SB Nation - Milan Michalek

Senators shut out by Thomas, Bruins win 2-0

PeterR — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:29:23 -0000

More photos » by Sean Kilpatrick - AP

about 19 hours ago: Ottawa Senators' Chris Kelly, left, get pushed around by Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara, of Slovakia, as Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas keeps his eyes on the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

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A 2-0 loss was certainly not the result the Ottawa Senators wanted when they were set to take on the Boston Bruins Monday night, but it's the kind of thing Ottawa has probably come to expect when facing Tim Thomas in nets. It was a very tight game, for the most part, with both teams exchanging shots, scoring chances, and big saves, until Boston broke it open in the third period. The Senators couldn't beat Thomas to get back into the game after going down, and that was all she wrote.

Sens killer: Tim Thomas
There is only one tonight. The Level 12 ogre-mage* continues to shut down the Senators whenever he plays them, and has now won the last ten games he's played against Ottawa. He stopped all 29 shots he faced tonight, none of the saves standing out as highlight-reel stops, but huge nonetheless. He's become legendary amongst Senators killers, and could enter the category reserved for Ed Belfour and Gary Roberts if these teams ever meet in the playoffs. It's true that Chara could probably also be classified as a Sens killer, but doing so would downplay the amount of killing that Thomas inflicted.

Sens heroes: Brian Elliott, Alex Kovalev, Jarkko Ruutu
For the first two periods, Elliott was among the Senators' strongest players against Boston. He was making strong saves, with 12 in the first alone, and kept Ottawa in the game through the second period when it looked like they were being brutally outplayed. Neither goal was particularly awful, although the team needed Elliott to stop the very stoppable second goal. Still, Ottawa had no business staying in that second period, if not for Elliott.

Kind of looked like Kovalev enjoys the physical challenge of going up against Zdeno Chara tonight, which seems like the opposite of what you'd expect. Of particular note was a play in the first period, where Kovalev rushed to beat Chara and kind of did, before being taken down hard by Chara behind the net. And, near the end of the game, he even got into a sort-of fight with former teammate Steve Bégin. It was an uncharacteristically gritty, hard-working game for Kovalev, and perhaps if Ottawa got a powerplay opportunity (more on that later), he would have made some magic happen for the Senators' offence.

Of all Senators, Ruutu had the best scoring chances. He had a great opportunity short-handed after Patrice Bergeron coughed up the puck, he was sent on a breakaway by Chris Phillips late in the game. Obviously, he couldn't convert any of the chances he had, but it was a strong game for the pest nonetheless.

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Sens zeros: Josh Hennessy, Erik Karlsson
Might not be fair to put Hennessy in this category considering he only had 5:02 in ice time, he gave the puck away for what would ultimately be the decisive goal. He didn't do much else on the night, and that makes it even uglier for the guy. If it's any consolation for him, though, it wouldn't matter how well he played tonight; when Chris Neil returns to the lineup on Wednesday, Hennessy is (in all likelihood) right back to Binghamton.

One kid who's not going to be going back to Binghamton, though, is Karlsson. He was softer on the puck tonight, for whatever reason--maybe he was hesitant because the Bruins are pretty big, or he was just tired after an emotional game last game, or maybe he's sick of playing with Filip Kuba while Kuba drags his ass all over the ice (seriously, the veteran has to pick up his game). Karlsson was soft in front of the net on Bergeron's game-winning goal, and that's why the rebound went in instead of getting cleared harmlessly to the corner.

Why does this keep happening: Zero powerplays
For the third time this season, the Senators played a saintly team, and were therefore given no powerplays on the night. I could bring up instances where Boston should have been assessed powerplays, we could talk about whether or not the Senators are getting in positions to draw penalties, or whatever else, but we could also mention an old cliche: One is an event, two is a coincidence, three is a trend.

Ugly stat of the night: Jesse Winchester 5-for-21 in faceoffs
I guess the faceoff magic Winch had in his stick for his first couple games on the top line had worn off before tonight, because he was absolutely destroyed in the faceoff circle tonight, with a 24 percent faceoff win number. You've heard it before, but it's not easy for his line to get offence going without the puck, and that's even more devastating because it meant the puck was away from Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek. No one else on Ottawa was below 50 percent in faceoffs.

Commenter of the night: Dany Hea-Traitor
Partied like a rock star who's mildly funny at times.

* - Nickname explanation: Ogre because he's short, mage because he wears a mask/cage hybrid he calls a 'mage', and Level 12 because it makes it even nerdier.

Mark's take: I didn't see this game, but the way Tim Thomas plays against Ottawa, I'm not surprised. I would, however, like to point out that Filip Kuba was a team worst minus two on the night. Kuba's last three games: minus three, minus one, minus two. His December reads like a first grader learning subtraction. I realize plus/minus can be a deceptive stat, but it's not unfair at this point to ask for more defensively from him. At the very least, if he is going to be on the ice giving up goals, he needs to provide some kind of offensive support to balance it out. Isn't that why Bryan Murray signed him?

Strong team play leads Senators to 4-1 win over Wild

Mark Parisi — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:41:53 -0000

More photos » by Adrian Wyld - AP

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The Ottawa Senators stepped up their game tonight for goalie Mike "Not Martin" Brodeur, who made his NHL debut. Brodeur only let in one goal on 23 shots, but that didn’t matter as the team put up four goals to support him. Ottawa was strong in almost all facets of the game (except for one… you can guess now and see if you’re right later) and made what looked like a concerted effort to help out their young goaltender. Brodeur was not spectacular, but he did not need to be – defensemen were quick to jump on and clear rebounds, clear traffic in front of the net, and the team as a whole worked to keep shots to the outside.

I’m giving out praise like Halloween candy tonight, so let’s get right to it.

Sens Hero #1: Erik Karlsson.
Karlsson recorded his first NHL goal tonight, and it was well deserved. A player whose game has improved every night since his recall, it seems he is rewarding GM Bryan Murray’s faith in him. Karlsson weighs as much as my cat, but he already possesses a big time shot, and Alex Kovalev had the smarts to feed him. His first blast rebounded to Kovalev, who simply decided to pass to him again. His second shot did not miss. It is exciting to see Karlsson’s offensive vision develop. He is making smart plays more and more often, though he is far from perfect. If he can fill out his frame, his potential is very exciting to think about.

Sens Hero #2: Mike Brodeur.
Guy won his NHL debut and only let in one goal, come on. This alone is enough for hero status, but when the Wild started to buzz late in the third, he put together several great saves. The team then rallied behind him and used the momentum to generate a long stretch in Minnesota’s zone, effectively canceling all of the Wild’s hard work.

Sens Hero #3: Peter Regin.
Hamlet, like Karlsson, is riding a string of strong games lately. Regin put together a two-assist game tonight. He is probably not going to be a dominant goal scorer, but he is strong defensively and has some pretty decent offensive skills. If he can continue contributing at this level, he will be a player on the team for quite a while.

Sens Zeroes:
I have none tonight. How awesome is that?

One of these things is not like the other:
Mike Fisher and Jonathan Cheechoo both scored their 300^th point tonight. Way to go, guys!

Oh, hello there:
Milan Michalek scored the game-winning goal tonight, snapping a nine-game goalless drought. It was a snap shot, changing up from his previous pattern of goals from in front of the net. It’s nice to see a reminder that he can score from many different places on the ice. The goal was also his team-leading 16^th.

Anyone else notice?
Ottawa has done a really good job of limiting team’s shots recently. Teams that are averaging 30 shots a game are playing the Senators and only coming away with 22 or 23.

Sens Killers: Ottawa’s Power Play.
Another 0-for effort tonight, as the Senators went 0-for-6 on with the man advantage. Don’t worry, guys, it’s not like special teams matter in the playoffs or anything. Is Clouston even working on this with the team?

Jealous of Picard?
Anton Volchenkov opened the scoring tonight with an awesome shot. Anytime the Android scores, it’s fun to see, and he ripped a shot for a goal tonight. But that wasn’t good enough for him, as he took another shot that was also a good scoring opportunity. In addition, Volchenkov and Chris Phillips were +3 tonight, supporting three different goal-scoring lines tonight.

Shot Chart from the game:

Game highlights:

Senators can't convert in 4-2 loss to Devils

PeterR — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:38:23 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

3 days ago: Ottawa Senators goaltender Brian Elliott, left, and Filip Kuba, center, of the Czech Republic, react after a goal by New Jersey Devils' Bryce Salvadore (not shown) as Devils' Niclas Bergfors, right, of Sweden, circles around the net during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Newark, N.J. Elliott deflected the puck into the air and it went into the net off his back. The Devils defeated the Senators 4-2. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The Ottawa Senators can't complain about their secondary scorers after a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, but they've got to be wondering what it will take for the big guns to get their points consistently. Mike Fisher's getting his points well enough, but solid play isn't translating into goals for the newly-assembled line of Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, and Jesse Winchester. Until those guys--particularly the first two--get their points regularly, the Senators are going to have a hard time winning more than they lose. Tonight, Alex Picard and Jarkko Ruutu scored goals to carry their share of the load, but Martin Brodeur and the Devils' defence kept any other Senators from earning Ottawa any points in the standings.

Sens heroes: Erik Karlsson, Jonathan Cheechoo
Without a doubt, Karlsson had his strongest game as an NHLer tonight, and Bryan Murray must feel a little vindicated for putting his faith in Karlsson as a full-time, big-time pro. Although he was culpable of some weak front-of-the-net coverage on the game-winning goal, he looked assertive, poised, calm, and more than capable for the most part tonight. He had his best scoring chance of the season when he stole the puck and generated himself a breakaway, showing that despite the fact that he couldn't get a shot, he'll be a heck of an asset when playing four-on-four. He's improving every game, and looking very much the powerplay quarterback he came into the season expected to be.

It's also reassuring to see that Cheechoo has maintained the strong game he found while the Senators were on their western road swing. He will likely be of minimal use on the powerplay unless he's with some mega-stars, but he's playing well as a third-liner, with an assist tonight. It's not the role Cheechoo played while he was putting up trophy-winning numbers with San Jose, but his work ethic has helped him get into it.

Sens killers: Martin Brodeur, Jamie Langenbrunner
Brodeur is always a Sens killer, and it was no different tonight. He stopped 27 of 29 shots, only really being beaten by Jarkko Ruutu (Alex Picard's goal was an absolute fluke), and I can hardly imagine how much his defencemen love playing in front of a goalie who controls his rebounds so well.

Langenbrunner, too, seems to have a certain something when he plays against the Senators, with 25P (13G, 12A) in 32 career GP against the Senators (Friday night included)--far better per-game numbers than his career pace would lead you to expect.

Sens zeros: Filip Kuba
In watching Kuba for a year and a half, you see something: Some games, he's the monster who scores four points, but other games, he's the monstrosity who can't keep his check to save his life, and gets lit up as a result. Credit where credit is due, Kuba had two shots (both on the powerplay) tonight, and was credited with two hits, but he was awful defensively. He blew his check on Jay Pandolfo's goal, finished -3 on the night, and just looked weak, tired, and uninspired. It's unfortunate that an otherwise strong game by his defensive partner, Erik Karlsson, was tarnished by a similar -3 count because of weak play by Kuba.

Credit goes to: Alex Kovalev, Milan Michalek
For the second game in a row, Kovalev looked like he was working hard and generating chances tonight. He had good puck possession (what else is new), but unlike some other games, he seemed willing to charge off the boards instead of just stickhandling along the dasher boards. The only thing that kept him out of the Heroes category, in the end, was likely the fact that Ottawa was again 0-for-6 on the powerplay. One of Kovalev's chief responsibilities is to make the PP lethal, and--whether because he doesn't know his teammates well enough, hasn't been given enough freedom or control, or some other reason--he hasn't done that yet.

