What Does a Healthy Senators Team Look Like?

Let me first dust off the cobwebs in here. Its been a while, but its tough to write blogs in midterm season (even though its a tempting distraction), and the fact that the Senators didn't get off to the smoothest of starts made it tough to sit down and type something, because Sens fans provide enough negativity.

With that out of the way, let's conceptualize what a healthy Ottawa Senators team looks like.

Now, I understand injuries happen, and heading into the season, they were a big concern for Sens fans. Sure, this team has some talent, but as is beaten to death, that talent is either aging (Gonchar, Alfie, Kovalev, Phillips) or injury prone (Spezza, Michalek, Fisher, Kuba, Leclaire).

Looking closely at these names, you'll see they arent just names. They constitute 5/6 of our top six forwards and 3/4 of our top 4 defencemen, not to mention our "starting" goaltender.

That's nothing to sneeze at (and please, don't sneeze at Pascal, he's delicate). Due to these injuries, the Sens have had trouble finding chemistry and consistency (its no coincidence that our fans "favourite line", the Kelly line, has been together, without injury for most of the last year).

Now, on paper, a healthy Sens team should compete in the East, and finish in the 4-6 spot, or so I believe, but thats not what I want to debate. I just want to excite you with that paper line up. So here is how I see it shaking down when the gentlemen nursing injuries come back.

Forwards

1) Regin--Spezza--Kovy

People have been calling for the Regin-Spezza combination all year, and in the last few games, Regin has started putting up points, which is positive for this team going forward. Kovy always plays better with Regin and has played quite well of late. Spezza is a player who is supposed to elevate those around him, if he can this line becomes crucial to this teams success, because it allows a second line of...

2) Michalek--Fisher--Alfie

While Spezza was out, this was our top line, and they played like it. They put up strong numbers, and I think Michaleks game is more suited to Fisher than to Spezza. (Oakes always says Michalek is the only 25 goal scorer in the league that can't take or make a pass). While the first line is all creativity, this line generates chances off the cycle, and through hard work. It is also a good line defensively. But this line produced against the top defensive assignment before, think of what they can do against second tier defence. Salivate. Repeat.

3) Ruutu--Kelly--Neil

The chemistry here is undeniable. They play well together, simple as that. This line brings consistency, hard work, physical play, zone time and occasionally some offence. They are the best third-and-a-half line in the NHL.

4) Foligno-Winchester-Shannon

Now, in the summer I advocated for Zach Smith, and in the preseason, this looked justified. He just hasn't played his game this year, and thats a shame. I'm hoping this line invokes shades of the famous Foligno-Fisher-Shannon line that got Cory Clouston a job. Winchester doesnt have the offensive skill-set of Fisher, but is a hard worker, north-south type of player. The FFS line were the masters of the cycle and generated off of it. If this line can do the same, this team can be a true 4 line team, which will hopefully minimize the injuries up front.

Defence

1) Phillips-Gonchar

I've loved Gonchar's game and Phillips has struggled, but these veterans know how to play, and they are our best. Keep them together and let Chris develop some chemistry. Gonchar played best in Pittsburgh with Brooks Orpik (in my mind a similar player to our Big Rig) so, here's hoping Phillips can learn to play with the offensive juggernaught (always wanted to use that word)

2) Karlsson-Kuba

Oh sweet Jesus I never thought I'd be so happy to see Kuba back. He is bashed for a lot of things, but he will help stabilize the defense, and hopefully will have a similar effect on Karlsson as Mr. Hale has. Speaking of King K, he is starting to round into form and I'm not worried about him one bit. Period

3) Carkner-Campoli

Really pleased with Campoli this season, and a fine point was made by a commenter on another blog. What if he was playing with someone other than Carkner and on the first unit PP? We would all be talking about him. As is, he is rounding into a fine defenceman. As for Carks, hopefully we'll see the steady Carks we saw last year when he is back playing more comfortable 3rd line minutes.

Goalie

At this point its a crapshoot. Before Pascal went down he was a lone brightspot and Ells was awful. In the last few games, Ells is winning, and it seems, once again, that Pascal has lost the starting job due to injuries. As long as we aren't losing games because of our goaltending, I don't care who plays here anymore.

