Silver Nuggets: Senators return home for three games

by Adnan on Feb 22, 2012 1:00 PM EST in Silver Nuggets

After a perfect 3-0 road trip, the Ottawa Senators will return home to host the Washington Capitals tonight followed by home games against the Bruins and Islanders on the weekend. In the previous home stand, the Senators went 1-2-2 but a good road trip helped recover the lost ground.

A regulation win tonight would put the Senators nine points ahead of Washington though a loss could bring the lead down to five. Also, a win coupled with a Bruins loss would also bring the Senators level on points with Boston, albeit with four extra games played. With another game against the division leaders on the road next week, Ottawa has the opportunity to really put the pressure on the Bruins if they can continue their strong play.

More after the jump.

Here are today's links:

The forward lines were unchanged in practise. 1) Michalek-Spezza-Butler, 2) Greening-Turris-Alfredsson, 3) Daugavins-Smith-Condra, 4) Foligno-O'Brien-Neil. (Sylvain St-Laurent)
The defence was unchanged as well. 1) Kuba-Karlsson, 2) Phillips-Gonchar, 3) Cowen-Lee. (Sylvain St-Laurent)
Bryan Murray is unlikely to trade either Filip Kuba or Sergei Gonchar. (Senators Extra, Ottawa Sun, Sportsnet)
Erik Karlsson doesn't know how good he will be in five years, joking that it is possible some other young player will take his spot and Karlsson will be the defensive defenceman. Daniel Alfredsson, Paul MacLean, Eugene Melnyk and the rest of the world are all very impressed with Karlsson. (Senators Extra)
Don Brennan wants to sign Karlsson for 9-years $60 million. (Ottawa Sun)
Here is the audio of the pre-game from MacLean, Alfredsson and Karlsson. (Senators Extra)

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Huge game tonight

The Capitals were absolutely embarrassed by Carolina on Monday. They’re going to come out of the gate with everything they’ve got.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 1:02 PM EST reply actions

I keep waiting to see that... They're such a disaster now, it's hard to fathom.

Ovie is a game-time decision.

by Pmoron on Feb 22, 2012 1:15 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I thought for sure they'd blitz Carolina, but after the first goal, they just deflated

By the time Staal buried his shorty, the game was completely over. They’re a team with no confidence, so the Sens could possibly put them away early with a good start—but I’m expecting to get outshot badly in the first ten minutes.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 1:57 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, it was hard to watch.

I expected to see a little more jump as the game progressed, but it never seemed to happen. I actually miss the days when they were the scariest team in the league to play against.

by Pmoron on Feb 22, 2012 2:31 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I miss the days when WE were the scariest team to play against.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 2:38 PM EST up reply actions

this game worries me too

Pride on the line for the Caps tonight and there’s been a lot of talk about how they lost. Ottawa needs to treat this game just like the Islanders game – go for the jugular and don’t let up from there.

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 2:46 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Ovechkin is (probably) out

That could be a good thing or a bad thing.

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by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 22, 2012 3:11 PM EST up reply actions

Given how badly Karlsson got his shit ruined last time he played Ovie, I’m perfectly fine with Ovie being out.

Shawn McEachern: The best Senator to ever wear 15.
Zack Smith: The future best Senator to ever wear 15.

by Speedy_McEachern on Feb 22, 2012 3:18 PM EST via Android app up reply actions

the way they're playing and the way Anaheim is doing

Makes you wonder if they pulled the plug a little early on Boudreau.

I don’t see how Hunter DOESN’T get fired.

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 3:54 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

The fact that Boudreau was only unemployed for about 0.74 seconds before Anaheim hired him on told me everything I needed to know about that situation.

At worst, Boudreau had simply lost the room and a change of scenery was all that was required.
At best, Boudreau had lost his underachieving Russians being paid hilariously large sums of money, and management decided to scapegoat the person that they agreed to pay the least amount of money to, which in this case was Boudreau.

Shawn McEachern: The best Senator to ever wear 15.
Zack Smith: The future best Senator to ever wear 15.

by Speedy_McEachern on Feb 22, 2012 3:57 PM EST up reply actions

I think your "at best" scenario is pretty close to the truth

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 4:02 PM EST up reply actions

I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

Shawn McEachern: The best Senator to ever wear 15.
Zack Smith: The future best Senator to ever wear 15.

by Speedy_McEachern on Feb 22, 2012 4:12 PM EST up reply actions

which begs the question:

What the hell do they do? Bring Kovalev in to coach? I don’t think Hunter is the answer – I’m with the pundits, benching Knuble is a head-scratcher.

