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.

So Rookie Camps Are Fun, but Are There Any Spots?

As of this writing, the Ottawa Rookie Senators are currently winning 7-3 in the third period to Chicago's rookies. Yesterday, the Rookie Sens lost to Pittsburgh 5-3.

One very bright spot in the loss to Pittsburgh was the play of Bobby Butler, who picked up two goals and was all over the ice, having excellent chemistry with Mike Hoffman.

BOBBY BUTLER

Click Here for Video

Bobby Butler, the Hobby Baker finalist and top NCAA player from last season is a player the management are very high on, and who looked quite promising in two games last year. Bryan Murray describes him as a very smart player who is "a goal scorer". We know he can put the puck in the net at the collegiate level with 29 goals in his last year, and appears to be able to put the puck in against his prospect-peers.

So the question is simple, can he do the same at the NHL level? Oakes did a sweet piece back when the Sens first signed him that can be found here, that talks about what we might be able to expect.

ROMAN WICK

Another, exceedingly intriguing prospect is Roman Wick. A similar type of player to Butler in that he is an offensive winger (an area where the Sens are not so deep), Wick is a prospect from the past. He was brought back into the consciousness of the fanbase while playing for the Swiss at the Olympics. He is big, strong and could look good on a line with someone like Milan Michalek.

The question with him is, can he bring the success from the Swiss League, playing for the Kloten Flyers, to North America? And if he cannot right away, how long is he willing to stay here improving in the AHL?

Now I would say these are the two most NHL-ready forward prospects the Sens have (assuming, as I do, that Zach Smith is a lock for the 4th line, and is therefore not a prospect), and they are exciting because they offer at the chance for some offence. But is there even a roster spot for either of these gentlemen?

Well let's look at the roster. Under one-way forward contracts, the Sens currently have

Spezza, Kovalev, Alfie, Fisher, Michalek, Regin, Kelly, Ruutu, Neil, Winchester, Shannon, Foligno.

That's twelve, and technically, that's all you need. But if you remember, I said I believe Z. Smith is our fourth line centre, so now we are at 13, which is the number most teams carry. So let's look at line combos with these thirteen.

Regin--Spezza--Alfie

9MM--Fish--Kovy

Ruutu--Kelly--Neil

Foligno--Z.Smith--Shannon

Winchester

This is, in all likelihood, the most safe bet as to how the lines will start this season. I'm not Winchesters biggest fan, I think Z.Smith does everything Winchester does, only better and with more intensity. I'm also not a huge Shannon fan.

So in reality, in Training Camp, Wick or Butler only has to outplay Ryan Shannon for a roster spot.

Now there are pros and cons to this. Would Butler and Wick benefit from 4th line duty? Or is it better to give them more minutes at the AHL level and use them for injury call-ups (remembering that Locke and Keller will also be in line for call-ups)? In addition both players need new contracts after this year, and you want to keep them happy and around for the not-so-distant future when Kovalev and Alfie retire leaving huge holes in the top six for wingers.

So how do you handle these two young players?

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.

Let's Do This Dance...On One Leg?

Well, this is a tough time of year to be a University Student/Hockey fan blogger. Final exams are upon Oakes and I, which seem to take up all our time, yet this is the time of year we want to be blogging 9 times a day.

Needless to say its been tough to keep this place up and bumpin, but I have some time now, so let's look at what's going down in Sens land.

Firstly, Alex Kovalev's up and down season has ended a little prematurely. This saddens me, and this is why.

1) Secondary scoring: 49 points on the year put Kovy in fourth on the team in points, and that cannot be understated. On a team with a minus goal differential, the guys putting pucks in the net are very important.

2) The Kovy Effect: He is a talented, albeit confusing player, but he DEMANDS respect, of that there is no doubt. He opens up room for guys on the second line.

3) Second Line Chemistry: All year long Fisher-Kovy has been a fixture in the line up with the hopes of creating second line chemistry. Now, with no time for failed experiments, Clouston must find a second line that can be effective.

Number three for me, is the thing nobody is talking about, but is the biggest problem. This is a team exceptionally strong down the middle, and pretty decent on the left side, but on the right side, the team is not deep.

So what do you do with the second line? Be careful, if it doesn't work, there isn't too much time to let it struggle.

First, at centre, there is a near certain chance Mike Fisher will be the guy.

On the left side, I think they might go with either Matt Cullen, who has played exceptionally well thus far as a Sen, but might be better used as a centreman on the third line. The other option is Peg-Leg, AKA Milan Michalek. Its obvious Milan is not at 100%, playing essentially on one leg, but we need him to give everything he's got for us to be successful. Plus him and Fisher are bang-crash speed guys that might find some magic.

Might.

On the right side, there are some options, and at this point none of them are really attractive.

You cold play Nicky Foligno out of position on the right side, but he's having enough trouble this year without playing out of position.

Ryan Shannon has played sparingly down the stretch, not even playing when Donovan got to play Saturday. He has had a disappointing season, and his game doesnt seem suited to the playoffs. However, he did look good on Fisher's right side at the end of last year.

Jesse Winchester is good at faceoffs and hitting people. But he has scored 5 career NHL goals in almost 130 games. Not really a Kovy replacement.

Zach Smith seems perfect for the playoffs, but on a third or fourth line.

So have I depressed you yet? I don't intend to, and it shouldn't. Cory has shown that he is more creative than any of us when it comes to line combos, so Im not as much concerned as I am curious.

But bottom line is, Kovalev is an important player, and even though some Sens fans have played the Ship-off-Kovalev's-Ass trumpet, its hard to deny. (Like I said Here)

So what say you, Sens fans that traverse the interweb nation? What does your line-up look like, specifically the second line heading in to this big dance?

I think with little room for error we might see Foligno-Fisher-Shannon tried out, but that's just me.

Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego? (AKA The Story of L'Enigma) UPDATED

****UPDATE: SENS SIGN RW BOBBY BUTLER (read about him here) WOULDN'T IT BE NICE TO SEE HIM TAKE KOVY'S PLACE ON THE RIGHT SIDE SO KOVY CAN REST FOR THE PLAYOFFS?****

That is the big question in Ottawa right now. And since you provided such excellent feedback the last time we created a debate, I thought we'd try and bring you all out of hiding again.

Alex Kovalev; 6'1 215lbs and 37 years old from Togliatti Russia. He signed a 2 year 10 million dollar contract on July 6th 2009.

And to be honest, we knew what we were getting. While the Montreal fans called him L'Artiste for having some of the most spectacular hands in the game, the buzz word that came with the Kovy signing wasn't "skill" or "dangles".

It was "enigma"

For those of you not familiar with the word it means "to describe something or someone as an enigma, you mean they are mysterious or difficult to understand". The reason this was used by analysts, columnists and bloggers alike was because some nights Kovy can be the best player on the ice, and some nights he can be invisible. There is no rhyme or reason for it.

Or is there? Let's have a closer look at the first season of AK27 in a Sens uniform.

In 72 games this year Alex has 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists), good for third on the team. However lets look at how these stats break down.

October		12	4	1	5	-5	10	0	1	0	0	0	17	.235
November		9	0	6	6	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	14	.000
December		17	3	8	11	6	12	1	1	0	0	1	38	.079
January		15	7	10	17	2	18	0	4	0	0	2	47	.149
February		7	3	5	8	1	4	2	2	0	0	1	18	.167
March		12	0	0	0	-10	8	0	0	0	0	0	21	.000

Courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Now, looking at these stats, let us look at it in portions. The first twelve games of the season, the Sens went 6-3-3 (fancy way of saying 6-6), and they amassed 37 goals, about 3 per game. Of these, stats-wise Kovy contributed to 14%. This can maybe be written off perhaps as a new player learning a new system.

After putting up semi-respectable numbers in November and December, on the 3rd of January, in a wild 7-4 win against the Flyers in which he scored 4 goals and 1 assist", Kovy dropped this line on the fans

"I had an injury. I couldn't even shoot right. I tried to pass, in general. But lately I have started feeling more or less better." Puck Daddy

That was the beginning of January. From that point to the end of the Olympic break, Alex put up 25 points in 22 games. Better than a point a game over the same stretch that his linemate Mike Fisher put up only 5 goals! Keep in mind most of this is done on the second line! Not bad for a 37 year old.

Add this in to the fact that Kovalev sat out the game on Friday in Buffalo, and a strong case begins to be made that Alex Kovalev is hurt, and has been playing hurt for most of the post-olympic break.

He is not a young man anymore. An injury at his age would make (and evidently in the early part of the year DID make) a huge difference. This doesn't mean he is without fault. He should be sitting out and resting for the playoffs if he is hurt.

One thing that Sens fans, especially those calling for him to be sent to the minors (seriously?), don't seem to realize is this last bit of information:

In wins		38	16	21	37	25	22	3	8	0	0	4	93	.172
In losses		34	1	9	10	-28	32	0	2	0	0	0	62	.016

Winning		N/A	5	4	9	N/A	16	1	2	0	0	1	N/A	N/A
Losing		N/A	4	12	16	N/A	24	1	3	0	0	0	N/A	N/A
Tied		N/A	8	14	22	N/A	14	1	5	0	0	3	N/A	N/A
Clutch		N/A	3	2	5	N/A	4	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	N/A
Blowouts		N/A	1	1	2	N/A	0	0	1	0	0	0	N/A	N/A
Last 5 Min		N/A	4	7	11	N/A	18	2	2	0	0	1	N/A	N/A

What this says to me is that we NEED Kovalev. When he is on (37 points) we win. When he isn't (10 points) we lose. And when those games in the postseason are tight, 81% of his points have come when we are losing or tied.

I'm not trying to make an excuses for Alex

I'm just trying to explain The Enigma.

What do you guys think?