For a game with such a lopsided score this is one the BSens could have easily lost were it not for some spectacular goaltending. Before I get into my observations, here are the basics (the box score):
Shots: 35-46
PP: 1-1
PK: 3-3 (one abbreviated)
Goaltender: Andrew Hammond, who was fantastic (12 key saves); Danny Taylor backed-up while Chris Driedger was scratched and Marcus Hogberg backed-up in Brampton

The Opposition
One of the better teams in the league (9-4-2 coming in), the high flying Flyers dominated much of the game (particularly the second period), but struggling netminders (both played and gave up 3 goals each) along with Hammond’s play were too much to overcome. The team has a BSens’ connection as Phil Varone is on the roster.

The Goals
1. Harpur floats one through a crowd
2. Rodewald bangs in Harpur’s rebound
3. Gagne bangs in Burgdoerfer’s rebound
4. Lehigh – Sieloff passes to the wrong team and they score on the breakaway
5. Lehigh – Sieloff turns it over and the puck is deflected in
6. Gagne scores low, far side in tight
7. PP O’Brien bangs in Chabot’s rebound
8. White with the one-timer via Rodewald on a 2-on-1

Scoring chances (13): Gagne (x3), Rodewald (x2), O’Brien (x2), Harpur, White, Paul, Chlapik, Reinhart, Perron

The Roster
A lot of changes as nearly all players were returned from Ottawa–Rodewald, Paul, and Harpur. These additions meant the scratching of Erkamps (on the blueline), Randell (is this the beginning of him getting Stortini’d?), and the demotion of Donaghey to Brampton.

The Lines
McCormick-O’Brien-Gagne
Paul-White-Rodewald
Perron-Chlapik-Werek
Dunn-Reinhart-Ciampini
Sieloff-Harpur
Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Englund-Murray

The major changes are to the second and third lines; Harpur, who was averaging 28 minutes a night in his previous games, also played a ton, but looked much better.

Special Teams
McCormick-Paul-White/Chabot-O’Brien (scored)
4-on-4
Paul-O’Brien/Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Paul-Rodewald/Murray-Chabot
Reinhart-Ciampini/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Chlapik-Gagne/Murray-Chabot
Penalty Kill
McCormick-Rodewald/Sieloff-Harpur
O’Brien-Perron/Englund-Burgdoerfer
White-Perron/Sieloff-Harpur
McCormick-O’Brien/Sieloff-Harpur
Paul-Rodewald/Sieloff-Harpur
White-Perron/Englund-Harpur
There wasn’t a lot of special teams time, but the main impact on the lineup was Harpur’s presence, who reduced Englund’s time on the PK rotation.

Notable Plays
Chlapik missed the net trying to one-time a pass from Perron on a 2-on-1 in the third; Chabot hurt his hand when hit from behind in the same period, but seemed fine afterwards.

Player Notes
Murray: virtually invisible after getting a hat-trick in the previous game, but he didn’t play much
Burgdoerfer: only thing I noted was a turnover in the third
Englund: also largely invisible (as above I just noted a turnover, albeit in the first)
Sieloff: an ugly game for him as both goals against were directly off terrible turnovers he made
Chabot: picked up points and was generally good overall, albeit lost some ice time due to Harpur’s presence
Harpur: was much better than his previous tour with the team; while he remains lumbering he made much smarter decisions with the puck
Dunn: a non-factor
Ciampini: also invisible
Reinhart: the return of Paul and Rodewald radically cut his ice time and other than his scoring chance wasn’t a factor
Werek: third straight game without a point and doesn’t really mesh well on his current line
Perron: after exploding for three-points he was pretty quiet outside a flurry early in the third
Chlapik: third-line minutes aren’t helping, but when he was allowed to play he was a factor (had a very good third period)
Paul: despite Rodewald’s presence his struggles offensively continue
Rodewald: great game from him–the team has sorely missed him
White: quiet performance and I don’t think he functions that well on Paul’s wing
McCormick: he had three-assists so I’d call that a good night
O’Brien: I sound like a broken record, but he’s not a first-line center; the goal is welcome
Gagne: I was complaining earlier in the year how he needed to play more and we’re seeing the result of that happening (three goals in his last three games)

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 16, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

The rematch with the Amerks was an entertaining game to watch (I caught it after the fact). Before I get into my observations, here are the basics (the boxscore):
Shots: 40-23
PP: 0-3
PK: 2-3
Goaltender: Andrew Hammond, who struggled (he made 7 key saves); Chris Driedger backed up, while Danny Taylor was scratched.

The Opposition
Rochester played their backup who, like Hammond, was also guilty of some bad goals. The team was also without veteren blueliner Redmond who was replaced by former Binghamton flameout Conor Allen (who was -3 on the night). So all-in-all, it was a weaker team.

The Goals
1. Chabot one-timer from the dot
2. Rochester – 3-on-2 shoots and scores 5-hole
3. Rochester – odd man rush hits the post and neither Gagne nor Englund can tie-up the man in front who bangs in the loose puck
4. Rochester PP – great pass through the crease beats Hammond 5-hole
5. Murray’s point shot goes in 5-hole (this was originally given to McCormick)
6. Rochester – Hammond beat 5-hole
7. Murray from a terrible angle down low
8. Perron bangs in flubbed Reinhart shot in front
9. Murray tips in Perron’s flip pass

Scoring chances (12): McCormick (x3, pp), Murray (x3), Perron (x2), Chabot, O’Brien (pp), Werek, Ciampini

The Roster
All the injured players remained out and with ECHL callup Walters already returned (I’m not sure what the story behind that is); instead Cody Donaghey was dressed but sat on the bench the entire game (zero shifts).

Lines
McCormick-O’Brien-Gagne
Perron-White-Chlapik
Ciampini-Reinhart-Werek
Dunn-Randell
Englund-Sieloff
Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Murray-Erkamps
Donaghey

This is the identical lineup and, as mentioned, Donaghey did not get a shift. Also of note, Werek took Perron’s spot on the second line early in the game (this helped the latter, not the former).

Special Teams
Powerplay
McCormick-Reinhart-O’Brien/Chabot-White
Gagne-Chlapik-Perron/Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Penalty Kill
McCormick-O’Brien/Sieloff-Englund
Perron-White/Sieloff-Englund
Perron-White/Murray-Englund (scored on)
Perron-White/Murray-Erkamps
Ciampini-Reinhart/Murray-Erkamps (once)

I’m not a big fan of the PP as currently configured–if McCormick and O’Brien are on the powerplay they should be on the second unit, but I don’t know what it will take to get Kleinendorst away from that (he gave up on Werek pretty quickly, but he knows the latter two from coaching them previously). Erkamps returns to the PK rotation, but really the combos are basically the same.

Notable Plays
Despite the huge volume of shots the BSens were guilty of missing open opportunities on numerous occasions (Reinhart in the first, O’Brien in the first and second, and Burgdoerfer and Chabot in the third). We also got the trademarked O’Brien OT maneuver from Burgdoerfer who pulled the puck out of the zone while having offensive pressure because reasons.

Player Notes
Erkamps: picked up his first point of the year and seemed more comfortable 5-on-5 than he has all season
Murray: a non-factor since being recalled from Brampton he exploded for a hat-trick (!); if he can in anyway start to consistently produce I’ll pat Randy Lee on the back for the signing–but one game isn’t quite enough for that
Englund: another day at the office for him
Sieloff: most notable play was taking a head shot from MacWilliams in the third; he’s lucky he was able to continue
Burgdoerfer: hasn’t had a point in five-games, is off the PK, but gets to play with Chabot–makes my head hurt a little
Chabot: pretty much back to form–not only did he get his first 5-on-5 point, but he was dominant and probably played 30 minutes on the night
Dunn: I know he played, but warranted no notations
Ciampini: invisible except for the play leading to the tying goal, so all things considered, that’s not bad
Randell: two of his teammates took nasty hits in the game and his response was… well he didn’t respond (nor did he do anything notable). He’s off the PK though, so that’s something
Werek: I mentioned earlier that he’d regress to the mean and that’s happening in a hurry (being off the PP doesn’t help), with just one assist in his last three games; he isn’t a good fit with Chlapik/White and I hope Kleinendorst doesn’t stick with that line
Reinhart: got off the schneid in the previous game and picked up another point, which is what he’s on the team to do
Perron: was demoted down the lineup, but scoring did wonders for his confidence (he was definitely struggling prior to that goal)
White: is a funny player in that he’s hugely impacted by who he plays with–not a great fit with Werek–my only note for him the entire game was a turnover late in the third
Chlapik: had his point streak broken, but not for a lack of trying–made a great steal in the offense zone in the third to set up Chabot who walked up main street but missed the net; he did the same for Burgdoerfer later in the period who also missed
Gagne: showed off great speed, but the most notable moment was a terrible fall into the end boards in the third (I think the Amerk D might have helped him on his way)–he looked shook up, but was fine and played in OT
O’Brien: a solid game for Jimothy as he picked up another point, but he’s badly misplaced as a top center
McCormick: his assist still has him slightly behind his expected ppg (6 instead of 7) and he’s far behind his goal-scoring pace from both previous seasons (he’s about on par with his rookie year), this despite an enormity of ice time including the top powerplay unit

The BSens did well to come back from a pair of two-goal deficits and bail out the goaltender who has stood tall for them all season. There are still issues on the powerplay, which has only scored in one of the last seven games–the hypodermic needle marked “veteran-I-know” that Kleinendorst uses so often is still an impediment, although spreading out talented prospects (like Gagne) throughout the lineup helps. I was happy to see Erkamps play regularly as it’s simply too much of a burden to play five-defensemen night after night (he might as well play on the PK as well, as the results have been fine when he has). The team definitely needs a different player on White’s line–possibly Gagne, or even someone like Reinhart who can let the other two figure out possession for him.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 12, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Another two-for-one post from me, with thoughts chronologically, so the Binghamton game first. It wasn’t a particularly emotional game for the teams involved, but for long time BSens fans it had a little extra zest, as Binghamton had been the stomping grounds for Ottawa’s prospects for so long. Before I get into my observations, here are the basics (the box score):
Shots: 28-28
PP: 0-4 (running their total to 0-19 over five games)
PK: 4-5
Goaltender: Andrew Hammond, who was solid if not quite spectacular (I had him making 5 key saves); Danny Taylor backed up while Chris Driedger sat in the pressbox (he’d be sent to Brampton the following day)

The Opposition
Bingo came in with a strong lineup (5-3-1), but their game was hampered by bad goaltending from Ken Appleby who gave up four goals in sixteen shots before being relieved.

The Goals
1. O’Brien scores shortside from a bad angle
2. Binghamton PP – just a great passing play
3. McCormick bangs in a rebound
4. White scores off a great bank-pass by Chlapik with the Devils goalie down and out
5. Dunn centers the puck and O’Brien cleans up the play
6. Binghamton – bounces the puck in off Chabot
7. Binghamton – bang in a rebound (Chabot a bit soft on the back check)

Scoring chances (8): O’Brien (x4), White (x2), McCormick, Dunn

The Roster
Lajoie, Jaros, Blunden, Vaive, and Flanagan still out with injury; Sexton was a surprise scratch (also injured); Paul, Hogberg, Rodewald, and DiDomenico remain in Ottawa (given his production I think the odds of the latter ever returning are virtually zero now); Donaghey remained the lone Senator in Brampton.

Lines
McCormick-O’Brien-Gagne
Chlapik-White-Werek
Perron-Reinhart-Randell
Dunn-Ciampini
Englund-Sieloff
Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Murray-Erkamps

The defense pairings are unchanged from the previous game, but the forward groups are scrambled with Gagne moving off the third line for the first time this year.

Special Teams
Powerplay
McCormick-Reinhart-White/Chabot-Werek
McCormick-Reinhart-White/Murray-Burgdoerfer
Gagne-Chlapik-Perron/Murray-Burgdoerfer
Penalty Kill
McCormick-White/Englund-Sieloff (scored on) – Murray had switched on for Sieloff
Perron-O’Brien/Englund-Burgdoerfer
McCormick-White/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Perron-O’Brien/Murray-Erkamps
McCormick-O’Brien/Englund-Sieloff
Perron-White/Englund-Sieloff
McCormick-O’Brien/Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Perron-White/Englund-Burgdoerfer

Keeping Chlapik off the top powerplay unit remains bizarre to me, but Kleinendorst has been trying to stick to his combinations more throughout games hoping for it to work. Despite all the seeming variety on the PK the defense units were quite stable and the forward personal remained steady as well, just the combos varied.

Notable Plays
Chabot made a nice rush in the first–getting the puck in front to Werek, but he missed the net. Later that period Perron had a great chance but couldn’t get the shot off (something that’s happened to him fairly frequently this season). Speaking of Perron, he went offside on a 2-on-1 vs an empty net.

The game against Rochester saw the exact same lineup–the BSens called up Ryan Walters (no relation to the former NHLer) from ECHL Utah, but he was unable to get there in time. Unlike previous call-up Justin Vaive, Walters is a very productive ECHLer (0.92 PPG) who briefly played in the Belarussian league to start the year. Before my observations, here are the basics (the box score):
Shots: 40-30
PP: 2-6 (one brief)
PK: 5-5 (including a two minute 5-on-3)
Goaltender: Taylor got the start and his struggles continued (he made 7 key saves); Hammond backed up while Driedger played (and won) his game with Brampton.

The Opposition
The Amerks are a veteran team and (on-paper) better than the BSens (arriving with a 6-4-1 record). The team has a couple of productive rookies to go along with solid goaltending.

The Goals
1. Rochester – White turns it over in the neutral zone leading to a breakaway
2. PP Reinhart bangs in a shot from the point
3. Rochester – screened shot from a bad angle is deflected in
4. Rochester – Sieloff gets undressed and Taylor is beat on a bad angle
5. Rochester SH – Perron turnover leads to a breakaway
6. PP Gagne bangs in Chlapik’s rebound

Scoring chances (11): Reinhart (x4, pp), Gagne (x2, pp), O’Brien (x2), Perron, Burgdoerfer (pp), Erkamps

The Roster
No changes from the previous game, although it was clearly intended that Walter would be the twelfth forward.

Lines
McCormick-O’Brien-Gagne
Chlapik-White-Werek
Perron-Reinhart-Randell
Dunn-Ciampini
Englund-Sieloff
Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Murray-Erkamps

These are the same lines as the previous game. Of note, besides taking an awful penalty in the third, Randell was basically invisible and part of that was him playing less, so that made me happy.

Special Teams
Powerplay
McCormick-Reinhart-O’Brien/Chabot-White (scored)
Gagne-Chlapik-Perron/Murray-Burgdoerfer (scored)
Penalty Kill
McCormick-O’Brien/Englund-Sieloff
Perron-White/Englund-Burgdoerfer
McCormick/Englund-Sieloff
White/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer

This is the least amount of variation this season (given a reasonable number of opportunities). The second unit is what used to be the third line although, again, I have to wonder why Chlapik is getting second unit time.

Notable Plays
Both Chabot and White hit the post (both in the second period, the latter on the powerplay). Chlapik had a couple of nice rushes (one in the first and one in the third), but neither resulted in shots (Gagne did the same thing in the second). He (Chlapik) did set-up Werek nicely in the second, but he shot the puck over the net from in close. McCormick missed the net on a 2-on-1 shorthanded in the second. Taylor almost repeated his mistake of mishandling the puck behind the net and getting scored on in the third (something he did in the 6-1 loss to Charlotte).

Player Notes
Erkamps: had what I believe is his first scoring chance of the season; seems largely removed from the PK but over the two games was adequate 5-on-5 (no notable snafus)
Murray: only negative notations from me (including a couple of turnovers and a bad penalty against Binghamton); did pick up an assist
Burgdoerfer: has had his PK time cut and on the whole made little impact in either game (without Lajoie or Chabot setting him up he’s virtually invisible on the PP)
Sieloff: played a ton, mostly within expectations (wasn’t as good against Rochester)
Englund: sometimes played entire PK shifts; mostly solid play, albeit late in the third against Binghamton he passed to the wrong team and Hammond had to bail him out
Chabot: clearly still recovering, but was starting to look like himself against Rochester–when he’s 100% he’ll go back to dominating; leads the team in PP points
Dunn: picked up a rare point against Binghamton, but returned to invisibility against Rochester (where he engaged in a pointless fight in the third)
Randell: removed from special teams and, with Kleinendorst rotating four lines, has seen his minutes cut; only notable moment was creating a 5-on-3 against by attempting to draw the Amerks into an off-setting penalty and failing
Ciampini: while he’s had some decent games this season he qualified for zero notations through both games (generous of me as he had a couple of turnovers that his teammates immediately bailed him out on)
Perron: I think there are some confidence issues going on for him as he made some uncharacteristic flubs in both games
Werek: had his opportunities, but struggled to get the puck on goal in both games
Reinhart: after 8-straight games without a point picked up his second goal of the season and also had a lot of quality chances–maybe this will be a lightbulb moment for him
White: has looked better and better with each game; definitely a shoot-first player at this level and his game has gone up a notch playing with Chlapik
Chlapik: taken off the top PP unit, but managed to get points in both games; fantastic hands and plays hard at both ends of the ice; took a nasty high hit late in the game against Rochester, but seemed alright afterwards
McCormick: after playing an absurd amount on the powerplay he picked up his first PP point against Rochester; the goal against Binghamton is nice, but he’s still playing way too much in an offensive role
O’Brien: had his first two-goal game since March of 2016 (that’s more than a full-season ago); as a first-line center he’s getting opportunities, but he’s not a puck-distributor nor possession driver, so ultimately I think it’s counter productive
Gagne: finally getting shifts on the PP unit, albeit the second, and picked up a goal in that capacity vs Rochester; he’s looked much more confident of late and his skating has definitely improved; I’ve come to like him a lot and the fact Kleinendorst has put him on the first line suggests he has his coaches confidence as well

While TOI is, in some respects, getting sorted out 5-on-5, I still think there are tweaks needed on special teams. The primary problem for the team in their loss was, however, goaltending. Maybe we’ll see Driedger get a start instead of Taylor (who has already lost the starting job to Hammond), but time will tell.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 11, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

With the big trade for Matt Duchene normally I’d be the one kicking and screaming about losing a high end prospect (Shane Bowers) and picks (a 1st and a 3rd). In this case, at least with the prospect, I’m content. I wasn’t a big fan of the selection, who I thought was an uninspired pick with a low ceiling (time will tell, of course). I do miss the picks, but the org has always been very free in dolling them out, so it’s to be expected. The most interesting decision involves Andrew Hammond, where Pierre Dorion pulled the reverse of what Toronto did in the Dion Phaneuf trade (when Matt Frattin was included, but just his salary, as Ottawa loaned him back to the Marlies immediately). Initially I’d thought the team was making room for it’s two prospects (Hogberg and Driedger), but now I think it’s more likely that the Swede is going to be loaned back to Linkoping or elsewhere in the SHL, while Driedger goes down to Brampton (unless they trade Danny Taylor–a savvy move in my opinion, assuming he can be moved).

For the NHL side of the deal I suggest reading Nichols, whose opinions are largely my own–the Sens are merely buying another season (perhaps) of Cup relevance before their aging lineup starts to drag them down.

Noted comic book fan Travis Yost looks at something Micah Blake McCurdy studied back in 2014, which is how long does it take for a team’s performance to settle to show what they truly are? McCurdy felt that 25 games was the point of no return, whereas Travis is roughly at 30. These are worth keeping in mind when it comes to early returns for every team.

For those who missed it I did a very crunchy breakdown of the BSens month of September (here and here). Right now the team is in the midst of injury troubles on the blueline and a coach struggling to find the right forward combinations (Kleinendorst suffers from a very common coaching affliction, which is an over dedication to veterans and perceived “safe” players).

The team is near the veteran contract limit: Danny Taylor, Andrew Hammond, Mike Blunden, and Max Reinhart quality (Chris DiDomenico‘s Italian league games don’t seem to count, while Tyler Randell was two games under the limit when signed). Both Jim O’Brien and Ethan Werek qualify as veterans, but the Sens seemingly have dodged the limit by signing them to AHL-deals. The PTO rules, incidentally, are pretty loose, as each such contract covers 25 games played and a player can go through two of those before the team has to make a decision (so through two-thirds of the season).

As a note, the rules to be considered a rookie if you are European are a bit wonky:
-cut off is 26th birthday by Sept.15th
-less than 100 European Elite League games
The latter is part of the reason you don’t see a lot of European pros come to the AHL

Like many cities after the fact, some in Belleville are concerned about the deal that was struck to bring the AHL franchise to the city:

“I felt the deal struck with Melnyk wasn’t the best deal available to the city,” Sandison said. “Now, we own nothing and we loaned Melynk $6.5 million USD. I believe the negotiating team exercised poor judgement and made a deal that shouldn’t have been made.”

Coun. Paul Carr said he relied on the recommendation made by the negotiating team which included Mayor Taso Christopher and city director Mark Fluhrer. “Those negotiations were proceeding and there were some positive elements to it, but that deal fell through,” Carr said.

“At that point, there was no firm endorsement required,” said Carr, “That deal never got to the point where it was a take it or leave it. The first one never got to a point where we had to make a final decision because the party [Grant Kook’s Westcap Management Ltd] backed out.”

There’s no going back for Belleville at this point, as they’ve given the Sens the arena rent-free for three years, but it’s yet another indication that public funding for sports teams is virtually never a winning formula for tax payers.

Overage CHLer Max Fortier was signed by Columbus. He was expected to be drafted in both 2016 and this year, but his size (5’10) proved too much of an impediment.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 8, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

With the trade of Andrew Hammond the logjam in goal isn’t what it was, but I’ll discuss that in detail elsewhere. On Saturday the BSens had their re-match with the talented Checkers and ultimately the game was won by the better team (it’s very reminiscent of the 3-2 shootout loss to Providence–blowing a lead late by a team that badly out-shot them). Before I get into my observations, here are the basics (box score):
Shots: 22-35
PP: 0-3
PK: 3-4
Goaltender: Hammond who was excellent (9 key saves); Danny Taylor backed up–soon to be the starter again given the trade; both Chris Driedger and Marcus Hogberg were scratched

The Opposition
Unchanged other than the goaltender; Stortini remained scratched, which was appropriate

The Goals
1. Werek tips in a high flip pass from White
2. Charlotte (PP) – soft goal from Hammond up high on a tough angle
3. Charlotte – Chabot baubles the puck at the blueline leading to a breakaway that scores five-hole on a deke

Scoring chances (7): O’Brien (x2, sh), Chlapik (x2, pp), Werek, White, Gagne (pp), Murray hit the post

The Roster
Blunden, Flanagan, Jaros, Lajoie, and Vaive remained out with injuries and Dunn as a healthy scratch–that is to say, the lineup was unchanged other than the goaltender.

Lines
Paul-O’Brien-Sexton
McCormick-White-Werek
Perron-Chlapik-Gagne
Ciampini-Reinhart-Randell
Englund-Sieloff
Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Murray-Erkamps

The top two lines changed, with Sexton joining O’Brien and Paul, and Werek joining McCormick and White (neither change had a positive impact). The defense pairs were scrambled and I’m not entirely clear why–my guess is that the changes were largely in an attempt to help Chabot, but it did not work.

Special Teams
Powerplay
Paul-White-Sexton/Chabot-Perron
Reinhart-Chlapik-Gagne/Murray-Burgdoerfer
Penalty Kill
McCormick-Sexton/Sieloff-Englund
McCormick-Sexton/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Paul-O’Brien/Murray-Erkamps
McCormick-White/Sieloff-Englund
Paul-Sexton/Chabot-Englund
Paul-Sexton/Murray-Burgdoerfer (scored on)
White-O’Brien/Englund-Murray

Taking Chlapik off the top PP unit was an odd choice, but it’s been apparent for the last several games that Kleinendorst has no idea what to do with the man advantage and is trying anything to get it going (the team is 0-15 the last four games).

Notable Plays
I got a sense of why Randy Lee was so eager to sign Jordan Murray at last, as the blueliner threw a couple of big hits in the game (there wasn’t much physicality in the game overall); Chlapik made a great end-to-end rush on the powerplay in the third which was followed up by him giving Murray a great opportunity (he hit the post); with the net empty both White and Murray made saves as Charlotte failed to score on three attempts.

Player Notes
Erkamps: played more five-on-five than has been typical; a mixed bag (my primary note was a turnover in the third)
Murray: outside the post he hit on the PP was most notable for a couple of turnovers and a big hit
Englund: his usual self–didn’t earn a positive or negative notation
Chabot: is still nowhere near as good as he was prior to the injury, although having no support doesn’t make it any easier
Burgdoerfer: usual mixed bag–notable turnover (something routine for him) along with a good defensive play
Sieloff: solid defensively and picked up a rare assist
Randell: played in this game–who knows why?
Reinhart: his two points this season came in the same game–it’s getting bleak for the veteran who is supposed to score
Ciampini: not a great game for him–turnovers in the first and nothing accomplish offensively
Gagne: finally got a regular rotation on the powerplay, but still gets limited usage given his production
Perron: see above–I’m not sure what it’s going to take for Kleinendorst to let their line play more
Chlapik: as the BSens production has gone down the drain the Czech rookie has played less–go figure
McCormick: solid on the PK and thankfully removed from the PP (a first), but essentially a non-factor
White: still hasn’t gelled with linemates, but on his own remains a threat
Werek: scored a goal, so still the best–right?
Paul: has that cloak of invisibility on–since Rodewald’s recall he’s been struggling offensively
O’Brien: thankfully off the powerplay, but still plays way, way, way too much
Sexton: another player looking for a good fit–no scoring chances in two straight games

Some of the problems confronting the BSens are simply a matter of talent–the lack of puck-movers from the blueline given the injuries. The forward lines need work–I like the third line, but it should be playing more, and the players currently in the top-six are not a good mix and need to be shifted around. I’d staple O’Brien and McCormick to the third line where they belong, but it’s unrealistic for me to expect Kleinendorst to do that (at least with both).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 6, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

I’ve been sick this week so I’m a bit late in putting this out. Before I get into the games just an observation: with AHL mud-vision (aka AHL Live) it’s almost incredibly difficult to read the numbers on the BSens home jersey.

The home opener for Belleville was attended by Pierre Dorion and Randy Lee and this had an impact on the style of play for the BSens. Through nine road games the team wasn’t particularly physical and barely fought (and the game following this one returned to that pattern), but against Syracuse (the team they’d brawled against back on October 13th in a game that, outside of that, wasn’t particularly physical), the silliness was on full display, the chippy play resulting in two of their better defensemen getting hurt (Christians Jaros and Maxime Lajoie; also call-up Justin Vaive). Did the physicality play into the result of the game? No, but it certainly hurt the team in their game against Charlotte.

Before my observations here are the basics (the box score is here):
Shots: 20-26
PP: 1-8
PK: 2-4 (including one in OT)
Goaltender: Andrew Hammond (who made 4 key saves by my count); Danny Taylor backed-up and I think it’s pretty clear that he’s lost his #1 spot; both Chris Driedger and Marcus Hogberg were healthy and sat–one or both should be back in the ECHL sooner than later

The Opposition
The Crunch have a more talented roster, which includes ex-BSens Jason Akeson and Cory Conacher. Adam Erne was able to get many of the BSens off their game.

The Goals
1. Syracuse (PP) – Reinhart gets puck watching and leaves his man wide open for a cross-ice pass
2. Chlapik creates a turnover and Perron finishes off a nice pass from Gagne
3. Syracuse – Harpur pushes his man down and skates past his own goal, leaving a man open for the rebound
4. (PP) Lajoie shot gets to the line and Chlapik bangs it in
5. Syracuse (PP) O’Brien is asleep on the backcheck leaving a man wide-open for a tap-in
6. Pretty three-way passing play that Werek finishes off (starts with a Paul steal)
Shootout
Sexton and Chlapik are both stopped, but Gagne scores on a big slapper to win it

Scoring chances (11): White (x3, pp), Werek (x2), Chlapik (pp), Perron, Gagne, Lajoie, Paul, Randell; Reinhart hit the post in the third

The Roster
Blunden, Flanagan, and Chabot remained out with injuries; Ciampini was also out with an undisclosed injury; DiDomenico and Rodewald remained with Ottawa; Dunn and Erkamps were healthy scratches. Colin White played in his first game (I didn’t like his line, but liked him).

The Lines
Werek-Paul-O’Brien
McCormick-White-Sexton
Perron-Chlapik-Gagne
Vaive-Reinhart-Randell
Sieloff-Harpur
Englund-Jaros
Lajoie-Burgdoerfer

Vaive was hurt very early in the game, which understandably had little impact. Jaros was hurt in the second (from his reaction it looked like a concussion, but I’m no doctor), while I didn’t see Lajoie’s injury (there were a lot of dangerous hits in the game–yet another reason why that style of play is counterproductive). A hapless Harpur probably played 30 minutes.

Special Teams
Powerplay
White-Chlapik-Sexton/Lajoie-Burgdoerfer (scored)
Perron-Paul-Werek/Harpur-Jaros
Gagne-Paul-Werek/Harpur-Jaros
Perron-Paul-Gagne/Englund-O’Brien
Perron-Paul-Gagne/Harpur-O’Brien
White-Chlapik-Sexton/Harpur-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Chlapik-Gagne/Harpur-O’Brien
Perron-Paul-Gagne/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
4-on-4
White-Sexton/Lajoie-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Chlapik/Englund-Sieloff
Perron-Chlapik/Lajoie-Burgdoerfer
OT
Gagne-Chlapik/Harpur
Paul-O’Brien/Burgdoerfer
Penalty Kill
McCormick-Sexton/Harpur-Burgdoerfer
Paul-O’Brien/Harpur-Sieloff
McCormick-Sexton/Jaros-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Reinhart/Jaros-Burgdoerfer (scored on)
McCormick-White/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Perron-O’Brien/Sieloff-Jaros (scored on)
Paul-O’Brien/Englund-Sieloff
4-on-3 in OT
McCormick/Sieloff-Harpur
Sexton/Sieloff-Harpur

The injuries made for varied combinations, although the struggles on the powerplay also caused experimentation. The main PP drag was Harpur, who looked clueless all night.

Play of Note
The Harpur boondoggles were many tonight and verged on the comical, but my favourite was in OT when he went full Jim O’Brien and, with the offensive pressure on, skated out of his own zone to…throw the puck away and make a change.

Normally I’ve done player assessment for each game, but I’ll do one for both at the bottom to keep this a bit more condensed and less cluttered.

Between games the BSens signed Werek to an AHL-deal. Given the relative lack of forward depth I don’t hate the move, but he’s yet another impediment to playing prospects more.

Friday’s game against a talented Charlotte lineup was a straight-up spanking (the most lopsided loss of the year). The BSens spent most of their time running around in their own zone and fell behind early due to questionable goaltending, but before my specific observations here are the basics (the box score is here):
Shots: 29-40
PP: 0-2*
PK 4-4
AHL website has just 1 PP for the team, but there were 2
Goaltenders: Taylor got the start, but struggled (2 key saves) and was eventually replaced by Hammond who was excellent in the third (6 big saves); I’ve seen enough of Taylor now to know that, at least this season, he’s struggling a lot with his general positioning, particularly high glove side; both Driedger and Hogberg sat in the pressbox.

The Opposition
The Checkers are the highest scoring team in the AHL and the score could have been much higher if they’d kept the peddle to the metal. The only BSens connection on the roster is Zack Stortini, who was the healthy scratch he always should be.

The Goals
1. Charlotte – a bad goal as a point shot floats in far side
2. Charlotte – Englund caught puck-watching, leaving his man alone in front to bang in a pass from behind the net
3. Charlotte – breakaway goal off a bad change
4. Chlapik deflects a pass in front of the net that gets poked in by O’Brien
5. Charlotte – White goes for the puck and misses, leaving his man open in front to bang in the puck (some criticism for Sexton as well, who didn’t switch checks to tie up the only man in front)
6. Charlotte – Taylor gives it away behind the net and can’t get functionally back in the net
7. Charlotte – bangs in a rebound

Scoring chances (8): White (x3, pp), Ciampini (x2), O’Brien, McCormick, Sexton

The Roster
Jaros, Lajoie, and Vaive joined Blunden and Flanagan on the injured side; Harpur was recalled to Ottawa; both Chabot and Ciampini returned to the lineup, as did Erkamps and Murray. Dunn remained a healthy scratch.

Lines
McCormick-White-Sexton
Werek-Paul-O’Brien
Perron-Chlapik-Gagne
Ciampini-Reinhart-Randell
Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Chabot-Murray
Englund-Erkamps

Despite the score Kleinendorst did not change things up much at all and while you’d expect the hot line (the third line) to play more…nope, they didn’t. On defense Erkamps was used sparingly which, in a game like this, seems pointless.

Special Teams
Powerplay
McCormick-Paul-Sexton/Chabot-Chlapik
Werek-White-O’Brien/Murray-Burgdoerfer
White-Paul-Sexton/Chabot-Chlapik
McCormick-O’Brien-Werek/Murray-Burgdoerfer
Penalty Kill
Paul-O’Brien/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Paul-O’Brien/Sieloff-Englund
McCormick-Sexton/Englund-Murray
McCormick-Sexton/Chabot-Murray
McCormick-White/Chabot-Murray
Ciampini-Randell/Chabot-Murray
Perron-O’Brien/Englund-Erkamps

The whistles were largely away for this one. What puzzles me here is that after infrequent attempts in the Syracuse game, Kleinendorst took both Perron and Gagne off the powerplay, despite better production than some of his favourites. I do think having forwards play the point at this stage makes some sense. On the PK I was surprised not to see Erkamps as a regular part of the rotation (as he was in the October 13th game against Syracuse)–why not play him where he can function when the defense is so depleted? The counter argument would be that they didn’t give up a powerplay goal.

Notable Play
Not much to look at here (it was not a particularly engaging game), but there was a great rush by Chlapik late in the first that sadly lead to nothing.

Player Notes (for both games)
Erkamps: looked pretty lost in the game against Charlotte, but didn’t play a whole lot
Murray: when he’d played previously he played a lot–Kleinendorst was a more conservative with him, but he didn’t do anything significant (not sure why he was on the PK)
Englund: normal games from him; fought Adam Erne when he hurt Vaive, which didn’t deter Erne from being a pest
Harpur: was awful in the Syracuse game–no idea what to do with the puck, but Kleinendorst kept putting him on the ice
Sieloff: didn’t stand out positively or negatively–his usual standard of play
Burgdoerfer: usual mix of positives and negatives (his turnover ratio is pretty high for someone with this much experience); the BSens broadcast crew love him
Chabot: the rust was very apparent against Charlotte, as his impact was as minimal as I’ve seen it
Lajoie: I think he should play more, albeit that’s not easy when you’re injured; before he was hurt continued to make intelligent plays with the puck
Jaros: I felt the pain seeing him leave the ice for the dressing room; he does so much for the team, albeit there have been some struggles on the PK
Randell: wasn’t that involved in the chippy game in Syracuse where he’s supposed to protect the important players on his team, but managed to take a dumb penalty against the Checkers–utterly useless (although the Belleville broadcast team can’t help but pump his tires)
Reinhart: not only is he in the dog house, but he looks miserable whenever the camera focuses in on him; very Jekyll and Hyde (hits the post late in the third against Syracuse, whereas in the first his lazy D is part of the first goal against)
Vaive: for the minute or so he played he was just as useless as he was the previous games
Ciampini: I’ve warmed to him–he’s pretty consistent in getting scoring chances in limited duty–more of a shooter than passer though
Gagne: what’s it going to take to get him permanently on the powerplay rotation? I’m lost on Kleinendorst’s hesitation
Perron: see the above; clearly there’s trust issues for the coach
Chlapik: it’s a puzzle: when he was making plays and not getting results at the start of the season, he played a ton–now that he’s getting results, he’s playing less
White: plenty of jump in his game and he had the most scoring chances in both games, but I think he’s hampered by teammates he’s not gelling with (McCormick in particular)
McCormick: the guy who gives the coach and Randy Lee wet dreams, he’s still playing way too much and in scoring roles that aren’t suited to him
O’Brien: a coach K crush–he’d been kept off the powerplay earlier in the season, but now we’re seeing him there as well; he made a nice pass for the Werek goal in the Syracuse game and cleaned up the garbage for Chlapik in Charlotte, but this isn’t a sign of offensive prowess, just a result of playing a ridiculous amount
Werek: basically invisible, but he did score once, so there’s that
Sexton: speaking of invisible, not much action from Sexton, who doesn’t seem to function well with White (put him with Paul or back with Chlapik perhaps?)
Paul: still misses Rodewald and while his work on the PK has been fine his offensive game has largely disappeared (the exception is the play leading to the Werek goal)

I wasn’t particularly happy with either game–the chippy one against Syracuse, despite the win, ultimately hurt the team–while the second was a direct result of both the player losses due to injury and recalls. Kleinendorst continues to frustrate in his reluctance to trust most of the younger players such that middling veterans get far more ice time than makes any sense. Signing players like O’Brien and Werek just gives him more excuses to hesitate in trusting younger ones. That said, he showed the same tendency last season and overcame it, so there’s a reason to hope. On the goaltending side the alarm bells are ringing for Danny Taylor–the team also needs to find a place for Driedger to play.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 4, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

My previous post was largely about the team, so here I’ll break down players as best I can (I looked at goalies in that post, so I’ve skipped them here–I’ve tried not to duplicate material from the previous article).

Before we get to the individual breakdowns, the leaderboard in a couple of categories:
Points-Per-Game
DiDomenico 1.25
Werek 1.00
Rodewald 0.80
Chlapik/Jaros 0.63
Chabot 0.60

Shots-Per-Game
Chabot 3.4
Gagne 2.66
DiDomenico/Chlapik/Jaros/Sexton 2.5
O’Brien 2.22
Rodewald 2.2
Werek 2.16

Players below are arranged by points-per-game. Acronyms: PPP=powerplay points, SHP= shorthanded points, ENP=empty-net points, SHPG= shots per game, vet=veteran contract status; career=PPG before this season

Chris DiDomenico 28, C/RW 4-3-2-5 1.25 PPP 2 ENP 1 SHPG 2.5
Contract: 17-18; 8th pro season; career 0.22; last season 0.79 (NLA)
Currently in Ottawa where 5 points in 5 games means he’s not likely to return any time soon. The diminutive former Toronto draft pick (6-164/07) was a star in the Q who also played for the WJC team (John Tavares/Cody Hodgson era); dumped to Chicago before ever suiting up for the Leafs, he failed out of the Hawks org and went to reestablish himself in Europe. Signed to a phantom two-year deal last season it was an open question whether he’d be able to translate junior/European production at this level–the short returns have certainly been good, although he wasn’t a dominant player in limited action with Belleville.

Ethan Werek 26, C/LW 6-3-3-6 1.00 PPP 2 ENP 1 SHPG 2.16
Contract: PTO; 7th pro season (vet); career 0.36; last season 0.49
A second-round pick by the Rangers (2-47/09), the former OHLer was traded to Arizona (during the happy days of Don Maloney’s tenure as GM), where he failed to establish himself. Stops in Providence, Charlotte, and Texas proved he has enough talent to hang around the AHL, but not provide the kind of return that’s particularly enticing (now that he has veteran status it’s likely he’ll jump to Europe sooner than later). He took part in both Ottawa and Belleville’s training camps, but was cut and signed with Brampton. Recalled on a PTO without ever suiting up in the E, he’s off to a hot start, albeit already regressing to the mean. Will the BSens bite the bullet and sign him? I’m not sure, as Kleinendorst hasn’t embraced him in the way he did O’Brien (see below).

Jack Rodewald 23, RW 5-3-1-4 0.80 SHPG 2.2
Contract: 18-19; 3rd pro season; career 0.35; last season 0.41
An undrafted WHLer, he was signed by Toronto, but couldn’t crack a talented Marlies lineup. The BSens picked him up as part of the general detritus shipped in the Dion Phaneuf trade, but an early hot streak last season saw him stick around and in the off-season earn a 2-year AHL deal. Since then the org has seen enough to rip up that deal and sign him to a 2-year ELC and bring him up to Ottawa. He’s a solid AHL-player; good speed, versatile on special teams, and so forth. What remains to be seen is what his offensive potential is.

Filip Chlapik 20, C/LW 8-1-4-5 0.63 PPP 2 SHPG 2.5
Contract: 19-20; rookie; last season 1.59 (QMJHL)
The big question for the big Czech was how dependent was he on Pittsburgh pick Daniel Sprong while in the Q? I think he’d reasonably answered that while the Dutch player wasn’t playing, but what I’ve seen in his start is promising. I don’t think he’ll be quite as productive as Sprong, but he’s a very good player–great speed, good hands, excellent hockey IQ. A bit iffy defensively at times, but that’s not down to effort.

Christian Jaros 21, DR 8-1-4-5 0.63 PPP 2 SHPG 2.5
Contract: 19-20; rookie; last season 0.36 (SHL)
My concern with the Slovakian blueliner were his hands–could he move the puck, could he handle the speed? While he doesn’t have Chabot’s silky moves he’s much, much better than I expected. Has a cannon of a shot, good hands, and much better speed than expected (all the comparisons to Borowiecki put a very different image in my head). He’s also been much smarter about when to throw hits than I expected–doesn’t run around head-hunting–just takes what’s available.

Thomas Chabot 20, DL 5-1-2-3 0.60 PPP 3 SHPG 3.4
Contract: 19-20; rookie; last season 1.32 (QMJHL)
The hype was high for him and for once it’s well-deserved. Utterly dominant when fully healthy at this level and he can do things with the puck that most can’t. It’s always harder to write about extremely talented prospects–enjoy?

Nick Paul 22, C/LW 8-0-4-4 0.50 PPP 1 SHPG 2.0
Contract: 17-18; 3rd pro season; career 0.46; last season 0.51
A Dallas pick (4-101/13) that came over in the otherwise disastrous Jason Spezza trade. He subsequently played on the WJC (without making much impact) and then struggled in his rookie season with Binghamton. Paul is big, rangy, good at both ends of the ice, and can beat players one-on-one, but struggles to function without a possession-heavy winger. He and Rodewald were a very good pair, but since the latter’s call-up Paul has looked a bit lost.

Ben Sexton 26, RW 4-2-0-2 0.50 SHPG 2.5
Contract: 18-19; 4th pro season; career 0.39; last season 0.57
Son of former president and GM of the Ottawa Senators, the undersized collegiate player was drafted by Boston (7-206/09); he failed out of the organisation, signing an AHL-deal with Albany where he had a career year. This earned him a two year deal with the BSens and while I was skeptical when I saw that in limited duty he’s actually been quite effective. Good speed, good hands, good shot–not sure what his issues in Providence were (usage?), but while I don’t think he’s going to set the AHL on fire he’s been a solid addition.

Erik Burgdoerfer 28, DR 9-2-2-4 0.44 PPP 2 SHPG 1.66
Contract: 17-18; 8th pro season (vet); career 0.24; last season 0.32
Unsigned RPI grad (career high of 7 points) made his way onto ECHL Bakersfield’s roster and four so-so seasons with them cracked Hershey’s lineup for two seasons and then Rochester. I’ve been pretty critical of this signing, largely because he’s a veteran whose numbers have never been remarkable. After watching him for 9 games, he’s pretty much as expected–underwhelming offensively, solid defensively. He’s a fairly safe player who generally isn’t going to hurt you, but he’s not going to win you a game either.

Gabriel Gagne 20, C/LW 9-4-0-4 0.44 SHPG 2.66
Contract: 18-19; 2nd pro season; last season 0.14
After last season I think some fans were understandably wondering if he was already a failed pick. Not only did he fail in the AHL, he didn’t accomplish much in the ECHL either. Gangly and awkward looking on the ice, he barely played to start the season and has seen virtually no powerplay time. That said, he has a rocket of a shot and it’s becoming apparent that if he’s paired with someone who can move the puck he can be effective.

Daniel Ciampini 26, LW 7-1-2-3 0.43 SHPG 0.85
Contract: 17-18 (AHL); 3rd pro season; career 0.25; last season 1.00 (ECHL)
Undrafted Collegiate signed with Worcester after college, but couldn’t stick with the org and spent time with Rockford and Ontario subsequently (largely in their ECHL affiliates). He was a late signing by the BSens to add some forward depth and was initially loaned to Brampton, but a shortage in forwards meant he hasn’t played in the ECHL yet. He’s never been able to translate his tier-2 offense at this level, but on the whole he’s been a positive contributor in limited time.

Max McCormick 25, LW 7-1-2-3 0.43 SHP 1 ENP 1 SHPG 2.14
Contract: 17-18; 4th pro season; career 0.42; last season 0.54
I’m often put in the position of criticising McCormick, but none of the things I’m critical of are his fault–my issue with him is his usage–coaches (from Kleinendorst to Luke Richardson) keep pushing him into a scoring role he’s just not suited too. He has a good shot–his AHL numbers illustrate that–but he’s not a possession player and too many times on the powerplay he’s a detriment. So: I like him, he’s a great third-line player who kills penalties–that’s just how I want him used. Even on the penalty kill he’s being over used (among the regular PK forwards he has the worst shifts-to-goals ratio).

Francis Perron 21, C/LW 7-0-3-3 0.43 PPP 1 ENP 1 SHPG 1.28
Contract: 18-19; 2nd pro season; last season 0.38
One of the primary issues for the former QMJHL start is his TOI and linemates, but we might finally be turning the corner on that. Offensively gifted, I don’t know what his AHL-ceiling is, but we can’t find out unless he’s consistently paired with complimentary players and that’s just not been the case this season. Definitely a pass-first player.

Jim O’Brien 28, C/RW 9-1-2-3 0.33 SHP 2.22
Contract: 17-18; 9th pro season (vet); career 0.55; last season 0.45
Former first-round bust for the Sens (drafted in DiDomenico’s year), he’s spent the last three seasons drifting about the hockey world–an aborted KHL attempt that brought him to Hershey, then New Jersey signed him, and finally San Antonio. His numbers have declined precipitously the previous two seasons and no one should expect O’Brien to put up points. Kleinendorst coached Jimothy previously (10-12) and that familiarity has seen him play O’Brien far too much. He has good speed, is solid defensively and has an okay shot, he has no hands whatsoever. Belongs on the PK and the third line.

Maxime Lajoie 19, DL 9-0-3-3 0.33 PPP 2 SHPG 1.0
Contract: 19-20; rookie; last season 0.61 (WHL)
I spent last season wondering what the org hype was all about for Lajoie, as he had decent but not remarkable junior numbers. Now that I’ve seen him play I get it now. I’m not sure his game translates at the next level (his skating needs work), but in the AHL he’s a very smart puckmover and has been excellent on the PP.

Jordan Murray 24, DL 3-0-1-1 0.33 SHPG 1.0
Contract: 18-19 (AHL); rookie; last season 1.33 (CIS)
Undrafted QMJHLer spent four years in Canadian University before a 5-game audition earned him a two-year (AHL) contract with the org. I’m not sure what prompted the commitment, as while he’s not a bad player–he can move the puck–he doesn’t blow me away either. It’s a strange move.

Max Reinhart 25, C/LW 8-1-1-2 0.25 SHPG 0.87
Contract: 17-18; 6th pro season (vet); career 0.59; last season 0.44 (DEL)
Former Calgary pick (3-64/10) and son of former NHLer Paul, he failed out of Calgary, had a middling season with Milwaukee, and then a disastrous season in Germany. He’s quickly found himself in Kleinendorst’s doghouse and it will be interesting to see what happens to him over the next month or so (will the Sens trade him? it’s tough moving a vet, but I’m reminded of the org dumping Shaun Heshka in a somewhat similar situation back in 11-12).

Mike Blunden 30, RW 4-0-1-1 0.25 SHPG 0.5
Contract: 17-18; 12th pro season (vet); career 0.52; last season 0.43
Former Chicago pick (2-43/05), being big with decent speed has meant he’s always been attractive to GM’s, but in 12 pro seasons he never managed more than half an NHL season and, for the most part, he’s simply appeared in a handful of games each year playing fourth-line minutes. At the AHL-level, barring an anomalous season with Syracuse, he’s always chipped in at borderline second-line levels, but his best years are behind him. Prior to his injury Kleinendorst was using him in all situations and playing him far, far too much.

Vincent Dunn 22, LW 4-0-1-1 0.25 SHPG 0.25
Contract: 17-18; 3rd pro season; career ECHL 0.38; last season 0.25 (ECHL)
Former QMJHL pest with behavioural problems is still considered an AHL rookie because of how few games he’s played. In watching him his problem is pretty clear–beyond the lack of puck skills, he just can’t skate. Destined for Brampton the moment there’s enough forwards for him to be moved.

Patrick Sieloff 23, DL 9-1-1-2 0.22 SHPG 0.66
Contract: 17-18; 5th pro season; career 0.18; last season 0.23
Former Calgary pick (2-42/12) who came up through the US Development program. Offensively limited at every level, he finished up his ELC with the expected unremarkable numbers and was shifted as an RFA to Ottawa in exchange for Alex Chiasson. He’s exactly what you expect–a very safe player with basically no offensive ability at all.

Andreas Englund 21, DL 9-0-2-2 0.22 SHPG 0.66
Contract: 18-19; 2nd pro season; last season 0.14
After a rough couple of games to start the season he’s settled down to be as advertised: dependable defensive defenseman with limited offensive instincts and abilities. I’m not sure if there’s another gear for him or not–if not, he’s basically Sieloff who threws a few extra hits.

Tyler Randell 26, RW 9-1-0-1 0.11 ENP 1 SHPG 1.0
Contract: 17-18; 6th pro season; career 0.18; last season 0.16
Boston actually wasted a draft pick on the OHL pugilist (6-176/09) and he spent parts of six seasons punching people. I was not a fan of this signing which stinks of Randy Lee, but at least here was a player we wouldn’t see on the powerplay…until we did. Hopefully that was a mere flutter on Kleinendorst’s part. Randell periodically takes dumb penalties, but as a positive I will say he’s reasonably responsible defensively–there’s just no reason to play him unless he’s punching people.

Macoy Erkamps 22, DR 4-0-0-0 0.00 SHPG 0.25*
Contract: 18-19; 2nd season; last season 0.43 (ECHL)
A CHL free agent signing by the org (none of which have ever turned out), he was buried in the ECHL most of last season. He’s barely played 5-on-5, but spent a ton of time on the PK where he was actually fairly effective. Given the limitations of his appearances I’m not really sure what he is, but it seems like he can fill in as a penalty killer if nothing else.
*The AHL website erroneously has him listed for 5 games (despite correctly showing that he played four in the game-by-game section–I think this is related to the pre-game lineup Belleville released where he was removed at the last minute)

Kyle Flanagan 28, C/LW 2-0-0-0 0.00 SHPG 0
Contract: 17-18 (AHL); 5th pro season; career 0.41; last season 0.42
Undrafted, undersized college grad was signed by Philadelphia, but flubbed his rookie season so went to MODO in the SHL the following season, where he remained unimpressive. Signing an ECHL contract with Adirondack he was called up by Binghamton and did well enough to be earn to a two-year AHL deal. He’s a decent third-line player, although a concussion early this season makes assessing him impossible.

Ben Harpur 22, DL 2-0-0-0 0.00 SHPG 2.0
Contract: 17-18; 3rd pro season; career 0.30; last season 0.42
A Jekyll and Hyde ELC, where he didn’t look like even an AHL player his rookie season and then seemed reasonably effective last year. Coming off injury he was atrocious in his Belleville debut, but that’s not how he should be judged.

Justin Vaive 28, LW 2-0-0-0 0.00 SHPG 1.0
Contract: PTO; 7th pro season; career 0.24; last season 0.13
Son-of-Rick was an Anaheim draft pick long ago (4-92/07, the O’Brien year), but as a collegian accomplished nothing and that’s how things have continued for him. He’s big, but he has ECHL-level hands so has accumulated games in the AHL largely based on size. There’s no chance the BSens actually sign him.

Cody Donaghey 21, DR ECHL 5-2-1-3
Contract: 18-19; rookie; last season 0.77 (QMJHL)
The org has seemed keen on getting rid of the CHL FA ever since the acquired him; Toronto signed him and included him with the assorted detritus involved in the Dion Phaneuf trade. A potent QMJHL blueliner offensively, he has yet to dress with Belleville and has logged the most time with Brampton thus far (5-2-1-3).

In general I want to see prospects like Perron and Gagne play more, vets like Blunden, O’Brien, Randell, and McCormick to play less (especially on special teams). The return to the lineup of players like Colin White will help in that regard, although who knows how long high end prospects like that will remain?

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 1, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

Assessing the Team

Since the AHL is living in the dark ages of tracking data, those of us interested in looking beyond the bare stats available have to do our own work. I haven’t tracked everything, just kept tabs on scoring chances and player usage on special teams.

The bare bones: after a nine-game road trip Belleville is 4-4-1, having scored 27 goals (3 per game) and allowed 31 (3.44 per game). The team is giving up an average of 36 shots against, while firing 28 themselves. Their powerplay versus shorthanded situations are almost identical (49/47), scoring 6 and giving up 8.

Goaltending
Carrying four goalies is a bit much, but Chris Driedger was injured for most of the month and with Marcus Hogberg sent down to the ECHL, the road was cleared for veterans Danny Taylor and Andrew Hammond. The latter has clearly outplayed the former:
Hammond 1-1-1 .929 2.69
Taylor 3-3-0 .903 3.27

The expectation was for Taylor to carry the mail, but he’s been hit and miss so far this season (3 above .900 games, 3 below). The lesser used Hammond hasn’t had a start below .921, so it will be interesting if Kleinendorst starts to play them accordingly.

Down in Brampton Hogberg has been getting his head kicked in: .863, 5.30, but before we get too alarmed the other goalies are sporting .868 (starter McNiven) and .833 save percentages, so at least some of the fault has to go to the team’s defense in front of him.

Scoring Chances
By my count the team has had 95 chances through 9 games (or 10.5 per game). Here’s the list of the players with the most scoring chances thus far (the bar set at 0.5 per game, with goals scored in brackets):
DiDomenico 2.0 (3)
Rodewald 1.6 (3)
Sexton 1.5 (2)
Chlapik 1.5 (1)
McCormick 0.85 (1)
Werek 0.83 (3)
Chabot 0.8 (1)
O’Brien, Ciampini 0.66 (1, 1)
Reinhart, Paul, Jaros 0.62 (1, 0, 1)
Gagne 0.55 (4)
Other goalscorers: Burgdoerfer (2), Sieloff (1), Randell (1, empty-net)

It’s worth noting that a number of players have elevated ratios because they’ve played fewer games.

5-on-5 Play (and OT)
The team has 6 powerplay, 1 shorthanded, and 2 empty net goals, leaving 18 scored under normal circumstances. Here are the on-ice leaders for even-strength goals:
Forwards
Paul 6
Gagne 5
Chlapik, McCormick, O’Brien, Rodewald, Werek 4
Ciampini, DiDomenico, Perron, Reinhart, Sexton 3
Blunden, Dunn, Randell 1
Flanagan, Vaive 0
Defense
Burgdoerfer, Englund, Jaros, Lajoie, Sieloff 5
Chabot 4
Harpur 2
Erkamps, Murray 1

Even Strength Point Production (minus the aforementioned category goals):
Rodewald, Gagne 4
Chalpik, Jaros, Werek, Paul, Ciampini, O’Brien 3
DiDomenico, Burgdoerfer, Sexton, Reinhart, Sieloff, Englund 2
McCormick, Perron, Lajoie, Murray, Blunden, Dunn 1
Chabot, Randell, Erkamps, Vaive, Flanagan, Harpur 0

Keep in mind the small sample size for players with fewer games played (the fact Chabot has been on-ice for 4 even strength goals should alleviate any concerns about his zero on that front).

Breaking Down Special Teams

I’ve done my best to track both line combinations and shifts for the PK and PP. Currently the team is 6-49 on the PP (12.2%, 21st in the league), and 39-47 on the PK (83%, 16th in the league)–for reference last season the team was 15% on the PP and 79% on the PK. So, who is being used in each situation?

The Powerplay (6-49, 12.2%)
The simplest thing first, powerplay points:
Chabot 1-2-3
Werek 2-0-2
Jaros 1-1-2
DiDomenico 1-1-2
Burgdoerfer 1-1-2
Chlapik 0-2-2
Lajoie 0-2-2
Paul 0-1-1
Perron 0-1-1

So what about on-ice for a PP goal?
Chabot, Chlapik, Jaros, Lajoie, Sexton, Paul, Burgdoerfer 3
DiDomenico, Rodewald, Werek 2
Reinhart, Perron, O’Brien 1

Conspicuously absent from the above are the heavily played McCormick and Blunden. The two receive a tremendous amount of ice time with the man advantage, but their lines do not score. This isn’t to say they can’t produce on special teams, just that they’ve been overplayed in that role thus far.

Player usage is the most interesting thing here–who is or isn’t playing and what is or isn’t successful. By my count there have been 27 different powerplay formations already, but some are certainly more common than others and certain players are regularly deployed. In terms of pure, raw usage (as in, shifts), the top six forwards are Chlapik, Paul, Rodewald, McCormick, DiDomenico, and Werek. The top four defensemen are Jaros, Lajoie, Chabot, and Burgdoerfer.

Raw shifts isn’t as telling as opportunities versus games played (keeping in mind the exigences of officiating, ie, how many penalties are called when you happen to be playing), so with that metric with the same two categories it’s:
DiDomenico 5.25
Rodewald 5.2
Chlapik 4.5
Sexton 3.75
Paul 3.75
McCormick 3.57
Blunden 3.25
Werek 3.16
Reinhart 2.12
Perron 1.42
Randell 1.0
Defense
Chabot  6.2
Jaros 4.5
Murray 4.0
Lajoie 3.77
Burgdoerfer 3.11
Harpur 2.0

Conspicuously absent is leading goal-scorer Gagne, who has barely been used (0.85).

What about line combinations? Here are the most used forward combinations:
Sexton-Chlapik-DiDomenico (2 goals)
Werek-Paul-Rodewald (1 goal)
McCormick-Chlapik-DiDomenico (no goals)
Perron-Paul-Rodewald (1 goal)
McCormick-Reinhart-Blunden (no goals)

The same division but with defensemen:
Chabot-Jaros (2 goals)
Lajoie-Jaros (1 goal)
Lajoie-Burgdoerfer (2 goals)
Chabot-Burgdoerfer (1 goal)

These four defensemen account for 87% of the ice time given on the blueline, which is a far cry from the chaos in the forward ranks (the above lines constitute 44% of usage).

Penalty Kill (39-47, 83%; two goals were via 5-on-3’s)
What about the penalty kill? Going by shifts per game, here are all the forwards who average more than one per game (with how many goals they’ve been on-ice for noted):
Rodewald 4.2 (1)
Paul 4.12 (2)
Sexton 4.0 (1)
McCormick 3.85 (5)
O’Brien 3.66 (3)
Blunden 3.5 (0)
Perron 1.57 (0)
Randell 1.11 (0)
The defensemen:
Englund 5.55 (3)
Sieloff 5.44 (3)
Erkamps 4.5 (1)
Burgdoefer 4.11 (3)
Harpur 3.5 (1)
Jaros 3.0 (3)
Chabot 2.8 (2)

I’d again keep in mind that some players haven’t played that many games. The most common combinations (minimum one shift per game):
Forwards
Paul-Rodewald (1 goal against)
McCormick-Paul (1)
McCormick-Sexton (2)
O’Brien-Blunden (0)
Sexton-O’Brien (0)
McCormick-O’Brien (1)
Defense
Sieloff-Burgdoerfer (2)
Englund-Erkamps (0)
Englund-Burgdoerfer (1)
Sieloff-Jaros (0)
Englund-Sieloff (0)
Sieloff-Harpur (1)

Once again there’s greater stability amongst defenders (77% of the shifts are via the above combos) than forwards (54%).

Thus far the team has scored one shorthanded goal (unassisted by McCormick).

Games Missed
Injury
Colin White 9 (now healthy), Chris Driedger (healthy)/Kyle Flanagan 7 (concussion), Ben Sexton 5, Mike Blunden 4 (and counting), Francis Perron/Jack Rodewald/Thomas Chabot/Macoy Erkamps* 2, Nick Paul/Paul Reinhart 1
*I’m assuming he’s hurt
Call-up
Ben Harpur 7, Chris DiDomenico 5, Jack Rodewald & Thomas Chabot 2, Filip Chlapik, Max McCormick, & Christian Jaros 1
Suspension
Blunden, McCormick, & Vincent Dunn 1
Healthy Scratch*
Jordan Murray/Dunn 4, Cody Donaghey 2, Erkamps 1
*ignoring goaltenders

Breakdowns for skaters (forwards and defense) will arrive in a follow-up article.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 30, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

The BSens went to Winnipeg and picked up 4-points in a pair of sloppy games against a good team. This complete’s Belleville’s month on the road and I’ll be digging into the numbers on that in a separate article. They were badly outplayed in the first game, but before my observations here are the basics (the box score is here):
Shots: 27-38
PP: 1-3 (one cut short)
PK: 3-4 (brief 5-on-3 they were scored on; another was also brief)
Goaltender: Andrew Hammond was fantastic (I had him making 11 big saves–many in overtime); Danny Taylor served as the backup and a now-healthy Chris Driedger was scratched (presumably he’ll be loaned to the ECHL at some point–there’s no room in Brampton, so either they swap him with Hogberg or loan him to a different team)

The Opposition
The Moose are a good team and probably deserved a better fate, particularly in this game, as goaltender Eric Comrie could not make a save in the shootout. There were a couple of BSens connections, with Buddy Robinson and pugilist Darren Kramer on the team (as well as tryout Charles-David Beaudoin).

The Goals
1. Manitoba: Sieloff can’t control the stick making the deflection in front
2. Burgdoerfer on the PP (nice set-up by Lajoie, but full credit to Burg for the goal)
3. Manitoba: Sieloff out of position so he can neither block the pass or take the man
4. Sexton finishes off a nice three-way passing play (nice short-side shot)
5. Gagne bangs in a fantastic pass by Perron
6. Werek falls, turning the puck over and neither Burgdoerfer or Sieloff get back to the net in time to stop a wide-open deflection
Shootout
Sexton – hits the post
Ciampini – scores on a deke
Gagne – scores on a slapshot (!)
Werek – scores on a deke
Paul – wrist shot

Scoring chances (7): Ciampini (2), Gagne, Paul, Burgdoerfer, Sexton, Reinhart

The Roster
Chalpik, DiDomenico, McCormick, and newly ELC-signed Rodewald were all with Ottawa; Blunden and Flanagan remained out as expected, but Chabot also missed both games with a lower body injury; Erkamps sat presumably due to injury (he was on the presumed lineup for tonight, but did not play and the BSens spent the night a player short). Joining the lineup was Ben Sexton, who hadn’t played since October 7th; Dunn also drew back in given the lack of forward options, joined by Justin Vaive (yes, son of Rick), who was called up from Cincinnati. Jordan Murray was sent down to Brampton prior to the trip, but has not suited up for the Beast yet.

Lines
Werek-O’Brien-Sexton
Perron-Paul-Gagne
Ciampini-Reinhart-Randell
Dunn-Vaive
Sieloff-Harpur
Englund-Jaros
Lajoie-Burgdoerfer

If these lines look underwhelming you are correct. Harpur looked like he was skating in cement and wasn’t sure what the puck was for. Lajoie was a big help for Burgdoerfer and Jaros played a ton.

Special Teams
Powerplay
Sexton-Paul-O’Brien/Burgdoerfer-Lajoie (scored)
Werek-Perron-Randell/Harpur-Jaros (once)
Perron-Reinhart-Randell/Harpur-Jaros (once)
4-on-4
Reinhart-Ciampini/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Ciampini/Englund-Jaros (this is half a line change from the above)
OT
Perron-Gagne/Harpur
Perron-Gagne/Burgdoerfer
Paul-O’Brien/Jaros
Sexton-Campini/Burgdoefer
Paul-Sexton/Harpur
Penalty Kill
Sexton-O’Brien/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Paul/Sieloff-Harpur
Sexton-O’Brien/Sieloff-Burgdoefer (once)
Vaive-O’Brien/Englund-Burgdoefer (once–Sexton was in the box)
O’Brien/Sieloff-Harpur (5-on-3) (scored on)
Yes, with a one-goal lead Tyler Randell was on the powerplay twice–who wants to win in regulation, am I right? Jim O’Brien doesn’t belong either. The overtime lines, for the most part, struggled to get anything done.

Notable Plays
To save my sanity I’m going to collapse good and bad into one little text box. In the first Harpur threw a hip check to the head of Spacek who missed the next game (no intent, just size differential and bad luck). Late in the second Burgdoerfer managed to deke himself out with no real pressure–it was pretty amusing. In the third Jaros walked through a couple of players, but had no support on the rush. Classic O’Brien: wide open breakaway in overtime–fanned on the shot; Jimothy also repeated a play he made in Syracuse where with offensive pressure (in OT this time) he carried the puck outside the zone and made change.

Player Notes
Harpur: coming off injury he was atrocious; struggled with speed, struggled to handle the puck, and struggled to make decisions
Sieloff: his worst game of the season with a lot of mental errors defensively
Lajoie: pretty quiet game, but no big snafu’s and a nice assist
Englund: outside of one mistake (going for a big hit which lead to a 2-on-1 against) he was solid; after a terrible start to the season he’s been fine (albeit, no hands)
Jaros: couple of great defensive plays and a great rush in what was an underwhelming game from his team
Burgdoerfer: I’m not his biggest fan, but by his standards he’s on fire
Dunn: barely played and accomplished nothing
Vaive: his dad is Rick–did I mention that earlier?
Randell: on the powerplay? Really?
Reinhart: buried pretty deep in the Kleinendorst doghouse and in limited duty didn’t do much (a turnover and a scoring chance)
Ciampini: I’m warming up to him a bit–not sure he’s true AHL material, but as long as KK doesn’t put him on the first unit PP again I’m happy
Gagne: finally seeing the shot that made him a second round pick–if you get a chance to see his shootout goal check it out–not many guys can just walk in and blow it by a goalie with a slapper
Perron: solid game, although he’s got to be feeling pretty snake bitten with no goals
Werek: AHL’s best player was largely invisible, but he got a nice assist and made the play responsible for Manitoba’s tying the game late
O’Brien: typical game for him
Sexton: solid return after missing a lot of action

Belleville was lucky to win–they gave up a lot of opportunities and were stuck in their own end for much of the game. With that said, they had a 3-2 lead late in the third and you have to wonder how much Kleinendorst choosing to play conservatively allowed for the tie. it’s worth noting officials put their whistles away for much of the game (albeit not as much as in the next).

Saturday’s game was much more entertaining to watch and, given that the BSens fell behind early, we saw Kleinendorst change his lines to try to score (and without the Blunden button to push). This was the game where I realised Jim O’Brien comes from the Alexei Yashin school of passing: don’t. Before my observations here are the basics (the box score is here):
Shots: 37-39
PP: 0-2 (both abbreviated)
PK: 2-2 (one brief)
Goaltender: Danny Taylor (for a game with a ton of shots I only noted one big save from him); Andrew Hammond backed-up and Chris Driedger was scratched.

The Opposition
Only changes were Spacek out (presumably a concussion) and a goaltender switch.

The Goals
1. Manitoba: Gagne tips it into his own net
2. Manitoba: horrible goal from Taylor (beat by a low weak wrist shot from the circle)
3. Sexton bangs in O’Brien’s rebound
4. Gagne off a nice pass from Chlapik (who intercepted a clear around)
5. Chlapik steals the puck in his own end and scores on the breakaway (deke)

Scoring chances (10): Chlapik (3), Gagne (2), Sexton (2), O’Brien, McCormick, Burgdoerfer

The Roster
Chlapik and McCormick returned from Ottawa; spare tire Dunn was put back into the trunk (no one else needed to be scratched because the BSens played a man short the previous night).

The Lines
Werek-O’Brien-Sexton
Perron-Paul-Gagne
McCormick-Chlapik-Ciampini
Vaive-Reinhart-Randell
Sieloff-Harpur
Englund-Jaros
Lajoie-Burgdoerfer

Harpur played a lot and it wasn’t pretty. In the second Chlapik was moved to center the second line and it was fantastic when on the ice (incredibly it’s a combo virtually unseen up to this point). It’s been very noticeable that Nick Paul misses Jack Rodewald (reminds me of his early dependence on Tobias Lindberg eons ago).

Special Teams
Powerplay
Sexton-Paul-O’Brien/Burgdoerfer-Lajoie
Sexton-Paul-O’Brien/Burgdoerfer-Harpur
McCormick-Chlapik-Reinhart/Jaros-Harpur
4-on-4
McCormick-Sexton/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Chlapik/Lajoie-Jaros
McCormick-Paul/Englund-Jaros
Sexton-Perron/Harpur-Burgdoerfer
OT
Gagne-Chlapik/Harpur (scored)
Penalty Kill
McCormick-Sexton/Sieloff-Harpur
Perron-Paul/Englund-Burgdoerfer

The McCormick heroin was in full effect today–I’m not sure what it is with coaches who can’t separate “I love this gritty, responsible player” from “this guy is great offensively.” McCormick has a decent shot, but he’s not much of a passer and his hockey IQ offensively isn’t great either (both well illustrated by his goal/assist ratio). There was also far, far too much Ben Harpur–he’s coming off injury, ease him in.

Notable Plays
Randell and Darren Kramer had one of those “we need to justify our paycheque” fights in the first (win for Randell if that interests you). Late in the second both Harpur and Sieloff abandoned the front of the net leaving a wide open Manitoba player (he missed the net). There was a great shift after that by the Gagne-Chlapik-Perron line where both Perron and Lajoie missed the net on great opportunities.

Player Notes
Harpur: the struggles continued–among the things he’s not ready for was PP duty
Sieloff: bounceback game for him comparatively with only two poor defensive plays
Burgdoerfer: evened up the turnovers with solid D (3 and 3)
Englund: largely invisible, but one notable defensive play
Jaros: pretty quiet game for him, but not a bad one
Lajoie: really came alive when he was matched up with the Gagne-Chlapik-Perron line
Vaive: he’s 6’6 and yeah, his father is Rick
Randell: he punched somebody and he wasn’t on the special teams, so basically a win
Reinhart: while I’d scratch Randell with a healthy lineup, given how little Reinhart is playing he might sit
Ciampini; largely invisible (no snafu’s however)
McCormick: scoring chance shorthanded and a boondoggle of a turnover
Paul: offensively vanished, but made a couple of good defensive plays
Werek: AHL’s best player warranted zero notations
O’Brien: have to credit him for an assist, but has no business on the PP
Sexton: picked up another goal and was generally solid
Perron: can’t buy a goal, but a positive presence and possession player
Gagne: other than accidentally own-goaling, this was one of his best games (he shines when he’s with linemates who can get him the puck)
Chlapik: he set-up the game tying goal and won it in overtime…and this is the third straight game Kleinendorst started him on the third or fourth line

I mentioned back in July that Kleinendorst tends to take a month or two before finding his way to the best possible lineup–relying on veterans in the early going. We’ve seen that in spades this season with an unreasonable addiction to McCormick, O’Brien, the now injured Blunden, Burgdoerfer, and now Harpur. Some of that is comfort level (three of those five players played for him before), but there’s an overemphasis on what’s perceived as “safe” and it’s frustrating to those of us who want to see talented prospects let loose. Gabriel Gagne, who was a disaster last season, has been on a very short leash, but with four goals in his last six games that might be lifting. I’m not a huge fan of Harpur playing his off side incidentally, but to keep him on the left means cutting either Englund or Sieloff’s ice time and Kleinendorst clearly isn’t ready for that.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 29, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

Sunday was the end of a 3-in-3 for Belleville, but exhaustion and schedule are no excuse as Springfield was in the exact same situation. The 0-6 Thunderbirds lay a beatdown on the BSens, but losses like this are just as interesting as the wins. Before my observations, here are the basics (you can see the box score here):
Shots: 31-38
PP: 0-10 (three 5-on-3’s, one of which was very brief; two 4-on-3’s; the final PP lasted for about ten seconds while Springfield was in possession)
PK: 4-7 (one 5-on-3)
Goaltender: Danny Taylor (making six key saves); Andrew Hammond backed up; on the whole I haven’t been that impressed with Taylor, who in five starts has only had one excellent game (the win over Hartford)

The Opposition
The Thunderbirds are a mediocre team–not quite as awful as their 0-6 record entering the game, but struggling behind some atrocious goaltending. Their third goaltender played and currently has the best numbers on the team (small sample size and not that good overall); this is the third time in seven games where the BSens have faced a third-string goaltender

The Goals
1. Springfield: 3-on-2 tipped in
2. Ciampini tips in Burgdoerfer’s shot
3. Springfield: crossbar-high tap-in of a rebound
4. Burgdoerfer (off a sweet pass from Chlapik)
5. Springfield: one-timer on a 5-on-3 PP (not a great goal allowed by Taylor)
6. Springfield: PP rebound banged in with no BSens in front of the net to defend
7. Springfield: Burgdoerfer loses a puck battle and gets puck watching, leaving his man wide open in front to score with 4 seconds left in the second
8. Sieloff bounces a point shot off a defender
9. Springfield: Paul can’t take his man who beats Taylor at a terrible angle
10. Springfield: Taylor beat high
11. O’Brien (the goal wasn’t shown as the AHL Live feed was showing the highlight of the previous goal)

Scoring chances (10): Ciampini (x2), McCormick (x2, one on the pp), Chlapik (pp), Rodewald, Burgdoerfer, Sieloff, O’Brien, and Jaros

The Roster
Ben Harpur had been reassigned earlier in the day, but was not sent to Springfield; Vincent Dunn was scratched and Macoy Erkamps dressed (the team went with seven defenseman). Flanagan, Sexton, Blunden, and Driedger remain injured. After the game Max McCormick was recalled to Ottawa.

Lines
Werek-Paul-Rodewald
McCormick-O’Brien-Gagne
Reinhart-Perron-Randell
Ciampini-Chlapik
Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Chabot-Jaros
Englund-Lajoie
Erkamps

Randell’s regular rotation disappeared pretty quickly; by the second period Gagne played much less (in favour of Chlapik, although he wasn’t specifically always on the second line). Erkamps was used very sparingly and Chabot (as expected) played the most among the blueliners.

Special Teams
Powerplay
Werek-Paul-Rodewald/Lajoie-Jaros (the most used unit)
Werek-Paul-Rodewald/Chabot-Jaros (once)
McCormick-Chlapik-Reinhart/Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Gagne-Chlapik-McCormick/Chabot-Burgdoerfer (once)
McCormick-Paul-O’Brien/Lajoie-Burgdoerfer (once)
Reinhart-McCormick-Rodewald/Chabot-Burgdoerfer (5-on-3)
Werek-Paul-Chlapik/Lajoie-Jaros (5-on-3)
Gagne-Paul-Rodewald/Chabot-Burgdoerfer (5-on-3)
Rodewald-Chlapik-Werek/Chabot-Jaros (5-on-3)
Chlapik-Rodewald/Chabot-Jaros (4-on-3)
McCormick-Paul-Rodewald/Chabot (4-on-3)
4-on-4
Perron-Gagne/Chabot-Jaros
O’Brien-McCormick/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Paul-Rodewald/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Chlapik/Chabot-Jaros
O’Brien-Paul-Rodewald/Burgdoerfer (scored on)
O’Brien-Reinhart/Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Chlapik-Gagne/Chabot-Burgdoerfer
Penalty Kill
O’Brien-McCormick/Englund-Sieloff
O’Brien-McCormick/Chabot-Jaros (scored on)
Paul-Rodewald/Englund-Erkamps (scored on)
O’Brien-McCormick/Englund-Burgdoerfer
Paul-Rodewald/Sieloff-Burgdoerfer
Perron-Randell/Chabot-Jaros (once)
McCormick-Randell/Englund-Sieloff (once)
O’Brien/Englund-Jaros (5-on-3)
O’Brien/Chabot-Englund (5-on-3) (scored on)
Burgdoerfer on the first unit powerplay wasn’t that effective. While his two points on the night might suggest otherwise, the 28-year old defender’s offensive limitations stretch back to his junior career and his 0.25 AHL ppg just shouldn’t be riding shotgun with Chabot on the top unit. Otherwise the variation above illustrates frustration from Kleinendorst trying to find something that worked–the obsession with keeping McCormick on the powerplay couldn’t be lifted and poor Perron was given no time with the man advantage despite a desperate need for creativity and goals (by my count they had 2 scoring chances on the powerplay).

Notable Plays
Chlapik’s scoring chance above involved him deking a couple of guys and drawing a penalty; on the 4-on-3 in the second Chlapik beat all three defenders to get a backhand in tight on goal; in the third Jaros went coast-to-coast, drawing a penalty; Chlapik set-up a wide open Gagne during the final 4-on-4, but he missed the net.

Notable Blunders/Errors
In the first O’Brien had a clear chance to make a pass for a breakaway and couldn’t figure it out; Taylor ignored a puck thinking it was an icing and this caused chaos; on the first 5-on-3 Burgdoerfer repeatedly could not receive passes; a Paul turnover in the first lead to a breakaway against (shot went off the crossbar); a Chabot turnover in the second lead to a 2-on-1 in the second with a penalty taken.

Player Notes
Erkamps: did not play much; only notable moment was throwing a huge hit in the third
Englund: solid game from him–didn’t do much, but no major mistakes either
Lajoie: pretty quiet game, although he continues to be the guy who tee’s up Jaros’ big shot on the PP
Burgdoerfer: multi-point games are a rarity, but points aside, it was a pretty average performance and I think he was overplayed
Sieloff: looked as shocked as I think I was when he scored (his season totals as a pro are always 1 or 2); otherwise it was his usual dependable if unexciting play
Chabot: was trying to a bit too much and uncharacteristically committed a number of turnovers
Jaros: a little quieter than usual, but without the kinds of mistakes Chabot was making above
Randell: had his first fight of the season and given that’s what he’s on the roster to do, it’s something
Ciampini: a couple of nice plays early, but didn’t play much subsequently and never got a turn on the powerplay (unlike previous games)
Reinhart: did not play much and Kleinendorst clearly has issues trusting him; more regular turns on the powerplay at least should be on the menu for him
Werek: despite a lot of time on the PP he made no impact whatsoever
Gagne: largely invisible, with special teams time meaning he was on the bench for long periods
Perron: I’m not sure why he doesn’t get a regular turn on the powerplay, but he doesn’t; other than taking a dumb penalty in the first which resulted in the second Springfield goal, he was solid
O’Brien: even Jimothy scores once and awhile; Kleinendorst didn’t punch the Jimmy button as much as he sometimes does, but that’s presumably a matter of how many powerplays there were
Rodewald: played a ton and while he wasn’t bad he wasn’t particularly effective
Paul: pretty sloppy game and he looked gased at times (he played a ton)
McCormick: solid game from him–I’ll repeat he doesn’t belong on the first unit PP
Chlapik: he’s got to score eventually; there are no possession numbers kept in the AHL, but by the eye test he was the best at carrying and moving the puck; not many rookies can turn AHL defensemen into pylons offensively

This was an ugly game for Belleville–while they weren’t dominated in the same way that Providence and others have, they were a gong show on special teams and Kleinendorst’s conservatism when it comes to certain players (either in playing or not playing them in various situations) gets frustrating when things aren’t working. On the powerplay I’d like to see Perron and Gagne rotated in more regularly (or at all), with McCormick and Burgdoerfer limited to the second unit without needing to always be on even that. This might be academic with Ben Harpur’s arrival and Colin White and Ben Sexton’s emanate return.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 24, 2017
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment