SB Nation - Martin St. Pierre

Silver Nuggets: Elliott starts again; Senators' goon tactics

PeterR — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:13:10 -0000

Are you ready for this? ARE YOU READY FOR THE WEB'S OTTAWA SENATORS HEADLINES, COMPILED INTO AN EASY-TO-READ LIST? I hope so. Here goes:

Brian Elliott starts in goal tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Not Martin's debut will have to wait at least one more game. (Twitter)
Line combinations at this morning's practice were the same as they were for last game: Michalek-Fisher-Alfredsson; Foligno-Spezza-Kovalev; Ruutu-Kelly-Chechoo; Regin-Winchester-Shannon, with Keller as a spare. (Twitter)
Prediction panel for tonight: How will Peter top being the only panellist who predicted correctly last game? (Citizen)
According to Bryan Murray, fear is what's holding the Senators back this season. The fear to get your nose dirty. (Citizen)

The Sens made Wyshynski's top-ten list of goonish moves. Twice. First for their part in the line brawl against the Sabres a few years back (tenth), and second for the Dean McAmmond/Steve Downie incident (sixth). Jarkko Ruutu was on the list, too, for the foot-stomp he took from Chris Simon (eighth), but he was with Pittsburgh at the time. (Puck Daddy)
After a knee-injury scare this past weekend, Sens prospect Patrick Wiercioch has been cleared and will likely return to his college team for this weekend. Which is good, because he's also in contention for Team Canada's junior team. (WCHB)
It's also been a while since the last B-Sens update: Third in the East division with a record of 12-10-3, including a 4-2 clip in the last six games. Martin St. Pierre has taken over the scoring lead with 26P (10G, 16A) in 25GP, while callup CHRIS HOLT! is lighting it up in the crease with two wins in three games, a GAA of 1.01, and a SP of .964.
Remember Christoph Schubert? He's climbing up the depth chart for the Atlanta Thrashers, and it looks like he's solidly taken their fifth D spot. (Bird Watchers Anonymous)

Silver Nuggets: Lehner loses (for a change), teaching Spezza to fight

PeterR — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:03:45 -0000

Quick one today, because who reads on Saturdays?

UPDATE: Brian Elliott's going to get his first start of the season tonight against the Thrashers. (Ottawa Citizen)
As you saw in Silver Nuggets yesterday, lines are changed. Daniel Alfredsson and Nick Foligno swap spots from the lines that finished the Islanders game. (Ottawa Citizen)
Looking for predictions for tonight's game against the Atlanta Thrashers? The Citizen's pundit panel takes guesses. Unfortunately, because I'm going to the game, I predicted a Senators loss. (Ottawa Citizen)
Whoa, Jason York joined the Sun's BlackBerry panel? Maybe now I have a reason to read it. They're talking about Pascal Leclaire's awesomeness. (Ottawa Sun)
Oh yeah, you know how Jason Spezza and Chris Neil got in a disagreement in practice yesterday? Turns out Neil was just trying to help Spezza improve his fighting skills. (Ottawa Citizen)
Too bad--Robin Lehner's unbeaten streak to start his OHL career ended yesterday after the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds lost to the Guelph Storm by a score of 2-1. (OHL.com)
Wicked story about Jonathan Cheechoo's hockey-filled youth in Moose Factory. (Ottawa Citizen)
Ilya who? Ilya Zubov, last season's leading scorer for the Binghamton Senators, isn't playing but isn't yet released/traded, but who cares? Off-season acquisitions Martin St. Pierre (3G, 2A) and Ryan Keller (2G, 2A) are making up for any lost offence. (theAHL.com)
UPDATE: There's something so rewarding about the phrase 'winless Maple Leafs'. (Sports Network)

Silver Nuggets: B-Sens Sign Svendson, Kuba Hurt?

DarrenM — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:37:45 -0000

Here's today's dose of Silver Nuggets, a collection of Senators-related stories from around the Internet (to be updated if anything worth seeing comes up):

Filip Kuba is sat out of today's practice for precautionary reasons (lower body), and won't play in tomorrow's game against Boston. Let's hope this is nothing serious, because to have Kuba missing to start the season would be a pretty big blow.(Sens Twitter)
The Binghamton Senators have signed right-wing Brandon Svendson to a one year deal. (Our Sports)
Mike Brodeur has been reassigned to Binghamton, as expected. (Senators Website)
Speaking of goalies, Pascal Leclaire is planning on playing the full game tomorrow. (Sens Twitter)
Chris Neil says if he was coach, Matt Carkner would be on the team to start the season. I'm pretty sure this is Neil's way of getting someone else to fight every couple of games. (Slam)
A newspaper in Ryan Shannon's hometown of Darien, Conneticut ran a nice piece on him that the Shannon fans might enjoy. Peter, I'm lookin' in your direction. (Darien Times)
Don from Battle of Ontario with a sharp find - the NHL has credited Alex Kovalev with two goals on one shot. As Don puts it in the comments: " If Kovawesome keeps up this pace and matches the 209 shots he had last year..... yowza!" (Battle of Ontario)

(Ten more after the fold... )

Nick Foligno and Jesse Winchester took time in Halifax to visit an elementary school. Apparently, Winchester does this frequently because both of his parents are retired teachers. (Halifax News)
The Ottawa Citizen with your daily dose of Peter Regin love. (Citizen)
Five For Smiting counters with a dose of Peter Regin hate. (Five For Smiting)
Another Ottawa Senators Blog also wants us to lower our expectations for the Regin/Mike Fisher duo. (AOSB)
Prospect Cody Bass, recently sent back to Binghamton, wants you to know that just because he's had injuries doesn't make him injury-bit. (Sharp)
With the surplus of NHL forwards in Ottawa, everyone's talking trades. They're not easy to make, it doesn't seem, but Another Sens Blog is taking a look at what Kelly might bring in if the Sens were to part with the highly-paid but still versatile centreman. (Another Ottawa Senators Blog)
When he's not moonlighting on From The Rink, Mirtle's working for the Globe, and he took a look at the league's goaltenders today. He didn't predict much for Leclaire, but did say that he's got a chance to make some noise. (The Globe and Mail)
Binghamton-bound centre Martin St. Pierre isn't exactly happy about getting sent to the AHL, but he's making the best of it. He looks to be lining up with Denis Hamel and Erik Condra, which isn't a bad pair of wingers to start off with. He'll have a big part of any success the B-Sens have this season, to be sure. (Sharp on the Sens)
The Bell Sensplex, a public-private partnership whose principle investors were the City of Ottawa and Senators Sports and Entertainment (SSE), told the City of Ottawa they wouldn't need $600k of the $1.4M pledged a couple years back. It may seem irrelevant, but it's the Senators, and don't think for a second that this has nothing to do with SSE's intentions to get the city on board with further development around Scotiabank Place, like an MLS soccer franchise. Nothing like coming in under budget to make friends with politicians. (Ottawa Citizen via Sens Town)
This is the actual headline: "Waterside Retirement Community Celebrates International Day of Older Persons with NHL Alumni Brad Marsh." Marsh, of course, is known for his days as an Ottawa Senator, for running the Marshy's sports bars, and holding the record for least goals for a player to play more than 1000 games. (Earth Times)

And if you haven't checked out our Season Preview yet, then do so. While you're at it, check out Mirtle's, too.

Ottawa Senators 2009-10 season preview

PeterR — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:00:14 -0000

by Troy Fleece - AP

Jason Spezza, centre, is one of the many Ottawa Senators players with something to prove in 2009-10, coming off his worst season offensively in four years.

View full size photo »

The theme for the Ottawa Senators in 2009-10 is the bounce-back, and they need some serious bouncing back if Senators fans are going to remain even a little bit interested in the team. Almost to a man, every player returning from last season has to prove they can do better, and the key players Ottawa brought in this year--Pascal Leclaire, Alex Kovalev, and Jonathan Cheechoo--all have plenty to prove themselves. Coach Cory Clouston has to show the league that GM Bryan Murray picked the right side in his dispute with now-traded winger Dany Heatley, and Murray's never been as criticized as he is these days--you can bet fans will have his head if Ottawa starts slowly. This team is rife to surprise a lot of people, but there's always the chance these variables could go southward in a hurry. If that happens, stand back, because owner Eugene Melnyk won't stand for another poor showing.

2008-09 Recap:

Whoo... well, this is tough. The most forgettable season in recent memory, 2008-09 was painful for Senators fans. Although the team seemed to repair some of their defensive problems from the season before--goals-against was somewhat improved from 2007-08--it came at the expense of offence--goals-for was far off the previous season. Martin Gerber, Alex Auld, and Brian Elliott played musical chairs in the net, Craig Hartsburg came in with high hopes but wasn't right for the team, and Ottawa's offensive stars, including Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson, all struggled--but the secondary scorers struggled more. Then Clouston was brought in, installed a system based on responsibility henceforth known as Command Kloustonom, and Ottawa started winning games. It wasn't enough, and the Sens finished in 11th place, 10 points out of a playoff spot.

(Read more for who's in, who's out, strengths, weaknesses, depth chart, and predictions... )

Who's in:

G Pascal Leclaire - Not quite an off-season acquisition, but pretty close to, Leclaire has the chance to simultaneously recharge his career and be the Senators' saviour--or he could join so many other goaltenders on the Ottawa goaltending graveyard. Although Brian Elliott did well at times last year, this team's playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of Leclaire.
D Erik Karlsson - Karlsson comes in with high hopes for giving Ottawa some bite on the powerplay, but will definitely have a steep learning curve. The consensus is a spot on the Senators' is Karlsson's to lose, probably fittingly so, but it will be up to Clouston to make sure he's not overwhelmed by the North American game. Look for him to get limited even-strength time, but plenty of powerplay opportunities.
W Alex Kovalev - Signed to a two-year, $10M contract in the summer, Kovalev comes from Montréal with plenty to prove after an off-year last season. The big difference is that he won't be Ottawa's main go-to guy, but he'll get every opportunity on one of the top-two lines, and may play the point on the Sens' top powerplay unit. If he doesn't come out of the gate quickly, I'm afraid some of the finnicky Sens fans and media members could turn on him, and if that happens he might become disinterested--a positive feedback loop that will be tremendously negative for the team's playoff hopes.
W Milan Michalek - The key return in this summer's Heatley trade, Michalek comes in with expectations to provide scoring depth, defensive responsibility, and maybe some penalty-killing for Ottawa this year. He has been lined up with Alfredsson and Spezza on an impressive first line, but expectations are that he's a flexible player who can jump into any role assigned to him.
W Jonathan Cheechoo - Cheechoo's the other part of the Heatley trade, and another player looking for a bounce-back season. He's got every opportunity to play in the Sens' top-six forwards, maybe on a line with Kovalev, and people are expecting 20-plus goals--and hoping for 30-plus. He's a hard worker, and the kind of player that Sens fans could quickly become enamoured with.
C Peter Regin: Might have surprised a few people out of training camp, where he came from behind and earned himself a top-nine--and maybe top-six--forward spot on the Senators. If he keeps playing as he does, turning centre-cum-winger Mike Fisher into a scorer and gelling with one-time AHL linemate Nick Foligno, this team could potentially have three lines to provide offensive support for one another.

Who's out:

G Alex Auld - Traded to the Dallas Stars for a fifth-rounder, Auld played well last year--but Murray decided his chances were better with a Leclaire-Elliott tandem, and Elliott wasn't going to appreciate being sent back to Binghamton.
D Jason Smith - Retired, in a conspiracy-laden decision that will save Ottawa from salary cap hell and make room for younger defencemen to step up.
W Dany Heatley - Old news.
W Mike Comrie - Signed in Edmonton after his second stint in Ottawa didn't prove as successful as was hoped.
D Brendan Bell - No room left in Ottawa, so Bell went to the St. Louis Blues to try his luck.

Strengths:

Offensive depth: The Senators have far greater offensive depth than they've had in years, with potentially nine players with a good shot of playing on the top two forward lines: Alfredsson, Spezza, Kovalev, Michalek, Cheechoo, Regin, Fisher, Foligno, and Ryan Shannon. It means there will be plenty of competition in training camp, and there's a good chance Ottawa will have scoring from the first, second, and third lines.
Defensive depth: Although the Senators still lack a number one puck-moving defenceman, they've got plenty of decent-level players to pick from. Filip Kuba's the biggest minute-muncher, Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov will continue to be the shut-down tandem, and Karlsson will probably be given top-four minutes fairly early in his rookie season. After that, Clouston has five more defencemen to choose from to fill out the remaining two spots: Brian Lee, Alex Picard, Christoph Schubert, Chris Campoli, and Matt Carkner. There might be some movement before the season starts, but if there's not, Ottawa shouldn't have a problem icing a full complement of defencemen.
Powerplay: Ottawa's lost one of their best powerplay producers in Heatley, but they've brought in three pretty good powerplayers, and Karlsson could be a boon for the backend. If there's not a noticeable increase in powerplay potency, it will be a disappointment.
Team speed: Michalek is damn fast. Spezza looks like he's skating as well as he ever has, and playing with Michalek only makes him go even faster. Shannon might be a close second on the team to Michalek. Fisher can skate like the dickens in straight lines. Almost to a man, the Senators' forward group has good to great speed, and should be able to use that to counter attack opponents--in true Command Kloustonom style.

Weaknesses:

Defence: Ottawa may have plenty of defensive depth, but six fifth- and sixth-defencemen don't equal one first-defenceman. Ottawa will likely ice four smallish (in style, if not in stature) defencemen around Phillips and Volchenkov, so might be vulnerable when bigger teams are in town. Defence by committee will be the key, but it won't be easy.
Grit: It's an old story for the Senators, but this team won't likely be a physical challenge to play against. Sure, there's Chris Neil, Jesse Winchester, and Jarkko Ruutu, but there's a pretty good chance they'll all be on the same line. When the other three lines are on, and with the small-ish defence corps Ottawa has, other teams won't likely have a problem finding space on the ice. It could open up room for Carkner, Zack Smith, Cody Bass, or Jeremy Yablonski to play select games against tougher teams, but they won't make the squad based on playing ability alone.
Penalty Killing: Last year's penalty-killing corps included Antoine Vermette and Dean McAmmond, and both have moved on since then. Clouston hasn't been afraid to use Alfredsson on the PK, and the team still has Fisher, Winchester, Shean Donovan, Chris Kelly, and maybe even Spezza or Michalek to kill penalties, but there will be a learning period for these guys to get used to one another. And, after Phillips, Volchenkov, and Kuba, you've got to wonder who'll kill from the defensive side.

Depth chart:

Left Wing	Centre		Right Wing
Milan Michalek	Jason Spezza		Daniel Alfredsson
Jonathan Cheechoo	Ryan Shannon		Alex Kovalev
Nick Foligno	Peter Regin		Mike Fisher
Jarkko Ruutu	Chris Kelly		Chris Neil
Josh Hennessy	Jesse Winchester		Erik Condra
Kaspars Daugavins	Martin St. Pierre		Cody Bass
Shawn Weller	Ilya Zubov		Jeremy Yablonski
Denis Hamel	Zack Smith
	Jim O'Brien
Defencemen
Filip Kuba		Erik Karlsson
Chris Phillips		Anton Volchenkov
Alex Picard		Chris Campoli
Brian Lee		Matt Carkner
Derek Smith		Tomas Kudelka
Geoff Waugh

Goaltenders
Pascal Leclaire
Brian Elliott
Mike Brodeur
Andy Chiodo

Predictions:

TSN: Pre-season power ranking: 24
Sportsnet: "After going to the Stanley Cup final in 2006-07, the Senators have been on a steady slide and it's looking like a second straight season out of the playoffs is a distinct possibility."
The Hockey News: Fourth in the Northeast Division, ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Puck Daddy: "On paper, this is a playoff team: Balanced scoring, good goaltending and a crowded but dependable defense."
The Sporting News: Ranked 24 in NHL.
The Sports Network: "The days of contending for a Cup seem to be over, but that doesn't mean Ottawa won't be able to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs this year."

The TSN and Sporting News predictions were both made before the Heatley trade, so they're certainly out of date. But here are our predictions:

Peter: Ottawa didn't want to move Heatley, but the depth gained in the trade might prove to be beneficial to the team's stakes in the 2009-10 season--to say nothing of the salary cap flexibility for future seasons. With between two and three lines who should be expected to score (compared to one the past two years) and very strong forward and defensive depth, the team should be strong offensively. On defence, there are plenty of skaters, and less physicality, but that might be mitigated by a very quick transition game. In goal, there are two big question marks, and the team will likely live and die with Leclaire. It also seems unlikely the Senators will suffer too much from the Olympics fatiguing players, so that could work in the team's favour for the second half of the year. Ottawa should have the advantage in a dogfight with Montreal and Buffalo to finish second in the Northeast behind Boston, and no one will be happy--least of all owner Melnyk--if this team misses the playoffs. I'm calling it: Second in the Northeast, fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Darren: Just to get it right out there in the open -- no matter what a Las Vegas bookie tells you, I don't think that there is any way this team performs worse than the roster that was iced last season. The roster is better, the team will be playing under Cory Clouston for the entire season, and our starting goaltender's last named doesn't rhyme with Ferber. On paper, this should be a team that can generate a great amount of offense, just like the Senators we remember from the first half of this decade. Unfortunately, the game isn't played on paper, and the outcome is anything but predictable: one can only guess how many different line combinations Clouston will burn through in the first month or two of the season. But since this is about making predictions, I'll be bold - the team definitely has a shot at the playoffs, but I think it's still a few years away from making any sort of deep run. Still, after all of the drama this team has been through recently, it's nice to be able to start the season with some shred of optimism.

Senators announce 54-man training camp roster

PeterR — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:10:46 -0000

More photos » by Ryan Remiorz - AP

Ottawa Senators 2009 first-round draft choice Jared Cowen will be among those attending the team's 2009-10 NHL training camp.

Browse more photos »

The Ottawa Senators announced the roster of 54 invited players (EDIT: But there are only 53 players listed... weird... )for their NHL training camp today. Those players invited include 23 Senators draft picks, 13 players acquired as free agents, eight via trade, seven on try-out contracts and three on AHL-only deals. There are six goalies, 16 defencemen, and 32 forwards. Eighteen members of the rookie squad were also invited--including standout goaltender Robin Lehner and 2008 first-round draft choice Erik Karlsson--and 2009 first-round draft choice Jared Cowen is also expected to attend.

And, of course, Dany Heatley has an invitation, and barring any trade is also expected to be there.

Don Nachbaur named head coach in Bingo

PeterR — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:49:37 -0000

via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com, used without permission

It wouldn't be an Ottawa Senators off-season without hiring a new head coach. There's a bit of a twist on this third consecutive summer with a head coach hiring, though; this time the successful candidate will be working for the AHL's Binghamton Senators. His name is Don Nachbaur, a veteran of eight seasons and 223 games in the NHL, and he's been charged with the assignment of getting Bingo into the AHL playoffs for the first time since 2004-05.

His coaching career has lasted 13 seasons, including two as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Phantoms and the other 11 in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds and, most recently, the Tri-City Americans. According to the Sens' official press release, he's won two WHL Coach of the Year awards, in 1994-95 and 2005-06.

The B-Sens have been pretty much re-built in the past few seasons, with the Senators organization focussing on retaining and maximizing draft picks as well as signing free agents for their minor-league affiliate. With recent signings including forwards Ryan Keller, Martin St. Pierre, defenceman Geoff Kinrade, and goaltender Mike Brodeur, plus prospects including forward Jim O'Brien and defenceman Erik Condra and Erik Karlsson apparently ready to join the squad, there's plenty of optimism in Binghamton for the upcoming season.

Bruins re-sign Bitz, plus an arrival & a few departures at North Station on July 1st

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:00:41 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Browse more photos »

The NHL's free agency period officially began at noon eastern time, but it was a pretty quiet start to the day on Causeway Street for Peter Chiarelli and the Boston Bruins.

It took the Bruins until nearly 6:00 PM ET to make any moves, when they announced that they had locked up restricted free agent forward Byron Bitz to a multi-year deal. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed yet. The rugged forward was called up from Providence late in the season and quickly became a valuable member of the Bruins fourth line. The Cornell alum appeared in 35 regular season contests, recording 7 points (3-4-7). He also played in 5 playoff games, scoring a goal and adding an assist.

UPDATE (1/2 10:36 AM): According to the Boston Globe Byron Bitz's deal is for 2 years at an average salary of $687,500 ($675,000 next year & $700,000 next season).

Shortly after, the team announced that they have signed gritty centerman Steve Begin to a 1 year, $850,000 contract. Begin has spent 10 seasons in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars. Last season, the 31 year old veteran recorded 12 points (5-7-12) in 62 games, splitting time between Montreal and Dallas. He played for Bruins head coach Claude Julien during his time in Montreal. Begin is slated to slide into the role that free agent Stephane Yelle filled last season.

Steve Begin

#44 / Left Wing / Dallas Stars

Height: 6-0

Weight: 192

Born: Jun 14, 1978

Earlier in the day, the Bruins parted ways with free agents Steve Montador and Martin St. Pierre. Defenseman Steve Montador signed a 2 year deal with the Buffalo Sabres worth $1.55 million per year, while forward Martin St. Pierre signed a deal with the Ottawa Senators. It will interesting to see if St. Pierre will get a shot with the big club or end up in Binghamton.

During Peter Chiarelli's late afternoon conference call with the media, he hinted that the Bruins may sign another one of their free agents before the end of the night. Stay tuned.

Senators sign Martin St. Pierre and Erik Condra

DarrenM — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:00:33 -0000

Not the big free agent splash you'd expect on July 1, but a couple of depth signings have been made.

Erik Condra, the Sens' 7th round pick in 2006, has signed an entry-level deal. The right-winger led Notre Dame in scoring in each of his four seasons, scoring 48 goals while adding 110 assists for 158 points in 159 career games. (link)

Martin St. Pierre

#47 / Center / Boston Bruins

Height: 5-9

Weight: 185

Born: Aug 11, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Martin St. Pierre	14	2	2	4	-1	4	0	1	1	0	15	13.3

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG GTG SOG PCT

2008 - Martin St. Pierre 14 2 2 4 -1 4 0 1 1 0 15 13.3

Martin St. Pierre is a centre who was previously in the Boston Bruins' system. Playing with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, he was tied for the lead in team scoring with 15 goals and 66 points over 61 games this past season. He also played in the AHL All-Star game. He has been signed to a one-year, two-way contract. (link)

I like both of these deals. I don't expect either to get much playing time with the Senators - if any - but it's something that should please fans in Binghamton.

B's Game Notes: BOS 4 TOR 3 SO

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:27:55 -0000

The Bruins were able to take advantage of power play opportunities to mount a third period comeback en route to a shootout win. After trailing 3-1 entering the third period, the B's got power play goals from Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara to knot things up at 3-3 and send the game to overtime. After a scoreless overtime session, the teams headed to the shootout.

With the Bruins trailing 2-1 in the shootout, Claude Julien looked to Providence call-up Matin St. Pierre to extend the shootout. St. Pierre showed the composure of a veteran by beating Vesa Toskala and keeping the B's chances alive. After Tim Thomas stoned Nikolai Kulemin, it was all up to Michael Ryder to clinch the game for the Bruins. Ryder skated in and fired a wrist shot, beating Toskala top shelf for the game winner.

- That was the Bruins first win when trailing entering the third. They are now 1-6-2 when trailing after two periods.

- Claude Julien shuffled the lines again before tonight's game. The Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder line was reunited and Vladimir Sobotka saw time on the first line. Tonight's lines and D-pairs:

Sobotka-Savard-Kobasew
Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder
Axelsson-Yelle-Bitz
Thornton-St. Pierre-Nokelainen
Chara-Ward
Wideman-Hunwick
Hnidy-Stuart

- Enough with the third jerseys. If you wear them all the time, they are no longer special.

- Byron Bitz had a great opportunity to score his first NHL goal, but was robbed by Vesa Toskala.

- Tim Thomas is taking the phrase "attacking shooters" way too literally.

- That backdoor move on the power play is become Chara's MO.

- Blake Wheeler used the same shootout move as he did on Monday, this time with better results.

- Entering tonight's game, Michael Ryder was 1 for 11 on shootout attempts.

- I don't think that anyone predicted that the Bruins would be 34-8-5 at the All-Star break.

Next Game: Tues vs. Washington

B's Game Notes: BOS 2 NYI 1

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:33:49 -0000

The Bruins didn't play their best game but they were able to get off the island with a win. The Islanders came out with a lot of energy and they tested Tim Thomas all night long. Luckily, Thomas was up to the task tonight (40 saves). Thomas was just 53.2 seconds away from recording his 4th shutout of the year, but Billy Guerin and a deflection off a skate blade put an end to any thoughts of a shutout. Marc Savard and Martin St. Pierre were the goal scorers for the B's.

- The Islanders were very aggressive on the forecheck tonight.

- This was a statement game for the Islanders and they came out with a lot of energy. The Islanders completely controlled play in the first period. In the first, the B's were out-shot 17-7, out-hit 11-7, and out-drawn in the face off circle 10-6.

- Tim Thomas faced 41 shots tonight, but it easily could have been a lot more. The B's blocked 23 shots tonight.

- The Thornton-Jackman fight was not nearly as exciting as Jack Edwards made it out to be. It did seem to take some of the wind out of the Islanders sails though. I saw Jackman losing his balance and Thornton wrestling him to the ice. I must have missed the "one punch knockout!".

- Marc Savard looked like he was skating by himself on the pond on his goal.

- There were a lot of funny bounces off the endboards tonight. Martin St. Pierre took full advantage of those funny hops when he deposited a Vladimir Sobotka rebound into the back of the net.

- One of the most shocking things about tonight's game was that the Wheeler -Krejci - Ryder line didn't score.

- Hopefully Milan Lucic will be healthy and back in the lineup soon. The B's seemed to be missing that energy that Looch provides.

- The B's will need to play a much better game if they want to beat Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Forwards		Defencemen		Goaltenders
Daniel Alfredsson	Casey Lee	Paul Baier	Brian Lee	Mike Brodeur
Jason Bailey	Matt Lowry	Drew Bannister	Chris Phillips	Andy Chiodo
Cody Bass	Milan Michalek	Chris Campoli	Alexandre Picard	Brian Elliott
Matt Carkner	Chris Neil	Jared Cowen	Mat Robinson	Chris Holt
Jonathan Cheechoo	James O'Brien	Erik Karlsson	Craig Schira	Pascal Leclaire
Erik Condra	Brett Parnham	Geoff Kinrade	Derek Smith	Robin Lehner
Keegan Dansereau	Peter Regin	Filip Kuba	Anton Volchenkov
Kaspars Daugavins	Jarkko Ruutu	Tomas Kudelka	Kyle Wharton
Shean Donovan	Christoph Schubert
Mike Fisher	Ryan Shannon
Nick Foligno	Zack Smith
Denis Hamel	Jason Spezza
Joshua Hennessy	Martin St. Pierre
Mike Hoffman	Brandon Svendsen
Ryan Keller	Jesse Winchester
Chris Kelly	Jeremy Yablonski
Alex Kovalev	Ilya Zubov