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 4:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I think cleaning house is the next option

I mean, you can only blame the coach for so long.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 4:20 PM EST up reply actions

Cleaning house somewhat

But I don’t think they can even consider trading Ovechkin… could they?

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by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 22, 2012 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

I don't think they can consider trading him

But I’d consider everyone else on the block. I think he’s the guy you build around, but he’s obviously not the right guy to carry the team.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

I speculated elsewhere

That if they crash and burn hard this week, it could put them in fire sale mode come Monday.

It’d actually give TSN, Sportsnet, etc something to talk about!

by B_T on Feb 22, 2012 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

Given that TSN’s panel is currently discussing what we can learn about Rick Nash’s team preference based on his choice of breakfast cereal, I would consider this a welcome change.

Shawn McEachern: The best Senator to ever wear 15.
Zack Smith: The future best Senator to ever wear 15.

by Speedy_McEachern on Feb 22, 2012 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

It doesn't beg the question

It raises the question. Begging the question is something different.

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by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 22, 2012 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

THANK YOU!

The Marginal Virtues

by JonathanA on Feb 22, 2012 4:31 PM EST up reply actions

by B_T on Feb 22, 2012 4:38 PM EST up reply actions

these are more GI Joe moments for me

“Because knowing is half the battle – GI JOE!”

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 5:00 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I've been paying close attention to how these large contracts have panned out.

Ovie – 13 years, $9.5 Mil/year
Kovalchuk – 15 years, $6.7 mil/year
Luongo – 12 years, $5.3 mil/year
Carter – 11 years, $5.3 mil/year

In fact, if you look at both the list of longest contracts and biggest cap hits, there’s a lot of contracts that I bet the GMs would like to have back. It’s certainly enough to urge The Bryan to be cautious in his negotiations.

That being said, if Karlsson wants 70 years and Eleventy Billion dollars, I say give it to him. Pay the man his money, and hope that he stays on his current trajectory of Epic Offensive D-Man in The Style of Paul Coffey and Bryan Leetch. For the love of God, keep him in Ottawa. I can’t stress this enough, really…

Shawn McEachern: The best Senator to ever wear 15.
Zack Smith: The future best Senator to ever wear 15.

by Speedy_McEachern on Feb 22, 2012 1:16 PM EST reply actions

I've never tried, and don't really have time, but if anyone's up to the challenge....

I’d be curious to see if anyone can come up with a list of comparables.
Specifically: players with similar attributes who played in the same era ,and compare the production of those players on long term contracts vs those on shorter term contracts.
My theory, as alluded to above, is that players with bigger long term contracts actually show reduced performance in the first years of their contract. i.e. They’ve made their payday & have a bit of a tendancy to coast.

Common sense is the most evenly distributed quality in all the world.
Everyone thinks they have enough.

by havey03 on Feb 22, 2012 1:31 PM EST up reply actions

Go Sens Go!

Also, as per Bob Mackenzie Vermette is a Coyote now.

Scholar, Gentleman, Shameless Sens Homer with a Heart of Gold.

by Johnny_Spectacular on Feb 22, 2012 1:18 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Blue Jackets trade Antoine Vermette to Phoenix for G Curtis McElhinney and draft picks

by Sensfan90 on Feb 22, 2012 1:22 PM EST up reply actions

Wow

MiracElhinney!

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by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 22, 2012 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

And bizarrely Ottawa’s second round pick. The only thing in that deal that wasn’t once Sens property is Phoenix’s 5th rounder.

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by modsuperstar on Feb 22, 2012 1:25 PM EST up reply actions

It looks to be a mid-round 2nd so its I can see it.

by Sensfan90 on Feb 22, 2012 1:26 PM EST up reply actions

ignore the its*

by Sensfan90 on Feb 22, 2012 1:26 PM EST up reply actions

So PHX GM (can't remember his name) auctions Turris off for an elite prospect and a 2nd

Then packages the 2nd with spare parts to pick up a good middle six centre.

That is maximizing an asset. Well played.

Scholar, Gentleman, Shameless Sens Homer with a Heart of Gold.

by Johnny_Spectacular on Feb 22, 2012 1:32 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Vermette becomes a saint

This Phoenix GM Don Maloney isn’t too shabby working for the NHL.

So hopefully Vermette ends up in Quebec City where the fans will annoint him into sainthood because he can talk Quebec French.

by Marvellous on Feb 22, 2012 2:16 PM EST up reply actions

Vermette is worth McElhinney, a 2nd and a fifth?

Man. If there was ever a year to be a seller, this is it.

by The Tif on Feb 22, 2012 1:32 PM EST up reply actions

We could have gotten two 1sts for Fisher!

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 1:47 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

We got a second and Leclaire for him

At the time, we were all pretty stoked about Leclaire, so I think we got pretty good value. It was impossible to predict just how unlucky Leclaire would be.

