GAME DAY:Philadelphia Flyers @ Ottawa Senators– 7:30PM EST, Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

Dash wrote:Man, when Volchenkov does the things he did last night, it makes it hard to think about letting him go. The guy always sacrifices himself and seems to always be in the right place, blocking shots, preventing goals, and laying people out. Having him AND Sutton would be awesome. Maybe give Volchenkov a one year deal, hopefully he will take a little less for one year.

As far as the people wanting Mike Brodeur up, it's to be the back-up to Elliott and waive Leclaire. Makes little sense now that the cap has little impact.

Didn't see too much of Zack Smith. I thought he would be the guy they would have fight Carcillo since he wasn't getting much ice time.

I dont think you can ignore how Sutton and Karlsson look together. They seem to have "it" together IMO. You need a guy like Sutton (not A Train) protecting and looking over Karlsson. That's a perfect pair IMO, I really, really hope they can resign Sutton. I would actually be super dissapointed if they didnt, more then A Train. I think A Train is more easily replaced then Sutton. His offense and ability to move the puck and join the rush has also impressed me, this is a really smart player who can do a lot of little things very well, he's also mean as Diddle.

Maybe Cowen learns to play the right side and is A Train's replacement next year...? Either way, I really want Sutton here next year, he brings all the things A Train does and a little more. Really starting to love that guy.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:My big concern with the Sens is their PP and more importantly their road record. I think those two things might come back to haunt them in the playoffs.

You and the rest of the city.

Dash wrote:Man, when Volchenkov does the things he did last night, it makes it hard to think about letting him go. The guy always sacrifices himself and seems to always be in the right place, blocking shots, preventing goals, and laying people out. Having him AND Sutton would be awesome. Maybe give Volchenkov a one year deal, hopefully he will take a little less for one year.

As far as the people wanting Mike Brodeur up, it's to be the back-up to Elliott and waive Leclaire. Makes little sense now that the cap has little impact.

Didn't see too much of Zack Smith. I thought he would be the guy they would have fight Carcillo since he wasn't getting much ice time.

Yeah, I hear ya about Volchenkov, that's the guy that would be devastating to lose when he plays like that. He hadn't been playing great, but the last couple of games he's been the A-Train we know and love. A lot of fun to watch. Sutton's the guy for me though, if we lose Volchenkov and can sign Sutton to 2 years/5 million, it takes a lot of the sting out of it. This guy Sutton can do it all, he can destroy guys, he can stand up for guys, he's a great shot blocked, he's intimidating and frankly, I find him to be a good outlet passer with a decent shot that he isn't afraid to unload.

Really huge hats off to Murray and the scouts for recognizing what a nice player this is and spending the 2nd rounder with I'm sure the thought of making that 2nd rounder become a signed Andy Sutton. Cullen's really good as well, but I doubt we can re-sign him without tinkering with the lineup a fair bit - maybe I guess.

And am I the only one who kinda likes the thought of a Z.Smith/Nick Foligno/Jesse Winchester line going forward? They play an aggressive, up tempo style and we know Foligno can bury the puck. I wonder if this is something worth trying in the long term or if it's just for now. You also have 3 natural centers out there just in case, with Winchester winning ~ 60% of his draws.

N4L wrote:

Probably right where we are now. Maybe Brodure earned a chance to be the backup in Ottawa next year, but that's all he would ever be. He has been bounced around for a reason and he is in The AHL for a reason. He played well here and that cant be taken away, I was on my feet for him when he got the win against Minny, I was there. It was a great feeling and everyone in that building was happy for him. Lets not kid ourselves, he isnt a goaltender that can carry a team in The AHL or NHL... I would sooner see Holt up in Ottawa as the backup over Brodure... it could happen at some point. Next year they defently have to give Lehner the ball in Bingo and see what he's made of. Good time to get Silfverberg and Peterson over here with him if they can along with the addition of Cowick and MAYBE Hoffman, from everything being said he might very well make The Sens next year, that would be an impressive draft pick to say the least for Murray.

From what I've heard about Hoffman, he's got a release that rivals most NHL snipers releases. A guy was saying that it would be top 3 on the Sens right now.

From Bjindaho who follows the St.John's:

Hoffman's shot is incredible (Heatley-esque) and he can fly. The
question with him will be how well will he adapt to less time and space
and what will Ottawa do with him.

Straight skill-wise, he already has an NHL shot (in fact, his shot would
probably be top 3 on your team), NHL wheels, and he can play physical.
I think it is a matter of time before he is in the NHL, then it depends
on how he is used (after all, Marty St. Louis failed out in Calgary and
look at how good he was when he was failing because of crap
management).

IMO, the perfect linemate for him would be Spezza, because he could be
like Heatley for Spezza, only with actual skating ability, which would
lead to more opportunities (in the long run).

The difference between him and most 20s is that A) he's a late bloomer
(didn't play full-time junior until he was 18), B) he returned for more
ice-time/different situation (most guys that are excellent go back and
work with guys that they know to build on their last season (i.e. same
linemates), Hoffman got traded to a team where he knew no one and had to
be an offensive catalyst and create his own offense, instead of
potentially being a tag-along on an AHL line) and C) determination (if
Saint John and Drummondville meet in the playoffs, Hoffman and
Didomenico will fight each other for every single inch of the
arena...they are the two most competitive players I've seen, hence
Hoffman's 15 GWG in the regular season).

Whoa, haha, he wouldnt be top 3 in Ottawa right now. Maybe he can one day (even thats a stretch) and Im a lot more excitted about him then I was to start the year. He is not a top 3 NHLer right now, top 6 MAYBE.

Lets dial things back a bit here. If he makes The Sens next year then we can start talking about that, but as of right now he is an over ager tearing aprt The QJMHL. I like the guy, a lot actually, lets start to come back down to earth right now.

His shot is lethal though, that might be NHL worthy at this point. It's a bullet to say the least.

N4L wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:My big concern with the Sens is their PP and more importantly their road record. I think those two things might come back to haunt them in the playoffs.

You and the rest of the city.

We need to fire the powerplay coach.

has anyone read the garbage that T. Grost is putting out over at HB? I am all for unbiased blogging (not really) but come on. He could not love philly more. Give the sens credit where credit is due. Calling what Gagne did probaly accetable is ridiculous. I don't care how "questionable" the hit was, you can't jump a man from behind and pummel him while he is on the ground. never going back to HB again.

TheAvatar wrote:

N4L wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:My big concern with the Sens is their PP and more importantly their road record. I think those two things might come back to haunt them in the playoffs.

You and the rest of the city.

We need to fire the powerplay coach.

Maybe in the off season, right now you dont need BS like that going on. If it comes around then great, Sens are in solid shape, if not they have a top notch penalty kill that offsets a Dung PP somewhat. You need consistancy from managment as well as from the players.

In the offseason though, I would be looking at someone with a little more expierence to run that.

benIII24III wrote:has anyone read the garbage that T. Grost is putting out over at HB? I am all for unbiased blogging (not really) but come on. He could not love philly more. Give the sens credit where credit is due. Calling what Gagne did probaly accetable is ridiculous. I don't care how "questionable" the hit was, you can't jump a man from behind and pummel him while he is on the ground. never going back to HB again.

People still go there?

Yeah, I wasn't thinking that needed to be done this morning; it's too late now (although I'm reminded of Lou jumping behind the bench just about this time of year about 2-3 years ago). I think if you could get a real great guy to run the powerplay, you bring him in (maybe as a consultant) and you assign other duties to the current powerplay coach (who is that anyways) but you don't fire him (until later)

N4L wrote:

benIII24III wrote:has anyone read the garbage that T. Grost is putting out over at HB? I am all for unbiased blogging (not really) but come on. He could not love philly more. Give the sens credit where credit is due. Calling what Gagne did probaly accetable is ridiculous. I don't care how "questionable" the hit was, you can't jump a man from behind and pummel him while he is on the ground. never going back to HB again.

People still go there?

I like the current sens blogger.

PS I was one of the guys that got that standing O going last night after the 5 on 3, in the 300's.

TheAvatar wrote:Yeah, I wasn't thinking that needed to be done this morning; it's too late now (although I'm reminded of Lou jumping behind the bench just about this time of year about 2-3 years ago). I think if you could get a real great guy to run the powerplay, you bring him in (maybe as a consultant) and you assign other duties to the current powerplay coach (who is that anyways) but you don't fire him (until later)

Work on what you have been working on, hopefully the tallent can get it sorted out.

N4L wrote:

Dash wrote:Man, when Volchenkov does the things he did last night, it makes it hard to think about letting him go. The guy always sacrifices himself and seems to always be in the right place, blocking shots, preventing goals, and laying people out. Having him AND Sutton would be awesome. Maybe give Volchenkov a one year deal, hopefully he will take a little less for one year.

As far as the people wanting Mike Brodeur up, it's to be the back-up to Elliott and waive Leclaire. Makes little sense now that the cap has little impact.

Didn't see too much of Zack Smith. I thought he would be the guy they would have fight Carcillo since he wasn't getting much ice time.

I dont think you can ignore how Sutton and Karlsson look together. They seem to have "it" together IMO. You need a guy like Sutton (not A Train) protecting and looking over Karlsson. That's a perfect pair IMO, I really, really hope they can resign Sutton. I would actually be super dissapointed if they didnt, more then A Train. I think A Train is more easily replaced then Sutton. His offense and ability to move the puck and join the rush has also impressed me, this is a really smart player who can do a lot of little things very well, he's also mean as Diddle.

Maybe Cowen learns to play the right side and is A Train's replacement next year...? Either way, I really want Sutton here next year, he brings all the things A Train does and a little more. Really starting to love that guy.

All hail Andy Sutton.

N4L wrote:

benIII24III wrote:has anyone read the garbage that T. Grost is putting out over at HB? I am all for unbiased blogging (not really) but come on. He could not love philly more. Give the sens credit where credit is due. Calling what Gagne did probaly accetable is ridiculous. I don't care how "questionable" the hit was, you can't jump a man from behind and pummel him while he is on the ground. never going back to HB again.

People still go there?

Apparently not really, no.

N4L wrote:Whoa, haha, he wouldnt be top 3 in Ottawa right now. Maybe he can one day (even thats a stretch) and Im a lot more excitted about him then I was to start the year. He is not a top 3 NHLer right now, top 6 MAYBE.

Lets dial things back a bit here. If he makes The Sens next year then we can start talking about that, but as of right now he is an over ager tearing aprt The QJMHL. I like the guy, a lot actually, lets start to come back down to earth right now.

His shot is lethal though, that might be NHL worthy at this point. It's a bullet to say the least.

You misunderstood, top 3 shots on the Sens.

SpezDispenser wrote:

N4L wrote:Whoa, haha, he wouldnt be top 3 in Ottawa right now. Maybe he can one day (even thats a stretch) and Im a lot more excitted about him then I was to start the year. He is not a top 3 NHLer right now, top 6 MAYBE.

Lets dial things back a bit here. If he makes The Sens next year then we can start talking about that, but as of right now he is an over ager tearing aprt The QJMHL. I like the guy, a lot actually, lets start to come back down to earth right now.

His shot is lethal though, that might be NHL worthy at this point. It's a bullet to say the least.

You misunderstood, top 3 shots on the Sens.

Fisher, Alfi, Spezza, Karlsson, Kuba all have cannon's, that's even a stretch.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:A few things:

1 - I might actually start to stand up on a Kelly break away if he keeps this up.

2 - Huge hats off to the PK units

3 - What do the Sens have against Carcillo? Fun to watch but seriously is there a history or did I miss something early?

4 - I seriously can't wait for the Alfie 1000th game celebration. The Alfie chant should be even more crazy than playoffs circa 2007.

They saw a small, annoying, cocky, dirty player playing for the Flyers, and just assumed it was Downie, and so acted accordingly. You can see how easy it is to make that mistake.