The Sens lost 2-1 to Florida in a shootout in a game where they basically didn’t deserve even a point.  Dave Cameron showed his lack of imagination by barely playing either Ryan Dzingel or Shane Prince and continuing to give us a steady diet of guys who are “good in the corners” (David Dziurzynski now has the NHL’s worst Corsi rating).

Nichols points to Ottawa’s December-slide and their continuing poor underlying numbers.  You’d think something like this would alert the organisation to the reality of analytics, but we all know how they think–they will blame the schedule and think about how if they had just a bit more toughness and ‘compete level’ everything would be alright….

I bring this up just for Nichols:

Dzingel has never appeared or earned an honorable mentionable in one of ESPN Insider’s Corey Pronman top 10 prospects lists for the Senators since his draft year

Take this as a sign about Pronman’s ability to assess prospects.  I know ESPN pays him to write things about prospects and you want to rely on a professional since you don’t pay attention to prospects, but the proof is in the pudding and his track record with Ottawa is awful.  Anyone who has watched Ryan Dzingel play or paid attention to his career is not surprised by the recall.

I stumbled across this the other day and it’s a quote I think is well-worth sharing:

It’s not hard to see why MSM [mainstream media] would hate advanced stats, of course. It undercuts their voice of authority and takes away from the ability to craft a narrative at will. Why take at face value a story from an MSM member about a certain player “always crumbling under pressure” when you can see an argument, with numbers readily available to anybody with some time on their hands, showing that might not be the case.

We can add to this that many of them find understanding advanced stats difficult, putting them in a position to be embarrassed by the general public, so rather than admit ignorance they simply attack the system and its advocates.

Jeff Ulmer has a post praising both Fredrik Claesson and Ryan Dzingel and I thought I’d add my own two cents on both players:

The 23-year-old Swede is playing the role of a mentor this season being paired up with rookie Ben Harpur

Claesson has played 14 of his 26 games paired with the hapless Harpur.  Here are his numbers with each partner:
Harpur 14-1-3-4 -10
Carlisle 7-1-2-3 +2
Tuzzolino 5-0-1-1 +2
There’s little question that Harpur is the primary drag for Freddy.

He excels on the penalty kill and is always the one out on the ice killing penalties and the occasional five on three situations.

This brings up one of the weirdest stats I’ve tracked: he’s been on-ice for a disproportionate number of powerplay goals against (19 of 25), far above any other defender (his usual PK partner Michael Kostka is next at 12; Patrick Mullen is at 7, Mark Fraser at 6, Guillaume Lepine at 4, and Tuzzolino and Harpur at 1 each).  Is this simply bad luck for Claesson?  A larger sample size is needed before I’d be comfortable saying either way, but it’s something to keep in mind.

There has been some rumors that he might return to his homeland and play for his beloved Djurgården hockey team in Johanneshov, Sweden if Ottawa doesn’t tender a new contract after signing an extension over the off season

I hadn’t heard this particular rumour before, although I’d be shocked if Ottawa didn’t offer him a contract extension.

Moving on to the recalled and returned Ryan Dzingel:

Might need to add some weight as his speed will work in the AHL but that could be an issue when facing bigger, more experienced players in the NHL. He’s got time in his development to fill out while continue to improve in finishing out his play-making abilities while carrying the puck in the offensive zone. Should be a strong contender for next year’s opportunity in training camp as he’s still a ways off before getting a call.

I think Jeff means he may need to add some strength rather than size (added size would dilute one of his assets, namely speed).  Dzingel‘s NHL-potential is hard to assess as yet, but he certainly has the hands and speed to play (reminiscent of Mike Hoffman in that respect), but this is an organisation that jerks their skilled players around, so it’s hard to see what Dzingel‘s fate will be moving forward.  It is a positive that he was recalled over Matt Puempel.

There’s less to say from Jeff’s piece on Dzingel, but I’ll add he was given a bit of the Tobias Lindberg treatment in his rookie season as Luke Richardson jerked him around the lineup and periodically benched him for worse players.  This season at least, Dzingel is getting the opportunities he deserves at the AHL-level.

QMHL
Francis Perron (Rouyn-Noranda) 31-25-33-58
Now third in the league in scoring (also third in points-per-game)
Filip Chlapik (Charlottetown) 26-6-17-23
Is with the Czech WJC team
Tomas Chabot (Saint John) 22-7-13-20
Is with Canada’s WJC team
Gabriel Gagne (Victoriaville/Shawinigan) 6-4-3-7
Traded to Shawinigan on the 20th; has been injured most of the year

USHL
Joel Daccord (Muskegon) 9-7-1 2.67 .906
Dropped to 17th in league save percentage

NCAA
Colin White (Boston College) 16-8-15-23
Playing on the US WJC team
Christian Wolanin (U North Dakota) 16-3-5-8
Third on the team in blueline scoring
Quentin Shore (U Denver) 16-4-4-8
Starting to produce
Kelly Summers (Clarkson U) 15-0-6-6
No change since last time
Robert Baillargeon (Boston U) 17-3-3-6
Continues to struggle in his junior season
Shane Eiserman (New Hampshire) 15-0-6-6
At about the same pace as his rookie season
Miles Gendron (Connecticut) 12-2-3-5
Third on the team in blueline scoring
Chris Leblanc (Merrimack) 14-1-1-2
Continues along his ugly junior season

Sweden
Marcus Hogberg (Linkoping) 8-3-3 2.64 .897
Hasn’t played since last time
Andreas Englund (Djurgardens) 24-1-0-1
With Sweden’s WJC team
Filip Ahl (HV71) 12-0-0-0 (HV71 Jr) 18-18-13-31
Crushing Swedish junior (fourth in overall scoring, first in points-per-game)
Christian Jaros (Lulea) 3-0-0-0 (Asploven Jr) 22-2-3-5
Continues to be 5th in scoring from the blueline

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 23, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

Ary M takes a look at Ottawa’s 5-2 loss to Tampa, while RobFeature wraps up their 4-2 win over San Jose on Friday.

[Just a quick update: Ryan Dzingel was just recalled and that’s well deserved.]

Nichols ponders the future if Bryan Murray steps down and Pierre Dorion becomes the Sens next GM.  The big question is: will Dorion be progressive, or will he continue the lamentable dedication to using an ‘eye test’ for players and favour “good in the corners” guys over those with skill?  It’s impossible to know because Dorion has to follow the party line publicly, so it’s a guessing game if/until he’s handed the reins.  What is clear is that Murray is done–the game has passed him by and he’s a drag on the organisation.

Ary M offers a lengthy prospect update which is well worth reading through.  A couple of notes:
-I’m dubious that Andreas Englund has the puck-skills to help Binghamton next season (or Ottawa in the future)–you can read what scouts said when he was drafted here
–Gabriel Gagne was taken before everyone‘s projections (the Central Scouting number Ary references is narrow, only comparing him to other non-goaltending NA skaters); you can read about him here

Binghamton released Darian Dziurzynski from his PTO (apparently losing out to Flanagan as a fill-in).  This seems like the right move if you compare the two players prior AHL-numbers.

It was the same lineup for the BSens (plus Driedger) against Syracuse on Friday night and it was a complete disaster.  The play-by-play:
-Great stop by Driedger on a 2-on-1 down low (Fraser took a penalty on the play–the BSens broadcast crew lay into him for how dumb it was, which of course, it was)
1. On the PP Kostka gets caught out in no-man’s land leaving a man open who makes a nice tip in the slot
–Dzingel has a great chance in front and in the following sequence the team draws a penalty and Paul has another great chance
–Kostka gets the poke-check in to prevent a breakaway chance (this while the BSens were on the aforementioned PP)
-Another great save by Driedger as a man is left alone in front (Stortini‘s check, but he couldn’t keep up)
–O’Dell with a great chance in the slot
Second
-Nice back check by McCormick
2. Driedger is beaten on a soft wrist shot through a screen
–McCormick with a brutal giveaway in his own zone, but Driedger bails him out
-Nice D from Penny
-Great point-blank save by Driedger
–Claesson is kicked out of the game after a second fighting major
–Schneider scores, but the goal is wiped out because Fraser was pointlessly wrestling with a Crunch player behind the play
Third
3. Robinson picked up a holding-the-puck call putting the BSens down 5-on-3 and not long after a great save by Driedger (back to 5-on-4) the Crunch score off a soft wrist shot from the point
-Alone in front Dzingel can’t bury it
–Greening takes a needless penalty in the offensive zone
–Lepine takes a dumb, selfish penalty behind the play
4. On the PP the Crunch score on a nice tip

This was a prototypical Binghamton game–struggling with offense, defense, and discipline.  Other than Dzingel and O’Dell the forwards generated virtually nothing.  Fraser continues to be Fraser is continues to be exasperating.  The BSens hadn’t scored a powerplay goal since Lindberg‘s injury six games ago, incidentally.

On Saturday night the BSens beat Leigh Valley 2-1.  Initially the only lineup changes were Matt O’Connor starting and Tobias Lindberg magically healthy (overcoming the Richardson Flu?) as Max McCormick was out with injury.  However, Richardson juggled all four lines and I liked most of the changes (Stortini on the fourth in particular, although the lumbering enforcer is still inexplicably on the powerplay–which hasn’t scored now in seven games now).  The play-by-play:
-An exhausted Schneider can’t keep up with his check who rushes all alone in front, but baubles the puck and can’t put a shot on goal
–Harpur passes to the wrong team, but fortunately Leigh Valley throws a weak wrister at the net
-On the BSens broadcast there was a funny (but accurate) comment about the defense: “we know Binghamton’s defense so we know he [O’Connor] will be tested”
–Flanagan takes a dumb tripping penalty in the neutral zone; Harpur went off with an injury at the time (after falling in the corner earlier)
-Binghamton can’t score with a 5-on-3 advantage (best chance was for Puempel down low)
–O’Dell makes a great defensive play by lifting the stick right in front
–Mullen is out of position leaving a Leigh forward wide open in front and O’Connor makes a great save
Second
-Nice defensive play in front of his own net by Mullen intercepting a pass
–Claesson makes a brutal pass behind his intended target, but fortunately nothing comes of it
-Good chance for Paul from the bottom of the circle
-Nice cross-ice pass by Lindberg for a Schneider one-timer, but his shot is deflected high
–Greening is all alone in front but can’t cash in
1. Mullen breaks up the rush and Dzingel picks up the loose puck and scores (inexplicably O’Dell was given an assist and Mullen was not)
–Paul with a great tip in front
-Wonky shot by Lepine deflects a couple of times and almost sneaks in
–Puempel appears to be hurt after being run into the boards (he returned in the third)
–Flanagan takes another dumb penalty (this time in the offensive zone)
-BSens have back-to-back odd-man rushes shorthanded but can’t get a shot on either of them
–Kostka throws the puck away on the PK, but nothing comes of it
Third
–Kostka passes to the wrong team in front but Paul deflects the shot wide
–Lepine gives it away, but the BSens recover the puck
–Fraser is turned into a pylon and O’Connor has to make a great save
–Robinson with a chance all alone in front
-Great play by Mullen to break up a 3-on-1
-Fantastic save by O’Connor on a one-timer
2. O’Dell gets turned inside out and then can’t take the stick or the man as the rebound gets banged in
3. Fraser‘s weak wrist shot is deflected into the slot by Lindberg and Paul makes no mistake for his first AHL-goal
-BSens broadcast talked about Lindberg and Paul being scratched back in October for “apparent lack of effort”, which is ridiculous

You could see the difference in having three competent forward lines made for Binghamton, as they had much better possession during the game.  O’Connor rarely had to be spectacular (although the defensive gaffes in front of him continue to be mindbogglingly regular), but I’m starting to believe he’s turned the corner (at last).

Evansville beat Indy 2-1 on Friday, with Scott Greenham picking up the win.  A look at the goals:
1. Greenham is beaten by a rocket far side just inside the top of the circle
2. Fawcett steals the puck and Wideman fires in a one-timer
3. A pair of plays at the blueline keep the puck in and off the second turnover Sims bangs in a rebound

It was a solid effort by the IceMen all around.  The game saw the end of Troy Rutkowski‘s hot streak (3-2-4-6), although he was instrumental in the game winning goal.

The IceMen lost their re-match with Indy 3-1 (Greenham taking the loss).  No lineup changes.  The goals:
1. Rumble throws the puck away and then Greenham deflects the puck into his own net
2. Rumble loses sight of the puck and provides the perfect screen on Greenham
3. MacDonald bangs in a rebound (although this goal was credited to Fawcett for some reason)
4. On the PP Himelson passes to the wrong team right in front of his own net

Evansville had an enormous edge in play, but their weak defensecorps continues to plague them.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 21, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Ottawa lost 2-1 to Washington as Dave Cameron continues to lay out his future plans as an AHL or OHL coach by playing Mark Borowiecki at forward.  NKB offers an overview of the game.

The other day Jeff Ulmer (who covers Binghamton) said this:

I don’t normally rely on stats in player evaluations

What does this mean, exactly?  What does he rely on?  The problem with being overly dependent on the “eye test”, which I assume he’s referring too, is that it’s completely subjective.  Jared Cowen looks good via the organisation’s eye test, so is that a viable option?  To me, evaluation has to be based on events–events that can objectively be seen and judged by anyone looking at the game (it did or didn’t happen).  If I want to write that so-and-so is playing well or playing poorly, there needs to be tangible reasons for that evaluation as opposed to me having “a feeling” etc.  Too often journalists (and bloggers) will simply say someone is good or bad without delving into specifics–I’m not saying that’s Jeff’s approach (unfortunately I don’t know where he was going with the above), but in general it’s not useful for analysis or assessment.

