Ottawa won a game that they looked out of for almost two periods.  Whether it was the flu bug running through the team or the absence of Jason Spezza or both, until Jim O’Brien scored late in the second the game wasn’t close.  Craig Anderson made 31 saves and was excellent in the win.  Here’s the boxscore.

Game Notes
-it wasn’t a great night for Mark Borowiecki, particularly in the first period where turnovers were a problem
-speaking of turnovers, Zack Smith made two brutal ones in the final minute of the game
-throughout the game the best line for Ottawa was Condra-O’Brien-Zibanejad; eventually Zibanejad was promoted to other lines in the third period
–Erik Karlsson continued his mastery of Alex Ovechkin who was invisible

The Goals
1. Washington, Brouwer
Latendresse loses the puck at the blueline that creates a 2-on-1
2. Washington, Hendricks (pp)
A great tip by Hendricks
3. O’Brien (Condra, Zibanejad)
Finished off a great feed in the slot by Condra
4. Michalek (Turris)
Backhand off a lost faceoff beats Neuvirth who was off his angle
5. Gonchar (Karlsson, Alfredsson) (pp)
Slapper gets deflected off a Washington defender between Neuvirth‘s legs

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 30, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-Ottawa plays Washington (1-3-1) tonight; the Caps are lead by Mike Ribeiro (6 points) and backstopped by Michal Neuvirth (1-1-1 2.92 .889).

–Jason Spezza will miss tonight’s game with an injury and Mika Zibanejad will be inserted into the lineup.  Kaspars Daugavins and Andre Benoit will sit while Peter Regin will center Silfverberg and Michalek.

–Nichols goes through the logic of the Mika Zibanejad recall and the element that sticks out most to me is the Wayne Scanlan Tweet he includes:

F Mark Stone has broken finger and F Mike Hoffman broken collarbone. Stone needed to mend his sore ribs anyway. Time to heal.

–Scott offers up the scoring chances in the Penguin game (14/14).

–Jeremy Milks isn’t excited about the talented Swedish prospects in Ottawa’s pipeline because the team has enough elves; he’s more excited about Eric Gryba.  Er…what?  In fairness to Jeremy I’m not sure the two elements are necessarily related (elvish blueliners and talented Swedes), his point seems to be that physical depth players are more exciting than top line talent.  I guess to each their own?

-Binghamton has recalled Brad Peltz from Trenton; Peltz played one game for the Titans in which he was injured.

–Rory Boylen‘s power rankings have Ottawa in 9th.

–Tim Campbell explores re-alignment and points out that the situation is preventing the scheduling of the 2013-14 season, as Bill Daly said:

It’s a priority for the league to get something done in time for next year, and yes, its lack of resolution is holding up the scheduling process. It’s currently being worked on.

I don’t envision the problem to be a difficult one now that the CBA negotiations are over.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 29, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-The Sens lost 2-1 in a shootout against the Penguins in a game I sadly missed (as did Daniel Alfredsson, although in his case he was sick).  Craig Anderson made 33 saves in the loss (none in the shootout) while Colin Greening scored the only goal.  The Sens were only given two powerplays which doesn’t help their offense.  Here’s the boxscore.

–Paul MacLean was pleased with his team’s effort:

I thought it was a great game — we went up and down the rink … I think we were playing against arguably the best team in the east and, one way or another, I thought we played a good game.

–Mika Zibanjead has been called up from Binghamton and it wouldn’t be surprising if he made it into the lineup if Alfredsson is still sick (neither Kaspars Daugavins or Peter Regin are playing much).

–Mark Parisi has his ups and downs for the week that was in Sens land.

-Elmira crushed Trenton 8-1 last night despite being outshot; Dustin Gazley had four points while Louie Caporusso had two.

–Pierre LeBrun offers up his power rankings and slots Ottawa 11th.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 28, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Ottawa faces Pittsburgh (2-2-0) this afternoon; the Penguins are lead by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (5 points each), and backstopped by Marc-Andre Fleury (1-1-0 3.00 .882).  Here’s the NHL’s preview.  Craig Anderson is expected to start.

-Binghamton defeated Hershey 3-2 last night in a shootout; Robin Lehner made 38 saves for the win while Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone provided the offence (Mika Zibanejad, Stephane Da Costa, and Jack Downing all scored in the shootout).  Here’s the box score and the highlights.

-Here’s the latest ten game segment: Binghamton at the Forty Game Mark

-Elmira faces Trenton (17-19-6) this afternoon.

–Bobby Kelly takes a look at Sens prospect Mikael Wikstrand (Vikstrand) and rather than commenting on his thoughts (which are well worth reading) I wanted to link the scouting report that went with him at the draft.

–Bruce Dowbiggin thinks:

It has been duly noted in the early going of the 2013 season that NHL referees seem intent on calling chapter and verse from the rule book.

Let’s not get too excited Bruce; NHL officials are just as capricious as ever, but yes, they have called more penalties to start the season.  Bruce does acknowledge that this trend is unlikely to continue.

-Only in the NHL would you get people complaining about Nail Yakupov‘s goal celebration.  It’s funny to see people like Don Cherry whining about it because Grapes always defines Canadians by their passion for the game (as opposed to the old Soviet Russians who were dispassionate–okay, Cherry has never said “dispassionate” in his life, but you get the point).  Wacky goal celebrations are part of what made guys like Dave “Tiger” Williams fun to watch–everyone should just relax and enjoy the show.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 27, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-Here are my thoughts on last night’s loss.  Here are Scott’s scoring chances (19-17 for Ottawa; I had them 22-13).  Mark Parisi doesn’t want to blame Bishop, he wants to blame the Sens for taken so many penalties, but given that the latter is a constant for the team it’s not really an argument against Bishop struggling.  I don’t think anyone believes Bishop lost the game on his own, but rather a poor performance by the Sens could have earned a point (or a win) if he’d played at his usual level.

–Patrick Hoffman doesn’t think Craig Anderson has ever got the credit he was due (I’m assuming Hoffman didn’t watch the 09-10 NHL season where Anderson was credited with the Avalanche’s great year).

-Binghamton defeated Syracuse 1-0 in a shootout last night with Robin Lehner making 40-saves for the shutout and Stephane Da Costa scoring the winner.

-Binghamton plays Hershey (20-19-3) tonight; the Bears are lead by Jeff Taffe (38 points) and backstopped by ECHL All-Star Philipp Grubauer (2-3-0 2.04 .926).

-As I speculated some time ago it appears as though Brad Peltz did get hurt fighting Tyler Randell as Trenton has finally placed him on their injury reserve (he hasn’t played since January 11th).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 26, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-Ottawa plays Tampa Bay (2-1-0) tonight; the Lightning are lead by the trio of Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, and Cory Conacher (5 points each) and backstopped by Anders Lindback (1-1-0 3.50 .905).  Here’s the NHL’s preview.

-There are a number of lineup changes for the Sens ahead of tonight’s game: Ben Bishop gets the start, Mark Borowiecki will play instead of Patrick Wiercioch (who was largely invisible last night), and Kaspars Daugavins slides in for Guillaume Latendresse who tweaked something and is injured.

-Here are my thoughts on last night’s 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.  Here’s Scott‘s scoring chances (he had them 22-12 for Ottawa, mine were 24-6).  Here are Paul MacLean‘s thoughts:

We feel fortunate to come out with the win. We stuck to it. We didn’t get frustrated when things didn’t go our way. We found a way to get momentum back on our side. I thought we established our game in the third and that made a big difference.

–Nichols takes a look at other free agent defensemen the Sens might be interested in besides KHLer Viktor Antipin, suggesting 22-year old Danny DeKeyser (21-2-8-10, whom Shawn Simpson reported they were interested in last year) and 22-year old Andrej Sustr (24-6-10-16; teammate of Sens prospect Bryce Aneloski; Tim Wharnsby linked him to Ottawa last year).  Sustr was ranked #195 in North America in 2010 by Central Scouting (#264 RLR), while DeKeyser was not ranked by anyone.  Red Line Report considered DeKeyser the top college free agent last year while Sustr was #11 (RLR’s prognostication on that score has to be taken with a grain of salt, as you can gauge by looking here).

[Just a quick update: here’s what Red Line Report said about both players last year:
Danny DeKeyser: He plays a simple, defence first, stay-at-home game. He’s not flashy at the offensive end, but moves the puck well and gets it to the right spots by making good decisions. Efficiently gets the puck out of the zone with crisp outlets. He’s physical and wins the battles down low, keeps the crease clear, and plays with a bit of a nasty edge. He’s an outstanding penalty killer who blocks a ton of shots.
Andrej Sustr: Towering puck-moving defenceman with a game-changing reach. One of the best collegiate defencemen at passing the puck – zips it hard and accurately on the tape. Smooth skater despite being so lanky. Calm and poised – never seems hurried. Sees the ice well and makes good decisions. Can play the power play and utilizes his reach to create shooting lanes and put pucks on net. Reach is also his best defensive asset and he effectively clogs up the middle and forces the puck to the perimeter. Should be more physical.]

–Bruce Garrioch chimes in on the Ben Bishop rumours:

The Edmonton Oilers have interest in backup G Ben Bishop, but the Senators aren’t ready to make a move. They want to see how Bishop performs once he starts playing — which could be as early as Friday vs. Tampa Bay — and if the market increases once Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo is dealt.

-Binghamton faces Syracuse (24-10-5) tonight; the Crunch are lead by Tyler Johnson (37 points) and backstopped by Dustin Tokarski (17-6-3 2.35 .903).

–Sarah Kwak reminds us that it’s the large number of powerplays being handed out that are the main engine for increased scoring in the NHL right now.  Just like the end of the last lockout the league is cutting back on the obstruction.  I wouldn’t expect it to last, but it’s worth noting.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 25, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

-Ottawa plays Florida (1-2-0) tonight in a re-match of their last game; Brian Campbell, Jonathan Huberdeau, and ex-Sen Alex Kovalev are tied for the lead in points (3 each), Jose Theodore is the starter (1-1-0 2.50 .937).  Here’s the NHL’s game preview.

–Ken Warren thinks the Sens third line (Colin Greening-Zack Smith-Chris Neil) have been excellent so far:

The three have been invaluable through the opening two games against the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers, either creating or maintaining sustained pressure inside the opposition blue-line, causing turnovers and wearing down defencemen.

That’s certainly what the line is supposed to do, but Ken must have been watching different games because to me they’ve been the least effective trio on the team.  They’ve had difficulty maintaining puck control on offense and have struggled defensively.  I think the group would be more effective with a strong puck control player inserted–time, of course, will tell.  Greening summed up what the line is supposed to do:

The biggest thing for us is try to keep it simple, keep the puck going forward. If we start going side to side, that’s when we get into trouble. We want to get cycling. We’re three big bodies. It’s fun when you’re playing down in their end.

–The Raaymaker discusses the decision to send Robin Lehner down and one thing puzzled me:

Bishop undoubtedly knows that he’s in tough against both Anderson and Lehner, and realizes that he’s once again playing as much to impress other teams as to help his team. He’s a pending restricted free agent who won’t likely be re-signed by the Ottawa Senators, which means if he’s not traded mid-season his rights will almost certainly be dealt in the summer. Bishop also must realize, however, that this situation was engineered by Bryan Murray, and it’s also been handled just about perfectly by the Senators’ GM. The Senators acquired Bishop for pennies on the dollar last year, but they’re not excited to give him up at such a steep discount. It seems likely that Murray’s initial plan was to hold on to Bishop for the whole season before making a decision, but that timeline has been expedited by both Lehner‘s maturity and dominance as well as the sudden need for a top-four defenceman in light of Jared Cowen‘s season-ending injury.

So Murray planned for Alex Auld to be awful, Robin Lehner to have an off year, and Craig Anderson to slice his hand with an ice pick so that he could trade his 2013 2nd round pick for Bishop?  Given how hard it has been for the Sens to acquire 2nd round picks I don’t see that price for an impending RFA as cheap.  Otherwise I agree with his sentiments.

–Scott reports that Bob McKenzie is convinced Ben Bishop is the odd-man out in Ottawa’s goaltending situation, but that Roberto Luongo is “gumming up the works” on goalie trades.  Given Bishop‘s affordability, I can’t imagine it will be that hard for Murray to move him.  Lyle Richardson takes a look at the possibility of Bishop going to the Oilers, but doesn’t believe Edmonton can afford the assets (defensemen) Ottawa wants.  This sounds plausible, although I wonder if Murray would accept a high draft pick for Bishop.  Others have speculated that because of the injury to Phoenix’s Mike Smith they might be another market (Smith‘s backup Jason LaBarbera can’t handle the load).  I think the situation will be resolved sooner than later.

–Jeremy Milks was getting impatient with Jakob Silfverberg because through a few periods he didn’t think he was a fit on the top line–he was hankering for the good old days of Colin Greening.  I’m glad Jeremy found patience and I have no idea why he didn’t think there was chemistry–Silfverberg has been fine through two games.

–Alan Muir thinks staged fights are helpful in the NHL because…well he doesn’t actually offer tangible reasons for it.  He says they are good for the losing team too, which makes his logic: staged fights are good because they have no impact on the outcome of the game.  Er, what?

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 24, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment