Yes, it's back from the dead for the playoffs! Hopefully I'm not too rusty...let me know what you think guys :)
What you've missed
Beginning the season with very low expectations from almost everybody following hockey, including their own fans, the Ottawa Senators have been the most surprising team in the NHL. Their work ethic and never say die attitude can in no small part be attributed to their new coach, Paul McLean, who I honestly think should be a Jack Adams finalist when awards are being decided.
Not to be forgotten, several key players also stepped up and had huge seasons. Jason Spezza has gone a long way to silencing his critics with more than a point per game pace and over 30 goals to boot. After a challenging 2010-2011 season marred by injury, Daniel Alfredsson reached the 20 goal mark for the 13th time in his 16 NHL seasons. And Milan Michalek led the team in goal scoring with 35, a large number of which came on the road, which will be important given the Sens 8th seed.
But, by far, the Sens MVP this season has been Erik Karlsson. He has 78 points this season. 78!! He's quite easily become the highest scoring D-man in a single season in Ottawa Senators history, and he holds a 25 point lead over Brian Campbell and Dustin Byfuglien who are tied for 2nd in defensemen scoring.
Over the last week, however, the Sens have run cold, going 0 for 3 against Carolina, Boston and New Jersey. This has put them in 8th place in the East on a collision course with the conference champions, the New York Rangers.
Season series:
Sens won the series 3-1
29/10/2011 - Ottawa 5, Rangers 4 (SO)
09/11/2011 - Rangers 3, Ottawa 2
12/01/2012 - Ottawa 3, Rangers 0
08/03/2012 - Rangers 1, Ottawa 4
Injuries:
- Peter Regin has been out since December and will not return with an injured shoulder.
- Chris Neil took a nasty fall at practice this week and did not play in the last game of the season, however he is expected to be ready for the playoffs.
- For the Rangers, Steve Eminger has been out with an ankle sprain since mid-March, Mats Zuccarello underwent wrist surgery and is not expected back for the 1st round and Michael Sauer remains out with a concussion indefinitely.
Projected starting lineups:
Rangers
Hagelin-Richards-Gaborik
Callahan-Stepan-Anisimov
Fedotenko-Dubinsky-Boyle
Prust-Mitchell-Rupp
Girardi-McDonagh
Staal-Stralman
Bickel-Del Zotto
Lundqvist
Sens:
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Foligno-Turris-Alfredsson
O'Brien-Smith-Neil
Daugavins-Winchester-Condra
Kuba-Karlsson
Gonchar-Cowen
Phillips-Carkner (or Gilroy)
Anderson
The Scouting Report
Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik are enough to give any opposing team fits - when they are both on their game, that is. Gaborik is as pure a goal scorer and sniper as you will ever see, and Richards makes plays happen in the offensive zone. Rookie Carl Hagelin is the grit on this line, but he's also got tremendous speed and can burn you down the wing.
However, there have been times this season when the first line has gone quiet, and the rest of the team struggles to pick up the slack (this should sound familiar to Sens fans...). Ryan Callahan is a heart and soul guy, very underrated, but his line also has a tendency to run quiet. Some of this must be attributed to the youth - Derek Stepan is 21 and Artem Anisimov is 23. How they will perform with a combined 11 games of playoff experience will be key.
Having said all of that, the Rangers' strengths lie in having a very capable group of grinding, defensive-minded forwards, a rock-solid D corps and a goalie that can single-handedly win the team tight games. Ruslan Fedotenko has big game experience - winning cups in Tampa and in Pittsburgh - and he has a history of showing up for the playoffs ready and willing to take on a big role. Mike Rupp has more than enough sandpaper and size to muscle the opposition off the puck in the corners. Dan Girardi is arguably one of the best shutdown D in the entire league and will likely be on the ice whenever the Spezza line comes out. And Henrik Lundqvist is a serious contender for the Vezina trophy this year.
In short, the Rangers win their games not by a wild run and gun game, but by playing a strong team defense and relying on their A-grade talent to give them a lead to defend.
Keys to Victory
- Huge effort on specialty teams. Playoff hockey is tight and chances will be hard to come by. The Sens PP has been very hot at times and also very cold at times. The Rangers will not give you a lot of even-strength chances, so capitalising on the PP will be huge. The PK will also have to be on its game to stop the likes of Richards and Gaborik.
- Score early and start strong. The Rangers love playing with a lead and stifling teams in the 3rd period. Ottawa has not started games well, but instead have been pretty good at coming back from a deficit in the 3rd this season. That recipe probably won't work here, especially without the advantage of home ice.
- Use the psychology. Ottawa is the only team in the East that Lundqvist has a losing record against, and the Sens won 3 out of 4 meetings between these two clubs including a game at MSG. In many ways, being the underdog while having the Rags number all season should give the Sens confidence in being able to supply the upset of the 1st round.
- Connect on that first pass. Ottawa is at their best when the breakout is fast and they are breaking through the neutral zone with big speed. Conversely, the Sens are at their worst when they are held up in the neutral zone and they get into a bad habit of not moving their feet. Despite his big season points-wise, Karlsson is relatively untested in the playoffs and it will be his ability to move the puck under intense pressure that will be a big factor.
The X Factor
I'm going to make a bold prediction here...Kaspars Daugavins is going to be this year's Sean Bergenheim. He has a remarkable amount of hustle on the puck and battles hard in all 4 corners of the rink. Despite limited opportunities, his touch around the net at times this year has been superb. However, his one weakness is that he turns over the puck. If he can work on that and also deal with the increased pressure of the playoffs, watch out. Look for him to be tried on Spezza's wing at some stage.
Who's Hot?
- Brian Boyle has 4 points in 4 games.
- Marian Gaborik has 6 goals in 8 games.
- Daniel Alfredsson has 5 goals and 9 overall points in 6 games.
- Jason Spezza has 8 points in 6 games.
GO SENS GO!!!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Weekly Preview - 25/10/2010
What you've missed
Another up and down week for the Ottawa Senators. A really poor performance in Pittsburgh and an extremely poor performance against Montreal, with a great team effort against Buffalo sandwiched in between. By now, it's all par for the course for the Sens and their inconsistent ways. What will they turn out effort-wise next week? Well, whatever it is, it's likely to last at most a game or two, and then completely change!
My attempt at humour aside, congratulations are in order to Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson, who notched up 1000 points on Friday. And credit where credit is due, Alex Kovalev actually showed flashes of how dangerous he can be when he wants to. But someday, hopefully soon, we'll get to see this team give 100% effort for longer than 1 period of hockey. If they don't...they will find themselves looking up at the rest of the conference.
In other games around the league:
- Nashville continue to go about their season with quiet determination, and they are the only team yet to lose a game in regulation. Last night, they held on to an early lead to beat current East conference leaders, Tampa Bay.
- Minnesota are an astonishing 10 for 19 on the PP at Xcel Energy Arena so far this year. This week, they easily accounted for Vancouver at home (3 for 3 that night with the man advantage), but were blown out when visiting the west coast just days later. The PP that night? 0 for 4.
What's coming up
The Sens will set up camp at Scotiabank Place this week with a 3 game home stand, going back to their traditional Tues-Thurs-Sat schedule. On Tuesday, they will take on Phoenix (7pm, Sportsnet). Thursday sees Florida roll into town (7pm, Sportsnet One), and on Saturday they host Boston (7pm, CBC).
The past couple of weeks, I have said "it's early in the season", but at some point this team must battle back and start to win games. At this time, the Senators are 27th (!!!) in the NHL, ahead of only New Jersey and Edmonton. And the Oilers have only played 6 games so far. This week is crucial, even more so than usual because the Sens shouldn't have any excuses. Both the Coyotes and the Panthers have just 1 more point than Ottawa, and should be winnable games at home. If they manage to get those wins, the true test will be Saturday night's game against Boston. So far, with the exception of Friday's game, the Sens have been seriously burned by division matchups. This NEEDS to change if Ottawa has any plans on being a contender this season.
Injury wise, Pascal Leclaire skated for the first time since his injury on Friday, but realistically shouldn't be back until at least the middle of this week and may in fact be rested longer, especially given his injury history. Filip Kuba has also started skating on his own, and he is still on track for a return next week or the week after.
In other games this week:
- San Jose have really struggled coming out to start the season. This week will be a statement for the rest of the season, and their schedule can do them no more favours than it has. They have 2 home games against New Jersey and Anaheim, and Sharks fans will no doubt expect them to win both with ease.
- Calgary have defied most of the critics out there and are currently leading their division. They also shore up at home this week and have games against 2 of their rivals Edmonton and Colorado. The North-West so far has been wide open (see what I wrote above about the Wild) and that's not likely to change at this stage of the season.
- Tampa Bay find themselves sitting on top of the East conference, but after Wednesday's games against Pittsburgh, they will head out on a 4 game tour of the West conference and play 9 of their next 12 games on the road. A tough test for sure.
Who's hot
- John Michael Liles (Colorado) has yet to be kept scoreless this season. He has 10 assists on the season.
- Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay) leads the league in scoring so far at 8 goals and 15 points.
- Tim Thomas (Boston) refuses to go quietly - in 4 starts, he has 1 shutout, a GAA of 0.75 and a save percentage of 0.978!
Who's not
- Antti Niemi (San Jose) gave up 3 goals on just 5 shots last night, and his GAA for the season is at 4.5
- Simon Gagne (Tampa Bay) has not scored this season and sits at a frosty -8. But he is not the worst +/- player so far. That would be Joe Thornton (San Jose), who despite scoring 7 points is at -9. 6 of those points are on the powerplay (which doesn't count towards +/-) so I guess he has an excuse.
Another up and down week for the Ottawa Senators. A really poor performance in Pittsburgh and an extremely poor performance against Montreal, with a great team effort against Buffalo sandwiched in between. By now, it's all par for the course for the Sens and their inconsistent ways. What will they turn out effort-wise next week? Well, whatever it is, it's likely to last at most a game or two, and then completely change!
My attempt at humour aside, congratulations are in order to Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson, who notched up 1000 points on Friday. And credit where credit is due, Alex Kovalev actually showed flashes of how dangerous he can be when he wants to. But someday, hopefully soon, we'll get to see this team give 100% effort for longer than 1 period of hockey. If they don't...they will find themselves looking up at the rest of the conference.
In other games around the league:
- Nashville continue to go about their season with quiet determination, and they are the only team yet to lose a game in regulation. Last night, they held on to an early lead to beat current East conference leaders, Tampa Bay.
- Minnesota are an astonishing 10 for 19 on the PP at Xcel Energy Arena so far this year. This week, they easily accounted for Vancouver at home (3 for 3 that night with the man advantage), but were blown out when visiting the west coast just days later. The PP that night? 0 for 4.
What's coming up
The Sens will set up camp at Scotiabank Place this week with a 3 game home stand, going back to their traditional Tues-Thurs-Sat schedule. On Tuesday, they will take on Phoenix (7pm, Sportsnet). Thursday sees Florida roll into town (7pm, Sportsnet One), and on Saturday they host Boston (7pm, CBC).
The past couple of weeks, I have said "it's early in the season", but at some point this team must battle back and start to win games. At this time, the Senators are 27th (!!!) in the NHL, ahead of only New Jersey and Edmonton. And the Oilers have only played 6 games so far. This week is crucial, even more so than usual because the Sens shouldn't have any excuses. Both the Coyotes and the Panthers have just 1 more point than Ottawa, and should be winnable games at home. If they manage to get those wins, the true test will be Saturday night's game against Boston. So far, with the exception of Friday's game, the Sens have been seriously burned by division matchups. This NEEDS to change if Ottawa has any plans on being a contender this season.
Injury wise, Pascal Leclaire skated for the first time since his injury on Friday, but realistically shouldn't be back until at least the middle of this week and may in fact be rested longer, especially given his injury history. Filip Kuba has also started skating on his own, and he is still on track for a return next week or the week after.
In other games this week:
- San Jose have really struggled coming out to start the season. This week will be a statement for the rest of the season, and their schedule can do them no more favours than it has. They have 2 home games against New Jersey and Anaheim, and Sharks fans will no doubt expect them to win both with ease.
- Calgary have defied most of the critics out there and are currently leading their division. They also shore up at home this week and have games against 2 of their rivals Edmonton and Colorado. The North-West so far has been wide open (see what I wrote above about the Wild) and that's not likely to change at this stage of the season.
- Tampa Bay find themselves sitting on top of the East conference, but after Wednesday's games against Pittsburgh, they will head out on a 4 game tour of the West conference and play 9 of their next 12 games on the road. A tough test for sure.
Who's hot
- John Michael Liles (Colorado) has yet to be kept scoreless this season. He has 10 assists on the season.
- Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay) leads the league in scoring so far at 8 goals and 15 points.
- Tim Thomas (Boston) refuses to go quietly - in 4 starts, he has 1 shutout, a GAA of 0.75 and a save percentage of 0.978!
Who's not
- Antti Niemi (San Jose) gave up 3 goals on just 5 shots last night, and his GAA for the season is at 4.5
- Simon Gagne (Tampa Bay) has not scored this season and sits at a frosty -8. But he is not the worst +/- player so far. That would be Joe Thornton (San Jose), who despite scoring 7 points is at -9. 6 of those points are on the powerplay (which doesn't count towards +/-) so I guess he has an excuse.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Daily Roundup: 12/03/2010
I'm trying new things here at the blog to see what works best and what you guys (all 5 of you that read this thing) most like reading about.
Today, I'm going to look at some of the goings on around the NHL. Some "Quick Hits" if you will.
Game of the night: Nashville 5, San Jose 8
No, that's not a mis-print! After Nashville carried a 4-2 lead into the 2nd period, piling 30 shots on Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose came out posessed in the 3rd. After managing just 11 shots on goal through 2, the Sharks scored 6 goals (one was an empty-netter) on just 15 shots in the 3rd.
Goal of the night: Has to be Patrice Bergeron's complete undressing of Chris Pronger. He serves this goal to Marco Sturm on a silver platter.
You can see it here >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BYz8SUnmI
Fantasy team of the night:
LW: Dany Heatley - 2 goals and an assist, including a PP marker
C: Eric Staal - 14 faceoff wins, over 20 minutes on the ice, 1 G 1 A
RW: Tomas Holmstrom - also with 1 G 1 A, includes the game winner
LW: Henrik Zetterberg - a goal and 2 helpers, 9 faceoff wins
C: Joe Pavelski - 4 point night
RW: Phil Kessel - 1 G (the game-winner) and an assist.
D: Mark Streit - played over 31 minutes (!!!), 1 helper on the lone Islanders goal
D: Brian Pothier - scored the game-winner and added an assist
D: Dennis Seidenberg - 2 helpers, +3, 4 blocked shots
D: Tom Gilbert - 2 assists, +1, almost 28 minutes on the night, 4 blocks
G: Craig Anderson - picked up a shutout against his former team
G: Miikka Kiprusoff - also with a shutout
Thoughts?
Today, I'm going to look at some of the goings on around the NHL. Some "Quick Hits" if you will.
Game of the night: Nashville 5, San Jose 8
No, that's not a mis-print! After Nashville carried a 4-2 lead into the 2nd period, piling 30 shots on Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose came out posessed in the 3rd. After managing just 11 shots on goal through 2, the Sharks scored 6 goals (one was an empty-netter) on just 15 shots in the 3rd.
Goal of the night: Has to be Patrice Bergeron's complete undressing of Chris Pronger. He serves this goal to Marco Sturm on a silver platter.
You can see it here >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BYz8SUnmI
Fantasy team of the night:
LW: Dany Heatley - 2 goals and an assist, including a PP marker
C: Eric Staal - 14 faceoff wins, over 20 minutes on the ice, 1 G 1 A
RW: Tomas Holmstrom - also with 1 G 1 A, includes the game winner
LW: Henrik Zetterberg - a goal and 2 helpers, 9 faceoff wins
C: Joe Pavelski - 4 point night
RW: Phil Kessel - 1 G (the game-winner) and an assist.
D: Mark Streit - played over 31 minutes (!!!), 1 helper on the lone Islanders goal
D: Brian Pothier - scored the game-winner and added an assist
D: Dennis Seidenberg - 2 helpers, +3, 4 blocked shots
D: Tom Gilbert - 2 assists, +1, almost 28 minutes on the night, 4 blocks
G: Craig Anderson - picked up a shutout against his former team
G: Miikka Kiprusoff - also with a shutout
Thoughts?
Monday, March 8, 2010
Headshots
So, another sickening hit on the weekend delivered to Marc Savard has started the chatter again on headshots in hockey. I personally don't like the term "headshots"; sometimes they aren't even "shots" at all, sometimes it's a clean hit gone horribly wrong. But, that's what everyone's calling it, and really I'm wasting time discussing semantics.
It baffles me how people can sit there and defend hits to the head, in any capacity. You elbow a guy in the head, that's a 2 minute minor for elbowing, even if the intent wasn't there. You hit a guy in the head with a stick, even if you didn't mean to, that's high sticking, and sometimes it even gets you 4 minutes in the box. You drive a guy's head into the boards, again, intent is not a factor, that's a boarding call and most times that's 5 minutes in the box. So how can there be any doubt that a hit to the head from the body of another player (shoulder, forearm, whatever), however accidental, would constitute at least a minor penalty???
To me, it doesn't even make sense how these calls aren't ALREADY being made. The NHL has a cover-all call for dangerous play. It's called roughing. At the very least, shouldn't some of these hits be called for a roughing violation? These days, roughing seems to be reserved to people getting pissed off after a whistle has been blown...but that's another blog perhaps.
Now, I never played hockey growing up (give me a break, I was born and raised in Australia :P) but I did play contact sports. I played a lot of rugby and Aussie Rules football to be more specific. Any contact to the head was an automatic penalty, and if the referee deemed it to be intentional or particularly wreckless, that player would get sent off (the Australian equivalent of "ejected from the game") AND receive an automatic 1 game suspension with the option for further discipline (keep in mind they only play once per week).
And no, hockey is not rugby, or any other sport. But how can the gap be so WIDE when it comes to head contact, even just within the NHL rules? Something needs to be done.
I appreciate your comments/thoughts on this issue.
It baffles me how people can sit there and defend hits to the head, in any capacity. You elbow a guy in the head, that's a 2 minute minor for elbowing, even if the intent wasn't there. You hit a guy in the head with a stick, even if you didn't mean to, that's high sticking, and sometimes it even gets you 4 minutes in the box. You drive a guy's head into the boards, again, intent is not a factor, that's a boarding call and most times that's 5 minutes in the box. So how can there be any doubt that a hit to the head from the body of another player (shoulder, forearm, whatever), however accidental, would constitute at least a minor penalty???
To me, it doesn't even make sense how these calls aren't ALREADY being made. The NHL has a cover-all call for dangerous play. It's called roughing. At the very least, shouldn't some of these hits be called for a roughing violation? These days, roughing seems to be reserved to people getting pissed off after a whistle has been blown...but that's another blog perhaps.
Now, I never played hockey growing up (give me a break, I was born and raised in Australia :P) but I did play contact sports. I played a lot of rugby and Aussie Rules football to be more specific. Any contact to the head was an automatic penalty, and if the referee deemed it to be intentional or particularly wreckless, that player would get sent off (the Australian equivalent of "ejected from the game") AND receive an automatic 1 game suspension with the option for further discipline (keep in mind they only play once per week).
And no, hockey is not rugby, or any other sport. But how can the gap be so WIDE when it comes to head contact, even just within the NHL rules? Something needs to be done.
I appreciate your comments/thoughts on this issue.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Weekly Preview #3
First posted by me @ www.thesensforum.com 18/10/09
What you've missed:
The Senators kept rolling with 2 wins from 3 starts last week. Dropping a 4-1 decision to Pittsburgh, the Sens then totally dominated a meek-looking Tampa Bay 7-1, and in an emotional return to Montreal, Alexei Kovalev picked up two points to take Ottawa past the Habs 3-1.
The offensive heroics have been there, but in reality the Sens are at the top of the North-East because of their defensive effort. Ottawa has the 2nd best penalty kill in the league (after Columbus) at 93.1%. In particular, Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher have stepped up their two-way games, and the pairing of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov has been solid.
Chris Neil continues to prove his worth as a $2 million 4th liner. Milan Michalek scored his first hat-trick Thursday and his skating is giving opposition teams fits. Jason Spezza is one lucky break from bursting out and has been dishing out the puck really well.
In other games around the league:
- Phoenix caused a boilover when they took the W from visitors Boston 4-1 on Saturday. Shane Doan had 3 assists on the night.
- Colorado sit solely atop the West conference after a perfect 4 for 4 road trip. The Avs collected points in Boston, Toronto, Montreal and Detroit
- Toronto continue to languish at the bottom of the standings after being outscored 15-4 in the last 3 games. The Islanders also dropped their 3 games last week and are the only other winless team in the NHL.
- Halfway through the 1st period Monday, Chicago found themselves 5 goals down. However, they staged a tremendous comeback to win their game against Calgary 6-5 in OT.
What's coming up:
Ottawa have a relaxed schedule this week with just 2 games. The first action is on Thursday, when the Sens take on Nashville (7:30pm, Sportsnet) at Scotiabank Place. And to close out the week, they face divisional rivals Boston Saturday (7pm, CBC), also at home.
Injury-wise, Peter Regin has recovered from his concerns and will be available for Thursday's game. Jesse Winchester is also looking to return to the lineup this week or early next. The last report on Filip Kuba was hopeful of his return soon, more likely for Saturday vs the Bruins.
It's fairly safe to say that most expect a victory for the Sens, based on current form, over the lowly Preds. But the real tester this week will be against Boston. Ottawa have quite a travel-friendly and spaced out schedule in the coming 5-6 weeks, and need to strike while the iron is hot. The Bruins are still finding their feet this season, and a Sens win now will be crucial if Ottawa expect to be playing post-season hockey.
Pascal Leclaire has looked good, but with the exception of the Pens game (which didn't go so well), he hasn't really been tested over a full 60 minutes by opposing teams thus far. Can he keep it going? Is Alexei Kovalev just starting to heat up at the right time, or will he go back into his shell again if Alfie is moved off that line? And can Erik Karlsson rebound from what has been a sub-standard effort so far without the veteran presence of Filip Kuba?
In other games this week:
- Dallas have at least 1 point in 6 out of their 7 games, and will look to continue on form on their road trip this week. They face stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles and St Louis as well as facing the Kings at home Monday.
- Detroit are in tough this week with games against 2 red-hot teams in Phoenix and Colorado. The Wings will need to pick up the pace if they want to keep up with the rest of the West.
- Likewise for Florida, whose play has been all over the chart. They stunned Philly last week and the rematch is Saturday, but before then the Cats will have to face strong starters Buffalo as well as Pittsburgh.
Who's hot?
- Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa) has 5 points from the last 2 games, and has already scored 2 game winning goals this season.
- Martin St Louis (Tampa Bay) has at least a point in every game this season.
- Dustin Penner (Edmonton) went +5 and picked up 6 points in 3 games last week.
- Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix) has 2 shutouts, a 1.14 GAA and an incredible 0.953 save percentage through 6 games. Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh) has won all 7 of his starts.
Who's not?
- Christobal Huet (Chicago) was pulled just 7 minutes into Monday's game after letting in 3 goals on 5 shots, and currently sits at 0.844 save percentage.
- Josh Harding (Minnesota) has now let in 11 goals in just 2 games.
- Mattias Ohlund (Tampa Bay) is a +5 at home but a -6 on the road, and has been held scoreless in the last 3 contests.
What you've missed:
The Senators kept rolling with 2 wins from 3 starts last week. Dropping a 4-1 decision to Pittsburgh, the Sens then totally dominated a meek-looking Tampa Bay 7-1, and in an emotional return to Montreal, Alexei Kovalev picked up two points to take Ottawa past the Habs 3-1.
The offensive heroics have been there, but in reality the Sens are at the top of the North-East because of their defensive effort. Ottawa has the 2nd best penalty kill in the league (after Columbus) at 93.1%. In particular, Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher have stepped up their two-way games, and the pairing of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov has been solid.
Chris Neil continues to prove his worth as a $2 million 4th liner. Milan Michalek scored his first hat-trick Thursday and his skating is giving opposition teams fits. Jason Spezza is one lucky break from bursting out and has been dishing out the puck really well.
In other games around the league:
- Phoenix caused a boilover when they took the W from visitors Boston 4-1 on Saturday. Shane Doan had 3 assists on the night.
- Colorado sit solely atop the West conference after a perfect 4 for 4 road trip. The Avs collected points in Boston, Toronto, Montreal and Detroit
- Toronto continue to languish at the bottom of the standings after being outscored 15-4 in the last 3 games. The Islanders also dropped their 3 games last week and are the only other winless team in the NHL.
- Halfway through the 1st period Monday, Chicago found themselves 5 goals down. However, they staged a tremendous comeback to win their game against Calgary 6-5 in OT.
What's coming up:
Ottawa have a relaxed schedule this week with just 2 games. The first action is on Thursday, when the Sens take on Nashville (7:30pm, Sportsnet) at Scotiabank Place. And to close out the week, they face divisional rivals Boston Saturday (7pm, CBC), also at home.
Injury-wise, Peter Regin has recovered from his concerns and will be available for Thursday's game. Jesse Winchester is also looking to return to the lineup this week or early next. The last report on Filip Kuba was hopeful of his return soon, more likely for Saturday vs the Bruins.
It's fairly safe to say that most expect a victory for the Sens, based on current form, over the lowly Preds. But the real tester this week will be against Boston. Ottawa have quite a travel-friendly and spaced out schedule in the coming 5-6 weeks, and need to strike while the iron is hot. The Bruins are still finding their feet this season, and a Sens win now will be crucial if Ottawa expect to be playing post-season hockey.
Pascal Leclaire has looked good, but with the exception of the Pens game (which didn't go so well), he hasn't really been tested over a full 60 minutes by opposing teams thus far. Can he keep it going? Is Alexei Kovalev just starting to heat up at the right time, or will he go back into his shell again if Alfie is moved off that line? And can Erik Karlsson rebound from what has been a sub-standard effort so far without the veteran presence of Filip Kuba?
In other games this week:
- Dallas have at least 1 point in 6 out of their 7 games, and will look to continue on form on their road trip this week. They face stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles and St Louis as well as facing the Kings at home Monday.
- Detroit are in tough this week with games against 2 red-hot teams in Phoenix and Colorado. The Wings will need to pick up the pace if they want to keep up with the rest of the West.
- Likewise for Florida, whose play has been all over the chart. They stunned Philly last week and the rematch is Saturday, but before then the Cats will have to face strong starters Buffalo as well as Pittsburgh.
Who's hot?
- Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa) has 5 points from the last 2 games, and has already scored 2 game winning goals this season.
- Martin St Louis (Tampa Bay) has at least a point in every game this season.
- Dustin Penner (Edmonton) went +5 and picked up 6 points in 3 games last week.
- Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix) has 2 shutouts, a 1.14 GAA and an incredible 0.953 save percentage through 6 games. Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh) has won all 7 of his starts.
Who's not?
- Christobal Huet (Chicago) was pulled just 7 minutes into Monday's game after letting in 3 goals on 5 shots, and currently sits at 0.844 save percentage.
- Josh Harding (Minnesota) has now let in 11 goals in just 2 games.
- Mattias Ohlund (Tampa Bay) is a +5 at home but a -6 on the road, and has been held scoreless in the last 3 contests.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Weekly Preview #2 (October 12 to 18)
*Originally posted by me @ http://www.thesensforum.com
Ok so first of all, a happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians reading this
There's lots to cover so without further ado...let's get into the week that was.
What you've missed:
The Ottawa Senators went a perfect 3 for 3 this week, picking up wins against Toronto, the Islanders and Atlanta, and there's plenty to like about the new Sens team this season. The 3rd and 4th lines have really stepped it up with players like Chris Neil, Chris Kelly and Shean Donovan taking strides to show they belong on the team and deserve their salary.
Mike Fisher looked positively reborn on the ice, scoring the OT winner Thursday and exuding confidence. Matt Carkner has been a welcome physical presence on the back end. But perhaps the biggest revelation has been the play of Peter Regin. The Danish centre has 3 points and a +3 through 4 games, but what the stats won't tell you is how he has made the players on his line better. Unfortunately, he was injured in the last game and is listed day-to-day at this time.
In other games around the league:
- In a high scoring affair, Philadelphia squeaked past Washington 6-5 Tuesday on the back of a hat trick from Mike Richards.
- Phoenix grabbed some positive headlines for a change when they stunned Pittsburgh 3-0 on Wednesday. Playing to a sellout crowd in the home opener Saturday (there were cheap seats aplenty), they dropped the decision to Columbus.
- The Islanders have now managed a point from each of their first 3 games of the season - but they gave up a 3 goal lead in the 2nd period to lose in the shootout to Boston Saturday.
- In their western road trip, Buffalo scored 2 valuable wins against Phoenix and Nashville, both 1 goal games. They are yet to lose a game in regulation this season.
- Dallas managed to spoil Calgary's perfect record with a 5-2 win on Friday.
What's coming up:
The Senators have 3 more games this week.
Ottawa host last season's champions Pittsburgh (Monday 12/10, Sportsnet) in what should be a close affair. Next, it's Tampa Bay's turn to roll into town (Thursday 15/10, TSN). And to close out the week, the Sens take a short jog up Autoroute 20 to face rivals Montreal (Saturday 17/10, CBC).
On the injury front, Jesse Winchester (knee) is apparently ahead of schedule but is still not likely to suit up this week. There is still concern for Ryan Shannon, (head) but he did participate in training Friday and is expected to start tonight's game. Peter Regin, however, is out with an upper body injury and Filip Kuba is also confirmed out of tonight's lineup.
The game tonight is going to be a huge test for this team, seeing as the competition they've faced so far has not been first-rate. Ottawa will have to get a more consistent effort from its top lines. Daniel Alfredsson may be tried out on line 2 to see if there is better chemistry there. Jason Spezza has looked good defensively, but will need to shake off some bad luck in the offensive zone. Will Jonathan Cheechoo's recent form get him a chance amongst the scorers? And just who will Anton Volchenkov steamroll next?
In other games this week:
- Los Angeles start a pivotal road trip this week, facing off against the Rangers and Islanders in New York. They'll also stop in Detroit and Columbus before the week is out. The Kings have an early lead in the Pacific and could really turn heads with a good effort here.
- In contrast, Florida have a quiet week, but really need to get their season going against divisional rivals Tampa Bay tonight, or risk falling even further behind.
- Minnesota find themselves at the bottom of the West pile, but it's still early going. They have 3 home games this week and 2 games feature divisional rivals in Edmonton and Vancouver.
- Boston would not be happy with a 2-2 start, and they face Colorado in the afternoon game today hoping to improve their record. The Avs are on a road trip of their own (4 away games this week, 3 in the Northeast and the other in Detroit) - they will need a stellar effort to stay near the top of the standings.
Who's Hot?
Former Senator Dany Heatley (San Jose) has 8 points in his last 3 games, as does his linemate Joe Thornton.
Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) has 7 points in the last 3 games.
Ryan Miller (Buffalo) sits at just 0.98 GAA and has a 0.955 save percentage through his 3 starts.
Who's Not?
Robyn Regehr (Calgary) had no points this week and sits at a frosty -6 on a team that has won 4 of 5 games.
In just 2 games last week, Carey Price (Montreal) let in 10 goals at a save percentage of just 0.804
Ok so first of all, a happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians reading this
There's lots to cover so without further ado...let's get into the week that was.
What you've missed:
The Ottawa Senators went a perfect 3 for 3 this week, picking up wins against Toronto, the Islanders and Atlanta, and there's plenty to like about the new Sens team this season. The 3rd and 4th lines have really stepped it up with players like Chris Neil, Chris Kelly and Shean Donovan taking strides to show they belong on the team and deserve their salary.
Mike Fisher looked positively reborn on the ice, scoring the OT winner Thursday and exuding confidence. Matt Carkner has been a welcome physical presence on the back end. But perhaps the biggest revelation has been the play of Peter Regin. The Danish centre has 3 points and a +3 through 4 games, but what the stats won't tell you is how he has made the players on his line better. Unfortunately, he was injured in the last game and is listed day-to-day at this time.
In other games around the league:
- In a high scoring affair, Philadelphia squeaked past Washington 6-5 Tuesday on the back of a hat trick from Mike Richards.
- Phoenix grabbed some positive headlines for a change when they stunned Pittsburgh 3-0 on Wednesday. Playing to a sellout crowd in the home opener Saturday (there were cheap seats aplenty), they dropped the decision to Columbus.
- The Islanders have now managed a point from each of their first 3 games of the season - but they gave up a 3 goal lead in the 2nd period to lose in the shootout to Boston Saturday.
- In their western road trip, Buffalo scored 2 valuable wins against Phoenix and Nashville, both 1 goal games. They are yet to lose a game in regulation this season.
- Dallas managed to spoil Calgary's perfect record with a 5-2 win on Friday.
What's coming up:
The Senators have 3 more games this week.
Ottawa host last season's champions Pittsburgh (Monday 12/10, Sportsnet) in what should be a close affair. Next, it's Tampa Bay's turn to roll into town (Thursday 15/10, TSN). And to close out the week, the Sens take a short jog up Autoroute 20 to face rivals Montreal (Saturday 17/10, CBC).
On the injury front, Jesse Winchester (knee) is apparently ahead of schedule but is still not likely to suit up this week. There is still concern for Ryan Shannon, (head) but he did participate in training Friday and is expected to start tonight's game. Peter Regin, however, is out with an upper body injury and Filip Kuba is also confirmed out of tonight's lineup.
The game tonight is going to be a huge test for this team, seeing as the competition they've faced so far has not been first-rate. Ottawa will have to get a more consistent effort from its top lines. Daniel Alfredsson may be tried out on line 2 to see if there is better chemistry there. Jason Spezza has looked good defensively, but will need to shake off some bad luck in the offensive zone. Will Jonathan Cheechoo's recent form get him a chance amongst the scorers? And just who will Anton Volchenkov steamroll next?
In other games this week:
- Los Angeles start a pivotal road trip this week, facing off against the Rangers and Islanders in New York. They'll also stop in Detroit and Columbus before the week is out. The Kings have an early lead in the Pacific and could really turn heads with a good effort here.
- In contrast, Florida have a quiet week, but really need to get their season going against divisional rivals Tampa Bay tonight, or risk falling even further behind.
- Minnesota find themselves at the bottom of the West pile, but it's still early going. They have 3 home games this week and 2 games feature divisional rivals in Edmonton and Vancouver.
- Boston would not be happy with a 2-2 start, and they face Colorado in the afternoon game today hoping to improve their record. The Avs are on a road trip of their own (4 away games this week, 3 in the Northeast and the other in Detroit) - they will need a stellar effort to stay near the top of the standings.
Who's Hot?
Former Senator Dany Heatley (San Jose) has 8 points in his last 3 games, as does his linemate Joe Thornton.
Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) has 7 points in the last 3 games.
Ryan Miller (Buffalo) sits at just 0.98 GAA and has a 0.955 save percentage through his 3 starts.
Who's Not?
Robyn Regehr (Calgary) had no points this week and sits at a frosty -6 on a team that has won 4 of 5 games.
In just 2 games last week, Carey Price (Montreal) let in 10 goals at a save percentage of just 0.804
Weekly Preview #2 (October 12 to 18)
*Originally posted by me @ http://www.thesensforum.com
Ok so first of all, a happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians reading this
There's lots to cover so without further ado...let's get into the week that was.
What you've missed:
The Ottawa Senators went a perfect 3 for 3 this week, picking up wins against Toronto, the Islanders and Atlanta, and there's plenty to like about the new Sens team this season. The 3rd and 4th lines have really stepped it up with players like Chris Neil, Chris Kelly and Shean Donovan taking strides to show they belong on the team and deserve their salary.
Mike Fisher looked positively reborn on the ice, scoring the OT winner Thursday and exuding confidence. Matt Carkner has been a welcome physical presence on the back end. But perhaps the biggest revelation has been the play of Peter Regin. The Danish centre has 3 points and a +3 through 4 games, but what the stats won't tell you is how he has made the players on his line better. Unfortunately, he was injured in the last game and is listed day-to-day at this time.
In other games around the league:
- In a high scoring affair, Philadelphia squeaked past Washington 6-5 Tuesday on the back of a hat trick from Mike Richards.
- Phoenix grabbed some positive headlines for a change when they stunned Pittsburgh 3-0 on Wednesday. Playing to a sellout crowd in the home opener Saturday (there were cheap seats aplenty), they dropped the decision to Columbus.
- The Islanders have now managed a point from each of their first 3 games of the season - but they gave up a 3 goal lead in the 2nd period to lose in the shootout to Boston Saturday.
- In their western road trip, Buffalo scored 2 valuable wins against Phoenix and Nashville, both 1 goal games. They are yet to lose a game in regulation this season.
- Dallas managed to spoil Calgary's perfect record with a 5-2 win on Friday.
What's coming up:
The Senators have 3 more games this week.
Ottawa host last season's champions Pittsburgh (Monday 12/10, Sportsnet) in what should be a close affair. Next, it's Tampa Bay's turn to roll into town (Thursday 15/10, TSN). And to close out the week, the Sens take a short jog up Autoroute 20 to face rivals Montreal (Saturday 17/10, CBC).
On the injury front, Jesse Winchester (knee) is apparently ahead of schedule but is still not likely to suit up this week. There is still concern for Ryan Shannon, (head) but he did participate in training Friday and is expected to start tonight's game. Peter Regin, however, is out with an upper body injury and Filip Kuba is also confirmed out of tonight's lineup.
The game tonight is going to be a huge test for this team, seeing as the competition they've faced so far has not been first-rate. Ottawa will have to get a more consistent effort from its top lines. Daniel Alfredsson may be tried out on line 2 to see if there is better chemistry there. Jason Spezza has looked good defensively, but will need to shake off some bad luck in the offensive zone. Will Jonathan Cheechoo's recent form get him a chance amongst the scorers? And just who will Anton Volchenkov steamroll next?
In other games this week:
- Los Angeles start a pivotal road trip this week, facing off against the Rangers and Islanders in New York. They'll also stop in Detroit and Columbus before the week is out. The Kings have an early lead in the Pacific and could really turn heads with a good effort here.
- In contrast, Florida have a quiet week, but really need to get their season going against divisional rivals Tampa Bay tonight, or risk falling even further behind.
- Minnesota find themselves at the bottom of the West pile, but it's still early going. They have 3 home games this week and 2 games feature divisional rivals in Edmonton and Vancouver.
- Boston would not be happy with a 2-2 start, and they face Colorado in the afternoon game today hoping to improve their record. The Avs are on a road trip of their own (4 away games this week, 3 in the Northeast and the other in Detroit) - they will need a stellar effort to stay near the top of the standings.
Who's Hot?
Former Senator Dany Heatley (San Jose) has 8 points in his last 3 games, as does his linemate Joe Thornton.
Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) has 7 points in the last 3 games.
Ryan Miller (Buffalo) sits at just 0.98 GAA and has a 0.955 save percentage through his 3 starts.
Who's Not?
Robyn Regehr (Calgary) had no points this week and sits at a frosty -6 on a team that has won 4 of 5 games.
In just 2 games last week, Carey Price (Montreal) let in 10 goals at a save percentage of just 0.804
Ok so first of all, a happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians reading this
There's lots to cover so without further ado...let's get into the week that was.
What you've missed:
The Ottawa Senators went a perfect 3 for 3 this week, picking up wins against Toronto, the Islanders and Atlanta, and there's plenty to like about the new Sens team this season. The 3rd and 4th lines have really stepped it up with players like Chris Neil, Chris Kelly and Shean Donovan taking strides to show they belong on the team and deserve their salary.
Mike Fisher looked positively reborn on the ice, scoring the OT winner Thursday and exuding confidence. Matt Carkner has been a welcome physical presence on the back end. But perhaps the biggest revelation has been the play of Peter Regin. The Danish centre has 3 points and a +3 through 4 games, but what the stats won't tell you is how he has made the players on his line better. Unfortunately, he was injured in the last game and is listed day-to-day at this time.
In other games around the league:
- In a high scoring affair, Philadelphia squeaked past Washington 6-5 Tuesday on the back of a hat trick from Mike Richards.
- Phoenix grabbed some positive headlines for a change when they stunned Pittsburgh 3-0 on Wednesday. Playing to a sellout crowd in the home opener Saturday (there were cheap seats aplenty), they dropped the decision to Columbus.
- The Islanders have now managed a point from each of their first 3 games of the season - but they gave up a 3 goal lead in the 2nd period to lose in the shootout to Boston Saturday.
- In their western road trip, Buffalo scored 2 valuable wins against Phoenix and Nashville, both 1 goal games. They are yet to lose a game in regulation this season.
- Dallas managed to spoil Calgary's perfect record with a 5-2 win on Friday.
What's coming up:
The Senators have 3 more games this week.
Ottawa host last season's champions Pittsburgh (Monday 12/10, Sportsnet) in what should be a close affair. Next, it's Tampa Bay's turn to roll into town (Thursday 15/10, TSN). And to close out the week, the Sens take a short jog up Autoroute 20 to face rivals Montreal (Saturday 17/10, CBC).
On the injury front, Jesse Winchester (knee) is apparently ahead of schedule but is still not likely to suit up this week. There is still concern for Ryan Shannon, (head) but he did participate in training Friday and is expected to start tonight's game. Peter Regin, however, is out with an upper body injury and Filip Kuba is also confirmed out of tonight's lineup.
The game tonight is going to be a huge test for this team, seeing as the competition they've faced so far has not been first-rate. Ottawa will have to get a more consistent effort from its top lines. Daniel Alfredsson may be tried out on line 2 to see if there is better chemistry there. Jason Spezza has looked good defensively, but will need to shake off some bad luck in the offensive zone. Will Jonathan Cheechoo's recent form get him a chance amongst the scorers? And just who will Anton Volchenkov steamroll next?
In other games this week:
- Los Angeles start a pivotal road trip this week, facing off against the Rangers and Islanders in New York. They'll also stop in Detroit and Columbus before the week is out. The Kings have an early lead in the Pacific and could really turn heads with a good effort here.
- In contrast, Florida have a quiet week, but really need to get their season going against divisional rivals Tampa Bay tonight, or risk falling even further behind.
- Minnesota find themselves at the bottom of the West pile, but it's still early going. They have 3 home games this week and 2 games feature divisional rivals in Edmonton and Vancouver.
- Boston would not be happy with a 2-2 start, and they face Colorado in the afternoon game today hoping to improve their record. The Avs are on a road trip of their own (4 away games this week, 3 in the Northeast and the other in Detroit) - they will need a stellar effort to stay near the top of the standings.
Who's Hot?
Former Senator Dany Heatley (San Jose) has 8 points in his last 3 games, as does his linemate Joe Thornton.
Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) has 7 points in the last 3 games.
Ryan Miller (Buffalo) sits at just 0.98 GAA and has a 0.955 save percentage through his 3 starts.
Who's Not?
Robyn Regehr (Calgary) had no points this week and sits at a frosty -6 on a team that has won 4 of 5 games.
In just 2 games last week, Carey Price (Montreal) let in 10 goals at a save percentage of just 0.804
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