Last night Binghamton fell 3-2 to Toronto (the best team in the AHL).  With Guillaume Lepine healthy Chris Carlisle was inexplicably scratched (why it wasn’t Ben Harpur is anyone’s guess).  Matt O’Connor started, which was a surprise given how much Chris Driedger has outplayed him this season.  The play-by-play:
-Great shot block by Fraser
–O’Connor passes to the wrong team and is lucky Toronto misses the net
-Dumb penalty from Fraser
–Lepine turned into a pylon on the PK, but fortunately the Toronto forward missed the net
–Fraser can’t make a three-foot pass, but Mullen bails him out with a great defensive play in front of the net
1. Claesson sweeps a rebound away, but Toronto recovers the puck and O’Connor is beaten short-side on a bad angle (an ugly goal)
Second
2. BSens lose a faceoff and off a juicy rebound O’Dell can’t get the stick of the Toronto player
–Stortini throws a high hit (replay was pretty useless to decide if the hit was legal or not)
3. O’Connor is beat short-side/bad-angle again, but it hits the post and Flanagan is caught puck-watching so an untouched Marlie scores on an empty net
Third
–Fraser takes a boarding penalty (a potentially dangerous hit)
-BSens about to get a PP and Mullen decides to start throwing punches for whatever reason; after the melee the PP is preserved, but it was still a selfish decision by the defenseman (the PP accomplished nothing)
–Puempel on another PP has a great chance with the goaltender down and out, but he can’t get the puck through the crowd
-Pointless fisticuffs with two minutes to go (removing Stortini and Ewanyk from the game–see the result of their absence below)
4. McCormick backhands in a rebound
5. Kostka‘s point shot is tipped in by Schneider with virtually no time left

Toronto was a much better team throughout and Binghamton rarely had possession of the puck (it was frankly a boring game to watch as the Marlies easily smothered the Sens).  Prior to the game Richardson talked about how he thought being physical was the way to beat the Marlies, which while being completely wrong does explain his thought-process.

I wanted to give an example of Harpur‘s hockey IQ from the above game (not a bad one by his standards, but certainly not good).  Early on (before the first play-by-play moment above) he’s skating out of his zone under no pressure wanting to make change.  A fresh forward unit is in good position ahead of him, all of them open–Harpur can make a quick pass to a teammate or fire it hard around the boards; instead he skates slowly over the red line, freezing all the forwards (who have no idea what he’s going to do), and then makes a soft dump as he goes for a change.  This results in Toronto gaining possession and rushing up the ice, forcing the new defense pairing (and the forwards who are now standing still) into a desperate defensive posture.  Every player will make mistakes under pressure, but in its absence you have to make good decisions.

The IceMen released goaltender Keegan Asmundson (a disappointment all season).  The team added forward Mike Duco (who put up middling numbers in the ECHL last season with Indy, but started this year in the EIHL (UK)).  The team also added assistant coach David Leger, who seems to be replacing Johan Lundskog (so those rumours that he might be back after Christmas now seem unlikely).

The IceMen blew a 5-4 lead late in the third to lose 6-5 in OT to Atlanta. Sims, Dunn, and Duco were added at forward while Strandberg,  Anthoine, and Lukin sat.  The goals:
1. Himelson can’t keep up with his check who is therefore wide open
2. Leveille tips in Wideman‘s centering pass
3. On the PP Rutkowski, shortly after keeping the puck in the zone, fires home a one-timer
4. Off a face-off Greenham flubs a weak shot with his glove deflecting it into his own net
5. On the PP Duco tips in a point shot
6. Rumble deflects a centering feed into his own net
7. Guptill‘s centering pass goes in off an Atlanta defenseman
8. On the PK (5-on-3) the defenseman is allowed to walk down main street and beats Greenham with a low wrist shot
9. Dunn steals the puck and centers it to a wide open Sims who makes no mistake
10. With the goaltender pulled Greenham is beaten five-hole as he guesses pass instead of shot
11. In OT on the PK (after failing to score on a PP themselves) Atlanta scores on a pretty passing play

There were several weird goals on the evening, but the blame for this loss rests on the shoulders of Greenham who was not sharp–he really hasn’t been the same since coming off his early season injury.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 17, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

The response to my post that focused on the Mikael Wikstrand situation was interesting.  I didn’t know #freewikstrand was a thing on Twitter, although I shouldn’t be surprised (and no, I don’t think it has any impact on Bryan Murray).  The reaction in Sweden to what the organisation is doing is exactly what you’d expect.  The hostility towards the player hurts the Sens and they’ve put themselves in a corner–how can they let Wikstrand play without admitting their mistake?  I think Murray has too much pride to change now.

Speaking of Swedes, Sens goaltending prospect Marcus Hogberg signed an extension with Linkoping through the 2017-18 season.  This would not prevent the Sens from signing him and bringing him over earlier if they wished, incidentally.

Nichols takes a look at Matt Cane’s new method of visualizing shot-suppression by defensemen and there are no surprises as we find Mark Borowiecki, Jared Cowen, and Cody Ceci lagging behind.  Outside the Sens org, is there anyone left on the planet who buys the “defensive defenseman” tag for the first two?  Ceci should have spent more time in Binghamton when he turned pro–he was called up far too early last season and anointed as a top-four player.  For a team that often preaches patience, Ceci is one of many examples where that has not been the case.

Binghamton lost 5-3 to Hershey on Saturday in a game AHL Live failed to broadcast (albeit the in-house feed was working as Hershey has posted highlights).  If AHL Live gives me the opportunity I’ll add more depth to what follows (it boggles my mind that ECHL Live is more reliable and better quality).  The goals:
1. Kostka is out-muscled in front as Schneider stands in no-mans land and the puck in banged in (Harpur was on vacation in the corner)
2. Hammond is beat on a rocket from the middle of the ice (too deep in his net)
3. The puck bounces in off Claesson‘s skate
4. Hammond is slow sliding to the post and is beat short-side
5. Greening walks through three Bears before scoring
6. O’Dell scores through a crowd from the high slot
7. Claesson makes a sweet pass to Robinson who makes no mistake
8. An empty-netter from center ice

Dzingle finished the night with three assists.  I wasn’t hard on Hammond in the previous loss, but he let in a couple of bad goals tonight and (on the surface) that’s the difference in the game.  I appreciate Harpur restoring my faith in the universe by being AFK for a goal-against (he also picked up a diving-penalty in the game).  The BSens continue their trend of losing games where they give up 4-plus goals (1-11-2) and a PP-goal (3-11-1).  The Bsens were shorthanded eight times, but we know from past experience that Richardson won’t bench any of the usual culprits (he took one himself, incidentally).

Evansville fell 6-4 to Cincinnati in their re-match, with Zenzola taking the loss.  Guptill returned to the lineup with Lukin sitting.  The goals:
1. Zenzola is beaten from the high slot
2. Rutkowski steals the puck and sets up Wideman right in front
3. Dunn turns it over and Humphries has no idea there’s a player behind him
4. Leveille goes top shelf from a back angle
5. Humphries doesn’t take his man in the slot
6. On the PP Rutkowski makes a great cross-ice pass to a wide open Moon
7. Sims can’t keep up with his check who is wide open to bang in the puck
8. 5-on-3 PP Fawcett rips one home from just inside the circle
9. Rutkowski loses the puck and his check as the latter taps home the puck
10. Zenzola is off his post and beaten short-side

It was a great game for Rutkowski despite his late game gaffe; the problem for the IceMen was bad goaltending and their problematic blueline.

The IceMen beat Fort Wayne 6-4 largely on the back of their powerplay.  Scott Greenham was in goal with Anthoine and Lukin dressing while the coach’s son Sims (injury) and Dunn came out.  The goals:
1. Fawcett fires a rocket on the PP (a mirror image of his goal against Cincinnati above)
2. Himelson gets caught in no-man’s land and a wide open Komet scores
3. A rocket from the hashmarks by former BSen Szydlowski
4. On the PP Fawcett scores on a give-and-go down low
5. Szydlowski scores on PP from the top of the circle with a rocket
6. Fawcett tips the puck in off the rush
7. Rumble is stripped of the puck and Himelson and Greenham are deked
8. Leveille keeps and shoots on a 2-on-1
9. On the PP Rumble scores from the point
10. Rutkowski hits the empty net

Fawcett‘s hat-trick lead the way and the team scored enough to make up for their troubling defensive coverage.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 14, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Ary M blew my mind today by coming up with the best tagline for the Ottawa’s management that I’ve seen: risk averse.  Here’s the full context:

Quite frankly, the Senators are risk-averse: it’s easier to reward players who a) look like they’re obviously expending effort and b) have been in your organization longer because you “know more” about them, regardless if your evaluation is wrong or not.

This is absolutely on-target and I’m going to staple that motto onto the org until things change.

The Nichols stenotape machine was back in action for Bryan Murray and two things struck me: Curtis Lazar (who, as Nichols points out, is the fourth-least productive forward at 5-on-5 in the NHL) and Mikael Wikstrand.  The former I’ve already discussed (Ary M above talks about him too), so here’s the Swede:

Whether he got hurt or pulled himself out after the first period of the first game, I’m not sure now in hindsight.

How paranoid does Murray have to be to think Wikstrand pulled the chute during a game?  This makes no sense on any level–if he wanted to fake an injury he’d do it before the game (“oh god I pulled my hamstring”).

He told them and it was all over Sweden that it was just a matter of time (before) Ottawa was going to give in and let him go back and play.

That he wanted to play in Sweden is readily apparent–from Farjestad’s press release and other statements in Swedish publications, there’s no question that he said it was his preference, but this wasn’t secretive so hardly speaks of conspiratorial intent.

he’s been able to manipulate (people) two or three times in his career already – the opportunity to do what he wanted to do in hockey

Without any context we can make nothing of this (the only player movement in his career was being traded from Frolunda to Farjestad).

I don’t ask my daughters to leave their jobs or their life in Denver, Colorado to come home and be around me. We can get you home in six or seven hours if anything should happen if you have to go home and see your brother or your family.

To compare a young man dealing with leukemia to his own struggles with cancer (as well as comparing the response of a man in his 70s to one in his early 20s) is beyond absurd.  Murray is very glib about the ability of someone playing professional hockey in North America to make cross-Atlantic flights to visit with family–there are few times in either an NHL or AHL season where time would permit that and Murray constantly comparing it to situations in North America (with shorter flight times and little to no jet lag) is absurd.  But the crux of all this is Murray’s hint at a conspiracy, so let’s explore it, shall we?

The premise: Wikstrand conspires to bilk the Sens out of his bonus money.  Is this plausible?  It has happened before (Lee Sweatt pulled the trick back in 2011, although he retired after getting the money to go to school), but does this apply?

The basics: a conspiracy is an agreement between persons to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their legal rights or to gain an unfair advantage.  The only way a conspiracy can be imagined here would be Wikstrand with his agents and/or Farjestad.  I find the idea ridiculous and nothing in what’s happened shows any signs of sophistication:
-First, let’s address the money motive: yes, 160k is fantastic, but it’s not Colin Greening or Andrew MacDonald levels of robbery–while there’s no tracking of SHL salaries, estimates put the average at around 400k (Euro’s, which is slightly higher than the American dollars the Sens would pay him).  Wikstrand just isn’t desperate for money
–Wikstrand was traded to Farjestad in April and told everyone in Sweden for the next five months that he’d like to play there–this is not hiding or disguising an intent and it includes having his agent talk to Ottawa about being loaned to Sweden–conspiracy requires secrecy and you can’t get more public than this
-Being suspended does not negate being paid his bonus, so he could have pulled the chute on the Sens in the summer rather than participate in training camp and embarrass himself by running away
–Wikstrand hid his brother’s illness from everyone, despite it being the primary source of sympathy for what he wanted to do–if he was conspiring this would have been public at the beginning and given him leverage in negotiating with the organisation; lest we forget, Murray didn’t initially believe his brother was sick
-Running away from the team without telling anyone is the opposite of a well-thought out strategy–it’s an act of desperation–none of which speaks to a cynical desire for money

The whole idea is absurd.  What you can say is that Wikstrand wanted to stay home and play near his brother–that’s simply fact–and he’s admitted he should have been public about why.  To me his other actions are in line with those of a young man conflicted about his professional obligations and his private ones.  However much we might want to chide Wikstrand on how he’s handled things, it doesn’t make Murray’s comments warranted.  All Murray has done since this happened is denude the value of an asset.  If you believe the guy is never going to play for you, fake sympathy and talk about how brave he is–derive some value from one of the only talented blueliners in the system.  Instead Murray has taken the role of a grumpy old man, carping and complaining and insulting the player until he has no value at all.

Binghamton fell 4-3 to Springfield last night, blowing a 2-1 and 3-2 lead.  Eric O’Dell was clearly not himself in his return.  The team’s awful record when they score 3 or fewer goals continues (1-10-2), as does their record when giving up a PP goal against (3-10-1).  The play-by-play:

–Kostka makes an ill-advised pinch and Carlisle is able to break up the 2-on-1
1. Hammond is beaten by a wrist shot short side (it’s a bad goal–I thought it might have been tipped, but it just caught him moving the wrong way)
–Claesson is lucky to avoid injury as he’s run from behind and his helmet hits the dasher
-Nice stop by Hammond off a 3-on-2
Second
–Puempel with a brutal giveaway in his own zone
–Ewanyk stoned on a breakaway
2. Flanagan taps in a bounce pass/missed shot (depending how generous you are) by Fraser
-Great save by Hammond on a breakaway
3. Ewanyk‘s wraparound sneaks under the pads
4. Ewanyk takes a lazy high sticking penalty in the neutral zone and on the PP Springfield cashes in off a rebound with numbers in front (scorer was Claesson‘s check, but his dive to block a pass failed–McCormick could have collapsed down as well)
Third
–Hammond stops a breakaway
5. Nice little give and go that results in McCormick scoring
6. McCormick makes a bad pass that results in a breakaway and Hammond‘s slide misses
7. Classic Fraser as he’s stripped of the puck and Hammond is beaten high off the iron from just above the dot
–Kostka defends a 2-on-1 off a fanned pass by Carlisle
–Kostka with a great stick-check right in front

While Andrew Hammond didn’t look like Henrik Lundqvist in the game, the loss isn’t on him–he stopped 2 of 3 breakaways and suffered through the usual gong show that is Binghamton’s porous defense.  One positive is that Ben Harpur did not contribute to the loss (which I think is a first for him this season).

Evansville lite up Cincinnati’s third-goaltender (Neil Conway) with six goals and coasted the last half of the game to a 7-3 win in Scott Greenham‘s return.  The third line drove the offence.  Alex Guptill didn’t play (unsure yet if he was a healthy scratch or injured [healthy]), while Vincent Dunn drew back into the lineup (there was also a Jack Downing sighting for Binghamton fans with good memories).  The goals:
1. Strandberg picks up the puck off a Greenham save and speeds down on a 2-on-1 with Dunn who finishes
2. On the PP Rumble‘s shot goes wide and Strandberg knocks it in off the bounce
3. Humphries doesn’t take the man in front who bangs in the rebound on the PP
4. Zay rips it in from just inside the dot
5. Zay has about four shots on goal before the wraparound finally goes in
6. Fawcett rips home a rebound
7. Rumble scores five-hole on the rush (a terrible goal given up by Conway)
8. With Humphries in the box a one-timer off a great cross-ice pass goes in
9. IceMen overload the wall, lose the battle and outnumbered 3-to-1 in front of the net Carlson can’t take all the sticks to prevent the puck from being banged in
10. Moon scores on the empty net

Notes: Michael Trebish was hurt blocking a shot; Lukin continues to be a bad luck charm for the PK as he was on the ice for both goals against (he’s nearly averaging a PP goal against per game played now).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 12, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 4 Comments

Evansville has played 20 games now and while many BSens (and Sens) fans can be excused for being indifferent to the ECHL affiliate, it is an important part of the system so it’s worth paying attention too.  The IceMen are 7-12-1, which puts them 5th in the Midwest Division and tied for 28th in the entire ECHL.  The team has scored 50 goals (tied for last in the league, last in goals-per-game), while giving up 69 goals against (21st in the league); the team is 10-64 (15.6%) on the PP (23rd in the league), and 48-64 (75%) on the PK (29th in the league).  Coach Sims has a very weird approach to the PK, throwing virtually any forward on it and that’s hurt the effectiveness.
Record when:
Plus 9 or more shot differential: 0-3-1
Negative 8 or more shot differential: 2-3-0
Scoring a PP goal: 4-5-0
Allowing a PP goal: 5-7-1

Roster changes: trading rookie Joe Zarbo (to Colorado, 14-3-3-6) for former IceMan Nathan Moon; acquiring the atrocious Samuel Noreau‘s ECHL rights only to trade him for Mathieu Brisebois (who played 1 game and was then traded); losing Chris Carlisle and Scott Greenham to Binghamton for significant amounts of time.  Stats (games-goals-assists-points, shots-on-goal, power-play-points; I included plus/minus for defensemen), Grades: A=above and beyond expectations, B=exceeds expectations, C=meets expectations, D=below expectations, F=god awful:
[A note for those unfamiliar with the ECHL: there are only 3 forward lines plus an extra forward]

Daultan Leveille 19-11-4-15 SOG 49 PPP 5 Grade C
Had an unimpressive start with selfish play and a lack of production, but now firmly leads the team in production which is what you’d expect out of a former first-round pick; he’s not great defensively, but at this stage of his career that’s not going to change; inexplicably he’s often on the PK and has been on-ice for the most PP goals against of anyone on the team

Justin MacDonald 20-6-7-13 SOG 60 PPP 1 Grade B
The FHL star is roughly on par with his pace from the end of last season when Evansville brought him up, which illustrates his production wasn’t a fluke or a result of garbage-time when the team was well out of the playoffs; he had a very slow start (8-0-1-1), possibly because of all the different line combinations he played on (until he settled on the 2nd line with Sims and Moon he’d been in 7 different combos through 11 games), but he leads the team in even strength scoring

Tyson Fawcett 20-10-2-12 SOG 44 PPP 3 Grade C
Another player with a slow start to the season (10-3-0-3), he’s now settled onto a regular first line (with Leveille and Wideman) and he’s about where you’d expect his production to be; he’s a small, quick player, but like Leveille above he’s not great on the PK and has been lite up almost as much as his linemate in that capacity (second most among forwards)

Troy Rutkowski 20-1-10-11 SOG 31 Even PPP 3 Grade B
The first prospect on the list (and the first defensemen), he’s on pace for a career high in points despite a slow start; he’s had five different partners, but for 9 of the last 10 games he’s been the safety valve for the largely useless Himselson; solid on the PK, he’s tied with Rumble for being on-ice for the most PP goals-for among blueliners; he’s also the only threat at even strength on the defensecorps (twice as many points as the next highest);  he’s the only blueliner in Evansville worthy of a call-up

Ryan Penny 17-3-7-10 SOG 23 PPP 2 Grade B
The QMJHL rookie played well enough to get a call-up to Binghamton; he’s bounced around the lineup, but spent most of his time centering the third line (14 games); after a bit of a slow start (5-0-1-1) he’s been a regular contributor; of note, he has the worst plus/minus on the team

Alex Wideman 16-2-7-9 SOG 42 PPP 3 Grade C
Should have started the season here, the speedy winger has been a first-line player for all but one of his games; his production is pretty regular, although it’s difficult to figure out how much he benefits from TOI and who he plays with

Jordan Sims 14-3-5-8 SOG 35 PPP 2 Grade C
The coaches son, he’s centered the 2nd line the past 11 games; he had a terrible start (6-0-1-1), but his production has improved (playing with talented linemates gives him a boost, clearly); Daddy lets him play on both special teams, but as much as I want to criticize the obvious special treatment he’s competent at least

Nathan Moon 15-0-7-7 SOG 46 PPP 2 Grade D
Acquired from Colorado, he had a slow start in Evansville, but has been stapled on the second line (the past 9 games with Sims and MacDonald); not nearly as good as expected from his previous seasons in the ECHL (0.86 points per game normally, whereas he’s currently 0.46), he’s been competent at best

Alex Guptill 13-5-1-6 SOG 39 PPP 2 Grade D
When he was sent down he started off as a selfish and unproductive player and while things have improved these are not the numbers of someone who is going to see the AHL again any time soon; he’s spent most of his games on the third line (10)

Sebastian Strandberg 14-1-5-6 SOG 15 Grade C
A solid, smallish player from Sweden, he’s very good defensively and has some offensive touch; unfortunately for him, without his advocate in assistant coach Johan Lundskog around, he’s been scratched pretty regularly for inferior players (like Anthoine or Dunn)

Andrew Himelson 19-0-6-6 SOG 35 -10 PPP 2 Grade F
A huge disappointment (Evansville traded for him); an undersized defenseman who doesn’t play defense; when he was paired with Humphries (7 games) it was comically bad, but 9 of the last 10 he’s had Rutkowski to clean up after him; he has the worst plus/minus among defensemen

Vincent Dunn 14-3-2-5 SOG 25 Grade F
I knew he was going to be bad, but not this bad; a third-liner when he’s played, he doesn’t do anything particularly well

Matthew Zay 12-2-3-5 SOG 24 Grade C
Missed a chunk of the season due to injury and since returning he’s been the regular third line center (7 games) and done well in that role

Chris Rumble 16-1-4-5 SOG 34 -5 PPP 3 Grade C
Another player who had a slow start, the last 9 games he’s been paired with Carlson and while he doesn’t do much offensively at even strength, it’s a safe place for the rookie to grow into his game

Jarret Lukin 6-0-3-3 SOG 6 Grade incomplete
The veteran has spent most of the season on the shelf, but when he’s played it’s been on the third line where he’s been solid (albeit awful on the PK)

Michael Trebish 16-0-3-3 SOG 8 +1 Grade F
I’m not a fan, despite him being the only plus on the defensecorps (luck in my opinion); why is he bad?  Positioning, decision making; he’s tied for the lead among blueliners for on-ice PP goals against (including the last five in a row), and he’s responsible for the most goals against on his team (5 by my count); he’s spent most of the season with Humphries (13 games)

Spencer Humphries 20-0-3-3 SOG 28 -1 Grade D
Slightly better than Trebish, he’s one of those “good in the corners” guys; started the season with Himelson (7 games) and since then with Trebish (the latter pairing is better than the first); he’s pretty bad on the PK, but especially when with his partner above

Mark Anthoine 7-0-2-2 SOG 11 Grade D
I have no idea what he brings to the table; he was stapled to the pressbox most of the season, but in the absence of Lundskog he’s been playing as the extra forward and accomplishing nothing

Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel 3-0-1-1 SOG 0 +1 Grade incomplete
Spent most of the season injured, but looked good in the games he played (makes good decisions)

Matt Hussey 8-0-1-1 SOG 22 Grade F
Absolute garbage–a selfish player with limited talent–the team took too long in releasing him

Jonathan Carlsson 20-0-1-1 SOG 11 -6 Grade C
Veteran Swede has minimal offensive skills, but plays a very safe, steady game; he’s had five partners, but Rumble has been the most frequent (11 games); while he’s tied with Trebish for the lead in on-ice goals against on the PK, that’s largely the fault of his partners (Himelson for nearly half of them, as well as Humphries and Trebish)–almost all of those goals were at the beginning of the season

Samuel Noreau 3-0-0-0 2 -3 Grade F
Looked like he didn’t want to be here and thankfully was moved on (continuing his awful play in Norfolk)

Mathieu Brisebois 1-0-0-0 SOG 1 -2 Grade incomplete
Via Norfolk he was awful in his only game and is now in Tulsa

Scott Greenham 1-2-0 2.03 .939 Grade A
Brilliant before getting injured–single-handedly kept the team in games–now with Binghamton due to the ripple effect of Hammond‘s injury

Christoffer Bengtsberg 2-4-0 2.48 .914 Grade B
Played well before getting hurt

Matt Zenzola 1-0-0 2.00 .935 Grade incomplete
SPHL goaltender won the IceMen’s last game and was solid in doing so

Cody Reichard 2-2-0 3.73 .900 Grade D
A man without a team, he rattled off two impressive starts before reality set in and he was lite up badly (a team worst 8 bad goals against this season), then suffered a concussion

Keegan Asmundsen 1-4-1 4.58 .864 Grade F
An absolute disaster when he’s played (6 bad goals), so much so that callups start instead of him as much as possible

Dustin Carlson 0-0-0 5.72 .808 Grade F
Horrendous numbers; he was supposed to be former Sens prospect Francois Brassard, but the ECHL labyrinthine visa process prevented that from happening (granted Brassard‘s numbers in Peoria are not impressive)

While there’s been no stability in net for the second half of their season, the lineup has been stable for the past 10 games or so.  Here’s a look at the splits:
First ten games: 3-7-0, GF 17, GA 28, PP 3-29 (10.3%), PK 26-31 (83.8%)
Next ten: 4-5-1, GF 32, GA 41, PP 7-35 (20%), PK 22-33 (0.66%)

It’s the same defensecorps the whole season, so the main issues are 1) goaltender injuries, 2) a lack of scoring when the good goalies were healthy.  What’s improved the production for the IceMen includes: having Wideman and Guptill added to the roster (increased depth); acquiring Moon; releasing Hussey (who played on the first or second line while he was on the roster); and an end to the constantly changing lines.  As it stands there’s no forward who stands out as a worthy call-up for Binghamton, although if I had to pick one it would be MacDonald.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 11, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

Callum Fraser details Ottawa’s 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay and puts the blame firmly on Dave Cameron’s shoulders based on the decision to play Mark Borowiecki at forward and scratch Shane Prince.  I think we’ve hit the point where Cameron has jumped the shark in the blogosphere, although the withering criticism has no impact on Murray’s decisions.

Speaking of Murray, he’s admitted the organisation is thinking about sending Curtis Lazar down to Binghamton to get his offensive game in order.  Should it take 90+ NHL games to figure this out?  No, but I do think sending him down is a good decision if it happens.

Travis Yost writes a great piece about the NHL’s inability to correctly assess defensemen.  He points out that, by and large, teams do a good job assessing forwards because they produce stats everyone understands (goals and assists).  Defensemen aren’t like that, and using advanced stats it’s easy to see how poorly some teams distribute their ice time–this speaks to both a lack of proper assessment and an inability to utilize the information now available.

BSens roster updates: Tobias Lindberg is still injured and likely won’t play this week, but Eric O’Dell, Mark Fraser, Michael Sdao, and Guillaume Lepine are all healthy and able to return to the lineup.  Andrew Hammond has been assigned to the BSens and, presuming he’s healthy enough, should play.

With Hammond in Binghamton Scott Greenham has been sent down to Evansville (which probably means Matt Zenzola will go back to the SPHL).

Evansville beat Toledo 3-2 on Wednesday night, with the newly recalled Zenzola picking up the win.  The only lineup change saw Vincent Dunn scratched in favour of Sebastian Strandberg.  The goals:
1. Anthoine took a lazy highsticking call in the offensive zone and on the ensuing PP faceoff Trebish loses track of his position leaving the Toledo player untouched as he bangs in the puck
2. Rumble takes a dumb slashing penalty in the offensive zone and on the PP Leveille is lazy collapsing back to the goal, leaving the Toledo player untouched for a goal identical to the first
3. MacDonald is credited as the Toledo defenseman sweeps the puck off his stick only to score five-hole on his own goaltender
4. MacDonald bangs in a rebound
5. With Evansville on the PP Toledo gives the puck away at the blueline and Leveille bangs in a rebound

Notes: this is the fewest goals allowed by the IceMen since their 4-2 win over Alaska (6 games ago); it’s also the first game since that win where the goaltender didn’t surrender a bad goal.  This was the team’s third consecutive game with a positive shot differential (a first for the season).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 11, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

Trevor Shackles writes about how the Sens need to spend money now because their window is closing.  His argument goes like this:
1. Craig Anderson‘s age
2. Lack of significant depth
3. The East is weak
4. He doesn’t foresee a better time in the near future

This is interesting stuff, but I only partially agree with the first point:
1. Craig Anderson is a very good goaltender, but there are at least two goaltenders better than he is in the East (Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price), so his talent alone doesn’t really guarantee anything.  I realize the argument is that the talent behind him is much worse, but if we’re talking about a Cup run there’s no evidence that Anderson is able to carry the team very far by himself.
2. Quite a few bloggers harp on the depth of the Sens and it’s a puzzling thing to me (I’ve gone over this before).  The issue for Ottawa is not its lack of depth, but rather the preference of coaches to play guys who are “good in the corners” instead of those who can carry the puck.  As bad as Binghamton has been this season there are a few players who could easily bump the likes of Chris Neil to the pressbox (and beyond) if the organisation had the wit and will, so I don’t see this as a valid point–as long as the GM and coaching staffs can’t see the forest for the trees then the depth is largely irrelevant.
3. The East being weak doesn’t mean the Sens can dominate it; their underlying numbers are atrocious and there’s no forthcoming change from the organisation to optimize what they have
4. I don’t know that right now is going to be the best time for the Sens–I just don’t see this squad (with whatever limited additions it could make via trade) being able to truly challenge for the Cup; my fear is that Murray agrees with Trevor and pulls the trigger on one of his typical abominable deadline deals

The question for Trevor is, does he believe this management group will ever put together a team that wins?  I don’t see it; their philosophy is outdated and until there’s a change at the top I see continuing mediocrity.

The mighty Nichols weighs in on coach Dave Cameron as he’s hit the year-point as head coach.  He makes two particularly salient points:
1. The Sens have a good record under Cameron
2. The underlying numbers are terrible and reminiscent of the Paul MacLean era
He adds the obvious ominous omen of the latter:

teams whose horrendous underlying numbers belied their records and saw precipitous falls in the second half of their seasons

And

Throughout the course of Cameron’s first 27 games, it’s been a Paul MacLean redux where superior players like Chris Wideman, Shane Prince and Patrick Wiercioch were benched at the expense of lesser alternatives

Behind this, and you can see it throughout the organisation, are old school attitudes and approaches which most teams in the league are discarding.  As Hockey Prospectus‘ Craig Smith Tweets:

Other teams yes may follow suit [in taking chances on skilled players]. But unfortunately not the Sens. Such a strange team.

From the outside it seems like nothing will change so long as Bryan Murray is in charge–is Pierre Dorion more savvy?  We really won’t know until (if) he takes the helm as GM.

It turns out Nick Tuzzolino has a broken jaw from his “fight” with McCarron, but with Michael Sdao finally healthy the team isn’t short on defensemen.

Evansville has brought up SPHL goaltender Matt Zenzola from Pensacola as Bengtsberg and Reichard are still out with injuries.

QMHL
Francis Perron (Rouyn-Noranda) 27-24-28-52
Fourth in the league in scoring (third in points-per-game)
Filip Chlapik (Charlottetown) 26-6-17-23
Second on the team in scoring
Tomas Chabot (Saint John) 22-7-13-20
Has been injured the past week or so
Gabriel Gagne (Victoriaville) 4-3-0-3
Remains injured

USHL
Joel Daccord (Muskegon) 8-6-1 2.56 .909
16th in the league in save percentage

NCAA
Colin White (Boston College) 15-8-15-23
Leads his team in scoring as a freshmen
Christian Wolanin (U North Dakota) 15-3-5-8
Third on the team in blueline scoring
Quentin Shore (U Denver) 14-4-2-6
Continues to struggle in his senior year
Kelly Summers (Clarkson U) 15-0-6-6
Second in scoring from the blueline
Robert Baillargeon (Boston U) 15-2-2-4
Continues to struggle in his junior season
Shane Eiserman (New Hampshire) 14-0-5-5
Eighth in scoring among forwards
Miles Gendron (Connecticut) 11-2-2-4
Third on the team in blueline scoring
Chris Leblanc (Merrimack) 12-1-0-1
Fallen off completely

Sweden
Marcus Hogberg (Linkoping) 8-3-3 2.64 .897
Save percentage remains low, but continues to win
Andreas Englund (Djurgardens) 24-1-0-1
Shows no progress with his puck-skills
Filip Ahl (HV71) 12-0-0-0 (HV71 Jr) 17-17-12-29
Crushing Swedish junior
Christian Jaros (Lulea) 3-0-0-0 (Asploven Jr) 20-2-3-5
Continues to be 5th in scoring from the blueline

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 9, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Ottawa fell 4-1 to the Rangers last night with Patrick Wiercioch in the pressbox so that fans could truly appreciate Jared Cowen in all his majesty.  Michaela Schreiter offers an overview of the game.

The BSens broke their five game losing streak with a solid win over St. John’s.  In terms of the lineup Ryan Penny was added to replace the recalled David Dziurzynski; there was also clarification yesterday that Tobias Lindberg is recovering from a minor injury (I Tweeted it out and corrected my previous post), so in essence every healthy body was in the lineup.  Matt O’Connor got the start and wins in his tenth start of the season.  The play-by-play:
–Stortini opens the game with a lazy interference penalty
–Penny with a goal saving block
1. Harpur loses the battle in front and the puck gets banged in
2. Puempel gets a fantastic pass from Schneider
–Tuzzolino gets hurt in a fight and doesn’t return
-Nice stick-check by Stortini to prevent a scoring chance
–McCormick has an open net but it’s deflected wide by the D
–O’Connor with a nice stop on a 2-on-1
Second
-Nice stop by O’Connor on a slapshot from the top of the circle
–Schneider with a great chance but shoots it high
–Paul takes a dumb boarding penalty
3. Dzingel scores via a tip right in front
Third
4. Dzingel with the steal and finds a wide open McCormick in front
–Kostka with a brutal giveaway in his own zone
–Penny a great chance shorthanded
–Flanagan missed an open net from a bad angle
5. Puempel with the EN

It wasn’t the most entertaining game to watch (other than the third period), but a win is a win and besides the first period they carried most of the play (the PK, despite going 3-3, still looked awful).  Speaking of awful, Harpur continues on that trend, but he didn’t play much.  ECHLer Nick Tuzzolino was hurt early and that helped the team’s defense quite a bit (of the gruesome foursome Fraser, Lepine, and essentially Tuzzolino were all out of the lineup).  O’Connor had his best game since his first this season; Richardson’s forward lines were pretty close to where they should be (given the personnel), so there’s not much to criticize other than they should send Harpur to Evansville and bring up Rutkowski.

Some Evansville updates: assistant coach Johan Lundskog will likely be back with the team around Christmas (in his absence fellow Swede Sebastian Strandberg has been scratched quite often); speaking of Swedes, Christoffer Bengtsberg has nearly recovered from his injury, while the failing Cody Reichard is now on IR himself.

The IceMen lost 6-5 in overtime last night to Quad City, despite leading 5-2 in the third period.  Keegan Asmundsen took the loss (the lines were unchanged from the 7-5 loss on Friday).  The goals:
1. Leveille throws the puck at the net and it bounces in off the D
2. Trebish passes to the wrong team and on the ensuing possession Trebish gets neither the stick nor the man in front who scores
3. Wideman picks up a slash in the neutral zone and on the ensuing PP Asmundsen is beat top-shelf from the point with no traffic in front
4. Guptill scores as he’s wide open in the slot
5. Leveille is credited with tipping in Rutkowski‘s shot (the scoring on this goal is silly–apparently the scorers had no idea who tipped the shot in so credited all three forwards on the tip)
6. Sims buries Rutkowski‘s rebond
7. On the PK Fawcett steals the puck from the last man back and scores on the 2-on-0 with Leveille
8. On the same PP Asmundsen is beaten by a wrist shot from just above the dot
9. Asmundsen goes down early and slides the wrong way as a wrist shot from the point goes in
10. Leveille throws the puck away and Trebish/Humphries can’t control the bodies in front and the puck gets banged in
11. In OT Rumble has his pocket picked and falls, so the third man is wide open in the slot

There was a lot of interference allowed in the game, but it didn’t benefit one team over another.  Guptill seems to have settled in, while Dunn still hasn’t found his rhythm in Evansville.  In terms of the lineup I have no idea why Anthoine is playing (I’d rather see Strandberg), but otherwise the main issues are on defense and given the injuries I’m not sure what else the staff can do (barring a trade).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 7, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

Ary M breaks down Ottawa’s 4-3 OT win over Chicago (an entertaining game to watch).  After the game the chatter continued about how poorly Murray gambled playing hardball with Mike Hoffman this summer (Travis Yost and Dmitri Filipovic discussed it on their podcast).  Any time you want to figure out how well the organisation assesses talent you just look at how they treated Hoffman and compare it to Jared Cowen or Mark Borowiecki.

