Sens at Land's End

The first half of this game was extremely entertaining. The Sens managed to trap the Islanders in their own zone for long stretches of time and everything was great. Then the Islanders came back, and it seemed as though it might end up being a wasted opportunity. Luckily, Mike Fisher played hero in overtime and Sens fans everywhere went to sleep happy.

Luck Be a Lady Tonight. Interesting trend in Sens games this season: good luck. Two reviewed goals go in Ottawa’s favour. The refs fail to blow the whistle when the puck hits the mesh, and Peter Regin scores. Is this good karma saved up from the whole Heatley thing? Whatever has caused fate’s fickle finger to point favourably at our heroes, it’d be nice to see it keep up for a while. (Although it’s also possible that the botched goal call had something to do with the almost complete lack of Ottawa power plays last night, which is less great.)

All Aboard the A-Train, Part II. Rookies of the NHL take note: the A-Train changes track for no one. Not even you, John Tavares. Evander Kane is probably feeling a mysterious sense of creeping dread right about now.

Dazzly Pazzy, Part II. Another solid performance from the goaltender. That one save? You know the one. I pressed the little 15-seconds-back button on my remote to watch it again about five times, my jaw hanging wide open all the while.

Long Time Coming. Matt Carkner’s goal was a real bright spot in the game. You can’t help but root for a guy who’s spent the better part of 10 years in the AHL and is now finally, unexpectedly, getting his shot in the big league. Carkner’s total joy after he scored what was his first NHL goal — he must have wondered if this moment would ever come — was infectious. His teammates on the bench were smiling. I was smiling as I watched on TV. Heck, I bet even the Islanders were smiling as the crowd at Scotiabank Place gave Matt Carkner a standing ovation. It was lovely.

Woe! I was happy for Carkner, and happy to see the third line of Jonathan Cheechoo, Chris Neil, and Peter Regin playing a great game. It’s wonderful to get goals from unexpected places. It really is. Nonetheless: I think it would be advisable for the Sens’ top six offensive players to start scoring soon. For example, Mike Fisher obviously knows how to shoot. Maybe he could try doing that before overtime in a future game.

Like maybe Saturday would be a good time for that to happen. I know it’s the Thrashers and we’re used to not taking them seriously, but they’re tied for the league lead in goals per game right now, with an average of five. Five. Granted, they’ve only played two games. Still, that’s impressive and, given that Ottawa is tied for 25th in the league right now with an average of 2.33 goals per game, a bit scary.

Cory Clouston has attempted to address the scoring problem by putting Nick Foligno on the first line with Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, and moving Alfie to Foligno’s old spot on the second line with Alex Kovalev and Mike Fisher. The second line seems like it could work. Alfie brings out the best in Fisher (he does that for everyone except Leafs fans, actually) and he might be a good intermediary between Kovalev’s fanciness and Fisher’s … non-fanciness. I’m not convinced by the first line, but Spezza and Michalek seem like they might be developing chemistry.

If the big guns don’t start producing then, well, Chris Neil may just beat them up. Awesome! I think Darren over at Silver Seven summed it up best: “Good to see the team playing with intensity at practice, bad to see Chris Neil ready to punch the team’s top centre in the face.”

Yay, first points of the season! I think we can view this game as a small step forward. It wasn’t a great performance but it wasn’t horrible either and, in the end, it was two points Ottawa got and a divisional opponent didn’t.

All Aboard the A-Train! Everybody knows the story with the Leafs this year: it’s a series of 10 cent words that mean they like violence. Despite that, the Sens were the ones wreaking a bit of havoc in last night’s game. Anton Volchenkov took out Viktor Stalberg with a massive hit in the first period, and I thought Volchenkov and Mike Fisher were pretty big with the bang and crash throughout the game.

Sheantastic. I like Shean Donovan. I wish he got to play more. That is all.

He Doesn’t Really Shoot or Score. As nice as it was to see Donovan get that goal after the Sens caused chaos in the Leafs’ crease, it’s got to be a cause for concern when the fourth line is the only one generating offense. Other than Milan Michalek’s aborted breakaway that led to the Daniel Alfredsson penalty shot (and to Michalek needing some dental work courtesy of Luke Schenn’s stick), I can’t remember Ottawa having many dangerous looking scoring chances. I’d be hard pressed to tell you anything really notable that most of the forwards did during the game, although I did notice the line of Nick Foligno, Mike Fisher, and Alex Kovalev doing some good defensive work in the third period. Kovalev had a nice presence, I thought: he looked steady and calm with the puck.

Dazzly Pazzy. It’s hard for me to trust a goalie. I’ve been hurt, you know. That’s why I’m starting slowly with our Monsieur Leclaire. I don’t want to say anything too positive because it’s only been two games and you never know: he could fall apart — literally or figuratively — at any moment. However, I will say that so far, he looks strong out there. He doesn’t at all make me want to hide under my covers until the puck is out of the Ottawa zone. And I call that progress.

You Can Do Eet! (That’s supposed to be a reference to The Waterboy. I shouldn’t love old Adam Sandler movies so much, but I can’t help myself.) Pierre McGuire offered what I thought was an interesting tidbit from his position between the benches during TSN’s broadcast last night. He said he could hear all the Sens players encouraging each other, and it was “fun to listen to.” The fact that he bothered to point it out made me think this was something beyond the norm. Can it be that there’s a positive atmosphere within the team? I don’t know, but I’d also say Alfie looked pretty darn happy during his second intermission interview, and Alex Kovalev had some very nice things to say about Alfie in particular and the general level of communication between players on the team in his blog for RDS’s website. (Thanks to Battle of Ontario for pointing it out.) We can only hope this apparent positivity will lead to good things on the ice.

Ottawa’s next game is their home opener, Thursday, vs. the New York Islanders. Practice update via Sportsnet’s Ian Mendes: Jason Spezza sat out today but won’t miss a game. Filip Kuba and Ryan Shannon will not play against the Islanders. Jesse Winchester was on the ice today. Pascal Leclaire will probably start tomorrow night.

I may have been the only fan in GM Place who didn’t suffer any type of shellshock at the Canucks’ home opener last night. Of course, I may also have been the only fan wearing a Blue Jackets t-shirt. The Jackets are, if you don’t know, my adopted Western Conference team, second only to the Sens in my heart. After that foulest of former Senators revealed his true, devilish nature this summer, the excellent Rick Nash inherited the title of My Favourite Player. I’m sure he will do it great justice.

He got off to a good start last night, picking up three assists in a 5-3 Columbus win. The Jackets played a fairly strong game. The highlight for me was a great kill on a 2-man disadvantage that lasted over a minute near the end of the first period. They managed to kill the first penalty, with new acquisition Sammy Pahlsson doing notable work, and then non-evil former Senator Antoine Vermette scored a nice goal after some very pretty passing from Nash just as the second penalty expired. With the goal coming in the last minute of the period, this was one of those TSN Turning Point moments.

The Jackets managed to score three more goals in the first six minutes of the second period: in fact, they scored four goals on four consecutive shots, and chased Roberto Luongo from the game. While all of the goals — scored by Kristian Huselius (after a cheeky behind the back pass from Nash), Rostislav Klesla, and rookie Nikita Filatov — were pretty to look at, I don’t think any of the shots could have been considered unstoppable. Luongo just plain didn’t look good, and the fans cheered when Andrew Raycroft came in to replace him.

Vancouver made the game interesting and came back to within a goal in the third, but Little Stevie Mason looked awesome and the Jackets held the lead. Mason stopped 40 of 43 shots, and yet was absurdly not named one of the stars of the game in the building. Madness.

So, the Jackets have started 2-0 — for the first time in their history, apparently — and the Canucks are now 0-3. Fingers are approaching panic buttons in the city of Van. It’s only three games, though: it’ll be okay.

Oh Right, the Sens

The unpredictable adventure that is the 2009-2010 Ottawa Senators will continue in about 20 minutes as the Sens take on the now super-testosterone-fuelled Toronto Maple Leafs. “The Monster” is in goal for Toronto. Filip Kuba and Ryan Shannon are both sitting out for the Sens, with Alexandre Picard and Shean Donovan stepping in as their replacements. No idea how this one will turn out: I can see it being a total blowout for either side or a really close game. Who knows?

I don’t have too much to say about today’s game. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s impossible to judge the team based on one game. They don’t know each other well yet. While I’d have liked to see a better effort, it’s difficult to get too concerned right now, especially when I think back to the Sens who set the world on fire for the first 20 games in 2007-2008 and then curled up and died.

Personally, I feel as rusty as the players looked. I was unable to see any pre-season games, so I didn’t know several of the new players’ numbers. When they showed the players during the anthems I realized I’d never even seen a picture of Matt Carkner. I saw Jonathan Cheechoo wearing number 41 and wondered why he had to switch from 14 because I’d forgotten about Chris Campoli. Yes, I’m out of practice.

‘Twas the night before hockey, and all through the land
Hockey fans were stirring and feeling just grand;
Year previews were posted on blogs with great care,
In hopes that this season would be something rare.
Some teams’ fans were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Stanley Cups danced in their heads;
But I in my Sens shirt, my jersey, and cap
Had settled for hoping for better than crap.

I’m not going to attempt a full season preview or prediction post. Why? Because it’s pointless. Some wildcard scenario no one anticipated always comes into play during the season. Players get hurt. Teams collapse or overperform for no apparent reason. This year, the Olympics will act as a major x-factor: some teams may suffer from Olympic fatigue, while other teams could benefit greatly from it.

So, instead of doing predictions, I’ll point out what I think are the most interesting stories going into the season.

Western Conference

Yawn: The Avalanche will be utterly terrible. The Red Wings will overcome obstacles such as Chris Osgood sucking and team-wide Olympic fatigue to win the Central Division for the 600th straight year. The Sharks will act out the same old story — regular season dominance, playoff choke — but this time with 100% more douchebag on their roster.

No Comment: Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues. A lack of knowledge prevents me from saying anything useful.

Interesting Stories

Calgary Flames – Miikka Kiprusoff hasn’t played fewer than 74 games in a season since before the lockout. If he starts for Finland in the Olympics, which seems very possible, he’ll risk burnout come playoff time. Unfortunately, the Flames always play terribly in front of backup Curtis McElhinney, who had a 1-6 record last season. They may want to work on that. More questions: is Dion Phaneuf really any good? Is Olli Jokinen actually a locker room cancer? Can Darryl Sutter do a better job of cap management so the team isn’t left having to play with a short bench in crucial late season games? Early indications on the last thing would suggest not.

Edmonton Oilers – It will be interesting to see if new head coach Pat Quinn can get this team on track. He and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin are the biggest unknowns here. Khabibulin shocked many in 2008-2009 with his great performance for the Blackhawks, who put him on waivers early in the season only to watch him step in and save their bacon after Cristobal Huet flamed out later on. But Khabibulin isn’t getting any younger.

Vancouver Canucks – The Canucks are my pick to win the Northwest; however, no other team will be as affected by the Olympics as they are. With the tournament taking place in their home building, the Canucks will be banished from Vancouver for all of February and half of March, embarking on an epic six-week, 14-game road trip to accommodate the games. There’s also the question of what kind of impact the Olympics will have on Roberto Luongo. If Luongo is named Canada’s starting goaltender, he will face a ton of pressure as well as some extra wear and tear. If he is not named Canada’s starter, that could have a psychological impact (either crushing or motivating) on him as well.

Chicago Blackhawks – The Blackhawks can be summed up in a few talking points: promising young team; questionable goaltending (and there’s no bacon-saving Khabibulin waiting in the wings this season); injuries to Marian Hossa and Adam Burish; Patrick Kane beat up a cab driver; Patrick Sharp is hot; cap issues next offseason. They should make it interesting for the Red Wings this season, but I’m not sure they have enough to catch them.

Columbus Blue Jackets – My other men will, I am sure, continue to impress in 09-10. Steve Mason will suffer no sophomore slump. Derick Brassard will definitely not get injured again. Nikita Filatov will score 30 goals and win the Calder Trophy (unless Erik Karlsson does). Rick Nash will tear it up at the Olympics but, because he eats such healthy food, will never feel even remotely tired. Everything will be perfect, and the team will not only make the playoffs again, but this time actually win a game — nay, a round! In all seriousness: the Jackets haven’t made major changes this offseason but if Brassard makes a strong comeback and Antoine Vermette continues to click with his not-so-new team, then the best additions to the team might come from within. A lot depends on whether Mason keeps up the form he showed last season. If he does, and if no major disasters occur, the Jackets could do very well.

Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks’ first line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Bobby Ryan is exciting to watch and Randy Carlyle is an excellent coach, but there are several areas of uncertainty for the team going foward. They’ll have an intriguing goaltending battle between highly-paid veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere and youthful playoff sensation Jonas Hiller. I’m also interested to see if/how Ryan Whitney and/or James Wisniewski will step up to fill the departed Chris Pronger’s freakishly big shoes. Other question marks include Getzlaf’s recovery from offseason surgery; the advancing age of Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer; and the chance that Ryan goes through some kind of second year jinx. Several Ducks (including Niedermayer, Getzlaf, Selanne, Saku Koivu, and possibly Whitney, Perry, and Ryan) also seem likely to go to the Olympics, which may prevent them from duplicating their awesome finish to last season. Still, I think this should be another good year in Anaheim.

Dallas Stars – The Stars’ total failure last season was definitely the most shocking underachievement of the year to my mind. They looked so impressive in the 2008 playoffs, but then Brenden Morrow got hurt, Marty Turco sucked, and Sean Avery apparently messed up their chemistry so badly that they never recovered. Avery is gone, Morrow is back, and they’ve got a capable backup for Turco in the form of Alex Auld, which, according to my Stars fan friend, is all Turco really needed. My feeling is that they should rebound.

Eastern Conference

Yawn: Even if the Bruins don’t perform up to last year’s standard, they will win the Northeast due to a lack of competition. The Islanders will suck. The Devils and the Penguins will make the playoffs. The Rangers will finish near the middle of the pack.

No Comment: Atlanta Thrashers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning. Sorry Southeast Division, I just don’t know you that well.

Interesting Stories

Washington Capitals – The Caps are always interesting if only because of Alex Ovechkin. This year, the development of young goalie Semyon Varlamov (and the fate of Jose Theodore) will also be something to keep an eye on.

Philadelphia Flyers – The Broad Street Bullies trading for Chris Pronger this offseason seemed like fate: at last, Pronger and his flying elbows are with the team he was always meant to play for. Watch your heads, Penguins. Also watch your backs, because on paper this is an excellent team. I think they’ll win the Atlantic Division, partly because the Penguins will be tired thanks to two long playoff runs and Olympic appearances for some of their important players, and partly because the Flyers should just be that good. They may even finish first in the East. Goaltending is a question mark: will Ray Emery’s return to the NHL be triumphant or disastrous? Philly’s defense is so solid that it may not matter that much.

The Northeast Division other than the Bruins – Boston is the clear alpha wolf in this pack; everyone else is pretty much a complete wildcard. The Habs have undergone a coaching change (welcome back to the Northeast, Jacques Martin) and a massive amount of roster change. The Leafs, in case you haven’t heard, are now very truculent and expect to compensate for a lack of goalscoring by doing violence to their opponents. The Sabres are still the Sabres, which means they could finish anywhere from 4th to 14th depending on injuries, Ryan Miller, and luck.

Which brings me to those confounding Ottawa Senators. We’ve watched them play on an extreme rollercoaster-esque cycle for the last few years: down in 2006, up in 2007, down in 2008. (It’s unfortunate that this pattern seems to follow the calendar year rather than the hockey season, but that’s the Sens for you.) They were on a definite upswing after Cory Clouston took over in early 2009. A major question now is: can Clouston keep it going — and will the team be able to pull off a full season of good play? There are, of course, many other questions. Will Alex Kovalev perform well? Will Jonathan Cheechoo actually produce 20 goals? How will Kovalev, Cheechoo, and Milan Michalek fit into the lineup? Peter Regin, Erik Karlsson, and Matt Carkner have all made the team: will they continue the play that got them there? Will Mike Fisher be productive on the wing? Is the defense any good? Can Pascal Leclaire stay healthy?

That’s a lot of questions. It seems too much to hope that everything will work out, so I’m not expecting much from this team. That said, I don’t know that the Sens are as bad as many people would have us believe. Certainly, the team’s depth at forward is much improved over last year. I also think Clouston was doing something right, and I see no reason to think he’ll suddenly become an awful coach. A full season playing under his system should benefit the team. The bottom line for me is that the Sens are no more or less of an unknown quantity than either of their fellow eastern Canadian teams, yet it seems more prognosticators are forecasting positive things for Toronto and/or Montreal than for Ottawa. In Puck Daddy’s staff prediction post this morning, for example, no one had the Sens placing higher than the Habs and only two of five posters guessed they’d finish ahead of the Leafs. Personally, I wouldn’t be too surprised if Ottawa did better than both Montreal and Toronto. I also wouldn’t die of shock if this team happened to squeak into the playoffs.

It’s the NHL: anything can happen.