Just a short note to let you guys know that I will be away in sunny Australia (
) very soon, so this will be the last preview until I get back. Obviously I won't be able to follow the hockey so closely from down under.
What you've missed:
Ottawa did well to squeak out the OT winner on Thursday, beating
Tampa 3-2. But when
New Jersey rolled into town, the Sens went through an all-too familiar 3rd period meltdown and dropped the decision by the same scoreline, 3-2.
The Sens troubles with inconsistency continued last week and their once strong PK severely broke down - all 5 goals scored against Ottawa last week were on the powerplay. It's clear that
Anton Volchenkov's absence is really hurting in these situations and I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes him a speedy recovery. However, there are no signs that
Daniel Alfredsson's point streak is close to ending; he has at least a point in 9 consecutive games and 13 games out of only 14 games played this season! And
Jason Spezza finally scored his first goal this week, but he has been solid and is scoring at a point per game pace.
In other games around the league:
-
Carolina have not won a game since this time last month. That's 11 losses in a row, and to make matters worse, they lost their #1 netminder Cam Ward to injury this weekend. He will be out at least a month.
- After Saturday's win against the Sens,
New Jersey have won 5 in a row and are now just 2 points behind the East-leading Penguins
- The Ducks of
Anaheim are starting to wake up from their slumber out West also. They were robbed of 2 points against
Pittsburgh but had solid wins against
Nashville and
Phoenix this week.
- In one of the more bizarre weekly schedules,
Edmonton first played in New York against the
Islanders, then they came back to Rexall Place to face the
Rangers 3 days later. They ended up losing both games, but had a resurgence in their powerplay, defeating
Colorado Sunday night.
What's coming up:
The Senators have a 3 game slate this week. On Tuesday, they face the travel-weary
Edmonton at Scotiabank Place (7:30pm, Sportsnet). Then they head down to meet powerhouse
Philadelphia on Thursday (7pm, TSN), a team who have won their last 5 straight. And then on Saturday, the Sens return home to meet the
Rangers (2pm, CBC).
It's a very tough week ahead for a team that has not looked so good as of late.
Anton Volchenkov has not progressed as had been hoped and is still at least a week away from returning, after experiencing difficulty shooting at practice. Luckily, recent injuries to other players have resolved.
Ottawa must get off to a good start against the Oilers tomorrow if they hope to have a good week. The stats on the PK don't necessarily tell the whole story here - there were many times that the team worked really effectively to kill the man advantage, and
Jarkko Ruutu in particular has been in very good form. The problem remains that the Sens take (by far) too many penalties.
The Senators are dead last in the leage with 20 penalty minutes per game played. Doing the math, there are 15 majors included in those figures (which is only 1 behind the league worst figure), and that works out to roughly 1 per game. That still leaves 15 minutes per game of minor penalties. And when you're giving up 7-8 powerplays per game, that's a huge disadvantage, especially when the team's best penalty killer is off the ice. Team discipline needs to be better, and it would really help if there was consistent refereeing from game to game too!
In other games this week:
-
Calgary take on a trio of North-Eastern teams on a roadtrip this week, facing off against
Montreal,
Buffalo and
Toronto. The Flames are hot right now with a 3 game win streak on the line.
-
Los Angeles are set to rack up some serious frequent flyer points on a 5 game road tilt. After tonight's game against
Chicago, the Kings make stops in
Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and end in
Florida next Monday. LA have been great to start the season but this trip is crucial, given the form of the other teams in their division. They are currently only 4 points behind West leaders
San Jose.
-
Philly have a very important week also - their game against the Sens Thursday is their first of the week, with meetings at home against
Buffalo Saturday and their cross-town rivals
New Jersey next Monday. All 5 teams in the Atlantic Division currently sit in the East's top 8 - something will have to give soon.
Who's hot?
-
Marian Gaborik (Rangers) has 10 points in his previous 7 games and has been held scoreless in only 2 of the games he's played this season.
-
Rick Nash (Columbus) has 7 points in his past 5 games.
-
Antero Niittymaki (Tampa Bay) has a 0.940 save percentage and 1.95 GAA in his 7 games, and in 3 straight starts has allowed just 5 goals on 107 shots.
-
Jarome Iginla (Calgary) has 4 goals (2 of them game-winners) in the past 3 games.
Who's not?
-
Pascal Leclaire (Ottawa) has let in 15 goals in the past 5 games, and has mustered just 0.867 save percentage.
-
Brad Boyes (St Louis) is scoreless in his past 7 games and is a -6 in that stretch.
Weekly Preview #6
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