We'll do it again after 20. But after 10:
* record and standings
I predicted them being second in the Atlantic (if not 1st if Price got injured). But I think I was definitely not in the majority. So as far as their standings is concerned, better than expected. As for the record, we've had a very soft schedule but we've won games we were not expected to win (Montreal, Edmonton) and we've pretty much won the games we were supposed to win, while battling injuries (MacArthur, Stone, Hammond) and having our #1 going through his wife's cancer diagnosis.
* special teams
Powerplay was great in the pre-season. Then the regular season started and they still looked good but couldn't score. That continued with that exception game against Arizona where they scored 2. In the last game, against a dog-tired team, they got *ZERO* shots in the first two powerplays. Not good.
Penalty kill has been steadily getting better. They are currently sitting 16th at 81.8% which is a significant improvement over their 29th place (75.8% last season). It's also better than the 22nd place they were in a week or so ago. Now, if they could only take fewer penalties -- the Sens are sixth in the league (2nd in majors and tied for the league lead with 3 bench minors.
Sample size is still fairly small so will have to take another look at the 20.
* defensive play
16th in goals/against per game and 19th in shots against/game is not great, but it certainly is an improvement over the last season. Boucher said it would take 6 weeks to fully implement his system so will evaluate again after 10 more games.
* conditioning
Tough one. Last game didn't look great as they were solidly outplayed in the third by a team that played the night before. On the other hand they haven't lost a game when leading through 2. This one is hard to measure. Eye test says they are faster than last year.
* individual performances
Karlsson has been playing a regular PK shift and is taking much shorter shifts than before. He's still leading the team in total points, ice time. He's not leading the league in points by a defenseman (actually tied for 4th) and after last night has slipped below the PPG pace. Still early, and I'd say if/when the team's PP improves so will EK's totals.
Turris is leading the team in goals with 5, but that 25% shooting percentage is likely not sustainable. When Stone finally gets going I think we'll see Turris with more points even if the his current 40-goal pace is not sustained.
Hoffman is 4th on the team in points but has only 2 goals (both came in his last 3 games). He is leading the team in shots on goal (tied for 10th league-wide) so the goals will come.
Stone missed most of the pre-season with a concussion and has banged up his neck since then. I think he'll be the first to admit he has to get better.
Ryan is adjusting to new linemates. Five points (3 goals) in 10 games isn't terrible but he is the highest paid forward and more is expected.
Phaneuf's team-worst -6 is, unfortunately, indicative of the way he has played in the first 7-8 games. He has been better in the last 2 so maybe this is just the case of a veteran player taking longer to get going at the start of the season. He is second on the team in shots on goal and I'm not sure what that's all about (last season I thought he was the stabilizing force on the 2nd pairing and Ceci was the free-wheeling guy, not it looks like Dion is jumping into the play a lot more and I wonder if that's why he is -6.
Dzingel is second on the team in goals and points so he's the clear winner of the Melnyk Medal for points per dollar.
* injury front
* coaching
This is taking way too much time.
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