Michalek had another strong game, but he's got to get on the scoresheet one of these days. Five shots on net in 18:39 and a couple of hits, to boot, but his cold streak has to be nearing absolute zero. He'll have to start pushing the mercury back up soon if Ottawa's going to keep pace with the conference leaders.

Defensive stalwarts: Matt Carkner and Alex Picard
Somehow, these two were +2 on the night, and each had a point (an assist for Carkner, a goal for Picard) with 18:19 and 15:21 TOI, respectively. I don't know what it is about the Picarkner Effect, but it's working in favour of both of these guys. They've had one bad game (and it was abysmal), but for the most part they've just been solid contributors for the team.

Unfortunate reality: Missed scoring chances
Whether it be Jonathan Cheechoo sliding the puck just past the front of the net, Mike Fisher taking a second too long with an open net, or Milan Michalek fumbling the puck with Martin Brodeur miles out of his net, the Senators had some very good chances to score that just didn't finish up. Ottawa outshot the Devils 29-22, and probably had a similar advantage in bona fide scoring chances, but the Senators couldn't finish while New Jersey took advantage of each chance they got.

How does he do it: Alex Picard
I don't know how, but Picard just keeps getting his points. For the second night in a row, he throw an innocent-looking shot at the net, and it finds its way in. One thing it shows to his defensive partners: Shooting is never a bad idea, if you can hit the net. When Picard came over in the Andrej Meszaros trade, I remember hearing good things about his slapshot from the point, but it's his wrist shot that's reaped the rewards. It reminds me of Wade Redden's ability, when he was on his game (and not a $6.5M healthy scratch), to wrist shots on the net and make them count. With the goal, Picard's got 14P (4G, 10A) in 29GP on the year.

Look forward to: Not Martin
It's been reported that Mike Brodeur might finally get to see some NHL action tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild, and tonight Brian Elliott didn't do anything in particular to make it seem like a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, Elliott wasn't bad (the Devils' fourth goal wasn't bad, it was mostly unlucky), but he wasn't amazing. He was just good. So I wouldn't be surprised if Not Martin finally gets his shot.

Worst stat of the night: 0-for-6 on the powerplay
Just plan terrible. But the Senators can't say they didn't have their chances, and the Devils' effective penalty kill units--led, of course, by Martin Brodeur--took away most chances Ottawa had. The Senators had nine powerplay shots, including a number of good chances and drives from the point, but couldn't make any of them count.

Second-worst stat of the night: Chris Kelly 1-for-7 in faceoffs
Not much to say about it, except that it's amazing Kelly's line, along with Jonathan Cheechoo and Jarkko Ruutu, got as many chances as they had tonight given that their centreman hardly ever got them the puck. Kelly made a great pass for Ruutu's goal, but he's got to work on his faceoffs. Fourteen percent for a defensive specialist is just not good enough.

Game highlights:

Game 33 Preview: New Jersey Devils vs. Ottawa Senators - 12/18/2009

John Fischer — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:00:18 -0000

by Rich Schultz - AP

More of these please. Especially if you're Zach Parise and/or Travis Zajac. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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The Time: 7 PM EST

The Broadcasting Info: TV: MSG+; Radio: 660 AM WFAN

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (23-8-1) vs. the Ottawa Senators (17-12-4)

The Last Devils Game: The Devils didn't play well, but somehow, Montreal squandered more of the game and Patrik Elias made them pay late in the game off a rebound created by Brian Rolston and Carey Price. The Devils go on to win 2-1 and I wrote a recap about a game where neither team looked like they wanted to win all that badly.

The Last Senators Game: In a word, it was a shutdown effort by the Senators. They hosted the Buffalo Sabres; Brian Elliott was perfect; the Senators' defense kept the Sabres out of the slot; and went on to win 2-0. A very nice win according to Peter R's account at Silver Seven.

The Last Devils-Senators Game: It wasn't the best of times for the Devils. A three game winless streak and taking on a then-hot Ottawa Senators team. Yet, neither team really relented in a tight checking game and Patrik Elias was the hero with a deft deflection to put the Devils up 2-1. The result frustrated the Senators enough for Daniel Alfredsson to throw a stick on an empty net chance that Jamie Langenbrunner put in anyway. The Devils win 3-1, I recapped the game here; Peter R shared his thoughts here.

The Goal: 60 minutes of effort, Devils. I know it's a cliche. I know I've said it before. But despite the 6-2 record in December, the Devils have played one game wherein they played hard in each period. I've said it before, and it still holds true. If you've been reading my recaps or watching the recent games, you know this. And the media is picking up on this; check out the third comment on this post from Tom Gulitti, posted by, er, Tom Gulitti:

It’s something we might point to in a few days, but the Devils have not played a really solid game since Buffalo. They had good starts against Carolina and Phildelphia, but didn’t play well in the last two periods of either game. If they were playing better opponents, it might have been a different outcome.

They lost to Florida, which hadn’t been playing well before that, and then last night they won pretty much because they played a team that played worse than they did.

Ottawa and Atlanta are better than last four teams the Devils played. They need to play better to win those games—though Ottawa will be without Spezza (knee).

Posted by TG on 12/17 at 03:57 PM

Turn it around, Devils. Ottawa will not go down easily. Read on for my further thoughts about tonight's game, including some insight into the Senators from Peter R of Silver Seven.

Now, in practice on Thursday per Gulitti's report, Jacques Lemaire changed the forward lines up and split up Zach Parise and Travis Zajac. While they haven't been bad, they haven't been producing goals on the ice. Between the two, they have combined for 1 goal (Zajac) and 6 assists (2 from Zajac, 4 from Parise) in the last 5 games. For most, that wouldn't be so bad; but given that they are New Jersey's top left winger and center, the expectations are more demanding. While the Devils are winning games, it would be most beneficial if either player started putting pucks into the net as well as on net.

