This Man Has A Plane To Catch

Le Artiste has left the building. Alexi Kovalev has played himself into a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In exchange, Brian Murray has got himself the princely return of... nothing. Well OK, a seventh round draft pick, which lets face it is nothing, which might turn into (hold your breath for this) a sixth round pick, which lets face it is... nothing.

The real win is the $5 million per year cap space freed up, and more importantly to Mr. Melnyk, the something like $1.2 million in real money he no longer has to pay for the rest of this year.

Since Kovalev was gone at the end of the year anyways, converting on this trade to relieve real money pressures now is a win for Melnyk. And even at the trade deadline Kovalev probably wouldn't have returned much more than what Murray got for him as it is. Given that, the sooner he's gone, the sooner some other sucker owner starts to pay his bills.

So I count this as an organizational win, although not a hockey win.

Personally I liked to watch Kovalev do his thing, skate, shoot, and play. The problem is, he didn't do much of any of that with any frequency or reliability. With this new world order, I'll still get to watch him on the highlight reels, but he won't be dragging down my team the rest of the time.

5 Things To Be Happy About From 2009-2010

Well summer has come to Ottawa. The weather is nice and my kids have a brand new play structure in the back yard to play on. Sure, it might be nicer to be continuing down the playoffs towards a Stanley Cup, but really I don't mind so much. In any case, here's my list of things to be happy about from this just finished season.

Playoffs

This team wasn't supposed to make the playoffs at all, or at the most, scrabble in at the tail end of the position 6-7-8 logjam of mediocrity that the East features so much of. Instead, we finished 5th, and made the defending Stanley Cup champions earn their round 1 victory.

As for the round 1 itself, considering that we were running without minute-munching defenseman Kuba, defense-coverage-magnet Kovalev, or either of the "parts" we got in exchange for Heatley -- the fact that we still made Pittsburgh earn their round 1 victory is an achievement in itself. And standing tall, fighting through to a triple-overtime win in game 5 to bring the series back home for game 6, granting team owner Melnyk an unexpected playoff gate -- I think that put this all together and this year was a definite success.

Secondary Scoring

...as in, we had plenty this year.

This year the team had credible threats on all four lines most of the year. Instead of past years where the top line had to do it all, we got a good year from Fisher, quality production from Michalek, and a streaky set of performances from Kovalev.

And I forget how many times the grinder line of Neil-Kelly-Rutuu came up with a big goal to either take the game or to swing the momentum back in Ottawa's favor.

Having such productive lines gave opposing coaches fits, as they'd have to pick which lines to cover closely and which to risk against.

Jason Spezza's New-Found Defensive Discipline

Spezza has shown more willingness to get back after the opposition gets going. He's more willing to get in and grind in his own zone, rather than just floating around waiting for the outlet pass to happen (since lets face it we pay Kovalev a lot of money to do that). I like this new Spezza, and I hope that it continues.

Overall it would be nice if there was more in terms of point production, but lets face it we as fans will always say that. Rumor is that the no-trade clause kicks in this July 1st, and I sincerely hope he isn't traded ahead of that.

Erik Karlsson

At the beginning of the year I said I would like to see him sent down to Bingo in order to get his game together. Turns out that the braintrust at the team came to the same conclusion, and down he went, where he played very good hockey, ending up running the power play down there. Having proved he had the basic hockey skills to do the job, the time came for him to get his NHL-level experience and make his NHL-level rookie mistakes.

Which he did, costing the team several goals at times; but his offensive senses are wonderful, and once he has settled in through the next year or two we can hope that he can develop into something special.

Daniel Alfredsson

What more can be said of Alfredsson that hasn't already been said before? He played his 1000th game as an Ottawa Senator. He brought his A-game every night, playing at both ends. He played top line or shut down. He ran the power play and penalty kill special teams. He played hurt, he played hard, he played with heart.

He is without a doubt the heart and soul of this team.

