Weekly Preview #4
What you've missed:
Ottawa's consistency was a big problem, especially on defense, but they did manage a point from each of their two games last week. On Thursday they reeled in Nashville's 3-0 2nd period lead to force a 5-5 scoreline, only to be beaten in OT 6-5. And when Boston came to town Saturday, a combination of insanely hot Tim Thomas and an absolute meltdown in the final 2 minutes let the Bruins steal the game in a shootout 4-3.
The long break between games left the Sens looking decidedly underdone, especially in Thursday's game vs the Preds. Fringe D-man Alex Picard gave up 2 goals almost single-handedly in that game and was benched the entire 3rd period. Even star players Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher looked as if they were gripping their sticks too tight at times. On the upside, Peter Regin continues to impress and played good minutes on Saturday, and Jason Spezza has really started to get things going as the team's primary playmaker.
In other games around the league:
- Divisional rivals Montreal made good progress up the rankings this week, winning all 3 games (2 of them in OT) with Jaroslav Halak in net.
- A flu bug in the Edmonton camp wreaked havoc on the starting lines, but the Oilers did manage to finish the week 2 and 2, mainly on the back of a resurgent Dustin Penner.
- Carolina's troubles continued when Tuomo Ruutu was suspended 3 games for boarding Darcy Tucker of the Avalanche. They lost that game and have now dropped their last 6, including the first win of the season for the Islanders.
- Los Angeles tallied 20 goals over their 4 contests last week - all wins, 2 of them against Dallas and the others against Phoenix and Columbus.
What's coming up:
While there are 3 games slated this week, the Senators won't see action until midweek, taking a tour of Florida. On Wednesday, it's the Panthers (7:30pm, TSN2) and they back up the next night in Tampa Bay (Thursday 7pm, TSN). To close out the week, Ottawa return to Scotiabank Place to face Atlanta Saturday afternoon (2pm, CBC).
On the injury front, Jesse Winchester has been assigned to Binghamton for an AHL conditioning stint (2 weeks) and should return to the Sens lineup immediately following. Filip Kuba is still out with his injury, but he did take part in Saturday's morning skate. Hopes are high that he will travel with the team for Wednesday's game. Pascal Leclaire was benched Saturday with the flu but should start one of the two midweek games.
Ottawa will not be pleased with last week's effort - and especially not after Saturday's game where they dominated much of the 2nd and 3rd periods but did not finish off the Bruins. They will need to play 60-minute hockey on back to back nights in Florida if they expect to win. Will Filip Kuba be a difference-maker on the back end? Can Jason Spezza get that shot of his going and score his first goal of the season? And with Winchester's footsteps looming, it's make or break time for players like Ryan Shannon and Chris Kelly. Can they secure spots on this team or will they be lost in the squeeze?
In other games this week:
- Toronto continue on their Western road trip in search of their first win, and they should have Jonas Gustavsson in net which is a big boost. Tonight they take on Anaheim and will stop in Dallas before rounding out the week against North-East rivals Buffalo and Montreal.
- Calgary's win streak sits at 3, and they have 2 big home games this week - against division leaders Colorado and the always competitive Detroit.
- Before reaching Saturday's game with the Sens, Atlanta will square off against Washington on Thursday. Ilya Kovalchuk (foot) is a big loss to the Thrashers and they will be hoping he is ready to go.
Who's hot?
- Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) has scored 8 points in the last 3 games and leads the NHL in scoring with 21 points.
- Patrick Marleau (San Jose) has 6 points in 3 games, including a game-winning goal against the Thrashers.
- Roberto Luongo (Vancouver) appears to have fully recovered from his slow start, posting a 0.954 save percentage over the past 5 games, including a shutout.
- Ryan Miller (Buffalo) has not lost a contest in regulation this season, and has a save percentage of 0.940 through 7 games.
Who's not?
- Braydon Coburn (Philadelphia) has been scoreless and logged -6 in the past 5 games.
- Nicklas Backstrom (Washington) has just 1 assist and has been a -4 in his last 4 starts.
- Steve Mason (Columbus) has been scored on 16 times in the past 3 games, and has a 0.759 save percentage in those contests.
Last edited by Matt the Aussie; 10-27-2009 at 01:05 PM..
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