The more surprising thing, to me, is Phoenix picking up that contract Vermette’s got. It’s a pretty high one.

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by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 22, 2012 2:45 PM EST up reply actions

He's going to fit well in Phoenix, in my opinion

I thought he’d be good there when I was advocating trading him for Mueller.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 3:12 PM EST up reply actions

it certainly does seem to be a seller's market for sure though

Some of these deals – Downey for a 1st, basically, is a prime example – makes you really with THIS was the year we did our rebuild. What would Chris Kelly be worth this year, I wonder…

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 3:52 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Yeah, it's crazy how different the market is this year.

Still, it’s not like we got a terrible return last year—we got a 2nd for Campoli. And Anderson for Elliott.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 4:01 PM EST up reply actions

would be interesting to see how those trades would go down this yr

I think we won that Anderson trade for sure (legit no 1 for a 1Bish – or over-achieving no.2) and I think that Campoli deal would potentially go down the same right now (which in the current context means BMurr did well on that last year).

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 4:08 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

For sure

And we don’t even know the market for forwards yet. (I’m not willing to believe that Downie sets the curve there.)

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

Does anyone know of a good/safe place for a Sens fan to watch a game in Toronto?

I’m going to be staying in the Downtown area from Thursday-Sunday, so I would like to be able to actually watch the games somewhere…does anyone know of a good pub/eating establishment to do such a thing?

by Bridges16 on Feb 22, 2012 2:40 PM EST reply actions

Adnan's place?

Though I have no knowledge of if it qualifies as “a good pub/eating establishment”.

by B_T on Feb 22, 2012 2:44 PM EST up reply actions

I think the atmosphere of Adnan's place is probably awful

I bet he has, like, two lights.

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 3:12 PM EST up reply actions

So one more light than your average sports bar

by B_T on Feb 22, 2012 3:15 PM EST up reply actions

Ha, I don’t know if you are calling me poor or depressing. :/

Or both!

I love soft players (especially Europeans) that play on the perimeter. Enigmas are awesome. Grit and heart-and-soul are red flags.

Erik Karlsson is better than your favourite player.
Twitter: @sens_adnan

by Adnan on Feb 22, 2012 3:20 PM EST up reply actions

Am I right?!

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by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 3:54 PM EST up reply actions

Nope.

I love soft players (especially Europeans) that play on the perimeter. Enigmas are awesome. Grit and heart-and-soul are red flags.

Erik Karlsson is better than your favourite player.
Twitter: @sens_adnan

by Adnan on Feb 22, 2012 4:46 PM EST up reply actions

I DON'T BELIEVE YOU

Silver Seven - The Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators Blogs

by Mark Parisi on Feb 22, 2012 4:47 PM EST up reply actions

I've been living in Toronto for five years and would also like to know the answer to that question

by whereverjustice on Feb 22, 2012 2:46 PM EST up reply actions

I know there's a Grace O'Malley's around, which is based out of Ottawa

But that doesn’t by any stretch mean it’s necessarily a good place to check out the Ottawa-Boston game on Saturday :s

Since I’m not bringing a Sens jersey with me (only my sens toque!) I guess any place I go will be relatively safe, I’m now more concerned about being somewhere that will actually SHOW the Sens playing!

by Bridges16 on Feb 22, 2012 3:10 PM EST up reply actions

look for any sports bar or pool hall that was 500 flatscreens

and youll have luck watching the game…if its not on, you can kindly ask them to flip one tv to the game…but use your charm first.

by AAZZ on Feb 22, 2012 4:46 PM EST up reply actions

Hoops and Real Sports are the Z.Smith of sports bars

They tend not to give a crap.
You can watch Sens games there safely, but don’t expect a lot of interest in you or your sporting event. I’ve also had the big screen taken away for anything that brings in a bigger crowd.
The habs have their own sports bar in Toronto, and its wonderful, I wish Ottawa had the same.

by BD Rebuilders on Feb 22, 2012 3:05 PM EST reply actions

I work a couple doors down from Kilgour’s (Habs bar) and anytime there’s a Montreal game it’s packed. That playoff run a couple years ago had that place going nuts. How I long for Senators equivalent in the city…

Space for rent.

by awr.campbell on Feb 22, 2012 4:00 PM EST up reply actions

listening to Bruce Garrioch on HNIC

I know he’s a favorite whipping boy round here but he doesn’t exaclty blow you away with his insight. I listen to HNIC radio all the time and I’d like to think for a Cdn hockey market we could have someone who brings a little more to the table.

by west-sider on Feb 22, 2012 3:49 PM EST via mobile reply actions