In Pascal, We Trust

Or at least some of us do.

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.

Right now, I believe in Pascal.

Do you?

Some Point Form Thoughts on the First Two Preseason Games

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.

What have you noticed? Who has impressed you?