Ottawa @ Boston - Sept. 29th, 2011 - 7PM

As much as I wish Neely was right, I just don't see us any better than 12th in the conference. I just want to make the playoffs before the leaves make it again.

If there wasn't pretty fair evidence of a team like us making the playoffs - like when Anderson took the Avs there year before last - that statement would be scoffed at, but hell, Anderson's done it before with a similar team.

Counting on a Sens goalie to carry the team if counter intuitive.

Also what are the Vegas odds of Alfie, Spezza, Michalek, Gonchar playing anywhere close to 80 games each ?

I'll be happy if we aren't last in the conference.

Well the odds are about....1 in 75 that Anderson can take the Sens all the way to 8th, but again, it should be noted that Colorado did it with a really young core of players.

My position is we'd be lucky to not finish dead last, but if Anderson plays like that for 30 games, we're in the hunt.

Also love to see Alfie out there. I have no idea where any negative comments come from, he looks solid and adds a huge element to the club.

Michallica wrote:Spezza is a whole 'lotta suck tonight

Nobody wants to hear it, but this has been a HUGE problem for Spezza. Everyone thought he turned the corner two years ago, but he didn't. And then it looked like he turned the corner this winter. But has he? Sure doesn't look like it right now. That's his challenge in the next 100+ days. Show us that the Spezza from March last year is the real Spezza.

Yeah, he's got to be a lot better.

NEELY wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

NEELY wrote:The Sens are doing all the little things right as a team. You can see MacLean's influence already right now.

Why are people crying about Kuba again...? He's been more than solid as far as I can see.

I think he's been pretty bad once again but w/e.

How has he been bad? Being asked to play a defensive role and being even on the night is bad? He was pretty steady all night long. Guess everyone needs a whipping boy.

Kuba was very steady out there tonight. But what can you expect from a guy who's saying that Rundblad looks decent out there. I almost shat myself when Rundblad lunged at that guy and missed, creating a two on one down low. Still LOTS for him to learn in his own end, and that is going to mean substantial time in the AHL.

Hoags wrote:http://twitter.com/#!/Steve_Lloyd/status/119584418015875072

Lost in #Sens win. Filatov essentially benched in 3rd period. Not a good way to cap pre-season for a kid getting a 2nd chance.

Not looking good

Except that he wasn't benched. He was put on a line with Neil and Smith, yes, but PM cut his lines down to three, with Spezza/Michalek/Foligno & Alfie/Zbad/Greening being the other.

Greening is really underrated. BIG body, gets into corners, digs out puck, compete with the puck on his stick. That's where our first goal came from.

SpezDispenser wrote:If there wasn't pretty fair evidence of a team like us making the playoffs - like when Anderson took the Avs there year before last - that statement would be scoffed at, but hell, Anderson's done it before with a similar team.

One small difference: Avs were in the same division as Edm (worst team in the league), Minnesota (awful that year), and Calgary.
In our division this year, we have the Cup Champs with Tim Thomas, another team with Carey Price, and another one with Ryan Miller...

SpezDispenser wrote:Also love to see Alfie out there. I have no idea where any negative comments come from, he looks solid and adds a huge element to the club.

His skating looked ROUGH. But hopefully that's just him getting back into the swing of things. He's still a ball of energy out there, tho', and he's definitely still the leader on that team.

asq2 wrote:Cowen must certainly be ranked ahead of him on the depth chart and there's no question DR'd be better served as the #1 in Bingo rather than the #7 in Ottawa.

This.

Hoags wrote:http://twitter.com/#!/Steve_Lloyd/status/119584418015875072

Lost in #Sens win. Filatov essentially benched in 3rd period. Not a good way to cap pre-season for a kid getting a 2nd chance.

Not looking good

Benched? They switched lines up and it seemed to work. He was playing with Smith and Neil and had some chances.

rooneypoo wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

NEELY wrote:The Sens are doing all the little things right as a team. You can see MacLean's influence already right now.

Why are people crying about Kuba again...? He's been more than solid as far as I can see.

I think he's been pretty bad once again but w/e.

How has he been bad? Being asked to play a defensive role and being even on the night is bad? He was pretty steady all night long. Guess everyone needs a whipping boy.

Kuba was very steady out there tonight. But what can you expect from a guy who's saying that Rundblad looks decent out there. I almost shat myself when Rundblad lunged at that guy and missed, creating a two on one down low. Still LOTS for him to learn in his own end, and that is going to mean substantial time in the AHL.

Exactly. Rundblad doesn't seem to know who's who yet or just doesn't know what to do in certain situations yet. Tons of talent though, a Godly amount really... so are the mistakes he is going to make be put up with and worked through at The NHL level or is he better served to get things going in The AHL and let things sort themselves out in Ottawa first? Tough questions I don't know the answer to. i have an obvious opinion on it... not sure if it's the right one.

At times, Rundblad looks like a forward that has never played D. Time in the AHL will certainly help. I don't think he's ready for a full time position up with the big club yet. He's got crazy offensive skills. Some awesome potential there for sure.

SpezDispenser wrote:If there wasn't pretty fair evidence of a team like us making the playoffs - like when Anderson took the Avs there year before last - that statement would be scoffed at, but hell, Anderson's done it before with a similar team.

That was a pretty horrific display of defensive breakdowns last night. Sure, we were missing Phillips and that likely had a negative effect on Lee. Was someone playing their off-side? Would the addition of Phillips and Karlsson and the subtraction of Rundblad and Borowicki have made a huge difference? Makes you wonder, eh?

I didn't see any of the game, but how did the forwards look? Defensively speaking?

SpezDispenser wrote:If there wasn't pretty fair evidence of a team like us making the playoffs - like when Anderson took the Avs there year before last - that statement would be scoffed at, but hell, Anderson's done it before with a similar team.

We still have Phillips and Kuba on D (steady, experienced), to say nothing of Carkner who has become a legit 5-6 guy but will be 7 for us (primarily because he is a rightie). Then we still have a #1 center (which the Avs did not have) and Alfie/Michalek/Neil/Konopka who are all seasoned NHL vets.

I think this team is better balanced (rookies/veterans) than the Avs were.

SpezDispenser wrote:Also love to see Alfie out there. I have no idea where any negative comments come from, he looks solid and adds a huge element to the club.

Negative comments came from his 1st game. The guy hasn't played in 7 months and had back surgery. Of *course* he's going to be rusty. He'll be fine 5 games in.