GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ New York Rangers - 7:00pm ET - Sat. Oct. 3rd, 2009

Number Twenty Nine wrote:

111519 wrote:on a positive note

heatley has not scored a goal wearing a SJ uniform

but he got an assist...

he got two actually... All this hoping for him to fail is absolutely terrible karma. He was a minus-3 on his first night...and so were we. Coincidence? probably, but he's gone now and there's no more reason to waste time or mental energy on him.

shabbs wrote:It's been one game... let's not bust up all the lines just yet.

TSN's Ice Chips for today:

Ryan Shannon did not skate with the team on Sunday. It does not seem to be serious matter, just a recovery day and he is day-to-day. - TSN

The team juggled some lines at practice. Mike Fisher moved to the middle, Nick Foligno moved up and Peter Regin moved down to centre the third line with Shannon absent. - TSN

Practice lines from today:

Forwards:
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev
Cheechoo - Regin - Neil
Ruutu - Kelly - Donovan

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Campoli - Carkner
Picard - Lee

Goaltenders:
Leclaire
Elliott

Oh boy what a waste that would be of Regin.

asq2 wrote:

shabbs wrote:It's been one game... let's not bust up all the lines just yet.

TSN's Ice Chips for today:

Ryan Shannon did not skate with the team on Sunday. It does not seem to be serious matter, just a recovery day and he is day-to-day. - TSN

The team juggled some lines at practice. Mike Fisher moved to the middle, Nick Foligno moved up and Peter Regin moved down to centre the third line with Shannon absent. - TSN

Practice lines from today:

Forwards:
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev
Cheechoo - Regin - Neil
Ruutu - Kelly - Donovan

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Campoli - Carkner
Picard - Lee

Goaltenders:
Leclaire
Elliott

Oh boy what a waste that would be of Regin.

I don't mind that line assuming Shanon is ready by Tuesday.

shabbs wrote:It's been one game... let's not bust up all the lines just yet.

TSN's Ice Chips for today:

Ryan Shannon did not skate with the team on Sunday. It does not seem to be serious matter, just a recovery day and he is day-to-day. - TSN

The team juggled some lines at practice. Mike Fisher moved to the middle, Nick Foligno moved up and Peter Regin moved down to centre the third line with Shannon absent. - TSN

Practice lines from today:

Forwards:
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev
Cheechoo - Regin - Neil
Ruutu - Kelly - Donovan

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Campoli - Carkner
Picard - Lee

Goaltenders:
Leclaire
Elliott

When did we recall Lee?

I dont think spezza was that bad last night ok yes he was offensively lack luster but i expected that he was very good defensively (especially for the way he has played for the last year ) he played over a full minute on one of the pk doing solid defensive work he is goign to take some time until the defensive side becomes a reaction like his forward offense usually is. He seemed to me to be obviously thinking how to play smart defensively last night and making sure he didnt screw that up. I remember in some of the threads over the summer that we expected spezza to be a slow starter on offense if he was to learn how to play defense

Having some time to digest things last night, there are certainly still questions.

1.Cheechoo played 10 minutes, none on the PP - how is that going to work? Either we give him a chance, or we're gonna have to clear his salary one way or another. What he needs right now is to be up there on the PP and preferably up there on line one with Spezza. I read what some had to say here and I agree that Michalek might be better suited to play with the speed and creativity of a Regin, possibly with Kovalev on the other side. That would give you the option of re-teaming the FFS line, because Foligno looked like crap last night and it led to Shannon being wasted a little.

2.Our 5.5 million 4th line all played under 10 minutes - including Chris Kelly. We can't have that either, it's simple economics in this NHL, if you have that much tied up on a 4th line, you must be subtracting money from somewhere else.

3.And that place is D. Are the Sens crying for a number one D-man or what? Kuba was average last night. Phillips and A-Train were okay - I didn't really notice anything to have me pissing on A-Train right now really - I may have missed it though.

4.Peter Regin played 13 minutes. You can absolutely and positively book him for 18+ minutes by December. This kid is here to stay and plays each shift with both tenacity and skill.

5.Leclaire should have had the over the shoulder 2nd goal, was slightly out of position for the 3rd goal and really should have had the 4th goal, but what can you say when the team didn't play D very well? He kept us in the game in the 1st and parts of the 2nd. He did okay.

I dont think spezza was that bad last night ok yes he was offensively lack luster but i expected that he was very good defensively (especially for the way he has played for the last year ) he played over a full minute on one of the pk doing solid defensive work he is goign to take some time until the defensive side becomes a reaction like his forward offense usually is. He seemed to me to be obviously thinking how to play smart defensively last night and making sure he didnt screw that up. I remember in some of the threads over the summer that we expected spezza to be a slow starter on offense if he was to learn how to play defense

Pretty much how I see it on Spezza's side last night. And I did like his play on Alfie's goal. Big time.

rooneypoo wrote:

shabbs wrote:It's been one game... let's not bust up all the lines just yet.

