GDT: Senators @ Lightning- Dec 21, 2017, 7:30pm

The Sens are in Tampa. Tampa is the best team in the league. They are also the highest scoring, and allow the 4th fewest goals. This is the exact matchup the Sens need to turn the season around!

No Dumont, as he didn't make the trip. Phaneuf didn't practice yesterday, as he had a "personal issue". Looks like Zack Smith is injured again. Chlapik was called up. will start.

Andreas Englund was called up and might play tonight.

I don't get why Englund has been called up. You've got 6 healthy D (excluding Phaneuf). You've got 12 healthy F (excluding both Dumont and Smith). I know he won't sit Oduya.

I'm >this< close to not caring any more.  Looking forward to seeing how Formenton and Batherson and Brown do.  After the break I want the kids to play ahead of the vets (White in place of Dumont, Chabot in place of Oduya) or at least pushing them (Chlapik/Pyatt, Englund/Phaneuf).

As long as they don't embarrass themselves, losses just mean more balls in the lottery.  We're not catching Lightning (in a bottle) or the Leafs; Boston is *really* good (playing the kids, btw) and Montreal has Price.  We're just as close to the bottom than we are to a wildcard (10 points; although we have a 4 games on the Coyotes).  Dump a couple contracts, move Ceci/Smith for picks, play the kids and give Arizona a run for their money!

P.S. I reserve the right to change my mind if they win tonight.

Smith will be a game time decision. Phaenuf won't play, Harpur will. Englund was called up as insurance.

wprager wrote:I'm >this< close to not caring any more.  Looking forward to seeing how Formenton and Batherson and Brown do.  After the break I want the kids to play ahead of the vets (White in place of Dumont, Chabot in place of Oduya, Chlapik) or at least pushing them (Chlapik/Pyatt, Englund/Phaneuf).

As long as they don't embarrass themselves, losses just mean more balls in the lottery.  We're not catching Lightning (in a bottle) or the Leafs; Boston is *really* good (playing the kids, btw) and Montreal has Price.  We're just as close to the bottom than we are to a wildcard (10 points; although we have a 4 games on the Coyotes).  Dump a couple contracts, move Ceci/Smith for picks, play the kids and give Arizona a run for their money!

P.S. I reserve the right to change my mind if they win tonight.

I 100% agree with this.

If you can move Smith, Ceci and Oduya for futures it's a win. Even better if you can move Phaneuf but I am not holding my breath. I'd also entertain moving Brassard if it looks like Brown, White or Chlapik are top-six C material. Move Hoffman if you get an offer you can't refuse. Not a must but at this point their focus should be re-signing Karlsson, Stone and Duchene and surrounding them with young, fast players.

If Boucher can't develop younger players then he has no business being a coach in the NHL anymore.

I’m not interested in just moving players for picks (well maybe Dion, but that’s unlikely) I think the return has to be something that makes sense for us. I don’t think there are that many forwards in bingo that seem ready to make the jump.
At this point I’d love to move some players also but I’m much more looking at getting good prospects back. Skip the drafting and part of the development

Oh and we are getting spanked tonight.

Flo The Action wrote:I’m not interested in just moving players for picks (well maybe Dion, but that’s unlikely) I think the return has to be something that makes sense for us. I don’t think there are that many forwards in bingo that seem ready to make the jump.
At this point I’d love to move some players also but I’m much more looking at getting good prospects back. Skip the drafting and part of the development

Thompson has value as a good penalty killer and great faceoff guy. Pyatt can play very well for a stretch but he is a 3rd liner at best and not very large. Smith has largely sentimental value. Like Pyatt he is a 3rd liner. Unlike Pyatt he comes with a heftier price tag. I still have no clue why we got Dumont in the first place. I don't see him as being ahead of a number of forwards in Belleville. Burrows, well, I didn't mind the trade but the extension ...

Keep Thompson, replace Pyatt with Chlapik, Smith with White, Dumont with a block of cheese. Call-up whoever is the next-best-available from Belleville if needed.

By all means, we need to get Jaros into the lineup. Enough with the weak-a$$ back-hand clearing attempts from Phaneuf or whoever is playing their wrong side. And if Ceci is moved then we need another rightie.

Our lineup next year could very well look something like:

Ryan-Duchene-Stone
Hoffman-Brown-Dzingel
Formenton-Pageau-White
Paul-Chlapik-Pyatt

XXXXX-Karlsson
Claesson-Chabot
Englund-Jaros

It'd be fun to watch this team. A lot of speed and skill throughout the lineup.

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Our lineup next year could very well look something like:

Ryan-Duchene-Stone
Hoffman-Brown-Dzingel
Formenton-Pageau-White
Paul-Chlapik-Pyatt

XXXXX-Karlsson
Claesson-Chabot
Englund-Jaros

It'd be fun to watch this team. A lot of speed and skill throughout the lineup.

Ryan-Stone-Brown-Paul -- none of those are speed demons. I'm hoping Brown will improve, and that size/reach will make up for at least some of the foot speed (he's a better skater than Stone was so there's that). So there's still room to improve with the overall team speed. Also XXXXX=Chabot, and put Wideman back where he belongs. If Wides doesn't get re-signed then they have to go out and get a right-hand puck mover. I think Doughty may be available, soon

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Our lineup next year could very well look something like:

Ryan-Duchene-Stone
Hoffman-Brown-Dzingel
Formenton-Pageau-White
Paul-Chlapik-Pyatt

XXXXX-Karlsson
Claesson-Chabot
Englund-Jaros

It'd be fun to watch this team. A lot of speed and skill throughout the lineup.

Too bad we won’t have a 1st round pick because that’s a number 1 overall draft picking team. That back-end is brutally inexperienced and green, and Brown can’t be counted on as a second line C. Formenton will probably need another year before making the sens, lots of players have a good camp but don’t make the show for a few years. Paul comes to mind. That’s just a lot of wishful thinking IMO.

wprager wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Our lineup next year could very well look something like:

Ryan-Duchene-Stone
Hoffman-Brown-Dzingel
Formenton-Pageau-White
Paul-Chlapik-Pyatt

XXXXX-Karlsson
Claesson-Chabot
Englund-Jaros

It'd be fun to watch this team. A lot of speed and skill throughout the lineup.

Ryan-Stone-Brown-Paul -- none of those are speed demons.  I'm hoping Brown will improve, and that size/reach will make up for at least some of the foot speed (he's a better skater than Stone was so there's that).  So there's still room to improve with the overall team speed.  Also XXXXX=Chabot, and put Wideman back where he belongs.  If Wides doesn't get re-signed then they have to go out and get a right-hand puck mover.  I think Doughty may be available, soon

Im unable to watch right now but reading that Ryan is scoring is great. When he’s not injured this year it seems like he’s been following on his post season success from last year

Flo The Action wrote:Im unable to watch right now but reading that Ryan is scoring is great. When he’s not injured this year it seems like he’s been following on his post season success from last year

It was a Tampa own-goal, but we'll take it!