This morning the Sens recalled David Dziurzynski; Dizzy had a good start to the season, but is in the midst of his worst slump of the season.

Something I didn’t mention about the Randy Lee interview the other day was brought up on social media and is worth emphasizing (Tweet is from here):

You also have Lee pulling out the “we’re a budget team” when referencing Wikstrand’s probable ~$75K signing bonus. Squeeze is in.

This is pretty ridiculous, although it did remind me of something that happened not long ago: back in the summer of 2011 the Sens signed Lee Sweatt to be a key player on the blueline for Binghamton.  He was given a signing bonus and once that was handed over he promptly retired.  I’ve forgotten the amount he was paid, but I imagine the pain of that mistake has not been forgotten by Murray.

I missed Bob Howard calling for Luke Richardson’s head earlier this week.  He writes:

I don’t think Coach Richardson can teach defense, no one is teaching the goalies and to [too] much thought on toughness, wrong plan.  The players are talented and have been so since Richardson has come to the BSens, but defensively they are no better! Makes no sense. I know many will have my head for saying this, but Luke most go. I like him as a person, but he and the BSens are stuck. Needs to go

This is hardly a radical thought, but it seems it hasn’t occurred to management.

Catching up on player moves: the BSens called up Adirondack’s (ECHL) diminutive center Kyle Flanagan (12-2-8-10).  The 26-year old NCAA grad has played in the AHL before (76-7-22-29), but was essentially invisible in his debut on the fourth line.  The team also retained Darian Dziurzynski (I saw a transaction note earlier in the week that he’d been sent back down, but that was apparently in error), while calling up Evansville’s Ryan Penny (17-3-7-10) and getting Colin Greening back from Ottawa.

Last night Binghamton lined up against division-rival Syracuse (Tampa Bay’s affiliate), a team they’d lost to twice before (both by one-goal margins).  Oddly enough Matt O’Connor has suited up in every game against the Crunch and previously he’d offered his best performances (not saying much, granted), but tonight’s 5-1 loss looked nothing like that.  Richardson scratched Tobias Lindberg again [learned this afternoon that he’s actually injured] and just like every other time he’s done that the team was promptly hammered (17-6 in the three games); Guillaume Lepine also sat, but that was due to injury (this was Mark Fraser‘s first game of his two-game suspension as well).  The play-by-play:
–Harpur opens with a needless penalty
1. McCormick with a brutal turnover at the blueline and Harpur accidentally deflects the puck into his own net
–Kostka gets his pocket picked but Carlisle saves the day
2. Harpur throws the puck to the wrong team and on the subsequent play doesn’t have his check who makes a nice tap-in on a pass from the corner
–O’Connor stops a breakaway
–Robinson takes a dumb elbowing penalty in the offensive zone
Second
Harpur was benched for significant parts of the rest of the game
–Carlisle and then Kostka get turned around but O’Connor holds the fort
–Claesson saves a goal as O’Connor is late going post-to-post
–Dziurzynski takes a pointless penalty poking the goaltender
–Mullen with a great chance in the slot but his shot with a rolling puck misses the net
–O’Connor stops a breakaway
–Ewanyk passes to the wrong team
-Great steal by Schneider that turned into a great chance for Dzingel
–Paradis hits the post on a breakaway
–Paul draws a penalty, but McCormick ends it with a mindless stick infraction
Third
3. O’Connor beat through a screen (PP goal); Schneider out of position to take the man on the point
-Good chance for McCormick in tight
–O’Connor a nice stop on a 3-on-2 rush
4. Harpur‘s first shift of the third with no one pressuring him he throws the puck to the wrong team, loses his check, and a wide open Tambellini scores
5. Puempel finishes off the 2-on-1 (via Dzingel) while teams are 4-on-4
–Puempel takes a dumb tripping penalty in the offensive zone
6. Dzingel deflects the puck into his own net
-Kostka passes to the wrong team, but recovers

I said this last night, but Ben Harpur might be the worst defensemen in the AHL.  While I didn’t think O’Connor let in any particularly bad goals, the guy does need to make a key save now and then.  Binghamton continues to take unnecessary, dumb penalties (particularly in the offensive zone), and were fortunate the refs kept evening up the play.  In essence last night was simply more of the same–bad coaching, bad decisions, and an inevitable result.  What annoys me is that the talent isn’t this bad–they could bat .500 (possibly more if Driedger was back and O’Connor was in Evansville), but that seems impossible with Richardson at the helm.

A couple of notes: Dieude-Fauval is still injured; the game Leveille missed was also due to injury.  Evansville was shutout by Missouri 3-0 in a pretty lifeless performance on Wednesday (Reichard took the loss; a Bryce Aneloski signing for those who remember the former Sens pick).  The goals:
1. Lafranchise (best name in hockey) scores five-hole on a nice tip
2. Reichard is beaten top-shelf short side off a rebound
3. Trebish makes a back-pass to the wrong team and on the 2-on-1 Reichard is deked

Some of you may have wondered how well a 29-year old goaltender starting the season on his couch performs, and Cody Reichard is here to show you.  After two excellent performances initially, he’s gone straight into the tank and was pulled for the second game in a row (this time against Fort Wayne).  The IceMen lost 7-5 despite outshooting their opponent (the only lineup change was Dunn replacing the recalled Penny).  The goals:
1. Reichard gives up a juicy rebound is beat on it
2. A wide open Sims scores in the slot
3. On a delayed penalty call Reichard is beat from the point without traffic in front
4. Dunn makes a blind pass to the front of the net and a wide open Guptill cashes in
5. Reichard is beat five-hole on the PP with no one in front of him
6. Reichard isn’t ready for a shot from must inside the top of the circle
7. Leveille scores backhand on a wraparound (should have been a Rutkowski assist on it, but c’est la vie)
8. On the powerplay Wideman (playing the point) is deked as is Reichard in tight
9. The same PP Leveille scores on his own rebound
10. Again on the PP, having given up a 2-on-1 the last time, Himelson‘s pass hits the leg of its intended receiver and Fort Wayne scores on the ensuing 2-on-1 (Asmundsen now in the net)
11. With the goaltender pulled Zay bangs in a rebound
12. Moon passes to the wrong team resulting in an EN goal

Goaltending, formerly a strength, continues to be the issue for Evansville and they need to stop running Reichard out there as he’s been awful in his last three starts (by my count he’s allowed 8 bad goals over that span).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 5, 2015
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment