-Here’s my preview of the second round series against Pittsburgh, which will begin tomorrow (Tuesday).

–Allan Muir picks the Pens in seven, echoing the points above and below (focussing primarily on Pittsburgh’s goaltending).

–The Raaymaker gave me a heart attack by suggesting Chris Phillips will be the main guy shutting down Sidney Crosby:

Despite Phillips‘ coverage, Crosby‘s lit up the Sens in the regular season (6G, 19A in 24GP), and it’s only been worse in the post-season: He’s got 27P (10G, 17A) in 15 career playoff games against Ottawa–far above his career points-per-game average.

He may be right about the match-up, but I doubt Paul MacLean wants it exclusively.  A healthy Erik Karlsson is the only Sens blueliner who can keep up with his speed and I’d rather have Marc Methot on Crosby duty.

–James and Varada discuss with the match-up with James suggesting the Pittsburgh-Ottawa match-up is on par with the Boston-Toronto series, which I just don’t see at all.  Varada suggests agitating the Penguins like Philadelphia did last year in order to have success, while James thinks a speed advantage is the Sens way to win.

–Jason Spezza did not join the Sens as they travelled to Pittsburgh, so will miss at least game one.

-Some quotes from Daniel Alfredsson, Karlsson, and Paul MacLean about the upcoming match-up:

You can’t come down (the ice) and know that he’s [Tomas Vokoun] going to butterfly every time [like Marc-Andre Fleury]. He’s going to do different things all the time. You’ve almost got to make him think that you think that I think what he thinks all the time. Does that make sense? I don’t know.

And

Even though they have a great team, if you just work hard and the right way you’re going to give yourself a chance.

And

How do we match up against them? We’re going to have to see. They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason so we’re going to have to be ready to work. One thing I’ve learned from the Stanley Cup playoffs is that they play the games and a lot can happen. A lot of times what’s supposed to happen doesn’t happen. We just have to get ourselves prepared as best we can and give ourselves a good effort.

–Jared Cowen talked about the match-up:

There’s so much to worry about over there. They have quite a bit of firepower. I think we have the perfect style of play to combat that. Obviously we showed that against Montreal against their top players so I don’t think we should have too much difference in our game plan in terms of shutting them down. The Islanders play kind of similar to how we play with the kind of lineup they have and I think if we can simulate that, but maybe have more success in the O-zone. They have three lines that could be a first line on a lot of other teams. The core of their team has been playing together for a while so they’re very familiar, they’ve been to the final a couple of times so it’s not like they’re inexperienced and talented, they’re experienced AND talented. They’ve got a lot of facets to their game and everyone here has to play their best to match that. We have experienced guys in different ways but not in the same way that they are.

–Mark Parisi needs to rename his ups and downs column to “Michalek Bad”, since that’s pretty much all he’s said the last couple of weeks.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 13, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-As expected, Pittsburgh knocked out the New York Islanders and will be Ottawa’s second round opponent.  Oddly enough, neither journalists nor bloggers have dived into the match-up much yet.

–Jason Spezza practiced with the team today, although the organisation remains cagey about his return.  There’s no question the Penguins will plan for him to be in the lineup however, so other than teasing fans I’m not sure what the point of the ambiguity is.

–Scott had the scoring chances of game five 15/9.

–Travis Yost has a point of emphasis he thinks has largely been missed:

It’s interesting to me that MacLean more or less bestowed all of the credit for the team’s success on the front office, which is a point that keeps getting buried under a lot of the Jack Adams discussion. This is a point I’ve been trying to hammer home for the past couple of months, none of it a slight to what the head coach has really accomplished. MacLean might have been able to mask some deficiencies, but without good players, Ottawa’s not in the second-round of the playoffs.

I don’t think anyone could argue differently–without good players in the pipeline it wouldn’t matter how great a coach MacLean is.

-Travis also looks at Jean-Gabriel Pageau‘s impact via the same link–he had a great series.

–Jason Chen offers Hockey’s Future update of the Sens top-20 prospects.  This list is troubled by HF’s rigid policy of requiring a certain number of NHL games before a player is considered to be no longer a prospect:
1. Mika Zibanejad
2. Jakob Silfverberg
3. Robin Lehner
4. Cory Conacher
5. Stefan Noesen
6. Chris Driedger
7. Patrick Wiercioch
8. Cody Ceci
9. Matt Puempel
10. Mark Stone
11. Shane Prince
12. Eric Gryba
13. Jean-Gabriel Pageau
14. Mark Borowiecki
15. Andre Petersson
16. Stephane Da Costa
17. Mike Hoffman
18. Fredrik Claesson
19. Derek Grant
20. Robbie Baillargeon

There’s not much reasoning that I can see for how Chen has arranged the list–why did Mark Stone drop from #6 to #10?  Why did Mike Hoffman fall?  I have no idea.  Lists like these have inherent problems, but I wish there was more investment into explaining the changes and rankings.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 12, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

The seasons have ended for Ottawa’s junior and college prospects and it’s time to take a look at how they’ve performed since they were drafted (for those who spent the year playing professionally you can see how they did here).  The prospects are listed chronologically from those who’ve spent the most time in the organisation to the newest group drafted last year (players in green are signed).  For those of you who want to read the scouting reports/profiles related to the players when drafted, I’ve included links in each comment.

Jeff Costello, LW, 6’0, DOB 1990, 5-146/09
2009-10 USHL Cedar Rapids 54-29-19-48 +18 149pim (3rd in points)
2010-11 NCAA Notre Dame 44-12-6-18 -4 56pim (11th)
2011-12 NCAA Notre Dame 28-5-7-12 -6 58 pim (9th)
2012-13 NCAA Notre Dame 33-11-19-30 +18 52pim (3rd)

It was a breakout season for the hard-working Costello who was among his team’s top scorers.  He was a plus player for the first time in his collegiate career and set highs in assists and points.  He has one more year of NCAA eligibility and given the glut of forwards in Ottawa’s system I’d expect him to play it.  He is the only 2009 draft pick yet to be signed.

Michael Sdao, LD, 6’4, DOB 1989, 7-191/09
2009-10 NCAA Princeton 30-5-4-9 -3 48pim (5th in d-points)
2010-11 NCAA Princeton 27-3-7-10 -1 65pim (5th)
2011-12 NCAA Princeton 30-10-10-20 -4 87pim (1st)
2012-13 NCAA Princeton 31-8-7-15 36pim (1st)
2012-13 AHL Binghamton 12-1-0-1 +4 23pim

The rough and tumble Sdao finished his collegiate career as Princeton’s top-scoring defenseman and joined Binghamton on an ATO.  While Sdao did not beat his career highs from the previous season, he remained the most important cog on his team’s blueline.  Sdao was easily able to push Ben Blood out of Binghamton’s lineup.

Jakub Culek, LW, 6’4, DOB 1992, 3-76/10
2010-11 QMJHL Rimouski 55-7-15-22 +2 37pim (11th)
2011-12 QMJHL Rimouski 55-13-27-40 +3 58pim (5th)
2012-13 QMJHL Cape Breton 9-3-4-7 -2 5pim (t-13th)
2012-13 AHL Binghamton 3-0-0-0 Even 10pim

It was a weird year for Culek, who was returned to Rimouski by Binghamton, but they had no room on their roster for him so he remained in limbo for weeks before being traded to Cape Breton.  Culek proceeded to suffer an injury and miss most of the rest of the season, eventually joining Binghamton in time to play a few games.  I’m not sure what the upside of Culek is, but he’s envisioned as a depth, checking forward and he’ll get his chance to be that next season.

Bryce Aneloski, RD, 6’2, DOB 1990, 7-196/10
2010-11 NCAA Nebraska-Omaha 39-2-17-19 +15 14pim (2nd)
2011-12 NCAA Nebraska-Omaha 38-6-14-20 -5 12pim (1st)
2012-13 NCAA Nebraska-Omaha 38-5-16-21 +8 10pim (2nd)
2012-13 CHL Americans 7-2-1-3 +3 2pim

Aneloski‘s production has remained consistent throughout his time at Nebraska-Omaha.  Because he played a semester with Providence the year before he was drafted, his collegiate career is over and he signed with the CHL’s Allen Americans.  This means either that the Sens have cut him loose or else he was a victim of Ottawa being so close to their contract ceiling.  Given the blueliners likely to be in Binghamton next year (Ceci, one of Borowiecki/Gryba, Eckford, Claesson, Sdao, Wideman, Rutkowski, and possibly Blood) I’m leaning towards the former.

Stefan Noesen, RW, 6’1, DOB 1993, 1-21/11
2011-12 OHL Plymouth 63-38-44-82 +18 74pim (1st)
2012-13 OHL Plymouth 51-25-28-53 +7 43pim (6th)

Injury and playing on a stacked team slowed down Noesen‘s production this year, but he remains a dominant player.  Binghamton’s post-season didn’t last long enough for him to join them, but there’s no doubt that Noesen will be an important member of the B-Sens next season.

Matt Puempel, LW, 6’0, DOB 1993, 1-24/11
2011-12 OHL Peterborough 30-17-16-33 -3 31pim (6th)
2011-12 AHL Binghamton 9-1-0-1 +1 2pim
2012-13 OHL Kitchener 51-35-11-46 +5 43pim (3rd)
2012-13 AHL Binghamton 2-0-0-0 +1 0pim

After forcing a trade to Kitchener, Puempel enjoyed a strong season with the Rangers (his goals to assist ratio is ridiculous).  Puempel joined Binghamton after his OHL season was over and enjoyed a strong performance in the B-Sens loss against Wilkes-Barre in the playoffs.  Top minutes await him in the AHL in the fall.

Max McCormick, LW, 5’11, DOB 1992, 6-171/11
2011-12 NCAA Ohio 27-10-12-22 -6 31pim (t-3rd)
2012-13 NCAA Ohio 40-15-16-31 -1 26pim (3rd)

It was s strong sophomore season for the gritty McCormick, who set highs in goals, assists and points.  He’s a couple of years away, but appears to be well on target.

Jordan Fransoo, RD, 6’2, DOB 1993, 7-186/11
2011-12 WHL Brandon/Victoria 71-3-18-21 -2 45pim (2nd)
2012-13 WHL Victoria 67-8-14-22 -21 80pim (t-3rd)

Fransoo did not have a great season for Victoria and appears to be one of the few busts from Murray’s scouting staff.  Despite establishing a career high in goals and improving his points-per-game, he does not seem to have improved (a team worst -21).  I would be shocked if he was offered a contract.

Ryan Dzingel, CL, 6’0, DOB 1992, 7-204/11
2011-12 NCAA Ohio 33-7-17-24 +4 32pim (2nd)
2012-13 NCAA Ohio 40-16-22-38 -9 22pim (1st)

It was a great sophomore season for Dzingel, who lead his team in points while establishing new highs in goals and assists.  Like his teammate McCormick, he is a couple of years away from turning pro.

Cody Ceci, DR, DOB 1993, 1-15/12
2012-13 OHL 69-19-45-64 -8 12pim (1st)
2012-13 Binghamton 3-1-1-2 +2 0pim

With the Ottawa 67s season crashing and burning early, Ceci was traded to Owen Sound.  He did not look out of place in limited action with Binghamton, where I expect him to play next season.  For scouting reports on Ceci and the other 2012 picks go here.

Chris Driedger, GL, DOB 1994, 3-76/12
2012-13 36-14-4 2.51 .915

Made significant improvement in all categories (GAA, save percentage, and wins), but remains at least a year away from turning pro.

Jarrod Maidens, CR, DOB 1994, 3-82/12
2012-13 did not play (injured)

He missed the entire season recovering from concussion symptoms.

Tim Boyle, DR, DOB 1993, 4-106/12
2012-13 NCAA 15-0-2-2 -4 25pim

Limited play in his rookie season in the NCAA, but the fact that he played at all is a complement to his play (in comparison, Brad Peltz did not dress for a game in his first year at Yale).

Robbie Baillargeon, CR, DOB 1993, 5-136/12
2012-13 USHL 55-18-23-41 -15 48pim (1st)

Somewhat buried on Indiana’s roster, a mid-season trade to Omaha did wonders for him.  He will begin his collegiate career next season.

Francois Brassard, GL, DOB 1994, 6-166/12
2012-13 QMJHL 33-18-4 2.73 .909

Made slight improvements statistically (GAA and save percentage), but won and played many more games than in his draft year.  Like Dreidger he will spend at least one more year in junior.

Mikael Wikstrand, DL, DOB 1993, 7-196/12
2012-13 Allsvenskan 45-11-14-25 +9 35pim

Almost all his unexpected offensive production occurred while the NHL lockout was on and he had teammates like Anze Kopitar.  Showed well in the WJC, but will spend at least one more season in Sweden.

Troy Rutkowski, DL, DOB 1992, FA 2013
2012-13 WHL 72-20-46-66 +32 43pim (1st)

Unsigned by Colorado (5-137/10), Rutkowski was the Sens lone CHL free agent acquisition this season.  Binghamton’s season did not last long enough for Rutkowski to make his pro debut, but his addition creates a logjam of blueliners who will join the AHL ranks next season.  An offensive-minded player, he set career highs in goals and assists in his final season of junior.

Buddy Robinson, RW, DOB 1991, FA 2013
2012-13 NCAA 38-8-8-16 60pim (7th)
2012-13 Binghamton 6-2-2-4 +2 8pim

A collegiate free agent who left after his sophomore season (just like Cole Schneider last year), the 6’5 Robinson seemed to have no trouble adjusting to the pro game, appearing in two of the three playoff games with Binghamton.  His offensive numbers in the NCAA aren’t overwhelming, so he seems to be in the mould of a David Dziurzynski.

Andrew Hammond, GL, DOB 1988, FA 2013
2012-13 NCAA 10-15-3 2.47 .917

Something of an odd signing, Hammond‘s collegiate numbers aren’t overwhelming, but he held the fort on a bad Bowling Green team.  His competitiveness is his distinguishing feature and he’ll be part of Binghamton’s rotation next season.

This is a massive list of prospects, but the numbers are going to drop significantly next season (through graduation or by letting players walk).  Sdao, Culek, Noesen, Pumpel, Ceci, Rutkowski, Robinson, and Hammond will all be in the pro ranks, while (possibly) Bryce Aneloski and Jordan Fransoo will drop from the organisation.  The players that remain are all currently on track (except Maidens who hasn’t played).  The pipeline remains open as the organisation continues to do a great job keeping it stocking its prospect pool.

May 10, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Ottawa beat Montreal 6-1 last night to close out the series and move on to the second round.  Craig Anderson made 33 saves for the win, while Cory Conacher (2), Zack Smith, Kyle Turris, Daniel Alfredsson, and Erik Condra scored the goals.  The Habs dominated the first period, but fell behind 2-1 regardless.  Just like in the last game, Ottawa slowly took control of the play and ran over the Habs in the third period (Matt Kassian finished the game on the powerplay and had two assists in the game!).  I thought there might be a chippy ending in a lopsided victory, but the Habs simply had nothing left to give by the end.  Here’s the boxscore.

-I think Erik Condra summed up last night (and the series) succinctly:

Until we get going, he [Anderson] has kept us in games and that’s all a credit to him.

-Speaking of Anderson, he said all the right things after the victory:

I can’t do it alone. I can’t score goals. I can’t be the guy that wins game for the team. The team has got to win games for each other. That feels good.

–Sylvain St-Laurent offers his views of the series as a whole and believes game three was a watershed moment–Ottawa winning the kind of gritty game they never have before in the playoffs.

–Mark Parisi offers up his summation of the series and among his “what went wrong” notes I’ll quibble with one: variable intensity.  For the first time that I can remember there was no questioning the intensity the Sens brought throughout each and every game.  From Mark’s specific comments I think he’s actually referring to the quality of their play, but to me that’s quite distinctive from playing intensely.

–Allan Muir thought that when it mattered most–in the third periods–the Sens dominated and that in the end that made them the better and more deserving team.

–Varada‘s post-mortem’s includes the spot-on point that Michel Therrien did himself and his reputation no favours.  Initially I thought Therrien was effective in deflecting criticism of his team by creating a sideshow, but eventually that sideshow overwhelmed everything else and created a conduit for excuses.  Even in defeat Therrian couldn’t help himself, making an excuse before saying he wasn’t making excuses:

The last two weeks we had a lot of bad luck. My approach with the team and our approach since day one [has been injuries] are not an excuse. I don’t think the players with their attitude used that as an excuse.

Calling anything bad luck is making an excuse.  It’s not like a single play determined the series, so luck shouldn’t be a factor.  Andrei Markov‘s comments seem a lot more sensible:

Yeah we played hard and sometimes we played better than them, but the final score is we lost the series. We can only blame ourselves.

–Postmedia News credits the Sens goaltending and depth for winning them the series.

-The Sens might get Jason Spezza back for the second round.  Spezza is now practicing with the black aces, but there’s no time table for his return to action.  It’s exciting news for Ottawa, but even a fully healthy roster is going to struggle against the juggernaut that is the Pittsburgh Penguins (their most likely opponent).

–Steve Simmons speculates that Hockey Night in Canada won’t be happy if the Sens are the only Canadian team to make it to the second round (as seems likely).  I think he’s right, but that’s largely because HNIC has made no investment in Ottawa, approaching the team with distasteful indifference.

-The NHL is trying to finalize a transfer agreement with the various professional leagues, with the KHL (as usual) posing the biggest stumbling block.

-In unsurprising news, the NHL is nearing an agreement for their players to participate in the Olympics.  I’ve never doubted that would happen and it appears as though the formal arrangement will soon be made.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 10, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-The Sens look to knock off the Habs tonight.  Brian Gionta is gone for the playoffs, Brandon Prust will miss the next game,  and Carey Price is being replaced by Peter Budaj due to injury.  No Ottawa roster changes are expected.  Can the Habs pull it out?  Given that they’ve dominated most of the series (despite being down 3-1) it’s certainly possible, but it does seem like the Sens are in their heads.  If the score gets lopsided in Ottawa’s favour I expect a lot of extracurricular nonsense.

–Scott had the scoring chances of the last game 14/12.

–Eric Gryba had a good comment about his likely reception in Montreal:

I’m expecting to get a little more attention than I have in the past, but that’s all part of a spectator sport and the fans bring a different element to the games and that’s exciting and that’s the way it should be.

–Travis Yost looks at the numbers to illustrate how the Habs suffered by trying to play “safe” after they went up 2-0.  He also shows the Corsi ratings for Ottawa through the series with Daniel Alfredsson on top and Sergei Gonchar on the bottom.

–Dave Young looks at Paul MacLean’s in-game adjustments from the Sens overtime win.

–Darren M looks at the statistics of rallying back from a 3-1 series deficit and offers this sensible caveat:

All of those Senators victories (and the Canadiens comebacks) seem somewhat irrelevant: they featured different players, coaches, and opponents. The current Ottawa Senators can’t say that they’ve got a perfect record when up 3-1, just as the current Montreal Canadiens can’t take credit for pulling off two incredible comebacks in a decade.

-The Don Cherry of bloggers, Jeremy Milks, pokes some fun at fans who leave games early while suggesting Chris Neil was a more important cog for the Sens in their last game than Erik Karlsson (check out Neil‘s Corsi numbers via Yost’s link for some amusement).

-Amusingly, the Habs motto this season is “no excuses”, but all they’ve been doing is making excuses throughout the series.

-Dave Stubbs (link above) seems to buy into the conspiracy theory that the officials are out to get Montreal.  I’m not sure what the logic is–the league prefers a small market Canadian team to win?  Diving into conspiracy land is not generally advisable, but if you go there you have to have some reasoning behind it–I don’t see it here.

–Jack Todd believes a lot of the criticism aimed at P. K. Subban is due to his race, but I think Lyle Richardson‘s response to the idea is correct:

Subban undoubtedly faces considerable criticism and challenges, some of it undoubtedly from racists and bigots, but his flamboyant, personality (especially on the ice) has more to do with it than the color of his skin. Subban is a confident, sometimes cocky young star unafraid to speak his mind, which sometimes rubs opponents and fans of rival teams the wrong way. Furthermore, Subban isn’t the NHL’s first black superstar. Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr was the first, followed by future Hall-of-Fame Jarome Iginla. True, they’re bi-racial, played their junior hockey in the WHL and aren’t as flamboyant as Subban, but that doesn’t diminish their significance as the NHL’ s first black superstars.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 9, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Ottawa overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third along with their own poor play to rally and beat Montreal 3-2 in overtime.  There was no repetition of the fireworks of game three, although the game was physical.  Craig Anderson made 26 saves for the win, while Mika Zibanejad , Cory Conacher (who was awful most of the game and largely responsible for the second Habs goal), and Kyle Turris scored the goals.  There is controversy over Zibanejad‘s goal, where he clearly directed the puck into the net with his skate, but without a distinct kicking motion it is a good goal (Eric Engels is among those who see the motion, but I don’t).  There have also been complaints about a couple of icing calls at the end of the game, but it’s so nitpicky I don’t take it seriously.  Here’s the boxscore.

–Mark Parisi offers a recap of the game where he continues to be unhappy with Milan Michalek‘s play.  Ken Warren‘s recap includes what I see as unfair criticism of Peter Budaj whose allowed goal was deflected in by his own defenseman (Diaz).

-Speaking of Budaj, he played in overtime because Carey Price was injured; Brandon Prust was hurt as well and the Habs are starting to run out of bodies.

–Daniel Alfredsson talked about the team’s poor play for most of last night:

It was not our best game, as far as execution, for the first two periods and then some. I did feel we got skating in the third period and were able to get some pressure.

–Scott has the scoring chances from game three at 20/11.

–Stu Hackel talks about the series:

One thing Therrien may want to change is his own demeanor, which is starting  to remind observers of his more volatile younger days coaching the Penguins and his first tenure behind the Canadiens’ bench. Once overly-emotional, Therrien was thought to have reformed, but he’s getting agitated and suckered into a war  of words with MacLean, who is probably very happy to see his counterpart come a bit unhinged and is not adverse to assisting in that effort by, for example, calling a timeout to set up his team’s power play with a five-goal lead and only 17 seconds left in the game. Therrien’s displays of anger seemed to spread to his players, distracting them from their task. They, too, grew unhinged as the Sunday [game three] rout wore on.

I agree entirely that Therrien’s personality infects his team for the worse in the series.  Hackel’s other point, that the Gryba suspension was an indication that the NHL might be more strict in punishing head shots, has already proven unfounded.

-Everyone’s favourite CSI investigator Eugene Melnyk was talking again and Nichols offers the highlights.  You can try to follow Eugene’s explanations there, but I think Nichols is right that it seems as if Melnyk’s study isn’t about Cooke‘s guilt, but rather a broader study on player safety.

-It’s a common sentiment that it’s always better for your team to make the playoffs and battle it out in the post-season, but for Vancouver (or any team swept in the first round), I have to wonder how true that really is.  Are the Canucks better off having been swept as opposed to simply missing the playoffs?

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 8, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-As the Sens gear up to play game four against the Habs tonight there is a buoyant mood in the capital.  What would the reaction be if Montreal tied things up?  Looking period by period the Habs have been the better team overall, so will that trend continue, or was the third period of game three a watershed moment allowing the Sens barrel through Montreal?  It remains to be seen, but so far the main story of the series is that Craig Anderson is outplaying Carey Price.

–Nichols offers a brief overview of the series and talks about how gratifying it is to have the tougher team after the Sens series’ against Toronto back in the day.

–Wayne Scanlan wonders if Michel Therrien can keep his emotions in check.

–Sean Gentille is upset that Rene Bourque was not suspended for his elbow to Cory Conacher.  He’s right of course, but I never doubted that the league would do nothing about it–the rulings have always been inconsistent and arbitrary.  Ken Campbell is also upset, writing:

The referees, who seem intent on removing any punitive measures for crosschecks to the back and have, generally speaking, been atrocious in this playoff, should be embarrassed. The NHL should be embarrassed that director of player safety Brendan Shanahan has become the most-scrutinized person and the biggest star of these playoffs.

He’s right as well, but it’s not going to change how the league operates (there is even more criticism from Travis Yost).  The only time the league cracks down in terms of punishment is if something attracts attention outside the NHL bubble–then there is handwringing and promises of change, but nothing actually changes.  It’s the sad state of things, but it is how it is.  I’d also keep in mind that the league isn’t happy with Eugene Melnyk’s CSI act in regards to Matt Cooke, nor does Brendan Shanahan (or Colin Campbell) deal well with criticism, so none of the negative feedback is going to benefit Ottawa.

–Bobby Kelly offers his overview of Binghamton’s playoff series with Wilkes-Barre along with a brief season recap (echoing my points from yesterday).

–Patrick Wierioch is singled out by the Hockey’s Future staff as part of their look at prospects who are exceeding expectations.  They write:

Wiercioch was invaluable to the Ottawa Senators this season. An extremely productive prospect at the NCAA and AHL levels, the 22-year-old defenseman was thrust into a prominent role when Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson went down in February with a partially severed Achilles tendon. Fortunately for all involved, Wiercioch was more than up to the task and performed admirably in his expanded role. Through 42 regular season games, he managed five goals, 14 assists, and a plus-nine rating while averaging over 15 minutes a game. With Karlsson recently returning to the lineup, Wiercioch has seen his role and ice time scaled back. He nonetheless remains an important part of the Senators future. He will be up for contract renewal at the end of the season.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 7, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Ottawa kept home ice advantage in a convincing 6-1 win over Montreal last night.  The game wasn’t blown wide open until the third period, with Ottawa ultimately outshot 34-30.  Craig Anderson was good when he had to be, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3), Daniel Alfredsson, Kyle Turris, and Jakob Silfverberg scored the goals.  The game was marred by chippy play (including a pair of elbows to Cory Conacher‘s head), a number of fights (all of which the Habs lost–somehow Prust did not get into a scrap, which can’t have gone over well with his coach), and general silliness as the score got out of hand.  Here’s the boxscore and Amelia L‘s play-by-play.

–Eric Engels offers a Habs perspective and he’s absolutely correct that the officials allowed the game to become as silly as it did.  He offers some criticism of various Montreal players, but I think the main problem (not specifically addressed) is that the Habs aren’t really built to play the physical style he (and others) are advocating.  Pound for pound Ottawa has the tougher team, so I think Montreal’s success has to come through speed and skill rather than grinding it out.

–Patrick Wiercioch was hurt in the game and there has been no meaningful update on his condition other than it’s a “lower body” injury.

-I’m surprised how surprised fans are that the NHL took no action in terms of supplementary discipline from last night’s game.  The league almost never suspends a player unless there is an injury, so elbows to the head of Conacher are incidental.  I realise some might have hoped that after the Andrew Ference suspension that the league had turned over a new leaf, but keep in mind the NHL has never been remotely consistent about discipline.

–Pageau became the fifth 20-year old (and under) player since 1967 to score a playoff hat trick.  Pageau has been excellent in the series, coming a long way from being the fourth-line checking center in Binghamton, but I think expectations need to be tempered for him offensively.

–Luke Richardson talked about how he pushed to keep Pageau in the AHL:

We had so many numbers because of the lockout year they struggled on whether we should keep him or send him back to an overage junior. We really liked him in training camp and exhibition games and we wanted to keep him. We pushed for that and I think it turned out. For me it was not one of the biggest surprises but one of the best decisions.

I was one of the people who thought Pageau would be returned to junior because of the numbers, but clearly the correct decision was made (Pierre LeBrun also offers some comments on the subject).

–Travis Yost wonders why Michel Therrien is making a spectacle of himself and I think it’s clear he’s doing his best to deflect attention away from his team’s performance.  I’d argue he’s been reasonably affective in moving the conversation away from the game, even if he does look a little ridiculous doing it.

-Therrien complained about MacLean’s timeout at the end of the game, but I thought the latter’s response to it was good:

I have 10 players left on my bench and I put them on the ice and I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I felt bad for the referees. I brought the players back to the bench because I didn’t want to get anyone hurt. It was getting dumb enough as it was. We’re not giving them a freebie (to fight a Senators skilled player). There was already enough of that. It got a little bit stupid in the end, but that’s hockey.

–Mark Parisi offers negative assessments on Milan Michalek and Mika Zibanejad in the playoffs thus far, but provides no real basis for it.

-Given the 3-0 knockout of the Binghamton Senators their playoff performance doesn’t really warrant a separate post, so here’s a quick recap of the series against Wilkes-Barre: the B-Sens lost every game 3-2 (the first in overtime), which is about as close as it gets.  Nathan Lawson played all three games and finished with mediocre numbers (2.60 .905).  Matt Puempel was the only multi-goal scorer (2), while Mark Stone and Chris Wideman lead the team in points (3).  There were no other multi-point players, but Shane Prince, Mark Borowiecki, Stephane Da Costa, David Dziurzynski, and Fredrik Claesson also hit the scoresheet.  Hugh Jessiman was a team worst -3, while Stone, Prince, Claesson, and Wacey Hamilton were a team-best +1.

Other thoughts: it’s a compliment to his development this season that Wideman was such a contributor–it’s easy to forget he was shipped down to Elmira early in the season and was a non-factor initially when he returned to Binghamton.  It was a disappointment that Cole Schneider was not able to bring his improving offensive game into the series.  Pat Cannone ended his terrible year by taking the penalty that lost the B-Sens game three.  Tyler Eckford played so poorly that ECHLer Danny New took his spot in the final game of the series.  Neither Corey Cowick or Derek Grant were able to produce in the post-season.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 6, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-The Sens face Montreal tonight in the third game of the series.  Incredibly, it’s possible dead weight Matt Kassian will play again, while Cory Conacher slides in to replace Guillaume Latendresse and Patrick Wiercioch replaces Andre Benoit.  If Kassian plays I will be completely shocked, but the fact that he’s played at all is almost as shocking.

–Scott had the scoring chances in the last game 13/17.

–The Raaymaker wonders if Erik Karlsson‘s TOI should be reduced given his lack of conditioning and it’s pretty obvious that at least in back-to-back situations it should be.  The fact that his ice time wasn’t is an indication of the lack of confidence Paul MacLean had with Benoit who barely played in game two.

–Stu Hackel talks about the frequency of upsets in the first round of the playoffs:

During the 11 seasons since the NHL went to 30 clubs in 2001, we’ve witnessed 31  out of 88 first round series in which a team with an inferior record has taken  down an opponent that had a stronger regular season. That averages out to almost  three first-round series upsets per year.

He also talks about the increase of dangerous hits which Bob McKenzie says was encouraged by the 2011 Stanley Cup final:

I think they have to call more penalties. People are all, ‘Oh no, don’t do that.  Don’t ruin the playoffs,’ but I mean, it’s a little too loosey-goosey and I  think it started in the final [in 2011] when you saw the Boston Bruins manhandle Daniel Sedin.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

May 5, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment