As I'm sure many of you already have read, two (somewhat) contradictory things have come from Cory Clouston in the last two days regarding Pascal Leclaire;
1) To paraphrase, he was disappointed that Pascal didn't save what he viewed as a weak shot by Alex Ovechkin, that Ovie didn't get much behind the shot, and that it needed to be saved.
2) That Pascal will start his 4th straight game tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Now, I love CiCi just as much as the next Sens fan (though he is starting to take some serious flack, over at The 6th Sens and SenSay) but I don't agree with one of those decisions.
And for me, it was throwing Pascal under the bus. I was at the opener against Buffalo (with Oakes) and we were sitting front row. The Sens did not play well (not as bad as they did against the Leafs, but not well). Pascal was shaky to start the game, but played very well as it went on. Watching the Caps game the other night, he again played very well, and for once, the consensus around this team is that he has been our best player.
So why throw him under the bus? He already felt terrible about the goal, and there are many other guys to blame for the game (Brian Lee wandering into Campoli's corner and leaving Semin WIDE OPEN?), so why do it?
I think it was heat of the moment. I think Cory thought we were thirty seconds away from a shootout where anything can happen and it was snatched away. That is why he deserves a round of applause for putting Pascal in tonight, and recognizing the importance of him getting into a groove.
The Sens have a chance tonight to get their first win, and Pascal has earned the right to be the goalie to get that first win.
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.
Now that the Sens (or the team we put on the ice and called the Sens) have played a couple games, both of which we have been able to watch on TV (seriously, preseason games on tv?! SO sweet), its time for what I have noticed!
ROOKIES
--All eyes have been on the rookies; J-Cow, Wick, Butler, Weircoch, Hoffman and Lehner, and they have each performed to a different level.
--Wick seems a little tentative out there, and doesn't seem to be getting a ton of minutes. He did, however look quite good at the end of the last game on the powerplay with Regin, Karlsson et al.
--Butler seems like he needs a year in the AHL to polish off his game, but he looks like he has a real solid future for the Sens. He is not afraid to fire the puck, and hopefully some of those will go in soon.
--Lehner is making it exceptionally hard to NOT overhype him. In a market starving for a saviour between the pipes, he is making us drool.
--Jared Cowen looked average in the first game, but in the second game I thought was one of the Sens' best defenceman. Positionally he is excellent, he uses his size to win battles, blocks shots, and generally looks good, especially on a pairing with Karlsson. Only thing he needs to work on is making quicker decisions, and unfortunately, he can't learn that in the WHL.
--Weircoch looks dangerous on the powerplay. With him running the powerplay in Bingo this year, they should see some success.
--Hoffman looks a little overwhelmed out there, which is odd considering how well he played in the rookie tournament. He is a project (which isn't a slight against him, being a 5th rounder) and given time in the minors he may be a scorer for us some day, just not today.
VETERANS
--Simply put, Brian Elliott should NOT have let in the second or third goals last night, that essentially put the game away. Here's hoping he is just rusty, because that was bad.
--Chris Kelly looked excellent on Tuesday, as did Chris Neil. If they can pick up where they left off at the end of last year, that's excellent news for the Sens.
--Nick Foligno looks like a man possessed. Everyone has Peter Regin pencilled into the top 6, but Nicky is going to give him a run for his money.
--Zach Smith is a monster out there. He is totally confident and is playing very well. He is, in my mind, an absolute lock for the big club.
--Ryan Shannon (who took a BRUTAL elbow) doesn't look be to impressing me. He is really leaving the door open for Smith, Butler and Wick.
--Winchester looks much better than he has in previous years, but is in my opinion working from a more limited skill set than a guy like Zach Smith.
--Brian Lee sucks. Period. He doesn't do anything particularly well, loses battles, gives the puck away, its bad. I was hoping to see him step up and grab Kuba's spot, but God help us if it has to be him to fill it now.
--Guys like Hale and Benoit have played well and should really help an improved Bingo team this year.
--Karlsson is the man. He is so smooth and confident. I didn't like that he got beat to the outside by Kessel and Kulemin, but it was his first game, and those boys can flat out fly.
I think that's about all of my thoughts so far. Looking ahead, I'm excited to see some of the big boys play, and interested in seeing Gryba compared to Cowen, because to me, that's the battle for Kuba's spot right now.
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.