TSN's Ice Chips for today:

Ryan Shannon did not skate with the team on Sunday. It does not seem to be serious matter, just a recovery day and he is day-to-day. - TSN

The team juggled some lines at practice. Mike Fisher moved to the middle, Nick Foligno moved up and Peter Regin moved down to centre the third line with Shannon absent. - TSN

Practice lines from today:

Forwards:
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev
Cheechoo - Regin - Neil
Ruutu - Kelly - Donovan

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Campoli - Carkner
Picard - Lee

Goaltenders:
Leclaire
Elliott

When did we recall Lee?

Ha... good question. Must be a typo from TSN.

asq2 wrote:

shabbs wrote:It's been one game... let's not bust up all the lines just yet.

TSN's Ice Chips for today:

Ryan Shannon did not skate with the team on Sunday. It does not seem to be serious matter, just a recovery day and he is day-to-day. - TSN

The team juggled some lines at practice. Mike Fisher moved to the middle, Nick Foligno moved up and Peter Regin moved down to centre the third line with Shannon absent. - TSN

Practice lines from today:

Forwards:
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev
Cheechoo - Regin - Neil
Ruutu - Kelly - Donovan

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Campoli - Carkner
Picard - Lee

Goaltenders:
Leclaire
Elliott

Oh boy what a waste that would be of Regin.

He was just moving down to replace Shannon as TSN mentioned.

SpezDispenser wrote:Having some time to digest things last night, there are certainly still questions.

1.Cheechoo played 10 minutes, none on the PP - how is that going to work? Either we give him a chance, or we're gonna have to clear his salary one way or another. What he needs right now is to be up there on the PP and preferably up there on line one with Spezza. I read what some had to say here and I agree that Michalek might be better suited to play with the speed and creativity of a Regin, possibly with Kovalev on the other side. That would give you the option of re-teaming the FFS line, because Foligno looked like crap last night and it led to Shannon being wasted a little.

2.Our 5.5 million 4th line all played under 10 minutes - including Chris Kelly. We can't have that either, it's simple economics in this NHL, if you have that much tied up on a 4th line, you must be subtracting money from somewhere else.

3.And that place is D. Are the Sens crying for a number one D-man or what? Kuba was average last night. Phillips and A-Train were okay - I didn't really notice anything to have me pissing on A-Train right now really - I may have missed it though.

4.Peter Regin played 13 minutes. You can absolutely and positively book him for 18+ minutes by December. This kid is here to stay and plays each shift with both tenacity and skill.

5.Leclaire should have had the over the shoulder 2nd goal, was slightly out of position for the 3rd goal and really should have had the 4th goal, but what can you say when the team didn't play D very well? He kept us in the game in the 1st and parts of the 2nd. He did okay.

You missed a lot, then, if you didn't see all of the mistakes Volchenkov made last night.

And maybe you can explain how Leclaire is supposed to get position on the 3rd goal when 3 of his own players block his view of the puck?

Gohan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Having some time to digest things last night, there are certainly still questions.

1.Cheechoo played 10 minutes, none on the PP - how is that going to work? Either we give him a chance, or we're gonna have to clear his salary one way or another. What he needs right now is to be up there on the PP and preferably up there on line one with Spezza. I read what some had to say here and I agree that Michalek might be better suited to play with the speed and creativity of a Regin, possibly with Kovalev on the other side. That would give you the option of re-teaming the FFS line, because Foligno looked like crap last night and it led to Shannon being wasted a little.

2.Our 5.5 million 4th line all played under 10 minutes - including Chris Kelly. We can't have that either, it's simple economics in this NHL, if you have that much tied up on a 4th line, you must be subtracting money from somewhere else.

3.And that place is D. Are the Sens crying for a number one D-man or what? Kuba was average last night. Phillips and A-Train were okay - I didn't really notice anything to have me pissing on A-Train right now really - I may have missed it though.

4.Peter Regin played 13 minutes. You can absolutely and positively book him for 18+ minutes by December. This kid is here to stay and plays each shift with both tenacity and skill.

5.Leclaire should have had the over the shoulder 2nd goal, was slightly out of position for the 3rd goal and really should have had the 4th goal, but what can you say when the team didn't play D very well? He kept us in the game in the 1st and parts of the 2nd. He did okay.

You missed a lot, then, if you didn't see all of the mistakes Volchenkov made last night.

And maybe you can explain how Leclaire is supposed to get position on the 3rd goal when 3 of his own players block his view of the puck?

not to mention the ranger player standing right in front of him

Gohan wrote:You missed a lot, then, if you didn't see all of the mistakes Volchenkov made last night.

And maybe you can explain how Leclaire is supposed to get position on the 3rd goal when 3 of his own players block his view of the puck?

I saw a tonne of mistakes from the D. Everyone from Karlsson, Carkner all the way up to Phillips and Volchenkov. It wasn't a fabulous night on D period, but why single out our best D-man? If anyone's gonna recover and play the game we know it's A-Train. I definitely wouldn't be pissing on him too much right now.

If you watch the replay, you'd see on the 3rd goal that Leclaire was shaded way too far to the right of the net to even have a prayer of making that save. If he had played the odds and been front and center in his net, he would have given himself a chance for that shot to simple hit him - or react to his left.

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:
not to mention the ranger player standing right in front of him

Again, I'm not trying to lay into Leclaire, he was pretty solid, but at times, there's zero chance for a tender to see the puck. It happens 5-10 times a game, it comes down to positioning - and I felt that Leclaire's positioning on that play wasn't where it should be. Will he deal with that? For sure, this was his first real start in a year. Should that have gone in? Probably...but, then, maybe not. And it was a back-breaking goal.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Gohan wrote:You missed a lot, then, if you didn't see all of the mistakes Volchenkov made last night.

And maybe you can explain how Leclaire is supposed to get position on the 3rd goal when 3 of his own players block his view of the puck?

I saw a tonne of mistakes from the D. Everyone from Karlsson, Carkner all the way up to Phillips and Volchenkov. It wasn't a fabulous night on D period, but why single out our best D-man? If anyone's gonna recover and play the game we know it's A-Train. I definitely wouldn't be pissing on him too much right now.

If you watch the replay, you'd see on the 3rd goal that Leclaire was shaded way too far to the right of the net to even have a prayer of making that save. If he had played the odds and been front and center in his net, he would have given himself a chance for that shot to simple hit him - or react to his left.

I've seen the replay multiple times. It had very little to do with his positioning and a hell of a lot more to do with the three players that went sliding in front of him a split second after the shot was released. No goalie in the world can overcome that kind of defensive ineptitude from the players in front of him. He was positioned to see the shot with his entire team on the other side of the ice, then three of them decided to take away his view of the puck.

Also, calling Volchenkov our best D-man is laughable in general, but after last night its just ridiculous. First of all, I like Volchenkov. I like his willingness to sacrifice for his team, but no one can argue that his play hasn't declined as rapidly and consistently as any player on the team, since the Cup run. He has always been covered for beautifully by Phillips (who is, in reality, our best D-man. There really is no debate) but Phillips can only do so much.

Imo Volchenkov has a lot of work to do to ever be considered our best D-man. And given our new found depth in that position, that probably won't ever happen.

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:I dont think spezza was that bad last night ok yes he was offensively lack luster but i expected that he was very good defensively (especially for the way he has played for the last year ) he played over a full minute on one of the pk doing solid defensive work he is goign to take some time until the defensive side becomes a reaction like his forward offense usually is. He seemed to me to be obviously thinking how to play smart defensively last night and making sure he didnt screw that up. I remember in some of the threads over the summer that we expected spezza to be a slow starter on offense if he was to learn how to play defense

Spezza was skating harder north-south on the back-check and forecheck than he ever has in the past.

It's hard to deny there's been some improvement in that regard.

Long story short. Clouston needs to get it together, there is actually something ridding on him as coach now. Last year he had no pressure. He laso has to mix up the lines and he has to let Cheechoo have an actual shot to succeed here.

A Train needs to step up or he'll be dealt.

Spezza is working hard (which is good) but he needs to be better.

Kelly needs to go, he looks like he doesnt care any more.

N4L wrote:Long story short. Clouston needs to get it together, there is actually something ridding on him as coach now. Last year he had no pressure. He laso has to mix up the lines and he has to let Cheechoo have an actual shot to succeed here.

A Train needs to step up or he'll be dealt.

Spezza is working hard (which is good) but he needs to be better.

Kelly needs to go, he looks like he doesnt care any more.

i agree, i liked what i saw of spezza.

one thing i did like is leclaire... sure he let 4 in but i also saw him make some killer saves. saves i hadn't seen in ottawa in ages. if he stays healthy he will be great.
i'm not worried at all yet. i'd be more worried if we'd win like montreal has been winning, no puck control, stationary D-man, hectic disorganised play... those were not good games. at least watching the NYR game one could tell lunqvist did a killer job for them.