So, what do you think? Does this line up presented before you make you a little more excited? Or will you believe it when you see it?

Ridiculous Excited

Now that the first round of cuts has been made by the Sens (which you can find here, if you haven't yet), things are starting to get a little more serious, and therefore a little more exciting.

With some of the guns in the line-up, we lit up the Habs, so with a roster that is by my estimation 75% of our starting line-up, I'm really excited to see how we play the Leafers tonight.

The game last night in Dundas was a cute idea, but I personally am glad we sent a Micky Mouse lineup. The ice surface was just too small, no room to move, and we just didnt need to risk having some of our top guys getting hurt in a game like that.

Now for tonight's game, the lineup, according to the Sens Twitter feed, looks like this

Michalek-Spezza-Alfie

Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev

Regin-Smith-Butler

Lessard-Bass-Keller

Gonchar-Campoli

Cowen-Karlsson

Weircoch-Carkner

Leclaire

So what about this excites me? Well aside from this being the first game where we will see all of our top 6 in the same game, there are a few things that make me salivate a little bit.

COWEN-KARLSSON

This should excite every one of you. This is most likely our top d-pairing in the coming years. Cowen, if he plays his game, should provide a physical presence in front of the net, while Karlsson can move the puck with the best of them. What I like about this pairing is they cover off each other's weaknesses. Karlsson obviously isn't very physical, and most complaints about Cowen so far have been about his decisions with the puck. Also, in Spokane, Cowen played with a smaller, more offensive player.

REGIN-SMITH-BUTLER

In a dream world for me, this is my third line to start the season. I know I will be crucified, but I think Kelly's line could split equal time with this line depending on what the game calls for. If the Sens need an infusion of offence, a line like this is MUCH more likely to produce it when compared to Kelly's line or a line of Winchester-Smith-Regin/Foligno. Hopefully this line has an unreal game tonight giving Clouston something to think about.

POWERPLAY

We are playing the Leafs, so chances are, one or two penalties will be taken. When that happens, I'm excited to see the powerplay on a few levels. Every forward expected to see PP time this year is in the lineup tonight, in addition to QBs Karlsson and Gonchar. With Campoli and Weircoch (how unreal was that shot last night btw?) on the second unit, we could see a preview of how the Sens will win games this year tonight.

LECLAIRE

Leclaire for 60 minutes with a pretty decent lineup in front of him. Hopefully he can play better than Elliott did against these same Leafs last week.

Remember Us? Well Like Our Team, We've Got Something To Say

Remember us?

We're a little blog that started up in March of last year. Followed the team down the stretch and into the playoffs and like the Sens, after a little break for the summer, we are back and ridiculously pumped to see how this year's version of the Ottawa Senators tackles the NHL from Pre-Season until Post-Season.

I say UNTIL Post-Season because I am sure (like Dion Phaneuf about his Leafs, but better looking and probably smarter) that this year's team is as good if not significantly more dangerous than last season's version.

THN says 10th in the East. Tenth. From a leading hockey publication. Pre-season NHL power rankings over at TSN aren't complete but I'll put money that the Sens barely crack the top 20 in their esteemed opinion.

And yet there is optimism among Sens fans. Look over at SensChirp and he says second in the East. Yost? He thinks the Sens need Thomas Vokoun to do it, but predicts a second round appearance. Canucnik goes as far as to call the Sens the BEST TEAM IN THE EAST. "Bar none".

So how could there be such a divide between the "experts" and the true fans in the blogs and message boards? Homerism and Kool-Aid gone wild?

Maybe.

Or maybe because the Sens don't have the sexiest, most exciting team in the league, so most people don't bother to look twice at the talent assembled here.

We don't have a Crosby or Ovechkin. Hell we don't even have a Kovalchuk, Luongo, pair of Twins or a Stamkos.

We don't have highly touted young stars like Doughty, Toews, Kane, Duchene or Ryan.

We don't have a fancy exciting starting goalie like King Lundqvist, Miller or Halak.

But does this mean we aren't a talented team?

The exact opposite actually.

We instead have a 26 year old true point per game centre, the longest serving captain in the league (who is 3rd in points since the millennium), the 2008 NHL shutout leader, the leader in rookie scoring for the first round of the playoffs, and the 2nd highest scoring defenceman since the lock-out.

Not to mention the supporting cast.

Kovalev? One of the most skilled players around, his SKILL cannot be argued.

Regin? Couldn't be contained in the playoffs.

Michalek? Couldnt be contained at the beginning of the year before losing his centreman and his knee.

Fisher? A serious consideration for the Men's Olympic team playing with Kovy last year.

KellRuutNeil? A third line that gave the Penguins absolute fits.

The Big Rig? The better, more steady half of Philchenkov. How do you think Volchy was able to go out of position to block all those shots and make those hits?

Get the point yet?

Look, I'm not saying we have the best team in the East. I'm not even saying we will finish second. My honest opinion is 3rd or 4th. I think Gonchar frees up room for Kovy and Spezza on the PP, I think Leclaire has a career year knowing that if he doesn't his career is over and I think that Karlsson produces at the pace he did at the end of last year.

Or we could end up with injuries. But I think healthy, this is a fantastic, VERY dangerous team, and I'm actually starting to enjoy that everyone else doesn't notice.

It'll feel better when we rub it in their faces later. The high octane Sens are back, and we're back. Now let's get some hockey discussion going on here, and let's get this season started.

Off Season Planning: If I was The Bryan!

Like I said, I submitted my thoughts on what ideally the Sens should do this offseason to The 6th Sens, and if you didnt get a chance to read it, DO it! Its awesome. For the few of you who do not get here by way of that beautiful site, this is what I had to say!

Here's how I see the summer unfolding for the sens. As a preface, Im not trading Spezza (the idea is ludicrous, you'd never get full value for him, and Ottawa won't support a bottom feeder for 5 years a la Pittsburgh/Chicago) and I'm not signing Volchenkov. I've made my opinions clear on his contract before, and I cannot bear the thought of him turning into the next Jay McKee.

So this is what I'd do:

1) Let Volchy walk, and go out and sign another, defensive minded defenceman who blocks shots but has slightly more offensive upside than Anton. The only person who comes to mind from this years crop is Zbynek Michalek. At 28 he is the same age as Anton and his career high in goals is nine, not 4. The other nice thing about Little Z as they call him is that he made 1.25 this year. I say sign him to 4 years, 3 mil per and move on with two Michaleks on the team. (NOTE: also would be open to signing Dennis Seidenberg, who is strong at both ends of the ice, but I feel he may be a touch more expensive)

2) Let Cheech play in the minors. The Euge has shown he is willing to do this in the past, and there is no sense having him count against the cap for two more seasons when he can be off the payroll after this year. Remember buyouts count against the cap for twice the remainder of the contract, and that hinders further moves.

3) Offer Matt Cullen what he made this year (2.8) for another 2 years. At his age, that's not bad, and the worst that can happen is he says no.

4) Sign Peter Regin, Nick Foligno and Chris Campoli. I KNOW. But Chris played a good playoffs and at this point he gets a tiny raise (to 0.7 mil) from us, or probably doesn't get a contract. Fact is, he is better than Brian Lee. Period. (Note: Peter Regin 3 year 1.4 mil, foligno 3 year 1.2 mil)

5) Pile all of our awesome Murray draft picks that are playing all over the place in one place: BINGO. Let them learn to play together and for them all to develop together. Give Cowen and Weircoch top minutes in all situations and let Mike Hoffman and Peterson et al play to their hearts content down there. Don't forget Lehner as the starter.

This leaves us with a similar but not same lineup as we finished with, but with some great prospects on the way. I'd like to see a forward selected first round who can also make the jump to the "A" but thats wishful thinking...

LINES

• 1) Regin-Spezza-Alfie (why tinker with it, and check out the depth it gives)
• 2A) Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev (or shannon til Kovy is healthy)
• 2B) Michalek-Cullen-Butler
• 4) Ruutu-Kelly-Neil

• Phillips-Karlsson (the kid is the future, give him big minutes and let the big rig guide him)
• Kuba-Michalek
• Carkner-Campoli

The goalies are the same.

Cap is about 200k below cap. Beauty right? this summer isn't going to be one of huge changes, that's next year when all sorts of contracts come off the book. I love this forward line-up, its really deep and dynamic.

So there you have it! What would you do if you were The Bryan?

Off Season Time; If We Were the GM's

Sorry about not doing the other two parts to my season post mortem. The wound was too fresh, and less people were popping by now that the season was done. Fact is, I think the season was a success. I showed the experience reason.

The other two are quite simple. Beginning of the year, not much was expected of the team, with the loss of Heatley and coming off a poor year. And yet they made it to the 5th seed and gave the defending champs (who have a clear road to another final) all they could handle. SO based on preseason expectations, the team had a successful season, and as long as they keep moving on up, I'll continue to feel that way.

The last way is also simple. Character. With the types of injuries the team was faced with this season, their finish was remarkable. Every key player on this team was injured for some stretch this year, with the exception of maybe Mike Fisher. ( NOTE: Chris Phillips also would be counted, but then we found out he is having surgery, so he was playing hurt)

Spezza for 20 games, Alfie for 20 games, Kuba half the season, Volchenkov 10 games, Kovalev AND Michalek for 10 games plus playoffs, Leclaire, Foligno, Karlsson.... The list goes on. Fact is through all that we made the best of it, and Im proud of them.

So for me the season was a success, what about the offseason?

The Sixth Sens (where many of you come from to get here) have a great idea to get offseason plans from around the blogosphere and put them all together. I think it's awesome, and I submitted mine tonight! So keep an eye out for that, and feel free to leave your plan in the comments section here, or at the Sixth Sens!

Quick Game Day Preview: Second Last Game!

Hey there! Sorry about infrequency of posts, everything is super busy at University for the both of us. Quick Game Day Post? Why not!

Tampa is pretty bad but they have some players to watch:

--Obviously Super Sophomore Steve Stamkos (I think he's doing awesome so that alliteration can exist) is the top player on this team, and is making Edmonton and Toron....I mean Boston very excited about the upcoming draft.

--Mighty Mouse: the guy still has it with 90 points this year! (It shocked me too). He has great vision and agility and seems to be reborn playing with Stevie.

--Hedman: Got crushed by Neiler last time, but I'm interested to see if he has as much impact on the game as our little Swedish rookie. Sometimes hype isn't everything.

On the Ottawa Side, I'm Watching

--Spezz: He's on fire, so he should tear up the porous defence and goaltending, but mostly, Im hoping for another one of those giggles. Those are ridiculous.

--Alfie: The Captain never gets old it seems. I feel bad about not doing a tribute, but Nichols had that covered. Seriously, go read it. Unreal

--King K: I just want him to show up Hedman. Period.

--J-Cow: See if the kid is doing any better than at the WJC. He's got a long summer ahead of him (like Butler), so it will be good for him to see where he is at and give himself some extra motivation.

--9MM: See how that knee is doing. Note: try not to crash into the net, just til you are feeling good again atleast.

Hopefully the boys put in a pile of goals like they did against Florida and they get some good momentum heading into the playoffs.

YOUNG'S PREDICTION

5-3 Sens: Tampa has a good powerplay, so we must be more disciplined than we were against Florida. Stamkos will get one from the same spot he gets almost all of them, and I think Milan will get one in his return.

Post Game - Canes

Rookie Bobby celebrates his first game in the NHL on the streets of downtown Ottawa.

Another impressive performance as the Ottawa Senators take down one of the leagues best since January. Despite a couple of lucky goals from the Canes, Ottawa persevered with a late goal from the King himself and an amazing shootout winner from Spezza.

I had the pleasure of going to the game as I am home from Kingston for Easter and I must say it did not disappoint. I don't know if it was just me, but the building seemed very loud and the few people that didn't leave early to beat the traffic went into a frenzy when Karl potted the late goal. I must hand it to Young as he wrote a great article on why we should all hail the King. The arguments he made were only confirmed by the play of the 20 year-old as he has tallied 7 points in the last 3 games...let the hailing begin. If you think that is impressive look no further to Spezza, who has 11 points in the last four games. Not only has Spezza been unreal, his infamous giggle has also returned. The post game interview on this mornings Sportscenter provoked the best one yet as Jason recalled his new shootout move.

The collegiate player out of New Hampshire also has a great game. He played half decent minutes and even drew an important penalty with little time remaining. He surely would have scored a goal on a 2 on 1 if Foligno could have hit him with the pass.

LASTLY, welcome to the playoffs!!! It was tough last year when we were not invited to the big dance, but I like our chances to bring the home the prettiest girl... or at least her hot friend.

New Jersey or Pitt ? Who would you rather face?

GO SENS GO

Game Day Preview: Ottawa at Montreal

Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of recaps it has been pretty tough to write about a team that keeps losing. Stop by after the game tonight win or lose, and we will talk about what is going on with the team. Now for tonight, I hate to say that tonights game is a must win...but it really feels that way.

We are a little pressed for time this afternoon so we are just going to do our predictions and the players to watch features.

Players to Watch - Ottawa

Jason Spezza - Absolutely unreal game against the Stars if he puts in half the performance he did on saturday I am sure there will be some very happy Sens fans.

Alex Kovalev - If he is going to break out of his slump this will be the game for him to do it. Alex always seems to excel against his former teams and this is a time he really needs to step up.

Mike Fisher - I have a feeling this will be a close game and with a team leading 6 game winning goals Mike Fisher will factor in on the outcome.

Zack Smith - He should come out flying! I was very impressed with his game(two periods) against the leafs. Lets hope he can score another one of these.

Players to Watch - Montreal

Thomas Plekanec - With 6 points against Ottawa this year the Ottawa defence must be aware when he is on the ice.

Halak - Posting a 6 - 0 - 1 record in his last seven starts is definitely something to take note of. Ottawa must get lots of shots on him early and not let him take over the game.

Predictions

Oakes

3-2 Ottawa - For the Sens to break out of this slump they are going to have to win a tough character building game. Look for Smith to give the guys a boost being a new face in the line up. This is a huge game! The division might be out of reach, but fifth place certainly isn't. Go Sens Go.

Young

2-1 Ottawa. I still don't think that Ottawa's struggles offensively will be solved in a couple games, and I think, for the psyche of the team, they need to win a hard fought, close game. That will come in handy in about 10 games. I too think Smith will (hopefully) impact this game in a positive way.

Game Day Preview: Battle of Ontario #6

We have decided the best way to do pregame blogs is to see how the two teams match up in each facet of the game.

FORWARDS:

Line 1: MM-Spezza-Foligno vs Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel.

Give the edge in overall skill to the Sens as Spezza has more goals than any Leaf except Kessel despite playing 47 games and having an off year. However Kessel seems to love to be a sens killer with 5 goals already this year.

Line 2a: Shannon-Regin-Kovalev vs Caputi-Grabovski-Stalberg

Its hard to count Kovalev out of any game, and Caputi was in the AHL two weeks ago. Not to mention Stalberg still is afraid of the thought of crossing the Sens blueline.... Give this one to the Sens as it has been one of the better lines all year.

Line 2b: Kelly-Cullen-Alfie vs Hanson-Lundmark-Mitchell

Hansons playing better each game, and against the Oilers Mitchell looked strong. Cullen has played well, but Shannon is in a bit of a slump. The difference will be Alfie who is better than any of these players. If he gels with the Sens this will be a big Sens win.

Line 4: Ruutu-Winchester-Neil vs Orr-Primeau-Wallin

Wallin may one day be a strong defensive forward for the Leafs, but I think Ruutu and Neil are stronger than Primeau and Orr. Don't forget Ruutu has 10 goals. Not bad for a 4th liner with no powerplay time.

NOTE: Mike Fisher is doubtful for tonight, but I think he might play, so that would give a resounding win to the Sens on all lines

FORWARDS EDGE: Sens

DEFENCE:

Pair One: Philchenkov vs Beauchemin-Phaneuf

Apples to Oranges. One shuts down, the other is built for offence. We'll call this a draw

Pair Two: Karlsson-Sutton vs Kaberle-Schenn

You will learn we have huge man-crushes on Karlsson. That said, if you (as a Sens fan) respect only one Leaf, it's Thomas Kaberle. He gets the edge over Sutton, but I think in the battle of 19 year old blueliners, Karlsson is currently playing better. This pair is a draw as well. However, observe Suts tagging Lundmark below.

Pair Three: Carkner-Campoli vs Finger-Gunnarsson

Finger is struggling to find his game at the NHL level, but Gunnarsson has been a slightly more pleasant surprise than Matty Carkner for the Leafs. If it was still Carkner-Lee, this would be a slight win for the Leafs, but depending how well Campoli comes back from injury, this is either a Sens win or a draw. We'll call it a draw.

DEFENCE OVERALL: DRAW

SPECIAL TEAMS

Powerplay: While the Sens have been ripped all year for their struggling powerplay, at 15.7%, they basically score as often on the powerplay as the Leafs at 16%. The Sens powerplay has been cold as ice the last few games, but the Leafs penalty kill doesn't provide much resistance. I'll call this one a draw.

Penalty Kill: No comparison here. One of the reasons the Senators have found themselves in the position they are in in the east is their 7th ranked 84% penalty kill, which until Saturday had killed off 24 straight. The Leafs, it is well documented, have the worst kill in the league.

OVERALL SPECIAL TEAMS: Sens

GOALTENDING:

Brian Elliott vs Jonas Gustavsson: Battle of two goalies who weren't expected to carry the load this year. Jonas had more hype coming in to this year, but Elliott has proven he can get wins while playing for the team. Gustavsson cannot say the same. We'll give the slight edge to the Sens.

OVERALL GOALTENDING: Sens

Players to watch:

Ottawa: Jason Spezza. There was a time when he owned the Blue and White with 46 points in 40 career games, but this year he has but 1 goal and 1 assist in 5 games. After last games highlight reel goal, my eyes are going to be on our best offensive player to get us out of this slump.

Toronto: Who else? Phil Kessel has 5 goals and 1 assist against the Sens this year and 17 points in 24 career games. He's a gamebreaker, and the Sens need to figure him out!

Consensus Predictions:

Oakes:

I am picking with the heart on this one. Ignoring the line up on paper, the Senators have given us no reason to believe that they will win tonight. However, the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs won the season series against the Ottawa Senators was ... last year. They are on a three game winning streak against the Nations's Capital, but when is the last time the leafs have one four straight facing the Sens...2007- 2008. These stats may not be promising, but I will not be able to stand talking to leaf fans that night and the next morning who think Luca Caputi will be a thirty goal scorer. So the Senators will win. Just because they have to.

4 -2 Ottawa

Young:

The Sens have played poorly recently, and the Leafs (especially their top line) are coming together around the same time of year as they always do. I think the return of Foligno and Campoli makes this team significantly better, and Foligno will provide some spark. Also I look at Cullen-Alfie and I see some good potential. I think I just need to convince myself the boys will take this one, but thats called being a fan.

3-1 Ottawa

Game Day: Vancouver

Tonights game is on CBC at 10:00 pm eastern time.

Look for the Canucks to come out absolutely flying after being away from GM place for 14 games. Luongold will get a standing ovation of obscene proportions that will rival the delay two nights ago by the Saddledome glass crew. Here is hoping that his catching arm gets tired from all the waving and he lets a couple in high glove. For the Senators to be successful they must shut down the Sedin line like they did in their last meeting. In their last game against Vancouver the Senators faced Andrew Raycroft winning 3 -1 and getting goals from Spezza, Michalek and Kelly. I like the move to give Pascal the start as he looked good in the game against the leafs. Lets hope he has finally regained his form after repeated pucks to the head from Fisher.

Prediction

Another Ottawa win --- 3-1 . The Sedin line will once again be held pointless and Karlsson will get his second goal of the year.