Ottawa Senators (present and past) TIDBITS & QUICK HITS!

I nearly stoped watching the game once the leafs scored their 4th but had other stuff to do at the same time so left the game on. That was really fun and that’s what you want to see. Like the old sens, you want the kids to claw back and get themselves a victory. They looked so pleased.

Especially against the leafs.

Diddle the leafs.

Not enough can be said for Dadinov tying the game late, saving the game in ot, then winning it in ot.  Mind blowing series.  He's not on the same level as say a Matthews, but that was hugh level Dung there.

And zub's first goal.  Holy crap

Also, Freddy Andersen was...not good. The Leafs kind of remind me of the Sens teams that would do so well in the regular season and then flame out in the playoffs. They better hope for favourable playoff matchups...and that someone else takes out the Bruins.

tim1_2 wrote:Also, Freddy Andersen was...not good. The Leafs kind of remind me of the Sens teams that would do so well in the regular season and then flame out in the playoffs.  They better hope for favourable playoff matchups...and that someone else takes out the Bruins.

Oh, I don't think they can go head to head with the elite teams. We'll see, but...

Leafs have lousy leadership. Give the C to Jumbo or Giggles because Tavares is *not* Captain material.

They do have a legit backup goalie in Jack Campbell (assuming he gets healthy at some point), and their team on paper is very, very good. I'd consider them elite, and I think they can match up well...but I'm still not sold on Marner/Matthews in the playoffs for whatever reason. Maybe the "leadership" of Joe Thornton and Spezza can help get them over the hump this year..? I dunno. It's gonna be very interesting in the playoffs again.

Logan Brown is day-to-day. He'll probably be ready to go by the time Dzingel's quarantine is over.

So the team has made a fairly significant turnaround over the last four or so.
Curious what people think is the biggest factor.

1) Colin white and the overall chemistry of the Paul, white daddy line (the priveleged line)
2) more stability on D with Zub in and coburn and brown out
3) timely saves from the keepers
4) time to settle in, get their feet under them...

Vandelay wrote:So the team has made a fairly significant turnaround over the last four or so.
Curious what people think is the biggest factor.

1) Colin white and the overall chemistry of the Paul, white daddy line (the priveleged line)
2) more stability on D with Zub in and coburn and brown out
3) timely saves from the keepers
4) time to settle in, get their feet under them...

I think the first two for sure. I believe option 3 is still up in the air while i don't think the sens ever needed time to get their feet under them. They've been skating well and keeping pace since day one.

I think they lack true goal scorers and true shut-down defensemen, which will be their Achille's heel throughout the season. Zub has been a great surprise and is IMO our second best d-man on the team. Will be interesting to see what happens when Brannstrom is healthy. Wolanin won't clear waivers so I suspect either Brann gets sent down (undeservedly so) or the Sens move on from Reilly

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:

Vandelay wrote:So the team has made a fairly significant turnaround over the last four or so.
Curious what people think is the biggest factor.

1) Colin white and the overall chemistry of the Paul, white daddy line (the priveleged line)
2) more stability on D with Zub in and coburn and brown out
3) timely saves from the keepers
4) time to settle in, get their feet under them...

I think the first two for sure. I believe option 3 is still up in the air while i don't think the sens ever needed time to get their feet under them. They've been skating well and keeping pace since day one.

I think they lack true goal scorers and true shut-down defensemen, which will be their Achille's heel throughout the season. Zub has been a great surprise and is IMO our second best d-man on the team. Will be interesting to see what happens when Brannstrom is healthy. Wolanin won't clear waivers so I suspect either Brann gets sent down (undeservedly so) or the Sens move on from Reilly

Wolanin has been getting better by the game, no way they waive him IMO. They might alternate him and Reilly for a while though, as Wolanin really showed the effects of missing a year.

Reilly will be gone soon though.

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:

Vandelay wrote:So the team has made a fairly significant turnaround over the last four or so.
Curious what people think is the biggest factor.

1) Colin white and the overall chemistry of the Paul, white daddy line (the priveleged line)
2) more stability on D with Zub in and coburn and brown out
3) timely saves from the keepers
4) time to settle in, get their feet under them...

I think the first two for sure. I believe option 3 is still up in the air while i don't think the sens ever needed time to get their feet under them. They've been skating well and keeping pace since day one.

I think they lack true goal scorers and true shut-down defensemen, which will be their Achille's heel throughout the season. Zub has been a great surprise and is IMO our second best d-man on the team. Will be interesting to see what happens when Brannstrom is healthy. Wolanin won't clear waivers so I suspect either Brann gets sent down (undeservedly so) or the Sens move on from Reilly

I hope it's the latter. Not a fan of reilly. Wolanin looks like brannstrom last year. Good at times but a bit of a struggle adjusting to timing and pace. Skates well and sees the ice but jittery with the puck.

Apparently Brannstrom and Murray are ready to return so I guess we well find out

Wolanin will most likely sit for Reilly. And for good reason. But they will both probably alternate in the lineup. I don't see a future for Wolanin here, but maybe he will stick around for another year or two.

I think people were being way too hard on DJ Smith and his staff. He's a good coach who isn't just some old boys club guy who doesn't change his ways. They started off playing more of the veterans because there was no pre-season and these guys deserved to get their feet wet. After about 10 games or so, the guys who couldn't cut it started to get scratched or have their minutes reduced. It made sense to me.

This team has been way better than their record shows. They have been playing good hockey the last two weeks. Play this way with more experience and better players next year, and they will make noise.

I think Dzingel will do well. He has nothing to lose, he'll go out there and battle it out for another contract (here or elsewhere). He was buried in Carolina. He is an upgrade on Norris for the PP.

Vandelay wrote:So the team has made a fairly significant turnaround over the last four or so.
Curious what people think is the biggest factor.

1) Colin white and the overall chemistry of the Paul, white daddy line (the priveleged line)
2) more stability on D with Zub in and coburn and brown out
3) timely saves from the keepers
4) time to settle in, get their feet under them...

Pretty much all 4 of those, except less so the goalies. It's kind of crazy to think that a lot of these guys hadn't played a game of hockey since last March. Also, the team has changed a lot since last season. So it stands to reason that they are now getting a little more comfortable with each other and the way they play.

The D was a disaster, and will still struggle for the foreseeable future, but Zub has been a very solid addition. Take a look at Zub's advanced stats. They are very good. He gets more D zone starts than O zone starts, yet has the best CORSI and Fenwick on the team (of note here, Mike Reilly's advanced stats are also better than average on the team, but people have focussed on some of his very visible blunders). Anyway, I'm a big Zub fan. For a guy that just started his North America career, he looks great.

Paquette and Galchenyuk were disasters, so it's nice to see the club move on from them quickly. Like Ev pointed out, Dzingel should be a good addition that can actually generate some offense with his speed. If not, we didn't give up anything of consequence for him.

On Wolanin, I know Sens Twitter and elsewhere people have hard-ons for him, but I'm just not seeing it yet. He does deserve some time though, so if he's in and out of the lineup, that's fine with me.

Also, as Ev said, the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit...look at the shift over the past several games and it's been quite noticeable.

And look at 19 year old Jimmy Stu...looking like the next Alfie here (obviously that's a crazy thing to say, but if you look at his maturity already...why not). He obviously wants to win and is not shying away from anything.

Yeah, the coaching point is a good one.

On jimmy Stu, he had a shift last night with two fairly brutal turnovers. One nearly leading to a goal. He didn't miss a shift. I'm sure they had a chat with him but I love that they're willing to give the rookies some leash.

Wolanin out, bran in.  I like wolanin, but bran is excellent

Ev wrote:Wolanin will most likely sit for Reilly. And for good reason. But they will both probably alternate in the lineup. I don't see a future for Wolanin here, but maybe he will stick around for another year or two.

I think people were being way too hard on DJ Smith and his staff. He's a good coach who isn't just some old boys club guy who doesn't change his ways. They started off playing more of the veterans because there was no pre-season and these guys deserved to get their feet wet. After about 10 games or so, the guys who couldn't cut it started to get scratched or have their minutes reduced. It made sense to me.

This team has been way better than their record shows. They have been playing good hockey the last two weeks. Play this way with more experience and better players next year, and they will make noise.

I think Dzingel will do well. He has nothing to lose, he'll go out there and battle it out for another contract (here or elsewhere). He was buried in Carolina. He is an upgrade on Norris for the PP.

In a short season, i dont know why you wait so long.  Stepan sucks, either his heart isnt in it or he's dome, either way, he goes down to line 4 after 3 games if I'm coach and i move someone who has some drive up into that spot.  Be it Paul, Tierney, Stutzle, whatever.  Same for any vet, if you can't cut it, move aside.  What's the worst that could happen playing Stutzle pp1 from day 1?  Sounds good to me.

I've also had issues with his deployment of players at crucial times up until recently.

Maybe he's on the right track, but who knows.  I wouldn't say falling behind 5 1 in any game is positive.  Coming back was, but that's as much on Toronto. 

However...I'm basically eternally optimistic and i think and hope you're right.  Some of the trash got taken out with the carolina trade and youth is now being served.