To that end, I would expect a jumbled set of forward lines to start against Ottawa. Though, I think the fourth line will remain the same. I personally hope the second line of Brian Rolston, Patrik Elias, and Vladimir Zharkov remains intact. Rolston and Elias have played well together and Zharkov's hustle is infectious. The threesome put together the game winning goal against Montreal and I hope they get rewarded with another game together. But if Parise is being moved away from Zajac, it wouldn't surprise me if Lemaire puts him next to Elias. Of course, if things go pear-shaped, Lemaire will switch things up.

The defense will remain the same and if Gulitti's reporting that Martin Brodeur looks like he'll start, then he probably will. Should Brodeur play tonight, it will be his 1,030th career game - breaking Patrick Roy's all-time record for games played by a goaltender. That all said, here is my badly-made guess for tonight's lineup:

Brian Rolston - Travis Zajac - Nicklas Bergfors
Zach Parise - Patrik Elias - Vladimir Zharkov
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Jamie Langenbrunner
Rod Pelley - Dean McAmmond - Ilkka Pikkarainen

Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Mark Fraser - Johnny Oduya

Martin Brodeur
Yann Danis

Aside from this bad guess and wanting to see a 60 minute effort by the home team, I'd love to see the power play be less than useless. I don't want them to just mindlessly throw pucks on net. Setting up shots is fine, but they really need to do a better job in establishing position on offense and putting the puck on net. 3 shots out of 5 power plays, which was what the Rock was treated to on Wednesday, is not good enough. I shouldn't even have to write that they shouldn't concede the puck at the point en route to a shorthanded scoring chance. If the Devils want to actually take advantage, then their power play performance has to do better.

Let's consider tonight's opponent for a moment. With a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 games, Jason Spezza out with a torn MCL (6-8 weeks) and the team not looking to get any help in response, Nick Foligno is out for 2 weeks with knee surgery (last two links via Silver Seven), and Jonathan Cheechoo still on the roster, one may think things aren't going so well for the Senators. Someone could have told Buffalo that, as they were shutout 2-0 on Wednesday by the Senators. So Ottawa comes into this game with a little momentum, an opportunity for revenge (Senators lost twice to the Devils already), and every reason to give the Devils another tough game.

Even with Spezza out due to injury, the Senators still have some very dangerous and productive forwards. The defense can't rest when these guys are out on the ice.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Daniel Alfredsson	33	9	21	30	-1	10	1	1	2	82	11.0
2009 - Mike Fisher	31	15	13	28	9	19	6	0	4	103	14.6
2009 - Milan Michalek	33	15	6	21	-8	8	5	2	2	93	16.1
2009 - Alex Kovalev	30	7	11	18	2	18	1	0	1	45	15.6

To get a better understanding of the Senators, I had a few questions for Peter R of Silver Seven. Thankfully, he took the time to answer them and I hope you learn a little more about how the team is doing these days.

Question #1. Let's talk goaltenders first. After Pascal Leclaire went out with injury due to a bizarre incident, Brian Elliott has been playing fairly well recently with 2 shutouts in his last 5 games. Do you think he's doing his job well as Leclaire's out? And when Leclaire returns, do you think there will be a goaltending duel for the #1 spot?

PR: Brian Elliott's been strong at times in Pascal Leclaire's absence, but he's had off-games, too. Leclaire should be back soon (probably after this weekend), and when he does come back he'll re-assume the number one mantle, no questions asked. Elliott just hasn't played consistently enough to raise any questions about that reality.

	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Brian Elliott	19	1094	9	7	48	2.63	506	458	.905	2

Question #2. The last time these two teams played, the Devils went on to win 3-1 with Patrik Elias' deflection ultimately deciding the game. In your recap of that game, to summarize, the Senators struggled to get anything going and against a team like New Jersey, a positive result was unlikely. What do you think Ottawa should do to adjust for New Jersey's style of play?

PR: It's tough to say what the Senators have to do to beat the Devils, but there's no doubt the scoring forwards who are in the lineup--Mike Fisher, Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, and Alex Kovalev--all need to get their games on. Carrying the puck through the neutral zone doesn't work, so the Senators will probably need to dump the puck into the corners (while keeping it away from Brodeur) and get in on the defensemen as quickly as possible. Against a shut-down team like Jersey, getting the lead is huge, so Ottawa needs to find one and keep it.

Question #3. One of the players on Ottawa who's having a good season is Milan Michalek. He scored Ottawa's lone goal in the last game between these two teams and he is tied with Mike Fisher for the team lead with 15. Are you surprised he has turned out to be this productive, and - based on what you've seen - why do you think he's been so effective for the Senators so far?

PR: I'm not surprised that Milan Michalek has been as successful offensively as he has been, but I didn't expect such an all-around force when he came over from San Jose: Penalty killing, backchecking, playing in front of the net, and he's insanely fast. His scoring has slowed down a fair bit in the last 10 games, and he's one guy who's going to have to get it going with Jason Spezza out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks.

Question #4. Rather than ask for a prediction for tonight's game, how about a bolder one? The Senators are sitting pretty at 6th in the East at 17-12-4; from what you've seen so far, do you think they'll be in the postseason come April?

PR: It would be a huge disappointment if the Senators didn't make the playoffs, at least as things are going right now--and that's even without Spezza for a significant period of time. They've been as high as first in the Northeast, and haven't spent any significant amount of time out of a playoff spot. Considering how weak the Eastern Conference has been so far this season, the Senators have a great chance of making the playoffs, even as high as fifth spot--but sixth or seventh might be more realistic.

Big thanks to Peter R for answering my questions. Elliott is coming off a real good game and he's done well at the Rock the last time he came here; so as inconsistent as he may have been, I wouldn't expect him to flounder.

It's interesting that Peter brought up the idea of dumping and chasing. The Canadiens tried to do that in the third period against the Devils, but to no real avail as the Devils were able to get to the dumped puck first more often than not. Oh, and it helps when Martin Brodeur's so good with his stick behind his net. Still, the Canadiens were also playing in a fog on Wednesday; I think Ottawa will be more alert tonight so I hope the defensemen are ready to hustle to the corners and endboards should the Senators go in this direction.

As usual, I'll be in Section 1, Row 16, and probably being louder than most would care for. Alas, it's a hockey game and not a library, that's my argument and I'm sticking to it. Stay warm and Steve will have the GameThread up tonight. Please comment on tonight's game in advance of the GameThread in the comments (feel free to post any updates from Gulitti or Chere). Go Devils!

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ Ottawa Senators

Rafal Ladysz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:22:51 -0000

More photos » by Paul Chiasson - AP

7 days ago: Buffalo Sabres' Tim Kennedy, center, celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens with teammates Patrick Kaleta, left, and Tyler Myers during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 in Montreal. The Sabres beat the Canadiens 4-3. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Paul Chiasson)

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Records, statistics and the standings don't matter, at least not for this match-up. Whether the Ottawa Senators are improving or playing poorly, they seem to have the Buffalo Sabres' number winning every season series in the last four years. Buffalo had a 41-26 shot advantage in the first contest of the season yet fell 5-3 to the Senators showing just how snake bitten they are when it comes to their Division foe.

But the Sabres don't look concerned with the past. Winners of four straight including a hard-fought 4-3 final in Montreal where they've struggled as well, the team believes they can beat anyone, anywhere. That's the mindset Buffalo needs and tonight is their best shot to really take it to the Senators which they undoubtedly would relish.

Five thoughts on each team below.

I dug up some numbers to give you an idea of how dominantly Ottawa has handled Buffalo. Since the lock-out, the Senators are 21-6-4 including this year's first clash. Of those 21 victories, 17 have ended by two or more goals and the Sabres have been outscored 126-88 when you count it all up which I did. Ouch.
Ryan Miller and Brian Elliott are the starting netminders. Patrick Lalime surrendered five goals in the November contest. If anyone can put an end to Buffalo's slump with Ottawa, it's Miller who continues to lead the league in every major category for goaltenders with the exception of wins where he is one shy of the lead held by Martin Brodeur and Jonathan Quick.
Clarke MacArthur banged home the game-winner Monday in Montreal via a five-on-three powerplay. The fourth-year winger passed Thomas Vanek in goals with his tenth by doing so. He put in 17 last season and looks to set a new career-high in the mid-20s.
Out with a torn MCL, Jason Spezza will be on the shelf as long as eight weeks possibly. It's a big break for Buffalo because the former Windsor Spitfire has 47 points in 37 career games with the Sabres. Also out of action for Ottawa is Chris Neil and Shean Donovan.
Three goals in two games including Buffalo's only two shorthanded markers have Patrick Kaleta receiving attention everywhere. Tied for sixth in team scoring with this outburst, the energetic checker has done it in style during and after the goal. A shorthanded goal would surely suck the life out of the Senators.
Spezza may be out but Ottawa still has three major threats up front. Daniel Alfredsson is always a thorn in our side, Mike Fisher is having a superb year and Milan Michalek already has 15 goals. And Alex Kovalev, in terms of work-rate, will be there maybe.
Buffalo's powerplay percentage is down to 21st and their penalty-kill has dropped to eighth which is the result of four of the last five goals they've conceded coming on the man-advantage. New York and Montreal both made two count. Ottawa is 12th on the penalty-kill and 21st when they are a man up so they aren't separated by Buffalo very much.
Against their Division, the Sabres are 4-2-2 as are the Senators strangely enough. Buffalo has won eight of ten and the Senators have lost six of ten.
Elliott is 5-0 lifetime versus Buffalo which shouldn't come as a surprise with their inabilities to close out the Senators. On the flip side, Miller is 8-11 against Ottawa but this will be his first crack at shutting them down this season.
A 15-2-2 record after scoring first is again irrelevant for Buffalo because Ottawa is one of the two squads who have won after allowing the opening goal to the Sabres. Boy have they ever had their way with Lindy Ruff's troops.

This is a must-win situation purely because Buffalo must prove it to the coaches, staff, fans and themselves that they have the ability to defeat Ottawa. With Spezza, Neil and Donovan out and a back-up goaltender standing in their way, this is their most timely opportunity. It's now or never.

Kovalev and Spezza power Senators to 4-2 win over Hurricanes

PeterR — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:14:27 -0000

I didn't get to see the Ottawa Senators' Saturday night 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, but I did get to see the in-game reaction from the best commenters in all the land, and also got to watch the highlights of the game. And it sounds like Alex Kovalev scored some overdue and perhaps lucky goals, and Jason Spezza put on in off Manny Legace's pads. Whatever the case, it's the same measure in the standings: A full, and very important, two points.

Sens heroes: Alex Kovalev, Jason Spezza, Nick Foligno
Memo to Sens fans: This is what it's like when you have to lines that can score. I'd forgotten what it was like, but now I know. Some might say Kovalev's goal weren't of the difficult variety, and he definitely benefited from his linemates' hard work, a lucky bounce, and the fact that there was no goalie. But on his first goal, he drove to the net hard against a check, potting Foligno's centring pass, and he finally shot the puck for the second.

Spezza scored his fourth of the season, but perhaps more importantly had six shots on net--a welcome change. He's a set up man, of that there is no doubt, but there's also no denying that he can shoot the puck, too. There's a balance he'll get to, between passing and shooting and defensive and offensive presence. He's just finding it now.

As for Foligno, second very strong game in a row, and he's getting the points to show for it: Another two assists tonight. On his way to those two helpers, Foligno had five shots and was rewarded with plenty of powerplay time. He's traditionally been a streaky scorer, and the benching no doubt woke him up, but hopefully he can find some measure of consistency through to the end of this season.

Silver Seven Heroes: Mark Parisi, Dany Hea-Traitor
These guys just brought it. Bomb doors open. They kept the GameThread going for the better part of the game. Anyone else who wasn't able to watch it, you can read their thoughts on the game as it happened, without the benefit of retrospect.

(Sens zeroes, Sens killers, Hopefully back on track, There when needed, In our hearts, Mysterious injury update of the night, and game highlights after the jump... )

Sens zeroes: Alex Picard
According to the in-game testament of Mark Parisi, Picard was a non-factor tonight. He was one of few Senators on the minus side of the ledger tonight, was tagged with two giveaways (but that's a pretty subjective stat, to be honest), and only had the one shot. He also brutally lost a race for the puck against Eric Staal on Carolina's second goal, let Staal pass the puck to the slot, and stood there and watched as Ray Whitney scored to tie the game. All of which might combine to be a good omen for Chris Campoli, who was scratched tonight in favour of Picard.

Sens killers: Ray Whitney
Again, Parisi said Whitney was on his game tonight, and could easily have had even more than the two goals he did score tonight. He heeled a strong chance on a 2-on-1 in the second, and had five shots and four hits before the night was out. Sounds like a strong game for one of the Hurricanes' prime deadline-day fire sale assets.

Hopefully back on track: Senators powerplay
Ottawa was a better-than-respectable 2-for-3 on the powerplay tonight, with Kovalev and Spezza each getting goals with the man advantage. Some keys, looking at the highlights: Net presence, as was the case with Milan Michalek pissing people off in front of the net for Spezza's goal, but was also noted from Nick Foligno and Mike Fisher; better puck movement at the points, including from Erik Karlsson, whose cross-ice feed to Kovalev set him up for the game-winner; and getting the puck on the net, as Ottawa had nine shots on their three powerplays.

There when needed: Brian Elliott
Elliott may wish he could get a mulligan for the goals he did allow, but his play when the Hurricanes were really getting their chances in the third period--in which he stopped all 12 shots he faced--made a strong statement for his ability to brush off weak goals and play well when the team really needs him. Highlight of that third period was a sick left-pad save on Ray Whitney, but there were a couple of other strong chances, too.

Not on the scoresheet, but still in our hearts: Chris Kelly
I'm usually one of the first people to rag on Kelly for his stone hands, but there's no doubting his value to this team as the go-to penalty killer and the anchor of Ottawa's fourth line. He had more penalty-killing time than anyone on the night, defencemen included, and is keeping it real. He does have to get his faceoff skills back up, though, although he was 5-for-10 tonight.

Mysterious injury update of the night: Alex Kovalev's previously unreported injury
In a Team 1200 post-game interview, Kovalev mentioned that--although he didn't want to blame injuries for his lacking production--he did have something nagging him that was keeping him from shooting the puck as much as he normally would. As a result, he was passing a lot more. Maybe if he's over it, we'll see an increased shot total from Kovalev (note to poolies) and the increased production that one assumes would follow from that.

Game highlights:

Senators can't convert powerplays, lose 4-1 to Canadiens

PeterR — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:03:21 -0000

More photos » by Adrian Wyld - AP

13 days ago: Montreal Canadiens' Josh Gorges tries to clear Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson away from the puck in front of Montreal Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak and defenceman Hal Gill during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Adrian Wyld)

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In another frustratingly effete effort, the Ottawa Senators made Jaroslav Halak look like an all-star and made their powerplay look like the feeblest in the league, walking out of the rink with a very disappointing 4-1 loss against the Montreal Canadiens. After the loss, Montreal pulled even with Ottawa in the standings, a very tough-to-swallow fact despite the fact that the Sens still have two games on hand. Most disappointing was the Senators impotent powerplay, which went 0-for-7 on the night despite 13 shots--which hearkens back to the criticisms of Bryan Murray earlier this week, when he said the Senators lack the grit to drive to the front of the net, force rebounds, and score some dirty goals.

Although there have been calls for Mike 'Not Martin' Brodeur to see some action one of these days, little blame can be placed at the feet of Brian Elliott for the loss. The first goal came after a linesman accidentally (or was it?) kicked the puck around Chris Phillips and right to Tomas Plekanec, leading to a two-on-one that Anton Volchenkov misplayed; Elliott was square to the shooter (Plekanec), while Volchenkov left Mike Cammalleri wide open to tap in the cross-ice pass. And the second was a doubly-tipped powerplay goal (which, apparently, are possible).

On to some finer points of the game...

Sens heroes: Mike Fisher-Milan Michalek-Daniel Alfredsson
The Senators' top line was dominant for much of the game. Fisher had the lone Senators goal early in the second period, and also had four hits and seven shots--second only to Alfredsson on the night, as the captain fired eight at Golden Jaro. Michalek had three shots, meaning that the three had 18 of Ottawa's 46 shots on the night. They also combined for four takeaways. Long story short, they brought it.

Sens zeroes: Alex Kovalev
Kovy did one good thing tonight: He injured Jaroslav Spacek with a shot late in the first period (Ed.: I'm joking, Kovalev didn't do anything good Tuesday night. And I hope Spacek is back in the lineup for next game, he's a well-respected person and a solid player). After that, he did little else: He floated either just inside the offensive or defensive ends, rarely venturing deep enough to contribute to the play, and didn't meaningfully contribute to the game in any way. Which you may say is characteristic of Kovalev, but most expected he'd at least bring some intensity to the team that let him walk for nothing. More unfortunate was that, since it was a one-goal game for most of the night, Kovalev could have made even just one play that would have had the chance to completely turn the tables, and he had plenty of powerplays to do it on. But he just didn't.

(Read plenty more... )

Sens killers: Jaroslav Halak, Sens' powerplay
Whether or not Halak was actually great isn't the point; he looked great. Look at the chart below (from CBSSports.com), which shows you where Ottawa had most of their shots from, and you'll notice one thing in particular: Little to no shots from the slot. The bulk of the shots are low-percentage ones from awkward angles at either side of the net. That has as much to do with the Senators' unwillingness or inability to get to that part of the ice and not have their shots blocked as it does the Canadiens' ability to clog up the area.

As for the Senators powerplay, it was just not pretty. I was actually surprised to see Ottawa had 13 shots on the powerplay, but they seemed unable to really get much going on it--unfortunate, because the PP had been clicking for quite a while leading up to this game. Ottawa was unable to get the puck off the perimeter and into the centre of the ice, where key scoring opportunities are truly generated. We complain about not getting powerplays some games, but when you can't score on them anyway, it's basically a moot point.

Credit goes to: Erik Karlsson, Chris Campoli
You've really got to handle it to Campoli after his scratching: He's taken it as a constructive criticism rather than a personal insult, and his play has improved as a result. And he's earned the trust of Cory Clouston, given 21:24 in ice time--the second-most on Ottawa after only Filip Kuba. You might think the PP opportunities had a lot to do with that, but more than 15 of those minutes were at even strength. He was -1 tonight, but he had a shot on net, three more fired toward the net, and looked like the player Murray was expecting when he traded a first-round draft pick for him last season.

Similarly, since being recalled from Binghamton, Karlsson has really looked strong. He had some strong poise in the first period, particularly of note being a confident play to use his glove to settle the puck and another to use his body to protect it--all in the defensive end. His confidence to play very high in the offensive zone can be nerve-wracking at times, but it hasn't yet cost him big time. But defensive play isn't what Ottawa needs from him, and that's not all he provided tonight: He had five shots on net, third best on the team, and played 21:12 on the night--fourth-highest on the team.

Big Hitter: Jesse Winchester
With Chris Neil and Shean Donovan out of the lineup, the supporting cast needs to step up and fill the void in the grit department. Although few seem willing to muck it up in front of the net, Winchester is stepping up his physical game. He had a team-high five hits in only 11:32 tonight, including a very impressive hit on Max Pacioretty behind the Canadiens' net. His line with Peter Regin and Chris Kelly was pretty strong in the first period, but didn't get a shot to generate momentum or dirty goals in the third--something Clouston might need to address, because I've noticed he's falling to the John Paddock-esque failing of consistently looking to the stars to provide all the offence, while making the players who are "on" to ride the pine.

Point: Blame the refs
The linesman gift-wrapped Montreal's first goal

Counterpoint: We can't blame the refs
The Senators had seven damn powerplays.

Endnote: It was definitely the kind of game the Senators need to shrug off, and they need to do so quickly; as bad as thePhiladelphia Flyers have been for the last couple months, they're still a good team. Ottawa can't play them lightly when they meet up on Thursday.

Coyotes vs. Senators - Game Preview #29

OdinMercer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:06:31 -0000

Spartacat? Really? This looks like some sort of high lion. Random drug test!

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The Coyotes try to extend their winning streak to 4 games tonight as the Ottawa Senators visit Jobing.com Arena for a late 8:00 start for some reason. We're not on Hockey Night in Canada so I don't understand the lateness if we're aren't showing up the Sens on National TV.

Unfortunately some of our divisional rivals have already gotten some pity points today, so we need to make up for it and kick some Senatass!

FIVE FOR WINNING

Take Advantage of the Sens Goaltending
With Pascal LeClaire on the shelf the Senators have been leaning on backup Brian Elliot to keep the season going. On the current road trip it really hasn't gone that well for them as they've gone 0-2-1 and got shelled after coming out to the West Coast. They lost 5-2 to the Sharks followed by a 6-3 loss to the Kings on Thursday. Prior to that he hadn't fared all that badly, but now has a 3.03 GAA and a .895 save percentage. With the Coyotes stingy defense 3 goals could be plenty.

Jovanovski Back in the Lineup
Looks like Ed Jovanoski will be back in the line up for the first time since November 27th when he came back for a couple of games after being out for most of the month. The Coyotes miss his defense, but more importantly his offense which he seems to have re-discovered this year. Jovo has 13 points in 18 games so far this year with 5 goals. Before his injury he was starting to get some power play time with him parked near the net that was really disrupting opposing PK units. Hopefully there's not much rust to knock off and he gets back to for soon.

Which Brother Will Be Victorious?
Milan Michalek and his brother Zbynek Michalek will meet for the first time since Milan was traded to Ottawa in the Dany Heatley trade. They always seem to play well against each other, but we need Zbynek to be the better Michalek tonight, especially on defense as his brother has four goals over the last three games, even though those have all been losses.

Get Hitting!
With an already thin defensive core, defenseman Alex Piccard was taken out of the game against the kings after a hit by Dustin Brown. Pair that with the fact that the big hitter for Ottawa, Chris Neal, is out until likely the middle of the month and we'll see a team that can be pushed around a little in terms of hitting them consistently when they touch the puck. The team isn't riddled with injuries, just at key positions and to important guys.

Be Consistent on the Power Play
During the last game fans watch the Coyotes constantly passed back and forth and cycled on both 5-on-4 and 5-on-3 chances without a lot of results. They would mishandle the puck, step on the puck, kick the puck, etc. The team would tic tac it at the points, but couldn't get the puck anywhere near the slot because of the bobbles. The whole point of the passing back and forth is to pull a guy out of position and get behind him. The Coyotes just seem to be passing for the sake of passing. Make something happen guys!

Key Players

Daniel Winnik

#34 / Center / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Born: Mar 06, 1985

Daniel Winnik may not be getting goals or points or be the driving force on the offense, but lately he's been everywhere on the ice defensively. When I watch games on TV he gets noticed by both our home announce team and by the opposition as a player that along with his linemates Vernon Fiddler and Taylor Pyatt are just pains for the opposition to play against. He's been handing out hits and making all the little plays that help prevent goals and get wins.

Brian Elliott

#30 / Goalie / Ottawa Senators

Height: 6-2

Weight: 201

Born: Apr 09, 1985

Like I said earlier, he's filling in for the injured Pascal LeClaire and the Sensators will live or die based on his performance in goal. Sure the defense gets some of the credit for the goals against over the past few games, but if we let Elliot get comfortable in the crease he'll be the one that caries the team. If he's soft he'll be the goat that the loss gets hung on.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ed Jovanovski	other-excused	12/05/2009
Peter Mueller	other-excused	12/05/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

Ottawa Senators Injuries

Doubtful

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Alexandre Picard	other-excused	12/05/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shean Donovan	knee	11/20/2009
Pascal Leclaire	jaw	11/24/2009

Sens can't handle Sharks' bite, lose 5-2

DarrenM — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:09:32 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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Sens' hero: Milan Michalek
Michalek clearly wanted to beat his old team, firing six shots on net -- twice as many as any of his teammates. He scored 2 goals, both of them beauties. The first was on a rush from his own end with Jason Spezza clearing him some space, while the second was a quick powerplay goal off a nice pass from Daniel Alfredsson.

Sens' zeroes: Brian Elliott, Anton Volchenkov
Elliott had his worst game of the season, allowing 4 goals (a few of them questionable). After the fourth, it looked like Clouston might throw in backup to the backup Mike Brodeur, but he let Elliott finish the night. Volchenkov clearly still had some rust in his first game back, as he failed to clear the puck on two of San Jose's goals.

Sens killers: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley
The Sharks' top line was dominant tonight, each of them getting two points (with Marleau scoring on each of them). Heatley played with more heart than he usually does (what I call "International Game Dany Heatley"), showed great hustle and fired off 8 shots (most in the first period). Thornton was, well, Joe Thornton -- he made great passes and was hard to move off the puck.

Good game, rookie: Erik Karlsson
Karlsson didn't have a perfect game (a defensive lapse contributed to the Sharks' second goal), but he had one of his best so far. He was a force to be reckoned with on the powerplay, getting an assist and creating chances with his crisp passes. Sometimes he takes risks that are a bit too big, but when they succeed, they certainly create nice opportunities.

Oh no, not again: Too many men penalty
Ottawa is now second in the league in bench minor penalties, thanks to their seventh tonight. This team needs to learn how to perform a line change.

Telling stat: Faceoffs, 39-22 in favour of the Sharks.
You're not going to win many games when you're completely dominated at the faceoff circle, and it's hard to do much worse than the Sens did tonight. Jason Spezza was the worst with an appalling 27%, while Mike Fisher wasn't much better at 32%.

Surprising stat: Ryan Shannon, +1
None of the Sharks' goals were scored on the powerplay, which makes it kind of amazing that anyone could be a plus player in a 5-2 loss, but Shannon was the Sens' only plus player on the night. In fact, the only other Senator that wasn't a minus player was Ryan Keller who was even (mostly because he barely played).

2010 Winter Olympics Hockey: A look at the Ottawa Senators

PeterR — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:00:12 -0000

The Olympics are mere months away, and I'd be lying if I said I'm not looking forward to the men's hockey tournament most of all. Although the Ottawa Senators don't have the international flavour they've had in years past, there will still be a pretty good Olympic presence for this year's team. Although plenty can still change between now and the beginning of the tournament, the following is a preview of which players may fall where on their respective Olympic teams. I've broken it down into four key categories:

Pack Your Bags

Daniel Alfredsson, Sweden: Alfredsson was an associate captain on Sweden's 2006 gold medal-winning Olympic squad, so you can be sure he'll be there again--and you can be sure he'll be a part of their leadership corps. He's got two silver and two bronze medals in World Championships, and has been on a total of twelve Swedish international teams. You'd better believe he'll be there.
Anton Volchenkov, Russia: There's no way the A-Train gets left out of Russia's Olympic roster. In fact, alongside offensive d-men like Andrei Markov (if he's back from his injury by then) and Sergei Gonchar, you can be sure Volchenkov will be a valuable shut-down defender when Russia is up against the big squads. He'll see plenty of the world's best, you can be sure.
Filip Kuba, Czech Republic: Even more so than Volchenkov, Kuba will looked to as one of the Czech Republic's top two defenders, along with Tomas Kaberle. Unlike Volchenkov, though, he will also have to offer some solid offence.
Milan Michalek, Czech Republic: Even if Michalek weren't having an awesome year, he would still likely be on the Czech squad for the Olympics. But with 13G and 8A in 24GP, it's an even easier pick for him to make it.
Jarkko Ruutu, Finland: There aren't many teams that Ruutu would make, but he could very well be instrumental to any success that the Finns have in the Olympics. He'll likely play third-line minutes, and he'll likely be up to his old tricks--but with a little more discipline added in.
Kaspars Daugavins, Latvia: There aren't many Latvians playing pro hockey in North America, and Daugavins--who's currently with the Binghamton Senators of the AHL--will probably be among the team's leaders, despite the fact that he's only 21 years old.

(Continue reading for the rest of the list... )

Nearly A Lock

Alex Kovalev, Russia: Most people would bet on Kovalev making the team, if only as a leader for the young stars. But young stars there are many, and Russia's not going to be scared to pull talent from the Kontinental Hockey League, too. Kovalev's highly likely to be on the team, but I don't know if it's an absolute lock--especially with the relatively low point total he's put up so far this season.

In A Battle

Mike Fisher, Canada: Fisher got himself on Olympic radar with a strong performance in last summer's World Championships, and his career-best numbers so far this season--10G, 11A in 21GP--is just adding to that. He's going to have to beat out some very good players to get a spot on Canada's squad, but he's done himself plenty of favours so far this season.

Headed On Down

Jason Spezza, Canada: A last-minute invite to Canada's orientation camp, Spezza was going to have to do a heck of a lot to get a sniff for Team Canada's roster at all, and his chances at centre were even worse. Although his defensive play has improved markedly, it's not going to get him on the squad, and the numbers he's put up so far have bumped him farther down the list.