The one thing I want to mention specifically is his comments after he was injured in Pittsburgh earlier in the year. While the commentators were on the TV baying for blood (followed by much of the blog-o-sphere the next time the two teams met), Alfredsson himself said that the play was a clean, legal hit and it was his own fault for putting himself in a vulnerable position. Now that's class.

Unfortunately the clock is running down on Alfredsson. We say this every year, but it is a fact of life that years of playing hockey will eventually catch up with him and he will have to stop. No one, not even Alfredsson, can continue to do this forever. We can only hope that before that happens the team can get him the Stanley Cup ring he so richly deserves. (And hey, it'd be nice for the rest of us to have the Stanley Cup here in Ottawa.)

Bonus: The Continuing Disaster That Is The Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs continue to suck, and that's never a bad thing. What's so bewildering is that given the brain trust in charge of them, why are they so bad? It boggles the mind.

I would still like to see the Leafs and the Senators fighting for top spot in the conference -- or even the Leafs-Senators games being competitive affairs -- but in the absence of that I'll settle for the status quo.

Sometimes You're The Puppy

Let's get the honest stuff out first: the Leafs were the better team out there tonight. They won the battles for loose pucks, they didn't make stupid errors in their own end, they capitalized on the Senators' mistakes, they kept the shooting lanes full in front of their goalie and limited the number of truly great saves he had to make.

Other thoughts:

• Toronto's acquisition of a goalie equips them nicely to drag themselves just out of contention rather than sinking to, and bouncing off of, the bottom of the standings. This is in Ottawa's interest so that Boston ends up with a smaller chance of drawing a franchise player in the entry draft with Toronto's pick. Yes, we are in a position of wanting Toronto to win (more) so that Boston doesn't get any better. That's hockey for you.
• I don't blame either Elliot or LeClaire for either of Schenn's goals. Neither one of them should have ever got that far. However, I expect a chorus of disdain for "momentum-sapping soft goals" from the bloggosphere, when the real culprit is a failure to control the offensive blue line properly, coughing up a bad rush.
• Similarly, the first goal, poked in by the Ottawa player, was a bad bounce. It set the tone for the game, where Toronto got the bounces and Ottawa didn't. Fine; in the grand scheme of things it all evens out, and I am sure that Ottawa benefited from their fair share of good bounces through the previous eleven games.
• But take the two Schenn goals and the first goal off the scoreboard, and Ottawa still got owned 2-0 tonight.
• So with the almost comically bad defense that Ottawa played tonight, I guess the reaction has to be Wow, maybe Karlsson really is that good.
• Toronto had a surprising amount of jump for a team that had played, and lost, and traveled, the night before. I guess winning the game does that for you.
• Someone explain to me again why Carkner and Orr going at it like that was a good thing. Ottawa was only down by one at that point, and was pressing Toronto pretty good -- had anything gone in at that point, it would have swung the momentum far better than monkey bashing would have (even if the "correct" monkey got bashed from Ottawa's point of view). Dumb. But shows what I know.
• The slashing call on Kovalev was lazy-assed officiating. But the hooking and slashing that Kovalev was doing was lazy-assed hockey, so that's karma for you. Ottawa benefited from the lazy-assed officiating with the Orr penalty for cross-checking, so it all more or less evens out. As you would expect. For the most part the officials stayed consistently out of it.
• I'm really tired of listening to the ACC crowd booing Alfredsson. It makes me think of Scotiabank Place booing Chara. At least the Toronto fans have reason to be aggrieved with Alfredsson -- but it still comes across as a bunch of ignorant hicks. Unfortunately the only way to shut up the ACC crowd is to beat their team on the ice, and Ottawa couldn't do that tonight.

Next up is Calgary visiting Scotiabank Place. I'm 0-2 with my last two predictions, so I'll pick Calgary to win, and I promise to only watch the third period (since whenever I do that, Ottawa wins). But realistically the game is one of those games which is too close to call ahead of time. Calgary has fewer points than Ottawa does, but does so in a stronger conference; but on the other hand, they are travelling.

The real test will be how the team faces this setback. And this week never looked good for Ottawa. The opponents we get between now and the Olympic break? After Calgary, there's Washington, Detroit, and the New York Islanders. Of those, only the Islanders can be considered close to a gimmie -- but how many of us assumed Toronto would be a gimmie?

Let's hope Karlsson isn't really that important to the defense.

8 in a row

Busy busy elsewhere, but it looks like nothing here seriously needs my attention -- eight in a row including wins against teams which dominated the Senators earlier in the year.

Watching the game tonight on TV you could see the confidence in the guys playing -- Michalek's highlight-reel dangle was something the team wouldn't even attempt during the five-game slump they went through, but tonight both Spezza and Michalek were dangling pucks, while Kovalev continues his games of keep-away with the opposition.

And what's the key? Well Alfredsson has been counting up the points since his return. Spezza has a goal in five consecutive games now. And Michalek continues to look dangerous all over the ice. Combine production from your top players with a goaltender who is playing steady, steady hockey, and you end up with a team which is confident front to back.

The main thing is that the confidence has permeated back through the defense corps. These are still the guys who we were berating three weeks ago, and while their play has improved I don't think there has been any magical rehabilitation. The defense corps are clearly playing over their heads, which is fine while it lasts but expecting it to last through the rest of the season and into the post season is more than a little unrealistic. I'm sure that the commentators will be back to slamming our defense players before the season is over.

Of course now everyone is wondering if Elliot is "the guy", forgetting that at the end of last year he was "the goat". My view right now is that he is running a hot streak and benefiting from the discipline and confidence on the ice in front of him. He gave up the the first goal tonight, but Ottawa didn't get deflated and kept hammering back to take the lead, and the game. If the team in front of him sags, Elliot won't be the savior.

You have to think that the ninth in a row, which would be a franchise record, is really within reach when they host Montreal on Saturday afternoon. As long as the team doesn't get cocky, and continues to play with the discipline and confidence that they have been, it is possible.

But right now the team is on a hot streak. Even though the Senators are beating some mighty mighty teams, I still think the pendulum will even out a bit more before the post season. And realistically, the East is still to clogged to count our playoff spot before it hatches. Or something.

All that and some Leafs fans are having a miserable year -- what else could be better!

St.Louis at Ottawa: At The Game

About once a year I actually get out to a game. This is mostly because the time needed to go to a game is usually needed for family duties; having a young family will do that to you. There's also the considerable amount of money required to take in a game. Once or twice a year the stars align and I can make it out.

My philosophy regarding hockey games is: if you only go once or twice a year, get good tickets. If you only go, make sure you get to see something that you can't experience on TV. So I'm not interested in sitting up in the nose-bleeds, I can see more on TV plus have the convenience of the PVR's instant-replay. I have been up in the fourth-tier party rooms, and that's totally different.

So when I do go, I'll pay for the good seats. For example, last year at the Buffalo game, I was in the home end corner two rows up from the glass.

This year one of Jenn's friends was selling a pair of tickets to the St. Louis game last night. Section 114, row O. So higher than the glass, which made for a good view.

It seems tradition for me to miss the opening five or ten minutes of the game. It was about 7:15 by the time we drove up, and there was an almost complete lack of traffic waiting to park. The lack of people getting in late indicated to me that it was going to be another lightly-attended game, and I was right -- announced attendance was a bit over 16000.

When we got in, Carkner was having his tilt with Janssen, so I didn't see what provoked that. The rest of the game had the usual pushing and shoving, but that was it as far as the fighting went. Which was just fine with me.

The game. Through the first two periods, Ottawa had more jump than the Blues did. Most of the play seemed to happen in the St. Louis end. I read that St. Louis played the previous night, and you could see that they were tired. Ottawa kept the pressure on really well.

The only time the flow swung against the Senators was when they gave up almost three goals in less than two minutes. In the dying seconds of the second, St. Louis banged one in, then put the puck in the net a second time as the period ended. Only the video review showed that the horn had gone before the puck crossed the line. St. Louis came out strong in the third, and before 30 seconds had gone by had put a third puck in the net to tie the game.

For the next five minutes it was all St. Louis as you could see they knew they were back in the game. Ottawa hung tough with Elliot standing tall, and St Louis' effort eventually fizzled somewhat. This let the game open up into more of an end-to-end.

Watching in the arena let you appreciate some of the players a bit more. Having watched Karlsson over a couple of shifts, I see more of what other people see in him. He seems to be trying to do the right things at the right time, and with better defensive awareness from his forwards, some of his efforts should pay off. His stint in the AHL earlier this year showed that he can adapt to the North American game, and now he just needs NHL experience.

Another player I appreciated more was Kovalev. Most of the time he seems to be just floating through the game, not really rushing around like some of the younger guys. But more often than not, when there was a puck about to come loose, Kovalev would be in the right place at the right time to pick it up. And his puck possession skills are magnificent to watch. He almost seems to be putting on a clinic with his ability to skate around, under, or through the opposition players.

It was nice to see Michalek back in the lineup and for him to score a "welcome back" goal. He seemed a bit off his game, but there was one nice rush down the left in the second, even if it didn't pay off.

Finally I have to mention that Alfredsson's play is just as inspiring in person as it is on the TV. During one of the power plays Ottawa was awarded, Alfredsson was on for nearly the entire powerplay, even as the other attackers were changed around him. He puts in the effort, and the team is visibly better with him on the ice.

The officiating, in general, was its usual inconsistent style; early on it seemed like the penalties were being handed to the Blues a lot more than the Senators. In the third the pendulum seemed to swing back with Ottawa getting called on some iffy calls. However Ottawa got another too many men penalty, nullifying a potential power play. Overall the play was pretty clean from both sides, and there were not any hugely offensive missed calls.

So overall I call that a successful outing. I got to the game, I saw a game I enjoyed, and the Senators won.

I may have a line on a good seat for the upcoming Toronto game. Toronto is one thing on my "list of things to do" -- I want to go to a Toronto game. However with the premium that Toronto games usually commanded, I didn't think it would happen for a long time. But it just might come good this year.

Return Of The King II

Alfredsson continued to make his mark on the Senators today with a hat trick. This led the team to a 5-1 romp over arch-nemesis Boston, a game which also featured previously invincible Tim Thomas getting pulled mid way through the second period.

Chronic underproducers Kovalev and Cheechoo provided the other two goals, and Mike Fisher had three assists.

With "No Relation" Brodeur fighting a flu, Brian Elliot got the call.

This again shows the effect a quality player like Alfredsson can have on the rest of the team. Alfredsson has six points in his two games back.

You gotta love it.

Slim Down, Not Bulk Up

Silver Seven Sens wants to know who you would trade for Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers.

My answer? No one.

Look, Kovalchuk is a talented player, of that there is no doubt. He even isn't "enigmatic" like Alex Kovalev is.

There are three problems with this idea. The first problem is he is in a contract year and he is going UFA over the summer. He is the very definition of the word "rental". In the unlikely event he does sign with Ottawa, it will be for big bucks, which will come at the cost of someone else.

The second is that right now Atlanta is very much the definition of the term "blow up your team" and so won't be looking for short-term skilled acquisitions -- they want more picks and prospects, something to rebuild around for longer term success.

The third is that such a trade does absolutely nothing to solve the issues in the defense corps.

The real question is: why are you considering this? Do you seriously think that adding Kovalchuk to the team, with the resulting immediate team loss of some kind of talent going the other way plus the inevitable combination of picks and prospects, is going to make this team go deep this post season? Because if you are not, you are wasting your time.

The time to sell your long term future to rent some additional skill is when you are making a run.

The Citizen has an article detailing an allegedly sorry state of Ottawa's farm system, dumping responsibility for the whole mess on previous GM John Muckler. Basically the conclusion is the larder is bare. If the future of the hockey club is in the farm team, then the Senators are still looking down, not up.

The Senators are still struggling a bit with high-priced talent that they can't use. This is the same generalized argument I made when I first proposed trading Dany Heatly. These players -- I am thinking of Kovalev, Spezza, Fisher, Michalek, and yes even his amazingness Daniel Alfredsson -- are assets that we can't leverage properly. As amazing as all these guys can be are can be, the Senators are not in a position to challenge this year.

I know I've been beating the drum about this less this year. That's been a deliberate choice. I've decided that even if Brian Murray doesn't know what he's doing, he's the man in charge and we should let him do his job.

Look at the state of the league right now. It is rare to see repeat contenders. (OK, last year was a bad example.) The consensus is that there are two teams which have to succeed this year if they are going to -- I am thinking of Chicago and San Jose here.

Chicago especially is going to be in a bad way because they have been blessed with three highly talented players all at the same time, all of which will be expecting big bucks next year at contract time. Once they lose some of these guys, and/or have to gut the rest of the team to keep these three guys, they are going to be rebuilding, no question about it.

See also Montreal, which was set up to peak last year for their centennial. This year, where are they? Nowhere. OK Montreal blew up prematurely for reasons nobody really understands, but this team now is going back to basics, back to rebuilding.

This I think is the reality that Senators fans have to face. Unless you can find a lot of guys who will play over their pay grades, or a lot of fresh young (cheap) talent, you won't have a solid chance because there will always some other team which either does have a lot of guys who play over their pay grades or a lot of fresh young (cheap) talent.

Our eyes should be on eventual success, not just passing some arbitrary bar this year. Trading for Kovalchuk now would give us a definite edge while chasing a playoff spot this year. However, it would cost us even more from our already depleted future.

Attention Boo-Birds:

Stop booing Zdeno Chara every time Boston comes to town.

There's no reason to. Ottawa made a decision to go with Wade Redden instead. Chara went somewhere he was wanted, somewhere he could grow into a leadership role.

You can't blame Chara for Redden's lack of performance.

Booing Chara makes the city look like it is populated by a bunch of ignorant hicks.

Just. Stop. Doing it. Thanks.

That said, let's again pretend the first period didn't happen on Tuesday. Letting the Boston players set up camp totally unchallenged in front of Elliot was inexcusable. The Boston players had a good, leisurely look at every incoming shot and inevitable rebound, and the resulting chaotic scramble was always going to end badly for the Senators. I don't think Elliot was totally blameless, but I think that nothing short of a miracle worker could have prevented them.

At the Boston end, their defenders kept pushing the Senators to the edges of their zone, and gave up only a few real opportunities, with Thomas being adequate to the challenge most of those times.

For the second and third periods, the Senators played tighter, but one never got the feeling that Boston was in any serious danger of being challenged.

Kovalev was one bright spot on Tuesday. While I am not a fan of this "flip the puck into the goaltender's pads" that he has been doing in response to "put the puck on the net" exhortations that everyone is fond of making, Kovalev made a few opportunities happen, one of which resulted in Kuba's goal. On a night when few Senators stepped up, Kovalev continued his improved play.

I've been waiting for the shoe to drop on this Senators team. Their run since Alfredsson's injury has been nothing short of incredible, but with Spezza gone Michalek is misfiring, and while you could say Alfredsson's leadership isn't being totally missed, it goes without saying that things would be better with him.

Things don't get any easier for this team -- Washington is next on Thursday. I'm not hopeful. Florida visits on Saturday. That one could go either way. But in the short term, things are going to get challenging for the Senators, and they need to be producing a little better effort on the ice than they did during the first on Tuesday.

(And then I watched the Juniors OT. I'm just everyone's lucky charm tonight, aren't I.)

Did they tilt the ice?

Seriously, ten of the eleven goals scored went in the "visitor" side net: 4 Ottawa goals in P1, 3 Philly goals in P2, and 3 Ottawa goals in P3. Only Philly's opening goal in P1 went in the "home" net.

What's that phrase: "fans of exceptional goaltending should look away now?"

I missed the first period and after the collapse in the second seriously reconsidered staying inside to watch when there was a driveway that needed shoveling. The Senators seemed to keep the pressure on pretty well in the second, but those little mistakes and scrambles in front of the Ottawa net kept adding up. In the third it started to come together again as the mistakes in the Ottawa end were reduced somewhat while the Flyers seemed to just run out of effort and discipline.

Nice to see Alex Kovalev get four goals on the day. Now if he could only do some of that a bit more regularly the fans would be a little happier with the $5 million he is getting paid. I like watching him play, his puck control is incredible and he seems to be creative in generating chances. You can write some of his reduced results off to the opposition paying strong defensive attention to him, something which creates more opportunities for his team mates, but really he is the caliber of player who should be able to deal with that and produce a little more often.

Chris Kelly had an up afternoon -- his stupid penalty to cause a long 5-on-3 (that resulted in a Philly goal) was compensated somewhat by his two goals. Nice chance at the end of the game too, ringing one off the post -- plus I think he banged the cross bar with one shot earlier in the game too? It must be frustrating to get that close to a hat trick and not bag it.

Since both Alfredsson and Spezza went out, this team has really put in some fabulous efforts. Words like "depth" and "secondary scoring" can be applied to them without qualifiers. The results thus far have vastly exceeded my expectations. Hopefully when the big guns return the rest of the team can keep up this kind of pace.

Secondary Scoring

So Alex Kovalev bagged his 400th career goal on Saturday night... well and his 399th and 401st too. His 11th career hat-trick too, since we are pilling on statistics. I think that I like Alex Kovalev. I like his skill, his flair with the puck, his play-making ability. However I think I am beginning to think that the actual amount of production he is getting is somewhat less than we would expect given his rather generous salary.

I remember two or three years ago, the complaint about the team was that there was no secondary scoring. The Pizza Line did the business, and everyone else had poor output showing.

This year it seems like we are all secondary scoring. Fisher and Michalek are perhaps the closest thing we have to primary scoring. And it is good to see the scoring threat spread around a bit more than in previous years. However with most games being one-goal games, I think the team would be in a much better position if the top-compensated guys started producing more. Kovalev and Spezza should be our top producers. (Let's face it, we've all given up on Cheechoo, so anything we get out of him is a bonus.) Super Alfie is the gift that keeps on giving, and today he has the most points on the team.

The team as a whole has to get it done more.

6-2 -- for the Senators? You sure?

Wow. A win against Pittsburgh, pizza, and the Leafs lose a shoot-out nail biter.

Cheechoo and Michalek each got another goal, and Fisher continued his points rampage with three assists. Oddly, Alfredsson ended up with only one point, while both Spezza and Kovalev had none on the night. Most of the production of late seems to be coming from the "lesser" lines, but it is nice to have production happening. If the top line can get it going again, we'll be better off.

(I have to admit, I'd have liked to see either game, probably more the Toronto game. The recap makes it sound wild. I mean -- tying goal to force overtime with 2.7 seconds remaining, less than 40 seconds after the go-ahead goal was scored! And Toronto comes away with a loss! Entertainment, plus the good guys win in the end.)

Wow. What a night. Wish I'd been there.

Hockey Night In Montreal

A few quick thoughts about the game in Montreal. Last year, Montreal provided two of the more entertaining pieces of hockey I saw all year. The whatever the team's failings, they always seem to be an energetic group which works hard and makes the other team want to win. So I had high hopes that this would be a good game, featuring speed and effort from both teams.

First. Pascal Leclaire, I am a believer. The Senators had no business being in the same area code as the Montreal Canadians for the first twenty minutes, let alone being ahead for much of the period. That frantic, seemingly disorganized scramble in front of the Ottawa net is becoming more of a routine -- and the more I see it, the less concerned I am, because I just know Leclaire will be there.

Leclaire didn't rob anyone in particular tonight. It is just the same rapid fire chances that the Senators are giving up. In previous years, enough of these would have gone in that we'd have gone into Coach's Corner down at least three.

For all the headlines about the rest of the team, my first, my only star of the night is Pascal Leclaire.

(But even so you have to shout out to the penalty kill performance. Leclaire can't stop five guys coming at him, he needs a little help, and tonight the PK showed patience and discipline.)

Second. I like how Montreal was a curious combination of classy and crass. Crass when Kovalev had his puck possessions for the first couple of periods, yet classy when Kovalev scored his goal to stand up and cheer for him.

I've been amazed watching him -- the details in his puck handling skills are phenomenal. I think once the rest of the team can learn to use his skills, good things will happen more frequently.

Third. Michalek -- fresh from a hat trick in Ottawa, threatening again in a short-handed situation. I love it. He could yet turn into an elite forward.

Overall. One of the commentators tonight noted that the Senators' recent good form can be attributed to a run of softer teams that they have been facing. The real test will come next month and the month after, where they will be playing teams somewhat higher up the food chain. But still, the Senators have traditionally struggled to pick the low hanging fruit, and it is nice that this team, right now, can pick up the so-called "easy" points when they are available.

Optimism

Well due to various reasons I only got to watch the first period last night, and in keeping with the "it's still early days" theme, I'm going to be thinking positive today.

I think putting Michalek, Cheechoo, and Spezza together is going to look like a stunningly brilliant move in the long run. Their first game together and not only did they combine for the only goal of the night, I counted three quality chances that this line put together. Once these guys really click, the goals will come.

I think that Alexi Kovalev is going to be another player that other commentators hate but that I really like to watch. Kovalev was magic with the puck several times, carrying the puck deep into the Penguins' zone, or feathering a pass through the sticks of unsuspecting Penguins players right on the tape of a waiting Senators teammate. Oh, and a no-look drop pass to the left of the Penguins goal that a Penguins defender picked up. I think that again, Kovalev and Alfredsson will start to look very good together.

I still don't like the defensive scramble in front of the Ottawa net. It seems far too frantic and too uncoordinated. But LeClaire is there, most of the time. Commentary from last night blames three of the four goals on funny bounces. If we can get some defensive discipline then this team will look a lot better.

Game 1: Ott 2 NY 5

Well, that went a lot better than it could have.

No, really. I liked what I saw. Ottawa stood pretty firm in the opening frame of the game, and the first two goals came from small lapses in discipline which can be fixed with a little work. Ottawa ran up the shot clock pretty well, even if most of those shots never really had a serious chance.

I liked what I saw of the Ranger's powerplay -- which means the fact that they went 0-5 is a huge achievement by the Ottawa penalty-kill. Obviously LeClaire was a huge part of that, but since the power play is a big part of scoring in today's NHL, having a competent PK is a big part of being able to stay in a game.

Spezza and Alfredsson rang up the first goal to bring the Senators back into the game -- somehow the Captain always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

After watching Kovalev go to work for an entire game, I think that his puck-handling is going to infuriate the same people who love to ride Spezza. When it works it is going to be brilliant, but when it doesn't...

So overall, I'm optimistic after having watched all that.

Good News, Everyone!

The new guy apparently doesn't read the papers:

Kovalev says Stanley Cup within reach

[...]“Ottawa is a pretty good team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup,” the flashy Russian star said in a conference call from Russia Tuesday, when asked about why he chose to sign a two-year, $10 million U.S. deal here on Monday.[...]

Make no mistake, if Kovalev has his game on, he could be a producer which would fill the hole Heatley leaves if when he leaves. But while many are still drooling over the prospect of a top-four instead of a top-three this year (assuming Heatley stays), I'm with those who are a bit worried about how we are going to pay for it all... especially since there is still a lack of top-tier defense on the team.