself. I liked it a lot. I think it’s fun. It’s hard, and at this level it’s even harder. I know they’re going through a lot of stuff. I respect them a lot for what they do. It’s not easy being out there all the time and making hard decisions. They’re doing a good job at what they’re doing” (link).

-Binghamton continued its winning trend over Adirondack; Jim O’Brien had the winner for the second game in a row (O’Brien scored twice, Cannone and Da Costa adding the others).  Mike Hoffman and O’Brien lead the way with three-point nights and Mike McKenna earned the win.  Here’s the box score and Joy Lindsay’s game summary.

-Prospect updates (their position in team scoring is noted in brackets, defence compared to defence; I’ve also indicated if the player’s scoring position has change (with a + for up, – for down, and = for unchanged):
CHL
Mark Stone (RW, Brandon, WHL) 42-31-44-75 (1st=)
Shane Prince (C/LW, Ottawa 67s, OHL) 36-25-33-58 (3rd=)
Stefan Noesen (C/RW, Plymouth, OHL) 41-20-33-53 (1st=)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (RW, Chicoutimi, QMJHL) 28-28-23-51 (3rd=)
Matt Puempel (LW, Peterborough, OHL) 30-17-16-33 (4th=)
Darren Kramer (C/LW, Spokane, WHL) 44-15-14-29 (5th=)
Jakub Culek (C/LW, Rimouski, QMJHL) 36-8-15-23 (6th=)
Jordan Fransoo (D, Victoria, WHL) 47-2-12-14 (2nd=)
SEL
Jakob Silfverberg (C/RW, Brynas) 34-13-18-31 (1st=)
Mika Zibanejad (C/RW, Djurgarden) 14-3-4-7 (15th=)
Fredrik Claesson (D, Djurgarden) 33-1-5-6 (t-4th+)
Allsvenskan
Marcus Sorensen (RW, Boras) 23-7-6-13 (6th=)
NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (C, CCHA-Ohio State) 23-5-13-18 (3rd=)
Michael Sdao (D, ECAC-Princeton) 20-6-9-15 (1st=)
Bryce Aneloski (D, WCHA-Nebraska-Omaha) 26-3-10-13 (1st+)
Chris Wideman (D, CCHA-Miami) 26-1-11-12 (1st=)
Ben Blood (D, WCHA-North Dakota) 25-2-9-11 (3rd-)
Max McCormick (LW, CCHA-Ohio State) 17-4-7-11 (7th=)
Jeff Costello (LW, CCHA-Notre Dame) 21-3-6-9 (10th-)
Brad Peltz (LW, ECAC-Yale) 7-1-0-1 (20th=)

January 23, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment